A typical SYSSR story that ails all SY collectives - 2
>
> Dear All,
>
> Appended below is yet another sad, sad story that is typical of SY
> collectives that i can relate to. i have repeated a number of times
> that had it not been for my children i would have left Sahaja Yoga
> very quickly. In fact i would never have joined in the first place.
> It is the abuse and ignorance that is most shocking. My children and
> myself have many horror stories that we will never forget for the
> rest of our lives. We are so happy to have left and continued on our
> own. And only after leaving was i able to rid myself of all the
> conditionings and rituals that are the sacred cows of the SYSSR.
>
If you have been in Sahaja since the age of 23 years (for 27 years),
then I hardly know what to say. You came in in your youth before you
were fully mature and all your adult life has so far been spent in
SY. If you had experienced meditation in any other way then you would
know that the experience is much the same whether in SY, through
music or some other technique.
It sounds like you need to get out and experience life and then you
can advise others on SY. The life led in SY is not life; it is a
particular restrictive mindset preventing a peron from experiencing
all that life has to offer and there are a great deal of threats and
fears abounding and expressed to keep you there.
I got out for two years once and continued to footsoak and meditate
daily. The music lured me back after I attended a public concert by
the "music of joy" music group in Australia. They are very talented
musicians. Incidently, footsoaking is a very old practice in many
cultures; it is not spiritual but physical. It stimulates the blood
circulation and has other benefits in the body leading to a relaxed
physical body much like asanas might. So it could be a preparation
for meditation or as in many cultures a way of refreshment after
daily toil etc.
I read a medical book recently which discussed among other things,
the nerves in the heart and the stomach. Apparently there are more
nerves in the stomach than in the brain, and more nerves in the heart
than in the brain; this has led some doctors o refer to the "thinking
heart" and the "thinking stomach". People feel a great deal within
the heart and within the stomach. Much of the practices of SY are
centred around the heart and the stomach and stimulation of these
areas may indeed lead to some relaxing effects.
I made many friends in Sy; sadly some of them I can't really
commnicate with. One very dear lady, wishes to remain my friend,
however it is difficult ot have a relationship with someone who is so
indoctrinated that they believe that they must "not think" as
thinking is "non sahaj". Trying to have a conversation with someone
who has switched off their brain is a bit difficult.
This beautiful lady has only been in SY for a few years and is
married to a SY male moron who keeps telling her that she is a bad
person and that it is his job to tell her this etc. She is being
subjected to psychological and emotional abuse by her doctor husband
who should know better. She has cried on my shoulder and been
exhausted as a young mother in emotional distress and been so
confused about her on identity and sense of self worth that I fear
for her sanity. Apparently this is not uncommon for women in arranged
marriages in SY. This was one of the reasons I left SY. It is not all
beer and skittles, it is mostly crap!!!
Love Blase
>
> I made many friends in Sy; sadly some of them I can't really
> communicate with. One very dear lady, wishes to remain my friend,
> however it is difficult to have a relationship with someone who is
> so indoctrinated that they believe that they must "not think" as
> thinking is "non sahaj". Trying to have a conversation with someone
> who has switched off their brain is a bit difficult. (Blase)
>
Some critics of Sahaja Yoga are against the "Do not think" advise of
Shri Mataji. In fact that label is a wrong assumption as Shri Mataji
wants us to be "thoughtlessly aware" which is the cornerstone of
progressive enlightenment. As they say, a little knowledge is a
dangerous thing (phrase first used by Alexander Pope 1688 - 1744 in
An Essay on Criticism, 1709). It means that a small amount of
knowledge can cause people to think they are more expert than they
really are, as ignorant Blase obviously thinks so too.
i quote Elizabeth Debold:
"Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or
Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking,
merging finitude in infinity." Voltaire was searching for direct
contact with the eternal—for a spiritual, but not religious,
enlightenment."
Humans do a wide variety of tasks without thinking. Shri Mataji is
just encouraging us to do all of them in that thoughtlessly aware
state, if possible. It is the only way for a direct contact with the
eternal—for a spiritual, but not religious, enlightenment.
But Her emphasis is on being _aware_ despite being thoughtless i.e.
knowing without thinking. It is very important to realize the meaning
of "aware".
Main Entry: aware
1: archaic : watchful, wary
2: having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge
— awareness noun
synonyms aware, cognizant, conscious, sensible, alive, awake mean
having knowledge of something. aware implies vigilance in observing
or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Guru Nanak Dev Ji says in Jap Ji Sahib: "Man Jeeteh Jag Jeet" (If you
conquer the mind, you conquer the material world). You can attain
enlightenment if you are able to slow down and subsequently remove the
ceaseless thoughts of the ego.
"The Role of Ego
In most spiritual traditions, the role of the ego-personality in the
process of reaching Enlightenment is, to a great extent
underestimated and misunderstood. Unless we see clearly that the ego
in itself is something absolutely positive and, as such, the only
tool for arriving at higher levels of awareness, we have no way to
understand the process of awakening.
Many seekers are confused and not able to comprehend the apparent
paradox of transcending the ego without actually annihilating it. In
Buddhist psychology, there is a concept that ego is not real, for it
is only a play of so called five skandhas. This concept is missing
the elemental understanding that our body-mind operates as an alive
and coherent organism of intelligence in a purposeful and meaningful
way. The ego cannot be found anywhere as such, for the one looking
for it - is the ego. It is too close to be found, but certainly it is
always there.
It is difficult to define what the ego is, for it is not anything
substantial. We would define ego as a self-conscious function of
individualized consciousness capable of relating to its surroundings
and itself in a centralized and intelligent manner. The ego is not an
entity, but rather a unified field of identity - it is not fixated on
a point, but operates within a spatial consciousness. It has many
layers and many aspects.
In Buddhist tradition there's a concept of "no-mind," and so we tend
to think that our being is simply divided into the mind and the no-
mind. This is far too simplistic. Even when we go beyond the gross
level of thinking, the mind is still functioning and the ability for
self-relating is retained. This thing called ego is constantly
accompanying the process of meditation and, allows us to create
clarity and understanding. The art of resting within the stillness of
our being, and the self-conscious movement of our intelligence are
not separated from one another. Without the gentle checking of our
state during meditation and cultivation in general, we would be
unable to make any progress in the practice. This is the function of
the ego." [1]
Voltaire best describes the gist of Shri Mataji's request to be in the
"thoughtless awareness" state during meditation, and at all times if
possible. She has a very good reason, one that has been time-tested
over the millennia:
"Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or
Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking,
merging finitude in infinity."
regards,
jagbir
[1] www.purifymind.com/RoleEgo.htm
www.sahajayoga-shrimataji.org
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