Spiritual Portal

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

Steve

Welcome to the forum.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNWZo0UjLNQ

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.

Thanks for the welcome.

And thanks for the video of Don Knotts. ;D

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.

b & Don Knotts. Sounds familiar.

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?

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,


And as Sri Ramana Maharshi says in his Ulladu Narpadu,


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.

Note to self: make a note to self.

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?

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.

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.

My bet is those lil pixies wouldn't change their ways at all with a pay increase.

Thanks I appreciate the thought, Steve. I don't have any special knowledge beyond what can be found anywhere else by taking the time to read. There are plenty of better resources out there for people who are sincerely interested in learning about Ramana Maharshi or meditation. I never meant for those posts to be a standalone introduction to Ramana Maharshi. If that's what you wanted I could have put something else together with some relevant links.

My intention was to make statements that answered your question about meditation on the Self in a conversation between us, not to evangelize for Ramana. I just used Ramana's quotes because I felt it necessary to back up what I was saying with some quotes from someone who actually (presumably) knows what they are talking about and from where I got my own "knowledge" on this.

All the best

b

As u know at one time u could have handled it the way u wanted. i remember your putting up this wonderful scene of a rainbow on this site. It was stupendous. There was nothing like it. One day i opened the site and it was gone with a huge space at the top of the forum. i did not quite understand that and what happened. However it is really nice to have u return. i hope to see u do that again also. For now if u  tell me how u would like it... i will arrange it accordingly.

This site is somewhat different then others in that when i conceived it the purpose was to cover any and all forms of meditation and spirituality. i would like to keep that concept. i realize that as other members gain influence this site will b recreated. It was never my intention to 'control' things here. That is counter productive on the spiritual path. The spiritual path is not about control but rather about surrender: surrendering the ego. It amazed me to b with Amma and i asked her about my guru and seeing her. i  had her tell me that she 'was/is Paramahansa Yogananda' and that "It is all the same....all the same... now set down here beside me." Since being a teenager interested in meditation my views and consciousness have changed considerably. i find that the spiritual life and Masters we follow change us  radically and help us realize who we r.... not who we think we r.

It is tricky thing what u call self introspection. The mind often sees it self thru its own eyes that is y we need help.... so we see things the way others see us. Meditation and the help of the Masters plays a key role in this self analyses. i would have done things so much different with other people if i could do it again. i hope to b compassionate to others when it comes to this. It reminds me of the Russian film; 'Solaris'. It is remarkable how we can b so wrong in our attitudes and think we rite at the time. i remember having a spirit around me for years. He would always say to me...."When this you see remember me and please don't judge me too harshly."

Life leaves us behind and keeps going forward. All we can do is learn from our past and the mistakes we made and make adjustments. At the same time more and more new lessons r provided for us. So we constantly need to review our life and relationships. Perhaps u can relate.

Steve, it is no big deal. I just wanted to point out the fact that I am not in any way an authority on these matters and not trying to present myself as one here. That story of Amma is wonderful. More and more, I feel the truth of that, which is why I have stopped back by.







 

Recently it has become clear to me how impossible it is to cover every path and form of meditation. I've found this is an impossible task and unnecessary. There is not life or time enough to justify trying it. It is a person seeking something that satisfies them, but once you have found a teaching that grabs you, I feel it's better to give that the attention it deserves rather than endlessly surveying all the countless paths out there(as many as their are people).

Peace, love, I'll shutup now.

 ;D

u have a valid point. i had the privilege of living at a monastery for years. The head monk is a good friend. He used to tell me. 'What you doing Steveosh? Chasing after dreams?' ....... Just chasing after dreams.

 ;D

 :-\

Yes i would agree but this forum is not just about my path. On the flip side though sometimes we are justifying restless activity. Restlessness has many faces.

Yes we had a lot of fun with Don Knotts. i never realized how funny he was until i read your posts and i grew up with him. Imagine that!

(http://www.jeffs60s.com/images/barney_fife.jpg)

Barney Fife is a great character

I see some of myself in him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yupu8DE6vzw

Shame on u b! Think of it---- If it wasn't for the Proclamation of Estimation we wouldn't b here today!

(http://www.jeffs60s.com/images/barney_fife.jpg)

Everybody knows about that proclomation which lead to all of that emancipation

Yea its also about liberating stereotypical sex views. Here's a gender bender. Wait a second! Our sponsor just left us. Help!

Hey I smell burnt toast
As that you Fife?
Long time no see
Remember me?
Talk much?
This is God talking to you
brought a peace offering
for memories sake.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66FlgSvAZ88

God, someone hijacked your account. Glad it wasn't me.

Hope you really don't believe it is seriously hijacked.

It's OK God knows and it wasn't me.

It is nice to have b around. It reaffirms our purpose and practice.

Thanks, I appreciate the kindness of everyone here.