Vajrahridaya

Mind is that energy which perceives and carries information to the brain from the senses. Close your eyes and touch something. Mind is that energy in your hands making perception through the hands possible.

Right! I had a feeling spell check was doing that word wrong. Eh, English... such a feisty bastard!

I don't want to pretend to know the entire intention of V's expressive content. As, he seems like quite the complex person with plenty of information to reference in his writings. We might be misunderstanding him, just as I've found I've been misunderstood plenty of times. "How'd you get that from what I wrote???" Then I realize time and time again, it's my approach to the topic that is not representing my length of patience. As, I am patient. But, I have had a tendency to stuff information down peoples throats from a purely subjective level, thinking that people can just download intentions like movies on a computer. Duh... not. At least not yet. But, I feel that all traditions around the world have applicable things to learn from. Though, I do find that even on a conceptual level, inter-dependent/emptiness is very, very good for loosening attachment to particulars which allows for flexibility both on a physiological level and psychological/spiritual level as well. Which I think, as I've said before, leads to a kind of spiritual eugenics where necessary that allows only the positive, helpful aspects of traditions to remain. Then something good will come about through this global integration of information sharing and all that remains should be that which reflects wisdom of inter-dependence. That would be the most positive interpretation of an inter-subjective war on ignorance I think!?

Why can it not be realized as a metaphor for internal Jihad? Like the Bhagavad Gita? Since in spirituality we are dealing with subtle, more subconscious realities, why can it not be applied as such? Do all us Buddhists who have taken refuge have to take up arms and start slaughtering Abrahamic religious zealots?

Yes Aaron, exactly. I don't see how this statement could be taken wrongly?

Well, it's just, "like" an illusion, not quite an illusion. It is the dense expression of many of our mental habits so while in the body, better figure out how "best to be" while in it.

Sorry. Well yeah, I know of many, but I haven't read them. I don't read much anymore, except blog boards. I just know they're out there, I've glanced over plenty at friends houses, and have had conversations, etc. I'm more of a digester... I have a hard time remembering specific pages, quotes and books. Except when it arises in my memory easily. I'm weird I guess... Namkhai Norbu has a Dream Yoga book, I purchased it though I haven't read it yet. You might try that! I've heard that it's good, LOL!

Yes, there are many texts about such things. LOL! They aren't generally translated for mass public consumption though.

Yes, mostly when this stuff just happens, which is the only way it will now, I have a visitation from some unnamed Buddhist master, or a named one... like the Dalai Lama once and the Karmapa as well when he was in NYC and I was longing to see him but couldn't... he came to me, and things are different, yes... but I think it's just perception in those states are just not as linear. Either that or I just pop into another plane of existence, like a heaven or hell realm, for lack of a better word. These are important experiences, but yes... the goal is liberation through the body, not out of the body. Integrate, integrate, integrate!

My practice is more centered around staying in the body for the last... um, 10 years or so. I remember that feeling though... um, I think just consciously relaxing? You know... where you just make your consciousness subtle and relaxed. So wow, you actually tore posters and touched stuff? I'd just see things or hear things and if I astral projected I never actually tried to use it to do angry type of stuff. I guess at that point, I was older and not associating with the concept of enemy much at all. Back when I was 17 I was writing graffiti, smoking and dealing pot, drinking and using my powers of charisma to get panties off ladies and if I had an enemy, I'd just walk up to him and punch him in the face and kick him while he was down... I was known to be pretty mean and not to be screwed with. Even though within was a scared over compensating kid. At that time, I had forgotten that I even had gotten shaktipat 3 to 4 years pryer. I didn't get back into spiritual stuff until I was 20 when I had a powerful experience of cosmic consciousness on my birthday and remembered my shaktipat experience, all sorts of stuff happened before, during and after that birthday. It seemed important for me, for some reason? But, out of body stuff? Only during sleep paralysis or in between sleep and waking states of consciousness and it just happens without me willing it.

I agree. The potential for non-abuse in theistic spiritual traditions that have more of an imminent concept of god as well as transcendent are a good step in the right direction. Like in Hinduism for instance. But still... yeah.

Wow, 1979? LOL! He was actually quite thin back then, skinny even. Yeah, I don't think he's much into giving Buddha-lite talks anymore. He's pretty nitty gritty now and getting more so in his books too. Of course, he's got lots of books published that one can't get access to without various transmissions. But, his precious vase SMS base book for the first part Santi Maha Sangha study course, is already sutra style nitty gritty and he's had that out for a long time. I like his no bull shit style of teaching though too. He doesn't do the pretense, melodramatic thing, which is great!

Thank you. Siddha Yoga was definitely part of my process. The amount of discipline and inner fortitude I found, the amount of inner experiences transcending the popular norm of accepted human potential I found through following the Ashram schedule every single day for years from the morning Arati all the way through to the evening chant, taking as many intensives as I could before the age of 24 when everything was half price back when things were cheaper to begin with, was some of the most amazing times in my life. Including the many wonderful people I met at the upstate NY and Oakland Ashram. Seriously! I would not trade it for the world. Reading not only all the publications both rare and well known, as well as the Darshan Magazines also gave me access to so many other spiritual traditions as they would take stories from all the worlds traditions and mystics in the Darshan Magazines; from Taoism, to Christian mysticism, to Sufism, Kabbalah, to Buddhism and Hinduism as well as Native Shaman stories. I met people into Shamanism, got Reiki attuned, met people into astrology, met people into massage, had really wonderful relationships with some women in Siddha Yoga when I wasn't doing the celibacy thing, and I mean really powerful relationships... stellar! Not just the sex, LOL! But yes... the sex too, top notch tantric style. These people definitely have kundalini awakening and are wonderful spiritual beings.

I know, I'm just stating other facts. I'm not a black and white thinker. Everything is relative.

Yes, exactly... and the highlighted is why I prefer Buddhist philosophy over Monistic Idealism or Monotheism of any sort, due to this subtle tendency to deify a "saint" and think that everything they do is somehow, "gods will!". A huge mistake in understanding reality and human potential in general in my opinion.

I think the only way is to consider "God" as a metaphor for everything as a creative matrix without static essential self, or Self governing beyond everything as a self defining essence, unless again, as a metaphor for the fact that "we" are the God as all, that we are all the co-creating power or inter-collectively-co-manifesting everything since beginningless time, playing with the elemental forces. For instance, translating Brahma as a metaphor for the creative principle of things, Vishnu as the sustaining force, and Shiva as the ending force of the cycle into a new Brahma/Vishnu/Shiva cycle both microcosmically and macrocosmically. Brahman would have to be defined as their inter-dependence and emptiness, but not as a transcendent self reality as it's generally defined.

Yes, too bad the current pope seems like he's got a major stick up his arse.

Not as pricey as Wang Liping apparently and plenty of others. I really like that my Rinpoche does much of his stuff for free, or on a sliding scale, or for very cheap in comparison to others. I think it's the Buddhist philosophy that allows for this though. As all the highly realized Rinpoche's that I'm into do this. I've personally never been into Sogyal, but there is a deeper view of Karma in Buddhism. The problem I have with theism is the idea that God as the first cause, is the originator of all beings' karmas, the initiator of the domino effect, which leads to many emotional and intellectual excuses for ignorance about causation in my opinion. "Oh, it's gods will that they're poor." "Oh, it's filled with bliss, so it must be gods will that I do this."

Yes, that's true. It'd be sad if it was true that this happened, but I'm not at all convinced. Getting out of court settlement money is a huge incentive for human plants into fringe (to the Western eye) not for profit organizations, etc. There are stories of this. At the same time, there are plenty of true stories about rape and molestation from religious organizations as well. Sadly, it's not cut and dry, it's a mixed bag of true and false allegations, as well as things taken out of context and re-contextualized in a way to make it sound wicked when it wasn't.

Yup, in person to a small group of Ashram staff, which I was a part of. Yeah, that's BS actually. I've seen plenty of people do Tai Chi at the Ashram and there are so many devotees that do all sorts of other things that aren't, "Siddha Yoga" but the whole teaching is about making everything Siddha Yoga. There is nothing that is not Siddha Yoga if your perspective is clear, everything is Shiva. Everything is union with the most high from this philosophies perspective, it's just a spectrum of which is most connected to the core of all being or what is on the fringe, as in virtue (connected) versus vice (disconnected). SYDA is not just for tax exemptions. It has it's own president, they make their own decisions about money allocation within the world organization. I've known one of the presidents. They do tons of things without the Guru's consent. Gurumayi even expressed disappointment about the building of Lake Nityananda during her time in India. She came back and said, "this is unnatural, this is not good for the natural ecosystem of the area." I was there when she said this as well. I could go on pretty endlessly. I could write a book actually. I might eventually. I only know people on a personal level who's lives were turned right side up by the path, including my Mom. My Mom considers most of this stuff in the LSY site just tabloid junk. She doesn't know what to think about whether or not Muktananda had sex in his later years for tantric purposes. I know he did as I've talked to people really close as stated in various posts above. But, the raping and the molesting? No. I have found no verification for this. It has never been proven in the court of law either.

Well, neither Muktananda nor Sogyal Rinpoche were proven in the court of law to be as such either. I'll remove the name though.

Well, I'm friends with some of his attendants and translators from the times this is all supposed to have occurred, which is towards the final years of his life. Supposedly he did practice Highest Yoga Tantra as presented in the Kaula Shaiva lineage texts, which is absolutely acceptable for a Tantric Master. The molestations, sexual predator and the secret door stuff is bogus though. If he was doing all that stuff all night every night, he really didn't sleep, because he was up in public every single day anywhere from 3:30 for morning Arati, or at 5am for the Guru Gita chant from the Skanda Purana. He wrote and published probably about 100 books and gave thousands of talks and hundreds of intensives where people really did experience intense, shit you not, full blown kundalini awakening. Also, these accusations never made it to court record, so. Yeah, I don't buy it. I think many of these ploys were to force SYDA to settle out of court in order to just quiet negative press and also to keep the foundation going. Also the new guy who runs the site was supposedly a sexual predator at the Ashram and was ousted for it. So, this is the classic accuse the accuser of what you were accused of out of a distraction measure. This is also the case with certain x-swami's too. Nah, I think it's more complicated than it's been made out to be. I think Muktananda is more innocent than we are led to believe through this site.

I did that, wow'd some kids. Not exactly that, but various similar things.

50 girls? I just don't see it. The guy must never have slept. Then to effect people the way that he did? Come on, it doesn't make sense. He would rape girls, then people would experience deep states of meditation around him to the degree and with such power that they did? Even in the way's they say it happened, it's not possible with secret doors and such. Once again, you believe it just because it was written. There are far more positive testimonies. But, believe what you want. I've done research with open honesty, really wanting to know, it doesn't jive.