Very nicely said, Susan. I can relate to what you've written. The bhakti thing isn't for everyone, but worship is powerful medicine.
*** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Susan" <wayback71@...> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > For some reason, I find myself still tripping on a phrase used on FFL > > yesterday. *Not* on the person who wrote it, but on the content, the > > idea expressed. The phrase was "Now my love for Maharishi was of course > > the highest love I had ever known." > > > > I admit to stopping in my reading tracks when I first encountered that > > phrase. My first reaction was, "Excuse me?," followed by a hearty "Of > > course?" > > > > I'm bringing this up because I suspect that some people here never > > paused at that "of course," or even noticed it, because for them it > > really *is* an "of course." They really might also believe that their > > relationship with Maharishi represents for them the highest love they've > > ever known. > > > > It wouldn't for me. Maharishi wouldn't even make it into my Top Ten. > > > > That's not a putdown, just reality as I see it. What, I'm supposed to > > believe that my relationship with Maharishi -- who I spent very little > > face time with -- is somehow better or "higher" or on a more elevated > > plane than my relationship with other people I've known and loved up > > close and personal for years or decades? That's just SO not going to > > happen. > > > > Didn't happen when I was a TM TB, and didn't happen with Rama when I was > > a Rama TB. I might have respected both people, but I never considered > > them either the most important people in my life, or believed that > > loving them was more important or in any sense "higher" than > > loving...uh...my loved ones. > > > > I'm not sure I can understand how anyone who is married or in a > > long-term relationship can say that. Or anyone who has children, or has > > helped to raise them. Or, for that matter, anyone who has actual > > friends. Does the love one is "supposed to have" for one's spiritual > > teacher somehow *trump* the love you feel for these people? Is it on > > some "higher" level? > > > > I don't think so. And tonight I'm wondering where the belief that it > > *does* trump other kinds of love CAME FROM. > > > > Think back. Your sense of devotion to Maharishi. Did it develop *before* > > or *after* you heard stories glorifying devotion and bhakti and holding > > it up as the "highest ideal?" There were a LOT of those stories. > > Remember Trotaka? And the stories Maharishi told about how devoted he > > was to Guru Dev? > > > > Devotion to and love for one's spiritual teacher is a very Eastern > > thing. I doubt that very many of us brought up in the West would ever > > have decided on our own that it trumped more real, more tangible love > > relationships. I think that the stories of devotion came before the > > devotion. I think we were subtly and pervasively *trained* to believe in > > the "highest ideal" of our relationship with Maharishi being the most > > important one in our lives. > > > > Think about it, and chime in if you have any ideas on the subject and > > can express them somewhat peaceably. I'm not going to argue with anyone, > > but I am up for a discussion. I think it could be an interesting topic: > > > > Is bhakti inherent to human nature, or is it a taught -- and learned -- > > behavior? > > I have had a few very intense experiences of love for Maharishi and also for > Guru Dev. All came after being involved in becoming a teacher of TM and > having heard all the devotee stories. My experiences involved feeling my > heart chakra and chest open in a whoosh of light that then beamed out in a > blast toward Maharishi. I had not anticipated or wanted this, but had been > around him for a few months of hearing him speak for hours each evening in > Mallorca. I had one similar experience of the flow of light from my heart > toward the man I was in love with at the time, and then later married. I saw > him from a distance, and the light flew in a beam connecting me with him, > surprising me. Jerry Jarvis was in the area and while I never asked him > about it, I think he saw this happen. He was looking around when the light > flew, turned quickly toward me, and I believe that he saw the light based on > the expression on his face. Of course, I think and thought so highly of > Jerry that maybe I was projecting a great deal of special abilities on to > him. Who knows, maybe all he saw was an expression of pleasure on my face > and then he turned and saw my boyfriend. > > With Guru Dev, there have been a few experiences that come at the end of > doing several pujas in a row, with a feeling of love pouring from me to him > and a sense that I am prostrate on the floor not out of habit but because > there is no other way to be. The love is so intense that it feels like a > physical experience. And both times it caught me by surprise since the puja > felt rather routine, altho I had heard stories of people falling down in > devotion after a puja. > > RE children vs guru love. I think there are different kinds of "love" and > the love for children is so immediate and seems never to fade. I was given > pitocin to stimulate labor, and that is the same hormone that causes the > brain to generate feelings of love and emotional connection (an aside, there > are theories now that autism spectrum disorders can result from abnormal > pitocin levels at birth etc). So, even more so that most mothers, I think I > saw my kids and just imprinted them on my brain and permanently will love > them just because. I know all moms feel this, but that pitocin enhanced it, > imo. > > So, perhaps falling in love with a partner and even wanting or expecting to > love someone like a guru all cause some pitocin/oxytocin to be released, then > that leads to the feelings of love and devotion, and the most intense > experiences include light and chakra openings (whatever they are). I mean, > maybe when pitocin reaches the actual heart of the area of the brain that > connects to the heart, then a sense of light is felt. But I am going on and > on here............Enough > > > > I think it's the latter. > > >
