Meditation good for Kali Yuga? - Buddhism & TM

[dhaa]

Didn't Prabhupada say people can't meditate well in this age?

 

In this age millions are meditating in Buddhism & TM. How do the numbers of hare krishnas compare?

 

And if I'm not mistaken...meditation and yoga are recommended in the Bhagavat for THIS age.

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Yes, but what is the most *appropriate* method of meditation and yoga for this age?

 

Sriman Mahaprabhu recommends chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra as the best meditation for this age. To the extent that purely chanting the Holy Names "yokes" us to the Divine, it is also the best yoga (though Hatha Yoga certainly has physical benefits).

[dhaa]

The claim that its best and most appropriate is subjective. In contrast meditation has extensive scientific research behind it for its benefits.

 

Any research on hare krishna chanting? What are its benefits?

 

And how do the numbers of hare krishna compare to meditators? The best should be the natural choice of spiritual aspirants.

[theist]

 

The claim that its best and most appropriate is subjective. In contrast meditation has extensive scientific research behind it for its benefits.

 

Any research on hare krishna chanting? What are its benefits?

 

And how do the numbers of hare krishna compare to meditators? The best should be the natural choice of spiritual aspirants.

 

"The best" according to who's criteria? One test they use is to measure brainwaves to see which group is the most calm. Well the most calm would be the accomplished impersonalist who has merged into the state of suspended animation known as sayuga or Brahman realization whereas the devotee may register anxiety in his mind over the sad state of affairs befallen the conditioned souls. We say the devotees love and concern for others is by far superior to the non-being state of the impersonalist meditators.

 

No one denoies that just sitting peacefully for some time and calming the nervous system is not a good healthy practice it is but it is not the prescribed method for perection through meditation.

 

In the hathayogapradapika we find the instruction for doing real hatha yoga.

 

1. Go to a sacred secluded space and practice in solitude. The local YMCA is not good enough.

2. Hatha -yoga asanas are to be practiced three times a day, everyday.

3. Food consumption regulations.

 

Hatha-yoga is ardously practiced for one main reason and that is to condition the body and all it's organs for the eventual movement of the kundalini shakti which is the goal of the next step in the process pranayam or breathing excercises to learn how to move the subtle prana and awaken the serpent fire.

 

Then once awakened one must ride the kundalini up the spinal channels (nadis) specifically the susuhmna, and exit out the brahmarandra chakra at the top of the head in samadhi. Otherwise known as "shooting the tube" by surfer yogis.

 

Most impractical in this age. Don't be fooled by all this watered down new age stuff. The most people are getting out these modern yoga classes are some well proportioned butts ( ) and a little temporary stress relief.

 

What is needed is the mercy of the Lord.

[Murali_Mohan_das]

 

What is needed is the mercy of the Lord.

 

The rest was good, but this says it all.

 

The Lord is fully present in His Holy Names.

 

Science can never hope to capture the Lord.

[bhaktajan]

 

Originally Posted by dhaa . . . meditating in Buddhism & TM

 

Hey Guys, we need a sincere token mayavadi on this forum to test our own prowess . . . give it a try it's fun, you know . . .

 

Dear dhaa,

One must perform one's own alloted dharma.

 

Buddha was avatara of Vishnu etc etc. He came to stop animal sacrifies by society that had lost all its Braminical leadership.

 

TM's Maharishi Meshi Yogi only published chapters 1-6 of the Bhagavad-gita [at last look in 1977]. Has he ever finished his own commentaries on the Gita?

 

Silent mantra meditation was done by almost all of us when we were young. We still find ourselves doing silent meditation when conditions dictate ie: Riding on public transportation or during Gayatri.

 

Hare Krishnas with senority are always revelling in constant contemplation of Krishna's "Buddha nature" exhibited in all encounters. Hare Krishnas are always savvy to look for symbols representing Krishna's merciful works of compassion in the midst of our daily sojourn in the phantasmagoria known as maya, the temporary and constantly changing manifest material cosmos.

 

Meditation prepares us for death. Death that unexpectedly steals away our chance to visit the Temple.

 

So we re-sound the names of Krishna as the means of creating a temple from out of our body, a temple with a loud chiming bell.

 

I do have high regard with Zen's practice of "being in the presence", "mindfullness in action". Let me state this: A temple Pujari is the zenith of Zen "mindfullness in action". yada yada yada . . .

 

bhaktajan

[shvu]

 

What is needed is the mercy of the Lord.

 

And here is the problem.

 

The fact that you are seeking mercy from the Lord means the Lord does not have mercy on you right now. Why does the good kind Lord not have mercy on you? What crime did you commit? Or what was the crime of the deer being hunted down by a lion in Africa as we speak?

 

So by default the Lord does not have mercy on people. Apparently they have to to some religious practice and work on it dilligently till death if it is a Western religion or if it is a eastern religion like Hinduism or Buddhism which supports the concept of reincarnation, they will have to work on it for several lifetimes over and over again. And then one morning (no telling when) the Lord will suddenly turn merciful. If not, keep doing more of the same awaiting that morning.

 

What is good about this? The whole concept is fundamentally negative and taxes ones credulity to a severe extent. Not to mention that it reduces the Lord to the level of a whimsical human who has more power than he deserves.

 

Cheers

[bhaktajan]

Listen to all the mercy you get for free:

 

Your heart beats in the middle of the night.

Your fermented gasses are allowed to escape without special arrangements.

the sun rises every day for you, your neighbors and the birds and bees.

Water taste good.

The moon light keeps you from walking into a ditch.

Electricity flows.

Engineering calulations and baking recipes work each time.

The newborn baby has only 4 limbs and isn't retarded.

Hitler is dead.

Many warriors are happy that the gates of the heavenly planets or retirement from war is ahead.

Your loved ones tolerate your pathologies.

It's a wonderful life.

 

My advise on preforming your 'Duty/Dharma': "Be where you are obliged to be at the times are are obliged to be there"

 

Bhaktajan

"Before enlightenment a Hare Krishna chops veggies, after enlightment a Hare Krishna chops vegetables"

[Murali_Mohan_das]

When we have been granted some realization, we see everything as the mercy of the Lord (even being eaten by that tiger). Until then, we are stuck in polluted, relativistic thinking.

 

By chanting the names of the Lord sincerely, we can clean the dust-covered mirror of the mind.

 

As John Lennon said, "There's no problem, only solutions."

 

 

And here is the problem.

 

The fact that you are seeking mercy from the Lord means the Lord does not have mercy on you right now. Why does the good kind Lord not have mercy on you? What crime did you commit? Or what was the crime of the deer being hunted down by a lion in Africa as we speak?

 

So by default the Lord does not have mercy on people. Apparently they have to to some religious practice and work on it dilligently till death if it is a Western religion or if it is a eastern religion like Hinduism or Buddhism which supports the concept of reincarnation, they will have to work on it for several lifetimes over and over again. And then one morning (no telling when) the Lord will suddenly turn merciful. If not, keep doing more of the same awaiting that morning.

 

What is good about this? The whole concept is fundamentally negative and taxes ones credulity to a severe extent. Not to mention that it reduces the Lord to the level of a whimsical human who has more power than he deserves.

 

Cheers

[theist]

SHVU, seems we are in disagreement yet again. What's new, right?

[Sarva gattah]

 

The most *appropriate* method of meditation and yoga for this age?

 

Sriman Mahaprabhu recommends chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra as the best meditation for this age. To the extent that purely chanting the Holy Names "yokes" us to the Divine, it is also the best yoga.

 

I left out the last part of Murali_Mohan_das's quote because if AGAIN we chant on the streets of Towns and cities for a MINIMUM SIX HOURS a DAY, LIKE IT ORIGINAL WAS, then the dancing and chanting of Hare Krishna is good for body, lungs, mind and soul. And most importantly, it benefits many embodied souls in all species LISTENING.

 

In the early 70s we used to move around chanting Hare Krishna in the many Suburbs. We would leave at 10am and be back by 5pm. We would chant for an hour, read Krishna Book on the street for ten minutes, if there was a crowd, explain for a few minutes what the chanting means, then chant for another hour – like that all day going from suburb to suburb, from Mooney Ponds to Williamstown to Footscray to Lillydale to Frankston to Mentone to Hawthorne and Collingwood then Chapel st to Lygon st etc and back to the city of Melbourne- Like this all throughout Melbourne. And this was also happening in Sydney

 

This is the yoga meant for this age.

[Nrsinghadev]

 

Didn't Prabhupada say people can't meditate well in this age?

 

In this age millions are meditating in Buddhism & TM. How do the numbers of hare krishnas compare?

 

And if I'm not mistaken...meditation and yoga are recommended in the Bhagavat for THIS age.

 

Millions are meditating....well, millions and billions are trying to become millionaires, but how many of them actually become millionaires?

Numbers tell us nothing. If out of a million, one may achieve actually something in meditation, I think it's fair to say that people can't meditate well in this age.

 

 

[Murali_Mohan_das]

 

 

"You can gain benefit from everywhere. It exists within one's mood of devotion; benefit's nature is like that."

 

 

- Srila Govinda Maharaj

 

[theist]

 

I do have high regard with Zen's practice of "being in the presence", "mindfullness in action". Let me state this: A temple Pujari is the zenith of Zen "mindfullness in action".

 

I agree with bhaktajan here. Not knowing much about Buddhist practice from what I here this "being in the present" seems to a theme that all Buddhist forms embrace and emphasize and one which vaisnavas would do well to emulate.

 

As stated a pujari who is doing his ritual correctly while making an offering to the Lord is a wonderful example of this principle. But it is not just for those on the altar. One should approach their own personal sadhana in this same way...consciously, mindfully. When chanting japa mindfulness would mean chanting the name properly and hearing what is chanted with full attention. Same with all duties like mopping the floor and washing pots..we must be aware of what we are doing, why we are doing what we are doing, and Who we are doing those actions for. Vishnujana once said that when taking prasadam one should be aware of how the prasadam is Krsna. This is where sadhana-bhakti really becomes potent.

 

If our minds are wandering and dreaming as we preform our service and sadhana then this is what I called sleep-walking sadhana. This is something like being a zombie. Sleep actions are the opposite of what we want to obtain which is awakened action or action in full Krsna consciousness.