Mira Prabhu's Blog, page 27
January 19, 2017
Self, Shakti, Heart, and Enlightenment in Advaita: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
Intrigued by the ancient liberating philosophy of Advaita? Read Harsh Luthar’s informative post on moksha or enlightenment in the context of Advaita…”This is the Supreme Beauty of the Heart. It absorbs the Shakti, and along with it the Mind, thus swallowing time and space.”
Often on the spiritual path, the topics of best postures, best techniques of meditation, best behaviors conducive to spiritual growth, best gurus, etc., come up. All of these questions are appropriate to their time and circumstances. Such questions were frequently put to Bhagavan Ramana.
Underlying all such questions is the fundamental theme or inquiry as to what constitutes superior spiritual practice that will lead to improvement in one’s mental and physical conditions and finally to Self-Realization or Enlightenment. From this perspective, Self-Realization is viewed as an attainment. It is something that is achieved by an individual by making the right effort. This approach in its methodology is not too different than that of a talented world class athlete, who after having trained rigorously, wins a gold medal at the Olympics.
This point of view emphasizes the need to focus the mind in order for it to expand and evolve to…
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PTSD: Is it possible to Forgive and Forget?
Read Janni Styles’ poignant post about the difference between forgiving and forgetting…I agree with her…while forgiveness is essential to lightening our own spirit, it is unwise to give abusers a second chance to inflict damage. However, in the eastern view, or rather my view of the eastern teaching, the highest way to deal with abuse is to destroy the egoic mind itself from the very roots…Ramana Maharshi’s Direct Path (Atma-Vichara) is a powerful path to total freedom from suffering; for me all other tools pale in comparison.
There is a lot of media out there from both organizations and individuals who claim that forgiving is our only way forward once we have endured trauma. The problem I have with this is that I believe you can forgive alright. But forget? Never. If you dare for one minute to let your guard down around certain people who were harmful to you in your past, you leave yourself vulnerable for more hurting. This is always a conflicting statement to me whenever I hear it because forgiving and forgetting aren’t even in the same category in my world.
Forgiving means you have grown past the pain or abuses well enough to let go of them and stop the daily torment of “why why why” but I personally believe it is completely impossible to forget what happened to us. In forgiving I find nothing more than a sensation of not being…
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Shiva and Shakti-Jnaneshwar
Wow – take this in…then read the whole poem below…
How sweet is their union! (re Shiva and Shakti, Primal Male & Female)
The whole world is too small to contain them,
Yet they live happily in the smallest particle.
Thanks for a gorgeous post, Harsh K. Luthar!
Here are some selected verses from Jnaneshwar, a 13th century Indian mystic.
Amritanubhav (The Nectar of Mystical Experience)
Chapter One: The Union of Shiva and Shakti
I offer obeisance to the God and Goddess,
The limitless primal parents of the universe.
They are not entirely the same,
Nor are they not the same.
We cannot say exactly what they are.
How sweet is their union!
The whole world is too small to contain them,
Yet they live happily in the smallest particle.
When He awakes, the whole house disappears,
And nothing at all is left.
Two lutes: one note.
Two flowers: one fragrance.
Two lamps: one light.
Two lips: one word.
Two eyes: one sight.
These two: one universe.
In unity there is little to behold;
So She, the mother of abundance,
Brought forth the world as play.
He takes the role of Witness
Out of love of watching Her.
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January 18, 2017
The Path to Enlightenment: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
“Is the Truth of Realization achieved through walking the path gradually and carefully while engaging in spiritual practices? Or is Realization attained suddenly through a Zen like Satori or when the Zen master does something strange and shocking as depicted in many Zen stories. Can Realization really come unannounced knocking at the door as was the case with Sri Ramana Maharshi?”
Thanks for a great post, Harsh Luthar!
A Popular Dichotomy
A popular dichotomy has emerged about Enlightenment in the West since the 1970s between the schools of “gradual enlightenment” and “instant enlightenment”. Some of this can probably be traced back to Poonja ji’s and Nisargadatta Maharaj’s disciples returning to the west in the 1970s and 1980s from India and bringing their understanding of Advaita Vedanta with them as given to them by their teachers. However, because many of these students deviate from traditional Advaita as taught in the classic lineage of Adi Shankracharya, they are referred to as neo-advaitins.
Given this thesis and antithesis between the gradual path and the direct path, I address the following question:
It is said that there are two approaches to the Truth of Being or Reality which some call Enlightenment or Self-Realization. A gradual path and a direct path. What is the truth of it? Are their really two paths? If…
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January 17, 2017
Nirvikalpa Samadhi – Two Different Perspectives: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
Samadhi…a word that drew me like a magnet from the moment I heard it, a long time ago….here is Harsh Luthar’s excellent explanation of a high form of this state of consciousness from the varying perspectives of two great sages: Sri Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi…
Harsh K. Luthar
Question On 01/20/2000 From Gausima
I accidentally found this on the internet while searching for something else, and was wondering what type of Nirvikalpa Samadhi it was referring to and if anyone had any knowledge of this.
“once an ordinary person achieves Nirvikalpa Samadhi, he leaves the body in 21 days.” In the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, on page 245, it says, “Trailanga Swami once said that because a man reasons he is conscious of multiplicity, of variety. Attaining samadhi, one gives up the body in twenty-one days. . . ” (Ramakrishna was talking to his devotees.)
Namaste,
Gasusima
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January 16, 2017
Spiritual Wisdom: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
I honor the distinction between mundane intelligence and the kind of intelligence we require to transcend the inevitable ups and downs of samsara or relative reality…read Harsh Luthar’s views on Spiritual Wisdom here…
What is spiritual wisdom other than being gentle and easy with oneself and others in awareness?
Gain and loss, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, are threads of life.
Life lived in awareness is the only meditation.
Our talents and strengths do not raise us above anyone. Our shortcomings do not diminish our original nature. That is just how it is.
Sages see action and inaction, speech and silence to be the same. So there is no need to struggle.
To simply be aware of oneself as pure and clear being is the true meditation.
The steadiness of awareness and balance is a gift of grace. It is the blessing of love that springs forth from the heart of sages.
In the company of good and wise people who know the nature of reality, the ego gradually loses its hold and pure awareness reveals itself as the eternal presence.
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January 15, 2017
Too Much On the Plate – Guest Post by Charles E Yallowitz…
How on earth does Chris Graham manage to do so much???? Bravo! And thanks for leading me to this, Tina Frisco.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
2016 was a busy year filled. So many holidays that closed school, family events, health issues, bouts of depression, unexpected disasters, and I’m sure I’m missing other categories. Yet, somehow I managed to publish 4 books, write 5 books, write 1 short story, write 1 novella, outlining at least 10 other stories/series, and a couple hundred blog posts. This is on top of getting my son ready for school, running errands, doing laundry, cooking dinner, grocery shopping, helping my son with homework, and everything else that shows up. You might think this is a weird way to start this blog post, but I want to see if I can get you as exhausted as I am.
*Pause because I apparently have to do all the bedtime stuff alone.*
I’m routinely told that I should take a break, but I’m horrible at listening to this advice. So here I am as…
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January 14, 2017
What Is Witness Consciousness? By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
“Witness consciousness as a concept and a spiritual practice has become better known now in the West. In the psychology of Advaita and Yoga of thousands of years ago, it has always been a fundamental tool for self development and self understanding on the path to Self-Realization.” Read on for more of Harsh Luthar’s wonderful post…
Witness consciousness as a concept and a spiritual practice has become better known now in the West. In the psychology of Advaita and Yoga of thousands of years ago, it has always been a fundamental tool for self development and self understanding on the path to Self-Realization.View original post 481 more words
January 10, 2017
Shakespearean Insults for Fun and Profit
Shakespeare didn’t hold back, did he? Here are a couple of randomly generated barbs with lines from his works: “[Thou art] like the toad, ugly and venomous” from As You Like It and “You are as a candle, the better burnt out” from Henry IV…thanks for sharing a great post, Kristen Wardowski!
Well my pribbling fool-born minnows, today is a good day for sharpening the pointed ends of our tongues. Today is a good day for Shakespearean insults.
But isn’t every day, really?
Among Shakespeare’s talents was his ability to coin creative forms of abuse. Where would we be without his savagery? It is all too easy to fall into vocabulary ruts, so this January I’m exploring several Shakespeare Insult Generators. Lore says that in 1996, English teacher Jerry Maguire came up with a format for creating insults that are Shakespeare-like. You can still see his original “Insult Kit” today. Over the past 20 years, however, technology has changed, and now insult generators are a bit fancier than Maguire’s lists. Because everyone needs a bit of lightness in their day, I’ve shared a few of my favorites below.
(There is a 90% chance that I have said something truly terrible in this…
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Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings of Vivid Chrome Masks
Wow! Hyperrealistic oil paintings of vivid chrome masks…I am amazed by the hyper creativity and vision of so many…thanks for sharing, Alk3r.
Brooklyn-based artist Kip Omolade creates large-scale oil paintings of chrome masks, depicting not only the subtle details of female faces, but incorporating the reflected environment of each piece.
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