3bob

if there is a someone (here, there or anywhere) that thinks of themselves (or another) as a particular someone or of a certain "percentage" then....

without Akashic records of lives (for souls) how would many lifetimes of wisdom be attained? Btw, and going outside of Hindu/Vedic teachings one can read about the Historic Buddha and well known Buddhist Lamas or masters recounting some of their various "lifetimes".

studies and teachings from the Upanishads go into this, the Chandogya is a very good one... Btw, A.V. is only one school of many and it seems to grab a lot of attention! (while I relate more to the teachings of the Saivite schools, and certain ones more than others)

Siva can not "forget" Shakti and Shakti can not forget Siva, and whatever springs from the Self returns to the Self,

Limahong, Thank you for the very thoughtful, kind and beautiful post of pictures. Agreed....

and having apparently or seemingly "gone" there is then none other than the Self right here all along without projection or ado... Hari Om Tat Sat

there are a great number of well recognized teachings and texts concerning Lord Ganesha so one should refer to those for more definitive answers...(which I'm not qualified on but can quote) From: hinduwebsite.com/symbolism/ganesha.asp "According to Ganesha Upanishad, one should meditate upon him as having one tusk and four arms, with the two upper arms holding the noose and goad, while one of the lower ones is held in the posture of giving (varada) and the other in the posture of assurance (abhaya). The elephant head symbolizes strength, majesty, peace, power, knowledge and wisdom. The weapons symbolize his power, strength, mastery and leadership. His large belly symbolizes the womb of the universe and abundance. The following are a few more salient features of Ganesha's symbolism worth remembering on a day like Ganesh Chathurthi. 1. He is the first god to awaken in our consciousness and the first god to preside over our inner transformation. 2. As Vighneswara, the remover of obstacles, he removes ignorance, the biggest obstacle in our spiritual transformation. 3. Seated in the Muladhara chakra, he opens the blockages of inertia (tamas) present in the body and facilitates the passage of Kundalini and the free flow of spiritual energy. 4. As the harbinger of good, messenger of God and lord of the divinities, he fulfills the desires of his devotees and opens to them the doors of prosperity and abundance. 5. He is not only the son of Siva but also of Parvathi (nature). Since he is born out of their union, he personifies life, duality and manifestation in its diverse aspects. 5. His vehicle is the lowly mouse. His association with it symbolizes his lordship or control over fear, hesitation, weakness, doubt and nervousness, which the mouse symbolizes. He removes these obstacles to facilitate success and achievement for those who pray to him. 6. Lord Ganesha is the enjoyer of food. As the eater of various forms of food, he symbolizes Brahman, the ultimate recipient of all sacrificial offerings, In the body he symbolizes the individual Self, which is described in the Vedas as the enjoyer and the witness consciousness. 7. Lord Ganesha is the lord of Siva ganas. In the body, the ganas symbolize desires, thoughts and impulses. They are responsible for the instability and the modifications of the mind. They are also responsible for our distractions and failures in life. As their lord, Ganesha helps us in stabilizing our minds and experiencing peace and sameness. Lord Ganesha is our friend and benefactor in the fulfillment of the four aims of human life, namely duty (dharma), wealth (artha), enjoyment (kama) and liberation (moksha). He helps both the householders as well as the ascetics in realizing their goals. He is also described as a galactic god, who keeps balance among various worlds. He is the true son of God, Isvara, the Lord of the Universe."

so is there a single mention of Lord Ganesha in this thread that is noted by Hindus or those quoting related Hindu/Vedic/Saivite/Kundalini texts of that Beings key position in removing obstacles, working with karmas, and giving seen or unseen guidance... oh how brilliant and upper chakra some of us are.

yes, ultimately "the Master or other beings are none other than the Self" itself....but that is pretty abstract for most us most of the time even though it is not really abstract. Anyway advanced souls are making a personal choice and to whatever degree sacrifice to help and those who are helped most likely do not know the personal price that was paid...(until later) which brings up the dubious term of "impersonal enlightenment" which really has personal aspects.

another aspect is a master showing you your karma/mind from a spiritual pov. instead of one remaining entangled in the karma/mind, thus a suspension like action and breather is given from the karma so one can get insight, and if such a suspension is deep and powerful enough and insight gained then the back of the karmic pattern can be broken although it still needs personal work.

there were nut jobs like Osho that taught things like sexual-free-for-all and physical violence towards local people and institutions in the 80's - which lots kids in America fell for, so along those or related kind of lines anyone that teaches hatred as a means to liberation is not getting my benefit of the doubt regardless of how well versed they are in various verses.

s1va, The term Sanatana Dharma points to eternal dharma which includes universal spiritual order and laws which are beyond any man-made rules or what any being may try to "fix" in a limited way as you put it and in trying to twist my meaning - and obviously that does not mean spiritual order and laws do not exist and are not working throughout all realms. (one example of a part of that is symbolized per the Sri Yantra) Anyway if you want to set yourself up as a "correcter" and guru here good luck. Btw. I would suggest that you first correct yourself before going any further.

a few sentences taken out of context of all spiritual laws and twisted around does validate the idea of "practicing" hatred (as the OP stated) as a means towards liberation, for to practice such is to reap such which is not liberation. A major difference in understanding and interpretation along this line is to know that the transmutation of the energy caught up in negative or positive emotions can help propel one towards enlightenment. Also know that the eye of purity can see into the heart of hate but the heart of hate can only see its own hate, and thus is blind to all else.

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to wrestle with hatred (inner and outer forms) and learn from it with understanding can free up a soul, but to "practice" it is to assign or synchronize oneself to one of the crushing hell worlds with their demonic hosts, which is far less efficient than being a decent human.

yea Jonesboy, one might ask why you are hell bent on a continuing public display of and comparisons of certain personal experiences and opinions along with subtle or not so subtle dissections of others as in them not getting or not being equal to what sounds like a white-light ego trip... as for me no thanks.

There is a lot of mystic type discussion about gaining something that often seems to be described under the term of attaining...and along with that subject it is also very human to wonder about losing something or to suffer the loss of those we care for. Yet can any of us really gain or loose under the One being that the "One" can not gain more than the One or loose that which is under the One? Anyway the whole dynamic of gaining and loosing in various ways drives us on, which brings to mind the saying by Jesus, “Foxes have their holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (or to gain truly satisfying rest) just some rambling for any interested. (ps. probably should have put this in the general forum)

"do not do or try this at home"

yoga and the vastness of "Hinduism" (with its sects and many schools taking place over thousands of years) can not be put into little boxes of only a single definition, obviously! Btw, niether can Buddhism. Btw, non-dualism is big enough to contain dualism if one will, and if one will not that's nothing to get hung about either.

...sounds like a mixture of some Buddhist terms and others in your post Boundless-- Btw. I normally use the term and meaning of "Self" as it is found in the Upanishads; then again I used a Christian quote in the OP . (Dwai could you please move this thread to the general section?)

on a side note most of us would not mind losing some weight if we're over a good BMI.

"Who can keep sixteen balls in the air, inhaling and exhaling?" meaning a sense of humor?

meaning plum cookoo?

Jonesboy, It is a fools game for anyone to say they are "sure" that someone will or will not when it comes to this or that.... Btw, are you saying "any power" is benign and only possible per (spiritual) realization? If so I will say that is are dead wrong, thus you will not have to speculate about my position on that one.

note: I said "interesting" (and I'll add informative of common ground) up to a point, thus any form of forcing correlation beyond that point (a point which is not the same for everyone but is still there) becomes intrusive at best and possibly much worse which is why True gurus and their students don't do it. As for being driven to be a demonstrator of powers of some kind - if that is what you mean? - then that is often and mostly a fools game of false teachers.