TEACHING YOGA, PART II
from Sri Nathamuni's Yogarahasya presented by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
"Just as an idle person cannot cross the river sitting in a boat which is leaking, so too a person who follows the instructions of an ignorant teacher cannot attain moksha."
Discuss.
what band is that? it's cool. moksha-i will never attain it even studying closely with a master. i'm actually not sure that i believe it exists.
ReplyDeleteIt's Split Enz. I forgot how much I used to like them. Tim Finn was a pop gem factory.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to believe it exists in order to attain it. And so does your teacher!
As Amy Beth once said to me, the reason there are so many enlightened people in India, is because they believe it is possible.
what makes you think there are so many enlightened people in india?
ReplyDeletei personally have never met anyone who has attained liberation.
however, i DO believe if YOU believe strongly enough about ANYTHING-including murder for instance-anything is possible.
this of course can always be very dangerous. think hitler & al qaeda.
the mind is powerful.
but it is very important to keep your feet firmly planted on planet earth.
are we chasing an unattainable goal?
-this is just words for debate sake. i don't mean any harm.
Perhaps "enlightened" is not the best word. As Dharma likes to say, "God manifests himself in some people more than others." Those are the ones I'm interested in. And I feel as if I did meet a few in India (although they would never claim that they were "enlightened." But their actions indicated that something was going on there).
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the two I know best were born in this hemisphere. But they are from an Indian lineage that was transmitted directly from Guru to disciple.
You are correct in saying that mind is very powerful. As Chandra says, you can be certain that any negative thought will hit its target. That is why ahimsa is meant to be practiced in word, thought and deed.
The practice of Karma Yoga is helpful for keeping grounded. Offering up the fruits of one's actions without attachment to the outcome allows one to remain *in* the world, but not *of* the world.
ReplyDeleteIshvara pranidhana and all that.
If we want to experience what those who’ve gone deep (and returned to teach) say is possible, some danger may be involved. If we’re not careful, we *could* end up disappointed by charlatans masquerading as saints. At the same time, we *will* end up disappointed by karma (in the absence of yoga)if we don’t try to learn from those who’ve tasted transcendence. To me that outcome is actually more dangerous. Why settle for that?
ReplyDeleteBut yes, it is very difficult to identify a jivanmukta. How would we recognize such a person? Even Arjuna doesn’t know. He has to ask, “How does he sit? How does [she] walk?”
Good point. They say that the chela should watch a person for many years before choosing them as their guru.
ReplyDeleteSome qualities they may exhibit include forbearance, humility / lack of ego, self-control, and the ability to see God in all. And, as the Gita says, they are not affected by the pairs of opposites.