Yoga Work 2
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Self
Q: Now, you say that meditation and realisation are of the Self. I wondered where God comes into play here?
Easy - Realize your Self and see that too - And till then, think that the original
meaning of "God" as used by Alf and other
yogis, is "Self". At the back of many words, like "Elf-Realization Fellowship" you can
still sense this angling. It is also possible to note things like that in some of Alf's
early writings, one of which was written by a ghost writer in his name, they
say.
Alf did not dispense with the early (pristine) teachings totally as the decades
went by - but he did take to dualism-tinged, religiousness-fostering God-constructs and other, similar concepts among "middle-aged American women in California" when he spoke to them. He
adapted, it seems to me (and others too).
In a fare, you adapt to your family and its members, and then to many groups inside the large society. The alterative is to be ostracised, which seems to be worse to many persons. Ideally, you adapt in cosy ways for mutual benefits. If the family and others around you are not functioning normally or in healthy ways, you have to dismiss them if you don't want to band with them. Some give up.
Between the poles of adapting others and things to yourself, or adapting yourself to others, there is a span of mutual attractions and rivalries.
Q: Ramana Maharshi uses the term "Self" in referring to God, life, love what have you - but this seems to give God second place when I thought that the goal of all paths was to commune with God and realise God . . .
I recall he also turned many questions to the search for "I" - the Self. The idea
"You, God" is of duality. The work of contemplation is to pass beyond that by the
method(s). This is a main strategy. [Ramana Maharsi
page]
Q: I asked for your beliefs and wasn't expecting gold eggs! I meant things like
reincarnation, the soul etc. etc.
Gold Eggs is a metaphor for selfsameness-building (building a neat everyday self and
so on), and that could be good for folks far and wide. George Orwell quotations
[LINK] have given us an example of how to design or build up
a Tao track like that.
Beliefs: I believe that "Believe, but make sure (Russian proverb)", carries a
lot of sense. Basically though, I consider "Believe as little as possible" to work
better. "Believe in your Self" is even better again.
Reincarnation: Have you seen the site devoted to Ian Stevenson's research on
the subject? [Link]
Seeker, nothing is apart from the ultimate Self. - Lahiri Baba [cf. p. 17].Sincerity grows through holding on to the inner Self. - Lahiri Baba [cf. p. 22].
The highest attainment is Selfhood—The state of Awareness that the calm of kriya is based on, is called the "container". - Lahiri Baba [cf. p. 15, 16] [LINK]
I render a few words from the ancient Upanishads:
Within (this body) dwells the immortal Self . . . Rising above physical consciousness . . . one rejoices and is free. [Chandogya Upanisad 12.1]In deep contemplation there is nothing to seek, nothing to go for. That's how it should be then. And if you mean to delve (meditate), that is what to bear in mind.The Self is not known through study of the scriptures, nor through subtlety of the intellect, nor through much learning. [Taittirya Upanishad 2.4]
The Self "dwells deep within the heart [also called the city of Brahman], lord of time, past and future." [Cf. Katha Upanishad 2.4.12] [LINK]
Seeker, nothing is apart from the ultimate Self. [Lahiri Baba teaching]The seeking or searching is one of the errors in many master teachings. You must not be "bitten" by it. In other words, we work to glide away from petty notions in deep meditation. That is how it should be.
A page of Ramakrishna goes into facets of this. The 'God' we think of by concepts, is to be transcended in deep meditation. That's what Ramakrishna learnt to do from the swami Totapuri mainly. [LINK]
Q: My understanding is that there is Ishvara the God of creation and then there is Brahmin [Brahman. Brahmin is a member of the priestly caste], the Absolute beyond creation. Do you mean that Ishvara is non-existent or perhaps a deterrent?
Brahman is the ultimate Self of kriya." - cf. Lahiri Baba [cf. p. 12].When all else drops off, the Self (your inmost self) remains, some also say.All the world is the ultimate Self. - Lahiri Baba [cf. p. 20].
Seeker, nothing is apart from the ultimate Self." - Lahiri Baba. [cf. p. 17].
Uri Geller
Q: Uri Geller, who I emailed interestingly enough . . . replied!
I have observed Uri Geller on TV, and he impressed terribly.
Q: How does Uri Geller bend spoons?
By willing it.
Q: Your answer to my Uri Geller question about bending spoons was a little
cryptic. You said he 'wills it'.
I hardly think it happens if he doesn't will it -
Q: My brother tells me he saw a programme on TV that exposed Geller as a fake
where dud spoons were used. You sound like you believe he really can bend spoons with
his mind.
I have seen Geller in action on TV, he has been studied in a university test [cf Edit],
and he has allegedly been exposed as a fraud in newspapers -
He has been able to "see" and copy hidden pictures with precision, according to such as
professor Charles Tart of California. [See Edit]
A Trifle Personal Stuff
Q: I would be happy to hear of any spiritual experiences you may have had . . . I like to hear about others' experiences as it gives me something to chew on.
Here and there on the site are a few hints. Suffice to say that flooded by light at times, I lived in ecstasy for a couple of years, well - longer.
Q: But. . . you might think I might think you mad.
THAT hardly bothers me. Have you read of the so-called madman with a heart? - [LINK] etc. [LINK] (Vivekananda)
I have had the good fortune of experiencing much of what Vivekananda did . .
.
Q: What would you call yourself?
Daud [completely dead] will not do. Believe more in decent honesty.
"Your self is your only saviour," said Alf, and quoted Shakespeare, "To thy own self be true . . ."
He said it.
We should drop seeking for anyone or anything, and
go on training ourselves in sensible yoga thus.
Q: But don't get me wrong - I agree with everything you say in your website. Loron
Wynn tells me you are cynical . . .
We back up FREE ENOUGH and fit meditation. And expose fraudulent guru teachings and foolish drivel and nonsense. Many of the Yogananda or Babaji "family" cannot stand to see guru drivel well exposed, and aim at "shooting the messenger" to avoid the messages. There is no majesty in such crookery, nor in riding broom-sticks. See the technical term denigration.
Q: Your writing is very poetical and funny too.
Thank you.
Literature
Ak: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Man's Eternal Quest. Los Angeles: Self-Realization
Fellowship, 1975.
Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main editor), Stewart A.
Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American
Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Theosophical, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]
Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007.
Edit: Tart, Charles, ed. Transpersonal Psychologies. New York: Harper Colophon,
1977.
Op: Simpson, John, and Jennifer Speake. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1998.
Pa: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization
Fellowship, 1971.
Say: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.
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