b

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Welcome to our humble abode. Your name is fitting. Let us all b.

Steve

[guest88]

Welcome to the forum.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not going to bother watching that video. That's my thoughts. 

Steve's comment told me all I need to know.

Mr. B....Thanks would you bother watching this video? It will tell u important weather rather then important news.



Sometimes its better just to improvise our way out Mr. B. But it is unnecessary to improvise our way in! The portal always welcomes old friends! Especially for a good laugh...... and spiritual comradery.

[b]

Thanks for the welcome.

[b]

And thanks for the video of Don Knotts.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

i am a bit curious. What have u been up to lately. Still meditating? It is nice to see you were drawn here. You seem unusually reticent this time.

[SpiritImage]

b & Don Knotts. Sounds familiar.

[b]

Thanks for having me back. I just randomly dropped here in one day and at the Yoganandaji.com forum. I tend to check them together. I saw that the Yoganandaji forum has an uncertain future and so I went ahead a created an account here. I may not have much to post but I hope you are all well and succeeding to some degree in your sadhana. To answer your question Steve, I try to meditate on the Self as much as in my spare moments when my attention is not engaged in other things.


 

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Thanks for having me back. I just randomly dropped here in one day and at the Yoganandaji.com forum. I tend to check them together. I saw that the Yoganandaji forum has an uncertain future and so I went ahead a created an account here. I may not have much to post but I hope you are all well and succeeding to some degree in your sadhana. To answer your question Steve, I try to meditate on the Self as much as in my spare moments when my attention is not engaged in other things.

How do we know what the Self is? If I set down and say "I will now meditate on the Self what would happen?  I ask what is the Self? Then I am stuck in a conundrum. Because I  have no answer. All my answers  r based on concepts I have read. But how does one experience themselves as the Self?

[b]

Steve,

I don't want to presume to teach you anything, but you've raise an interesting point that hits close to home because I have struggled with it (I guess everyone does). I hope this answer will do it justice. The Sages have given the answer already, so I will merely repeat it here. This question is taking the Self to be an object when it is the subject. Instead of sitting and saying "I will now meditate on...such and such[object]...", etc. we should simply abstain from more thoughts. Ordinary knowledge is objective. It requires a knower and something to be known. Instead, true Jnana is to be the Self. To be the Self is to 'know' the Self. It is no use to try and imagine God or the Self, rather it is better to simply try to be in that state.

As Paramahansa Yogananda says said in his poem Samadhi,

Knower, knowing, known, as One!

And as Sri Ramana Maharshi says in his Ulladu Narpadu,

Is it not, rather, ignorance to know all else without knowing oneself, the knower? As soon as one knows the Self, which is the substratum of knowledge and ignorance, knowledge and ignorance perish.

I don't really want to pretend that I am qualified to answer such lofty questions, but you asked so I answered to the best of my understanding and provided some authoritative quotes to support what I said. I hope it is helpful and clear.

All the best.

[SpiritImage]

Note to self: make a note to self.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Steve,

I don't want to presume to teach you anything, but you've raise an interesting point that hits close to home because I have struggled with it (I guess everyone does). I hope this answer will do it justice. The Sages have given the answer already, so I will merely repeat it here. This question is taking the Self to be an object when it is the subject. Instead of sitting and saying "I will now meditate on...such and such[object]...", etc. we should simply abstain from more thoughts. Ordinary knowledge is objective. It requires a knower and something to be known. Instead, true Jnana is to be the Self. To be the Self is to 'know' the Self. It is no use to try and imagine God or the Self, rather it is better to simply try to be in that state.

As Paramahansa Yogananda says said in his poem Samadhi,

Knower, knowing, known, as One!

And as Sri Ramana Maharshi says in his Ulladu Narpadu,

Is it not, rather, ignorance to know all else without knowing oneself, the knower? As soon as one knows the Self, which is the substratum of knowledge and ignorance, knowledge and ignorance perish.

I don't really want to pretend that I am qualified to answer such lofty questions, but you asked so I answered to the best of my understanding and provided some authoritative quotes to support what I said. I hope it is helpful and clear.

All the best.

yes....it is clear. I see u have etched out a path for yourself and focus is directed towards that path. If u do not mind I would like to go one step further by asking this: how do we abstain from more thoughts as u have put it? This is one of the most challenging and problematic issues of meditation. How to abstain from thoughts?

[Jitendra Hydonus]

b

I split this topic and put your thoughts about meditation under 'Different forms of meditation' The thread is now called:  Sri Ramana Maharshi and meditation. I did not want anyone to miss your knowledge of his form of meditation.

[SpiritImage]

I have to be honest, this forum has more posts and threads that get moved more than any forum I've been on. Not a bad or good thing, just sayin'.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I have to be honest, this forum has more posts and threads that get moved more than any forum I've been on. Not a bad or good thing, just sayin'.

Little pixies at work behind the scenes. Low wages. They insist that pay will increase if trump and the Republican bandits loose out next year.