Weekly Definitions - Moderator announcement

[Guest guest]

This week's definition of brahman has now been uploaded to the Files

section and is also available at

http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/definitions/brahman.htm.

 

Earlier this week, I invited senior members to volunteer to help with

the production of these weekly definitions so that beginners might

benefit from their knowledge. I said "So I would like those members

who are clearly able to undertake such a definition to put forward

their names (directly to me please and not the group). Some which are

required for the near future and do not yet have anyone assigned are:

Ananda, chit, sat, antaHkaraNa, guNa, nirguNa-saguNa, prakRRiti,

saMsAra and turIya. Out of 1500+ members, I will be extremely

disappointed not to have 9 volunteers!"

 

You may be interested to know that I could not be more disappointed.

Not a single member has offered to help. Frankly, I find this

astounding as well as disheartening. Can it really be the case that

members are only interested in learning for 'themselves', in an

attitude of selfishness? Is this Advaita? I can accept that most

members do consider that they still have much to learn and might think

themselves unworthy of explaining things to others. But, if you have

been learning for many years, you have considerable knowledge compared

to those who are just beginning. If you have learned yourself from

membership of the group, the least you can do is to return some of

that learning to others. For you to define a Sanskrit word or Advaita

concept would most likely take much less time than is typically spent

on many of the other messages posted to this group.

 

Meanwhile, I will post next week's definition of jIva myself. There

are a number of other defintions lined up, all produced by the

moderators. If no further assistance is forthcoming, this initiative

is very likely to come to an end thereafter.

 

Dennis

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "advaitins" <advaitins wrote:

>

 

>

> You may be interested to know that I could not be more disappointed.

> Not a single member has offered to help. Frankly, I find this

> astounding as well as disheartening. Can it really be the case that

> members are only interested in learning for 'themselves', in an

> attitude of selfishness? Is this Advaita? I can accept that most

> members do consider that they still have much to learn and might

think

> themselves unworthy of explaining things to others. But, if you have

> been learning for many years, you have considerable knowledge

compared

> to those who are just beginning. If you have learned yourself from

> membership of the group, the least you can do is to return some of

> that learning to others. For you to define a Sanskrit word or

Advaita

> concept would most likely take much less time than is typically

spent

> on many of the other messages posted to this group.

>

>

> Dennis

>

 

Namaste, Dennis-ji

 

I am one with you Dennis-ji in your analysis above. I am reminded of

a Presidential address I gave at the annual conference of the Indian

Mathematical Society in December 1974 at Bombay. I was echoing a

similar sentiment. As every one knows, scientists and technology

researchers are so engrossed in their own research that very often

they don't 'find time' to talk to the next generation in an

expository way about the frontier of research. As a mathematician I

know many mathematicians who would rather teach graduate classes

highly technical subjects than teach some routine at a lower

level. They would give very learned addresses and talks about the

researches going on at the frontier but they would not usually like

to spend time to prepare a well-founded expository address with an

audience of beginners in mind. And, in that presidential address, I

was addressing the mathematicians who were assembled there and I

urged them to make it a point also to write expository books and

articles so that new entrants to research may understand the complex

problems of mathematics straight from the experts. And I made a

strong plea, which created some stir among the researchers, that an

excellent expository work should also merit great prizes and rewards

as much as original research does.

 

Well, this is what exactly is happening to you as chief of this list

at this point of time. People are more interested in pursuing their

scholarly advaitic pursuits rather than explain basic advaita to the

initiates as you would want them to!

 

I hope things will improve, after this appeal of yours!

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk