Remembering...

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

I'm reviving this thread briefly, because there was an earlier mention of broken mālā-s on it.

I wasn't adequately attentive to the cat's love for play, I'm afraid. I leaned down to pet her, my necklace-mālā fell from my shirt, she took a jumping swipe at it - and now I have a string of broken vaijayanti seeds.

Is there any particular belief involving a broken mālā? More importantly, is there a specific way I should dispose of these?

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

... and now I have a string of broken vaijayanti seeds.

If the seeds just came apart from the thread , a new center thread can be obtained and the seeds re-strung. Yet it is a different story of the seeds themselves have been crushed or destroyed. If you need re-stringing and cannot do it yourself, please PM me and I will offer a person that does this in Fairfield, Iowa.

praṇām

[Arjuni]

Namast�,

For some reason I thought a broken mala couldn't/shouldn't be kept; perhaps that was my natural pessimism at work. The seeds are intact, and I will PM you for the contact information you mentioned. Thank you so much...

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[saidevo]

namaste Indraneela.

I am not sure if this is a sanctioned way to dispose a broken mala, but it seems harmless:
http://www.tehachapiyoga.com/notes%2...ken%20Mala.pdf

Namast�,

For some reason I thought a broken mala couldn't/shouldn't be kept; perhaps that was my natural pessimism at work. The seeds are intact, and I will PM you for the contact information you mentioned. Thank you so much...

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namaste

Another form of remembering... There is a key idea in sanātana dharma of na-iti . This na = not and iti in the brāhmaṇas is often equivalent to 'as you know'. Hence na-iti is not as you know, not as you perceive. This comes to be known as neti-neti. We find this in the bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad¹ ( some write bṛhadaraṇyakopaniṣad ), mūrta-amūrta brāhmaṇa ( form and formless).

Also from the avadhūta gītā 1.25

tattvamasyādivākyena svātmā hi pratipāditaḥ |
neti neti śrutirbrūyādanṛtaṁ pācabhautikam ||25||

By such great sayings as that thou art , our own Self is affirmed.
Of that which is untrue and composed of the five elements - the śruti-s say, not this, not this.

So, as one looks around they can say neti-neti - I am not this, a tree, a bush, the auto, the mountain. These are fine, yet what of me is not this or that ? One must look to ones-self and what part is not this, not that.
This is what we wish to remember.

neti neti comes from 'na iti' not thus, some say not this . We find this neti neti in a few places most notably in the bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad¹.

Yet there is one thing one must consider and this insight comes from ramaṅa mahaṛṣi . The notion is not this nor that ( as neti neti is also sometimes defined) leads one to the notion I am not this, I am not that. I am not yajvan, I am not a man, a woman, a tree, a dog, a cat; I am not the body , I am not the mind, I am not this (_______ fill in the blank) or that.
The pickle is , this is an intellectual exercise. All well and good but an exercise none the less that never gets rid of this "I" that is asking the question. This 'I-thought' ( as mentioned by ramaṅa mahaṛṣi ) never eliminates itself! But one asks why would that be of any interest ?

It is this I thought that is the crux of the ego. It is what fuels I am yajvan, I am a worker, I am a cricket player, I am this happy man, this sad man, this ignorant man. It is the 'I' that allows all this to occur.
That is why ramaṅa mahaṛṣi always suggested, ask your self 'who am I' ? Who is this 'I' with so much weight as to define us ? He would say find out from where this 'I' arises. This is the ~real~ question - from where does this 'I' arise. See if you can find it.

We go one step deeper and listen to the wisdom offered by śrī siddharameśvara maharāj¹; he takes one step-by-step to the door way of finding this 'I' ... of which it is not found.

For those that are contemplating these ideas with a degree of seriousness, then two books are there for one's keen support:

• Be As You Are - Edited by David Godman ( the insights of ramaṅa mahaṛṣi )
• Master of Self-Realization - an Ultimate Understanding by śrī siddharameśvara maharāj¹

For the casual practitioner these books will be viewed as a polished stone; for the serious adhikārin¹ (the qualified) these books will shine with luster like the mid-day sun.


praṇām

words

• bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad - chapter 8 (8th adhyāya )
• śrī siddharameśvara maharāj , guru of śrī nisargadatta maharāj ; śrī ranjit maharāj was a co-disciple
• adhikārin is also sometimes called the adhikāra mukta or one qualified to receive spiritual insights