umandi Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 Judging by the posts I've read on this board, many possess theoretical knowledge. Once the essence of this theoretical knowledge is absorbed from any source, whether from the Gita or Upanishads or from the gospel of any enlightened master (Ramakrishna or Aurobindo or whoever), how much ever comfort and enjoyment is derived from the reading, as we well know, it really doesn't take you any closer to the goal. I suspect that many of those finding this message board are in the same boat- seekers without a guru. The purpose of my beginning this thread is to ask active participants and lurkers-- (a) Where are you in your search thus far? (b) What experiences have you had and to what method do you ascribe for it? To get things started, I'll throw in my 2 cents worth- (a) I possess theoretical knowledge only -- and I've gradually come to accept that jnana and bhakti both valid. I stopped my attempts a while back to take the path of jnana because it really didn't lead anywhere beyond book knowledge (with one exception detailed in b) Bhakti comes easier and feels good. (b) I did experience a prolonged vision of sorts wherein a creature (she looked human) guided me through some fantastic realms. No words were exchanged. I was half awake and quite aware of the happenings both within and without, which is why I categorize it under vision and not dream. Anyway it was marvelous but never to be repeated even though I tried simulating the same conditions for months afterwards. It happened as I recall after a simple stint of meditation when I was utterly calm. It has been so long that it would be easy to dismiss as imagined, except for the unbelievable vividness of these places I was shown. So pray share, where are you in your journey and what experiences have you had? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitanyachandra Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 right now I AM TRYING to enter divine love consciousness via lila-smaran (remembrance of the love pasttimes of RK GODS). [This message has been edited by Caitanyachandra (edited 03-16-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauracandra Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 Umandi, Don't mind Chaitanyacandra aka supercow aka Bhakta Shakta aka Ajay Shah. If you stick around you'll learn what I mean Gauracandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valaya Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 Originally posted by Caitanyachandra: i've used up the holy name. and now i'm entering divine love consciousness via raganuga-devotion. later loser. For one who goes by the name `supercow`, you sure know how to make an `ass` of yourself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 Superbull would be more appropis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valaya Posted October 7, 2001 Report Share Posted October 7, 2001 Originally posted by umandi: Judging by the posts I've read on this board, many possess theoretical knowledge. Once the essence of this theoretical knowledge is absorbed from any source, whether from the Gita or Upanishads or from the gospel of any enlightened master (Ramakrishna or Aurobindo or whoever), how much ever comfort and enjoyment is derived from the reading, as we well know, it really doesn't take you any closer to the goal. I suspect that many of those finding this message board are in the same boat- seekers without a guru. The purpose of my beginning this thread is to ask active participants and lurkers-- (a) Where are you in your search thus far? (b) What experiences have you had and to what method do you ascribe for it? To get things started, I'll throw in my 2 cents worth- (a) I possess theoretical knowledge only -- and I've gradually come to accept that jnana and bhakti both valid. I stopped my attempts a while back to take the path of jnana because it really didn't lead anywhere beyond book knowledge (with one exception detailed in b) Bhakti comes easier and feels good. (b) I did experience a prolonged vision of sorts wherein a creature (she looked human) guided me through some fantastic realms. No words were exchanged. I was half awake and quite aware of the happenings both within and without, which is why I categorize it under vision and not dream. Anyway it was marvelous but never to be repeated even though I tried simulating the same conditions for months afterwards. It happened as I recall after a simple stint of meditation when I was utterly calm. It has been so long that it would be easy to dismiss as imagined, except for the unbelievable vividness of these places I was shown. So pray share, where are you in your journey and what experiences have you had? If you're expecting honest self-evaluation here, good luck! Now, if you changed the name of this thread to `Role-call`...RR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitanyachandra Posted October 7, 2001 Report Share Posted October 7, 2001 Well Umandi there's your roll-call. A western education continues to lose its western value.. [This message has been edited by Caitanyachandra (edited 10-15-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitanyachandra Posted October 15, 2001 Report Share Posted October 15, 2001 test [This message has been edited by Caitanyachandra (edited 03-16-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
premananda Posted October 15, 2001 Report Share Posted October 15, 2001 This is a joke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvu Posted October 16, 2001 Report Share Posted October 16, 2001 The purpose of my beginning this thread is to ask active participants and lurkers-- (a) Where are you in your search thus far? (b) What experiences have you had and to what method do you ascribe for it? (a) Where are you in your search thus far? Can anyone know this? There is no standard, that can be used to measure "spiritual progress". There is no laid out method, where a specific period of sadhana of a specific intensity performed by a seeker of specific maturity will fetch a specific result. Someone may be inches away from it and not know it, just like someone else may be miles away and yet think he is so close. It is all speculation and nothing else. The truth is, there is no way of knowing how far you have progressed. (b) What experiences have you had and to what method do you ascribe for it? If I sound cynical, that is because I am. How does x, y and z's experiences help you? Are you looking for stories, that will pump new enthusiasm, into you? The truth is, you have no way of knowing if anyone is telling the truth when they claim to have had spiritual experiences. There are many people out there who are out to kid others or are kidding themselves, thinking they have found something terrific. Even if there is any McCoy among them, the exercise of separating the wheat from the chaff is near impossible. This whole Guru business runs on sentiments and not on logic. The Guru is genuine if he conforms to our image of the ideal Guru, else he is a fake. This is the kind of "superior" logic involved here, although, of course, people will not admit it. Briefly, do not concern yourself with the experiences of others, for it is a useless exercise. You cannot hope to copy others and try to find what they claim to have found. There has been only one Buddha for 2600 years. No one could copy him, although you can be sure, many tried. Similarly there has been only one Jesus and one Ramana and so on. And remember, none of these people copied someone else. I think, you get the message. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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