dwai

If you take Self as Brahman, then Nirguna Brahman is without qualities totally. Saguna Brahman is the Light.

My 2 cents worth on this, is that, Awareness is Light, in that it is that which makes things known. To turn the light back is to turn the mind back to towards awareness. What Jeff said is a superset of that imho. The mind turns back to its source and simply merges back (or loses it's separate identity).

There are two types of experience (anubhava). Paroksha and aparoksha. One is subject-object (paroksha). The other is not, but rather Direct knowing (aparoksha) The mind is reflected light. The Self is Light itself. When the mind knows, it is paroksha. The Self is Aparoksha. This article does an excellent job of explaining -- https://www.advaita-vision.org/seven-stages-of-chidabhasa/

Only way to know the answer to this is to do so directly, experientially. It is not an intellectual topic.

These three emotions are a result of fear. Fear is a result of ignorance of our true nature. We think we are the personality, in the body and with a mind that thinks thoughts (some are good, many are dark and some are even "evil"). Sometimes we act on those thoughts...a carelessly uttered word that is hurtful, some action driven by a dark thought, and so on. We are afraid of the consequences of actions, and feel guilty because we hold a self-image that is perfect, and can do no wrong. When things transpire that are contrary to that self-image, we feel shame (some word or action performed or not performed, something that "violates" some idea of the "right way" to be, that we hold). We feel anger/self-loathing towards our personality (which we mistake for our self), when things chronically go contrary to the self-image being maintained. All of that can and should be dropped. For that we need the light of knowledge of our Self. What we are is not what we can observe or experience. We are really the silent witness to this tragicomic drama called "life".

And yet, The Yin contains within it Yang and Yang contains within it Yin. It is not an either-or thing. It is always Yin and Yang.

This might be useful for you -- https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/learning-ayurveda/balancing-vata/

The Hindu/Vedantic model is, that the Causal body is the root of this "existence". It contains ignorance (or nescience). The universe exists in seed form in the causal body. When we fall into deep sleep, there are no more objects for the subject consciousness to experience. So in a sense, the universe disappears. But when we wake up, it comes back into existence. The causal body contains the seeds of our waking and dreaming realities. It is also incorrect (imho) to refer to energy as such (pre-natal, post-natal, etc). That is an incomplete view. There is only awareness, whose creative aspect manifests as energy. If you go by the Hindu system, it is "Purusha - Awareness, Prakriti - Energy" or "Shiva - Awareness and his Shakti - Energy". In the Vedantic tradition, it is called "Brahman - Awareness and Maya - The creative power of Brahman". In other words, there really is no separate "thing" called energy. Found this link that might help elucidate the topic -- http://explorevedanta.com/vbc-the-3-bodies/

Its very tricky because it is very simple. Like the Buddha said "Everyone has Buddha-nature". That is Turiya. It is not something to be achieved. It is our very reality. What needs to happen is dropping of misidentification with all the things that pull our attention outward. There are millions of pages of material written about this stuff. "Enlightenment" is not something that is "achieved". Rather, we have to uncover the inherent Light of our Being by clearing away all the crap we have accumulated since birth. It is a switch in perspective. The great bhakti saint of India Kabir wrote about this in one of his couplets. "The scent of Kasturi is the base of the Kasturi Deer, but it wanders the forest seeking it here and there. Similarly, God lives in the heart of man, but he wanders here and there looking for him".

Soul is the personality that acquires habits and patterns of mentation. Turiya is the Self. Not Soul. In Advaita Vedanta, we call Turiya Atman. "Soul" is jiva (the limited identity that thinks it is the body-mind, and governed by the laws of time and space).

Turiya literally means the "fourth". In that, when considering it from the perspective of Waking, Dreaming and Deep sleep, it is the "fourth" apparently separate from the three. But Turiya is our True Nature, ie Pure Awareness or Objectless Consciousness. It is in Turiya that everything arises into manifestation and then sinks back (waking, dreaming and deep sleep). What can one do to experience Turiya? Nothing! Turiya is you. You cannot experience your own Self. It is the Eternal Subject to all objects.

Even if you haven't realized it, you are that. Keep that in your mind whenever you experience fears etc.

Since you are aware of what is happening, ask yourself "Who is aware of all this that is happening?" You cannot be touched. You are spotless and free. Nothing can harm you. You are infinite and eternal. Just stay as the one who is aware of all this or that happening...

In Hindu dharma/Vedanta, the three bodies are called Sthula Sharira (Gross Body), Linga or Sukshma Sharira (symbolic or subtle body) and Karana Sharira (Causal Body). The Sthula Sharira comprised of all five sheaths (koshas) - Physical body The Linga Sharira excludes the annamaya kosha (food-based sheath) but contains all the other four sheaths. -- Dream body The kārana sharīra contains only the anandamaya kosha (blissful sheath) -- Deep sleep body.

After my recent trip to Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), I can vouch for Land Rovers and Land Cruisers as being amazing vehicles that handle the terrain like in the African bush or dirt tracks going up mountains with great ease. I found the Land Rovers to be a bit more formidable as vehicles.

Thank you. My Master is neither interested in taking on too many students (most don't get what he has to offer anyway...he is far too advanced for beginners), nor does he rely on that for a livelihood. Personally, i don't charge for lessons (I make enough with my day job), but then I am circumspect about who I let into my home...there has to be synergy. The problem is, most people don't know a good teacher for a charlatan. Many even consider real masters like Sai Baba as fake. It is not a problem that can be solved easily. Some of it has to do with karma. One of my students was cheated by a teacher who he had invested heavily in (emotionally as well as financially). The man had charisma and some ability too. I think it was karma. There is an inherent fallacious assumption behind the idea that spiritual training should not involve any currency whatsoever. It is an old discussion I remember having right here on TDB when it was TTB. In the old days, you had to go live with the teacher, clean his home, cook his food, wash his clothes and so on. In exchange he would teach you. Nowadays most teachers don't need that. Some do still ...iinm @Starjumper has that sort of residential school. So, then some other currency must be used. Maybe money, may be supplies etc. Money seems to be the most practical currency to use, given that everyone uses it ... Moreover, the internet has made the world smaller. And now a teacher can provide basic instructions fairly well online, in the form of streaming videos, etc. Should they not charge for it? If their profession is teaching this stuff, and they dedicate their lives to it, why should they not charge? It is a misconception that spiritual teachers make money. Most of them struggle. My first teacher was a full time tai chi teacher and a musician. Both professions were very hard. Yet he kept teaching with a smile on his face and love in his heart. It is the love for the art that keeps these people going...not greed!

If you are seriously interested, PM me.

Indeed...liberation is freedom from the cycle of birth and re-birth for me. Doing away with all trappings of power, attachments etc etc. Liberation is freedom to simply be.

Liberation

My master is one of Baba's guys He told me many stories about Baba. One time he was visiting the Ashram in India and it was the last day of his trip. He was sad that he was going to leave Baba and come back to the US. He was standing maybe half kilometer away from Baba. As he thought that way, his consciousness entered a bird that was flying around Baba and from that bird's eye view he saw the entire space was glowing with golden/light saffron light, and every person (including his human form) had Baba standing right next to them. With that, his sorrow was gone and he knew that Baba was with him always. There is so much disinformation about Baba (and about many Gurus in general) in the world, that for the longest time, while I was in India, I considered Baba to be a charlatan. It was not until I met my own Master that I realized the extent of Baba's power. My Master is a powerful Daoist/Taiji wizard. I have seen and experienced powerful things from him (no other flesh-and-blood person has come close to showing me that kind of stuff), including one touch of his index finger to my forehead sending me into spontaneous samadhi for 15 days. So when an awesome being like that tells me that Baba is the 'real deal', I have to pay attention! I started experiencing Baba during my regular classes at my master's home. One day we were doing circle meditation (standing daoist circle meditation) and I notice Baba's form hovering over us, at the center of the circle. Another day, I am doing Tai chi out in the park and I see a gigantic Baba standing in front of me. His long saffron robes flowing and covering the earth as far as the eye can see, and the ground I'm standing on his very being...

Sai Baba is powerful, potent and still around. I've had many experiences with Baba over the past 2-3 years including him descending into me through my crown and settling in my heart, such that I WAS Baba looking through dwai's eyes.

Many of the Masters you mentioned were jivanamuktas (like Swami Vivekananda, Adi Shankaracharya who lived only till the age of 32). The concept of 'human longevity' does not play a role in such cases. This human life itself is like a dream-existence. It has no significant attraction to them. They do their work as long as is needed and in the process their bodies might well disintegrate. They don't die...they are liberated while in the body from the concept of life and death (which is part of the bondage).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLOSO9GD_M8

The questions and answers after 35:00 are golden!

A key takeaway is towards the end -- "One doesn't become Brahman...One always is that..."