Guest guest Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Dear Latha and All, So how do you catch a thought before it manifests? Can you give me an example? I know saddhana helps, and I know mantra japa keeps the mind on God. Using pradapakshabavana, (substituting a more positive thought for the disturbing one--Patanjali's Yoga Sutras) seems like it's too late. So how does one do this? Love and light and peace to All, Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 yogalynne, i can offer an answer but it does not represent swamiji's teachings as far as i know but it must be related. catching a thought before it manifests is not quite the same as catching a ball, for example. in other words, when it is in your hand [your mind] is not so obvious. let me explain. you can repress thought [i know, not a popular concept] forcefully and with determination over a long period of time. many things happen when you do this. one of them is, you start to see the levels and realms of mind. it is not only, thought-on vs. thought-off. it is more like, worlds upon worlds are coincidental, and as you scrape away the outer layer their simultaneity becomes apparent. you can experience a state where a thought appears to be "heading your way" ... but this is ambiguous, because in a way, it has already appeared. you have experienced sensations and other thoughts that are related to, or clustering around, a more central concept. like anything [swamiji has certainly demonstrated this] the proof is in the doing. so if one wishes to catch a thought before it manifests, the endeavor to suspend thought must begin. it is quite a challenge to do this, it being one thing to relax a bit, and have less troublesome thoughts, it is another sort of yoga to attempt to restrain the mind fluctuations directly. it is a doorway to many spiritual experiences, once again, speaking from experience and no one else's teachings. i don't even necessarily advocate this at the time. peace, love, happiness, steve , "yogalynne" <omgirl@p...> wrote: > Dear Latha and All, > So how do you catch a thought before it manifests? Can you give me > an example? I know saddhana helps, and I know mantra japa keeps the > mind on God. Using pradapakshabavana, (substituting a more positive > thought for the disturbing one--Patanjali's Yoga Sutras) seems like > it's too late. So how does one do this? > > Love and light and peace to All, > Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Lynne, It is a bit of an oxymoron. Once a thought has risen in response to some inner or outer stimulus, it is really already too late to stop it except by brute force (of course one can discriminate it into powerlessness). I think the idea Swamiji was communicating, in an oblique manner, was, if your mind is constantly occupied with thoughts of the divine there is no room for anything else. Chris , "yogalynne" <omgirl@p...> wrote: > Dear Latha and All, > So how do you catch a thought before it manifests? Can you give me > an example? I know saddhana helps, and I know mantra japa keeps the > mind on God. Using pradapakshabavana, (substituting a more positive > thought for the disturbing one--Patanjali's Yoga Sutras) seems like > it's too late. So how does one do this? > > Love and light and peace to All, > Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Namaste Lynne, Your question raised a lot of thoughts in my head :-) My opinion is similar to what Chris has said. Speaking from personal experience I have watched my thoughts and emotions both when I do and when I dont do sadhana. All I can say is that sadhana gives a kind of immunity. The problem or the thought is still "out there" or "in there" but strangely I dont feel too bad about it. The analogy I would use is that thoughts are like pebbles on a foot path, and sadhana is like a good pair of shoes. How does one avoid thoughts ... I personally dont know and I would be guessing at this point .Let us wait to see what Swamiji has to say on this subject. JAI MAA and thank you for the good discussion. Latha , "Chris Kirner" <chriskirner1956> wrote: > Lynne, > > It is a bit of an oxymoron. Once a thought has risen in response to > some inner or outer stimulus, it is really already too late to stop > it except by brute force (of course one can discriminate it into > powerlessness). > > I think the idea Swamiji was communicating, in an oblique manner, > was, if your mind is constantly occupied with thoughts of the divine > there is no room for anything else. > > Chris > > > , "yogalynne" <omgirl@p...> wrote: > > Dear Latha and All, > > So how do you catch a thought before it manifests? Can you give me > > an example? I know saddhana helps, and I know mantra japa keeps > the > > mind on God. Using pradapakshabavana, (substituting a more > positive > > thought for the disturbing one--Patanjali's Yoga Sutras) seems like > > it's too late. So how does one do this? > > > > Love and light and peace to All, > > Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Namaste Lynne and all, Been having some technical difficulties getting on line lately. Hopefully the problem has worked itself out. I was thinking about your question and reread some notes from Swamiji's classes on chapter 8 of the Chandi and the demise of the Seed of Desire. Raktabija had won the boon that anytime one drop of blood, one seed of desire, would touch the ground, a new seed of desire would be born in that very place with the same intensity and the same capaacity to do battle with the Goddess. If we notice in our own behavior if we want something then we need another something to help fulfill that desire and another desire, etc. Kali will help because she catches the seeds before they hit the ground and manifest. Another thing we can do is define our goal and then discriminate if the desire will help us to fulfill our ultimate goal or will it take us further from our goal? Is it worth our time to pursue the desire or a waste of time? And of course sadhana will help to catch those desires before they manifest. , "yogalynne" <omgirl@p...> wrote: > Dear Latha and All, > So how do you catch a thought before it manifests? Can you give me > an example? I know saddhana helps, and I know mantra japa keeps the > mind on God. Using pradapakshabavana, (substituting a more positive > thought for the disturbing one--Patanjali's Yoga Sutras) seems like > it's too late. So how does one do this? > > Love and light and peace to All, > Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2004 Report Share Posted June 17, 2004 Dear Lynne, Though we spoke a little on this, I thought writing it down might be more clear. In the Chandi it is presented that Raktabija's blood must make it to the ground for it to spring up into more of the same trouble. So Kali catches it before that happens. As far as our thoughts that may be in line with the seeds of desire... true, once a desire has come into mind it is a done deal, but it is only when it makes it to the ground - when we begin to entertain it, that it is able to create more and more of the same. So, Kali will help us - to recognize those thoughts and, as you mentioned, shift our mental patterns so as to keep them from taking root. If we entertain desires they begin to fuel imagination and then draw us into more and more thoughts tangled in that web. All of our sadhana helps to keep us from being overcome by Raktabija. We need help. Never hesitate to ask for it. Jayadeva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 Last night, I finished reading the chapter on Raktabija'a Blood in the Markandeya Purana and this morning as I was laying on my bed I experienced how one desire leads to another and they just keep growing and multiplying. It was amazing and now I wonder if the reading of that chapter lead to me experiencing this. , "omjayadeva" <omjayadeva> wrote: > Dear Lynne, > Though we spoke a little on this, I thought writing it down might be > more clear. In the Chandi it is presented that Raktabija's blood > must make it to the ground for it to spring up into more of the same > trouble. So Kali catches it before that happens. As far as our > thoughts that may be in line with the seeds of desire... true, once > a desire has come into mind it is a done deal, but it is only when > it makes it to the ground - when we begin to entertain it, that it > is able to create more and more of the same. So, Kali will help us - > to recognize those thoughts and, as you mentioned, shift our mental > patterns so as to keep them from taking root. If we entertain > desires they begin to fuel imagination and then draw us into more > and more thoughts tangled in that web. All of our sadhana helps to > keep us from being overcome by Raktabija. We need help. Never > hesitate to ask for it. > Jayadeva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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