--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Peter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > --- shempmcgurk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer > > <groups@> wrote: > > > > > > on 9/20/06 10:18 AM, authfriend at jstein@ > > wrote: > > > > > > > Quoting an earlier post from Vaj: > > > > > > > > "At Estes Park Maharishi pointed out that there > > really > > > > was some effort in TM. He quoted the Vedas as > > saying, > > > > 'Be easy to us with gentle effort.'" > > > > > > > > Obviously we'd need a great deal more context to > > > > know whether Maharishi was using this quote to > > > > describe TM as involving some effort. Who is > > being > > > > addressed in the quote? It appears to be a > > request > > > > of some kind, but who is making the request, and > > > > of whom? And how would one entity making a > > request > > > > of another entity to "be easy to us" relate to > > TM? > > > > > > > It related to TM. I was there. I had a feeling > > that Maharishi was > > > experimenting a bit by bringing up the quote. He > > only mentioned it > > in one > > > lecture. > > > > > > > > > On my TTC at the end when we learned the last part > > of the teaching, > > we met with MMY and he asked us if we had any > > concerns before we > > went into that final phase. A fellow from France > > stood up and said > > that he had a problem with his own meditation: that > > every time he > > thought the mantra that he wanted to shout it out. > > > > After talking with him for a few minutes and sort of > > diagnosing what > > the situation was, Maharishi said to him: okay, look > > at my arm. I > > want you to think the mantra every time I move my > > arm up. And then > > he started to, very slowly at first, move his arm up > > and down. Then > > he started doing it faster and then really fast. > > And then he > > started to giggle. > > > > I forget what the outcome of all this was and > > whether the French guy > > was satisfied but what struck me was that in order > > to do what MMY > > said to do -- think the mantra every time he saw > > MMY's arm go up -- > > that effort was involved. Now, I know that this > > whole episode was a > > sort of "clinic" and all and it was all in context > > of this > > particular person's unusual meditation experience, > > but that's what > > struck me at the time: that MMY gave an instruction > > that necessarily > > required effort. > > The problem is with the word "efffort." It implies a > focused trying which is not how you do TM. I think a > better word would be "intent."
In yogic parlance, the word for effort is "prayatna". Effortless, is aprayatna. Technically speaking any process of meditation, subject and object which are transcended, will require a path and some effort, some intention. The only thing that is truly effortless is *nonmeditation.* Other things indicative of effort would be any mental process (e.g. subtler and subtler levels of mentation till conscious mentation stops), awareness of a mental object, any "focus" whether conceptual or non-conceptual, allurement or charm towards towards a calm or transcendent state, etc. That's not to say "effort is bad", is just part and parcel of dualistic paths. Reflexively authentic open awareness is not focused on any particular object and this is why no effort is needed. Any "consciousness" by necessity arises from causes, one of which is an object, even a subtle object. Self-arisen wisdom does not need an object. In fact effortless, nonmeditation requires *no subject or object. * (back to lurk mode) To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
