Guest guest Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Sat Nam, I read the wonderful piece that Pieter shared with us on "Raja Yoga in brief, by Swami Vivekananda" & I have a question that concerns me... on the first page, second paragraph: he speaks of "Aparigraha" & what was stated was this: Not receiving any present from anybody, even when one is suffering terribly, (not sure what that means, how/why would someone give a gift when they are suffering terribly?) (My thoughts are one usually gives a gift when they are happy, not suffering terribly)... is what is called Aparigrapha (he goes on to say)...the idea is, when a man recieves a gift from another, his heart becomes impure, he becomes low, he loses his independence, he becomes bound and attached. my concern when I read this is... I am a very giving person & I come from a place where I feel full of abundance & want to share that...& for me that means giving of my time to a friend, sharing the teachings with other teachers when I come across something I really love,gifting a friend a shawl because I think she'd love it for her practice, making up care packages for my sons & my friends, surprizing someone with a gift for no particular reason other that I thought of them & wanted to surprize them & make them smile...thinking everybody loves surprizes... not only does it make them feel good it makes me feel good.... even yogi Bhajan who believes that prosperity is a good thing providing you share what you have with others... is also something I truly believe in... so when I read this...it sounds so negative "when a man recieves a gift from another,his heart becomes impure"-"OH MY!" I feel as though I have good intentions & I don't understand what is meant by this...please share your thoughts... in loving kindness, Jiwan Shakti Kaur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think Vivekananda is coming from a very austere renunciate perspective. In that world, anything that can be seen as a distraction from the one goal of enlightenment is discouraged. As kundalini yogis in YB's lineage, we're practicing in the world and sharing what we receive with the world. So Vivekenanda's statements on aparigraha don't seem to me to be appropriate for our lifestyle. Some more appropriate issues applying to aparigraha for us (at least for me) could be: how much money do i spend (and what kinds of powers do i support), how much food do i eat, how much gasoline do i consume, etc. These would be entirely nonapplicable to a monk, but they are ways that greed can creep subtly into our daily lives - and en masse, how much we consume makes a huge difference to the peace in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 "Not receiving any present from anybody, even when one is suffering terribly, is what is called Aparigraha. The idea is, when a man receives a gift from another, his heart becomes impure, he becomes low, he loses his independence, he becomes bound and attached." This is worth meditating on. When Yogi Bhajan received a gift, he thought immediately about what the proper place of that gift was. He received it with non-attachment. He saw that the gift should be given to someone else, or placed with other gifts to form a whole. He did not let people bind him. He tells the story of a rich lady wanting to give him lots of money for something and he refused because the gift was attached to a certain unspoken request on her part and he could see through it. Yogi Bhajan was practicing apargraha. So when you offer a gift, meditate on whether you want anything in return and what that is. When you receive a gift, meditate and trust your feelings about the ties they may create. Giving and receiving a gift is a form of intercourse, there's an energy exchange and you are left with that exchange. You have to integrate it and release any attachment if you accept that intercourse. If you can receive with non-attachment and give for the pure joy of being alive. then you are practicing aparigraha. Blessings, Awtar Singh Rochester, NY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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