s1va

The Shaiva siddhantha tradition from Tamil Nadu started as a dualistic tradition. In many ways it still is. But, after Kashmir Shaivism became popular (monism), the non-dual aspects were accepted. The KS non-dual is different from the Advaitic non-dual.

I am not right wing and I don't recall ever getting into political discussions here. If you are eager for an argument or fight with a right winger and missing out on it, go find someone else for that. I have zero interest in getting into political discussions here. Good luck

Some one asked for a chakra scan and got what he wanted. But, this thread is going on 10+ pages. It is highly amusing, the amount of time, energy and effort people put on to this. Thanks and good luck :). Keep going.

Energetic connections with teachers and divine beings/deities are very common in Tantra. It is the fundamental of how tantric systems work. I wouldn't call it childish. And yet, you go on to pass so many judgements in that post based on second hand information. There is so much bashing in this thread. It's just sad! ---- Fear towards anything new and labeling what does not confirm with our ideas or sets of beliefs as a cult is not something new. It's just unfortunate to see you engaging in this.

Yes, that illusion is one of the basic tenets of Advaita. I cannot agree with some principles of Advaitic non-dual based on my experiences and understanding. Check out and read the non-dual as explained in Kashmir Shaivisim. You may find answers to some of your questions there. You may want to check out texts like Shiva Sutras, The secret supreme, The Triadic Heart or The doctrine of vibration -- to read or understand how non-dual is seen in KS and how it differs from Advaita. We had a discussion here in Hindu forum about non-dual as explained by Abhinavagupta vs the non-dual of Advaita. You can search for that topic, you may find some of the discussions interesting and covering some points you raised.

There were lenient policies, but it is unfair to state blanketly that racism, homophobia, etc. were demonstrably tolerated under previous admin's watch or call it your fault as you stated. I would just leave it at that. Certain members are also conveniently justifying their present actions of being rude, sarcastic and directly insulting others by simply blaming the past staff or some past events stating I went through this or put up with that. I noticed this happening in different areas of the site as a trend and feel it is just unhealthy. Though you are not responsible for this, it should be checked like any other unacceptable actions. It is just like when a ruler changes, some people settle their personal scores or spew venom and hatred towards those they dislike causing harm, and they go on to justify their actions by citing the atrocities that happened in the past, or they are part of some revolutionary movement that is changing everything. I think Rene summed it up really well and was just expressing that and welcoming her back in a brief post. Amazing how that one small post could upset so many here and get hostile disrespectful reactions, name calling and insults. I see no point in continuing this dialog further under such unhealthy environment. I wish you and this site the best going forward.

You seem to have a distinction between real world and the forums based on this and other posts. To me, this is as real as my daily life and a part of it. The friends I have here are real people that I know. Many of them are kind and good hearted, you can label them bigots. But, I am not sure on what basis you classify them as bigots without knowing who they are and what their beliefs are! Your post seems to imply the person you are interacting with are tolerant to racism, homophobia, etc. Not sure if this is a diversionary tactic to avoid addressing the real points brought up in my post. I am not tolerant towards any of these and as far as I know none of my friends are. In my experience, right wing or right leaning views does not automatically equate to racism or homophobia automatically. I have come across racists, misogynists and bigots with both left and right leaning views.

I have to call it as I see it respectfully. I have not been disrespectful or rude with anyone in my posts. If you found any of my posts disrespectful in anyway, you can point it out to me or report it. I can't help if you are irritated. I suggest with good intentions that you use the ignore user feature if my posts bother you. This way you won't be compelled to respond to my posts or get upset.

No matter who does it, it is abhorrent in my views. I am 100% with you, it's wrong. I can't speak for or justify why you were advised to ignore. Many times we can just call it out as I did or just ignore the member.

What I notice in the comments of certain members is intolerance, rudeness and sarcasm passed off as joke with a laughing emoji many times, in the guise of disagreement. Breeding resentment or hatred towards any one person or group is unhealthy. Best wishes!

I agree with you that the moderation was very lax. I accept the responsibility for that personally since I was part of the team. Though I never agreed with the lax moderation, and spoken openly against it and expressed my personal disgust with the heated Trump topic and other discussions. Requested it to be shut down more than once if you can search my old posts -- even when I was a moderator. It was just my view and it cannot be enforced due to policies set forth. Moderators were just enforcing the policy and direction given to them, not make decisions about the policies. I have respect for dawei, but I do not personally agree with the self moderation at all. None of this invalidates what Rene has pointed out with clarity and wisdom. Replacing one set of extreme views, intolerance and hatred with another set is sadly distasteful. Several long standing and good members left because of the intolerance in the views expressed in this strongly worded topic. Many of them do not have extreme views and were good and kind people. Someone was rude to me and told me to leave this site because I had some friends that left who have right leaning views. No one spoke against this or said this is wrong. Where is this intolerance going and what are the next set of directives? If you have a friend that is right leaning, leave the site immediately If your spouse, partner or parents have right wing views, leave the site If you are accused of right wing views by another member, leave the site forthwith Perhaps someone can clarify for some of us who may have friends or family with diverse views and people from all political spectrums. Also, please come out of the past and blaming old staff to divert and justify what is happening in the present, in the now.

Welcome back 🙂. Those brief sentences summarize and capture the essence of what's happening here in the last 2 weeks accurately in my views.

My point was very simple. Shutting down something just because it is not traditional may not be the right thing. I have tremendous respect and gratitude for traditions and the contributions they have made for everyone's welfare. This does not necessarily translate to say, I would reject things outside of traditions at face value just because they are not traditional. This is what majority of people did to the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha because it did not comply with their view of tradition and values, and in their view he moved the goal post. The world is evolving, the human ability and the potential (to reach the goalpost) transforms from time to time. There are new turnings of wheel with great masters. In my view teachings get refined over time. The refined teachings does not necessarily mean the goal post has moved. The emptiness is always the same. But, our potential and out abilities to reach that goalpost can refine over periods of time. I believe with the advent of tantric teachings, the means and the ability to reach the goalpost became easier and refined for everyone. More such refinements in our abilities are possible as we progress and evolve. Let me illustrate this with an example. At the time of Buddha, the only way to reach India by sea from Europe was to circle the continent of Africa. This used to take several months. Later the suez canal was opened and a much shorter path through middle-east was found. Ships were able to reach India from Europe a month or few months earlier. With the advent of planes, the travel is in hours instead of days or months. The goalpost was always Europe to India. But the methods the means refined over time. Even within the Buddhist teachings, there are refinements like Mahayana and later the tantric teachings. We can respect the traditions and at the same time be open to receive such refinements and make use of the new possibilities available to everyone. Everyone needs to enquire and find the right thing that works for them. The most important things in my view are the open mindedness and an inquiring mind open to new possibilities, without which there can be stagnation or outright rejection of new possibilities. Yes, caution is needed to be on guard and not to fall for some dubious teachings that take advantage of people. But this caution cannot translate into outright rejection of every teaching that does not rigidly confirm to what is set forth in traditions or scriptures. Such outright rejection without investigation can be a loss to entire humanity.

Wanted to share my views on 'abiding', for what it's worth. Abiding or residing in the primordial state does not mean 'no action' or not undertaking the right action in the world outside. It is not exactly the same as Wu Wei, but there are some similarities. Some people translate the Wu Wei also as inaction or 'no action' or doing nothing. This is wrong in my opinion. I don't think any Taoist master taught anyone to do nothing in the world outside. It means effortless action while residing in the primordial state. There are concepts similar to Wu Wei and 'abiding' in Hindu Karma yoga also as part of the yogic tradition. This is described in detail in Bhagavad Gita. Abiding does not mean that one does not engage in external action, because it is not possible to live without acting in the world outside. The very act of breathing is action that goes on continuously when a person lives as Krishna points out in Gita. When someone is in 'abiding' or residing state actions like breathing, eating, sleeping and other day to day activities go on. Protecting oneself from harm (of any nature) is also part of this. J. Krishnamurti is a big propent of the philosophy, 'just be', to just reside in the present moment. This can easily be translated as not acting (doing nothing) when needed and to 'just be'. Krishnamurti explains clearly in his teachings the 'just be' does not mean inaction or doing nothing when an action is prompted. It means not to get caught up in 'mind stuff' while engaged in the right action outside.

Change is inevitable. The manifest universe is always constantly in a state of flux. Gautama Buddha advocated something against what you described. The Hindu priests of his time opposed Buddha with similar arguments. They wanted to follow what they believed as solid authentic and traditional teachings. Gautama Buddha's teachings were radical and against tradition at that time. Buddha taught us we should not accept anything at face value because it is traditional and in my opinion this is a very valuable lesson. I agree with the rest of what you stated. There are gullible students and some so called teachers who take advantage of them. But, an open and inquiring mind that is not rigid and locked with one belief system is very important. We need to adapt and progress in this ever changing universe.