--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Aug 14, 2005, at 10:55 AM, authfriend wrote: > > > No, think about it for a second, Vaj. How *else* > > could he have ensured that Guru Dev got the credit > > for the good stuff without also making him the > > target of the inevitable criticisms? > > You're still using a desperate rationalization to excuse a money- > hungry used mantra salesman.
Your response below is very interesting, but did you have an actual answer to the question I asked? Sure manasika-japa works, but so does other > peoples manasika-japa. > > In the Shankaracharya tradition it is not unusual for sanyasis to give > householders an Ishta mantra, a mantra of a personal deity. This has > several benefits--it helps them calm their minds and get the worldly > benefit of worldly deities which help in learning and prosperity; in > other words benefits which would be helpful to someone in the > householder ashrama. In the full setting (of the tradition) though this > goes further. One typically at least learns the visualization of the > mantra and of the deity herself. Some go further and also learn the > common 16-fold worship of the Ishta. These help the sadhaka see the > Ishta "everywhere" and have the divine vision of the Goddess > face-to-face. To me this is what context I hear Guru Dev talking of. > Therefore given the disparity and incongruence of TM with this I find > it disingenuous to suggest that "TM" is an extension of Guru Dev's > teaching; instead it is a sales and marketing ploy. That's not to say > that the invocation of the lineage during the puja-style TM mantra > initiation is not of benefit, it's essential and it does "work"-- nor is > it to say TM is "bad" as a meditation technique. It's just different > from what GD taught. > > The good news is 'you can get to one from the other'--if one wanted to > extend their practice into what the broader tradition teaches I'm sure > one will find they have an excellent basis with which to do so. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
