to Vish - MEDITATION - WHAT IT IS- TO RYAN and All famil

February 5, 2007

Dear Holy Family,

The drama of the Mahabharata tells the story of the close of the age

of the kshatriya or warrior cast, or marshal arts era, in India. One of

the values of the great epic is that it depicts the variety and

greatness of human character, much as Shakespear has done for the

English speaking world.

Krishna incarnated during that time to terminate that age of marshal

arts which had begun to reach even into the levels of magic and psychic

warfare. The Mahabharata war was orchestrated by Sri Krishna to destroy,

virtually to a man, the great warriors of that time, in order to bring

out the true spiritual role of India as the Guru to the world.

The marshal arts culture and tradition then moved north into the far

east, taken, it is claimed, by Bodhidharma himself, the great missionary

of Buddhism-Chan-Zen.

Ekalavya is one of the most beloved and important minor characters of

the Mahabharata. Eka-the One; Lavya-cut or mowed down: one might think

of him as the One-the Atmaa, taking the role, in this instance, of the

character who is to be cut down-lavya, as part of the great teaching

story which the Mahabharata is.

Ekalavya was a youth not of noble linage, who, out of a great desire

to learn the warrior arts, approached Drona as he was instructing the

young boys (Arjuna and his brothers) in the fighting skills.

Drona asked the unknown youth to name his linage, and Ekalavya, who was

devoted to Truth, didn't hesitate to name his lower cast father-even

though he must have known that it would instantly disqualify him as a

student.

Drona rejected him, predictably, to the derisive laughter of the other

boys; and Ekalavya heart-broken, but not dismayed, returned to the

forest to set up a shrine to Drona, and through his sheer faith and

devotion to the guru who had rejected him, to learn intuitively the very

skills which Drona was teaching to the others.

The story of Ekalavya has therefore become a model for all who don't

have direct contact with the teacher they revere and would wish to learn

from. The Truth is that God is (in every case) the Guru. The human form

of the Guru is the physical instrument through which the power and

inspiration of the Lord communicates to the disciple

This separation from the guru can be a real issue in India. Because of

the wandering sadhu tradition and other reasons a devotee may see the

Guru only once. After that, it is faith in the Guru which carries one

forward. Ekalavya had that faith to an unusual degree, and his immense

faith, combined with a commitment to unrelenting practice, let him to

excel even Arjuna's skill as an archer.

It came to pass years later that Drona and his students found themselves

in an unfamiliar corner of the forest, where they came upon a small

clearing with a simple hut, a shrine, and not much of anything else.

There they observed a young man continually shooting arrows with a skill

that even Arjuna couldn't duplicate.

They were astonished at his skill, and so Drona approached him and

enquired as to who his teacher was. Ekalavya had immediately recognized

Drona, though Drona had forgotten him, and Ekalavya at once fell at his

feet and declared that Drona himself was his sole teacher.

Then he showed Drona and the others the shrine he had built to his guru,

and how his unbending faith alone had led him to the great mastery which

he had attained.

Drona understood the situation at once. But Drona was more than a mere

marshal arts teacher, he was also, a great rishi in his own right, one

who saw the course Indian history was to take. He knew that this was the

moment when the great battle of Kurukshetra was to remove the warrior

class, turning India from an armed camp into a spiritual force in the

world.

And he also knew that Krishna had chosen Arjuna to be the central figure

in that transition. Ekalavya could quite conceivably defeat Arjuna in

combat, and because the opposing sides of the battle were even then

being decided-and because the various kingdoms involved were being drawn

into the battle, not based on which side was "in the right", but more on

political and family connections and loyalties, etc, it was entirely

possible that Ekalavya would find himself on the side opposing Arjuna

and Krishna.

Drona couldn't take a chance, so he, as the guru, demanded his guru's

fee. Ekalavya joyfully agreed, and asked what it should be. Drona

replied that he would be satisified only with the thumb of Ekalavya's

right hand.

Without question or hesitation, Ekalavya drew his knife and severed the

thumb, laying it at Drona's feet.

Unquestioning faith had led him to his great mastery of archery, and

unquestioning faith let him to follow the guru's will in this too.

Ekalavya disappears from the story after this, we hear nothing more

about him. But I would venture to say that that final, great sacrifice

and renunciation of the only thing he cared about in the relative

world-the mastery of his art-at the behest of his beloved guru could

have very well led him to the state of a rishi himself.

I wouldn't be suprised to learn that Ekalavya-"the first one to be cut

down"-became one of the first rishis of the new India, that his small

hermitage became a center of learning and teaching for the more purely

spiritual arts which Sri Krishna, with the instrumenality of Arjuna, had

incarnated to establish.

Respectfully,

Tanmaya

, Nirmalananda Saraswati

<nirmalananda1008 wrote:

>

> Guru Drohna took the thumb of the right hand of the student, as

payment because the student was originally rejected by Drona. Drona had

said that Arjuna would be the best in the world, so he refused to teach

the would be student. So, by taking the student's right thumb as

payment, the young student could no longer function as an archer. It was

because Drona did'nt want to teach him, but the boy created a murthi,

and worshipped Drona anyway, and therefore he got the Darshan of the

Guru, even when the Guru had forbidden it. In this wasy, he became a

great archer.

>

> It's an interesting story. Just taking a guess at the meaning -

Darshan of the Guru is possible even from a great distance, because of

devotion. But, there is a warning here to be sure one has the permission

of the Guru. Lucky for us, Maa and Swami are'nt as rutheless as Guru

Drona was. (Drona was a Guru for warriors). Also, Maa and Swami want us

to learn from them and develop pure love and devotion.

> Jai Maa, Jai Swamiji

>

> Shankari Kali shankari_kali wrote:

Dear Henny:

>

> There is a story in the Mahabharata. It goes like this. There was a

young man who wanted to learn archery from the great master, but he was

too far away, and too poor to receive training. He wanted to study from

the great master who was teaching Arjuna, but he could not.

>

> He created an image. It was the image of the master, and everyday he

practiced. He became very adept, and finally one day the master did

discover him, because he was far more skilled than even Arjuna.

>

> Of course the last part of the story is not so inspiring at least for

me. The guru decided that for payment he would take this young man's

right hand. Weird story, but anyway, the moral here is, take the guru's

teaching to heart. Distance would then not be an issue.

>

> Peace,

> Shankari Kali

>

> Mahadevan venkitaraman

> , "henny_v_i" henny_v_i@ wrote:

> >

> > Namaste Vish,

> >

> > I hope you can clear up some confusion that has arisen in my mind.

> As

> > I live at the other side of the planet from the Devi Mandir,

> visiting

> > for me is quite an undertaking, not to mention the careful

> > introduction and preparation process needed in the family circle. I

> am

> > working on it, but need to plan and save and tread carefully.

> > So I have been happy to plod along quietly, strengthened by the

> idea

> > that physical distance does not matter and that Maa and Swamiji are

> in

> > my heart, and so are all pilgrimage places. But now I hear that

> > meditation cannot be taught by post or book, and I am wondering

> what I

> > have been doing all this time. I understand that those who live in

> > close proximity to the Guru receive many blessings, and although I

> > realize there are special blessings assocciated with being actually

> > physically near the Guru, I have always derived comfort from the

> > thought that there are many ways of being 'near' the Guru. Have I

> > misunderstood the importance of physical presence?

> >

> > with love,

> > Henny

> >

>

> Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels

> in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit.

>

> The fish are biting.

> Get more visitors on your site using Search Marketing.

>

February 6, 2007

That really was beautifully told, Tanmaya, and beautifully

interpreted, too!

Jai Maa!

Chris

, "ty_maa" <dsjames wrote:

>

> Dear Holy Family,

>

> The drama of the Mahabharata tells the story of the close of the age

> of the kshatriya or warrior cast, or marshal arts era, in India. One of

> the values of the great epic is that it depicts the variety and

> greatness of human character, much as Shakespear has done for the

> English speaking world.

>

> Krishna incarnated during that time to terminate that age of marshal

> arts which had begun to reach even into the levels of magic and psychic

> warfare. The Mahabharata war was orchestrated by Sri Krishna to destroy,

> virtually to a man, the great warriors of that time, in order to bring

> out the true spiritual role of India as the Guru to the world.

>

> The marshal arts culture and tradition then moved north into the far

> east, taken, it is claimed, by Bodhidharma himself, the great missionary

> of Buddhism-Chan-Zen.

>

> Ekalavya is one of the most beloved and important minor characters of

> the Mahabharata. Eka-the One; Lavya-cut or mowed down: one might think

> of him as the One-the Atmaa, taking the role, in this instance, of the

> character who is to be cut down-lavya, as part of the great teaching

> story which the Mahabharata is.

>

> Ekalavya was a youth not of noble linage, who, out of a great desire

> to learn the warrior arts, approached Drona as he was instructing the

> young boys (Arjuna and his brothers) in the fighting skills.

>

> Drona asked the unknown youth to name his linage, and Ekalavya, who was

> devoted to Truth, didn't hesitate to name his lower cast father-even

> though he must have known that it would instantly disqualify him as a

> student.

>

> Drona rejected him, predictably, to the derisive laughter of the other

> boys; and Ekalavya heart-broken, but not dismayed, returned to the

> forest to set up a shrine to Drona, and through his sheer faith and

> devotion to the guru who had rejected him, to learn intuitively the very

> skills which Drona was teaching to the others.

>

> The story of Ekalavya has therefore become a model for all who don't

> have direct contact with the teacher they revere and would wish to learn

> from. The Truth is that God is (in every case) the Guru. The human form

> of the Guru is the physical instrument through which the power and

> inspiration of the Lord communicates to the disciple

>

> This separation from the guru can be a real issue in India. Because of

> the wandering sadhu tradition and other reasons a devotee may see the

> Guru only once. After that, it is faith in the Guru which carries one

> forward. Ekalavya had that faith to an unusual degree, and his immense

> faith, combined with a commitment to unrelenting practice, let him to

> excel even Arjuna's skill as an archer.

>

> It came to pass years later that Drona and his students found themselves

> in an unfamiliar corner of the forest, where they came upon a small

> clearing with a simple hut, a shrine, and not much of anything else.

> There they observed a young man continually shooting arrows with a skill

> that even Arjuna couldn't duplicate.

>

> They were astonished at his skill, and so Drona approached him and

> enquired as to who his teacher was. Ekalavya had immediately recognized

> Drona, though Drona had forgotten him, and Ekalavya at once fell at his

> feet and declared that Drona himself was his sole teacher.

>

> Then he showed Drona and the others the shrine he had built to his guru,

> and how his unbending faith alone had led him to the great mastery which

> he had attained.

>

> Drona understood the situation at once. But Drona was more than a mere

> marshal arts teacher, he was also, a great rishi in his own right, one

> who saw the course Indian history was to take. He knew that this was the

> moment when the great battle of Kurukshetra was to remove the warrior

> class, turning India from an armed camp into a spiritual force in the

> world.

>

> And he also knew that Krishna had chosen Arjuna to be the central figure

> in that transition. Ekalavya could quite conceivably defeat Arjuna in

> combat, and because the opposing sides of the battle were even then

> being decided-and because the various kingdoms involved were being drawn

> into the battle, not based on which side was "in the right", but more on

> political and family connections and loyalties, etc, it was entirely

> possible that Ekalavya would find himself on the side opposing Arjuna

> and Krishna.

>

> Drona couldn't take a chance, so he, as the guru, demanded his guru's

> fee. Ekalavya joyfully agreed, and asked what it should be. Drona

> replied that he would be satisified only with the thumb of Ekalavya's

> right hand.

>

> Without question or hesitation, Ekalavya drew his knife and severed the

> thumb, laying it at Drona's feet.

>

> Unquestioning faith had led him to his great mastery of archery, and

> unquestioning faith let him to follow the guru's will in this too.

>

> Ekalavya disappears from the story after this, we hear nothing more

> about him. But I would venture to say that that final, great sacrifice

> and renunciation of the only thing he cared about in the relative

> world-the mastery of his art-at the behest of his beloved guru could

> have very well led him to the state of a rishi himself.

>

> I wouldn't be suprised to learn that Ekalavya-"the first one to be cut

> down"-became one of the first rishis of the new India, that his small

> hermitage became a center of learning and teaching for the more purely

> spiritual arts which Sri Krishna, with the instrumenality of Arjuna, had

> incarnated to establish.

>

> Respectfully,

>

> Tanmaya

>

> , Nirmalananda Saraswati

> <nirmalananda1008@> wrote:

> >

> > Guru Drohna took the thumb of the right hand of the student, as

> payment because the student was originally rejected by Drona. Drona had

> said that Arjuna would be the best in the world, so he refused to teach

> the would be student. So, by taking the student's right thumb as

> payment, the young student could no longer function as an archer. It was

> because Drona did'nt want to teach him, but the boy created a murthi,

> and worshipped Drona anyway, and therefore he got the Darshan of the

> Guru, even when the Guru had forbidden it. In this wasy, he became a

> great archer.

> >

> > It's an interesting story. Just taking a guess at the meaning -

> Darshan of the Guru is possible even from a great distance, because of

> devotion. But, there is a warning here to be sure one has the permission

> of the Guru. Lucky for us, Maa and Swami are'nt as rutheless as Guru

> Drona was. (Drona was a Guru for warriors). Also, Maa and Swami want us

> to learn from them and develop pure love and devotion.

> > Jai Maa, Jai Swamiji

> >

> > Shankari Kali shankari_kali@ wrote:

> Dear Henny:

> >

> > There is a story in the Mahabharata. It goes like this. There was a

> young man who wanted to learn archery from the great master, but he was

> too far away, and too poor to receive training. He wanted to study from

> the great master who was teaching Arjuna, but he could not.

> >

> > He created an image. It was the image of the master, and everyday he

> practiced. He became very adept, and finally one day the master did

> discover him, because he was far more skilled than even Arjuna.

> >

> > Of course the last part of the story is not so inspiring at least for

> me. The guru decided that for payment he would take this young man's

> right hand. Weird story, but anyway, the moral here is, take the guru's

> teaching to heart. Distance would then not be an issue.

> >

> > Peace,

> > Shankari Kali

> >

> > Mahadevan venkitaraman

> > , "henny_v_i" henny_v_i@ wrote:

> > >

> > > Namaste Vish,

> > >

> > > I hope you can clear up some confusion that has arisen in my mind.

> > As

> > > I live at the other side of the planet from the Devi Mandir,

> > visiting

> > > for me is quite an undertaking, not to mention the careful

> > > introduction and preparation process needed in the family circle. I

> > am

> > > working on it, but need to plan and save and tread carefully.

> > > So I have been happy to plod along quietly, strengthened by the

> > idea

> > > that physical distance does not matter and that Maa and Swamiji are

> > in

> > > my heart, and so are all pilgrimage places. But now I hear that

> > > meditation cannot be taught by post or book, and I am wondering

> > what I

> > > have been doing all this time. I understand that those who live in

> > > close proximity to the Guru receive many blessings, and although I

> > > realize there are special blessings assocciated with being actually

> > > physically near the Guru, I have always derived comfort from the

> > > thought that there are many ways of being 'near' the Guru. Have I

> > > misunderstood the importance of physical presence?

> > >

> > > with love,

> > > Henny

> > >

> >

> > Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels

> > in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit.

> >

> > The fish are biting.

> > Get more visitors on your site using Search Marketing.

> >

>

February 6, 2007

Namaste Tanmaya,

I bow to you. This is wonderful and sheds light on the whole story. Thank you.

Nirmalananda

ty_maa <dsjames (AT) pghmail (DOT) com> wrote: