--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > How sad that some people consider him [Dana] an "expert" in > > this regard. He doesn't have a clue what he's talking > > about. > > > > And obviously you don't either, if you think what you > > quoted from him in these last few posts is somehow > > definitive. It's just pathetic. > > Not to start an argument
Perish forbid! but to ask a question > I feel is relevant, how is Vaj considering Dana a > credible authority any different than you consider- > ing Maharishi a credible authority? It isn't a matter of MMY being a credible authority. The primary issue here is the difference between the meditator considering off-the-mantra thoughts to be lack of success in meditation (i.e., not being able to stay with the mantra), and the meditator having the attitude that thoughts are a natural part of the meditation cycle, so that the meditator doesn't exert effort to stay with the mantra. Dana doesn't think this difference is important, and therefore believes TM is essentially as effortless as other methods taught, e.g., among the Dandis. But regardless of whether MMY is a credible authority, and even regardless of whether minimizing effort is desirable, *fact* is that his approach eliminates, or at least mitigates, this source of effort, which means TM *is* essentially different from the other methods Dana refers to: it's more effortless. > It seems to me that what *both* of you do is play > "dueling authorities" here. I don't see a lot of > differences between the two approaches except in > which sources you consider authoritative enough > to quote to support the things you've chosen to > believe. > > The parallel goes further. When those beliefs > are challenged, both of you tend to reply by > calling the "authority's" credentials or character > into question. Belief per se isn't an issue here. Again, we aren't talking about whether what MMY says is *true*, merely about *what he says*. > So where's the difference? To put it another way, the "credible authority" duel is not between Dana and MMY, but between Dana and the TMers here who are saying he hasn't grasped *what* MMY teaches. Dana calls his own credentials in question with regard to understanding TM by not recognizing the difference it makes (whether good or bad) to feel one should stay with the mantra, versus not worrying about staying with the mantra. That is one of the, if not *the*, central points of *what* MMY teaches about how to meditate, and of what makes TM functionally different (whether better or worse) from the methods Dana cites. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/XISQkA/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/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/
