Master Your Self

"Become the master of your mind. Do not allow
your thoughts to run where they want. We always
want to be the master over others, but we don't
turn the tide inward. That's why Yoga begins with
`Yoga Citta Vritti Nirodha,' which means,
`Control of the mind is Yoga.' To control the
mind, we have to keep it pure; keep it clean.
To keep the mind clean, we have to keep the senses
clean. And to keep the senses clean, we have to
keep the body clean. Do Hatha Yoga to make the
body healthy, so you can control it. Learn to
regulate your breathing through pranayama and,
gradually, you will be able to control your breath,
your senses and then, ultimately, the mind.
Once you have the purity of control, you become
the master and you will realize the true Self.

"God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."

Follow Swami Satchidananda on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/SwSatchidananda

'I find,' says Nasrudin, 'that some 'spiritual'
people have no sense of humor. Others think that
everything is a joke and have no sense of the spiritual.
The trick is to have a serious laugh . . .'

There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied
with himself and with his position in life. One day
he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the
open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and
important visitors. "How powerful that merchant
must be!" thought the stone cutter. He became very
envious and wished that he could be like the
merchant. To his great surprise, he suddenly became the
merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than
he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those
less wealthy than himself.
Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan
chair, accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers
beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy,
had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful
that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I
could be a high official!" Then he became the high official,
carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair,
feared and hated by the people all around.
It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very
uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at
the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected
by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he
thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!" Then he
became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone,
scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers.
But a huge black cloud moved between him and the
earth, so that his light could no longer shine on
everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!"
he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"
Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields
and villages, shouted at by everyone.
But soon he found that he was being pushed away
by some great force, and realized that it was the wind.
"How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be the wind!" Then he became the wind, blowing
tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees,
feared and hated by all below him.
But after a while, he ran up against something
that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew
against it - a huge, towering rock. "How powerful
that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a rock!"
Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything
else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the
sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard
surface, and felt himself being changed. "What could
be more powerful than I, the rock?" he thought. He
looked down and saw far below him the figure of a
stone cutter.

Thanks to Jay Deuel for this story. Jay's home page is:
http://www.cc.utah.edu/~jay/

When a pharmacist goes about preparing a
prescription, he or she always uses a
container of perfect purity to place the
healing medication into. Similarly, when
preparing to fill our consciousness with
healing meditation, we must be sure it is
free of impurities. So, begin doing this and
every meditation, by using whatever
techniques you have found work best for
you, and bring about a state of alert,
peaceful tranquility to your mind, body,
and emotions. Be ready to receive all the
pure, holy energy the universe can fill you with.

There are actually 3 different traditional
techniques that deal with visualizing a
deity. The first and second ones are applicable
to those meditators whose relationship with the divine
includes their God manifesting in human form. The third one
can be done both by followers of human form deities and by those whose vision
ofGod is as light or energy or power.

The first method directs us to see our deity with
as much detail as possible. If it is a
male biblical figure, for instance, see Him as
clearly as possible. Start with His holy
feet. See them gracing the earth with His
presence. Then, work your way up the body/robe
being aware of every little detail. See His hands
reaching out to you to take your suffering, your offering,
to calm you, to carry you. See His serene, compassionate
face glowing with Love. This technique brings the
deity to life. It will then interact
with you. The next technique has you visualizing
yourself kneeling in front of your
  savior. Once again see this scene in as great
a detail as you can. Make an offering
to Him - perhaps your sadness, or your pain,
or your promise to act charitably. See
the deity accept it and fill you with blissful,
endless loving energy. Every deity has
come for the purpose of easing our pain. See
His pleasure in doing this for you.
Feel the freedom and love fill you and know
and feel Gratitude. The 3rd technique
deals with the concept/reality of omnipresence.
Start by realizing/visualizing your
deity filling you completely as air fills a
balloon. For if God is God, (S)He is everywhere,
in everything. Then visualize your deity filling
someone you know. Then see Him in everyone on
earth. Then, in everything that lives on earth
- within all thing in the air, in the waters, on
and in the earth. Now, see this deity filling
the Earth, the Sun and the whole solar system.
Now see the deity filling the Milky Way and then
as big as all the galaxies. See and feel the
unity of everything in the universe filled
with God and realize that the same energy
filling everything is filling every atom,
every molecule, every cell that makes you up
and is filling you now and forever. You
are a part of the Kingdom of God and not
apart from it. Know and feel this and live
happily ever after.

Karma: A Principle of Radical Freedom

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

"Since the popularization of the term "karma" in the Western world from the
1960s to the present day, this important metaphysical and ethical concept has,
unfortunately, been understood in only the most simplistic and cursory of
manners by the majority of Europeans and Americans – including by scholars, by
most self-professed spiritual teachers, as well as by many common spiritual
practitioners. Many followers of 'New Age' and pop spirituality have an even
more speculative understanding of karma, believing that the concept of karma is
somehow tied to the idea of fate or predetermination. As we will see, the
concept of karma in no way represents either a "fatalistic" or a
"pre-deterministic" view of the cosmos. Rather, it is a logical and ethically
rooted science of activity, a metaphysics of action. Karma is, in actuality, a
principle of radical personal freedom. Given the many misconceptions that abound
in the modern mind concerning the nature of karma, we will analyze the
metaphysical grounding of the principle of karma in accordance with the
teachings of Sanatana Dharma, or The Eternal Natural Way..."

VISIT HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS INFORMATIVE ARTICLE:

http://www.dharmacentral.com/forum/content.php?82-Karma-Radical-Freedom


Please forward this information to all sincere spiritual seekers. Please publish
the entire article on your website, blog, Facebook or social site.


Aum Tat Sat

While wandering in the world, Nasruddin found
himself before the door behind which the Truth lived.
He knocked. "Who is it?" a voice asked.
"Nasruddin"
"Sorry, Nasruddin. There is no room for me and
you here - go away!"
And Nasruddin walked sadly away.
Years later he found himself at the same
door again, and knocked.
"Who is it?" the voice asked.
"Myself" he answered.
"Oh, Nasruddin, you again? told you - no room
for you and me! go!"
And Nasruddin left.
Time passed. And then Nasrudin stood at the
same door once more.
He knocked.
"Who's there?"
"It is thou"
"Ah, friend Nasruddin! Come in, come in!
There is just enough room for us in here!"

A young and rather boastful champion challenged
a Zen master who was renowned for his skill
as an archer. The young man demonstrated
remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a
distant bull's eye on his first try, and then
split that arrow with his second shot.
"There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the
master did not draw his bow,
but rather motioned for the young archer to follow
him up the mountain. Curious about the old
ellow's intentions, the champion followed him
high into the mountain until they reached a deep
chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log.
Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the
unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master
picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow,
and fired a clean, direct hit.
"Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully
stepped back onto the safe ground. Staring
with terror into the seemingly bottomless and
beckoning abyss, the young man could not force
  himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.
"You have much skill with your bow," the master said,
sensing  his challenger's predicament, "but you have
little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."

These are the indispensable Rules of the Naqshbandi Order:
    1. Awareness of Breathing. The mind must
be attuned to be secretly aware of everything, even breath.
At the same time, the mind must pulsate with thoughts
of the Infinite (divine essence and omnipotence).
    2. Travel in One's Own Land. It must be remembered
frequently that the Sufi is a 'traveler'- along the Sufi Path.
    3. Watching the Feet. When walking, the seeker must
glue his gaze upon his steps. The secret meaning of
this is that he must be aware of where he is going,
in a metaphorical sense.
    4. Solitude in Company. The mind is to be
repeatedly concentrated so that, even
in company with others, in the midst of distractions,
the Sufi may keep his thoughts relevant to his task.
    5. Remembering. The Sufi must never forget that
he is a dedicated person.
    6. Restraint. This refers to short prayers
which are used to punctuate the repetitons of the
Dhikr. (religious technique used by Sufis, where
a name of God or a short religious phrase is
repeated over and over again. The object of
doing this varies somewhat; it could be to glorify
God or, as it is more common in Sufism, be the
means by which one tries to step out of
this world in order to come closer to God. The Arabic
term "dhikr" should be translated with "remembrance".)
    7. Awareness. The mind must become aware that
there are many distractions. These are to be combated.
    8. Recollection. Concentration must be possible
through thinking this word, and without words.
    9. Pause of Time. During pauses in thinking,
the Sufi must recapitulate his actions, and examine them.
    10. Pause of Numbers. Awareness that the required
number of repetitions of the Dhikr phrase have been completed.
    11. Pause of the Heart.. During this pause the
mind is trained to visualize the Seeker's heart
bearing the Name of Allah.

1. Hosh Dar Dam conscious breathing
    2. Nazar Bar Qadam watch your step
    3. Safar Dar Watan journey homeward
    4. Khalwat Dar Anjuman solitude in the crowd
    5. Yad Kard essential remembrance
    6. Baz Gasht returning
    7. Nigah Dasht attentiveness
    8. Yada Dasht recollection
    9. Wuquf Zamani awareness of time
    10. Wuquf Adadi awareness of numbers
    11. Wuquf Qalbi awareness of the heart

Namaste,

We are happy to announce the long-anticipated release of Sri Dharma Pravartaka
Acharya's ground-breaking new book "The Vedic Way of Knowing God".

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Author: Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya
Forward: Dr. David Frawley
Preface: Professor Klaus K. Klostermaier
Publisher: Dharma Sun Media
Published: November 7, 2010
Language: English
Pages: 408
Price: US$23.99
Binding: Perfect-bound Paperback

One of the most important questions that you will eventually ask is: How do I
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With greater detail than any other book ever written to date, it reveals the
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Please forward this announcement to all sincere spiritual seekers. Feel free to
publish this on your website, blog or social network site.

Brilliant (as in 'full of light')! And I enjoyed the line at the end...
"And the withnessing................... that the prevailing AOWL witnesser of
the passing scenery ....
....is the passing scenery."

Withnessing - Yes!

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sandeep chatterjee
<sandeep1960@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> So, I had the whole non-dual awakening, blah, blah a few years back.
>  
>  Since then I have been deeply and firmly rooted in reality. The whole world
and all it's dramas were nothing more then mere scenary.
>  
>  The past week so personal drama came up and my abidance in reality started
slipping...
>  
>  The mind was getting entangled in the drama. Normally a simple 'neti neti'
would make it fade.
>  
>  This time around the attention is on the mind, on the stories and it's
running with it and there are charged emotions comming up to the surface.
>  
>  Old anxieties, old habits(bitting nails, not sleeping at night) are started
resurfacing. 
>  
>  I'm losing myself, it feels like... There was a certain level of sensitivity
that I had and having all this come up on some level is almost nauseating,
insane...
>  
>  On top of it, the mind is having anxiety over having 'lost' something. Again
my attention is getting entangled. Having a hard time seeing past the illusion.
Intellectually sure, I see it, but experiencially it's been difficult. 
>  
>  Is this common? Is this an indication that there is qute a bit more
dissolution that needs to take place? 
>  
> ------------------
>
>  
>
>
>
> That which slips has to be have had happened, for it to have the quality of
slippage.
>
> The essence of an happening is an experience.
>
> An experience no matter it's depth or it's profoundity is an occurrence in
time and thus has a durational span.
>
> That span may be moments, decades or thousand of years across life-times(a
life time being once more, an experience)
>
> That-which-is, call it by any name or term makes no difference ( for
that-which is does not have the loci for even an "it" to be anchored) is not an
experience.
>
> Thus not a happening which can slip away in time.
>
>
>
>
> So what is happening as the above narration.........narrates.
>
> There was an experience where there was a sense of  having understood the
non-dualiness of everything, based on the sense of the absence of
conflict/engagement/involvement, which was really the absence of the feelings of
conflict etc etc ....
>  
> .....after a duration ...there is a sense of an identification with a
movement, connoted by the prevailing sense of conflict, anxiety, nauseating
insanity etc etc.
>
>
> There is really no difference between experiences.....
>  
> .....whether the experience of non-dualness blah few years back ......
>  
> .....or the blah of present anxiety.
>
> Both are movements within the realm of thought.
>
> And there is no difference between the intellectual understanding  and the
experiential blah....
>  
> ...an intellectual understanding being the experiential blah of the thought of
having understood intellectually.
>
>
> It is this sense of a distinction between intellectual hoarding of
premises/words/terms/principles .....
>  
> ....and......
>  
> ...... the experience of the same premises, the latter believed to be the Holy
Grail.....
>  
> .....which is the very sense of the mind/entity/individuated self.
>
>
> Which morphs in time, into  the sense of "having lost" that Holy Grail.
>
> To repeat, there was no entity/self/mind which received the holy waters of
non-duality and has now lost it.
>
> The sense of receiving(which is right now the sense of a recall of an
experience few years back)......
>  
> .....is the very sense of an entity.....
>
> .......a sense of entity infered by the current sense of a loss.
>
>
> The prevailing  sense that there was a dissolution few years back but maybe
now some more dissolution is to happened and thus how to, where to, when to etc
etc......
>
> ......is the sense of the entity.
>
>
>
> The seeing/apperceiving of the sense of a receiving....
>
> ... the seeming consequence of such a receiving ..........as a duration of
calmness, lack of conflict, lack of entanglement, witnessing the passing
scenery...
>
> ...(all the usual bromides)
>
>
> .......and the sense of now having lost all of it...........
>
>
>
> .......apperceiving the totality of that drama as the blah of thought.......
>
>
> .....the apperceiving is not within the realm of thought.
>
>
> Thus is not "gettable".
>
> And that which is not "gettable" cannot be "losable".
>
>
> This apperceiving also apperceves that in the very
articulation/verbalization/defining of something as not within the realm of
thought....
>
> ......is the thought of so.
>
>
> Hence the reading  these pixels in a particular arrangement on a PC screen and
the immediate dissolution  in the Recycle Bin.
>
>
>
> And the withnessing................... that the prevailing AOWL witnesser of
the passing scenery ....
>
>
> ....is the passing scenery.
>  
>  
>  
>

You're sitting comfortably in your favorite
spot, all is well, you're calm, cool, and
collected. You start to meditate, perhaps
repeating a mantra, and then you find you
just can't concentrate. Let's say that you
intend to say OM over and over. What sometimes
happens is that after you say OM a few times,
your inner chatterer starts making comments.
It may go like this…"Om sounds like home. Boy,
wouldn't it be nice to buy a new home." And
then it continues "They just built a few new
homes in New Jersey. If I take the turnpike I
can get there pretty quickly. But there may be
a lot of traffic. I might get stuck in it for hours",
and so on, and so on. So, there you are, not
just not experiencing OM, but now you're in
gridlock and starting to feel road rage! Then,
you realize that you've lost your concentration
and instead of just returning to meditating
on OM, your inner chatterer starts chastising
you with statements like "You can't meditate!
You're no good! You're incompetent!' and so on.
Then it starts filling you with self-pity things
like "I suffer so. If only I could control my
mind, but I can't and never will." Of course,
this is even further away from OM than driving
on the turnpike. But there is also something
very good happening as well, and it may prove
to be far more beneficial in the long run than
if you would have had a meditation that included
visions of heaven and feelings of bliss.

There is an awareness, a consciousness within you
that is a silent Witness to everything your senses
react with, your mind thinks, and your emotions
feel. It has been witnessing since you were born.
When you were a baby and couldn't judge, compare,
or comment in any way about anything, it was
already witnessing. As a matter of fact, this
Witness is your only hope of eternal life. Your
body will drop. Your thoughts and emotions will
stop. These things have never had any permanence
whatsoever. The only thing about them that never
changes is that they are always changing. Our Witness
is the only part of us that has been changeless and
is the only part of us that has the possibility of
surviving death. You are not your body, you are
not your emotions, you are not your mind. The Witness
is the Real Self. When you meditate it is the
Witness who will recognize that you have stopped
concentrating, or are distracted, or are demeaning
yourself. You then can stop it and direct your
consciousness to what is appropriate. This is Real Self-control.

This puts you in the position of benefiting greatly
when your attempt at meditation "fails". You will
begin to recognize not just that you have lost
your concentration, but what caused you to
divert your attention. Sometimes you will be
able to become aware of habitual behaviors that
have distracted you. For instance, sounds or
other physical sensations may cause you to tense
up or get emotional. Certain type thoughts or
emotions, like lustful ones, may lead to diverting
your focus. When these subconscious reactivities
come to the surface under the light of the Witness,
you will be free from their power.

There is no doubt that if you realized that
your head has been hurting because you have been
banging it against a wall, you would stop doing
it. And your pain would disappear. Similarly,
when you cease reacting to the conscious and
subconscious distractions that have been banging
you around, your concentration will be firm and
your meditation will flow freely to you, infinitely
and eternally. These are the good things bad
meditations present to you. Most importantly,
they almost force you to seek refuge in your Witness,
and the more you do, the more you realize and
experience the reality of your union with the
pure consciousness that is your real identity.
And your suffering ends. So, when you are having
a "bad" meditation, it is a tremendous opportunity
to learn and evolve. All the things that have
been interfering with your at-oneness with your
Witness will be laid bare before you. Therefore,
when you're having any type meditation, it's "good"
and leads to the inevitable – living happily ever after.

Physical masturbation is no problem but mental
masturbation will make you blind…to Reality,
Truth, the Infinite, the Eternal, and to all
the similar adjectives, adverbs and clichés in
the entire Universe. Every time your mind
chatters, your judgments, comparisons and
comments distract and hide what you really want
behind your musings about the object of your
chatter. Even the most lofty philosophical,
scientific, religious or political mutterings
of your little mind are finite, incomplete,
energy draining and illusionary and blind you
to All and Everything. Just as there is no real
experience of an orange's taste from just talking
about it, and the only way to know its reality
is to take a bite, there is nothing you can know
from words about it….you must know it experientially.
And even then, if you start chattering about it and
are not just silently experiencing it, you will
immediately be blind to the flavor of whatever you
are "biting into".

What Cures Blindness

Sure you've gotten off pretty joyfully from mentally masturbating and at times
have found it satisfying (to your ego) and that's partly why you keep doing it,
but as soon as you trade in your habitual masturbation for some real meditative
intercourse with the universe, you'll come to appreciate life on a whole new
level. Take a break from your mental and emotional running around in circles and
meditate. Virtually any meditation method you use will "work" (bring you greater
peace, wisdom, and bliss) better than just letting your mind run wild. Not just
mentally masturbating about meditation, but actually meditating and practicing
control of your mind will diminish and end your inner chatter, eventually or
suddenly, and all of "IT" will come to you. All your ????'s and !!!'s will
scatter like dust in the wind and your eyes will see un-blinded what was here
and is here now and always, and you will live happily ever after.

Thanks Sandeep for sharing this outstanding understanding.
Many videos of Sailor Bob Adamson can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/2azdkxe

  sandeep chatterjee <sandeep1960@...> wrote:
>
>  
> All we are doing is describing what is.
> Right here, right now, presently, is what is happening.
>  
> There is nothing other.
>  
> Primarily there is that registering of everything.
> Just like that mirror on the wall is reflecting everything in front of it, so
that essence, intelligence or whatever name you like to call it, is registering
everything just as it is. You heard that siren, but you didn’t have to say it
was a siren.
> You are hearing this voice, seeing the sights in the room, feeling your body
sitting in the chair.
>  
> All just as it is.
> Andâ€"just as it isâ€"what can you say about it?
> You can’t say anything at all about it.
>
> From that point of view, it either is or is not.
>  
> The description can never be the described, the what is.
>  
> The thinking is being registered also.
> That is discriminated into ‘this thought’ or ‘my thought’ or whatever
the word might be. Rather, be aware that it all is just as it is.
>
> Say you are walking somewhere and you are not naming anything, there is no
thinking going on.
> You are passing houses, trees, picket fences or whatever is in the street.
> Everything is registering immediately.
> You don’t have to name each individual thing.
>  
> Your thoughts might be happening, and your mind might be totally involved in
those thoughts.
> Yet one piece of concrete slab may be higher than the other, but you won’t
trip over it. It will be registered immediately and the appropriate steps will
be taken over it.
>
> Or if there is a crowd walking in the street, you’re not going to bump into
everyone. You find yourself avoiding them quite effortlessly without having to
think, ‘I have to dodge around this one’.
> Yet they will be coming from all directions and all places, but that
intelligence is registering everything just as it is.
>  
> And in the moment, the proper activity takes place.
>  
> It is the same with thoughts also.
>
> As you are going along, you’re passing this house or the next house. And as
you are going along, thoughts are happening too.
> They are registered just as is.
>  
> What happens?
> The house you have just passed has disappeared from view, or the picket fence
you passed is gone.
> Thought is registered just as is also.
> What has happened to that thought?
> It is left behind.
> It also disappears.
>
> One thought might be acted upon, the next may not be.
> The only way we can change what is, is to correct it, modify it or alter it in
some way or form.
> The only thing that can do that is the mind: ‘The chair over there is in the
wrong position and I want to move it’.
> It is no longer what is. It is what I think I would like it to be.
> That is all that has happenedâ€"the thinking ‘That should not be there’.
> That thought, of itself, has no power whatsoever.
> It is only a thought; it is only based on words.
>
> But it refers to this ‘I’ that I believe, or have believed, myself to be
up until investigation.
> That is so, because what has been added to that ‘I’, that belief, has
become the ‘self-centre’ or the ‘reference point’.
>  
> Everything is evaluated from that reference point.
> And because it is closely associated with that pure intelligence, it has come
to believe also that it is the intelligence.
>
> Like the piece of iron in the fire, it will get red-hot and burn, just like
fire.
> Now, if the iron had a mind it would think it was the fire: ‘I am going to
burn this and that’.
> But take it out of the fire and what can it do? So it is with the thoughts:
‘I can’, ‘I will’, ‘I am’.
> Take them away from awareness or consciousness or that pure intelligence: what
substance have they got?
> Can they stand without that?
> Can you have a single thought if you are not conscious or not aware?
>
> Constantly over the years with the habit patterns going on it (thought) has
believed itself to be the intelligence.
> It believes it has reality; it has power; it has will; it can do what it likes
and what it thinks it wants to do.
>  
> That is why this investigation is needed.
> Just stop and question.
> Have a look at what we have believed ourselves to be.
> Thought can’t of itself do anything!
> Because that thought ‘I see’, can’t see!
> The thought ‘I hear’, can’t hear!
> The thought ‘I am aware’, can’t be aware!
>  
> But there is seeing; there is hearing; and there is awareness.
> It is happening right now!
> The seeing itself cannot conceptualise.
> It cannot say ‘I am seeing this’.
> Neither can the hearing say ‘I am hearing this’.
>  
> It is just pure seeing and pure hearing.
>  
> It is conceptualised by the mind, which must refer to some past memory to get
that name.
> The mind or the ‘me’, the thought that I have about myself, is the past.
> That is all it is.
> It is the past, and the past is dead.
> It is gone.
> It has happened.
> It is not what is.
> That centre that we constantly refer to or believe in is a dead image.
>  
> Now, can you understand why it can never be happy, it can never be complete or
whole: because it can’t keep up with what is.
>
> What is, is this manifestation, this transient manifestation, which is
constantly changing. Like the river, it is constantly flowing.
> How can a bucket of water, taken from the river, keep up with the river?
> It is impossible.
> So, we tell you right here, that what you are seeking you already are!
> The idea of a separation is only a concept.
> With that idea of separation, there immediately comes along with it the sense
of insecurity and vulnerability.
>
> Anything that thinks or believes it is separate must also feel isolated and
alone, apart from ‘me’, other than ‘me’.
> That is the way the mind functions.
> As soon as there is ‘me’, there must be ‘other than me’, and that is
the seeming separation.
>  
> That is the cause of all of our problems.
>  
> When that is understood, what problem is there, if there is no centre to refer
it to?
>  
>  
> -Sailor Bob Adamson
>  
>  
>

I have no parents; I make the Heavens and the Earth my parents.
I have no home; I make the Tan T'ien* my home.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my Divine Power.
I have no means; I make Docility my means.
I have no magic power; I make personality my Magic Power.
I have neither life nor death; I make A Um my Life and Death.
have no body; I make Stoicism my Body.
I have no eyes; I make The Flash of Lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make Sensibility my Ears.
I have no limbs; I make Promptitude my Limbs.
I have no laws; I make Self-Protection my Laws.

I have no strategy; I make the Right to Kill
and the Right to Restore Life my Strategy.
I have no designs; I make Seizing the Opportunity
by the Forelock my Designs.
I have no miracles; I make Righteous Laws my Miracle.
I have no principles; I make Adaptability to
all circumstances my Principle.
I have no tactics; I make Emptiness and Fullness my Tactics.

I have no talent; I make Ready Wit my Talent.
I have no friends; I make my Mind my Friend.
I have no enemy; I make Incautiousness my Enemy.
I have no armour; I make Benevolence my Armour.
I have no castle; I make Immovable Mind my Castle.
I have no sword; I make No Mind my Sword.

*The Tan T'ien is the focal point for internal
meditative techniques; Usually refers to the physical
center of gravity located in the abdomen (about three
finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel).
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The Cosmic Vibration

"When we vibrate in the same way as the cosmic
vibration, we get in tune with the cosmos. That
is why when we repeat OM, we feel a cosmic peace.
That cosmic vibration vibrates in our own body.
It brings a sort of realignment in the cells of
the body, an adjustment or a new rhythm. When the
cells of the body run restlessly in all different
ways, we feel sick. But, when we arrange that vibration
to make it run smoothly, we feel happy, and we get
healed. By constant repetition of OM, you will be
able to heal many physical ailments and, ultimately,
the mind also. Then, you will experience physical
health, mental peace and pure happiness.

"God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."

For more by and about Swami Satchidananda:
http://yogaville.org/

"There's a whole different now now."

Brahman: The Ultimate Reality of Sanatana Dharma

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

"Brahman, as understood by the scriptures of Hinduism, as well as by the
Acharyas of the Vedanta school, is a very specific conception of the Absolute.
This unique conception has not been replicated by any other religion on earth,
and is exclusive to Sanatana Dharma. Thus to even call this conception of
Brahman 'God' is, in a sense, somewhat imprecise. This is the case because
Brahman does not refer to the anthropomorphic concept of God of the Abrahamic
religions. When we speak of Brahman, we are referring neither to the 'old man in
the sky' concept, nor to the idea of the Absolute as even capable of being
vengeful, fearful or engaging in choosing a favorite people from among His
creatures. For that matter, Brahman is not a 'He' at all, but rather transcends
all empirically discernible categories, limitations and dualities...."


VISIT HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS INFORMATIVE ARTICLE:

http://www.dharmacentral.com/forum/content.php?76-Brahman-of-Sanatana-Dharma


Please forward this information to all sincere spiritual seekers. Please publish
the entire article on your website, blog, Facebook or social site.


Aum Tat Sat

UPANISHADSARA- Mundaka



GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.

THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) :
VOLUME 118, November 2010 ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked with
"UPANISHADSARA - Mundaka "



- If you visit the site, and have any observations to make, I shall be grateful.
In this issue we have also interesting questions from readers dealing with "The
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"Commissions, omossions and regrets", "Uncontrolled thoughts of the mind", etc.

You can also browse the previous articles by clicking on the ikon `articles'.
Please share it with your friends and dear ones.  God bless you-  Sri Bimal
Mohanty. (bimal_mohanty@...)
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You can usher a qualitative change in your life, the spiritual way- the
effective way. Visit the website www.ahwan.org. or www.ahwan.com.
regularly. Share it with your friends and dear ones in any manner convenient-
through discussing, speaking, writing, inter-netting.

We are happy to announce the long-anticipated release of Sri Dharma Pravartaka
Acharya's ground-breaking new book "The Vedic Way of Knowing God".

Author: Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya
Foreword: Dr. David Frawley
Preface: Professor Klaus K. Klostermaier
Publisher: Dharma Sun Media
Published: November 7, 2010
Language: English
Pages: 408
Price: US$23.99
Binding: Perfect-bound Paperback

Available for purchase here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-vedic-way-of-knowing-god/13555030



Foreword

By Dr. David Frawley
(Sri Vamadeva Shastri)

The Vedic tradition is primarily one of knowledge, going back to the four Vedas
as books of knowledge, the term Veda deriving from the root `vid', meaning to
see, to know, to directly experience, or to realize within one's own awareness.
The Vedic tradition is further defined as Sanatana Dharma or a universal and
eternal (Sanatana) tradition of truth and natural law (Dharma). What Veda is
seeking to know is the nature of things, ultimately the nature of our own being
that is connected to the Divine presence or higher consciousness which pervades
all existence.

As such, the Vedic tradition is not content merely with belief in God or even
communion with the deity as its ultimate aim. Its goal is to know the deity
within our own minds and hearts in the sense of this higher knowledge born of
direct perception, not as a mere mental or emotional connection, but one that
engages our entire being to its immortal core.

Such inner knowing is not a speculative venture or a matter of salvation through
faith. Vedic Dharma teaches specific philosophies or ways of knowledge about the
deity. For these to really work, specific sadhanas or spiritual practices,
largely yogic in nature are required. Vedic Dharma does not rest upon faith at a
mass level, but spiritual practices at an individual level for achieving the
ultimate goal of life described as moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth
and death.

Other religious, spiritual and philosophical systems in the world also have
their concerns with and their means of gaining such inner knowledge of the
deity, often put under the banner of the `religious experience' or the `mystical
experience'. Such experiences are also commonly referred to as `unity
consciousness', though they have considerable varieties.

The pursuit of mystical experiences has been a sidelight or rarity in western
religious traditions, and has sometimes been suppressed by them, particularly
when it challenges the authority of existing institutions. Yet it has been
widely encouraged in India since the most ancient times. Each follower of a
particular spiritual path in India is usually encouraged to take up such a
sadhana to contact the deity within. At the same time, since there are clearly
defined paths to higher realization in the Vedic tradition, there is less danger
of the practitioner falling into the confusion that mystical experiences can
sometimes create for those who stumble upon them, rather than are trained to
receive them.

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Dr. Frank Morales) is a rare western teacher who
knows both the philosophies and the practices of the Vedic tradition and has
firsthand experience of how they really work. He is a highly qualified teacher,
or Acharya, of Vedic Dharma, the first western Acharya of a western Hindu
temple, not merely an academic looking at Vedic thought with little practical
experience of how it is applied. He has also studied in depth other religious,
spiritual and philosophical traditions. This provides him a much deeper level of
insight into the Vedic tradition than normally found in the vast majority of
teachers today. He takes the discussion out of the mere speculative realm to the
domain of spiritual practice, making his discussion relevant to those involved
in meditation and devotional disciplines as well.

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya focuses on the issue of pramanas or proofs, the
complex yet central issue of epistemology. If we want to know something, the
first question that arises is: "What are our available means of legitimate
knowledge?" The issue is particularly important relative to spiritual studies.
If something Divine, infinite and eternal does exist, through what special means
can it be known? Obviously, our ordinary mind and senses are designed to know
limited, finished and transient objects, though they can speculate about
something beyond. Is there some other more direct means that we can develop in
order to do this?

In western philosophy the means of knowledge are largely limited to reason and
the senses, and what can be extrapolated from them, though theologies regularly
bring in faith and scripture as well. The Vedic tradition has also accepted
samadhi, or yogic perception born of the meditative mind, as a legitimate means
of knowledge. This not only includes the mystical experience, but allows a
practical and scientific approach to it through yogic disciplines.

The Vedic tradition includes the idea of scripture, or shruti, not as books to
merely believe in, but as indicators and guidelines to a higher realization that
should be employed in the context of sadhana, or spiritual practice. The Vedic
shruti is linked to the idea of shabda, or sacred sound, and mantra, reflecting
the Divine Word and cosmic creative vibration. Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya
examines the issue of scripture and sacred sound quite clearly from a Vedic
perspective.

Most modern Vedantic studies have focused on the Advaita Vedanta of
Shankaracharya and his modern proponents since the time Swami Vivekananda over a
century ago. Recently, the Dvaitic and Vishishtadvaitic forms of Vedanta have
also received attention, which adds another dimension to these studies. Sri
Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has taken a view that can embrace and honor all these
systems, without losing their specific value and different approaches.

For this examination, he has focused on one primary thinker, the work of Jiva
Goswami, an important figure in the Vaishnava tradition about whom much has been
written in recent years with the development of the Bhakti Yoga movement
throughout the world. Yet he grounds his study of Goswami in a greater analysis
of all six Vedic philosophies as well as their connections with other
philosophical and theological traditions East and West. This affords the book a
relevance beyond India to the global issues of spiritual knowledge.

Goswami's work, like that of many Vaishnava Hindus, in turn is based on the
Bhagavata Purana, which is regarded by many Hindu scholars as the greatest of
the Puranas, as well as an important extension of the thought and insight of the
Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. Western scholarship has often ignored such
texts, focusing on the prime Sutras and texts of the six systems of Vedic
philosophy, as if there was nothing more to be considered. This has limited
their scope and vision in understanding Vedic philosophy, a situation that the
author seeks to correct.

The book reflects an academic rigor in orientation, approach and expression. It
demands profound thought on the part of its reader. Yet the book also represents
a new type of experiential scholarship from westerners trained in authentic
Eastern traditions. This provides a different view than what is normally found
from academics looking at Eastern traditions from the outside.

Such `inside the tradition' views provide a good alternative and help us frame
the focus of a new debate, which is not simply about different philosophies or
theologies, but about the ultimate truth of our own existence and what our true
nature as conscious beings really resides in. With "The Vedic Way of Knowing
God", and his own personal spiritual example, Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya
leads us forward in this new adventure in consciousness.

Dr. David Frawley
(Pandit Vamadeva Shastri)
American Institute of Vedic Studies
Sante Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.
January, 2010


"The Vedic Way of Knowing God", by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, is available
for purchase here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-vedic-way-of-knowing-god/13555030


Revealing the profound philosophical insights of the world's most ancient
spiritual philosophy, this book not only boldly answers the question "How do I
know God?" from the distinctly Vedic (Hindu) perspective, but also explores the
further issues of what it even means to be able to know God. With greater detail
than any other book ever written to date, it reveals the precise mystical
mechanisms employed for knowing the Divine; the psychological conditions
necessary for such a spiritual endeavor; the transformative cognitive
experiences that occur within the spiritual practitioner upon achieving
God-realization; the integral relationship between transcendent Word,
spiritually revealed literature, and the important role of living teachers; and
the vast implications of the Vedic world-view on contemporary global philosophy
and religion. If you have ever asked the question "How do I know God?", this is
the book that will give you the precise road-map!


"The Vedic Way of Knowing God", by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya


Please forward this message to all sincere spiritual seekers.

Find yourself to be a precious diamond
and simply laugh at ever having thought
that who you really are is the coal dust
that it was hidden in.

Spiritually, the only remotely desirable
desire is to be desireless

Without name and fame you can live famously.

Don't believe it when others find you believable.

Be passionate dispassionately.

Seek and ye shall find that you need
not seek anymore than a fish in the
ocean needs to seek water.

My fingernail gets cut off.
So what?! I still live.
My body dies.
So what?! I still live.

To be or not to be? There is no question. Be!

The end of salivation is the beginning of salvation.

God witnesses creation through her eyes and I's.
God witnesses creation through his eyes and I's.
God witnesses creation through my eyes and I's.
God witnesses creation.
God witnesses.
God.

Everything and nothing is inevitable.

Where there is awe, laughter, or bliss,
there is no chattering mind.
Where there is no chattering mind,
the Highest can be heard.

Be the Witness

"Witnessing the mind means that you just
watch anything and everything that happens
in the mind just as you allow children to
play and you watch them. Do not interfere.
Let any thought come in and simply go on
watching it. When you do it continuously,
you will see that the thoughts themselves
slowly subside. Let the thoughts feel that
you are witnessing them. Once they know
that you are witnessing them, they won't
be restless. They will slowly calm themselves,
and that is the idea behind observing
the mind. So, locate the real witness within
you and feel that you are that.

"God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."

For information about Yogaville, Swami Satchidananda's ashram:
http://www.yogaville.org/

WestWindWood <westwindwood2003@...> wrote:
>
> Great! that's how to start, but the last line is a doozy: "So, locate the real
witness within
> you and feel that you are that." In other words, find enlightenment and then
evolve towards God.
>

"By focusing the mind on `I am', on the sense of being, `I am so-and-so"
dissolves; `am a witness only' remains and that too submerges in `I am all'.
Then the all becomes the One and the One – yourself, not to be separate from
me."

Nisargadatta Maharaj from 'I am That'

> --- On Fri, 11/26/10, medit8ionsociety <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: medit8ionsociety <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Meditation Society of America] Words of Wisdom by Swami
Satchidananda
> To: meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Friday, November 26, 2010, 5:29 PM
>
>
>  
>
>
>
> Be the Witness
>
> "Witnessing the mind means that you just
> watch anything and everything that happens
> in the mind just as you allow children to
> play and you watch them. Do not interfere.
> Let any thought come in and simply go on
> watching it. When you do it continuously,
> you will see that the thoughts themselves
> slowly subside. Let the thoughts feel that
> you are witnessing them. Once they know
> that you are witnessing them, they won't
> be restless. They will slowly calm themselves,
> and that is the idea behind observing
> the mind. So, locate the real witness within
> you and feel that you are that.
>
> "God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."
>
> For information about Yogaville, Swami Satchidananda's ashram:
> http://www.yogaville.org/
>

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sean tremblay <bethjams9@...> wrote:
>
> How can you tell the "Real Witness' from th imposition of desire?