--- In [email protected], "markmeredith2002" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In [email protected], "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > I don't care that much about lineages as I don't really > > > understand them esoterically, but I agree that it's very odd > > > that MMY has been so vague as to where the specific practice TM > > > came from. Why?? > > > > Apparently you haven't read the post reproducing > > the Larry Domash essay I referenced earlier today, > > or you wouldn't think it was "odd" at all. > > Sorry, I see nothing in the article that explains why MMY is vague > about the specific origins of TM. Which part are you refering to?
If you accept what Domash says about how he developed the technique, it's clear that it was via experimentation on MMY's part. He "recreated" it based on hints in the ancient literature and his own experience. That's TM's "origins." If so much of the process was purely experiential, it's hard to know how he could be all that specific about what it entailed. > The article itself is an eloquent exposition of what we all learnt > during TTC, which to me is very vague and confusing as to > specifics. > > The following quote indicates MMY got TM from Guru Dev: > > "The Shankaracharya tradition, furthermore, is considered to be > the official custodian of the body of techniques and practices > that constitute the physiological and experiential side of > India's Vedic philosophy, especially those techniques that > collectively may be called 'meditation'. This tradition has > preserved and protected the formulae of these techniques through > uncounted generations of oral transmission from teacher to > student, always under the strictest selective control and > supervision." > > Of course, the article goes on to directly contradict the above, > saying MMY rejected the traditional dogmas, developing a new > effortless practice. I think the above refers to the mantras and the way they're assigned, not to the effortless practice. It's very carefully written to *avoid* saying TM specifically was preserved in this tradition. So I'm not sure you can say it goes on to "directly contradict" the paragraph above. > It's not clear if the Shankaracharya tradition > itself, and/or Guru Dev's ashram, was also teaching incorrect non-TM > meditation which MMY had to overcome. Seems to me it's implied if you read between the lines. > In one place the article states > MMY did this meditation revival work under the direct guidance of > Guru Dev, but in another implies it came to him after Guru Dev > passed away. Again, I think this account treads very carefully so as to avoid saying anything that might reflect poorly on Guru Dev. The way I interpret it, MMY said to Guru Dev at some point, Hey, my experience doesn't jibe with what I've heard about meditation, and Guru Dev said, So go investigate, figure out why this would be the case. And MMY did so. Or maybe Guru Dev told him to take a hike, and he just did it on his own. > Was this guidance from GD directly relevant to TM or > just to MMY's general development of consciousness? Did MMY get > some aspects of TM from the ashram and some on his own later? It's > not clear if MMY himself did any sort of meditation while in GD's > ashram or alone later on. My guess is that he did not receive a technique from Guru Dev, and that this is part of what the essay is tiptoeing so carefully around. That's just my speculation, obviously. > NOthing is said in the article about the > use of the specific TM mantras, which many people have stated are > more common in tantric than in vedic traditions. Well, the article says the mantras were among those handed down by the Shankaracharya tradition. I don't know if any of this tale is *accurate*, mind you. The point is that it's quite explicit about MMY having developed TM on the basis of personal experimentation rather than having *obtained* it from somewhere. You're quite right that there's a lot that's vague in this account, and I suspect intentionally so. I have my own ideas about what the real story might be. But it *isn't* vague about where TM came from; to the contrary. It may or may not be true, but if that was what MMY wanted folks to believe was the case, it explains why he doesn't identify TM's origins in terms of where he got it from--because his story is that he got it from his own noggin. ------------------------ 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/
