Category Archives: a. Philosophical Matters

(Quote) by Ramana Maharshi

“By whatever path you go, you will have to lose yourself in the One.”  Ramana Maharshi.

(Thoughts) And if you hold that life is simply material with no ascendant Reality what-so-ever and that all this came together by chance, it won’t make any difference. That is just another thought form that belies Reality.  That denial is on the path too. Incredible though it seems from a materialist perspective, you are a Spiritual being, and one day it (your spiritual essence) will reassert itself, and if not in this life then another.  But since proof only lies in experience there has to be a moment of awakening even to the possibility. Mystics call this a moment of Grace. 

(Thought) on THE DYNAMICS OF PSYCHOSIS

SPIRITUAL PSYCHOSIS. There is a very good chance that at some unpredictable moment in your life you will have what can only be called a ‘Spiritual Experience’, not because you are in any way special or even religious but simply because you are human and in essence a Spiritual Being. When/if it happens to you it will change your life irreversibly. But what you do with that experience and what you make it mean is entirely dependent on the concepts you hold about Reality.

(Thoughts) on THE NATURE OF MIND

There is a reason why masters of Yoga do not advocate psychotherapy as a way to enlightenment or liberation from suffering.  We cannot calm the ocean by standing in its waves.  To calm the ocean we must silence the wind.  The wind is our compulsion to allow our attention to engage with Mind’s apparent reality.  The theory that analysis of Mind will ultimately bring lasting peace is unfortunately a ludicrous one.  Psychoanalysis is rooted in a misconception of the nature of Self.  As my teacher once said, “Mind is endless.”  Without proper understanding Mind will constantly reassert itself because that is its nature.  Mind cannot be brought to stillness by seeking to understand its ramifications.  Mind will melt away when viewed with indifference to its content in the light of the realisation of its true nature; by constantly turning away from its assaults on our tranquillity. Until then we are not Master.  Mind will always reassert itself unless and until we set Mind in its proper place.  That is where the real work is done.  Not in analysis.

(Quote) by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar. AHIMSA – The Antidote to Fear.

http://luthar.com/ahimsa-the-antidote-to-fear/

All advanced meditation and yoga practices finally come to the point where one becomes extraordinarily aware of the root instinct to survive not just as a physical human entity but as an identity. If we meditate deeply on our being, we will see that our actions and behaviours are guided at gross and subtle levels by this root survival nature embedded in our psyche. So the first principle of yoga, which is Ahimsa (non-violence), seems very strange in this context. If our root instinct is to survive, it goes against our nature to embrace a philosophy that states that the highest principle of life is non-violence or harmlessness to others.

(Quote) by Ramana Maharshi. IN CONVERSATION.

I am sharing this because it is so unusual to hear a Master speak about such things that cut across a materialist view of reality.

BINDU AND NAADA (LIGHT AND SOUND)

Maharshi was reading G. U. Pope’s translation of Tiruvachakam and came across the stanzas describing the intense feeling of bhakti as thrilling the whole frame, melting the flesh and bones, etc. He remarked:

“Manickavasagar is one of those whose body finally resolved itself in a blazing light, without leaving a corpse behind.”

Another devotee asked how it could be.

Maharshi said (that) the gross body is only the concrete form of the subtle stuff – the mind. When the mind melts away and blazes forth as light, the body is consumed in that process. Nandanar is another whose body disappeared in blazing light.

Maj. Chadwick pointed out that Elisha disappeared in the same way.  He desired to know if the disappearance of Christ’s body from the tomb was like that.

M.: No. Christ’s body was left as a corpse which was at first entombed, whereas the others did not leave corpses behind.

In the course of conversation, Maharshi said that the subtle body is composed of light and sound and the gross body is a concrete form of the same.

The Lecturer in Physics asked if the same light and sound were cognisable by senses.

M.: No. They are super-sensual. It is like this:

Isvara (Universal) –> Gross form –> Universe
Jiva (Individual) –> Gross form –> Individual body

Isvara (Universal) –> Subtle form –> Sound and Light(Nada, Bindu)
Jiva (Individual) –> Subtle form –> Mind and Prana

Isvara (Universal) –> Primal form –>Atma (Self) (transcendental)
Jiva (Individual) –> Primal form –> Atma (Self) (transcendental)

They are ultimately the same.

The subtle body of the Creator is the mystic sound Pranava, which is sound and light. The universe resolves into sound and light and then into transcendence – Param.

See also – Sant Dnyāneshwar (or Sant Jñāneshwar)

(Quote) by the Dalai Lama – THE PARADIGM SHIFT AWAITS

“Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we tend to be slaves to powerful emotions like anger, hatred and attachment that are based on misconceived projections about people and things. We need to find ways of reducing these emotions by eliminating the ignorance that underlies them and applying opposing forces.”

(Thoughts) on MAYA

We will do anything for Bliss except surrender up our little Ego with all its opinions and must haves and its complex understanding.  This play is just a drama.  In and of itself the drama has no purpose except to be entertaining.  Be part of the play, do your duty to your utmost ability and seek only to love unconditionally but do not believe that it matters or means anything other than you exist.  It is still only a drama – a beguiling illusion.

We can’t have Infatuation and Attachment and Bliss no matter how noble and high born that attachment might be.  Immersed in Bliss it is impossible to harm another being.  But Ego/Mind is capable of anything so let it go by asking, “Who is the Doer?” and “Who am I”. And when Ego stirs and would possess you, watch it and it will fall silent.

If it is Longing that imprisons you then Long for God.  If you are confused and in conflict then know that all words uttered in Mind are ghosts that have NO meaning.  Do not listen to them.  Ask for guidance with a surrendered heart and the Cosmos is compelled to answer.  It is a Law woven into the very fabric of existence.  It is called Cosmic Synchronicity.