Op deze pagina vind je informatie over guru`s (spirituele leraren) door de tijden heen.
- Gautama Boeddha
- Ramana Maharshi
- nityananda
- Sri Vasudeva
- Nisargadatta
- Sri Swami Satchidananda
- Sri Bhagavan
- Acharya Shree Yogeesh
- Zelfrealisatie manuscript
Boeddha
Gautama Boeddha
Gautama Boeddha Gautama Boeddha (1) (Sanskriet, Pali: Gotama Boeddha) was een spirituele leider die leefde van 566 v. Chr. tot 486 v. Chr. in India (2). Gautama Boeddha bereikte complete en volledige verlichting (het Boeddhaschap). De correcte Nederlandse uitspraak van (het sanskriet woord) Gautama isGotama.
Gautama Boeddha wordt ook wel de Sakyamuni Boeddha genoemd en werd geboren als Siddhartha Gautama. De naam Siddhartha betekent: hij, wiens doel is volbracht of van wie elke wens vervuld is. Vaak wordt hij kortweg “de Boeddha” of “Boeddha” genoemd. Gautama Boeddha is de meest recente Boeddha in een reeks van minimaal 28 Boeddhas (volgens het Theravada-boeddhisme). De titel Boeddha behoort toe aan iemand die op eigen kracht, zonder leraar, de Dhamma ontdekt heeft en verlichting heeft bereikt.
Leven
Het levensverhaal van de Boeddha is in het boeddhisme een voorbeeld en inspiratiebron voor het bereiken van verlichting. Siddharta Gautama werd geboren te Lumbini, tegenwoordig in het zuiden van Nepal. Zijn moeder zou Bodhi hebben geheten, wat in het Sanskriet tevens verlichting betekent. Zijn geboorteland was het land van de Sakya’s. De naam Sakyamuni is een verwijzing naar de Sakya’s: letterlijk betekent het de wijze van de Sakya’s.
Volgens traditie was Siddhartha Gautama een prins, wiens ouders van diverse wijzen te horen hadden gekregen dat hun kind óf een onovertrefferlijk grote heerser zou worden, óf alle aardse goederen zou verwerpen en het Boeddhaschap zou bereiken. Aangezien zijn vader de eerste voorspelling prefereerde werd hij omringd met de beste spullen die er op aarde waren, zodat hij in zijn leven geen ontevredenheid of nare dingen zou ervaren. Hij zou dan geen afstand hoeven te doen van zijn aardse bezittingen. Zijn vader bouwde 3 paleizen en Siddhartha Gautama bracht al zijn tijd door binnen de hoge muren van het paleis. Zo gingen de eerste 29 jaar van zijn leven voorbij.
Na 29 jaar ging hij echter diep nadenken over het leven en wilde zien hoe het ‘echte’ leven buiten het paleis was. Stiekem ging hij ‘s-nachts de stad in, samen met zijn bediende. Tot zijn grote schok zag hij een oude man, een zieke man en een dode man. Omdat hij door zijn beschermde opvoeding nog nooit een oude, zieke of dode man had gezien, vroeg hij zijn bediende om uitleg. Hij kreeg te horen dat alle mensen oud worden, ziekten oplopen en doodgaan. Dat dit een normaal iets is. Ook zag Siddhartha Gautama een kalme en beheerste monnik voorbijlopen. Hij vroeg zijn bediende wat dit voor man was, en kreeg te horen dat het een monnik was, die vrijwillig zijn bezittingen heeft opgegeven en een leven van eenvoud leidt, gericht op spirituele ontwikkeling. Kort daarna verliet Siddhartha het paleis en familie en ging leven als een monnik in de bossen van India.
In Benarès studeerde hij met twee zeer bekende en gerespecteerde meesters, en bekwaamde zich snel in hun leer. Hij vond echter dat hun leer geen oplossing was voor het lijden dat hij nog steeds ervoer. Daarna ging hij zijn eigen weg en begon een 6 jaar lange periode van zelfkastijding en zelfpijniging. Hij leefde ver van de samenleving, alleen in de bossen en at zeer weinig voedsel en werd zo mager dat hij bijna overleed.
Na 6 jaar kwam hij tot het inzicht dat zelf-pijniging niet naar verlichting en het einde aan het lijden lijdt. Hij vond een middenweg tussen het streven naar sensueel plezier en de zelfkastijding en besloot te mediteren onder een Bodhiboom in Bodhgaya totdat hij volledige verlichting zou bereiken óf zou sterven. De volgende ochtend rond zonsopgang bereikte hij de verlichting. Vanaf toen was hij Siddhartha Gautama, de Boeddha. Hij was toen 35 jaar.
Hij begon zijn nieuw gevonden inzicht (de Dhamma of leer ) aan anderen te onderwijzen. Zijn eerste toespraak gaf hij in Sarnath. Gedurende 45 jaar reisde hij door de toenmalige staten van Noord-India. Hij werd een zeer hoog gerespecteerde sprirituele leider, en de koningen van de twee grootste staten (Kosala en Magadha) werden zijn discipel, samen met vele andere mensen uit alle lagen van de bevolking. Veel mensen besloten monnik (bhikkhu) of non (bhikkhuni) te worden in de monastische orde (de Sangha) van de Boeddha. Op 80-jarige leeftijd overleed hij in de plaats Kushinagar. Zijn toespraken en leringen werden mondeling doorgegeven. In de verschillende boeddhistische scholen (Nikaya) waren verschillende verzamelingen verzen en verhalen bekend. De Pali Canon van de Theravada school is de enige die nu nog in zijn geheel bekend is. Er zijn, net als van Jezus, van Boeddha verhalen over wonderen verteld. Zie bijvoorbeeld de wonderen die hij te Sravasti verrichtte. Daarnaast zijn er, weer net als bij Jezus, verhalen over hoe mensen bekeerd werden. In het geval van Boeddha zijn er zelfs verhalen over dieren die tot het Boeddhisme bekeerd werden zoals de slang (naga) Apalala en zijn vrouw.
Het boedisme
Het Boedisme is een van de grote wereldreligies en wordt aangehangen door ongeveer 350 miljoen mensen. In tegenstelling tot veel andere religies ligt bij het boedhisme de grondslag niet in het aannemen van een hogere waarheid, maar is de bereidwilligheid te zoeken naar de werkelijkheid de basis.
Boedha, de stichter van het Boedhisme
Anders dan het Hindoeïsme gaat het boedhisme terug op een historische stichter, Sidharta Goutama de boeda. Hij werd geboren 560 v.C., als zoon van een rijk stamhoofd, huwde een weduwe en had bij haar een zoon. Op 29-jarige leeftijd kwam hij in een ernstige religieuze crisis, verliet huis en haard en probeerde eerst door een strenge ascese en zelfkastijding een oplossing te bereiken. Na zes jaar aldus geleefd te hebben en na een periode van 49 dagen van eenzame meditatie kwam de verlossing in de vorm van de verlichting. Gautama werd tot boedha (= dé Verlichte) en daarmee tot het centrum van de mensheid en zijn geschiedenis. boeda verzamelde een groep monniken om zich heen aan wie hij zijn leer doorgaf. Die leer werd later het Boedisme.
De leer van boeda
boedha leerde aan zijn volgelingen de volgende vier waarheden:
(1) Leven is lijden
(2) De oorzaak van het lijden is het verlangen of de begeerte.
(3) Het verlangen moet worden overwonnen.
(4) Het geëigende middel daartoe is het achtvoudige pad.
De leer van de boedha is geen godsdienstige leer maar is in wezen een levensleer of religie. Het boedisme is geen godsdienst omdat de vraag of God of een hogere macht bestaat niet relevant is in het boedhisme. Het boedisme is met andere woorden ‘non-theïstisch’. Het kan wel een religie worden genoemd omdat er naast een aantal praktische levensadviezen sprake is van metafysische en mystieke elementen. In dit document zijn een aantal begrippen van de leer van de boeda, de boedha Dharma, uitgelegd. Van de Vier Edele Waarheden is zowel een verkorte versie als een verdieping gegeven.
Ramana wordt beschouwd als de belangrijkste spirituele leraar van de vorige eeuw.
Zijn leer is eenvoudig en leidt je steeds weer terug naar het ZELF.
Over de reden voor zijn zwijgen zegt Ramana eens: Taal is alleen een communicatiemiddel voor je gedachten. Ze wordt gebruikt nadat zich gedachten hebben aangediend en die dienen zich alleen aan na de ik-gedachte; die is de wortel van alle gesprekken.
Je kunt een ander begrijpen wanneer je zonder gedachten blijft, door de universele taal – zwijgen. Zwijgen is altijd-spreken; het is eeuwig; praten onderbreekt het. Woorden zijn een hindernis voor die zwijgende taal. Wanneer er door een draad elektriciteit stroomt en er onderweg weerstand wordt geboden, ontstaat er licht in een lamp of gaat een ventilator draaien. De draad blijft vol elektrische energie. Zo is zwijgen ook de eeuwige stroom van taal die wordt geblokkeerd door woorden.
Wat je door middel van een gesprek dat zich over ettelijke jaren kan uitstrekken niet te weten komt, kan in een flits, in stilte of net voor een stilte, worden gekend. Dat is de hoogste en meest effectieve taal. Mensen blijven mij vragen stellen en dus moet ik antwoorden, maar de waarheid laat zich niet in woorden uitdrukken.
(Artikel over Sri Ramana Maharshi uit tijdschrift Happinez nummer 4 van 2006)
Ramana Maharshi – Be As You Are – by David Godman
klik hier om het e-boek Be AsYou Are te lezen
Collected work by Sri Rasmana Maharshi
klik hier om het verzamelde werk van Ramana te lezen
Kennismaking met Ramana Maharshi – Gesprekken met John Sherman
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KLIK HIER OM NAAR HET MENU TE GAAN
Self-knowledge om film te bekijken klik hier-
The Nature of the Absolute
“This is Shiva-Shakti, the creative power of the indivisible One. And God’s creative power is the Self, the One reality.” (Sutra 63)
The Absolute, the ultimate reality, the highest of all—this is pure consciousness. This pure dynamic consciousness is the basis and source of all manifestation, large and small. Many names have been given to this “ground of all”: Shiva, Parashakti, Parabrahma, Atman, the Self, God. It is the divine consciousness in all, the one consciousness. This ocean of pure potentiality has two inseparable aspects: pure potential (Shiva) and pure energy (Shakti). Shakti is the supreme creative aspect of the Absolute, vital and dynamic. It is both completely stable and never still, the eternally pulsating sound and power of om; the creative energy of Life, omkar.
Within the sea of pure consciousness, this resonance causes movement, waves, and ripples that intersect and mingle, rise and break. All manifestation arises from the movement and interaction of forces precipitated by the resonance that is Omkar. Omkar is the original word (paravac), the universal sound (shabda), the “Word” in the Gospel of St. John (“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John 6:I). In the Rig Veda, one of the most ancient of Indian holy texts, Omkar is vac, creator and substance of all. Omkar is pulsating everywhere, always at the same time. It is form-less, completely open, pure potential.
“Om vibrates like a storm in the sky. Having neither beginning nor end, it is the stage manager of the Divine Drama. The human body is a string of Om, all that is—inside us, outside us—is born of Om.” (Sutra 95)
Omkar—Shakti—is the very nature of the Absolute, or God. It is a living energy whose vibration gives rise to the whole universe. Synonymous with the om sound and pranava (its resonance), Omkar is the all-pervasive universal mantra. This one dynamic impulse reverberates within itself, giving rise to all experience—intellectual, volitional, emotional and spiritual. Omkar is also called sat-chit-ananda, Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The Absolute simply is—an eternally stable, self-luminous, conscious force continuously and joyously manifesting its own awareness. Satchitananda.
“The universe arises from sound. As so all things with form, from sound, form arises.”(Sutra 92)
Exactly how this vibrant, self-aware, ever-pulsating ocean of pure consciousness manifests as our familiar material world is the subject of much scholarly debate. In general, all schema trace a hierarchical development beginning with the single Absolute that manifests in increasingly differentiated levels. Nityananda likewise sees the material world as the most differentiated and gross level. Because each successive level is contained within its more subtle predecessor, however, all things share certain basic elements that are the first and most subtle differentiations from the Absolute.
“When the life-energy moves in an outward direction, desires are born. There the mind follows, dividing and subdividing into the two-, four-, and six-fold properties of unconscious cosmic Nature and what we call “the world” comes into being.” (Sutra 70)
Nityananda spoke primarily of two sets of such elements. In the first are the five categories of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. In the second set are the three primary gunas or constituent elements of cosmic Nature (prakriti: sattva, rajas and tamas). Sattva is pure light and perfect balance. Tamas, at the other end of the spectrum, embodies inertia, darkness and total density. Between the two lies Rajas—passion, fire, dynamic activity.
“All principles have a single root—the One Absolute, Parabrahma.” (Sutra 5)
Omkar is the essence of them all; the “power of doership” of the Absolute, the essence of life, of words and objects, of human beings. Omkar is the heart of Atman, and Atman is central to the mystery of our essential nature—because Atman is the Self. In the sutras, a distinction is made between the individual Self (jivatman) and the divine Self (paramatman), a distinction that is only on the surface. The distinction is Maya. This does not mean that the world is an illusion. (After all, the power underlying everything is real power.) Rather, Maya implies that nothing outside and nothing inside is as it appears. Individual selves are not really separate. Instead they are like waves on the ocean’s surface, each different but still water—only water. Likewise, any extension of the supreme Self is not different from the supreme Self. Jivatman is supreme conscious energy expressed as an individuated person, Paramatman is the Absolute, and they are both really the same thing. When Nityananda speaks of merging the Jivatman into the Paramatman, he is simply referring to the merging of ocean waves into water. Atman merging into Atman.
The Nature of the Individual
“Sound arises in the inner sky of pure consciousness, the heart-space in the head, the sky of the heart. What manifests is Life-Power, the One.” (Sutra 37)
Each individual reflects the structure of the universe. Whatever Divine Consciousness manifests in the universe, individuated consciousness manifests in the form of the human body. Nityananda used the words Omkar or Shakti when discussing the vitality of the Absolute. As this energy moves out from the source, it becomes distinct but not separate from the source. And as the essence of the individual Jivatman, it is called kundalini.
“Similarly, the life-force—Shakti, kundalini—is the same in all creatures, mobile and immobile. The sun and the moon also are the same life-force.” (Sutra 11)
Kundalini is the all-encompassing energy of Life Itself. In the individual human being, this single dynamic event manifests on three levels: biological, subtle or psychic, and purely spiritual. The energy of our biological existence is prana-kundalini. The energy that supports the intellectual and emotional manifestation of our being is chitta-kundalini, the mind. The third aspect, para-kundalini, is the condensed manifestation of pure consciousness; it is the same as Shakti, the same as Omkar. These aspects relate to different stages or states of consciousness. While they each manifest differently, their essence is the same paramatman. Awareness of this essence is liberation.
“Awaken the kundalini-shakti through the breath; for when it is roused, liberation is possible.” (Sutra 20)
Prana-kundalini, or simply prana, is the driving force of our psycho-physical mechanism. It is the breath within the breath, the “breath of life.” Not the same as physical breath, prana is more accurately called the link between the mental and the physical. Thus, mind (manas) plays an important role in the unfoldment and expansion of the inner vision—because mind and breath are intimately related. The thoughts and feelings that arise and subside in the mind do so on the movement of this subtle breath of life. The practice of pranayama uses the mind to control prana while simultaneously using prana to control the mind. The aim of this practice is to bring the flow of subtle energy into the awareness and control of the individual.
“The three primary channels through which conscious creative energy circulates in the subtle body are the ida, the pingala, and the sushumna. Sushumna is the seat of kundalini.” (Sutra 85)
This flow of energy takes place within a structure that is sometimes called the subtle body, with prana corresponding to the subtle breath. In the sutras, Nityananda speaks of the three primary nerves or nadis: the ida, the pingala, and the sushumna. They serve as channels in the subtle body for the flow of conscious energy and are arranged like the familiar medical symbol of the caduceus: a straight central (sushumna) flanked by two side channels (ida and pingala) that crisscross over the center like a loose braid. At each crossover point are centers called chakras, illustrated in the diagram.
“The subtle is in the chakras. In the subtle channels is the kundalini shakti—together they are Om. Realize and know the subtle.” (Sutra 47)
A chakra is a point in time and space where various flows of energy interact and create a resonance that is uniquely different from the resonance of the individual energies that originally combined to make it. From these centers of vibration a human being’s mental, emotional and physical characteristics are determined and expressed.
“Just as seven chakras begin with the muladhara at the base of the spine…” (Sutra 118)
There are seven major chakras, each corresponding to an area in the physical body: the base of the spine, the base of the sex organs, the navel, the heart, the throat, a point between the eyebrows, and the top of the head. Kundalini energy is said to lie dormant in the muladhara, the chakra at the base of the spine; the nadis also originate in the muladhara. In addition to the muladhara, Nityananda specifically refers to the ajna chakra between the eyebrows and the sahasra chakra at the top of the head. The goal of yogic practice is to rouse the sleeping kundalini, allowing it to rise through the nadis and chakras, finally to merge with the Absolute in the sahasra chakra.
“The seat of such discrimination is in the sky of the heart. When the kundalini rises to this place in the head, then the breath is single and the universe is in one’s Self. All is in the Self…” (Sutra 42)
The sahasra chakra at the top of the head is the seat of Self-realization. It is the junction point between the individual and the Divine, that point in a human being wherein lies the dynamic stillness that is the union of Shiva and Shakti. It is the only part of the psychobiological mechanism that is still, just as the hub of a wheel is still while the spokes and rim move around it. It is the place from which all of the spiritual forces that make up a human being are extended, the place the breath comes from, the place the chakras come from, the place the physical body comes from.
“The Self is there before you and it is there after you; even before you were born, there was creation. Only you are unaware.” (Sutra 6)
A human being, then is really an extension of a spiritual force. The dormant kundalini represents the furthest extension of that energy. As long as it is crystallized in this extension, the person is a limited being and sees things in terms of distinction. When, through shaktipat (the transmission of energy from a teacher), the kundalini begins to rise, this crystallization is loosened up. As the energy begins to flow again, it is reabsorbed into itself as the Divine.
“When the individual spirit leads the inner Shiva-Shakti upward to the Brahmarandhra at the top of the head, the individual becomes one with the Indivisible. This is liberation, indivisible liberation.” (Sutra 16)
“Creation is nothing but energy released or projected from God. Entering back into it is dissolution. Identifying with the body is the cause of creation—as one sees it. Real dissolution takes place when the individual Self merges and dissolves in the Universal.” (Sutra 25)
For Nityananda, the sahasra chakra is synonymous with the Brahmarandhra, the point of dynamic stillness that equals the union of Shiva and Shakti. When the individual creative energy, in the form of kundalini, is re-awakened and merged into that point through the various yogic practices, the individual consciousness dissolves into universal consciousness. What manifests then is a complete state known as the divine inner Self. This is the state of universal consciousness and awareness of the Self as the source of the whole universe. Chidakasha and hridayakasha refer to the awareness that arises in the state of divine consciousness. In that state we experience the inner as vast, maybe more vast than the whole external universe. Hridayakasha means “heart-space”: the heart referred to is the essence or the heart of the whole universe. Chidakasha is consciousness-space, the sky of consciousness, or “the sky of the heart.” The heart-space in the head, the sky of the heart, the Brahmarandhra—these all refer to the same experience of infinite expansiveness.
“The source of liberation is Shiva. The linga in the head is Shiva. It is all Om.” (Sutra 13)
This Brahmarandhra is also referred to in Nityananda’s sutras as the linga in the head, which is the symbol of Shiva. In Indian temples, the linga is a stone or metal object said to have a masculine quality, to be completely passive, and to contain the whole universe within itself. It arose as a symbol of Shiva because the linga in the head is the abode of Shiva—the source of all that is.
The Process of Liberation
Within a human being there is a vast reservoir of spiritual knowledge and pure capability, yet this great treasure is rarely tapped. Our involvement in the world and our entanglement in the struggle for survival limit our awareness to desires and their objects. Like a kaleidoscope, these desires are continuously changing form; the subtle images of shape and color never allow us to really grasp what we think we are seeing. Unless we recognize the kaleidoscope for the illusion it is, much unhappiness and frustration can result.
“Return to the Self within and know your own secret! The universe is inside you and you are inside the universe. The inner Self is the One dancing in all…” (Sutra 65)
The primary paradox of unity and diversity recurs at every level. While the process of liberation appears hierarchical at first glance, the orderly image of a ladder of ever-higher levels breaks down on close scrutiny. The process is really more like drawing a series of ever-expanding concentric circles. Jiva (the individual) is in the center and the Absolute is in the outermost circle as well as the paper on which it lies and the pen with which it is drawn. This is a paradox that cannot be neatly resolved through language. Only by continuous and deep contemplation can the nature of this paradox be penetrated and encompassed. What follows is called liberation.
“Sound arises in the inner sky of pure consciousness, the heart-space in the head, the sky of the heart. What manifests is Life-Power, the One.” (Sutra 37)
Nityananda addressed this paradox indirectly through the image of the heart-space in the head, the chidakash, the sky of the heart. This verbal image brings together what is “above” and what is “below” with intuitive clarity; in the sky of consciousness, there is no duality and no paradox. The question then is how to reach this center. Nityananda directs the seeker to “the royal road.”
“A true guru can turn you from the jungle road of ignorance to the royal road of spiritual knowledge.” (Sutra 102)
“But without the Guru, you cannot reach the goal.” (Sutra 9)
The paradox is repeated in the form of the guru, because the guru has two aspects. Nityananda called these the primary (or action) guru and the secondary (or causal) guru. On the one hand, there is the physical teacher. This is a personality to be dealt with and talked to, a person who performs actions that have an effect in the world, a person viewed by some with admiration and by others with disgust; in other words, someone viewed by ordinary people as the same or less than they are. On the other hand, for the few people who are able to, or care to, look deeply into the situation, what is really there is not a personality but an extraordinary field of spiritual energy from which they can draw energy for their innermost being. With this nourishment, they can attain complete maturity in the supreme state of pure consciousness.
“The secondary guru leads you to the well—the primary guru drinks from it.” (Sutra 104)
The physical aspect of the guru, the secondary teacher, serves as a doorway. Through our diligence, love and devotion, we pass through this doorway of the physical teacher into the level of consciousness that Nityananda calls the action guru. The action guru is the same as Parabrahma, Paramashiva, or chidakasha. At this level, we express the infinite spaciousness, extraordinary power, and creative intelligence that are characteristics of the essential state of unity from which all experience takes its form.
“Liberation does not come searching for you. You must make the effort to seek it.” (Sutra 117)
The effort required if you sincerely seek God is to see through the form, to pass beyond the personality, the individuality, and the eccentricity of the teacher, and in so doing to transcend your own personality and limitations.
“Draw the breath up to the Brahmarandhra at the top of the head. Kindle the fire, purify the subtle channels, burn up the impurities. This is the yoga-fire of deliberation…The pure energy of the Supreme.” (Sutra 28)
The power inherent in the presence of the guru energizes every level of a human being. The transmission of this power is shaktipat, the transmission or descent of grace. Shaktipat brings about a quantum leap in awareness that puts us in contact with the innate freedom and spontaneous creative power that is eternally and everywhere present as the source of all. It awakens the deepest potentiality within us, and the kundalini shakti begins its extraordinary unfoldment. As this unfoldment continues, the entire structure of the human being is refined and purified. When subjected to fire, iron is free of its gross crystallization and impurities and reorganized as the finer, stronger metal of steel. The human being also, through contact with the forge of the guru, becomes purified by the inner fire of kundalini and is established in the supreme state of awareness. Seeing past the form of the physical teacher brings awareness of the power that is functioning as and through the teacher. And stilling the mind in the flow of that power is liberation.
“First silence the mind and establish it in the Self, then concentrate deeply with spiritual discernment.” (Sutra 179)
When the various waves of creative energy that form the mind are stilled and become like the surface of a calm lake, our awareness can penetrate our own depth and recognize the complete oneness of our individual Self and the Divine. Deep contact or connection with a guru enables us to feel so deeply secure and calm that we can begin to turn within and observe the working of our inner universe without the doubts, fears and tensions that continuously draw the mind of the ordinary person back into the realm of dualistic awareness.
“Mind is the root of bondage and liberation, of good and evil, of sin and holiness.” (Sutra 71)
The mind is both the entity to be stilled and the means of stilling it, for the nature of the mind is complex. Nityananda used many different terms to distinguish its facets. The major distinction is between manas and buddhi. Manas is the ordinary limited mind and buddhi is the higher mind, the one capable of subtle discrimination and spiritual discernment. In some classical Indian systems, the word chitta denotes the whole mental apparatus composed of three parts: manas (the perceiving mind), buddhi (the discriminating mind) and ego (“I-consciousness”). Nityananda used “body-idea” and “body-consciousness” synonymously with “I-consciousness.” Although simple thoughts, feelings and desires arise in the mind, the mind is also capable of realizing jnana and truth. Jnana is the highest wisdom, the wisdom of the jnani, one who has realized the Self. Here again is a paradox, for the wisest person has transcended the mind and its desires. “A jnani has no mind,” says Nityananda.
“Without a pure mind, how can you develop equal vision? Without practice, how can you develop balance? Through practice, the subtle intelligence develops and the desire for objects disappears.” (Sutra 141)
As our understanding expands and we begin to see beyond the “body-idea” and beyond the limits of ordinary mind, a sense of detachment also grows. Detachment, desirelessness, and perfect dispassion for worldliness (what Nityananda called vairagya) are necessary requirements for the seeker. The Sanskrit word sannyasi means “renunciate”, literally “one who has cast away.” However, renunciation is a subtle concept. It is not objects we must renounce, but our desire for objects; not actions, but our attachment to the results of those actions. True renunciation is not of things but of the desire for things. Vairagya is the attitude leading to a state of understanding in which the true nature of objects is known. Consequently, these objects no longer have any power over a person.
“No need to strive for anything. When the mind chases desires, one must strive to attain one-pointedness. Concentrate the mind in the higher mind…” (Sutra 80)
Meditation is an integral part of sadhana. Nityananda spoke of meditation as a focused concentration, the merging of mind into wisdom, the look within. The goal is bringing the mind to perfect one-pointedness; achieving this goal tests all the faculties of the seeker. The mind must be stilled and drawn away from desire; the breath must be harmonious and ultimately become single; the awareness must reach inside to come in touch with and observe the action of the kundalini shakti.
“Like milk being boiled, the vital breath in the sushumna channel is heated by intense faith and discrimination and led toward the sahasra chakra, the still point at the top of the head. As the kundalini power crosses each subtle energy center, properties of the energy that evolves as the world change.” (Sutra 21)
Then, as a natural result of the awakening of the inner transforming power, the kundalini shakti rises through the chakras to join and merge into the heart-space, the Brahmarandhra. The love and happiness that then arise within us dissolve all the various tensions and superficial desires and satisfy our deepest needs. With a full heart, the mind can become still and one-pointed on the power of the Divine Presence. This is the merging of the individual into the universal and transcendent that Nityananda consistently called the most important purpose of our presence on this earth. To merge heart to heart and spirit to spirit with the guru in the field of supreme Shiva-Shakti frees a human being from all mechanistic thinking and from the bonds of cause and effect. This is the union of the individual and the Divine.
“Fulfillment is only possible when you merge with this pure heart. There all idea of “you” and “I” disappears. In the sky of the heart is liberation, love and devotion.” (Sutra 40)
Liberation is the clear, luminous recognition that our mind, emotions and physical body are nothing more than extensions of the supreme Mantra of God that pulsates silently everywhere and always at once. Everywhere we look, inside and outside, we experience nothing but the extraordinary clarity, beauty and power of the supreme Self. It is eternally pulsating, creating, absorbing, and manifesting yet again—ourselves, the world, all that is. This is simply the fundamental expression of its absolute freedom to do whatever it wants, an expression of its supreme freedom and its incredible joy. Satchitananda!
Conclusion
In all places and in every age, there are many good people who seek spirituality, who have spiritual understanding, and who have some positive concerns for humanity. Yet in any age there are only a few people, rare and great beings indeed, who can communicate the highest transcendent state of consciousness to other human beings and who dwell in that state while still functioning in this world as ordinary—and possibly eccentric—human beings.
Nityananda was such a rare and gifted being. And because he spoke from a state of complete Self-awareness, his spiritual presence flows through his words. By becoming aware of the ongoing pulsation and remaining aware of it every day, the mind itself becomes a mantra. Whatever is spoken in that state is sacred, pure and uplifting. In that state, the sounds that come and the way they are articulated and joined to form images is something mysterious and magical, a manifestation of the freedom of our innate, pure consciousness. Nityananda’s words came from that state. They inspire us to open our minds and hearts to the extraordinary creative energy that permeates our lives, and to experience, recognize and appreciate the miracles that happen to us.
Biography
Early life
Details about Nityananda’s birth are relatively unknown. According to his disciples, Nityananda was found as an abandoned infant in Tuneri village, Kozhikode, India by a lady named Uniamma Nair, who was married to Chathu Nair. The Nair couple adopted this child and took care of him along with their own five children. Nityananda was named as Raman by his foster parents. The Nair couple were farmers,who also took care of the farms owned by a wealthy lawyer named Ishwar Iyer, who greatly trusted them. Nityananda’s foster father died when he was three and his foster mother when he was six. Before dying she handed over her responsibility of Nityananda to Ishwar Iyer. Even in childhood, Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which gave rise to the belief that he was born enlightened. He was eventually given the name Nityananda, which means, “always in bliss”.Before the age of twenty, Nityananda became a wandering yogi, spending time on yogic studies and practices in the Himalayas and other places. By 1920, he was back in southern India.
Adult life
A life size statue of Bhagawan Nityananda at Bunt Bhavan,Mumbai India
Settled in southern India, Nityananda gained a reputation for creating miracles and wonderful cures. He started building an ashram near Kanhangad, Kerala state. The local police thought he must be producing counterfeit money to pay for the building, so Nityananda took them to a crocodile-infested pool in the jungle. He dived in and then produced handfuls of money, which was apparently enough to satisfy the police. The beautiful hill temple and Ashram in Kanhangad are now pilgrim centres. The Guru Van, a forest in the hills nearby where Bhagawan sat on penance, is now a pilgrim retreatBy 1923, Nityananda had wandered to the Tansa Valley in Maharashtra state. There, his reputation as a miracle worker attracted people from as far away as Mumbai, though he never took credit for any miracles. He said, “Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of God.” Nityananda gave a great deal of help to the local adivasis, who were despised by the population at large. Nityananda set up a school, as well as providing food and clothing for them.
As a guru, Nityananda gave relatively little by way of verbal teachings. Starting in the early 1920s, his devotees in Mangalore would sit with him in the evenings. Most of the time he was silent, though occasionally he would give teachings. A devotee named Tulsiamma wrote down some of his teachings and his answers to her specific queries. Later, these notes were compiled and published in the Kannada language and came to be known as the Chidaksha Geeta.
Some believe that Nityananda had the power to transmit spiritual energy (shaktipat) to people through non-verbal means. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behaviour, even to the point of throwing rocks on occasion. This was his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.
In 1936, he went to the Shiva temple in the village of Ganeshpuri and asked if he could stay there. The family that looked after the temple agreed and built a hut for him. As his visitors and followers increased, the hut expanded and became an ashram. To the people around him, he was an avadhuta: one who is absorbed in the transcendental state.
Nityananda died on August 8, 1961. His samadhi is located in Ganeshpuri at the Samadhi Mandir. There is also a shrine dedicated him in the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram at Ganeshpuri. His ashram, tourist hostel, and other buildings associated with his life in Ganeshpuri are preserved by the Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha Ganeshpuri. This trust is also responsible for his samadhi shrine in Ganeshpuri, which is a pilgrimage site.
A trust at Kanhangad looks after the Ashram and temples located there. The trust also runs a few educational institutions and a dharmasala.
Nityananda’s Guru
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Vasudeva is de oprichter van de non profit organisatie Blue Star. Blue Star heeft in veel landen in de wereld een afdeling. Vasudeva heeft zich tot doel gesteld om mensen te helpen bij hun spirituele zoektocht. Hij probeert dit te verwezelijken door het geven van lezingen retreats en meditaties.
Awareness
We are conscious beings. As we create thoughts we can be aware of them. We can be aware of them arising within us. We can identify with them giving them more power or we can detach from them making them weaker. In the same way we are aware of our emotions. We are also aware of the body and can be attentive to its signals or we can ignore them. This ability to be aware is an important one to consider. It gives us the ability to position ourselves as a witness giving us objectivity and the power to choose what we give attention to or identify with. It also gives us the power to better manage our thoughts, emotions and physical well being.
As we strive to develop this witness conscious state within us we will find that it is possible to expand our awareness. We can be aware in a limited sense as when we identify ourselves as being primarily a physical being or our awareness can expand as we begin to realize that we are also mental, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual beings. As our awareness expands so does our power. We feel a greater ability to co create our destiny in the way we would like to.
As we become more aware of our mental being we realize that we can think in positive and negative ways. When we become more aware of our power of choice then we learn to keep our thoughts positive thus making us stronger. As we discover more of ourselves we become more powerful and able to touch the world around us in very positive ways. Awareness of our spiritual being gives us great freedom and power in the human experience as we become aware that we exist in the source of all possibilities.
The journey of life is a journey of expanding our awareness from a limited physical being to a spiritual being where we feel that all is possible. A powerful way to experience this shift in awareness is to seek the presence and guidance of those who live in that expanded state of awareness. If we are ready and receptive just being in their presence and being guided by them brings magical transformation in consciousness.
May you have the blessings of an expanded state of awareness as you seek to co create your destiny in the human experience.
klik hier als je meer wilt horen en lezen over Vasudeva
Talk-Vasudeva-Wittness-Consciousness
http://www.livestream.com/blue_star
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It is the person you imagine yourself to be that suffers, not you. Dissolve it in awareness. It is merely a bundle of memories and habits. From the awareness of the unreal to the awareness of your real nature there is a chasm which you will easily cross, once you have mastered the art of pure awareness.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
De “Tijger van Bombay”, zoals hij door sommigen genoemd werd, was een reus onder de Indiase meesters. Hij bracht veel leraren voort die in het westen furore hebben gemaakt, waar onder ook een aantal van de belangrijkste Nederlandse Advaita leraren, Wolter Keers, Douwe Tiemersma, Alexander Smit e.a..
Ook bij Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj stond de vraag ‘Wie ben ik’ centraal. Niet ons tijdelijk ‘ik’, dat we ook als persoon of ego omschrijven, maar onze wezenlijke kern: Het ‘Ik’ dat alles ziet en bevat, Dat-wat-we-wezenlijk zijn, maar wat geen eigenschappen bevat.
Wij zijn bewustzijn, ofwel het Zijn zelf. Er is geen (persoonlijk) ik en de ander. Onze persoon en de wereld komen op in Bewustzijn. Bewustzijn is geen eigenschap van de persoon, maar de persoon is een manifestatie van dat Bewust Zijn. Zijn is altijd Nu. Verleden en toekomst zijn producten van het denken. Zo bezien zijn het spookverschijningen. Je herinnert je wat je hebt meegemaakt, maar je weet niet hoe de film afloopt. Nu is Nu. Daarnet is een herinnering, wat een product van het denken is en straks is een verwachting, wat ook een projectie van het denken is. Denken is geen Zijn. Denken kan worden waargenomen, dus dat ben je nooit zelf.
Het gevoel “Ik ben”, ik besta moet op advies van Nisargadatta centraal in aandacht blijven. Maar ook dit is nog niet het ultieme eindpunt, want wie of wat is het dat zich bewust is van “Ik ben”??? Want dit gevoel ontlenen wij aan aanwezigheid temidden van gewaarwordingen van verschijnselen. Uiteindelijk is er een staat waar er geen Zijn is, waar geen beweging is, waar niets te vinden is. Zolang wij ons bewust blijven van bewegingen in de wereld en van de plek van waar uit wij waarnemen (lichaam, denken voelen), moeten wij ons blijven afvragen wie of wat het is die de voorwaarde is van dit bewustzijn. Wij hebben dan onszelf als persoon, als ego ver achter ons gelaten.
Maar blijf niet buiten je zoeken. Zoek niet in de verschijnselen, want daarmee treedt je weer uit jeZelf. Dan heb je weer de zoeker gecreëerd. Denk niet, verblijf in het Zijn, in de de onmiddellijkheid, de authenticiteit van het moment. Focus niet op de verschijnselen, maar verblijf in die ruimte waar je aanwezig bent. Want dit is al je thuis. Je kan niet via je huidig bewustzijn een ander hoger soort bewustzijn ontdekken, want je bent ‘Dat’ al, je bent al de Bron, of je je dat nu realiseert of niet.
Realisatie kan volgens Nisargadatta plotseling zijn of het kan langzaam groeien. Maar de omwenteling is ineens. Angst verdwijnt en tevreden zijn verschijnt permanent. Hoe dat gaat is niet te manipuleren. Wij kunnen contact krijgen met het Ongekende door keuzeloos gewaarzijn. Nogmaals, blijf bij het gevoel van Ik-ben. Ben jij jouw buurvrouw? Nee, zal je zeggen. Voor 100% zeker niet! Dat wat je zo zeker maakt van jouw antwoord is het gevoel van jouw zijn, jouw aanwezigheid. “Ik ben er toch???”. Je bent er, en daarom ervaar je dit alles. Daar moet je bij blijven. Je niet laten verleiden om weer mee te gaan met alle verleidingen van de wereld.
Blijf helemaal in het Hier en Nu. Er is niets anders.
Je kan dus niets doen om het eindresultaat te beïnvloeden:
“Het eindpunt van de yoga is de realisatie van onafhankelijkheid. Alles wat gebeurt, gebeurt in -en overkomt aan- denken en voelen, maar niet aan de bron van het ‘Ik ben’. Als je je eenmaal realiseert dat alle dingen vanzelf gebeuren (of je ze nu noodlot, Gods wil of puur toeval noemt), blijf jij enkel nog over als de waarnemer, vol begrijpen en vreugde, onaangetast”
“Wat de tijd geschapen heeft zal zal de tijd ongedaan maken”.
Er zijn mensen die het griezelig vinden te bedenken dat alles vast ligt of althans dat het niet in jouw handen ligt. En ik dan??? Maar wanneer je naar een film kijkt wordt je ook ontroerd of je kan niet wachten tot je weet hoe die roman af loopt. Je komt er achter dat je in wezen niet verschilt van de acteurs in een film. Je kan immers voortdurend bewust zijn van ‘jezelf’ in actie, in een wereld die je maar nauwelijks of niet naar jouw hand kan zetten. Het leven wordt dan beleven. In feite verandert er niet veel, anders dan de realisatie dat je er niet meer druk om hoeft te maken. De illusie van de Doener valt weg.
Dat gevoel van “Ik ben” is dus erg cruciaal om te begrijpen. Nisargadatta zegt daar o.m. het volgende over:
The Sense of “I am” (Consciousness)
1) When I met my Guru, he told me: “You are not what you take yourself
to be. Find out what you are. Watch the sense ‘I am’, find your real
Self.” I obeyed him, because I trusted him. I did as he told me. All
my spare time I would spend looking at myself in silence. And what a
difference it made, and how soon!
2) My teacher told me to hold on to the sense ‘I am’ tenaciously and not
to swerve from it even for a moment. I did my best to follow his
advice and in a comparatively short time I realized within myself the
truth of his teaching. All I did was to remember his teaching, his
face, his words constantly. This brought an end to the mind; in the
stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am — unbound.
3) I simply followed (my teacher’s) instruction which was to focus the
mind on pure being ‘I am’, and stay in it. I used to sit for hours
together, with nothing but the ‘I am’ in my mind and soon peace and
joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all
disappeared — myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around
me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence.
Uit: http://www.nisargadatta.net/
Kennis heeft volgens Nisargadatta geen enkele betekenis bij het ontwaken. In het artikel van Philipe Renard wordt dit uiteengezet. Het heeft geen zin passages er van over te schrijven of samen te vatten. Er valt m.i. niets aan te te voegen of af te dingen. Vervolgens is de Meester weer aan het woord:
November 9, 1980
The one who has fully investigated himself, the one who has come to understand, will never try to interfere in the play of consciousness. There is no creator with a vast intellect as such; all this play is going on spontaneously. There’s no intellect behind it, so don’t try to impose yours to bring about any change; leave it alone. Your intellect is a subsequent product of this process, so how can your intellect take charge of or even evaluate, the whole creation? Investigate your self; this is the purpose of your being.
Spirituality is nothing more that understanding this play of consciousness — try to find out what this fraud is by seeking its source.
Uit: http://www.prahlad.org/gallery/consciousness_absolute.htm
Ofwel in mijn woorden: het deel kan het geheel niet (om)vatten, het gevolg kan zijn oorzaak niet begrijpen, het object kan het subject niet kennen. Onmogelijk! In wezen kan je dus niets doen. De persoon is als tijdelijke en beperkte constructie niet in staat het subject te kennen en te doorgronden. Het denken heeft geen enkele toegang tot dit Domein. De persoon kan zich alleen bewust worden van zijn positie, begrijpen of inzien dat al zijn acties ingebed zijn in iets groters, in een voorwaardelijke ruimte. Hij kan zelfs van leraren vernemen dat zijn bewuste aanwezigheid reeds het Gezochte is. Maar je kan niet zoeken naar Wat Je Bent. Het ‘I am” is nog steeds iets wat ervaren wordt. Er is dus nog iets anders dat zich bewust is van ‘I am’. Dat is Aanwezigheid. De Absolute Staat. Je kan daar enkel in verblijven.
Je Bent het, want je bent gewaar. Maar er zijn geen kenmerken. Je kan het niet kennen. En het ware subject doet niets, want het Subject is onkenbaar. Het is niet Iets, het is het beroemde Niets, Niet-Iets. Er valt in feite niets van zijn werking waar te nemen. Het is er, want ik ben er. Meer valt er eigenlijk niet over te zeggen….
En wanneer alles rijp is, wanneer het je toe-valt, wanneer Genade jouw deel is, dan kan ineens de illusie openbarsten. Dan is er het inzicht dat je niet verschilt van de leraar, dat je niet verschilt van de wereld, dat alles Eén is.
Voor de fijnproevers een stukje uit een interview met David Godman (zie voor de volledige weergave de link van Godman). Het gaat over de vraag van Godman aan Nisargadatta hoeveel leerlingen van hem verlicht zijn geraakt. Ooit noemde hij alleen Maurice Friedman, een Poolse ingenieur die jaren bij Nisargadatta verbleef en die het beroemde boek ‘I am That’ samen stelde. Een echte jñani, dus. Eén van de weinigen die Nisargadatta daarnaast erkende was een zekere Rudi, een onbekende Canadees, waar later niet veel meer van vernomen is.
Rudi was in gesprek met de meester en dat ging van jetje:
…………………………
At some point Maharaj asked him, ‘Have you witnessed your own death?’ and Rudi replied ‘No’.
Maharaj then launched into a mini-lecture on how it was necessary to witness one’s own death in order for there to be full realisation of the Self. He said that it had happened to him after he thought that he had fully realised the Self, and it wasn’t until after this death experience that he understood that this process was necessary for final liberation. I hope somebody recorded this dialogue on tape because I am depending on a twenty-five-year-old memory for this. It seems to be a crucial part of Maharaj’s experience and teachings but I never heard him mention it on any other occasion. I have also not come across it in any of his books.
Maharaj continued to pester Rudi about the necessity of witnessing death, but Rudi kept quiet and just smiled beatifically. He refused to defend himself, and he refused to be provoked. Anyway, I don’t think he was in any condition to start and sustain an argument. Whatever state he was in seemed to be compelling all his attention. I got the feeling that he found articulating even brief replies hard work.
Finally, Rudi addressed the question and said, ‘Why are you getting so excited about something that doesn’t exist?’ I assumed he meant that death was unreal, and as such, was not worth quarrelling about.
Maharaj laughed, accepted the answer and gave up trying to harass him:
‘Have you ever had a teacher like me?’ demanded Maharaj, with a grin.
‘No,’ replied Rudi, ‘and have you ever had a disciple like me?’
They both laughed and the dialogue came to an end.
Nisargadatta was de ultieme spiegel voor het bewustzijn van zijn bezoekers. Elke poging van zijn bezoekers om vanuit het denken te redeneren werd door hem radicaal onderuit-gehaald, soms met geduld, maar soms ook compromisloos. Het is hier geen kleuterklas””, zei hij dan en hij stuurde weer een aantal mensen weg, die het toch nooit zouden begrijpen.
Ernst en serieus zelfonderzoek waren volgens hem de sleutel. Zelfonderzoek is niet iets zomaar als hobby er even bij te nemen, maar het gaat om een volkomen open en immer beschikbaar zijn voor de vraag wie je in wezen bent.
Maar diegenen die denken en hopen dat zij even in dit leven de status van Jñani zullen bereiken biedt deze bladzijde weinig troost. De hoge pieken die hier in deze rubriek aan het woord komen, zijn zeldzaam. Maar -zoals elders betoogd- er bestaat geen onafhankelijke persoon die het zelf allemaal doet. Het maakt allemaal deel uit van de gang des levens, ook dit gegrepen worden door de sterke en niet-aflatende behoefte aan zelfrealisatie. Geen wilsinspanning zal je het diploma geven, maar niets doen houdt je in onwetendheid.
Alleen zelfonderzoek voldoet.
En dan nu de uitsmijter van een dan inmiddels stervende Nisargadatta.
Although thoughts come and go, the jnani is not concerned. Thoughts will come in consciousness; witnessing also takes place in consciousness. You must have the conviction that you are consciousness. Thereafter there is nothing for you to do; leave it to the consciousness to do what is to be done. Whatever happens, happens spontaneously.
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talks about balanced mind (klik hier)
talk about being happy always (klik hier)
talks about real love (klik hier)
Swami Satchidananda (Sri Gurudev) was born on December 22nd in 1914 during the month known as Margali, the Dawn of the Devas. He was the second son of Sri Kalyanasundaram Gounder and his wife Srimati Velammai. Their home had always been a meeting place for poets, musicians, philosophers and astrologers. Sannyasis (monks) and holy men passing through the area were directed to the home of Sri Kalyanasundaram and Srimati Velammai for food and lodging. Srimati Velammai was inspired by the holy men and decided that her next child should be this type of person. She and her husband traveled sixty miles to Palani, the holy hill, to the Ashram of Sri Sadhu Swamigal where she was given a mantra to invoke the Divine Light as manifested in the Sun. She repeated it constantly, developing a vibration conducive to receiving the type of soul she desired.
From the time he was a little boy, Sri Gurudev (then known as “Ramaswamy”) was deeply spiritual. Even as a young child, he spoke truths and displayed insights far beyond his years. His devotion to God was strong, and he looked at people of all castes and faiths with an equal eye, always recognizing the same light within every being. That recognition of the universal light equally present in all people remained as he grew to adulthood, became a businessman and a husband.
When his young wife died, he turned his attention to spiritual practice and studying with many great spiritual masters, including Sri Ramana Maharshi. Finally, in 1949, Ramaswamy met his guru, H. H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. He received Sannyas Diksha (initiation into monkhood) from his spiritual master and was given the name Swami Satchidananda.
And so began a new level of dynamic service for Sri Gurudev. Sri Swami Sivanandaji recognized the gift that his newly-initiated Sannyasin had for touching the lives of others and did not let this disciple stay in the Rishikesh Ashram for long. Soon, he sent Swami Satchidananda to serve in various parts of India and Sri Lanka. That led to Sri Gurudev’s service in many other countries, and eventually, at the insistence of his many American students, to his moving to the United States, as well as to the founding of Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville®, Virginia (headquarters of Integral Yoga® International) and the Integral Yoga Institutes around the world.
Sri Gurudev’s message emphasized harmony among people of all races and faiths. His motto was: “Truth is One, Paths are Many.” He believed that we are all one in Spirit and that throughout history great spiritual masters, such as Buddha, Moses, Muhammad and Jesus, have come forward to teach the people of the world how to experience this spiritual oneness. After we have found that Spirit within ourselves, we will always recognize it in others. Then, we truly have the power to help heal the world. Sri Gurudev exemplified these teachings. His beautiful message is that we, too, can exemplify them.
Not limited to any one organization, religion or country, Sri Gurudev received invitations for over fifty years from around the world to speak about the way to peace. He served on the advisory boards of numerous Yoga, interfaith and world peace organizations.
Swami Satchidananda received many honors for his public service including, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, the Juliet Hollister Interfaith Award and the U Thant Peace Award. In 1999, the 50th anniversary of his ministerial ordination was commemorated during the interfaith service prior to the opening of the 54th General Assembly of the United Nations. Swami Satchidananda dedicated his life to the cause of peace—both individual and universal—and to unity and harmony among all people.
Witnessing the genuine peace and joy experienced by all who participated in these gatherings, Sri Gurudev was inspired to create a permanent place where all people could come to realize their essential oneness. Built in Yogaville, in Central Virginia, the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (known as LOTUS) is unique in the world because it has altars for all the world faiths. Dedicated to the Light of all faiths and to world peace, the LOTUS is an enduring symbol of unity in diversity. It was completed in 1986 and is open to the public.
Sri Swami Satchidananda took Mahasamadhi on August 19, 2002 in South India. Shortly before leaving the body, he told many people: “I will always be with you in Spirit. Even if my body is not there, you will never be without me.” That is what the Yoga tradition teaches us about the ongoing relationship with one’s Satguru and is the reason we refer to his having dropped the body, or as having left the body.
“Swami Satchidananda enriched the lives of countless others and his efforts made a positive difference to our world and our future.”
—President and Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton
“I have met some truly great men in my life, but none greater than Swami Satchidananda, for his life is dedicated to service and the cause of peace—both individual and universal—and to fostering religious harmony among all people.”
—Dean Ornish, MD
“Swami Satchidananda has been and continues to be our great teacher and God’s special messenger.”
—The Very Rev. James Parks Morton
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Het Oneness Proces
Het proces dat het ontvangen van deeksha met zich mee brengt is een intense transformatie van jezelf. De 1 stap is dat je door het ontvangen van deeksha als het ware een zaklantaarn creëert om naar binnen te kijken en accepteert wat je daar ziet. Neem het voorbeeld van een donkere kamer die je binnenstapt. In de hoek van de kamer ligt een slang. Je hoort de slang sissen, je bent bang. De angst heeft jou in zijn macht. Hoelang duurt het voordat de angst weg is als je het licht in de kamer zou aandoen en er achter kwam dat het geen slang maar een touw was? Het antwoord is dat je angst onmiddellijk verdwenen zou zijn.
Het probleem is dat het in het begin van het transformatie proces moeilijk is om onmiddellijk het licht aan te doen. Angsten, allerlei emoties kunnen zich hardnekkig blijven manifesteren en de mens in hun macht houden en de mens leven ipv. andersom. Daarom is het belangrijk om de kunst van het jezelf ervaren te leren en datgene wat in jezelf wordt aangeraakt te omarmen, wat het ook is, de inhoud is niet belangrijk, enkel dat je het ervaart.
Acceptatie van jezelf is de 1e en de laatste stap in het Oneness proces.
De deeksha is het goddelijke bewustzijn dat naar de mens uitreikt, je eigen hogere bewustzijn dat zich in jou manifesteert waardoor je een zaklamp creëert waarmee je licht in je innerlijke wereld schijnt waardoor je met steeds meer bewustzijn, gemak en vertrouwen weerstanden en emoties kunt laten oplossen.
Het hogere bewustzijn dat zich in je manifesteert noemen we de presence, jouw goddelijke manifestatie, al dan niet in een vorm van een goddelijk wezen, bv. Christus of Boeddha. Als de presence in je groeit, groei je automatisch steeds meer in de present, in het eeuwige tijdloze nu.
Als we zeggen dat het proces automatisch is wordt er bedoeld dat wanneer je het hogere bewustzijn toelaat je lagere bewustzijn, dat uit angst bestaat, te transformeren je dit niet vanuit je persoonlijke wil kan doen. Je kan niet jezelf aan je armen uit een moeras trekken. Gewaar zijn van wat is zonder weerstand transformeert alles wat je dwars zit automatisch. Als je je dat eigen maakt heb je geen leraar, guru of boek meer nodig, het proces gaat vanzelf.
Diepe innerlijke transformatie lijkt moeilijk misschien, maar met de kracht van deeksha is het dat niet. Daarom moet je een duik nemen. Je zult alleen dan zien dat je al lang kan zwemmen en dat zelfs het water warmer wordt naarmate meer mensen een duik nemen.
We hebben nu met zijn allen de grootste kans ooit om als collectief naar een toestand van verlichting en eenheid te groeien en om daarin te slagen moeten we het samen doen.
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Boodschap van Amma en Bhagavan
Van alle gevechten die de mens ooit heeft uitgevochten, is het gevecht tegen zichzelf het moeilijkst.
De mind met zijn inhoud van vrees, jalousie, schuldgevoelens, verveling enz. zaait verdeeldheid.
De mind verdeelt in goed en kwaad, in heilig en profaan, en probeert die tegenstellingen te ontwijken….Daar gaat het hele gevecht om.
Degene die ontwaakt is beseft dat het niet zijn of haar mind is, maar dat de collectieve aloude mind werkzaam is, en daarom is hij of zij zich bewust van de onzinnigheid om op die tegenstellingen in te gaan
Dit inzicht ontvouwt een volkomen nieuwe ervaring van Leven en Zijn.
Hij of zij worstelt niet langer met de mind, maar heeft vriendschap met hem gesloten.
Ontwaken is niet een einddoel, het is een reis.
Het einde van persoonlijk lijden is een mijlpaal op deze steeds verder voortgaande reis in bewustzijn.
De rest ontvouwt zich vanzelf, groei gaat steeds maar door.
De beschikbare energie drukt zich uit in aandacht voor de ander, in liefde binnen relaties, en in effectiviteit en creativiteit tijdens het werk.
Om kort te gaan, je verandert van iemand die bestaat, in iemand die leeft.
Sri Bhagavan
Sri Bhagavan spreekt over
KLIK HIER OM NAAR HET MENU TE GAAN
With sparkling innocent eyes, a robust and charismatic personality, and an exceptionally loving and compassionate soul, Dr. Acharya Shree Yogeesh exemplifies an enlightened living master. He has been entering deep Samadhi states since he was five years old, and has continually studied Eastern philosophy all of his life.
Born in a Hindu Warrior class in Hariana, near Delhi, India, Acharya Shree became a monk in 1970 at the age of fourteen and has been traveling the world promoting non-violence, universal unity, and teaching eastern philosophy, yoga, and meditation since 1986.
Dr. Yogeesh completed his Acharya and received double Master of Arts degrees and a Doctorate of Philosophy in “The Six Substances of Jainism: A Comparative Study with Buddhist Texts.”
According to his personal philosophy of teaching, Dr. Yogeesh believes “If you can change one person, you can change the whole world.” Therefore, he is committed to the belief that the true wisdom of Lord Mahavira, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Jesus, and other masters should be available and accessible to all peoples, regardless of nationality, language, color, or creed.
As a living Enlightened Master, it is Acharya Shree’s goal is to awaken the sleeping soul within everyone. Acharya Shree is a purified soul who is compassionate, kind, wise, and fully transformed. His message of non-violence and self-awakening has touched millions of lives.
From Article “Hindu Sangam Kumbha Mela in California Highlight Message of Sanatana Dharma” by Archana Dongre, Hinduism Today Los Angeles Correspondent
“Acharya Yogeesh, speaking in Hindi, fervently quoted thoughtful gems of poetry, especially from poet Maithilisharan, lending a sparkle and erudition to his speech that flowed with an intense sentiment for the motherland, and not just for Hinduism, glorifying Hindi, Hindu and Hindusthan. Beginning his speech with the first stanza of Ishavasya Upanishad, he quickly progressed to Ahimsa, saying, “There is no Hindu terrorist because non-violence is inherent in the very word Hindu. Ahimsa is the cornerstone of Jainism.” He further said, “The Hindu culture rests on four pillars, Ramachandra, who stands for Maryada (disciplined self-restraint), Krishna who taught us Karma Yoga, Buddha who taught us compassion and Mahaveer who stands for sacrifice.” In conclusion, he emphasized on harmony, peace and nonviolence. “
From article “Over 4,000 Hindus gather at Kumbh Mela” by K.B. Nair
“Dr. Acharya Yogeesh of Yogeesh Ashram implored the gathering to make sure the rich traditions and values of Hinduism as also their mother tongue and Sanskrit are passed on to children. He called upon devotees to wake up and work towards unity and to teach their children the virtues of Hinduism. Pointing to the several deities on stage, he remarked “See, they have no problem sitting together, the problem is the people who disagree with each other on religious matters.” He appealed to the congregation to join hands in Universal Hindu brotherhood and spread the message of all humanity being one.
Acharya Yogeesh spreek over
KLIK HIER OM NAAR HET MENU TE GAAN
Manuscript verlichting schrijver onbekend.