Guest guest Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 Nanda wrote: There are some aspects of spirituality (notably Vedanta and its close cousins non-duality and Advaita ) that frankly stump me...But ... any talk of non-duality, "beyond all qualities" , etc just terrify me and leave me vaguely uneasy and a wish to be elsewhere.For a start ... Verse 59 of the Guru Gita says "He strives after that which is beyond all qualities" What does that mean ? What does it mean to be beyond all qualities ? Can one know the meaning without actually experiencing the state of being beyond all qualities ? Can someone give an example from a book or the life of a saint or even their own lives where this phrase applies ? Dear Nanda, When I first discovered the concept of non-duality, it was actually freeing for me. I had been raised with too much good/evil, black/white guilt and programming and was looking for a way out. We live in a world of opposites, and that is how we learn to define our preferences, yet, deep in our souls, there is a longing to go beyond these opposites, to go beyond all the defining qualities that limit us and our experience. I believe this wanting is the Divine calling to us. My own experiences of going beyond all qualities occurred as a result of doing transcendental meditation, which I practiced for many years. It is hard to describe, but I would come to a place where everything simply ceased to be what it was ~ the world disappeared, "I" disappeared, and there was a great darkness that was filled with light. This was a state of No-thing-ness and yet it left me feeling so filled. I think this is why this experience is often described in poetry and by art, because metaphor is the only way to talk about it. Here are a few snippets from a song I wrote about this: Listen in the Cave of your Heart, the Silence echoes your name. Do you answer the Call to come Home again. It's calling, calling you, like your own true love. it's calling, calling you, like a voice from heaven above. It's calling you like a child who needed something so much, and you just might find it if you go deep enough. And how deep will you go to come back Home. And how sweet when you know you're not alone, that somewhere in the Silence you will find your Heart's own Song. And everybody be dancing if the sing along, sing along. I was quite surprised to find the phrase, "cave of the heart," many years later in the Bhagavad Gita. And why do you think Maa and Swamiji are so happy and singing all the time. I remember, from the 2000 tour vidoe, Maa smilingly asking an audience, "Do you want samadhi or sing and dance?" From somewhere in the back of the room, a voice called, "Why not both, Maa?" In Wastern spiritual traditions, this knowledge of non-duality, or going beyond traits or opposites, is most often found hidden in mystical traditions or in metaphorical forms like the Kabbalah and the Tarot. This is because it is considered dangerous for ordinary people to have this knowledge that, ultimately, all is ONE. Someone might run amuck! In the East, they have gurus to help gently guide the devotee to this state of awareness slowly so that when it is reached, the person is ready to, instead of running amuck, as Maa said to, "sing and dance." Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 , nierika@a... wrote: > "And how deep will you go to come back Home. And how sweet when you know you're not alone, that somewhere in the Silence you will find your Heart's own Song. And everybody be dancing if they sing along, sing along." Dear Beloved sweet, sweet, blessed Linda! i am crying [[yes..again! smiling thru her tears]! i am completely moved by your very heart-felt post. Your song is so beautiful and you are a poet! Let us all realize 'there is nothing to fear!' We are all one..one soul! ONE! INFINITE! LOVE! Chant! Sing! Dance! Worship! Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Ramakrishna Deva! muktimaa P.S. Thank-you, again, Lindaji, for sharing! i feel so inspired! > Nanda wrote: > > There are some aspects of spirituality (notably Vedanta and its > close cousins non-duality and Advaita ) that frankly stump me... > > But ... any talk of non-duality, "beyond all qualities" , etc just > terrify me and leave me vaguely uneasy and a wish to be elsewhere. > > For a start ... Verse 59 of the Guru Gita says "He strives after > that which is beyond all qualities" > > What does that mean ? What does it mean to be beyond all qualities ? > Can one know the meaning without actually experiencing the state of > being beyond all qualities ? Can someone give an example from a book > or the life of a saint or even their own lives where this phrase > applies ? > > > > Dear Nanda, > > When I first discovered the concept of non-duality, it was actually freeing > for me. I had been raised with too much good/evil, black/white guilt and > programming and was looking for a way out. We live in a world of opposites, and > that is how we learn to define our preferences, yet, deep in our souls, there > is a longing to go beyond these opposites, to go beyond all the defining > qualities that limit us and our experience. I believe this wanting is the Divine > calling to us. > > My own experiences of going beyond all qualities occurred as a result of > doing transcendental meditation, which I practiced for many years. It is hard to > describe, but I would come to a place where everything simply ceased to be > what it was ~ the world disappeared, "I" disappeared, and there was a great > darkness that was filled with light. This was a state of No-thing- ness and yet > it left me feeling so filled. I think this is why this experience is often > described in poetry and by art, because metaphor is the only way to talk about > it. > > Here are a few snippets from a song I wrote about this: > > Listen in the Cave of your Heart, > the Silence echoes your name. > Do you answer the Call to come Home again. > > It's calling, calling you, > like your own true love. > it's calling, calling you, > like a voice from heaven above. > It's calling you like a child > who needed something so much, > and you just might find it > if you go deep enough. > > And how deep will you go > to come back Home. > And how sweet when you know > you're not alone, > that somewhere in the Silence > you will find your Heart's own Song. > And everybody be dancing > if the sing along, sing along. > > I was quite surprised to find the phrase, "cave of the heart," many years > later in the Bhagavad Gita. And why do you think Maa and Swamiji are so happy > and singing all the time. I remember, from the 2000 tour vidoe, Maa smilingly > asking an audience, "Do you want samadhi or sing and dance?" From somewhere in > the back of the room, a voice called, "Why not both, Maa?" > > In Wastern spiritual traditions, this knowledge of non-duality, or going > beyond traits or opposites, is most often found hidden in mystical traditions or > in metaphorical forms like the Kabbalah and the Tarot. This is because it is > considered dangerous for ordinary people to have this knowledge that, > ultimately, all is ONE. Someone might run amuck! In the East, they have gurus to > help gently guide the devotee to this state of awareness slowly so that when it > is reached, the person is ready to, instead of running amuck, as Maa said to, > "sing and dance." > > Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2005 Report Share Posted February 5, 2005 Aum Namah Shivaya. Avinash Ramidi.nierika (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote: Nanda wrote: There are some aspects of spirituality (notably Vedanta and its close cousins non-duality and Advaita ) that frankly stump me...But ... any talk of non-duality, "beyond all qualities" , etc just terrify me and leave me vaguely uneasy and a wish to be elsewhere.For a start ... Verse 59 of the Guru Gita says "He strives after that which is beyond all qualities" What does that mean ? What does it mean to be beyond all qualities ? Can one know the meaning without actually experiencing the state of being beyond all qualities ? Can someone give an example from a book or the life of a saint or even their own lives where this phrase applies ? Dear Nanda, When I first discovered the concept of non-duality, it was actually freeing for me. I had been raised with too much good/evil, black/white guilt and programming and was looking for a way out. We live in a world of opposites, and that is how we learn to define our preferences, yet, deep in our souls, there is a longing to go beyond these opposites, to go beyond all the defining qualities that limit us and our experience. I believe this wanting is the Divine calling to us. My own experiences of going beyond all qualities occurred as a result of doing transcendental meditation, which I practiced for many years. It is hard to describe, but I would come to a place where everything simply ceased to be what it was ~ the world disappeared, "I" disappeared, and there was a great darkness that was filled with light. This was a state of No-thing-ness and yet it left me feeling so filled. I think this is why this experience is often described in poetry and by art, because metaphor is the only way to talk about it. Here are a few snippets from a song I wrote about this: Listen in the Cave of your Heart, the Silence echoes your name. Do you answer the Call to come Home again. It's calling, calling you, like your own true love. it's calling, calling you, like a voice from heaven above. It's calling you like a child who needed something so much, and you just might find it if you go deep enough. And how deep will you go to come back Home. And how sweet when you know you're not alone, that somewhere in the Silence you will find your Heart's own Song. And everybody be dancing if the sing along, sing along. I was quite surprised to find the phrase, "cave of the heart," many years later in the Bhagavad Gita. And why do you think Maa and Swamiji are so happy and singing all the time. I remember, from the 2000 tour vidoe, Maa smilingly asking an audience, "Do you want samadhi or sing and dance?" From somewhere in the back of the room, a voice called, "Why not both, Maa?" In Wastern spiritual traditions, this knowledge of non-duality, or going beyond traits or opposites, is most often found hidden in mystical traditions or in metaphorical forms like the Kabbalah and the Tarot. This is because it is considered dangerous for ordinary people to have this knowledge that, ultimately, all is ONE. Someone might run amuck! In the East, they have gurus to help gently guide the devotee to this state of awareness slowly so that when it is reached, the person is ready to, instead of running amuck, as Maa said to, "sing and dance." Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2005 Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Dear Linda, I keep on going back to this post of yours. It explains the joy of non-duality so clearly. It makes me want to enter the Cave of the Heart and to listen to the Silence. And I love your song. I bow to you, sweet sister. Ardis When I first discovered the concept of non-duality, it was actually freeing for me. I had been raised with too much good/evil, black/white guilt and programming and was looking for a way out. We live in a world of opposites, and that is how we learn to define our preferences, yet, deep in our souls, there is a longing to go beyond these opposites, to go beyond all the defining qualities that limit us and our experience. I believe this wanting is the Divine calling to us. My own experiences of going beyond all qualities occurred as a result of doing transcendental meditation, which I practiced for many years. It is hard to describe, but I would come to a place where everything simply ceased to be what it was ~ the world disappeared, "I" disappeared, and there was a great darkness that was filled with light. This was a state of No-thing-ness and yet it left me feeling so filled. I think this is why this experience is often described in poetry and by art, because metaphor is the only way to talk about it. Here are a few snippets from a song I wrote about this: Listen in the Cave of your Heart, the Silence echoes your name. Do you answer the Call to come Home again. It's calling, calling you, like your own true love. it's calling, calling you, like a voice from heaven above. It's calling you like a child who needed something so much, and you just might find it if you go deep enough. And how deep will you go to come back Home. And how sweet when you know you're not alone, that somewhere in the Silence you will find your Heart's own Song. And everybody be dancing if the sing along, sing along. I was quite surprised to find the phrase, "cave of the heart," many years later in the Bhagavad Gita. And why do you think Maa and Swamiji are so happy and singing all the time. I remember, from the 2000 tour vidoe, Maa smilingly asking an audience, "Do you want samadhi or sing and dance?" From somewhere in the back of the room, a voice called, "Why not both, Maa?" In Wastern spiritual traditions, this knowledge of non-duality, or going beyond traits or opposites, is most often found hidden in mystical traditions or in metaphorical forms like the Kabbalah and the Tarot. This is because it is considered dangerous for ordinary people to have this knowledge that, ultimately, all is ONE. Someone might run amuck! In the East, they have gurus to help gently guide the devotee to this state of awareness slowly so that when it is reached, the person is ready to, instead of running amuck, as Maa said to, "sing and dance." Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda / <?subject=Un> Terms of Service <> . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.