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Thread: the Self realizes ...

  1. #1
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    the Self realizes ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    The upaniṣads teach us, the Self realizes itSelf to itSelf. We find this reviewed in the kaṭha and muṇḍaka upaniṣads.

    What are we suppose to do? Prepare¹. We prepare the soil just like the farmer does so a rich harvest can take place. We are that soil. Our actions are the seeds we drop in. The water is our behavior. Our meditations is our yajñya. The sprout that begins is one's more rested composure and point of view, more relaxed and insightful. The fertilizer we use is the knowledge from the śāstra-s and āgama-s.


    But one must ask how is this even possible? This Self realizing itSelf ?

    This Self or ātman , the Supreme or anuttara ( using śaivāgama words ) is filled with vimarśa-śakti. What is vimarśa ? It is defined as deliberation , examination. We know what śakti is, energy, vibration, liveliness. Let's take a closer look at vimarśa, as an important construct mainly in kaśmiri śaivism.

    Vimarśa is composed of vi + mṛś . This mṛś is defined as to touch mentally , consider , reflect , deliberate. And vimṛś is to touch (mentally) , be sensible or aware of , perceive , consider , reflect on , deliberate about. Yet the beauty here is in this phoneme vi (वि) and stems back to dvi , meaning " in two parts " apart , asunder , in different directions , to and fro.

    Here is the point to offer. The Supreme (aforementioned as anuttara or unsurpassable) is not only filled with light (prakāśa) or luminous consciousness it also exhibits vimarśa - the ability of its own Self-reflection, Self-awareness, my teacher called Self-referral.

    This anuttara is aware of its own Being. We can appreciate then this notion of vi + mṛś as reflecting on its own Self , to and fro.
    The Supreme is not stagnant, but lively in its own Self. This is why it can realize itSelf by itSelf because of its nature to be conscious of its own Being.

    Why then is the Self/Supreme/anuttara not part of our daily experience? It goes as if unnoticed , yet no one could exist for a moment without It. What then do we need to do? This is the subject for the next post:
    • śodhaka शोधक - purifier
    • śodhana शोधन - the act of cleaning , purifying
    • śodhya - शोध्य - the purified ( the native)
    praṇām

    references

    Prepare - the bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad gives us some advice as yajñavalkya-muni speaks to his wife:
    O' maitreyi this Self is to be properly heard of; to be properly cogitated upon and to be realized in meditation. So, the wise say there are 3 things:
    • śravaṇa - the act of hearing or 'that which is heard' = śruti iti śravaṇāt , " because it is so heard or revealed'
    • manana - thinking , reflection , thought , intelligence , understanding
    • nidīdhyāsana - or nidī + dhyāna + āsana = to shine down upon + meditation + seat or posture.
      Hence the posture of meditation that brings one light and luster, luminance, brillance.
      • nidī to shine down upon , bestow anything by shining down
      • dhyā na - meditation
      • āsana - seat
    Last edited by yajvan; 25 January 2012 at 12:36 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #2
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    śodhaka शोधक - purifier
    śodhana शोधन - the act of cleaning , purifying
    śodhya - शोध्य - the purified ( the native)
    Who is śodhaka, the purifier? It is the Supreme, anuttara , and in a letter it denoted by the letter-sound 'a', the very first sound / phoneme of the ṛg ved ( rig veda). And who is to be purified (śodhya) ? It is us, nāraḥ (nāratmanaḥ)¹ .

    Yet it is our delusion ( moha) that we are different from the Supreme. We are informed by the wise that the Supreme by His/Her own will (icchā- denoted by the letter/sound 'i') assumes a self-imposed limitation though His own autonomy or svātantrya¹.


    To say it simply, the Supreme throttles Himself down to become us, become human. Just as a big, huge nuclear generator throttles itself down to become electricity that is found in a light bulb , giving off light. It is the same śakti (energy) just stepped down into the form that can be used by the light bulb to give off its brilliance.

    The cleaning process - how can we think of it ? When we clean do we work on the level of dirt ? What is done is we take the dirt to a higher level of cleanliness for its purification. Let's take an example. Take a white cloth we use for dusting. All the dust particles cling to this cloth, yet it really is not the cloth. Now take this cloth and emerse it into pure water. We just leave it there. What occurs ? The particles are released; the cloth is purifed, returning to its orignal purity of white. All we needed to do is bring it to a higher level of purity for this to occur.

    This is the example. But one must ask, what in us needs to be purified ? In a word 'limitation'. This is saṃkoca , defined as diminution, limitation , restriction.

    more to follow...

    praṇām

    words
    Last edited by yajvan; 27 January 2012 at 12:29 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  3. #3
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté



    But one must ask, what in us needs to be purified ? In a word 'limitation'. This is saṃkoca , defined as diminution , limitation , restriction
    This limitation , is called āṇava mala. It is the blemish (mala) the reduces the Supreme to āṇava¹ defined as "exceedingly smallness" and therefore limitation. This āṇava is is considered aṇu fine , minute , atomic and therefore within boundries.
    It is ~as if~ we are cut asunder from the Supreme and therefore the imposition of self-limitation. Many talk of these limitations with the the 5 kañcuka-s (a cover , disguise , an envelope). The Supreme throddles down and limits (saṃkoca) ItSelf and arrives at āṇava mala. From this limitation the 5 kañcuka-s are experienced by the human.

    Let me offer one or two examples that we personally experience which is a limitation.
    • The limitation with respect to knowledge. The Supreme is omnicient (sarvajñatva ). Yet within the human condition
      we hold knowledge, yet it is limited. Even a Ph.D. is quite knowledgable , no ? Yet within his/here field of expertise
      and not within the whole of all knowldge. So this is the kañcuka of vidyā.
    • The limitation of time. The Supreme resides ( or has the quality of) eternity (nityatva); continual , perpetual , eternal.
      Yet we as humans work within the frameword of minutes, days, weeks, years. It is the the kañcuka of kāla¹.
      We are bound or shackled by time of birth, death, coming , going, schedules, etc.
    We can review the other 3 kañcuka-s if there is interest, yet I think you can appreciate the 'limits' we live within and assume they are quite normal. They are normal for the paśu¹.


    So on a big picture scale it is the Supreme that subjects Him/Herself to limitation, to māyā. When people see this they say , oh it is illusion this māyā. Some even say the the world is not real , it is māyā. This well may be for some, but within śaivāgama this māyā is viewed as śakti of the Supreme. It is a ~tool~ that allows the Supreme to meter itSelf out from Infinite to finite.

    If we look at māyā as mā+yā, 'mā' is defined as 'measure' , 'to measure or traverse'. And this sound/syllable 'yā' is defined as 'restraining'. So the Infinite is ~as if ~ measured or metered out, restrained into finite things. we could even look at this word like this ma +āyā and come to simular (albiet esoteric) meaning, but will leave that for another time.

    So this is the framework the human works within. The Supreme in condensed form. It seems then we should be able to return back
    to our original condition, no ? The wise say this is possible and is the main goal for many on this good earth.

    What is the way back ? The wise say, reverse the order.

    praṇām

    words
    • note that āṇava is defined as 'exceeding smallness' and ānava is defined as 'belonging to living men'.
    • kāla's 3 root (√3) is kal 'to calculate or enumerate'.A fixed or right point of time , a space of time , time (in general)
    • paśu - any teathered animal - we are considered ~teathered~ to the senses. Yet with māheśvara-s and pāśupata-s
      the individual soul as distinct from the divine Soul or Supreme.
    Last edited by yajvan; 25 March 2012 at 04:49 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  4. #4
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté



    To say it simply, the Supreme throttles Himself down to become us, become human. Just as a big, huge nuclear generator throttles itself down to be electricity that is found in a light bulb , giving off light. It is the same śakti (energy) just stepped down into the form that can be used by the light bulb to give off its brilliance.

    Within this view or darśana (view, school, philosophy) this is called īśvarādvaya-darśana. That is, īśvara ( or śiva) is the whole of Reality, there is no other. This is no 2 (advaya =not two, without a second).

    This is nothing but śiva in all things. In all 36 tattva's of this system ( or darśana) it is different forms of the same Reality. That is why we can say we are a none other then śiva.

    It is like the sap we find in a tree. The sap represents itself as the flower, the bud, bark, roots, etc. All of it is just an expression of the colorless sap. Like that, śiva is the sap of all that is seen or unseen, all that there is and all that is not. What does this imply ? He is the seer, the process of seeing, and that which is seen.

    Some talk of the manifest and unmanifest - this is fine, yet this is for talking purposes. It allows us to better grasp Reality. The divine view (paśyantī) is that this Reality (śiva) is pūrṇatā पूर्णता - fullness, wholeness , infinitely complete in every possible way (all pervading or vyāpaka&#185.


    praṇām


    1. vyāpaka - pervading , comprehensive , widely spreading or extending , spreading everywhere
    Last edited by yajvan; 27 January 2012 at 01:24 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  5. #5
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    What is the way back ? The wise say, reverse the order.

    The notion of reversing the order is called parivt परिवृत् ( some prefer to write it as parivtya). This word means to reverse, invert, to return , to cause one's self to be turned round .

    This idea can be found in the chāndogya upanisad, patañjali’s yogadarśana, and in abhinavagupta-ji's parātrīśikā vivaraṇa.
    Some like to call it reversing the birthing process. But the birth of what ? For this conversation a thought. Taking a thought in reverse order back to subter and subter levels unitil it is just an impluse , an idea and then going beyond that.

    This 'going beyond that ' is called transcending. Well, where do we arrive at ? The source or pure consciousness itself. What is occuring ? We are facing inwards; we're going from all the diversity of life and reversing, to arrive at the unity or the foundation of all life.

    The wise talk about it this way: Withdraw from the parts (aṅga) and experience the the whole, (aṅgī); then withdraw from the withdrawal i.e. withdraw from that whole or aṅgī, and come back to the parts. Said it another way:
    Withdraw from the duality of life, the parts, (aṅga) diversity , all the things , places, ideas, multiplicity, and experience fullness,( aṅgī ), bhuma, turīya, I called pūrṇatā पूर्णता in the last post - fullness, wholeness, infinitely complete in every possible way (all pervading or vyāpaka&#185, then come back to the diversity of life.


    So, if we use the tree analogy it is the tree reversing the knowing of its own Self - it sees all its parts , the branches, bark, flowers, leaves, all that, but then arrives at its core, the sap. The sap that nourishes all of its parts.

    This reversing and coming back grooms and cultures the nervous system; it purifies ( this is the core of post 2 above).
    This is a most respected sādhana¹ because we can actively participate in our unfoldment and not leave it to the winds of time.


    There is more we can add to this and will address at a later date.


    praṇām

    words and references
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  6. #6
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namast

    How then does the Divine become apparent in us ? This is the core question and conversation found in abhinavagupta-ji's parā-trīśikā vivaraṇa. Note that the word 'apparent' is offered and not 'developed'. It is because we are That already but has yet to be recognized in one's own awareness.


    The core of this idea is the subject-matter of Śrī Devī asking Śiva - that of khecarī-samatā. This string develops the idea in full:
    http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3758


    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  7. #7

    Re: the Self realizes ...

    I don't want to sound despairing or anything..., but I've come to realize over the past few weeks how pathetic all our attempts at spiritual improvement can be in this age of Kali.... It truly is miserable in how (many of our attempts, at least) fail to drive within us a real spiritual thirst for the divine. I've realized that sometimes one should be hands off when it comes to the sacred, especially when he or she doesn't know exactly what they are doing.

    Does that mean we should do nothing, or just give in to our material interests? Well, I'm thinking more along the lines of yes and no. Try to be a little in the ego and a little out. Avoid being a hypocrite most of all. Stay true to your own self. Even if that self is not always capital "S." You are still perfect as you are, warts and all.
    How can I put this in a sentence? Try next time.

  8. #8
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Quote Originally Posted by Kismet View Post
    I don't want to sound despairing or anything..., but I've come to realize over the past few weeks how pathetic all our attempts at spiritual improvement can be in this age of Kali.... It truly is miserable in how (many of our attempts, at least) fail to drive within us a real spiritual thirst for the divine. I've realized that sometimes one should be hands off when it comes to the sacred, especially when he or she doesn't know exactly what they are doing.

    Does that mean we should do nothing, or just give in to our material interests? Well, I'm thinking more along the lines of yes and no. Try to be a little in the ego and a little out. Avoid being a hypocrite most of all. Stay true to your own self. Even if that self is not always capital "S." You are still perfect as you are, warts and all.
    Doing nothing is always an option. Yet spiritual development no matter what age we are in, as I see it, is a desirable action.


    Let me say this; if you can do nothing (jaḍatā or senselessness) perfectly this can be considered a spiritual practice ( upāya&#185.

    praṇām


    1. upāya - that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient , a technique.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  9. #9

    Re: the Self realizes ...

    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    Doing nothing is always an option. Yet spiritual development no matter what age we are in, as I see it, is a desirable action.


    Let me say this; if you can do nothing (jaḍatā or senselessness) perfectly this can be considered a spiritual practice ( upāya&#185.

    praṇām


    1. upāya - that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient , a technique.
    Doing nothing in a mindful way may be, I think, my best technique. This may come as a supreme shock to one or two people here, who assumed I was a Krsna-Bhakt. Sadly, I have made certain discoveries about myself which tend against that devotional trend. I still see Krsna as the Supreme, but I do not see how I can cultivate true devotion or love towards him in this decrepit age. In other words, it isn't about Him, but about me.

    It is good to see all of one's options spiritually on the table. As Vivekananda said, we are all approaching God in whatever manner we can. Sometimes by a crooked path, other times more straight. If there is one thing I learned from Jesus it is to be non-judgmental.
    How can I put this in a sentence? Try next time.

  10. #10
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    Re: the Self realizes ...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Doing nothing perfectly can be seen in the 59th & 60th sūtra of the vijñāna bhairava kārikā-s . It suggests seeing nothing.
    The logic is as soon as you 'do something' you enter the field of limitations, of doing.

    This would be mindfully doing nothing; let's explain via the sūtra:

    mānase bhāve vilīne vṛttikṣīṇaḥ prajāte - 60th sūtra

    when thoughtfulness on that state ( of nothing or vacuum) is established
    then thoughtlessness arises ( doing nothing perfectly)

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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