The essentials of all religions are the same:
Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise;
Be good, do good, be kind, be compassionate;
Enquire 'who am I' know the Self and be free.
Love all, serve all, serve the Lord in all.
Speak the truth, be pure, be humble,
Concentrate, meditate, attain Self-realisation.
These are the essentials of all religions.
Customs, conventions, ceremonies are non-essentials.
Do not fight over petty non-essentials.
Be tolerant, be catholic, have a broad outlook.
Respect all Prophets, all Saints, all Messengers.
All Saints speak the same language.
(Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh)
YOGA derives from the Sanskrit word ''Yuj'', which means to yoke, or unite. Most sources teach that we are already united with the Cosmic Consciousness, and that the objective of Yoga is to realise that.
The Bhagavad Gita says...
''Yoga is equanimity in success and failure'' (Ch 2: 48)
''Yoga is skill and efficiency in action'' (Ch 2: 50)
''Yoga is the Supreme secret of Life'' (Ch 4:3)
''Yoga is the Giver of Untold Happiness'' (Ch 5 :2)
''Yoga is serenity''' (Ch 6:7)
Yoga is a Science of Being, and will thus be different for each practitioner. There are aspects of Yoga suitable for all personality types. The practice of Yoga depends upon personal experience - you must prove to yourself if the concepts of Yoga and Tantra are true, through self-realization.
TANTRA is derived form the two Sanskrit word Trayati and Tanoti, meaning Expansion and Liberation, and this is with reference to AWARENESS.
It is a Universal system, practised the world over in various guises since time immemorial.It is practical and tolerant. It uses the material world to tune into the immaterial. Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (the power of manifestation) are mirrored by Tao and Teh, Osiris and Isis, Universal Mother and Father, and so on.
OM TAT SAT
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HOW TO UNDERSTAND NEW YOGA CULTURE AND SPIRITUAL DIALOGUE:
[Credit:unknown]
1: To 'hold space' for someone = To listen to someone's emotional issues for an uncomfortable amount of time. Way beyond normal, even for a therapists rigid 50-minute window:
2: I'm in transition = I'm unemployed and totally fucking lost.
3: I've changed my name to Govinda / Cali / Swami = I have a borderline personality disorder, otherwise known as an identity crisis. I was previously known as Bob/ Sue. I carry a lot of accessories on my body, to prove my unprovable powers. Crystals, malas, you name it...Whatever works right.
4: I'm processing a lot of downloads from the Universe = I am so fucking confused but cannot afford therapy. My biggest influence is Teal Swan (famous Youtuber), but I just can't figure out her castle in the sky spiritual bullshit but sounds impressively unprovable. I might use it to impress...
5: I'm a lightworker = I am highly depressed and need to focus on your dark shit, to avoid my own.
6: I am Reiki level 2 accredited = I crave human contact, And this is better than Tinder. I can cross personal physical boundaries with ease if I so choose, depending on my authenticity and morality.
7: You have an amazing Aura = I would love to bang you.
8: I am writing a travel blog = I don't want to go home, I no longer fit in: I never have. I don't know where I will end up.
9: I'm not looking for a relationship only deep soul connections = I have commitment issues and fear of intimacy so I dip my toe in many ponds at the same time. I understand you will head off to Thailand soon anyways. You will never see the real me. Bread-crumbing my love keeps me safe is my mantra, I'm also over-sexualized which is another issue I'm dealing with from childhood:
10: Inner Goddess within workshops = An understanding of Daddy Issues and a way to overdevelop the masculine side to protect the little girl within. Helping participants to surrender to the bias that all men are shit. lesbian encounters are possible here once you surrender.
11: I am a healer = Eat pray love brought you here and now you will pay heavily. I can see you are vulnerable...I'm just the man/woman for the job.
12: A guru = Someone who has overstepped the threshold of self-development and found a niche market. But interesting tattoos...right?
13: Ecstatic dance = A narcissistic get-together where anything goes. Prepare for peacocking and Ubud fitness cards falling out of pockets. Wear your best yoga fashion accessories at this one. Then off to Kafe for a smoothie bowl to discuss how awesome we all are.
14: You look like you need a hug = A psychological projection, where the outstretched armed hugger needs a hug, or if seasoned to the vulnerable person's body language, knows he or she just might score their next victim. Emotionally, spiritually or sexually...It's kind of a lottery. You gotta be in it to win it.
15: The past life trick = Spiritual Word salad is a great dish served cold, as the cluster B personality type convinces you that you are their twin flame, lost for centuries in the ether. If you have never been loved by your primary caregivers, this is paradise on earth as your fear of abandonment gets spanked with a mala on the magical, mystery tour of self-deception.
16: Eye gazing workshops = A way to expose your deepest insecurities to a total stranger facilitated by Sue from Australia who awakened her inner goddess, deep within the forest of Las Vegas. Now extending the classes into man/woman-child cuddle puddles just for extra bonding. Enmeshment is key here. No interview or personal boundaries required.
17: Hi my name is John/Emily, How is your day going = A normal person. It is totally safe to approach. No money is exchanged here. Maybe a friend for life who is willing to share life stories once mutual trust is established. No mala, or spiritual jewelry needed.
May 7 is this year (both in India and North America) is that supremely auspicious day known as Akshaya Tritiya, the “Undecaying Third”, the third day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Vaishakha.
In addition to the fact that it is the best of the three possible days of the year on which both the sun and moon are astrologically exalted, tradition has it that it is the day on which Satya Yuga began/begins. Akshaya Tritiya is said to “secure permanency” for actions performed on it, and Vimalananda was of the opinion (an opinion not shared by every jyotishi) that on this day there is no need to look for a good muhurta (auspicious moment) as auspicious actions performed anytime on the entire day will provide a permanently auspicious effect.
Some accordingly buy gold or make investments, others schedule events for which they desire ongoing good results. At the Simhachalam temple near Vishakhapatnam this is the day when the thick layer of sandalwood paste is removed from the image that Narasimha, the fourth avatara of Vishnu, shares with Varaha, Vishnu’s third avatara. On this day alone during the year can that actual image be viewed, as not long after its unveiling it is again covered in tens of kilos of sandalwood paste.
Dr Robert Svoboda
Happy May 7th to all.
Outside of the mystical experience wherein the whole universe rolls up and vanishes away, leaving the man “conscious only of consciousness,” the next overwhelming realization of mentalism comes to dying persons.
Paul Brunton
SOGYAL RINPOCHE
Even in the greatest yogi, sorrow and joy still arise just as before. The difference between an ordinary person and the yogi is how they view their emotions and react to them.
An ordinary person will instinctively accept or reject them, and so arouse the attachment or aversion that will result in the accumulation of negative karma.
A yogi, however, perceives everything that rises in its natural, pristine state, without allowing grasping to enter his perception.
***Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, chapter 10
“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.”
~ Patanjali
All happiness comes from awareness. The more we are conscious, the deeper the joy. Acceptance of pain, non-resistance, courage and endurance; these open deep and perennial sources of real happiness; true bliss.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WELL, FOR THE BLESSING OF GOD IS IN ALL GOOD EXCELLENCE. THERE WILL BE SWEET FRUITS GROWING ON THE BRANCHES OF YOUR HARMONIOUS DESIRES.
''A disciple is an asshole looking for a human being to attach itself to.'' ~ Robert Anton Wilson (in dark and funny mode)
"The purpose of life is to ascend the six spinal centers, reinforcing the human consciousness progressively with greater and greater lights, until it is able to unite with the all-pervading, thousand-rayed brilliance in the highest center in the brain. This ascent of the consciousness through the spine may be achieved slowly through right actions and right thoughts. The yogi, however, chooses the quicker and more scientific method of meditation.
The internal consciousness of ordinary people operates only from the lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal centers that direct all material sensory perceptions and enjoyments. The divine lovers and celestial poets work from the heart center. The calm unshaken yogi operates from the cervical center. He who can feel his presence in the entire vibratory creation has awakened the medullary and Christ centers. The illumined yogi functions in the cerebral center of Cosmic Consciousness; he may be spoken of as an ascended yogi."
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
GOOD COMPANY IS USEFUL, FOR SPIRITUAL FRIENDS OR FELLOW DISCIPLES CAN HELP ONE ANOTHER EASE THEIR OBLIGATIONS TO THE OUTER WORLD.
~ A.O.
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