Re: [FairfieldLife] Maya Redux

[TurquoiseBee]

Neat, thanks. This was taken at a local petting zoo. 




 From: "anartax...@yahoo.com" 
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2014 3:23 PM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Maya Redux [1 Attachment]
 


  
[Attachment(s) from anartax...@yahoo.com included below]
A  slightly reprocessed, retouched version of Barry's portrait of Maya, putting 
a bit more emphasis on the subject. Wonderful image.

[FairfieldLife] Maya Redux [1 Attachment]

[anartaxius]

A  slightly reprocessed, retouched version of Barry's portrait of Maya, putting 
a bit more emphasis on the subject. Wonderful image.

[FairfieldLife] Maya

[Yifu]

by Wim Kuenen
on MMY's (and others) - "that which is not", the NOT entity referred to is Maya 
having an independent existence, "in-itself". But the false notion of this 
truth can be called illusory. (thus, Wiki's usage of the term "illusory" 
several dozens of times).
http://prema.exto.nl/kunstwerk/311175_next.html

[FairfieldLife] Maya in Shankara: Measuring the Immeasurable

[emptybill]

Monier-Williams etymologically defines maya (maayaa) as deriving from
the root maa or "measuring". When one add the suffix ya to the
root maa it can be defined as "relating to measuring". This was
also the meaning understood in the earliest etymological references to
maya (maayaa) aside from the Rgveda, as contained in the Nighan.tu and
the Nirukta as we saw in Chapter Two.



We have seen above that maya can also be understood in this manner in
Shankara's Advaita Vedanta. This is so because maya acts as the
measuring out of phenomena so that Brahman remains. This "measuring
of phenomena" is the inquiry into Brahman itself. Even when maya is
translated by the word "illusion", this inquiry is fostered
because maya can only be an "illusion" strictly within an
ontological discussion of Brahman. Within the structures of epistemology
and metaphysics maya can never be "illusion" because it
maintains it reality as a kind of "measure" as long as one is
still within the name-form (nama-rupa) complex. However, even speaking
within ontology, maya is not just "illusion" because as we have
observed, maya-talk is Brahman-talk and conversely Brahman-talk is
maya-talk and this is so as long as talk exists. Maya can be understood
by Shankara's Advaita as measure because it is an aspect of maya
that measures itself out. That is, maya acts in that it uses the errors
of the phenomenal world to eliminate error in knowledge. And it is in
this way that the inquiry progresses. As such, maya is forever but not
eternal. It is the measure of the distinction between Brahman with and
without distinction.



The structure of maya cannot be determined as anything separate from the
inquiry into Brahman. The inquiry proceeds by understanding that any and
all discussion, if it be accurately termed such, centers upon discourse
about Brahman. Maya as discourse about Brahman relates to maya as
"measuring out" in that it is through discourse about Brahman
that maya measures out the name-form complex, language, and maya itself
so that the reason for the discourse, namely knowledge of Brahman
(gnosis), can be actualized. The procedure of the activity of measuring
is the discourse itself. In this procedure the result of the discourse
is proposed at the start of the endeavor thus "Now therefore an
inquiry into Brahman" (Brahma Sutra 1.1). The discourse about
Brahman points beyond the discourse when knowledge of Brahman is
discussed. It is this discussion which points beyond maya as
"measure" and "discourse about Brahman" and this
pointing shows another aspect of maya. This aspect is seen when measure
and discourse are understood as primary pointers and are analogues that
always participate in aiming one at Brahman. Analogues ... allow maya to
fulfill its necessary function ... that is to make itself transparent to
Brahman.



L Thomas O'Neil

Asst. Professor in History of Religion
Univ. of  Missouri, Columbia, Mo.



--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Peter  wrote:
>
> Not really! Where does it say maya is the measure of Brahman? That is
a very strange and completely erroneous interpretation.
>

[FairfieldLife] Maya - Measuring the measureless

[emptybill]

Interesting.


You say "Not really" and then pronounce the judgment "very strange
and completely erroneous interpretation".
You must have a clear intellectual understanding to make this
declaration. So I ask you … please explain your assertion. I'll
reply when I understand what you are saying … other than the obvious
statement "no that can't be so".


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Peter  wrote:
>
> Not really! Where does it say maya is the measure of Brahman?
That is a very strange and completely erroneous interpretation

> >
>>In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "emptybill" emptybill@ >>wrote:
> > >
> > > Maya is not just illusion or measure
> > > but rather the measure of Brahman.

> > > brahma satyam jagan mithyaa jivo brahmaiva naa'parah:

> > > brahman is real
> > > the world a fiction
> > > the jiva is Brahman indeed
> > > not other
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,
> > Peter  wrote:

>>  That which can be  measured is maya and that which can not be >> 
measured is  Brahman!

[FairfieldLife] Maya nut changes lives while aiding the rain forest

[I am the eternal]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/04/16/cnnheroes.erika.vohman/index.html

http://tinyurl.com/cntekb

 /technology

updated 1:07 p.m. EDT, Fri April 17, 2009
 Maya nut changes lives while aiding the rain forest*FLORES, Guatemala (CNN)
* -- In the rain forests of Central America grows the nutrient-rich Maya
nut. The marble-sized seed can be prepared to taste like mashed potatoes,
chocolate or coffee. To those who stumble upon the nuts on the ground,
they're free for the taking.

The problem, however, is that many people living in areas where the Maya nut
grows abundantly don't know about it.

Erika Vohman is trying to change that -- and improve rain forest
conservation and women's status in the process.

"People are living right there, in extreme poverty, not even eating more
than one meal a day and there's Maya nut lying all around," Vohman said.
"They don't eat it because they don't know."

Vohman has traveled to Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El
Salvador, conducting workshops that teach women how to harvest, prepare and
cook or dry the prolific seeds into tasty, hearty foods.

The 45-year-old biologist first encountered the Maya nut while visiting
rural Guatemala a decade ago for an animal rescue effort. An indigenous
colleague told her of the native resource, once an essential food staple of
his Mayan ancestors; the civilization had widely cultivated the large
tropical rain forest tree, the Brosimum alicastrum, that produces the Maya
nut.

That colleague prepared a Maya nut soup for Vohman and she found it
delicious.

Having watched impoverished
Guatemalancommunities clear
rain forests to plant food, it struck Vohman that the key
for uplifting Central American communities was to help them return to their
roots.

She subsequently attended graduate school and learned how she could help
these populations make the most of Maya nut -- a resource that didn't
require forest destruction for planting.

In 2001, Vohman created The Equilibrium
Fundto help alleviate poverty,
malnutrition and deforestation by teaching
communities about their native Maya nut forests. Do you know someone who
should be a CNN Hero? Nominations are open at
CNN.com/Heroes

*Far-reaching benefits of the Maya nut*

With one tree able to produce as much as 400 pounds of food a year, using
the Maya nut prevents rain forest clear-cutting to harvest other foods and
increases populations' food supplies. Dried, the Maya nut can be stored for
up to five years -- a lifeline for regions with frequent drought.

The Maya nut has high levels of nutrients including protein, calcium, fiber,
iron and vitamins A, E, C and B.

"For some reason, people have stopped eating this food, which is one of the
most nutritious foods you can get," Vohman said.

It is also less susceptible to climate changes than the crops that had been
brought in to replace it.

In the rural village of Versalles, Nicaragua, women gather and cook the Maya
nuts into pancakes, cookies, salads, soup and shakes that feed their
community year-round. It is one of 700 communities so far where "The Maya
Nut Revolution," as it has come to be known, has taken hold.


"These women are responsible for raising the next generation," Vohman said.
"If a woman's not educated and doesn't have access to any job opportunities,
it makes it really hard. Our workshops [help them] acquire the skills and
knowledge to feed their families and better their lives."

Training rural women about the Maya nut has made them champions of rain
forest conservation and reforestation, as well as entrepreneurs who turn
Maya nut products into income. Training empowers women to educate others in
neighboring communities, subsequently spreading the wealth.


The Equilibrium Fund has taught more than 10,000 women across five countries
about Maya nut for food and income. More than 800,000 Maya nut trees have
been planted for rain forest conservation.

The group has found that where the Maya nut tree disappears, 50 to 80
percent of local species are wiped out in six months to a year.

Seeing the widespread effect of her group's endeavors keeps Vohman going.

"It's impacting gender equality. That's a huge paradigm shift," she said.
 [image: advertisement]

"We're having an impact on the
environment,
an economic impact and also motivating reforestation. It's really amazing."

Re: [FairfieldLife] Maya Amma

[Peter]

I'd recommend that everybody read Steve's book. It's
all about his adventures in India teaching TM and
traveling to see various sites and saints. Well
written by a fellow ru and thoroughly enjoyable.

--- Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> From Steve Briggs, who wrote India: Mirror of Truth
> (http://www.kumarclub.com/)
> 
> Hi Rick
> 
> I was reading the thread about Maya Amma, but since
> i don't seem to
> have an active FFL account i can't add my bit. This
> is what i remember:
> 
> When i met Maya Amma in 1982 she was living in a hut
> near the Kanya
> Kumari temple; she was attended by a few male
> devotees and surrounded
> by a pack of dogs. She was very old and the
> villagers said she liked to
> ride drift wood out to sea for days at a time.
> Fishermen from Kanya
> Kumari would often see floating about.  I never
> heard anything about
> her walking 'under the water.' The account that she
> fed both dogs and
> people without discriminating between the two is
> accurate. I received
> morsels of banana both before and after the dogs
> several times along
> with my friends. I understand about the guy who
> didn't eat the  prasad.
> I hesitated but am glad i took it. I don't remember
> Maya Amma saying
> anything. Her eyes conveyed it all. When i was with
> her she looked
> younger and her eyes clearer then the photo in the
> link.  If you post
> this i'm wondering if anyone knows when she passed
> away or if she's
> still living. When i returned to KK in 1996 there
> was no sign of her so
> i assumed she had departed. If she's still living
> i'd definitely make
> the effort to see her when in India. Having Maya
> Amma's darshan is a
> treasured memory!
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 


__
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 


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/
 

[FairfieldLife] Maya Amma

[Rick Archer]

>From Steve Briggs, who wrote India: Mirror of Truth
(http://www.kumarclub.com/)

Hi Rick

I was reading the thread about Maya Amma, but since i don't seem to
have an active FFL account i can't add my bit. This is what i remember:

When i met Maya Amma in 1982 she was living in a hut near the Kanya
Kumari temple; she was attended by a few male devotees and surrounded
by a pack of dogs. She was very old and the villagers said she liked to
ride drift wood out to sea for days at a time. Fishermen from Kanya
Kumari would often see floating about.  I never heard anything about
her walking 'under the water.' The account that she fed both dogs and
people without discriminating between the two is accurate. I received
morsels of banana both before and after the dogs several times along
with my friends. I understand about the guy who didn't eat the  prasad.
I hesitated but am glad i took it. I don't remember Maya Amma saying
anything. Her eyes conveyed it all. When i was with her she looked
younger and her eyes clearer then the photo in the link.  If you post
this i'm wondering if anyone knows when she passed away or if she's
still living. When i returned to KK in 1996 there was no sign of her so
i assumed she had departed. If she's still living i'd definitely make
the effort to see her when in India. Having Maya Amma's darshan is a
treasured memory!

Steve




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/