On 02/17/2013 08:13 AM, authfriend wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, navashok <no_reply@...> wrote: >> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <authfriend@> wrote: >>> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: >>> <snip> >>>> Regarding meditation, my late tantra guru always said "if you >>>> don't feel like meditating then don't because nothing will be >>>> gained from the meditation." In TM it was treated more >>>> devotional and skipping frowned on. >>> FWIW, I never heard there was anything "devotional" about >>> doing TM regularly. >> Doing TM regularly - quite obviously with zeal - means to >> devote ones time to it: > Right. But that isn't what the adjective "devotional" > means. In English, you can't always assume one form > of a term has exactly the same meanings as another > form. > > (In any case, Bhairitu should have used the adverb > "devotionally" rather than the adjective "devotional.") > > And "zeal" is not necessarily applicable either. > >> de·vote (d-vt) >> tr.v. de·vot·ed, de·vot·ing, de·votes >> >> 1. To give or apply (one's time, attention, or self) entirely to a >> particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person. >> 2. To set apart for a specific purpose or use: land devoted to mining. >> ... >> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/devote >> >> In the above definitely #1 is applicable > Right. But it isn't clear that's what Bhairitu meant by > it (and of course "entirely" wouldn't apply to something > one does twice a day for 20 minutes). > >> devotion [dɪˈvəʊʃən] >> n >> 1. (often foll by to) strong attachment (to) or affection (for a cause, >> person, etc.) marked by dedicated loyalty >> 2. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) religious zeal; piety >> 3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) (often plural) religious observance >> or prayers >> >> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/devotion >> >> #1 is applicable here, as in TM there is an attachment to the >> practice . In part also #3. > Bhairitu may have meant #1, in the sense of being dedicated > to regular practice, just as one might be said to be > dedicated to brushing one's teeth twice a day whether one > feels like it or not. If he meant #3--this was my point-- > that's not what I was taught. > >>> It was supposedly a matter of the >>> effect on the physiology, like the standard (not just in >>> TM) recommendation to eat and go to bed at regular times. >> Non sequitur. > Not at all. You've completely missed my point, which had > to do with what I was taught was the reason it was > important not to miss meditations. > >>> TM was also compared to brushing your teeth. It wouldn't >>> make any sense to say, "If you don't feel like brushing >>> your teeth then don't because nothing will be gained >>> from brushing them." >> Well, there is a difference of opinion here. It's obvious, >> that while some people get out a lot of their meditations, >> there are others that don't - for example Ann, and yet >> others who are mostly daydreaming or dozing. > In the TM context, I was taught that it didn't matter > whether one felt one was getting a lot out of one's > meditation--it was doing one good regardless, as long > as one was practicing according to the instructions > (including being regular). > > You see, the point has to do with Bhairitu's phrase > "treated as," meaning what TMers are taught--at least > in my experience--which is a matter of fact, not > opinion. > >
FWIW, we TM teachers always stressed the importance of being regular and there were few exceptions to that though some have claimed more have been added over time. I know TM'ers who get nervous if in a situation that means they might miss a meditation. And finally I said "more devotional" not just "devotional" taking the term abstractly in it being "like" a devotional practice and not that it is one. Furthermore it appears like that to people on other paths who are in awe or admire it.
