Being an advaitin i often come across people lambasting the tradition, accusing it of subsuming all other traditions. But thosewho understand advaita vedanta know better, right?
What are the thoughts of yf members on this subject?
Does all is one really mean all are the same?
The only person who holds such view is Asura. Why? He hold onto a romantic idea that the Brahmins use to oppress people, and through their trickery drove out Samkhya from India and no Samkhya is gone. The truth is, of course, atheist and dualist Samkhya was defeated in formal debates fair and square, and it was shown that theist Samkhya was not at all incompatible with Vedanta, so Samkhya joined with Vedanta. This is clear in even reading the so-called atheist and dualist Samkhya texts, that it is not actually dualist or atheist.
[QUOTE=Dwai;54983]Being an advaitin i often come across people lambasting the tradition, accusing it of subsuming all other traditions. But thosewho understand advaita vedanta know better, right?
What are the thoughts of yf members on this subject?
Does all is one really mean all are the same?[/quote]
Does that mean tolerating beliefs that asserts its superiority over all others? Do we have to tolerate that and treat them as equals, when they have no intention of reciprocating? Just checking.
Nope Nietzsche, Dwai is asking about Advaita, according to which everybody has the same soul, there is no such thing as a diversity of souls. All is Brahman. Everything else is unreal.
In the Upanishads it says(I will paraphrase) that when we resolve the senses into the mind, then with what do we see, hear, taste, smell, taste? When the mind is resolved in its its original energy, then with what do we think?
The point being made is the entire world will disappear because the instruments which allow you to perceive are resolved. Shutting your senses down will stop you hearing, seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling. Then you enter mind. When you have shut the mind down you no longer have any thought and when you have rid of the master thought “I” there is no individuality anymore. This way everybody who reaches this stage ends up realising that all one. They all arrive at the same stage.
@sd,
You have articulated advaita quite nicely. I have had many discussions with people ranging from hare krishna experts (yeah there a few out there), christians, muslims, other dualists, buddhists And they all seem to have strong defense reactions to Advaita. I wanted to get a feel of he pulse here at yf
Dwai I have had defense mechanisms around advaita in the past ,my sahdana was the Buddahdharma , but after reflection and in part due to meeting a great teacher have now come to feel comfortable with the advaita viewpoint , if that is not a contradiction . I felt for me it was necessary to take different paths To advaita to come to my understanding now , which Im not claiming is perfect. (Although it is all perfect and always has been )
eerrr lot of "I"s in that !
[QUOTE=charliedharma;55094]Dwai I have had defense mechanisms around advaita in the past ,my sahdana was the Buddahdharma , but after reflection and in part due to meeting a great teacher have now come to feel comfortable with the advaita viewpoint , if that is not a contradiction . I felt for me it was necessary to take different paths To advaita to come to my understanding now , which Im not claiming is perfect. (Although it is all perfect and always has been )
eerrr lot of "I"s in that ![/QUOTE]
Nicely put charlieji.
May i ask you to share the process of transformation you underwent that led to your becoming comfortable with the advaita perspective?
[QUOTE=Dwai;55092]@sd,
You have articulated advaita quite nicely. I have had many discussions with people ranging from hare krishna experts (yeah there a few out there), christians, muslims, other dualists, buddhists And they all seem to have strong defense reactions to Advaita. I wanted to get a feel of he pulse here at yf[/QUOTE]
Christians and Muslims for OBVIOUS reasons; our religion is the embodiment of haraam and paganism and therefore, it is to be scorned and destroyed.
Dualists, Buddhists - I respect their POV’s. I don’t believe any of the Indian philosophical sects are superior/inferior to any other. Each contains its own valid point, a facet of the Truth.
Nice thread by the way Dwai. I will poke in from time to time to learn more about the philosophy of our forefathers, since I know next to nothing about it.
I know…I Indian failed. 
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;55054]Nope Nietzsche, Dwai is asking about Advaita, according to which everybody has the same soul, there is no such thing as a diversity of souls. All is Brahman. Everything else is unreal.
In the Upanishads it says(I will paraphrase) that when we resolve the senses into the mind, then with what do we see, hear, taste, smell, taste? When the mind is resolved in its its original energy, then with what do we think?
The point being made is the entire world will disappear because the instruments which allow you to perceive are resolved. Shutting your senses down will stop you hearing, seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling. Then you enter mind. When you have shut the mind down you no longer have any thought and when you have rid of the master thought “I” there is no individuality anymore. This way everybody who reaches this stage ends up realising that all one. They all arrive at the same stage.[/QUOTE]
Great stuff SD!
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;55054][B]Nope Nietzsche, Dwai is asking about Advaita, according to which everybody has the same soul, there is no such thing as a diversity of souls. All is Brahman. Everything else is unreal.[/B]
In the Upanishads it says(I will paraphrase) that when we resolve the senses into the mind, then with what do we see, hear, taste, smell, taste? When the mind is resolved in its its original energy, then with what do we think?
The point being made is the entire world will disappear because the instruments which allow you to perceive are resolved. Shutting your senses down will stop you hearing, seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling. Then you enter mind. [B]When you have shut the mind down you no longer have any thought and when you have rid of the master thought “I” there is no individuality anymore. This way everybody who reaches this stage ends up realising that all one. [/B]They all arrive at the same stage.[/QUOTE]
a case of InDiscrimination
and
Illogical interpretation.
Do not take this personally.
Also - please don’t ask me to explain. It’s not that I can’t - it’s that I won’t.
dwai
May i ask you to share the process of transformation you underwent that led to your becoming comfortable with the advaita perspective?[/QUOTE]
mainly I would say sitting at the feet , over the last six years of a great teacher who shines in the non dual , through example . He shares a cocktail of hatha yoga , tantra , and advaita . But also through 25 years of sitting practises , mostly struggling , the company of some wise beings , studying the dharma , having some understanding of therevadin , mahayana , vajrayana Buddhadharma, 20 years of hatha yoga , letting go of lots of things ., especially a fixed or rigid idea of my identity , although parodoxically this has perhaps uncovered some truth about the nature of a me , being on many retreats and experiencing new states of conciousness , a feeling of coming home , a taste of something , a thirst , delighting in reading of Ramakrishna , nisargadatta , ramana maharshi , and my new man adyashanti My first real taste of the dharma was reading Chogyam Trungpa rimpoche all those years ago.
Ive always been drawn to these teachings but they always ending up giving me a headache through my intellectualising , conceptualising , I rarely get that brain squeeze anymore.
It is hard to put the words to say how I came to be able to listen to advaita without advaita being slightly irritating and feeling it may be life denying but I feel i may have arrived in a place where it now is so right to hear it and indeed i find it so life affirming , coming to an understanding of what it might be showing me , so a lot of effort to start letting go of the effort and dropping the need to control , plan or strategise to any great degree , to let the play unfold , because it always does .
jai ma
[QUOTE=The Scales;55203]a case of InDiscrimination
and
Illogical interpretation.
Do not take this personally.
Also - please don’t ask me to explain. It’s not that I can’t - it’s that I won’t.[/QUOTE]
No explanation necessary but I do disagree with you on the illogical part which I’m assuming is the disappearing of everything
…e.g…A Chinese Master of Buddhism was living in the mountains, alone. He experienced enlightenment and commented that “all the mountain, snow, the bridge he was on, the river…disappeared” This is everyone’s experience when that moment happens…
The cessation of the senses is discussed in great detail…for example…an itch can be very distracting if you are meditating…its an easy one to start learning with as it happens often…learning to pay it zero attention so as not to be disturbed by it…
All fears, worries, upsets, annoyances hold no place in enlightenment either…
We are not what we think we are…
What we see is not what really is…
SD is correct in this…
[QUOTE=kareng;55712]No explanation necessary but I do disagree with you on the illogical part which I’m assuming is the disappearing of everything
…e.g…A Chinese Master of Buddhism was living in the mountains, alone. He experienced enlightenment and commented that “all the mountain, snow, the bridge he was on, the river…disappeared” This is everyone’s experience when that moment happens…
The cessation of the senses is discussed in great detail…for example…an itch can be very distracting if you are meditating…its an easy one to start learning with as it happens often…learning to pay it zero attention so as not to be disturbed by it…
All fears, worries, upsets, annoyances hold no place in enlightenment either…
We are not what we think we are…
What we see is not what really is…
SD is correct in this…[/QUOTE]
No.
[QUOTE=The Scales;55863]No.[/QUOTE]
Ok.