Guest guest Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 In his book, "The Heart of Yoga, Developing a Personal Practice" T.K.V. Desikachar describes the fourth yama as such; "This word is comprised of the root 'car' which means "to move" and the word 'brahma' which means "truth" in terms of the essential truth. We can understand bramacharya as a movement toward the essential. It is used mostly in the sense of abstinence, particularly in relationship to sexual activity. More specifically, bramacharya suggests that we should form relationships that foster our understanding of the highest truths. If sensual pleasures are part of those relationships, we must take care that we keep our direction and not get lost. On the path of serious, constant searching for truth, there are certain ways of controlling the perceptual senses and sexual desires. This control, however, is not identical to total abstinence. "India has the greatest respect for family life. According to Indian tradition, everything in life has its place and time, and we divide the life cycle into four stages: the first is the stage of the growing child, the second is that of the student striving for greater understanding and searching for truth. The third stage is centered around starting and raising a family, and the fourth stage is where the individual, after fulfilling all family responsibilities, can devote him or herself to becomming free from all bondages and finding ultimate truth. "In this fourth stage of life everyone can become a sanyasin, a monk or nun. But a sanyasin must beg for food from people who are still involved in family life. The Upanishads advise the student to marry and raise a family immediately upon finishing his or her studies. That is why bramacharya does not necessarily imply celibacy. Rather, it means responsible behavior with respect to our goal of moving toward the truth." I think that sums up the meaning of bramacharya, as it applies to house-holders, pretty well. It's a big challenge for me, for a lot of reasons, but boy do I know the benefits of making the effort to keep my attention on the divine and out of the lower chakras! A point of contention; someone had mentioned that Amma is who or how She is due to Her bramacharya (forgive me, I'm horribly paraphrasing). I would like to suggest that Amma's bramacharya is a natural result of Her oneness with God. She doesn't need to have sex or eat delicious foods or take drugs to feel good the way that we children sometimes do. We do those things because we forget that the most delicious nectar cannot be tasted by the tongue. The most pleasurable state cannot be experienced by the body, and the highest high can not be experienced by the mind. Sometimes I look at Amma and just feel so awed that She is sitting there doing what She does with apparently no personal needs. She has no water bottle, She never gets up to stretch Her legs, She doesn't even falter for one second! It is such a miracle. She is so absorbed and merged in the bliss of union with the One in All. This is not the result of Her bramacharya, it is because She is fully satisfied and has no personal desires. It could be a result, in part, of Her bramacharya in past lives. As an American woman, I am very aware of the overwhelming barrage of sensual information in the media and society. Our culture, unlike India, is designed to make women feel that happiness is a result of acquired sensory pleasures; if we have plenty of money, good sex, fancy shoes and a nice car, we are considered a success in this country. And we are taught that the way to aquire this happiness is by making ourselves marketable (read: sexy). We girls can learn a great deal from India's spiritual values, and in striving to apply these ideals in our lives we can find balance and strength. Women are blessed with a natural compassion, grace and loving nature that is entirely in harmony with the journey towards the divine. I try to think of bramacharya as a way of bringing those qualities into action, and as a way to deprogram the mental conditioning I've recieved since childhood. If Barbie were the height of an average woman but with the same proportions, she wouldn't be able to menstruate or bear children. Why does every american girl grow up with this little model of what a woman looks like? No wonder so many girls develop eating disorders or careless attitudes toward sex. Every major female lead character in a Disney cartoon movie has no mother. Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Mulan, Pocahontas (sp?), shall I go on? Think about it, it's pretty scary. No wonder the Divine Mother chose this time in history to incarnate and draw us all into Her arms. Jai Ma! Hope this sheds a little light, and may we all be led from darkness to light and from untruth to Truth. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu! Brianna SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting./ps/sb/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 I just wrote a fabulous essay in reply and deleted it by mistake.. I dope slap me!!! Done this 3 times this week! You're right, Amma said (also horribly paraphrased) that as we mature spiritually, so too the sense pleasures die away naturally. Seems the like whole world is sexually sick. we should pray for the mass consciousness to get up out of it's underpants. And may we with the Grace of Divine Mother see the end of children and people trafficked for pronography and prostitution.. an ancient spiritual virus that just seems to proliferate. As for gender, the "marketability" thing has been around since men & women have been around.. it just transmutates in form. Although India may be a philosophical light about the "feminine" I don't believe it is a great living example considering the state if it's women. BTW Ammachi is the strongest Woman ever.. Kali Ma! Ammachi, Brianna Mosteller <rubyrapunzel> wrote: > > A point of contention; someone had mentioned that Amma > is who or how She is due to Her bramacharya (forgive > me, I'm horribly paraphrasing). I would like to > suggest that Amma's bramacharya is a natural result of > Her oneness with God. She doesn't need to have sex or > eat delicious foods or take drugs to feel good the way > that we children sometimes do. We do those things > because we forget that the most delicious nectar > cannot be tasted by the tongue. The most pleasurable > state cannot be experienced by the body, and the > highest high can not be experienced by the mind. > > Sometimes I look at Amma and just feel so awed that > She is sitting there doing what She does with > apparently no personal needs. She has no water bottle, > She never gets up to stretch Her legs, She doesn't > even falter for one second! It is such a miracle. She > is so absorbed and merged in the bliss of union with > the One in All. This is not the result of Her > bramacharya, it is because She is fully satisfied and > has no personal desires. > > It could be a result, in part, of Her bramacharya in > past lives. > > As an American woman, I am very aware of the > overwhelming barrage of sensual information in the > media and society. Our culture, unlike India, is > designed to make women feel that happiness is a result > of acquired sensory pleasures; if we have plenty of > money, good sex, fancy shoes and a nice car, we are > considered a success in this country. And we are > taught that the way to aquire this happiness is by > making ourselves marketable (read: sexy). > > We girls can learn a great deal from India's spiritual > values, and in striving to apply these ideals in our > lives we can find balance and strength. Women are > blessed with a natural compassion, grace and loving > nature that is entirely in harmony with the journey > towards the divine. I try to think of bramacharya as a > way of bringing those qualities into action, and as a > way to deprogram the mental conditioning I've recieved > since childhood. > > If Barbie were the height of an average woman but with > the same proportions, she wouldn't be able to > menstruate or bear children. Why does every american > girl grow up with this little model of what a woman > looks like? No wonder so many girls develop eating > disorders or careless attitudes toward sex. > > Every major female lead character in a Disney cartoon > movie has no mother. Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Mulan, > Pocahontas (sp?), shall I go on? Think about it, it's > pretty scary. > > No wonder the Divine Mother chose this time in history > to incarnate and draw us all into Her arms. Jai Ma! > > Hope this sheds a little light, and may we all be led > from darkness to light and from untruth to Truth. > > Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu! > > Brianna > > > > > > SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting./ps/sb/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Namah Shivaya, Thank you for your posting. It was well thought out, and I could feel your concern for women. I just have one thing to add, and I mean no disrespect to anyone's culture, but I feel that because we westerners love Amma so much we are somewhat sentimental about the reality of life in India, especially for women. Let us not forget that women are not held in such high regard in current Indian culture. Examples of this are the practice of aborting unborn female babies because they are female; the burdon of the dowry for the family of women; the prevelance of spousal abuse that the authorities turn their backs on; and the terrible plight of widows in many parts of India. Of course our Amma in Her divine wisdom is addressing all of these wrongs, as well as pointing out the failings of western culture. We can not go wrong by following Her example and praying for peace and justice for all people in all countries. Jai Ma! Omana > > We girls can learn a great deal from India's spiritual > values, and in striving to apply these ideals in our > lives we can find balance and strength. > > Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu! > > Brianna > > > > > > SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > http://webhosting./ps/sb/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Kerala, the state from which Amma comes, is quite unique regarding position of women. Up until the 1940's (somebody correct that date if it is wrong, Kerala was legally matrilineal. All property was owned by women and could only be passed down to daughters. In those communities which were matrilineal, everyone lived in their mother's house. When a girl came of age, she was given her own room with a door to the outside so that she could welcome her chosen visitors. No one worried about who your father was. The adult men in your life would be your uncles. Men stayed in their mother's home and supported and cared for their sister's children. This social structure actually still persists around the world in isolated places. I first encountered it in Kerala. About 30% of the communities in Kerala are still matrilineal. Kerala had serious problems related to caste. It is said that Kerala had the most severe caste restrictions of all India and has made the greatest strides to correct the injustice resulting from them. The UN says that Kerala has 100% literacy. That is something we cannot say about the US! Some people think the literacy rate is closely related to the higher status of women in Kerala thanks to its long history of matriliny. Putting aside the position or status of women, what is the purpose of brahmacharya for anyone. Traditionally, brahmacharya was a growth stage. It is the time of one's education. After education, one moved to the householder stage. Otherwise,after schooling is completed, brahmacharya denoted commitment to a full time spiritual life, a monastic life. Here in the US we might consider why so few people go to householder status in the absence of a commitment to full time spiritual life. The answers might very well relate to matriliny, patriarchy, security, nurturing, etc. Women in the US have freedom to work twice as hard as women elseewhere, both in the home and outside. The result of that work may not be greater security either for themselves or their children. Maybe that is not so attractive. Is that high status? According to whom? Aikya Ammachi, "Omana" <eveningstar8@h...> wrote: > Namah Shivaya, > Thank you for your posting. It was well thought out, and I could feel > your concern for women. > > I just have one thing to add, and I mean no disrespect to anyone's > culture, but I feel that because we westerners love Amma so much we > are somewhat sentimental about the reality of life in India, > especially for women. Let us not forget that women are not held in > such high regard in current Indian culture. Examples of this are the > practice of aborting unborn female babies because they are female; > the burdon of the dowry for the family of women; the prevelance of > spousal abuse that the authorities turn their backs on; and the > terrible plight of widows in many parts of India. > > Of course our Amma in Her divine wisdom is addressing all of these > wrongs, as well as pointing out the failings of western culture. We > can not go wrong by following Her example and praying for peace and > justice for all people in all countries. > > Jai Ma! > Omana > > > > We girls can learn a great deal from India's spiritual > > values, and in striving to apply these ideals in our > > lives we can find balance and strength. > > > > > Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu! > > > > Brianna > > > > > > > > > > > > SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! > > http://webhosting./ps/sb/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 3, 2004 Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 Ammachi, "Aikya Param" <aikya> wrote: > Kerala, the state from which Amma comes, is quite unique regarding > position of women. Up until the 1940's (somebody correct that date > if it is wrong, Kerala was legally matrilineal. All property was > owned by women and could only be passed down to daughters. I don't think it whole of Kerala was/is matrilineal, only the Nair community (which includes me, BTW!). This meant that the maternal uncle took the responsibility of raising the child and marrying him/her off. The child took the last name from his maternal uncle, not his father. The property belonged to the mother and passed down to the females in the family. This is a dying tradition now. Most families have adjusted their hierarchy practices that conform to world practices. This is because with more mixing of society at a global level, it causes considerable problems in trying to explain it to the rest of the country, let alone the world (documents, government offices, passport etc).... I should know; I am probably among the last such recipients of the old tradition. Manoj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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