Guest guest Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Namaste, I am new to this group and interested in deepening my understanding of Advaita. I have been seeking for God/Reality for over fifteen years, until I finally stumbled upon Kashmir Shaivism. In my attempt to understand Kashmir Shaivism it dawned on me that I could never really understand it until I had experienced what KS was talking about. This was important as it motivated me to actually practice sadhana. My sadhana consisted of mostly Kriya Yoga, reading the Shiva Sutras and contemplating the 36 Tattvas. Then one day I had a very interesting thought. I thought " what if the 36 Tattvas were states of experience, in that they constituted the whole of a humans experience " . I then thought " if that was the case I could know God by dissolving the Tattvas one by one " . So I sat down in meditation and did just that. What resulted was that I was within the void seeing the reflection of consciousness, when I took this to be Anavamala and let go of the reflection of consciousness I knew for the first time my true self. I do not know how long I stayed in this state it had to be around a half hour to a hour. Then a strange, clear and simple thought arose within my mind, to get the mail. This seemed acceptable to me so I stood up and went for a walk to get the mail. The whole time I remained within myself, even though my body and senses moved through space and time I was not bound by them. Then another simple and clear thought arose within my mind, I could see it arise, abide and slowly dissolve back into consciousness. Then all at once the world dissolved into Satcitandandagahana. Words cannot express the wonder and beauty of this. This was the end of my sadhana and my study for many years. It is only now that I am interested in deepening my realization and my understanding of the philosophy of Advaita. Philosophically, I can see that from the point of view of experience, we can say that the world in an illusion. However, I believe the world and our flesh exist in such a way that we can not know the truth of its existence through any of our senses. Thus the mirror of consciousness and the world are one and the same, but the world that each and everyone of us experiences within the mirror of consciousness is an illusion. What is Advaitas understanding of this? What is Advaitas understanding of complete enlightenment? Would the enlightened one continuously abide within the state of Satcitananda or would the enlightened one continuously abide within the self no matter what state may or may not arise? Does Advaita distinguish between self realization and god realization? Thank you for your time and patience. Nickolas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 advaitin , " krsnakriyaban " <mushinmonk wrote: > > Namaste, > > I am new to this group and interested in deepening my understanding of Advaita. > While learning there is no doubt nor a question neither identification.That is what advaitha means.To see action in inaction and inaction in routine is advaitha.In threefold knowledge seeing the seer and seen is advaitha.Non duality is not a created state but what is, where as duality is a created state where in seer and seen interact constantly to produce cause and its effect.Duality is a virtual state consists of doer and doing,knower and knowledge but partial and indirect in its inception which is responsible for phenomenal illusion. thank you you are free to discuss sekhar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Dear Nicholas, ********************************************* Then another simple and clear thought arose within my mind, I could see it arise, abide and slowly dissolve back into consciousness. Then all at once the world dissolved into Satcitandandagahana. Words cannot express the wonder and beauty of this. This was the end of my sadhana and my study for many years..... ******************************************* If this be your statement then frankly speaking you are blessed. If the sadhana finds its culmination after 15 years of struggle, this *culmination* is Advaita (if you are true to your statement). For your kind information, Advaita is not a means but an end where only Grand Silence remains. Bhagavan Ramana says *Be in that state and do nothing*. Since, you are into Kashmir Saivism, i suggest you to read *Vijnana Bhairava* & *Spanda Karika* which could be of help to you. Because, there would be conflict of ideas if you follow the 2 paths ie., Kevala Advaita of Sankara which is Vivartavada and Sivadvaita of Kashmir Saivism which is parinamavada. Though ultimately both are different sides of a same coin. Vivartavadi says " sarvam brahma mayam " & " Jagat mithya " whereas parinamavadi says " sarvam sakti/siva mayam Jagat " . The vivartavadis look world as illusion whereas the parinamavadis look world as non-different from Sakti / Siva. So, Sakta/Siva Advaita never rejects the world as illusion but accepts the world as Sakti-swarupa. If you accept the world as real and proceed in sadhana, naturally the gates to the liberation are automatically opened without much friction as you become more and more sensitive to the world. The more you shout about the illusoriness of the world, the more you get entangled into the meshes of maya. Just my 2 cents.. sriram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Namaste Sriram, Thank you for your reply. Some people do not grasp that when they deceive others, they only deceive themselves. I will read the Vijnana Bhairava & the Spanda Karika as you suggest. Thank you for your time. Nickolas advaitin , " babi " <sriram_sapthasathi wrote: > > Dear Nicholas, > > > ********************************************* > Then another simple and clear thought arose within my mind, I could see it arise, abide and slowly dissolve back into consciousness. Then all at once the world dissolved into Satcitandandagahana. Words cannot express the wonder and beauty of this. > > This was the end of my sadhana and my study for many years..... > > ******************************************* > > If this be your statement then frankly speaking you are blessed. > > If the sadhana finds its culmination after 15 years of struggle, this *culmination* is Advaita (if you are true to your statement). > > For your kind information, Advaita is not a means but an end where only Grand Silence remains. Bhagavan Ramana says *Be in that state and do nothing*. > > Since, you are into Kashmir Saivism, i suggest you to read *Vijnana Bhairava* & *Spanda Karika* which could be of help to you. Because, there would be conflict of ideas if you follow the 2 paths ie., Kevala Advaita of Sankara which is Vivartavada and Sivadvaita of Kashmir Saivism which is parinamavada. Though ultimately both are different sides of a same coin. > > Vivartavadi says " sarvam brahma mayam " & " Jagat mithya " whereas parinamavadi says " sarvam sakti/siva mayam Jagat " . The vivartavadis look world as illusion whereas the parinamavadis look world as non-different from Sakti / Siva. So, Sakta/Siva Advaita never rejects the world as illusion but accepts the world as Sakti-swarupa. > > If you accept the world as real and proceed in sadhana, naturally the gates to the liberation are automatically opened without much friction as you become more and more sensitive to the world. > > The more you shout about the illusoriness of the world, the more you get entangled into the meshes of maya. > > Just my 2 cents.. > > sriram > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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