[QUOTE=Surya Deva;72386]To other Advaitists/Vedantins on this board, how does exactly one live the absolute truth, “I am Brahman” ?[/QUOTE]
There?s life, nobody lives a life.
Nobody lives a life? Elaborate. Please don’t go all Zen on me. I am a simple person, who needs everything spoon fed 
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;72389]Nobody lives a life? Elaborate. Please don’t go all Zen on me. I am a simple person, who needs everything spoon fed ;)[/QUOTE]
I’m no teacher or explainer. Plan ahead or don’t plan ahead, life goes on, Atma not life is desire, through memory and imagination from experiences notions are generated; illusion of control and continuity, judging things personal, claiming ownership or seeing oneself as cause keeps the shackles reinforced, as long as one has the idea of influencing events, liberation is not for them.
I am sorry I don’t understand what you are saying because it is coming across as too vague. My question was how do one practically live the truth “I am Brahman” in life? I will clarify further: How can one apply Vedanta philosophy to practical life? I am struggling with how knowing that at the absolute reality I am that infinite all pervading power, makes any difference to my practical life.
Maybe a better question is why do you continue to believe in the truth of something when all of your experience tells you it’s not true, or at the very least not at all relevant to your life?
I believe the truth of Vedanta because it makes sense intellectually, but I don’t see how that truth can be made relevant to ones life. Apparently Vedanta can be a philosophy you can apply to life, but how?
It is stupid to argue like this. Surya has proven himself to be sufficiently dedicated to his path. His mistake was in quantifying/qualifying his path to be the “highest” - Surya just correct yourself and apologize and save yourself the pain and strain. There is no sense in interrogating people intellectually when they are not Jnana Yogis. Their path reveals the truth to them through subtle experiences, and not everyone is wanting to engage in an intellectual debate about spirituality and the validity of one way over another. Namaskar.
Albert Einstein: “Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.”
I will quote myself:
The path of knowledge is considered to be the highest path by the Upanishads, and by all the philosophical schools that have emerged from the Upanishads: Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaiseshika
There are four prerequisites for the path of Jnana, only someone who has developed these becomes an adhikari for the Jnana marga. As long as you have not developed these qualities, vedanta is nothing but mental masturbation.
- [B]viveka[/B] - the power of discrimination between eternal and non-eternal
- [B]vairagya[/B] - the dispassion towards non-eternal things that are worldly or heavenly
- [B]saadhana sampatti[/B] - subtle wealth required for saadhana
a. sama - internal sense control
b. dama - external sense control
c. sraddha - faith on iswara, scripture (iswara’s words) and guru (the medium of delivery)
d. titiksha - endurance capacity to endure adversity of internal and external nature
e. uparati - being happy with what is in hand not hankering for objects
f. samadhanam - equanimity towords pairs of opposites - [B]mumukshutvam[/B] - intense desire for liberation
Arjuna asks in the Bhagavad Gita how to recognise a muni by his behavior.
अर्जुन उवाच .
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव .
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् … २-५४…
श्रीभगवानुवाच .
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् .
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते … २-५५…
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः .
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते … २-५६…
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् .
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता … २-५७…
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः .
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता … २-५८…
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः .
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते … २-५९…
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः .
इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः … २-६०…
तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः .
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता … २-६१…
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते .
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते … २-६२…
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः .
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति … २-६३…
रागद्वेषविमुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् . orवियुक्तैस्तु
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति … २-६४…
प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते .
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते … २-६५…
नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य न चायुक्तस्य भावना .
न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम् … २-६६…
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते .
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि … २-६७…
तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः .
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता … २-६८…
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी .
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः … २-६९…
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् .
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी … २-७०…
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः .
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति … २-७१…
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति .
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति … २-७२…
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;72393]I am sorry I don’t understand what you are saying because it is coming across as too vague. My question was how do one practically live the truth “I am Brahman” in life? I will clarify further: How can one apply Vedanta philosophy to practical life? I am struggling with how knowing that at the absolute reality I am that infinite all pervading power, makes any difference to my practical life.[/QUOTE]
Is there reason to believe orderly applications from innate spiritual interest roused within us are not continuously being applied and functioning practically, examine the last year or so, do you not detect differences that reflect this? Don?t get me wrong I find your hardnosed approach stimulating but like you I have more questions than answers it?s just that seeking external answers and collecting conceptual nonsense seems to have gotten in the way, energies have been diverted to inner questioning these days. As far as cerebral sense I?m stuck on the late chain smoking beedie baba Bombanian (Nisargadatta Maharaj), appealing the likes/dislikes of my mind while echoing the true inner voice of my consciousness.
?Once you realize that all comes from within, that the world in which you live has not been projected onto you but by you, your fear comes to an end. Without this realization you identify yourself with the externals, like the body, mind, society, nation, humanity even God or the Absolute. But these are all escapes from fear. It is only when you fully accept your responsibility for the little world in which you live and watch the process of its creation, preservation and destruction, that you may be free from your imaginary bondage.
No ambition is spiritual. All ambitions are for the sake of the ‘I am’. If you want to make real progress you must give up all idea of personal attainment. The ambitions of the so-called Yogis are preposterous. A man’s desire for a woman is innocence itself compared to the lusting for an everlasting personal bliss. The mind is a cheat. The more pious it seems, the worse the betrayal.
Contemplate life as infinite, undivided, ever present, ever active, until you realize yourself as one with it. It is not even very difficult, for you will be returning only to your own natural condition.?
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
There are four prerequisites for the path of Jnana, only someone who has developed these becomes an adhikari for the Jnana marga. As long as you have not developed these qualities, vedanta is nothing but mental masturbation.
I am aware of this. Apparently so are Vedanta monks, but they reinterpret this to mean that these qualities must be developed while following a path of Jnana. However, the above qualities are qualities that are developed as part of a Yoga practice. So it seems that what is really being said here - one must first master Yoga, before they can even begin Vedanta. Otherwise, as you said, Vedanta just remains mental masturbation.
Surya,
I agree with your posts, I just also know that certain people flip-out when they read any such statements of qualification/quantification. This place is a melting pot for all sorts of cults and belief systems. This is not the ‘yoga forum’ it claims to be! Such people cannot handle reading these things without interfering with their lesser knowledge and premature perceptions. The end result is distortion of truth.
[QUOTE=omshanti;72428]The end result is distortion of truth.[/QUOTE]
Truth does not declare itself; it is worthless to search for truth, rather recognize the false and discard it, ?distortions of truth? come from expectations there may be advantages whether one is searching materialistically, mentally or spiritually since Truth provides no advantage, no elevated status or dominants over others, the only thing you obtain is truth…freedom from false.
What is your point? You have sort-of explained your version of the process of validating what is true to you, but why? Why split hairs? It is the understanding that matters. The semantics of this conversation are ridiculous.
[QUOTE=ray_killeen;72524]Truth does not declare itself; it is worthless to search for truth, rather recognize the false and discard it[/QUOTE]
This is a huge fallacy. Simply an ignorant/delusional statement.
[QUOTE=omshanti;72525]What is your point?[/QUOTE]
Affirming your statement and then some.
[QUOTE=omshanti;72525]You have sort-of explained your version of the process of validating what is true to you, but why?[/QUOTE]
Practicing Jnana
[QUOTE=omshanti;72525]Why split hairs?[/QUOTE]
Mental exercise
[QUOTE=omshanti;72525]It is the understanding that matters. The semantics of this conversation are ridiculous.[/QUOTE]
No argument
Good grief. Another one of these guys.
[QUOTE=omshanti;72526]This is a huge fallacy. Simply an ignorant/delusional statement.[/QUOTE]
Is Truth not what is left when all falsities are emptied from ones cup?
I can see where you are coming from, but you have to admit your postings are confusing and out of context.
I support your enthusiasm/passion, but there are so many people that might read the statement: “Truth does not declare itself; it is worthless to search for truth” - People will read this and completely misunderstand you and become confused, complicated and fragmented. It takes a simple idea and turns into something terribly complex.
That is the kind of ignorant statement made by many cult-leaders and self-appointed “enlightened” ones, they are constantly re-framing ancient wisdom and over-complicating these issues. I am sorry to say, but the English translations of your Nisargadatta are riddled with these unnecessary complications as well. It is not surprising that your responses are often clouded in this complicated semantic.
Truth = Material Facts
Truth is not your perception. Truth is not your search for “reality” or “God” - When all the fallacies have been removed from your mind, you have the clarity to possibly be available to this truth, but to assume that truth just arrives after clarity is another fallacy.
In other words, when it comes to your beliefs and perceptions, there is no such thing as true or untrue. Truth itself is a subjective term that is applied within the Maya of society, the world, you, etc.