dwai

Not only that, they already are enlightened.

You can take something out of context to make a strawman argument or try to understand things properly. Based on my interactions with you in the past, you are not very well-versed in these things. Let me know if I can help educate you on this subject (I think I helped clear up your misconceptions about how well you know Sanskrit a few moons back).

Your understanding needs further refinement imho The Gita is a manual for living life according to one's Svadharma. And it outlines different paths meant for different temperaments. The critical thing to remember is that the varna system (which you call caste) was not (during the Mahabharata period) a static social striation like it is made out to be today. It was based on aptitude. The varnashrama dharma is the bulwark of Sanatana dharma (Hinduism) - it doesn't prescribe asceticism. It relies on what is called the Four Purusharthas - Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. Using Dharma as the guideline, live your life by becoming materially comfortable (artha) , sensory fulfillment (kama) and work towards liberation (moksha). The Varnas are what you do, the Ashramas are when you do what. The first ashrama is Brahmacharya - where one acquires knowledge (education), the second ashrama is Grihastya - where one has a family and contributes to society; the third is vanaprastha - where one retires from society into the forests (vanahprastha) for quiet contemplation and preparing for the final step of giving up the social identity entirely and becoming a renunciant (sannyasa). The Gita is meant to provide different ways of living this lifestyle based on mental qualities. And provides guidance on what one should do to uphold dharma - both socially as well as individually.

Thanks all for sharing. I agree with the views shared. While there are many circumstantial influences on what is more important to us at different times, are there any values that are constant? Do we always consider some values that are foundational to how we choose to live our lives?

Personal Values inform How we live. What are your personal values? Why? It will be interesting to see how the bums respond to these. Are there any that have been missed?

I kept it ambiguous on purpose. It's not a trick question - it means different things to different people. The objective of this post is not to judge but as a means to inquire /help in self-inquiry about our values. I went through a similar exercise recently and found it quite illuminating. I look at tough love like you do yourself, FWIW.

Wu Wei is the dropping of the sense of doership.

4 things are required for “realization”. 0. sincerity of purpose 1. Focused mind 2. purified mind 3. someone showing the way to do Self-inquiry.

I’ve been following this discussion. Remember that we need to stay respectful. Consider that the negative views about spiritual teachers can come due to various reasons that are far from the truth.

moderator note: Indiken you are being given a warning and a 7 day ban for your abusive/uncouth post

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That’s not a Sanskrit word. Must be pali

It is Trshnā.

indeed. If that was the only thing being proclaimed then it is certainly problematic. However often what is picked up in video clips are done so by unaasociated individuals, and are missing the context of the larger talk or conversation. What if it was the case that a teacher is asked about the use of drugs etc? Would it then be reasonable for them to say, “you don’t need drugs - try meditation and yoga/qigong/neigong/what have you” and see - you might find that the high you are seeking is already within you? It can be potentially life-altering for an addict who can give up substance abuse and replace it with meditation. Rest can follow with deepening maturity of practice. Yes - and usually it is a starting point. I’ve found sadhguru draws a line between the “normal” person who is simply looking to improve their quality of life, reduce stress, etc and the “practitioner” who is interested in realization. Sometimes the normal person becomes a serious practitioner. Many don’t. That’s okay imho. They have a better quality of life, and can become better members of society just by doing the basic practices.

@Pak_Satrio I feel that some concession can be given to someone who’s trying to convince people to give up bad habits and form good ones. Also, I think some cultural differences creep into our vocabulary as well. Maybe his choice of words was a result of that?

Now posting as a member (not moderator) - Sadhguru often makes extreme statements to draw people's attention. In what I have heard him say over the years, his point, in this case, is to indicate that meditation and yogic methods will produce more powerful results than any externally consumed substance can. I can corroborate that with my experiences within the yogic and Daoist meditation/cultivation paradigms. The point about the Anandamaya kosha - according to the Hindu/Yogic tradition, all pleasurable experiences stem from the Anandamaya kosha. These pleasurable experiences bind us in limited form, causing the cycle of chasing after these experiences and avoiding unpleasant ones. So directly accessing the anandamaya kosha is a better and healthier option than what substances can provide. However, even that has limitations - when the mind is not stabilized, and its origin is unrecognized/unrealized. So even better than yogic manipulations is to realize our true nature directly.

Moderator's Note: This comment seems to be aimed at ridiculing the OP. A better option would be to respond with more thoughtful commentary on why you think the OP's perspective is wrong.

For internal cultivation, typically, I have seen teachers ask to avoid extremes - not too much sun, not too much cold, not too much wind, etc. Those who do "sun cultivation" have a different method - like at dawn or dusk, standing in water, pouring water from above and looking at the sun through the stream of water for a certain period of time. This is called "Surya Arghya" in Hinduism, and can charge us up.

I was playing with Bard recently and started exploring the correlates between Hindu Yoga/Tantra and Daoist alchemical traditions I"m just presenting this as a way to look at the two traditions. I'm not saying the above is authoritative in any way (just the output of a genAI bot)

Forget all the alchemy hype and work on purifying your mind and gaining clarity. I can't put it any better than @Trunk's advice in the previous post. Pick one practice, and stick with it. It is better to dig one deep well rather than 1000 shallow ones. FWIW, the "Golden Body" is the causal body that is always present. We just have to learn to open up our mind enough to recognize what it is.

Yes agreed on that. But if realization is accidental, internal and external discussions make us more accident prone

It is part of the continuum of "hearing, contemplating and meditating". The discussion can be part of "hearing" or "Learning". The internal contemplation is part of assimilating the knowledge intellectually. Then it needs to be transformed into realization through meditation.

Discussion is necessary for realization. But more internal discussion is needed - aka contemplation. If we get caught up in desire to “win” we will lose

For example, you see a lake shimmering in the distance on a hot summer day. Given only that context and conditions, is it not “true” that you see a shimmering body of water? Until you investigate and realize there was no water at all, it was just a play of hot air and refraction of light, called a mirage. So that is also true. One could say the first was a “relative truth”, and the latter, “an absolute truth”.