VML-4/11/00

[Guest guest]

You have an Atman, I have another, each one of us has a separate

Atman and a separate fine body, and through that we work on the gross

external body. Questions were then asked about this Atman, about its

nature. What is this Atman, this soul of man, which is neither the

body nor the mind ? Great discussions followed. Speculations were

made, various shades of philosophic inquiry came into existence; and

I shall try to place before you some of the conclusions that have

been reached about this Atman. The different philosophies seem to

agree that this Atman, whatever it be, has neither form nor shape,

and that which has neither form nor shape must be omnipresent.

_

Give not over thy soul to sorrow;

and afflict not thyself in thy own counsel.

Gladness of heart is the life of man

and the joyfulness of man is length of days.

 

~ Ecclesiasticus

[Guest guest]

At 05:52 AM 4/11/2000 -0400, you wrote:

 

(exploring what you are saying here, as this mind sees it)... not to either

agree or disagree, but only exploring the statements made so far:

 

>You have an Atman, I have another, each one of us has a separate

>Atman

 

This view is not in accordance with Advaita Vedanta, which states

unequivocally that Atman is Brahman. I'm guessing you will be posting

about that in more Emails?

 

>and a separate fine body,

 

Even that is in question, although there is no real answer to it. Any

words serve only to block the Reality, to obscure It more.

 

>and through that we work on the gross

>external body.

 

I wonder - Is there really a body, or just an idea of the body? When I

close my eyes (or even fall asleep), the body disappears. All that is

perceived are various sensations coming from somewhere, like touch, a

feeling of a heartbeat, a rushing sound (breathing) and others. From

memory, we surmise that there is a body because of these sensations. If

memory is removed from the equation, all there is is sensation, an

unidentified thumping sound, a rushing noise, a feeling of something rising

and falling, a few other things. I wonder if there is a body, or if we

have only been taught there is one?

 

>Questions were then asked about this Atman, about its

>nature. What is this Atman, this soul of man, which is neither the

>body nor the mind ? Great discussions followed. Speculations were

>made, various shades of philosophic inquiry came into existence; and

>I shall try to place before you some of the conclusions that have

>been reached about this Atman.

 

Any conclusions made by the mind cannot be the truth. Any thought or idea

in the mind can at best be a vague and hazy reflection of truth, a finger

pointing in the general direction of truth.

 

>The different philosophies seem to

>agree that this Atman, whatever it be, has neither form nor shape,

>and that which has neither form nor shape must be omnipresent.

 

I don't know, air has no form or shape, but it ends at the outer reaches of

the Earth's atmosphere.

 

Just exploring these questions and ideas... wondering if perhaps words

obscure more than they clarify. Can words and thoughts, however great, be

anything more than the limited things they are? Not that they serve no

purpose, but is there not a point where one must go beyond...

 

Hari OM,

 

Tim