Category Archives: Yoga

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The Nature of Enlightenment in Advaita

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Hinduism, Ramana Maharishi, Satsang, Spirituality, Wisdom, Yoga

Dear Harsha: In many Eastern traditions it is believed that once a person is fully Self-Realized or Enlightened, he or she attains complete perfection and becomes omniscient and all knowing about three periods of time (past, present, and the future) anywhere in the entire universe. What would be Sri Ramana Maharshi’s view on this? Was Sri Ramana really all knowing and perfect in every way?

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Dear Harsha:

In many Eastern traditions it is believed that once a person is fully Self-Realized or Enlightened, he or she attains complete perfection and becomes omniscient and all knowing about three periods of time (past, present, and the future) anywhere in the entire universe. What would be Sri Ramana Maharshi’s view on this? Was Sri Ramana really all knowing and perfect in every way?
_______

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The Nature of Now

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Gurus, Hinduism, Meditation, PERSONAL, Satsang, Spirituality, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga

Our very nature is that of presence. We are not in the present. We are the present.

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Without a calm mind, one cannot experience the ultimate reality, the underlying oneness, as one’s own Self.

Spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, deep breathing, yoga) have value because they remove the agitation of the mind.

A peaceful mind, steady in awareness, can understand the purest teaching at the most subtle level.

Therefore the practical advice of the sages is to not bother anyone and not be bothered by others.

To reach the highest state and to know one’s own Heart as the Self, one has to become absolutely indifferent to both external and internal perceptions.

i-am-the-now

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Awareness Aware Of ItSelf

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Spirituality, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga . , ,

Sri Ramana used to say that what we give to others, we give to our self. That is the basic truth of the spiritual path.

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Awareness quietly aware of itself is the subtlest spiritual practice.

Its power can be understood fully when the mind is free from agitation.

The ancient sages knew that to make the mind calm and peaceful we must reflect on the interconnectedness of life and treat all life as precious and sacred.

Sri Ramana used to say that what we give to others, we give to our self.

That is the basic truth of the spiritual path.

May all beings be free from sorrow.

awareness-luthar

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Shiva and Shakti-Jnaneshwar

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, Wisdom, Yoga . , , ,

I offer obeisance to the God and Goddess,
The limitless primal parents of the universe.

They are not entirely the same,
Nor are they not the same.
We cannot say exactly what they are.

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Here are some selected verses from Jnaneshwar, a 13th century Indian mystic.

Amritanubhav (The Nectar of Mystical Experience)

Siva Shakti

Chapter One: The Union of Shiva and Shakti

I offer obeisance to the God and Goddess,
The limitless primal parents of the universe.

They are not entirely the same,
Nor are they not the same.
We cannot say exactly what they are.

How sweet is their union!
The whole world is too small to contain them,
Yet they live happily in the smallest particle.

When He awakes, the whole house disappears,
And nothing at all is left.

Two lutes: one note.
Two flowers: one fragrance.
Two lamps: one light.

Two lips: one word.
Two eyes: one sight.
These two: one universe.

In unity there is little to behold;
So She, the mother of abundance,
Brought forth the world as play.

He takes the role of Witness
Out of love of watching Her.

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On Ordinariness of Awakening: By Latha Ramanan

. ADVAITA & YOGA, INSPIRATIONAL, PERSONAL, Ramana Maharishi, Spirituality, Wisdom, Yoga .

“We discover the ordinariness of awakening. Gratitude, compassion and universal love encompass us, as we realise that everything in this universe is part of us – the oneness is felt. There are no more enemies, no peaks to achieve and no resistance to the ordinary flow of life”. ~ Latha Ramanan

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It is the simple things in life that teach the greatest lessons in our lives.

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The Destructive Dance of Monkey Mind

. Arunachala, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, Ramana Maharishi, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga . , ,

From the sacred journey of Mira Prabhu now residing at the holy mountain of Arunachala in India.

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

6d683d43b8fae0a1465e0c51199d5190-1Last night something happened that disturbed my mind. Unable to sleep, I stayed awake until the wee hours, reading an illuminating book a friend had given me containing the reminiscences of those fortunate enough to have had personal contact with Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.

I woke up feeling bedraggled—but the sun was shining through many windows, and doggies and humans would soon be calling for my attention, so I rose. I did my morning practice of diving into the Self and was able to dispassionately view the antics of my mind—as if I was a wise old grandfather indulgently watching his rambunctious grandson mess up the living room. Simply being watched with love stopped my mind from spinning into even more chaos—and then bliss arose in a strong wave.

FB_IMG_1472401603075As Gautama Buddha said so beautifully over two thousand years ago, sometimes the mind is like a drunken wild elephant in rut. Somehow we must…

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The Path to Enlightenment: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Gurus, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, Meditation, Ramana Maharishi, Satsang, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Yoga . , , ,

In this essay, I suggest that the philosophies and perspectives of the gradual or the direct path are not inherently meaningful. Their truth lies only in being teaching tools. Words and concepts such as the “direct path” and the “gradual path” are meant to point at the truth but they are not themselves the truth. The Truth must reveal itself to us in our own Heart.

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A Popular Dichotomy

A popular dichotomy has emerged about Enlightenment in the West since the 1970s between the schools of “gradual enlightenment” and “instant enlightenment”. Some of this can probably be traced back to Poonja ji’s and Nisargadatta Maharaj’s disciples returning to the west in the 1970s and 1980s from India and bringing their understanding of Advaita Vedanta with them as given to them by their teachers. However, because many of these students deviate from traditional Advaita as taught in the classic lineage of Adi Shankracharya, they are referred to as neo-advaitins.

Given this thesis and antithesis between the gradual path and the direct path, I address the following question:

It is said that there are two approaches to the Truth of Being or Reality which some call Enlightenment or Self-Realization. A gradual path and a direct path. What is the truth of it? Are their really two paths? If…

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Spiritual Wisdom: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Ahimsa, Gurus, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, LIFESTYLE, Love, Meditation, Nonviolence, PERSONAL, Spirituality, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga . , , , , , , , , , ,

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What is spiritual wisdom other than being gentle and easy with oneself and others in awareness?

Gain and loss, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, are threads of life.

Life lived in awareness is the only meditation.

Our talents and strengths do not raise us above anyone. Our shortcomings do not diminish our original nature. That is just how it is.

Sages see action and inaction, speech and silence to be the same. So there is no need to struggle.

To simply be aware of oneself as pure and clear being is the true meditation.

The steadiness of awareness and balance is a gift of grace. It is the blessing of love that springs forth from the heart of sages.

In the company of good and wise people who know the nature of reality, the ego gradually loses its hold and pure awareness reveals itself as the eternal presence.

That is the real meditation.

Namaste

 

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The True Master

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Advaita and Yoga, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, LIFESTYLE, Love, Meditation, PERSONAL, Ramana Maharishi, Spirituality, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga . , , , , , , , , , ,

it-will-be-ok-in-the-end

A True Master does not tell you to do this or that.

Already, you are bewildered going to motivational speakers, satsang teachers, and visiting one guru after another.

The Master simply brings attention to your nature as Being-Awareness, and invites you to rest in your own Heart.

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It Is Just You!

. ADVAITA & YOGA, Advaita and Yoga, Hinduism, INSPIRATIONAL, LIFESTYLE, Love, Meditation, TEACHERS, Wisdom, Yoga . , , , , , , , , , , ,

self-is-always-there-it-is-you

Sri Ramana used to say that the Eternal Divine nature cannot be present at one time and absent at another.

So we must become aware of our Self in this present moment. 

It is only in the present that the Self is Realized.

That is because the very nature of the Self is Pure Presence.

It is Pure Being.