The Dead-end Up Here: January 2013

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Meditation on Reality

I have heard this word and read about this reality for ages. I still don't understand it and probably never will since all my understanding is based on some knowledge acquired from other people, things, books and media. Nothing I am is original. I function by building concepts. So here is an experiment I did and encourage you to do as well to define your own concept of reality. This is inspired by Rupert Spira's works but I am a total fake anyway, everything I am is from someone else including my genes. There is a poem on this in the book, "the dead-end (up) here".

Close your eyes and try to shut everything down. What is really there? Really there? I (an instrument I seem to know) find something that is named touch, something vague named smell, another sensation which is called sound. Even though the eyes are closed, there is a hue of something called light and completely invisible stuff going on called thoughts and imagination. Important to notice that this is all not far into space which you know as body parts and stereo or TV since that is the next part of my experiment. For now, all of this is happening here, right there. That is all you know as reality. If you can stay here and go nowhere, congratulations you have found all you ever will, seek no more, hang up your skates, throw in the towel. You are done! This is reality.

But I know you as I know me. That active invisible thing called thoughts and imaginations has other plans. It will take these nothings you just found and will throw in some magic to build an universe of everything you know. It will start by first building something called you and do it so many millions of times that you will have no choice but to be convinced. Now open your eyes and you will see the wonder that has been created for your ultimate pleasure by this awesome holograph. Enjoy but know that it is all make belief. Some call it projection. It has taken me eight years to understand what they meant As I said, I am a little dense. But you don't be, try to get it, this is not reality.

For this I feel grateful to the magic but especially Richard Rose who talked about projection, to Nisargdatta who said you are a little light pen which keeps drawing the universe ( mind said what?), and most importantly to Liberation Unleashed and its wonderful generous guides and founders.

Monday, January 21, 2013

CLARA ON UPNISHAD

SUNIL: I have been reading some of Nagarjuna's work on emptiness. I amtrying to answer the question, why is compassion a critical part ofBuddhism and not in the Upanishads? Or am I wrong? I would love yourthoughts on this.

CLARA: I think Vedanta is philosophical and the Upanishads go straight to self-realization.I believe the tradition held that the aspirants ethics was already taken care before they approached the teachings.Buddhism, on the other hand, looks more like a graded method that includes the development of ethics.The Puranas are full of stories of the deities love affairs, or not?What about Rama and Sita? Is that not love?The Upanishads are the final teaching. The former stages are implicit.Many thanks and love,

SUNIL: Knowing the puranas is one thing and really understanding is another.Same is true of Buddha'a emptiness and his insistence on compassionand wisdom.As for the love affairs in the Puranas like Ram and Sita and Krishnaand Radha had a lot of author's craft in them rather than facts. Whoknows what they actually said, all we know is what Valmiki and Vyassaid in the two epics.Yes, all religion including Buddhism insist on a lot ofpre-conditioning before you deserve to be one with god. The coreupnishads say no such precondition at least according to my reading.They flat out say you are it, just know it, in sixteen different ways.No need for love, sex or rituals. Methods, yes, meditate on OM, payattention, etc. Shiva in Tantra has 108 different ways to achievenirvana. None of them says be a good person and love your neighbour.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Respect and Gratitude to Rev Clara Llum

A very dear friend and teacher Clara Llum (clarallum.org) recently passed away. I had the great fortune to communicate with her often including just a few months ago when she was going under the knife. the only regret she had was that there was still a lot more work to be done. For me she will never be gone. Her words and insistence that I really didn't need to fret much, all will be done.

I am going to post here some of my conversations with her as my gratitude.

Dear Clara:

I am so glad you liked the card.

You are the divine so when you thank your Self for life, are you thankful that you have the opportunity to live and love?

Are you thankful that by some miracle you have created all of this and now enjoy them?

Are you in awe of the totality that is you and also me and the birds and the tigers?

Is it this miracle that humbles you into gratitude?

Are you thankful for the perception of duality as well or is that a misunderstanding one can do without?

It is still a miracle, the duality I mean.

Have I it right or am I just imagining your state of being falsely?

I certainly am grateful that you are here and I can talk to you.

Love,

Sunil

Dear Sunil:

All of the above. Gratitude to the Divine, even if I am That, the relative, illusory individual relates to the whole through understanding, and realizes it as the very nature-essence of their being and consciousness. Manifestation is the play and display of the divine absolute. So all is It, all is That. Gratitude is devotion, bhakti. When is accompanied by understanding, realization, then is parabhakti.

Much Love!

Sunil: The questions posed by the impostor mind now, is why? Why bother wake up? Why not live with the pleasure and pain, greed and fear of this dream and eventually kick the bucket to do it over again, if one believes in reincarnation. I can see why it is the ultimate pain that may drive one to seek the truth, it is very hard to motivate oneself to give up the mirage while things are going okay. I can see why so many of us in the west give out charities to make us feel less guilty and find temporary relief. How can I find that true inspiration which allows me to follow the Buddha's path, reject the material pleasure for seeking truth? Indeed he was a great one. I fear of a calamity which is the only way for me to see that the world I see is so trivial compared the world that is.

Love,

Sunil

Dear Sunil

Forgive please the delay.

I have no answer. There's no why. I see it all as organic: it's the whole who/what runs it all. At some point it's seen what matters and what not, but this does not imply the world is rejected or renounced literally, or in practical life, only the dependence on it it's weakened or diminished. Divine consciousness takes over. Do not fear anything, all is taken care: you are taken care. Enjoy the world until the Divine claims your heart. It has already happened anyway.

Love

Clara

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Lineage

I am a descendant of the great sage Kashyap.

Here is one of his poems.

Undisturbed am I, undisturbed is my soul,
undisturbed mine eye, undisturbed mine ear,
undisturbed is mine in-breathing, undisturbed mine out-breathing,
undisturbed my diffusive breath, undisturbed the whole of me.

Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit,
O Kama dwelling with the lofty Kama, give growth of riches to the sacrificer, (...)
Prolific, thousand eyed, and undecaying, a horse with seven reins Time bears us onward,
Sages inspired with holy knowledge mount him, his chariot wheels are all the worlds of creatures.

Kala [Time] created yonder heaven, and Kala made these realms of earth,
By Kala, stirred to motion, both what is and what shall be, expand, (...)
Kala created living things and first of all Prajapati,
From Kala self-made Kasyapa, from Kala Holy Fire was born.

— Atharvaveda, Book XIX, Hymns L51-53^[7]^[20]

Special Needs Meditation

"My son is a young man diagnosed with Aspergers. Two professionals in his life, a psychologist he had been seeing for many years and a holistic practitioner both suggested that he start meditation training. The goal was to help him learn to practice mindfulness and breath control to learn how to calm down his active mind and body. Once a week yoga meditation practice with Sunil has lowered my son's anxiety. He has an increased sense of calmness and the tools to practice relaxation techniques in different environments outside of the yoga studio. He has also started working out in the gym and trying other new activities (roller blading outside). His overall mood is more positive and he is gaining strength and flexibility. Most importantly, he now feels included; a part of something. This weekly yoga meditation routine has enhanced his self esteem and he feels accepted and comfortable in this training environment provided by Sunil and Be Yoga & Wellness."

"The Dead-end(Up) Here" is a book of Celestial Songs of Love...

Round and round I go

Looking for you

All I find are

Dead-ends here.

My chakras dancing

My breathing fierce

My heart is leaping

Spine trembling.

This is something to expect

Guides had said

Know it

Death ends here.

There is no death, I sort of get it

It’s faith, not realization.

More semantics than truth

Clever dialogue, not deep insight.

Not body nor mind am I

How could I die

It is the body that perishes

I dwell in continuous freedom.

I love the idea

Of living forever

That too without

The source of all pain.

Body was great once

Pleasures abound

Love was grand

Ecstasy divine.

Mostly aches and groans now

Unfulfilled desires

Of a mind

That never ages.

“Beyond mind beyond death”

A cry that launched my search

Years have gone by

I find only dead-ends here.

I am over the hump

Unfulfilled ambitions sting no more.

No cold sweaty nights

Heart breaks are rare as aspirations

diminish.

They call it maturity

Spirituality or awakening

Still, thy screams I do not hear

Shiva I do not see.

I call it the end

End of Buddha’s suffering

End of useless search

The dead end up here.

Resonate with the author as he takes you on life journey which is full at times and empty at other, always seeking “happiness” that will last, a bliss that endures and a love that is unconditional. But as most seekers, he too reaches a dead-end. Then you realise what Shiva said in one of his soma rush laden moments, the dead end up here.

We all have such moments but some have the inspiration and skills to put them down as poetry. As one reader put it, “…and I found myself getting lost between the lines and imagining this little fantasy tale. It seemed to hold many truths within it and I think this is a piece many will enjoy and relate to.”

This book is a story disguised as poetry.

First a journey of spiritual seeking, a popular reaction to those days with no hope, no love, no life satisfaction. On this journey he does find some divine, blissful love in the form of beautiful, compassionate and loving people. Oh, how fireworks ensue in climactic poetry, describing the heartache that simply is. Lessons learned from the other side of pleasure are priceless but bliss endures.

As the book unfolds, we quickly realize there is no elegant conclusion to this poem-filled love story of divine intervention, just as there is none to life. You will either fall in love, fall in desire, or achieve some temporary yearning to feel what the author once felt. It is better to have loved like this; that which truly transforms human experience forever.

Why the blog title?

Patanjali, well known seminal author of yoga guide for all practitioners, defines yoga as "chitta vritti nirodhuh" meaning "cessation of mental formations."

This could also be expressed as the dead (one who has ceased mental formations) end up, here (now).

Bhagwat Gita, is a satsang between an undefeated warrior, Arjuna with his charioteer, friend and teacher, Krishna in the middle of an epic battle. Gita's lessons of how to conduct oneself while arrows and spears fly past you and still maintain a meditative calm are as good today as thousands of years ago.

Krishna could have taught his long time friend much earlier but chose to do so only when Arjun came to a "dead end" at the battle front (up here and now). Teachings work only when the student reaches the dead-end.

The Dead-end Up Here