roscod
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by roscod on Sept 10, 2024 9:47:24 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use.
Hinduism outlines the 4 yoga paths of jnana (knowledge), raja (meditation), bhakti (devotion) and karma (action) to achieve the goal of self-realisation.
In many forms of Buddhism one of the prerequisites for achieving understanding is the desire to save all sentient beings - service to all. Service also is stressed in many other mystical traditions. Compassion is promoted in every school of practice that is aimed at liberation of the soul (or whatever...)
I've been browsing the boards and it seems there is a lot of intellectual discussion about non-dualism, and a lot of discussions about metaphysics. The boards seem to be heavily weighted towards jnana, with a bit of raja thrown in for good measure.
Are many or any people here involved in service to there communities? Do any people actively practice devotion?
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Post by melvin on Sept 10, 2024 10:29:38 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use. Hinduism outlines the 4 yoga paths of jnana (knowledge), raja (meditation), bhakti (devotion) and karma (action) to achieve the goal of self-realisation. In many forms of Buddhism one of the prerequisites for achieving understanding is the desire to save all sentient beings - service to all. Service also is stressed in many other mystical traditions. Compassion is promoted in every school of practice that is aimed at liberation of the soul (or whatever...) I've been browsing the boards and it seems there is a lot of intellectual discussion about non-dualism, and a lot of discussions about metaphysics. The boards seem to be heavily weighted towards jnana, with a bit of raja thrown in for good measure. Are many or any people here involved in service to there communities? Do any people actively practice devotion?
I for one is an active member of the Knights of Columbus, 5308 Mabolo Council, an active member of the Lions International District 301-B2. I do devotional service ( Bhakti ) by chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra. Lastly, I hear mass on Sunday in a Catholic Church in our place. My wife and I are both practicing Catholics. So, how do you describe me? Why am I participating discussions in a nonduality forum? |
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Post by inavalan on Sept 10, 2024 14:11:51 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use. ... But ... you can't know what that is, and you can't know who of those who claim to know that, if any, don't just fool themselves. Setting up on the wrong path will make you oblivious to a truer path later, when it might open to you. As they say: if your cup isn't empty, you can't fill it up with truth; you can have only a mixture. You have to leave aside everything that you believe, that you believe to be true, that you expect, that you want, that any dogma or guru preach, ... |
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Post by zendancer on Sept 10, 2024 14:59:01 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use. Hinduism outlines the 4 yoga paths of jnana (knowledge), raja (meditation), bhakti (devotion) and karma (action) to achieve the goal of self-realisation. In many forms of Buddhism one of the prerequisites for achieving understanding is the desire to save all sentient beings - service to all. Service also is stressed in many other mystical traditions. Compassion is promoted in every school of practice that is aimed at liberation of the soul (or whatever...) I've been browsing the boards and it seems there is a lot of intellectual discussion about non-dualism, and a lot of discussions about metaphysics. The boards seem to be heavily weighted towards jnana, with a bit of raja thrown in for good measure. Are many or any people here involved in service to there communities? Do any people actively practice devotion? Some of the people who post here donate significant sums of money to charitable causes and ND retreat centers, and most of the people here have either pursued meditative activities in the past or are still doing so. Not much has been written about devotional paths, but there are several members who are active in the Catholic tradition and one or two who are active in the Zen tradition. I don't think anyone has ever written about karmic action as a pathway to SR. |
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Post by inavalan on Sept 10, 2024 16:04:57 GMT -5
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Post by melvin on Sept 10, 2024 16:36:24 GMT -5
Is nonduality a form of yoga?
AI: Non-duality is a philosophical, spiritual, and mystical concept that is found in various traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta. It emphasizes the idea that there is no fundamental distinction between the self (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman), or between the observer and the observed. Non-duality suggests that all apparent dualities are ultimately illusory and that true enlightenment involves recognizing this underlying unity.
Yoga, on the other hand, is a holistic system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that originated in ancient India. While yoga is not synonymous with non-duality, there are particular forms of yoga that are influenced by non-dualistic philosophies. For example, Advaita Vedanta, which teaches non-duality, has influenced certain paths of yoga, such as Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge) and some aspects of Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion).
In summary, non-duality and yoga can be related in the sense that some forms of yoga incorporate non-dualistic teachings as part of their practice or philosophy, but non-duality is not a specific form of yoga itself.
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roscod
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by roscod on Sept 10, 2024 18:24:19 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use. ... But ... you can't know what that is, and you can't know who of those who claim to know that, if any, don't just fool themselves. Setting up on the wrong path will make you oblivious to a truer path later, when it might open to you. As they say: if your cup isn't empty, you can't fill it up with truth; you can have only a mixture. You have to leave aside everything that you believe, that you believe to be true, that you expect, that you want, that any dogma or guru preach, ... I appreciate the response, but I don't know how one can have a discussion without using language and concepts? Given it is a site devoted to spiritual matters I provided context for what I considered to be a reasonable question. Phrasing it as I did makes it clear that I don't know what people's motivations are for being here. If other people answer either dishonestly, or from a place of ignorance, that is up to them. My query was about whether people have devotional practices. |
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roscod
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by roscod on Sept 10, 2024 18:25:03 GMT -5
Is nonduality a form of yoga? AI: Non-duality is a philosophical, spiritual, and mystical concept that is found in various traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta. It emphasizes the idea that there is no fundamental distinction between the self (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman), or between the observer and the observed. Non-duality suggests that all apparent dualities are ultimately illusory and that true enlightenment involves recognizing this underlying unity. Yoga, on the other hand, is a holistic system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that originated in ancient India. While yoga is not synonymous with non-duality, there are particular forms of yoga that are influenced by non-dualistic philosophies. For example, Advaita Vedanta, which teaches non-duality, has influenced certain paths of yoga, such as Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge) and some aspects of Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion). In summary, non-duality and yoga can be related in the sense that some forms of yoga incorporate non-dualistic teachings as part of their practice or philosophy, but non-duality is not a specific form of yoga itself.  |
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Post by stardustpilgrim on Sept 10, 2024 18:32:05 GMT -5
On joining this group I assumed that most of the people here are interested in achieving enlightenment, self-realisation, understanding of the absolute, liberation, or whatever other labels one may wish to use. ... But ... you can't know what that is, and you can't know who of those who claim to know that, if any, don't just fool themselves. Setting up on the wrong path will make you oblivious to a truer path later, when it might open to you. As they say: if your cup isn't empty, you can't fill it up with truth; you can have only a mixture. You have to leave aside everything that you believe, that you believe to be true, that you expect, that you want, that any dogma or guru preach, ... I consider it accurate that you are correct that we all have an internal guidance system (my words), this agreement comes from reading your previous posts. It's a kind of compass, to point us to truth. The closer we can get to the core of our being, the better the guidance system works. But this is not so easy to accomplish, to reach a perfectly operating guidance system (inner guidance). Most of us have various degrees of obstruction, from conditioning, that distorts compass readings. If our guidance system is distorted, we can go around in circles, or can be headed down a dead-end road, and not know it. But if our guidance system is working properly, we will eventually see we are on a wrong path, and get back on track. There is really no way to help anyone see a right way, it all depends upon their own internal guidance system. |
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