> > They all practice a meditation that is transcendental, > > but Swami Rama may not have actually transcended. > > Vaj wrote: > Swami Rama's meditation methods were so powerful, that > students of his would sometimes go into samadhi, locked > into their asana, for days. I've honestly never heard of > such a thing happening in TMers. > So, how many people have heard of the Himalayan Institute or the Swami Rama? Mahesh Yogi is almost a household word.
> Have you? > Most all of the people that I know who started TM, experienced the Transcendental Absolute in a matter of minutes, without having to go to India and pass through years of training. >From what I've read, over five million people have experienced this on the very first try. In contrast, maybe one or two people who were students of the Swami Rama were able to transcend, in years of practice. So, let's sum up. Sringeri is the seat of the Saraswati Dasanami lineage, founded by the Adi Shankaracharya in the seventh centruy A.D. At Sringeri, the Adi Shankaracharya placed a Sri Chakra (mystical diagram) on the mandir with the TM bija mantras inscribed thereon. Shringeri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shringeri Then, the Adi Shankaracharya composed the Saundaryalahari, and included the sixteen TM bija mantras therein. According to historians, the sixteenth bija mantra, 'Srim', was added to the fifteen as fertilizer for the other fifteen. Soundarya Lahari: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundarya_Lahari All the Saraswati adherents worship the Sri Vidya, which translated means, "Auspicious Knowledge of the Transcendent", that is, 'Knowledge is structured in Consciousness'. Sri Vidya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_vidya As described by the Adi's root guru, Gaudapadacharya, who wrote a concise commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, there are three states of consciousness, and the Turyia, the Fourth, that is, Pure Consciousness, which is transcendental or beyond, to the three common states. Gaudapada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudapada Mandukya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad Swami Brahmananda Saraswati's guru was Krishnananda Saraswati. Swami Brahmananda Saraswati was succeeed by Swami Shantananda Saraswati. Swami Brahmananda was the master of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who was instrumental in establishing the TMO in Kerala State, in Southern India, where Swami Brahmananda was very popular. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi According to Swami Svarupananda, Guru Dev used to initiate sadhaks with the bija mantra of their respective istadevatas. Swami Svarupananda Saraswati said that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi used to pass out bija mantras while sitting under a picture of his master, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. Beacon Light of the Himalayas: http://tinyurl.com/ydl84gy According to Swami Rama of the Himalayas, Guru Dev was a proponent of the Sri Vidya, and that Guru Dev used to worship a ruby-encrusted Sri Chakra with the TM bijas mantras inscribed on it. 'Living With the Himalayan Masters' By Swami Rama So, I guess we can conlude that Swami Krishnananda of Uttar Kashi was a Himalayan Master. And we can also conclude that Swami Brahmananda, his disciple, was a Himalayan Master. And I guess we can conclude that Swami Rama was a Himalayan Master, since he founded the Himalayan Institute. Uttar Kashi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Kashi_District So, to sum up: Mahesh Yogi came out of the Himalayas and he looks like a Himalayan Master. So, if someone comes out of the Himalayas after studying with a Himalayan Master, and Mahesh Yogi looks and talks like a Himalayan Master, then he must be some kind of Himalayan Master. And, since people all over India call him a Master, then he is probably a Master of some kind. So, since the TM bija mantras came from the Adi Shankara, passed down through Shantanand Saraswati, and are included in the supreme scripture of the Sri Vidya, the Saundaryalahari, we can conclude that the Mahesh Yogi got the TM bija mantras from his Master, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. James Duffy and Billy Smith both seem to agree with this. I can understand this but Vaj cannot. Go figure.
