Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 Dear Marcus: Thank you for sharing the two pieces on Nityananda it was nice to read them as I know he was considered to be a very silent presence even when he was in the body and did not leave behind many words. Last summer I observed a friend's college age son transform his life through the grace of Nityananda.....the spoken or written word pales in comparison to the compassion of a 'being of light'. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 > Linda Callanan wrote: > > Dear Marcus: > > Thank you for sharing the two pieces on Nityananda it was nice to read > them as I know he was considered to be a very silent presence even > when he was in the body and did not leave behind many words. Last > summer I observed a friend's college age son transform his life > through the grace of Nityananda.....the spoken or written word pales > in comparison to the compassion of a 'being of light'. > > Linda Marcus, This is as good a place as any for me to chime in, and to acknowledge Nityananda. In the past I've mentioned the power of his written word and photos of him. I have both Nitya Sutras and Nityandanda: The Divine Presence, and they are valuable works; thank you for opening people to them. When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the knowledge that there is only one Guru. Jerry ____________ Umbada Gita <http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/umbada/umgita.htm> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 Hi Jerry, >When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one >of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda >and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the >knowledge that there is only one Guru. Jerry My experience was very similar it was years later before I recognized the Guru who visited me as a child. She was fond of dangerous car situations (my father was an active drinker with a tendency for driving NY's West Side Highway in the wrong direction <s>). By the time I had conscious knowledge of who this loving being was I had begun to understand more of the principals of the oneness of Guru and Self. However, to this day even though I understand the principals, the beauty of the universal tapestry is something that still touches deep in my heart as a magical process of love. Linda ____________ Umbada Gita <http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/umbada/umgita.htm> ------ New hobbies? New curiosities? New enthusiasms? http://www.ONElist.com Sign up for a new e-mail list today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On Fri, 23 Apr 1999, Linda Callanan wrote: > >When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one > >of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda > >and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the > >knowledge that there is only one Guru. the idea of 'one guru' is one that right now recently caused me much confusion. my sadhana friends would say "deb, there's one guru, all gurus are the same as your root guru, he's all of them".did not quite get what they meant at all. You are fortunate by my reckoning on this matter. I spent quite a few months wrestling with "Who is my root teacher, my zen master friend, my friend who is a Lama, the person who's picture moved me to tears and an odd bliss sensation? the person who set me on my feet and made me stand up?" the answer was so simple it was almost silly, they *all* are. To some degree due to karmic conditioning, i tend to see Khenpo Rinpoche right now the clearest. But in reality....its not so seperate. there's not so much seperation of guru/self/other. --janpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 For those who are totally unfamiliar with Shri Nityananda, this may be an article that you will hopefully enjoy. For centuries Wsterner have seen India as a land of magic and mystery. Western writers describe both fiery-eyed mystics performing apparent feats of magic as well as a rigorous system of scholarship in philosophy pursued wit energy and precision for thousands of years. India is a land of stunning and overwhelming contrasts. But of all its extraordinary and mysterious features, one of the most amazing is that every fifty years or so she is gifted with the presence of a great realized being--a mahatma. Such a person is born totaly pure, innately free of any attachment whatsover to the world and to worldly things. Because of the mahatma's total immersion in the Divine and Universal, the flow of energy through his or her being is remarkable. Nityananda was such a being--amahatma of incredible, awesome yogic power and capacity. The presence that was Nityananda had very little to do with his body and everything to do with the great spiritual force of which his body was merely a beacon. His body was simply a sign pointing to the deep and endless well of spiritual power. And such a well does not belong to any personality. Americans do not think easily in these terms. Although we have seen many gurus in the past several decades, it is impossible for us to really fathom who or what Nityananda was because his state of being at no point corresponds to ordinary individual experience as Americans know it. Among the gurus who have been here, only a few were great beings, many were great showmen, and a few were charlatans. As a result, Americans question deeply both the nature of the guru and the need for one. We are unprepared for someone like Nityananda. Culturally, we have no precedents or criteria by which to classify a person whose very nature is detachment. Nityananda had no purpose in the world and no message to bring. Why he appeared is unknown to anyone except perhaps himself. he was born to the austerity in which he lived his life. Simplicity and detachment were his essential nature--not something trained for or contemplated. his greatness was completely natural to him. Yet detachment this complete is totally unfamiliar to us, even shocking. Most of us think that in order to pursue a spiritual life, we need something different from what we already know; a different idea, philosophy, or life-style. Nityananda made no such demands. He did not promote a particular lifestyle, philosophy, or perspective. He was not a teacher of any method and he did nothing to establish an organization around him. He never gave the required programs, intensives, workshops, or seminars assumed by modern-day mentalities, and he never asked for money. People came to him and he blessed them, he uplifted them, he gave them whatever they were able to take from him. It was just that simple and that free. He brought tremendous peace and betterment to the simple people; the poor and the destitute were especially drawn to his simplicity and absence of judgement. As time went on, he touched the lives of contless people of all classes, showering miracles of healing and upliftment upon countless many. He sought no one's approval, recognition, or promotion for this. he lived in the jungle where people had to seek him out. Nityananda was a very simple man who dedicated his life to the presence of the Divine and who lived each day as a beacon of that presence. Nityananda was an avadhut. Many people considered him to be an incarnation of Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati (Ganesha is the divine power known as the remover of obstacles). Wearing only a loincloth, he lived as a total renunciate, a sannyasi. For years he only took food from someone else's hand, and the food was very simple: some fruit, a few vegetables, a little coffee. he spent his days in meditation. Even in his later life, while receiving thousands of people for darshan, his state remained the same. >From his presence, miracles of healing, of understanding, of the bestowal of peace and joy flowed. The credit for these things he gave to God and to the faith and devotion of the seeker. He would say, ''Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of Godd.'' Therefore, everything was possible. Miracles occurred naturally around him because of his continuous state of perfect Self-realization. he was always in union with the inner Self, and the need for this union was at the heart of his teaching. Like ancient sages from many traditions, he said that anyone who merges the individual into the universal is enlightened. ---Swami Chetanananda Nityananda said that life must be lived as follows: "One must live in the world like men. Once established in infinite consciousnes, one becomes silent and, knowing all, goes about as if knowing nothing. Although he may be doing many things in several places, he outwardly appears as if he is simply a witness of life--like a spectator at the cinema. he is unaffected by events, whether pleasant or unpleasant. The ability to forget evertyhing and remain detached is the highest state possible." He is still with us today. Nityananda always said, "When the disciple calls with love, I am there." There was once a poor devotee that lived some distance from Nityananda and did not even posses a picture to wave the light and incense in front of (arati). One morning, he awoke from a dream in which Nityananda told him to look for a hole in the wall above his bed, and to wave the arati light before it. The devotee found the hole in the wall above his bed, and for some time waved the light and incense in front of it. Some time passed, and he eventually found the means to travel to the ashram. When his turn came to be before the Master, Nityananda only remarked that he was enjoying the pleasant fragrant of his incense. Just before his Mahasamadhi in 1961, when pleaded by his devotees to stay, he replied "More work can be done in the subtle." And so he is here in our hearts. His darshan is available to all who love and seek him in the subtle. Mahagurubhakti M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 Magnificent Jerry! His Grace is evident in your life. How very special to have been in Divine Presence! Much Light M Jerry M. Katz <umbada < > Friday, April 23, 1999 2:42 PM Re: Nityananda "Jerry M. Katz" <umbada > Linda Callanan wrote: > > Dear Marcus: > > Thank you for sharing the two pieces on Nityananda it was nice to read > them as I know he was considered to be a very silent presence even > when he was in the body and did not leave behind many words. Last > summer I observed a friend's college age son transform his life > through the grace of Nityananda.....the spoken or written word pales > in comparison to the compassion of a 'being of light'. > > Linda Marcus, This is as good a place as any for me to chime in, and to acknowledge Nityananda. In the past I've mentioned the power of his written word and photos of him. I have both Nitya Sutras and Nityandanda: The Divine Presence, and they are valuable works; thank you for opening people to them. When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the knowledge that there is only one Guru. Jerry ____________ Umbada Gita <http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/umbada/umgita.htm> ------ New hobbies? New curiosities? New enthusiasms? http://www.ONElist.com Sign up for a new e-mail list today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 Yes, all true gurus (sadguru) are the lens of the one Shaktipat. One god, many forms. The Shakti is the same in all the houses (bodies) of the gurus. When the Guru is referred to as the true guru, we are acknowledging the fact that his/her body is the vessel of the Shaktipat of the one God Shiva (or whatever one may call him). This is the acknowledgement that the guru is one with God. When we realize through devotion (gurubhakti) that we are one with the guru (gurubhava), we come to the true understanding the there is only God. The guru is in God We are in the Guru God is the true Guru in all. All difference begins to dissappear as we re-cognize what was always there. Nothing exists that is not Shiva. Mahapremabhakti M Debora A. Orf <dorf01 < > Friday, April 23, 1999 3:15 PM Re: Nityananda "Debora A. Orf" <dorf01 On Fri, 23 Apr 1999, Linda Callanan wrote: > >When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one > >of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda > >and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the > >knowledge that there is only one Guru. the idea of 'one guru' is one that right now recently caused me much confusion. my sadhana friends would say "deb, there's one guru, all gurus are the same as your root guru, he's all of them".did not quite get what they meant at all. You are fortunate by my reckoning on this matter. I spent quite a few months wrestling with "Who is my root teacher, my zen master friend, my friend who is a Lama, the person who's picture moved me to tears and an odd bliss sensation? the person who set me on my feet and made me stand up?" the answer was so simple it was almost silly, they *all* are. To some degree due to karmic conditioning, i tend to see Khenpo Rinpoche right now the clearest. But in reality....its not so seperate. there's not so much seperation of guru/self/other. --janpa ------ Are you hogging all the fun? http://www.ONElist.com Friends tell friends about ONElist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 1999 Report Share Posted April 25, 1999 Linda Callanan wrote: > > Hi Jerry, > > >When I was 'visited' as a boy by two Gurus, I immediately recognized one > >of them to be Nityananda when in later years I learned about Nityananda > >and saw his picture. This knowledge was at once swept over by the > >knowledge that there is only one Guru. > > Jerry > My experience was very similar it was years later before I recognized the > Guru who visited me as a child. She was fond of dangerous car situations (my > father was an active drinker with a tendency for driving NY's West Side > Highway in the wrong direction <s>). By the time I had conscious knowledge > of who this loving being was I had begun to understand more of the > principals of the oneness of Guru and Self. However, to this day even > though I understand the principals, the beauty of the universal tapestry is > something that still touches deep in my heart as a magical process of love. > > Linda > ____________ > Umbada Gita > <http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/umbada/umgita.htm> Linda, Thank you for writing. When something like that happens as a child, it is an initiation that works on person, it just does its thing. It's like a mantra. It IS a mantra. A mantra, as I know it, is not only a sound; it is a form, a vision, a wordless knowledge, it is that which is not separate from initiation. That's why a mantra is given at initiation. Often it is only ritual. If the ritual is valued, it can become initiation. If the childhood experiences you and I had were not attended to or valued, we might not be here writing each other now. If we feared or disregarded them or became taken by other things in life, we might be speaking on a whole other email list. I hear that you are in touch with the grace that makes all things the same. Love, Jerry 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.