[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
Suddenly things become much more clear to me... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: Much better to just do Thogal practices, dark retreat, etc. They build tejas, the fire of vision. IME, psychedelics, even ones lovingly prepared by experts at entheogen formulations, sap the body of tejas. When I look at someone who's been tripping, the tejas shine is gone from their aura. They have a grayness. I think pure MDMA (Ecstasy) is much better than any psychedelic, the experiences are much more helpful and much easier to integrate. On Feb 4, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kirk wrote: Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
--Excellent words from Frawley. Neo-Advaitins typically try to diss devotion to (Gurus, gods); but there are no set rules even after CC since Ramakrishna continued with his devotion to Kali. Such Neo-Advaitic misconceptions are preferences on their part; some essentially types of urban myths for modern times. - In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: From the excellent article by David Frawley Misconceptions about Advaita, First published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramanashram LINK Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? One of the main areas of difference of opinion is relative to who can practice Advaita and to what degree? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry? Some people believe that Advaita has no prerequisites, but can be taken up by anyone, under any circumstances, regardless of their background or life-style. After all, Advaita is just teaching us to rest in our true nature, which is always there for everyone. Why should that rest on any outer aids or requirements? This is a particularly appealing idea in the age of democracy, when all people are supposed to be equal. In much of neo-Advaita, the idea of prerequisites on the part of the student or the teacher is not discussed. Speaking to general audiences in the West, some neo-Advaitic teachers give the impression that one can practice Advaita along with an affluent life-style and little modification of one's personal behavior. This is part of the trend of modern yogic teachings in the West that avoid any reference to asceticism or tapas as part of practice, which are not popular ideas in this materialistic age. However, if we read traditional Advaitic texts, we get quite a different impression. The question of the aptitude or adhikara of the student is an important topic dealt with at the beginning of the teaching. The requirements can be quite stringent and daunting, if not downright discouraging. One should first renounce the world, practice brahmacharya, and gain proficiency in other yogas like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga and so on (the sadhana- chatushtya). One can examine texts like the Vedanta Sara I.6-26 for a detailed description. While probably no one ever had all of these requirements before starting the practice of Self-inquiry, these at least do encourage humility, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the teacher who himself may not have all these requirements! Ramana keeps the requirement for Advaita simple yet clear a ripe mind, which is the essence of the whole thing, and encourages practice of the teaching without overestimating one's readiness for it. Yet a ripe mind is not as easy as it sounds either. Ramana defines this ripe mind as profound detachment and deep discrimination, above all a powerful aspiration for liberation from the body and the cycle of rebirth not a mere mental interest but an unshakeable conviction going to the very root of our thoughts and feelings (note Ramana Gita VII. 8-11). A ripe, pure or sattvic mind implies that rajas and tamas, the qualities of passion and ignorance, have been cleared not only from the mind but also from the body, to which the mind is connected in Vedic thought. Such a pure or ripe mind was rare even in classical India. In the modern world, in which our life-style and culture is dominated by rajas and tamas, it is indeed quite rare and certainly not to be expected. To arrive at it, a dharmic life-style is necessary. This is similar to the Yoga Sutra prescription of the yamas and niyamas as prerequisites for Yoga practice. In this regard, Ramana particularly emphasized a sattvic vegetarian diet as a great aid to practice. The problem is that many people take Ramana's idea of a ripe mind superficially. It is not a prescription that anyone can approach or practice Advaita in any manner they like. Advaita does require considerable inner purity and self-discipline, developing which is an important aim of practice which should not be lightly set aside. Is Advaita Against Other Yoga Practices? A related misconception is that Advaita is against other spiritual and yogic practices like mantra, pranayama, puja and bhakti, which from its point of view are regarded as of little value and only serve to condition the mind further. Even a number of traditional Advaitic texts speak of setting all such other yogic practices aside as useless. Many neo-Advaitins emphasize such advanced teachings. They may tell even beginning students to give up all other practices and discourage them from doing mantras, pranayama or other yoga techniques. We could call this `Advaita without Yoga'. Traditional Advaita, which Ramana echoed, states that advanced aspirants who are truly ready for a dedicated path of
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
Part of the answer to the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? lies in the question itself. The question implies that the topic belongs to, or has to be steeped in a particular culture or tradition. Au contrare - I've got a brother-in-law who has a heart attack, dragged half dead to the hospital, cut open from bow to stern . . . and he walked out of that hospital an advaita thru and thru. He's never heard of the concept, or come across any of its precepts. But he speaks of the meaninglessness of worldly pursuits, how his daily duties only left him only with fears and anxieties - he experienced a discontent that went right to his core. That dude has really lightened up. So the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Hell, forget whether there's prerequisites or not - ask yourself - without the (near) extinguishing of 'that person in charge of my life', can advaita be practiced at all? The practice of advaita without the honest recognition that it will never work is doomed to create the same anxieties and fears that a 9-5 job will do. I recommend eating a bunch of deep fried cheese curds. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: From the excellent article by David Frawley Misconceptions about Advaita, First published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramanashram LINK Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? One of the main areas of difference of opinion is relative to who can practice Advaita and to what degree? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry? Some people believe that Advaita has no prerequisites, but can be taken up by anyone, under any circumstances, regardless of their background or life-style. After all, Advaita is just teaching us to rest in our true nature, which is always there for everyone. Why should that rest on any outer aids or requirements? This is a particularly appealing idea in the age of democracy, when all people are supposed to be equal. In much of neo-Advaita, the idea of prerequisites on the part of the student or the teacher is not discussed. Speaking to general audiences in the West, some neo-Advaitic teachers give the impression that one can practice Advaita along with an affluent life-style and little modification of one's personal behavior. This is part of the trend of modern yogic teachings in the West that avoid any reference to asceticism or tapas as part of practice, which are not popular ideas in this materialistic age. However, if we read traditional Advaitic texts, we get quite a different impression. The question of the aptitude or adhikara of the student is an important topic dealt with at the beginning of the teaching. The requirements can be quite stringent and daunting, if not downright discouraging. One should first renounce the world, practice brahmacharya, and gain proficiency in other yogas like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga and so on (the sadhana-chatushtya). One can examine texts like the Vedanta Sara I.6-26 for a detailed description. While probably no one ever had all of these requirements before starting the practice of Self-inquiry, these at least do encourage humility, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the teacher who himself may not have all these requirements! Ramana keeps the requirement for Advaita simple yet clear a ripe mind, which is the essence of the whole thing, and encourages practice of the teaching without overestimating one's readiness for it. Yet a ripe mind is not as easy as it sounds either. Ramana defines this ripe mind as profound detachment and deep discrimination, above all a powerful aspiration for liberation from the body and the cycle of rebirth not a mere mental interest but an unshakeable conviction going to the very root of our thoughts and feelings (note Ramana Gita VII. 8-11). A ripe, pure or sattvic mind implies that rajas and tamas, the qualities of passion and ignorance, have been cleared not only from the mind but also from the body, to which the mind is connected in Vedic thought. Such a pure or ripe mind was rare even in classical India. In the modern world, in which our life-style and culture is dominated by rajas and tamas, it is indeed quite rare and certainly not to be expected. To arrive at it, a dharmic life-style is necessary. This is similar to the Yoga Sutra prescription of the yamas and niyamas as prerequisites for Yoga practice. In this regard, Ramana particularly emphasized a sattvic vegetarian diet as a great aid to practice. The problem is that many people take Ramana's idea of a ripe mind superficially. It is not a prescription that anyone can approach or practice Advaita in any manner they like. Advaita does require considerable inner purity and self-discipline, developing which is an important aim of practice which should not be
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
---Did Bro-in-law have a NDE? See any dead relatives? Tunnel, Light? For Kirk if he's reading this. Haven't tried Ibogaine but you can get botanical specimens of San Pedro cactus online. Contains mescaline but no nausea-generating compounds. Mellow stuff but powerful. http://www.ncane.com/t224 In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Larry inmadi...@... wrote: Part of the answer to the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? lies in the question itself. The question implies that the topic belongs to, or has to be steeped in a particular culture or tradition. Au contrare - I've got a brother-in-law who has a heart attack, dragged half dead to the hospital, cut open from bow to stern . . . and he walked out of that hospital an advaita thru and thru. He's never heard of the concept, or come across any of its precepts. But he speaks of the meaninglessness of worldly pursuits, how his daily duties only left him only with fears and anxieties - he experienced a discontent that went right to his core. That dude has really lightened up. So the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Hell, forget whether there's prerequisites or not - ask yourself - without the (near) extinguishing of 'that person in charge of my life', can advaita be practiced at all? The practice of advaita without the honest recognition that it will never work is doomed to create the same anxieties and fears that a 9-5 job will do. I recommend eating a bunch of deep fried cheese curds. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: From the excellent article by David Frawley Misconceptions about Advaita, First published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramanashram LINK Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? One of the main areas of difference of opinion is relative to who can practice Advaita and to what degree? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry? Some people believe that Advaita has no prerequisites, but can be taken up by anyone, under any circumstances, regardless of their background or life-style. After all, Advaita is just teaching us to rest in our true nature, which is always there for everyone. Why should that rest on any outer aids or requirements? This is a particularly appealing idea in the age of democracy, when all people are supposed to be equal. In much of neo-Advaita, the idea of prerequisites on the part of the student or the teacher is not discussed. Speaking to general audiences in the West, some neo-Advaitic teachers give the impression that one can practice Advaita along with an affluent life-style and little modification of one's personal behavior. This is part of the trend of modern yogic teachings in the West that avoid any reference to asceticism or tapas as part of practice, which are not popular ideas in this materialistic age. However, if we read traditional Advaitic texts, we get quite a different impression. The question of the aptitude or adhikara of the student is an important topic dealt with at the beginning of the teaching. The requirements can be quite stringent and daunting, if not downright discouraging. One should first renounce the world, practice brahmacharya, and gain proficiency in other yogas like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga and so on (the sadhana- chatushtya). One can examine texts like the Vedanta Sara I.6-26 for a detailed description. While probably no one ever had all of these requirements before starting the practice of Self-inquiry, these at least do encourage humility, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the teacher who himself may not have all these requirements! Ramana keeps the requirement for Advaita simple yet clear a ripe mind, which is the essence of the whole thing, and encourages practice of the teaching without overestimating one's readiness for it. Yet a ripe mind is not as easy as it sounds either. Ramana defines this ripe mind as profound detachment and deep discrimination, above all a powerful aspiration for liberation from the body and the cycle of rebirth not a mere mental interest but an unshakeable conviction going to the very root of our thoughts and feelings (note Ramana Gita VII. 8-11). A ripe, pure or sattvic mind implies that rajas and tamas, the qualities of passion and ignorance, have been cleared not only from the mind but also from the body, to which the mind is connected in Vedic thought. Such a pure or ripe mind was rare even in classical India. In the modern world, in which our life-style and culture is dominated by rajas and tamas, it is indeed quite rare and certainly not to be expected. To arrive at it, a dharmic life-style is necessary. This is similar to the Yoga Sutra prescription of
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies. - Original Message - From: yifuxero yifux...@yahoo.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 2:38 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? ---Did Bro-in-law have a NDE? See any dead relatives? Tunnel, Light? For Kirk if he's reading this. Haven't tried Ibogaine but you can get botanical specimens of San Pedro cactus online. Contains mescaline but no nausea-generating compounds. Mellow stuff but powerful. http://www.ncane.com/t224 In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Larry inmadi...@... wrote: Part of the answer to the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? lies in the question itself. The question implies that the topic belongs to, or has to be steeped in a particular culture or tradition. Au contrare - I've got a brother-in-law who has a heart attack, dragged half dead to the hospital, cut open from bow to stern . . . and he walked out of that hospital an advaita thru and thru. He's never heard of the concept, or come across any of its precepts. But he speaks of the meaninglessness of worldly pursuits, how his daily duties only left him only with fears and anxieties - he experienced a discontent that went right to his core. That dude has really lightened up. So the question Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Hell, forget whether there's prerequisites or not - ask yourself - without the (near) extinguishing of 'that person in charge of my life', can advaita be practiced at all? The practice of advaita without the honest recognition that it will never work is doomed to create the same anxieties and fears that a 9-5 job will do. I recommend eating a bunch of deep fried cheese curds. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: From the excellent article by David Frawley Misconceptions about Advaita, First published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramanashram LINK Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? One of the main areas of difference of opinion is relative to who can practice Advaita and to what degree? What are the prerequisites for Self-inquiry? Some people believe that Advaita has no prerequisites, but can be taken up by anyone, under any circumstances, regardless of their background or life-style. After all, Advaita is just teaching us to rest in our true nature, which is always there for everyone. Why should that rest on any outer aids or requirements? This is a particularly appealing idea in the age of democracy, when all people are supposed to be equal. In much of neo-Advaita, the idea of prerequisites on the part of the student or the teacher is not discussed. Speaking to general audiences in the West, some neo-Advaitic teachers give the impression that one can practice Advaita along with an affluent life-style and little modification of one's personal behavior. This is part of the trend of modern yogic teachings in the West that avoid any reference to asceticism or tapas as part of practice, which are not popular ideas in this materialistic age. However, if we read traditional Advaitic texts, we get quite a different impression. The question of the aptitude or adhikara of the student is an important topic dealt with at the beginning of the teaching. The requirements can be quite stringent and daunting, if not downright discouraging. One should first renounce the world, practice brahmacharya, and gain proficiency in other yogas like Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga and so on (the sadhana- chatushtya). One can examine texts like the Vedanta Sara I.6-26 for a detailed description. While probably no one ever had all of these requirements before starting the practice of Self-inquiry, these at least do encourage humility, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the teacher who himself may not have all these requirements! Ramana keeps the requirement for Advaita simple yet clear - a ripe mind, which is the essence of the whole thing, and encourages practice of the teaching without overestimating one's readiness for it. Yet a ripe mind is not as easy as it sounds either. Ramana defines this ripe mind as profound detachment and deep discrimination, above all a powerful aspiration for liberation from the body and the cycle of rebirth - not a mere mental interest but an unshakeable conviction going to the very root of our thoughts and feelings (note Ramana Gita VII. 8-11). A ripe, pure or sattvic mind implies that rajas and tamas, the qualities of passion and ignorance, have been cleared not only from the mind but also from the body, to which the mind is connected in Vedic thought. Such a pure
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
Much better to just do Thogal practices, dark retreat, etc. They build tejas, the fire of vision. IME, psychedelics, even ones lovingly prepared by experts at entheogen formulations, sap the body of tejas. When I look at someone who's been tripping, the tejas shine is gone from their aura. They have a grayness. I think pure MDMA (Ecstasy) is much better than any psychedelic, the experiences are much more helpful and much easier to integrate. On Feb 4, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kirk wrote: Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
Actually MDMA is derivative of Mescaline. Mescaline is the original plant of the psychedelic era itself creating the explosion which led to desire for LSD. Thogal shmogel ;) Ah, actually I don't like to trip any more. I'm over it. What is nice though is the taste of a slice of fresh torch cactus in ones morning coffee just for extra bitter alkaline kick. If you're like me then any drug at all in ones blood is metabolized and one is thankful for it. - Original Message - From: Vaj To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 5:16 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Much better to just do Thogal practices, dark retreat, etc. They build tejas, the fire of vision. IME, psychedelics, even ones lovingly prepared by experts at entheogen formulations, sap the body of tejas. When I look at someone who's been tripping, the tejas shine is gone from their aura. They have a grayness. I think pure MDMA (Ecstasy) is much better than any psychedelic, the experiences are much more helpful and much easier to integrate. On Feb 4, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kirk wrote: Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Larry inmadi...@... wrote: I've got a brother-in-law who has a heart attack, dragged half dead to the hospital, cut open from bow to stern . . . and he walked out of that hospital an advaita thru and thru. He's never heard of the concept, or come across any of its precepts. But he speaks of the meaninglessness of worldly pursuits, how his daily duties only left him only with fears and anxieties - he experienced a discontent that went right to his core. That dude has really lightened up. Nothing like a near miss to inspire life change. Unfortunately, after a while most forget how mortal they are and go back to being the person they were before.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernha...@... wrote: Actually MDMA is derivative of Mescaline. Mescaline is the original plant of the psychedelic era itself creating the explosion which led to desire for LSD. What a lot of people seem to miss, not you, is that the effect of drugs, coffee, alcohol is not the thing in themselves, but its how they stimulate or dampen various neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, melatonin, GABA etc and their multiple receptors. As does, exercise. meditation, and various foods and spices, sex and aging. Grumpy old men? Nah, its the reduction of serotonin that occurs with age. Thogal shmogel ;) Ah, actually I don't like to trip any more. I'm over it. What is nice though is the taste of a slice of fresh torch cactus in ones morning coffee just for extra bitter alkaline kick. If you're like me then any drug at all in ones blood is metabolized and one is thankful for it. - Original Message - From: Vaj To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 5:16 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Much better to just do Thogal practices, dark retreat, etc. They build tejas, the fire of vision. IME, psychedelics, even ones lovingly prepared by experts at entheogen formulations, sap the body of tejas. When I look at someone who's been tripping, the tejas shine is gone from their aura. They have a grayness. I think pure MDMA (Ecstasy) is much better than any psychedelic, the experiences are much more helpful and much easier to integrate. On Feb 4, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kirk wrote: Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita?
-right...multiple factors hitting us from various angles. Important supplement to offset aging MENA-Q-7. (restores Ca to bones and extracts it from soft tissues not needing calcification, like the brain, arteriesetc). -- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernhardt@ wrote: Actually MDMA is derivative of Mescaline. Mescaline is the original plant of the psychedelic era itself creating the explosion which led to desire for LSD. What a lot of people seem to miss, not you, is that the effect of drugs, coffee, alcohol is not the thing in themselves, but its how they stimulate or dampen various neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, melatonin, GABA etc and their multiple receptors. As does, exercise. meditation, and various foods and spices, sex and aging. Grumpy old men? Nah, its the reduction of serotonin that occurs with age. Thogal shmogel ;) Ah, actually I don't like to trip any more. I'm over it. What is nice though is the taste of a slice of fresh torch cactus in ones morning coffee just for extra bitter alkaline kick. If you're like me then any drug at all in ones blood is metabolized and one is thankful for it. - Original Message - From: Vaj To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 5:16 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Are There Prerequisites for Advaita? Much better to just do Thogal practices, dark retreat, etc. They build tejas, the fire of vision. IME, psychedelics, even ones lovingly prepared by experts at entheogen formulations, sap the body of tejas. When I look at someone who's been tripping, the tejas shine is gone from their aura. They have a grayness. I think pure MDMA (Ecstasy) is much better than any psychedelic, the experiences are much more helpful and much easier to integrate. On Feb 4, 2009, at 5:59 PM, Kirk wrote: Sure, I am a fan of Torch cactus and know a cheap source for it. check out www.compras-peru.com It's good stuff if you're into that sort of thing. :) Yet iboga is iboga and I'm mainly looking to travel to the other side of addictive tendencies.
