3bob

just taking a general tally of opinions:

how many put their lime in the coconut? (and drank it all up)

Solomon brought up the state of, "Vanity of vanities"...this is important on the way of reaching the state that follows it but soul or heart crushing if not.

if such could be gained it could also be lost, and if such could happen then it could also un-happen, it's a trick of and on the mind.

The Self does not need air.

there is no transcendent knowledge without the action of Grace which it is part of.

the mud is not broken nor is water, air or ether, but who wants to remain only in, or insist on being stuck in the mud?

the Upanishads (and of course other schools) point the way. There is no doubt, "Fear not"

shaking the bushes to see what pops out can be interesting, useful and dangerous, there is also that saying about letting a sleeping dog lie.

the hub of the wheel need not claim control but without it there is no turning.

the Truth is that one can not pin down "Mystery"

imo some of the financial choices Obama made were messed up big time, but not as bad as Trump is heading into with his total greed and fascism!

when Trump says, "I won" the dictatorial way that he does along with the actions he has taken even before Jan. 20 it is becoming far more than just a sick or ugly train wreck of a circus to me....I'd call it our worst nightmare for gov. and a great many people as things keep devolving! Imo we did not have the candidate we needed to take down our house of cards built on financial sand as safely as possible - which could have reduced the different forms of pain rapidly coming down the pike for millions of us!

yea, I guess the devils advocate is not over until the fat lady sings ;-)

playing the devils advocate has diminishing returns after each hand

the movie, "Sand Kings" had Beau Bridges staring in it - he played a scientist who took a sample of Mars soil home with him to experiment on, (which was supposed to be destroyed) thus saving the smart alien bugs in it that grew up to become large ant like creatures on steroids - which ate him, after that they migrated to the country side to setup home.

we will be in trouble if they bring those "Sand Kings" (per movie) back to earth.

differences in concept and realization "Comparison of Advaita Vedanta with Kashmir Shaivism By admin on Oct 29, 2013 | In Srividya, Darshana From Dr. Jaidev Singh The Advaita Vedānta philosophy is generally known as śāntabrahmavāda or Kevalādvaita. The philosophy of Kashmir is known as īśvarādvayavāda or Pratyabhijñā or Trika. The Nature of Absolute Reality The most salient difference between the two is that according to Vedānta, the Absolute Reality is simply Prakāśa or jñāna, whereas according to īśvarādvayavāda, it is Prakāśa-vimarśamaya, i.e., it has both jñātṛtva and kartṛtva. Shankaracharya thinks that kriyā or activity belongs only to jīva or the empirical individual, and not to Brahman. Shankara takes kriyā in a very narrow sense. He takes it as synonymous with karma. Certainly, Paramaśiva does not act like a potter molding clay into pots. śaivāgama takes kriyā in a wider sense, in the sense of citśakti, in the sense of Spanda, throb or pulsation to manifest. Without activity, the Absolute would be simply inert, unable to bring about anything. Shankara says: “All activity belongs to Māyā.” But is Māyā simply a śakti of Brahman or is it something quite external? If Māyā is something quite external, then Advaita cannot be maintained. If Māyā is śakti of Brahman, then surely, it is an activity of Brahman. According to śaivāgama, svātantrya or autonomous Free Will is an important characteristic of Chaitanya. Kartṛtva is an important aspect of svātantrya. As Pāṇini puts it: svatantraḥ kartā, a free being alone is an agent. Svātantrya of śiva implies kartṛtva. According to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman is entirely inactive. Activity belongs to avidyā. When Brahman is associated with avidyā, it becomes īśvara who is endowed with the power to act. So the real activity belongs to avidyā. The activity of īśvara ceases when He is dissociated from avidyā. This is what Shankara says in his commentary on Brahmasūtra: “Thus the potency of īśvara, His omniscience and omnipotence are contingent upon the limitation caused by the condition or association of avidyā (primal ignorance). In the highest sense, when all conditions are removed by vidyā (spiritual illumination) from the ātmā, the use of potency, omniscience etc., would become inappropriate for it.” (2.1.14) On the other hand, jñātṛtva and kartṛtva are, according to īśvarādvayavāda, the very nature of the Supreme. Activity, according to this philosophy, is not an adjunct of īśvara, but His specific nature. His activity is summed up in the fivefold act of sṛṣṭi (manifestation), sthiti (maintenance), saṃhāra (withdrawal), vilaya (concealment of real nature) and anugraha (grace). He performs these five acts eternally even when He assumes the form of an empirical ego (jīva). Maheśvarānanda says in his Mahārthamañjarī that inactive Brahman is as good as unreal. “This is the specific nature of Parameśvara that He always performs the fivefold act of sṛṣṭi etc. If this is not accepted, ātmā as defined by Māyāvāda characterized by the want of the slightest trace of activity, would be as good as unreal.” According to Shankara, Brahman is entirely inactive; all activity is due to Māyā. According to īśvarādvayavāda, activity belongs to śiva or īśvara; Māyā derives its activity only from Him. Secondly, Māyā according to Advaita Vedanta is anirvacanīya or indefinable, but according to īśvarādvayavāda, Māyā being the śakti of śiva is perfectly real and brings about multiplicity or difference. śvetāśvarata Upaniṣad equates Māyā with Prakṛti: māyāṃ tu prakṛtiṃ vidyānmāyinaṃ tu maheśvaram | The word Māyā is derived from the root ‘mā’ which means ‘to measure’. Māyā is that power of the Divine which measures out the phenomenon in definite forms. Māyā is the creative power of the Divine and not a power of illusion..." quoted from: http://www.kamakotimandali.com/blog/index.php?p=1340&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

but we can't see the women on Venus unless our 3rd eyes are fully developed, thus they won't really exist unless they choose to transform themselves into less subtle koshas that we can see...

I say terra form Mars but only allow hippies that have VW. love buses with 8 track tapes playing Creedence Clearwater to go there. (or those that can adapt to same)

lets put giant Dharma engines on the back of our skulls so we can fly them like a spaceships, no need to mess with the Lady Earth.

a verb can't "go far" and "return" by itself

"train wrecks" so to speak are not so easy to look away from.

Bindi, Nice quote and post with #18! Also with the term reformed that you used I'd add unified - as in not at war or at odds with its functions. As for mind shifting perspective that is one way to put it, another is that as our minds settle down or clear awareness/consciousness/being is then not so divided or caught-up and can see into, through and even beyond mind forms.

Bindi, Is not mind one of those koshas? Granted mind is very important but still not true identity. (btw. and as you know there is the Buddhist teaching that says consciousness is an aggregate so if we go by that teaching (which I don't) consciousness is not going to cut it either when it comes to 'looking or unhooking".