dwai

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Everything posted by dwai

  1. Quenching the Firebrand

    dwai replied to dwai's topic in Hindu Discussion

    For me form means "Nama-Rupa" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namarupa-vyakarana) All forms exist in latent state in the Brahman. And appear out of Brahman and disappear into Brahman. But they are not separate from Brahman. Just like things (forms) in our dreams are not separate or distinct from us (The Dreaming Consciousness), similarly the world in it's multifarious forms is not separate or distinct from Brahman/Atman/Self.

  2. Quenching the Firebrand

    dwai replied to dwai's topic in Hindu Discussion

    Vedanta/Hindu dharma and Buddha dharma identify two levels of reality. Actually Vedanta identifies/categorizes three levels of reality. But for sake of brevity, let us consider only two. Vyavharika or samvriti satya -- the reality of conventional/practical value. The pot and its form is relevant here. Paramarthika satya - The reality of transcendental value (also called Absolute Truth). That the pot is ultimately only clay, is relevant here. But it is important to not drag an example too far. It is not about Clay and pots, it is about Awareness (Self) and the world.

  3. Quenching the Firebrand

    dwai replied to dwai's topic in Hindu Discussion

    The Advaitic realization is that the "others" are not separate from the Self. It doesn't leave one in denial of the world, but unbound in the world. To take the clay-pot example a bit further, it could be construed at, on one hand, the reality that there is no pot apart from the clay is understood; while on the other hand, there is not going to be a denial that there is a modification of clay that is called pot, which is useful for various practical purposes.
  4. in my experience, if we keep running into a certain type of person, there is a lesson in there for us. Either in terms of how we react or how we approach the situation. For me, it has been in the form of a burly, egotistical and/or manipulative co-worker. The last one was my manager until he got canned.

  5. Quenching the Firebrand

    dwai replied to dwai's topic in Hindu Discussion

    It is an example. You should watch the Q&A video after, which makes this talk more meaningful By definition, space is that which is always there and never moves

  6. Taoism and Avoiding Grains

    dwai replied to Rara's topic in Healthy Bums

    I find that after quitting all carbs and sugar, I am much healthier. Dropped 20 lbs and continue to do so steadily. Upon reflection I find that eating carbs and sugar is akin to feeding a hungry ghost. The more you eat it, the more the cravings and leads to a very negative cycle. Unless someone is doing heavy labor, eating carbs and sugar should be kept at a minimum.
  7. http://www.medhajournal.com/eastern-intuition-and-western-cognition-where-and-how-do-they-meet/
  8. http://www.medhajournal.com/adi-shankaras-bhaja-govindam-an-effective-stress-management-technique/

  9. Can You Lose Your Judgement?

    dwai replied to Lost in Translation's topic in General Discussion

    By losing "judgement", i suppose you mean "not being judgmental"? If so, yes, and I find it to be a recipe for peaceful life. Not taking sides, staying in the middle-path is a classic recipe for alleviating of suffering.
  10. Hi All, After about 5 years of suspended-animation, I have revived my website, whose objective is to collect and publish scholarly and/or practitioner oriented papers/articles primarily dealing with Wisdom Traditions and philosophy. If any of you are interested in doing so, please feel free to PM me and register at http://www.medhajournal.com. Best, Dwai

  11. Why does one lose their awareness?

    dwai replied to Boundlesscostfairy's topic in General Discussion

    Who is aware when one is "aware" or is not "aware"?
  12. People are mystified with or annoyed at people who have woken up making statements like “all you need is to be silent/still” or “nothing needs to be done”. For those who have spent years trying to “get something” - energy, grace, etc, is an assumption that they are somehow incomplete and will be fulfilled when they “get some thing”. Years of toiling, practice, austerities, thinking pile on. But mostly there are moments of experiences of “bliss”, a glimpse here, a taste there, and the elusive “awakeness” keeps playing hide and seek! But there really is nothing to “get”. There is a lot to give up though. The reason is simply because there is nothing one gets from the “outside” that wakes you up. In a sense no one really was asleep, so no one wakes up. What goes away is the mistaken identification and sense of bondage. All that is needed is simply that — give up the mistaken notions of bondage and simply trace the culprit back to its source. The culprit is the mind, and the 10,000 things it creates. It seems so hard because it calls for a type of undoing that is counterintuitive. The mind likes to do this and that. It’s job is to solve problems and subdivide one into many. So simply letting it be seems like the hardest thing to do. But all is needed is, to not get swayed by its fluctuations. Just keep watching it and trace it back to its root. Feel free to discuss the points raised here. Happy awakening
  13. Agreed. However, given that true devotion is unconditional love, there is that aspect to think of too. If a devotee is able to love his/her object of devotion with unconditional love, they will wake up
  14. Devotion is a natural outcome of awakening imho. It is pure and unconditional love.
  15. Yes....it is a matter of abiding and residing as this awareness. That's why awakening is not that big a deal. Not falling back asleep can be avoided if we stay vigilant. But staying vigilant is not "hard work" per se. Once the identification with the awareness is done, it becomes progressively effortless to remain in abidance imho. That's why the sages all say "do nothing". From the perspective of awareness there is no effort needed at all. Only the personality-body-mind feels it has to put in effort. Another great misconception about "No Mind" is that the expectation is that the mind will stop (as in Kevala Nirvikalpa samādhī). Once cannot stay in that ceased mind state forever. The mind of the jnani is a free mind, unentangled and unencumbered. It is the non-grasping mind. The mind is not separate from awareness -- in fact, nothing is separate from awareness. The Ego is not separate from awareness. They both rise from and sink back into awareness.
  16. These definitions of levels reek of conceptualization to me. So the concepts of parabrahman or turiyatita are nothing but Brahman and turiya, just conceptualized as “beyond”. I too, believed that there was a “beyond Brahman”, but that is just a way of speaking. How can there be a beyond the beyond? As far as consciousness goes - what most people mistake for the Self, the “I am” is reflected awareness, which is the first principle available to sentient beings. It is not Brahman. It is still jiva but it is the purest essence of the jiva, which is reflected awareness of pure awareness (Atman). By abiding in this “I am” one is led to direct knowing of Brahman/Atman. See what Ramana Maharshi has to say on this topic —
  17. By the jiva
  18. Only thing to remember is that if it can be experienced, it is NOT IT.
  19. I'll take a look at the link for sure Nothing wakes up from being Brahman. Parabrahman is another way to articulate Brahman beyond experience -- in as much as Brahman is "experienced by Jiva" as Sat-Chit-Ananda. If something "wakes up from Brahman" then Brahman is not non dual Of course one could argue about "Nonduality implies duality" and so on....but they are just intellectual gymnastics and nothing more, imho...concepts created by the mind. Parabrahman (Beyond Brahman) means just giving up the concepts of Brahman and Jagat, that's all. Best
  20. Updated video very relevant to this topic at hand (as to why and how there is nothing to be done) --
  21. Hi Michael, i have only one question wrt to these levels. Who categorizes and attains them? Jiva or Atman? Jiva is the personality who thinks he/she is the body-mind and transmigrates. Atman is the nondual Self. Atman and Brahman are not separate. They are one and the same. So from Atman’s point of view there are no levels, nothing to attain, no states to be in. For the jiva there are only states that can be attained. But see, awakening is not about jiva attaining states, but the delusion of a separate jiva disappearing. So after that happens, old habits start to disappear (can be sudden or progressive), but jiva in no longer identified with. There is deepening of being but they are not states. In classical Advaita there are three stages. First is of of realizing the emptiness of jiva, second of knowing directly that you are Atman/Brahman and finally the integration of the world back into atman/Brahman.
  22. A long video but thought it is germane to this discussion —
  23. Too many subcategories who is it that is defining and “working” on these? Jiva or Atman?
  24. Only way to know is to go there by oneself. It’s important to become honest with oneself first. As the saying goes “you can fool the world but can’t fool yourself”... What beings like Ramana Maharshi have suggested is universally considered “enlightenment”, including by those from the Shankaracharya lineage - the official standard bearers of Hindu dharma and Advaita Vedanta in the world. Also one can intuitively know (in their heart) when discussing with someone who knows directly, vs a paper tiger.
  25. That is pure awareness. It is the light in which everything else is known. Light is awareness, darkness is misidentification with things. No. That’s the point of the OP. Ignorance is misidentification of self as this or that. Understanding is knowing what one is not and therefore remaining abiding in one’s Self.