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Home > Archive > Yoga > March 2006 > Back to the basics
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Back to the basics
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| blacknblue 2006-03-22, 4:05 pm |
| Ive found for beginners such as myself it is best to stick to simple
wisdom. I am not greater than Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, Allah,
Yaweh....God as He is understood. Why the hell was I trying all these
complex breathing and mantras? So my Soul could become enlightened of
course. The great yogis say a Teacher is required for all this to
perfect oneself. The Teacher will come when time is right. I'm
sticking to simple stuff from now on. Like just trying to relax
without drugs! Yeah, I've been taken down to earth. In my dreams I
guess its okay to fly on the astral plane but thats just fun Here on
earth I need to work on the basic niyamas and yamas. Life is short but
not soo bad that I have to kill myself with such extremes of practices
that I don't even really know all that well. Simplifying helps in
math, maybe it will help with my problems in life as well?
peace,
Aaron
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| omjaroo 2006-03-22, 4:05 pm |
| Arron,
How the XXXX are you? Where have you been? And welcome back!
Now down to business... :-)
>Ive found for beginners such as myself it is best to stick to simple >wisdom
Yes we all have to learn this. It's called KISS, Keep It Simple
Stupid :-)
>I am not greater than Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, Allah,
>Yaweh....God as He is understood.
Nor are you less... You are what ever God is ...
>Why the hell was I trying all these complex breathing and mantras? So >my Soul could become enlightened of course.
Because you want what we all want; to be reunited in awareness of who
and what we are. To be rid of the presentation, lies and illusions that
suck the life out of us everyday.
>The great yogis say a Teacher is required for all this to
>perfect oneself. The Teacher will come when time is right.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear... Bank on it :-)
>I'm sticking to simple stuff from now on. Like just trying to relax
>without drugs!
Ha! May be simple... but it's not easy!
>Yeah, I've been taken down to earth.
I would call it God's Grace. In my experience there is no greater
blessing. Hold it; live it; explore it; give it...
>In my dreams I guess its okay to fly on the astral plane but thats just fun
Not just fun, it's OK; its who and what you are... It's your
birthright; your nature; it's fundamental to your very existence.
>Here on earth I need to work on the basic niyamas and yamas.
Oh yes, you do. So do I ...
>Life is short but not soo bad that I have to kill myself with such extremes >of practices that I don't even really know all that well.
Fact is you don't have to do anything. You are already there. You
have always been there. All that you want, you already have. The only
challenge you have is accepting what is real; true; here and now...
>Simplifying helps in math, maybe it will help with my problems in life as well?
I encourage you study, learn, practice jnana yoga. In this form of yoga
a yogi relentlessly pursues the Truth. A jnani questions everything...
A jnani chases every question until it is answered beyond question.
Nothing deters the jnani in their inquiry, "who am I ?". "Who,
what, why is God?" "Why, Why, Why?" It can be known. A jnani
will know it or die trying.
Welcome back shit bird! Keep coming back :-)
Jared
o
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| eputkonen@gmail.com 2006-03-22, 4:05 pm |
| >>The great yogis say a Teacher is required for all this to
[vbcol=seagreen]
>When the student is ready, the teacher will appear... Bank on it :-)
The inner Teacher is required...a physical person being your guru is
not required.
~ Eric Putkonen
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| Jared,
You have stated that "" "Nor are you less... You are what ever God is
...." ""
This is not correct! we can only be a piece of GOD, a piece never is
the WHOLE!
How come you make such a mistake? Incredible!
Puma
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Eputko,
This is the most beautiful statement I have heard this year. THE INNER
TEACHER IS REQUIRED... Perfect. But people actually think that a
physical person being a guru...
Thanks so much.
With respect,
Puma
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| eputkonen@gmail.com 2006-03-22, 4:05 pm |
| >>You have stated that "" "Nor are you less... You are what ever God is..." ""
>This is not correct! we can only be a piece of GOD, a piece never is the WHOLE!
If you only see yourself as a piece, then you are forever trapped in
dualism. Ultimately all is one - non-dualist - so you are whatever God
is (as earlier mentioned). That is what jnani realize - what the
bhakta know but don't want to realize (as Ramakrishna said, he wants to
taste sugar not be sugar). But the jnani realizes all there is is
sugar.
~ Eric Putkonen
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| eputkonen@gmail.com 2006-03-22, 4:05 pm |
| >But people actually think that a physical person being a guru...
inner teacher / inner guru - same thing.
~ Eric Putkonen
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| omjaroo 2006-03-23, 1:27 am |
| > Jared,
> You have stated that "" "Nor are you less... You are what ever God is
> This is not correct! we can only be a piece of GOD, a piece never is
> the WHOLE!
> How come you make such a mistake? Incredible!
> Puma
Puma my friend,
There are no mistakes. There is no "right" or "wrong", there is only
God! :-)
My statement was qualitative not quantitative... I was talking about
the nature of our existence not the amount of our existence.
Imagine a drop of water in the ocean. The drop of water (out of
countless others) is made up of whatever the ocean is made up of.
Where does the drop begin? Where does it end. This drop of water
touches every other drop of water in the ocean. The drop is not the
whole ocean but it is whatever the ocean is and because it is not
distinct from any other part of the ocean, one could say it is the
ocean. This is our relationship to God. We are whatever God is. There
is no distinction, no separation. We are connected to and
undifferentiated from the whole. You could say we are God. Only in our
imagination does it appear we are separate or distinct. This is the
nature of maya.
Jared
o
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Hi Eputko,
Thanks for kind reply regarding the WHOLENESS. It is not what I see
myself,the important how TRUTH is...Neither bhakta nor jnani knows the
TRUTH! if they did, they would not make such a distinction regarding
SUGAR or PEPPER!!! If they do make such a distinction this clearly
indicates that they are far from the TRUTH...
Whole comes out from the pieces but non of these pieces have the same
power as WHOLE has.
Respectfully,
Puma..
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| My dear OMJAROO,
I really appreciate all your vision regarding the NATURE of our
existence.But this is , what you are saying, seems to me in an IDEAL
sense of GOD,which might be in harmony with the idea of GOD. But in
reality things are quite different, otherwise no crime, no thiefs, no
gangsters, no insurgents, no wars, no imperialism would happen.
Look around, and see that if all these are GOD, then why they are
killing infants, old people within the mosques or within the any
churches...
Look at the Africa, people trying to find water but they are drinking
their urine instead of water...Are these acts of GOD? Do you think GOD
is so helpless? Or all of these are MAYA? Or are we trying to take
opium not to see the realities...
So, piece does not have the same power of the WHOLE. they might be from
the same
origin but there is absolutely a disctionction in POWER and in ACTION,
look at the
OCEAN and the drop of water, how helples is the drop,only all the drops
coming together makes the WHOLENESS and the POWER. Without the POWER
GOD is helpless!!!!
With compassion,
Puma
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| blacknblue 2006-03-24, 1:33 pm |
| Hey Jared,
I'm doing much better. I went on a year drug bindge somehow thinking
I could get closer to God. Now I am still in the process of recovery.
It's honestly quite depressing to make some spiritual progress and then
XXXX it up with drugs. I now attend AA trying to relate and find some
of these root problems that cause me to keep coming back to do stupid
shit. I was in a relationship of codependency.....I told my story at
an AA meeting and there was a dude there who said "yeah we have a term
for that in Buddhism"...."its called 'idiot compassion' "....I desire
to get rid of all these idiot relationships I fall into.
As for Jana Yoga I am not familiar of the path. Questioning reality
is seems like the major theme as you describe it? Maybe not?
Also as for the guru...I have been given advice in dreams and during
astral projection that has helped me greatly. These people I don't
look to as my guru. Just trusted servents of God desiring the same
goal of total freedom. Maybe I am wrong. But I mean even here on
cyberspace I find helpful hints:}
Thank You and glad to be back,
Aaron
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| omjaroo 2006-03-24, 6:31 pm |
| > My dear OMJAROO,
> I really appreciate all your vision regarding the NATURE of our =E2=80=A8=
existence.But this is , what you are saying, seems to me in an IDEAL =E2=80=
=A8sense of GOD,which might be in harmony with the idea of GOD. But in =E2=
=80=A8reality things are quite different, otherwise no crime, no thiefs, no=
=E2=80=A8gangsters, no insurgents, no wars, no imperialism would happen.
> Look around, and see that if all these are GOD, then why they are =E2=80=
=A8killing infants, old people within the mosques or within the any =E2=80=
=A8churches...
> Look at the Africa, people trying to find water but they are drinking =E2=
=80=A8their urine instead of water...Are these acts of GOD? Do you think GO=
D =E2=80=A8is so helpless? Or all of these are MAYA? Or are we trying to ta=
ke =E2=80=A8opium not to see the realities...
> So, piece does not have the same power of the WHOLE. they might be from =
=E2=80=A8the same =E2=80=A8origin but there is absolutely a disctionction i=
n POWER and in ACTION, =E2=80=A8look at the =E2=80=A8OCEAN and the drop of =
water, how helples is the drop,only all the drops =E2=80=A8coming together =
makes the WHOLENESS and the POWER. Without the POWER =E2=80=A8GOD is helple=
ss!!!!
> With compassion,
> Puma
Taking the water analogy a bit farther, consider this.
The water in the ocean churns and collides and is violently active at
times. It is at all times fully compliant with the laws operating the
manifest universe. That is it is subject to the laws of continually
alternating opposites. Yet if we could reduce ourselves to the smallest
possible vantage point we would see that the entire ocean, along with
everything else that exists would in fact be one and the same. Part of
a all encompassing ocean where there is no opposite, only the ideal
sense of God or the Force, or Allah, or the Void or Mind or Cosmic
Consciousness or a Unified Field or Brahman or Jehovah or
whatever/however one wishes to try and name what is un-namable or
describe what is un-describable. So you see the Universe is Absolute,
not relative or containing opposites. It is what I think of as Binary.
0 or 1. It exists or it doesn=E2=80=99t. It=E2=80=99s True or it is not. So=
all
that exists is True and all that does not is not. There is no opposite
of God or Truth. These are one in the same and the only Existence there
is.
But how does this translate to the fear and violence we see everyday?
Why would God do or allow all this suffering and unhappiness? God
doesn=E2=80=99t do or not do anything. God is. To do or change or to allow
something implies that there is time and space. That something can be
made different from something else and that there is time in which to
make it different. Because all is One; there is no distinction or
difference in any thing. It is all the same stuff so there can be no
change from one thing to another. Also there is no time, there is only
Now, so there can be no change because from one moment to another does
not exist. It is only an idea we have constructed so we can find our
car keys when we need to go to work :-)
Of course this all sounds like metaphysical mumbo jumbo and so it is
the limit of our =E2=80=9Cmind=E2=80=9D. Our =E2=80=9Cmind=E2=80=9D can not=
serve us in
understanding what I am talking about. At least not yet. It seems the
quantum physicists are working on it :-) In the mean time meditation,
intuition and/or experience enable us to see the un-seeable. Imagine
how a drop of water might try to see itself as distinct from the rest
of the ocean. It could not. Hence the old saying about not being able
to see the forest from the trees :-) In order to =E2=80=9Csee=E2=80=9D some=
thing
there must be some kind of contrast. If everything is the same there is
no contrast therefore no distinction therefore no image of difference.
In order for there to be life as we know it, there must be contrast,
distinction, the appearance of separation. That means there must be war
and peace, right and wrong, good and bad, life and death. But these
things are reflections or appearances only because in Truth, they are
all made of the same Thing. The only Thing.
Up to this point I have been talking about things on the absolute level
but even at the relative (appearance) level these things are all the
same. War and peace, right and wrong, good and bad, life and death;
these things can not (and do not) exist apart from one another. Like
the opposite ends of a pencil; they are the same pencil! I was walking
along the street in downtown San Diego the other day when I looked down
at the sidewalk and there was an inscription by Mahatma Gandhi. It said
=E2=80=9Cyou must be the change you wish to see in the world=E2=80=9D. The =
conflict
we see outside of ourselves is in reality the conflict we see inside
ourselves. When we practice yama/niyama or any other moral system we
must have hate, discontent, violence and evil for our study/practice to
be meaningful. So I must bless the criminal because without him/me I
could not be a good, kind, loving, wise individual could I? One of the
ways to see this clearly is to =E2=80=9Cbe=E2=80=9D these things. Once ther=
e, it is
easy to see that nothing has changed that I am still the same person.
That there is in fact no difference between the =E2=80=9Cgood=E2=80=9D me a=
nd the
=E2=80=9Cbad=E2=80=9D me. Then my only issue becomes to know who the =E2=80=
=9Creal=E2=80=9D me
is and let myself =E2=80=9Cbe=E2=80=9D who I am, with out regard for the
illusions. Can you guess where this is heading?
There is only God. I know this in theory/concept/ideal but I am also
blessed to know it by experience. Of course this can only be meaningful
to me. I can describe it but I can not give it. So with the knowledge
that there is only God, then logically I can only be whatever God is.
So I learn about the nature of God and I study, train and practice
those qualities or attributes which are consistent with what I know (or
suppose I know) about God. Emmet Fox would say that God is Life, Truth,
Intelligence, Spirit, Soul, Principal and Love. So using this criteria
I try to learn to practice my life in alignment with these
=E2=80=9Cqualities=E2=80=9D. If they are True, if they exist then living my=
life
according to them will work. If they are fictions, ideals, pie in ski
bullshit, then they will not work. By the way they do work. They are
however not easy. Nor are people lining up to tell me what a great job
I am doing and how I am correct and why what I know is the Truth.
In any case, only what exists can be True. Any idea I have or decision
I make that is based on anything but the Truth will have a unhappy
outcome because it is based on =E2=80=9Cbad=E2=80=9D information. Conversel=
y any
decision based on =E2=80=9Cgood=E2=80=9D information or what is true will h=
ave a
better chance of a happy outcome.
Oh well. You may choose to see evil all around you and I choose to see
God all around me. We are both looking at the same thing but in my
experience one works better then the other :-)
Jared =20
o
^
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