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anbu_kathir

8th March 2009, 11:55 AM

Namaste/Vanakkam.

This is about enlightenment.

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The knowledge-sharing of the Masters are strange and often radically different even from time to time, from person to person. Just like the Oracle of The Matrix trilogy, "they tell us exactly what we need to hear". They are indeed constantly in touch with that part of us which knows the deepest yearning of the soul, and cater to that so that the Highest joy may be derived from that experience.

And it seems rather strange how people change overnight to become Masters, a devoted preparation or any sort of effort ( in that particular body, so to speak) is often missing in a lot of cases. For example, Sri Nisargadatta (author of the famous Advaitic text " I am That") was a household man, and sold cigarettes for a living, until he met his Guru. In his words he says

" My Guru ordered me to attend to the sense 'I am' and to give attention to nothing else. I just obeyed. I did not follow any particular course of breathing, or meditation, or study of scriptures. Whatever happened, I would turn away my attention from it and remain with the sense 'I am'. It may look too simple, even crude. My only reason for doing it was that my Guru told me so. Yet it worked! "

The Buddha realized the same thing. He tried so hard for enlightenment, renunciated all his riches, his crown, undertook severe penances, .. even then enlightenment never "came". Then he sat under a tree and simply told himself that he would sit doing nothing, until enlightenment came, which it did. And later he reached that there is nothing to be "done" to "attain enlightenment". All that one can do is to practice some practices to open up to the awareness of the fact that it is Here and Now.
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Love and Light.

anbu_kathir

9th March 2009, 10:49 AM

About Plato's Cave - The ancient Greek equivalent of the Indian 'Maya'. I came to know about this from the book I am reading - "Creative mythology" by Joseph Campbell. These passages are from http://www.articlesbase.com/new-age-articles/platos-cave-770483.html .

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In the book The Republic, Plato tells the story of prisoners of war that were held captive in a cave for such a long period of time, they could not remember their lives before their captivity. These men were forced to face the back of the cave wall for decades, while a fire burned behind them for illumination. The only objects that the prisoners could ever see were the cave wall, their own shadows and the shadows of the beasts guarding them. This was both terrifying and paralyzing for the men.

One day, one of the men found the courage to look back at the fire and the beast guarding them. What he found were ordinary men guarding over them. The guards had cut-outs of monsters and projected the shadows to the back of the cave where the prisoners were held. This was the easiest and most effective way for the guards to control the prisoners.

The knowing prisoner found an opportunity to escape the cave and did so as soon as he could. When the free man stepped out the cave, he could not believe his eyes. The sun, that he now remembered, was much brighter than the cave fire. He smelled the flowers, remembering their scent from his youth. The free man watched as people went about their daily lives, remembering his life before captivity.

The free man was overwhelmed with the joy of remembering his former life, his real life. The free man wanted to free his fellow prisoners as soon as he could and planned his quest. The next day at an opportune time the free man made his way back to the cave. When he found the guards away from their posts, the free man sprang into action. Running to his fellow prisoners and telling them of everything he discovered to be real, both inside and outside the cave. He told his friends of the cut-out monsters that terrified them. About the sun outside the cave that was much brighter than the fire that illuminated the cave. The free man told his friends about all the wonderful things he had discovered again in his new found freedom.

After hearing everything the free man had to say, the prisoners showed disbelief, mockery, and hatred toward the free man. They thought, how could this man know better than they did? How dare the man pretend to know more than they did. The free man left the prisoners in the cave and walked back out into his freedom.

In today's world, we are allowed to walk anywhere we want to inside the cave, its encouraged. The cut-out monsters are projected on every wall, floor and ceiling as well. Our scary shadows come from the same place that lights our cave. TV, Radio, Internet, Newspaper etc.. Once we free ourselves from the Maya (Illusion) we can walk back outside the cave and remember who we truly are, again. The first step for the free man was to recognize the Maya. The second step was to understand who he was not. The third step was to understand who he was, to "Know Thyself."

As far as us going back into the cave to save our fellow prisoners...the Illusion is slowly fading away. Many will cling onto, "the good old days." Cling onto the projections of shadows that were on their cave walls. Others will finally leave the cave and find a sun brighter than the cave fire and a SELF greater than they could have imagined.
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Notice the age-old concept of the spiritual hero. The man who gets out of the cave (gets enlightenment) is initially mocked at and ridiculed (in many myths and in many societies such a person is also killed).. society is almost never ready for such a shock.

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave.

Love and Light.

Shakthiprabha.

9th March 2009, 03:20 PM

Namaste/Vanakkam.

vaNakkam vaNakkam :bow:

I would turn away my attention from it and remain with the sense 'I am'. It may look too simple, even crude. My only reason for doing it was that my Guru told me so. Yet it worked! "

The Buddha sat under a tree and simply told himself that he would sit doing nothing, until enlightenment came, which it did. And later he reached that there is nothing to be "done" to "attain enlightenment".

Interesting.

I remember reading in a book, how krishna devotee can do his karma and yet be in krishna consciousness. He should constantly keep thinking "This is not ME doing it, but krishna(or paramatman or whatever u wanna call it) this is not ME reacting, what is there to react, or act when everything is but the same phenomenon"

I was practising for 10 days, it did wonders to me. I was constantly smiling and happy, even when amidst abuses and seriously nothing affected me :P but then ... it just lasted for 10 days :) then I failed to practice. Keep posting anbukkathir.

Shakthiprabha.

9th March 2009, 03:31 PM

anbu_kathir

31st May 2009, 10:37 AM

I was reading Shri Sadashiva Brahmendraa's Atma-Vidya-Vilasa a couple of days back. Here's some links about the Advaitin.. who was arguably one of the greatest ever identified mystics that has walked the earth.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2003/05/02/stories/2003050201370400.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadasiva_Brahmendra

Atma Vidya Vilasa (Sanskrit with translation).. which is a description of the life of a Self-realized person.
http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/texts/AtmavidyAvilAsaH_trnsln.pdf

Love and Light.

Sudhaama

6th July 2009, 07:36 PM

.
My Dear anbu_kadhir"

There exists another parallel Thread on the same topic... under this same section...

..initiated by me.... Please Vide below

http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=7068&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Is Yours, the subsequent one.. NECESSARY.... not a DUPLICACY please.?

Anbudan,
Sudhaama
.

anbu_kathir

7th July 2009, 11:16 AM

Sudhaama Sir,

"Better life by Hidden powers "kkum "Spirituality"kkum konjam irukku endru ninaikirEn.

Anyway, I started this on someone's request. I hope its not a big deal in having an extra thread even though the stuff might be related.

Love and Light.

.
My Dear anbu_kadhir"

There exists another parallel Thread on the same topic... under this same section...

..initiated by me.... Please Vide below

http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=7068&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Is Yours, the subseqet one.. NECESSARY.... not a DUPLICACY please.?

Anbudan,
Sudhaama
.