Re: Re: Savitri, Surrender and the Void by Rod Hemsell
by Rich on Sat 26 May 2007 09:22 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link
by Rich on Sat 26 May 2007 09:22 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link
Rakesh: "it is a known fact that one can experiece the psychic being in the heart centre concretely when one starts sacrificing ego to the divine. There is no need of interpretations or consultations from buddhism."
Rich I think one has to be careful about using the word "fact" in the above context. A "fact" as conventionally understood is an event, process, thing etc which can be empirically demonstrated to a collective audience and regards a scientific fact verified through replication. What is being referred to here is not a fact but a "textual assertion". And although one can verify these assertions for oneself through personal practice and revelation, (and I may personally agree with your statement) the existence of a soul or the non-existence of a soul (in Buddhism or scientific reductionism) can not be proven as facts. One simply, can not prove or falsify a negative.
As RH says - So what is the difference between the Buddhist teaching and this one. In the Mother’s Agenda, she says somewhere that now she understands that the Buddhist teaching is something that has to be learned and realized, not as a final step but in order to take the next step. In itself it doesn’t make possible the taking of that next step. It didn’t bring that special connection with the divine, that new force, into the reach of mortal consciousness. We can reflect that perhaps, historically or psychologically, humanity wasn’t ready, or that this teaching had to come first. However, Sri Aurobindo is conveying in Savitri the spirit and power of that realization as a passage to something very specific, which we might call the yoga of Sri Aurobindo, or the yoga of transformation.
The spiritual problem tackled by Buddhism is not one of transformation. It is not even one of "realization," but of escape from the illusion of Suffering. Hence whether atman or psychic being exists or not or of their location etc. is not of any importance to its goals. But the spiritual ontology of the solution to this problem can be seen in terms of (or as a stage to) the goal of non-dual realization and transformation envisaged by Sri Aurobindo. The psychic being needs to be realized as part of this goal (and its location relative to the body is important since this is an embodied goal), but this does not mean that the Buddhist realization(s) have no place in this path. We do not need to recognize or label these as "Buddhist" and we do not need to arrive at these using the means developed by Buddhist practitioners, but we can, on the other hand, give the ontology of Buddhist realizations and practices a place in this yoga. This helps to create a bridge and a wider trans-cultural understanding which can be of help to a larger number of people. DB
Nirvana and Advaita are two aspects of the realization (knowledge by identity) of the Absolute - Ekam eva-adwitiyam brahma sadasat rupam sadasat-atitam (One and non-dual is the Brahman, Being and Non-Being are its forms, it is beyond Being and Non-Being) - Sri Surobindo, Sriaurobindopanishad.
Re: 'In Our Own Image: Humanity's Quest for Divinity via Technology,' by Debashis Chowdhury
by Rod on Sun 27 May 2007 03:15 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link
by Rod on Sun 27 May 2007 03:15 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link
I find it difficult to imagine sharing through the internet the sudden descent of divine force into my body that I experience while sitting beside the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Then, looking up at flowers and people in acts of devotion that transcend their social as well as personal roles (both flowers and people), I experience an enthusiasm for impersonal creativity that includes and transcends all flowers and people, and that enables me to walk back into relations on another footing, so to speak. How can technology possibly covey this transformative value rich experience?
No comments:
Post a Comment