---thanks, so overall; what are some advantages of Buddhism over Shankara, if anything?
In [email protected], billy jim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Swami Muktananada's "blue pearl" is the title he gave to the nila- bindu (blue point-essence) experienced at the ajna-chakra. Shankara does not talk about the nila-bindu although in his Bha.Gita commentary on Bh.G. 8.10 he does discuss the Ajna-chakra > > prayaana-kaale: At the time of death, after first bringing the mind under control in the lotus of the heart, and then lifting up the prana through the nadi going upward - by gradually gaining control over the rudiments of nature such as earth, etc.; and after that, samyak aasveshya: having fully fixed; Praana: (life energy); madhye: between; the bhruvoh: eye-brows, without losing attention; achalena manasaa: with an unwavering mind; he, the yogin possessed of such wisdom, yuktah: imbued, united; bhaktyaa: with devotion, deep love; ca eva: as also; yoga-balena: with the strength of yoga i.e. imbued with that strength also, consisting in steadfastness of the mind arising from accumulation of impressions resulting from samadhi; upaiti: reaches; tam: that; divyam: resplendent; param: supreme; purusham: person - described as the Omniscient, the Ancient, etc. > > However, Shankara based his descriptions of yogic practice upon more than one source. In fact he described a path of return which co- identifies the purusha in the heart, the purusha in the right-eye and the purusha in the Sun (hiranyagarbha) as manifestation of the same purusha, the source-being who is transcendent over unmanifest maya. > > Muktananada's lineage was a siddha lineage, just like the lineage of Paramahansa Yogananada. Both contain practices focusing upon the nila-bindu, but, (IMO) Yogananda's is more extensive in teaching a wide range of knowledge and techniques and is also more balanced in understanding and weighing the various aspect of the yogic knowledge that can be imparted to sadhakas. (One example is the overwhelming importance he placed upon the meditator dwelling in deep, silent awareness at the end of any meditative practice). > > Disclaimer: Please note that I have received diksha from one of Yogananda's disciples [brother Anandamoy] and have also received diksha from Swami Prajnanananda - disciple of Swami Hariharananda, (guru-brother of Yogananada). I have not received diksha from Muktananada or Swami Chidvilasananda, his lineage heir. (You may therefore weigh my judgments as you please.) > > The nila-bindu is the yogic archetype for the experience of the three worlds (tri-lokya). Putting it into Buddhist term which you will understand - > > 1. the outer golden ring is the mano-prana mandala of kama-loka, which terminates not in the Vaishwanara palace of Indra upon Mt. Meru but in Hiranyagarbha, the golden embryo, the deity in the sun - (symbolized by the Narmadeshvar lingam prior to the bifurcation of male/female into the lingam/yoni). > > 2. the radiant, blue sky-like expanse (inside the golden aura) is the vijnana-mandala of rupa-arupa loka, the realm of meditative dhyana-samapatti-s. According to Shri Yukteshwar it is the karana- chitta, the casual realm of pure ideation (not mere thinking but noetic-eidetic cognition). > > 3. the central bindu (described as being either in the form of the Guru, the Ishta-devata (Yidam) or a five-pointed star) is the door to the divine realm (not arupa-loka but lokuttara). > > This descriptive model is not quite the same as the one used in the Upanishads. It is a later yogic model arising from the yogic siddha tradition. > > In contrast, Shankara uses the Upanishadic description of the sushumna primarily as the nadi exiting from the heart (hrid) which ascends to the center between the eye-brows (bhru-madya) and terminates at the peak (shiras) of the head. This is the method which Shankara describes in the Bhag.Gita as the Krama-mukti patha, the path of gradual realization of the conditioned Brahman. It is not the same as the Shaiva (shivite) path of kundalini-yoga nor is it the same as the Vaishnava (Vishnuite) path of return found in the Panchratra lineages of yogic meditation equally profound. > > This is all that I have time to do today and is probably more than you wanted to know anyway. > > Interesting question though. > > > tertonzeno <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ---How about the Blue Pearl? What does Shankara say about that? > > In [email protected], billy jim <emptybill@> wrote: > > > > The problem here is in characterizing Shankara's views only in > terms of his commentary on the Brahma Sutras. > > <snip> > > > Recent Activity > > 2 > New Members > > Visit Your Group > Search Ads > Get new customers. > List your web site > in Yahoo! Search. > > Official Samsung > Yahoo! Group for > supporting your > HDTVs and devices. > > Featured Y! Groups > and category pages. > There is something > for everyone. > > > > . > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. > Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. >
