old3bob

Quoted from the traditional Hinduism teachings of the Kauai monastery, originally by By Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (highlight and underline by me) LESSON 60 FROM LIVING WITH SIVA JAPA: RECITATION Now we shall focus on japa, recitation of holy mantras, the ninth niyama. Here again, a guru is essential, unless only the simplest of mantras are recited. The simplest of mantras is Aum, pronounced "AA, OO, MMM." The AA balances the physical forces when pronounced separately from the OO and the MMM, as the OO balances the astral and mental bodies. The MMM brings the spiritual body into the foreground. And when pronounced all together, AA-OO-MMM, all three bodies are harmonized. Aum is a safe mantra which may be performed without a guru's guidance by anyone of any religious background living on this planet, as it is the primal sound of the universe itself. All sounds blended together make the sound "Aum." The overtone of the sounds of an entire city would be "Aum." In short, it harmonizes, purifies and uplifts the devotee. One might ask why a guru is important to perform such a simple task as japa. It is the shakti of the guru, of the Gods and the devas that give power to the mantra. Two people, a civilian and a policeman, could say to a third person, "Stop in the name of the law." The third person would only obey one of them. The one who had no authority would not be listened to. In this example, the policeman had been initiated and had full authority. Therefore, his mantra, "Stop in the name of the law," seven words, had the desired effect. The person who had not been initiated said the same words, but nobody paid any attention to him. Now, this does not mean one can choose a guru, study with the guru, become accepted by the guru, feign humility, do all the right things and say all the right words, become initiated, receive the mantra and then be off into some kind of other activities or opt for a more liberal path. The guru's disdain would diminish if not cancel the benefits of the initiation, which obviously had been deceptively achieved. This is why siddhanta shravana (choosing your path carefully) and mati (choosing your guru carefully, being loyal to the sampradaya, to your guru and his successor or successors and training your children to be loyal to the sampradaya) are the foundation of character that the first fifteen restraints and practices are supposed to produce. Mantra initiation is guru diksha. Traditionally, the family guru would give mantra diksha to the mother and the father and then to the young people, making the guru part of the family itself. There is no way that mantras can be sold and be effective. There is no way that the diksha of mantra initiation, which permits japa, could be effective for someone who was not striving to fulfill the first seventeen of the yamas and niyamas. Any wise guru would test the devotee on these before granting initiation. There is no way a mantra can be learned from a book and be effective. Therefore, approach the guru cautiously and with a full heart. When asked if you are restraining yourself according to the ten yamas, know that perfection is not expected, but effort is. And if you are practicing the first seven niyamas, know that perfection is not expected here either, but regular attentiveness to them is. You, the guru, your family and your friends will all know when you are on the threshold of mantra diksha, which when performed by an established guru is called guru diksha.

Om is "safe" mantra, as are many others that might be called universal or useable by most anyone...while some are not universal and not meant to be given out to the public or for those dabbling with powers. (thus could be dangerous if mis-applied or mis-used which also goes for lots of other spoken words or chants)

Taomeow, since you threw that insightful post to us would you care to go into any personal impacts it has had for you? (besides the useful and obvious warnings it has for everyone)

So it seems there would be lots of questions for this teacher after his informative and inspiring talk...questions which I would have liked to hear. Anyway some of the bums here could kick such questions around (or have some speculations) unless they prefer to remain non-involved and or silent? For instance is only the Self "awake" in the deep dreamless universe or the 3rd casual state as mentioned above or are Mahadevas also awake/aware there since the casual is often related as being their operative realm?

Neolithic and Upper Paleolithic people used millstones to grind grains, nuts, rhizomes and other vegetable food products for consumption.[1] These implements are often called grinding stones. They used either saddle stones or rotary querns turned by hand. Such devices were also used to grind pigments and metal ores prior to smelting. In India, grinding stones (Chakki) were used to grind grains and spices. These consist of a stationary stone cylinder upon which a smaller stone cylinder rotates. Smaller ones, for household use, were operated by two people. Larger ones, for community or commercial use, used livestock to rotate the upper cylinder. Today a majority of the stone flour mills (Atta Chakki) are equipped with Emery Stones which are made from abrasive emery grains and grits, with a binding agent similar to Sorel Cement. These stones are made from two types of emery abrasives - Natural Jaspar Red Emery or Synthetic Calcined Bauxite Black Emery. The emery flourmill stone-manufacturing industry is a growing and competitive industry. Millstones were introduced to Britain by the Romans during the 1st century AD and were widely used there from the 3rd century AD onwards. (The Neolithic period is the final division of the Stone Age, with a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. It is first seen about 12,000 years ago when the first developments of farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East, and l... Wikipedia)

the root "mantra" that can be used by itself and exists in both sound and silence before all other mantra is : Om... it's that simple and there is no charge except honesty and sincerity to begin with.

oops, a pdf doesn't work...

a more modern device in comparison to stone age ones...

It is amazing the work being done, along with the results!! And thanks for posting parts of your adventures and observations on site!

a Buddhist tangent related to serpents:

"...To be great is to go on, To go on is to be far, To be far is to return..." Chap 25 My take is different in that I'd say that the "Tao" or Spirit in a human seeks itself so to speak, while human forms or others can evolve yet are still ultimately limited to being a vehicle, a vehicle that can not join the Source in equality or per-se being that Spirit is not bound by forms, including human ones.

represents a balance of prana flowing through ida and pingala nadi's which then merge and result in flow through sushumna nadi with greater kundalini coming into play. Ages old yogic knowledge from yogi's. (btw there is danger with incorrect, or uncontrolled flow in nadi's thus not something for a wana-be enlightened to dabble with)

a long video of mechanical interest with some nice restoration techniques...

a calculated (fast and futuristic type of) risk that worked...(bicycle beats car)

and for money and some kind of fame...

the term "adrenaline junkie" crossed my mind, hadn't heard the term spoken of for awhile...so in some cases there could be a chemical connection besides related phycological ones on the subject of dare-devils taking risks to point unnecessary danger...

A lot of good points Taomeow, thanks for your analysis or take. I agree about there being lots and lots of manmade (and household) risks. I worked around them at an industrial site for several decades and fortunately never got hurt badly, which is another major tangent off of "unnecessary" risks. I would say that if one gets out in nature or the elements that there are still lots of risks or dangers that lots of people need to learn about. For instance something as simple and painful as frostbite caused by not taking precautions to protect from it. I've been in 50-70 below zero temps before where one better be very careful about exposure since at that temp. injury or death can occur very quickly! Also if one takes a temp of say 20 degrees for granted that can do the same just over a longer time period. I lived in an easy and moderate southern Calif. climate until I was 18, although we had the nearby ocean (where I spent a lot of time in various ways) to learn from when it came to elemental type challenges along with playing in and building forts and chasing lizards as boys tended to do in the once nearby canyons which are now mostly filled in for housing sub-divisions. (with fewer places for kids to play or explore as you said) The subject of innate competence via "evolutionary/genetic" imprint is a very interesting! How much of that humans get or have compared to most animals would be or is a major study...humans are so helpless when young but are open and eager learners. To see the world through your childs eyes is refreshing compared to us often taking things for granted as we get older!

A tangent on the playground stuff: (and happening more with older kids and some adults) is the question of when is it enough in testing your limits against the elements or made man obstacles? For instance we have a lot of dare-devil activities or sports that can be risky to deadly, thus is tempting death to feel alive a needed or wholesome experience and when does it become another form of egotism? I'm kind of biased against death defying mountain climbing (but not hiking) since what purpose does it serve other than being able to save someone that gets stuck on a mountain? Is it or can it be fun, is attaining a panoramic view worth it? Apparently so to some. I remember going up the side of glacier in Alaska many years ago when I was single and in my 20's. There was an older married guy hiking and climbing along with us, (we didn't have any kind of climbing gear nor were we trained to use such) at one point he got stuck on the side of a steep drop off and started to panic in a major way. He told us that he didn't want to die because he had a wife and kids at home and had to get back to them! We talked his panic down while at our safer position and told him to keep holding on while we then lowered ourselves down to him in a chain where he could reach and grab onto our boots and legs to pull himself up to a safe position, which he did. I guess part of the equation is calculated risk (which makes sense) versus some level of reward factor... Reflections on this anyone?

I wonder how far away or how many years before someone figures out how to clone such specimen's?

For bigger kids, I did so in the late 60's & early 70's, but without flips... "Jumping Off La Jolla Clam – San Diego Fines, December 26, 2009 by Albert 21 Comments Kurt “Dirty Kurtie” Stadler (closest) Eric Powers (middle) and Foster Thompson show how to do a triple somersault off the clam during the Rough Water Drink – Photo by Brian Munoz and used in La Jolla Magazine’s write up about the Clam back in 1985 There are only three common sense rules to jump off the Clam. Be a very good surf swimmer, not a pool swimmer. Know how to read tide charts, so not to jump at low tide (this is a no-brainer) and never jump when can see the rocks protruding from where you are suppose to land at, this means, it is very low tide. (Humm, again a no-brainer) Time your jump to hit swell. Does this mean, huh … extra water to land in? Fact remains, either one of the above is the cause of 100% of all injuries or deaths. Only three rules … but we all know some people are just idiots or do not believe in common sense. After 1993 the San Diego City started to enforce a no-jumping law or what many call, Laws for Idiots, which before, the only price jumpers paid for their feat was a few scrapes on the barnacle-sharp rocks and occasional $50 citations from lifeguards. But after the deaths of three teenagers from 1995-1996 and the rescues of many jumpers who required hospitalization, the city has cracked down on leaping from the Clam. Those who are caught will be required to appear in court, with minors facing the added indignity of having to be with a parent. They will face a fine of up to $280. The penalty, enacted by the San Diego City Council, went into effect on June 27, 1996. As of 2009, I believe that fine is now $500, plus the cost of the emergency service if required,which can be in the 1000s. When item #1 of the requirements is not followed drowning usually occur when powerful winter swells slam jumpers against the cliff. Stunned or knocked senseless, the jumpers fall victim to the cold water and the surging swells or a good rip current takes them back out. Rocks covered with slippery moss also causes hindrances when jumpers are unable to craw out and than panic! When item #2 or three is not followed, this is where major injuries happened, like a broken neck or back. Just about everyone during the 60 and 70s knew about jumping Deadmans and the Clam. In fact, it was being jumped off on regular bases back in the early 30s, but the Meda beach crowd really started to make it popular event during the Rough Water Drink. This was a time when the courage of alcohol got even the most timid primed to take the 20 foot leap. Did I say, 20 feet? Yeah, only twenty feet and it was not like you were watching the Acapulco cliff divers in Mexico, which I believe the jumps are 60-80 feet or Box Canyon’s, 70 feet or Deadmans just a little south at, 100 feet. It has been said, the reason it is called, “The Clam” is because the two main edges of the cliff stick out over the water and round in the middle to form the shape of a clamshell, but according to locals, a name given because it looks like something else when viewing it from the ocean … …. hummm I wonder what that is???"

we still have a Nikon FG 35mm slr from the 80's that has been repaired twice and works but will not do so again because of the high cost of doing so. May try and get a telephoto for it if the price is right. I'm not even sure how much longer one can get film developed?

It's only a matter of time until these quadracycles come back, although with a lithium battery pack, high tech electrical motor and carbon fiber frame! (don't know about the style of clothes)

Btw. no matter how perfect the doctrine or teacher is the student may not be so perfect, prepared or an insightful judge of intellectual quality. (like myself) Besides a true guru can (also) teach/transfer telepathically while an only intellectual type can not. Two masters I was fortunate to come in contact with never spoke a word (of transcendental stuff) yet demonstrated more than many volumes ever could! (minor edit)