I'll be giving my Non-Dual Satsang every Wednesday
night. Beer and pretzels will be served.
--- akasha_108 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The Dangers of Pseudo-advaita
>
>
> BELOW THE INTRODUCTION
> FROM A PAPER BY
> AZIZ KRISTOF
>
>
>
> INTRODUCTION
>
>
> Although not always thought so as such,
> Advaita actually falls
> under the auspices of the three main branches of
> VEDANTA:
>
> 1. Dvaita Vedanta - the dualistic
> approach
>
> 2. Advaita Vedanta - the non-dualistic
> approach
>
> 3. Kevala Advaita Vedanta - the pure
> non-dualistic school.
>
> The main exponent of Vedanta was the great
> sage Adi Sankara
> who was an adept of the Kevala Advaita Vedanta path.
> In western
> circles it is not unusual to blend the last two
> together as well as
> interposing the words Advaita and Vedanta as having
> the same meaning,
> becoming in a sense euphemisms of themselves
> ("satsang" is often
> included as well). Generally speaking it works OK,
> but when fine
> tuning the specifics then a more indepth process is
> usually required.
> (source).
>
> Jerry Katz, in a further clarification, in
> his Nonduality FAQ
> website, presents the following as well:
>
> Advaita means nonduality. Vedanta means "end
> of the Veda." The
> Vedas, the most ancient texts of Indian literature,
> are books on
> mythology and sacrifice. Their origins are
> superhuman, their authority
> divine, the Orthodox believe. The end of the Veda
> marked the coming of
> the Upanishads, which are books on the nondual
> nature of reality, but
> which offer different levels of nondual
> understanding, and have even
> given rise dualism, which says that God and the
> human body are
> eternally separate.
>
> Providing the Introduction:
> the Wanderling
>
>
>
> The Dangers of Pseudo Advaita now proceeds:
>
> We would like to express our concern regarding
> the recent
> phenomenon of 'satsang-culture' which in our opinion
> has impoverished
> seriously the Orignial Spirit of Advaita. These days
> many individuals,
> who have very little or no knowledge at all about
> the Process of
> Awakening, feel qualified to give satsang and lead
> other souls on the
> Path. Enlightenment has become very cheap these
> days. Nobody actually
> really knows what is the meaning of this term as it
> virtually means
> everything and nothing. Nowadays, it is sufficient
> to say 'I am
> Awakened' in order to give satsang.
>
> Because of the unverifiable nature of
> Enlightenment, this term has
> been much manipulated. Satsang has been
> Americanized. In an average
> satsang-gathering everybody is laughing, showing
> signs of euphoric and
> unauthentic joy, while the teacher tries to look
> like he or she is in
> a bliss. Just like a TV show. Very few actually
> meditate. Why to
> meditate if we are already all Awakened?
>
> But Is this really Advaita? Is Advaita a poor
> repetition of a
> several slogans like 'There is nobody there,' 'You
> are That,' You are
> already Awakened' or 'There is no Path', etc.? Has
> this anything to do
> with teaching of great masters like N. Maharaj or
> Sri Ramana
> Maharishi? Ramana sat in caves for 20 years before
> he could be really
> complete. In his presence disciples had to meditate
> for months and
> years before they could receive from him the glimpse
> of the Self.
>
> It is true that New Millennium is a time of
> global awakening. But
> this awakening is mostly partial and relative to the
> level of most
> people's unconsciousness. It was Jesus who said that
> there would be a
> time when many false teachers will teach in the name
> of Light. It
> seems to be happening now. Many of these teachers
> are not necessarily
> 'bad people' but simply unqualified and lost, in
> truth. They have
> believed too quickly in the thought 'I am now ready
> to teach!'
>
> It seems that the pauper-isation of satsang
> culture began after
> the death of Poonjaji. Many of his followers started
> to claim that
> Poonjaji approved their 'Awakening.' It seems that
> they just took him
> too literally. It is an Advaita custom to say 'you
> are already
> Awakened.' This is however more a teaching device
> than a reflection of
> reality. And even if some of his disciples had a
> glimpse of Awakening,
> Poonjaji knew very well that in most cases neither
> it was permanent
> nor the final state.
>
>
> An example was Andrew Cohen who was sent to
> give satsang in
> the west. He was meant to represent Poonjaji and
> attract more
> westerners to Lucknow. But he and others thought
> that Poonjaji
> actually conformed his Enlightenment. For that
> reason, Cohen became
> very hurt when Poonjaji started to criticize him
> when he began to act
> as a master. From this wound came later the magazine
> 'What is
> Enlightenment?' which more represents Cohen's own
> insecurity and an
> unsuccessful attempt to heal himself than a genuine
> search for
> clarity. By the endless investigation into states of
> all possible
> masters, and not being able to come to any true
> conclusion, he has
> been just confusing his students. The only thing
> which at the end
> remains clear from his seemingly 'sincere' efforts
> to find clarity is
> that nobody has the least idea 'What Enlightenment
> Is!'
>
>
> It is not our intention to suggest that nobody
> reaches
> Enlightenment. We just wish to make it clear
> (similar as to what is
> found to be said in ENLIGHTENMENT: CAN YOU DO IT?)
> that Complete
> Enlightenment and Understanding of its nature is
> still an extremely
> rare phenomenon on the planet earth, which a plane
> of low evolution.
> And equally important, we wish to emphasize that a
> partial or
> pre-mature experience of awakening does not qualify
> one at all to take
> a role of a Self-realised being.
>
> Enlightenment is not as cheap. Many seekers seem
> to be unaware of
> a very simple fact that there are actually many
> levels of
> Self-realization as exemplified in the Eight Jhana
> States, the Wu Keng
> Chuan (Five Degrees of Tozan) and the Five Varieties
> of Zen. There is
> an enormous difference between initial Awakening
> such as say Kensho
> and the actual State of Enlightenment. But who
> cares?
=== message truncated ===
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