Comment below: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
**SNIP** > >> Different cultures define "caring" in different ways. The TMO's > >> founder is Hindu, and charity work isn't always the top of the list > >> for Hindus, I guess due to the reincarnation/karma thing. > > > > Amma's a Hindu, and it's at the top of her list. Karunamayi is a > > Hindu. She > > too sets up hospitals, schools, etc. Gandhi was a Hindu. The list > > goes on. > > Even Swami Rama, who was involved in severe sexual manipulation of > his female students, created hospitals, ashrams and methods to take > his students to full enlightenment--well beyond mere mantra meditation. > **SNIP TO END** Just as a side comment on the phrase "mere mantra meditation" I've pasted a little bit from Nisargadatta following. That's not to say I don't agree with what I believe is the basic premise behind Vaj's use of that phrase which is to do whatever it is that draws "you" in your spiritual pursuit. You can trust yourself to do what's right for you. You can trust yourself to make mistakes, too. As Nisargadatta says, it's your earnestness that is key. ... "The atman per se is self-sufficient. But when it clings to the body, "treatments" such as mental and physical recreation or occupation are necessary; without these the atman cannot be tolerated by a person. For spiritual evolution, which is a requisite in the disengagement of the atman from body-identity, various disciplines have been recommended. Amongst these, the best is namasmarana -- recitation of a holy name of God. But here God means the indwelling principle within you -- the atman, which is given various names. These represent this "inner-God" who will respond no matter what names of other Gods you chant. . . . The keynote of recitation is to confine this "I-am-ness" within itself. The listener in you listens to the chantings and feels greatly pleased. The merging of beingness within itself is the very fount of bliss. If you want eternal peace, you can have it and be it through the absorbing devotional path -- the nama-japa or bhakti-yoga. In this country, for ages it has been accepted that a sacred name carries great spiritual potency if recited properly; it has no better substitute. . . . When you are initiated into a spiritual discipline with a sacred name, it means that it represents your "ultimate true nature." Be one with the sacred name completely, then it will give you all the mystic knowledge necessary for your spiritual elevation. It will awaken you into your "eternal awareness." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/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/