"We don't want to be free from fear. All that we want to do is to play games with it and talk about freeing ourselves from fear." (U.G. Krishnamurti)
...and the internet is bloomin' well filled with "talk about freeing ourselves."
Have you seen the number of yahoo groups devoted to good old Ramana Maharshi, UG/J.Krishnamurti, Buddha, and Sri Obla dee and Obla da?
The links aren't for the groups there's too damn many.
it's bad news. some dude called michael james has let the coon out of the bag. my man Nisargadatta's ideas in english are "confusing and questionable". what! is it for real? it sure is. this dude can tell without speaking Nisargadatta's mother-tongue. he's so clued up he can just "glance" at the english and say it's wrong. that's a neat trick. siddhis! has to be. siddhis! he's a big siddhi!
thanks to bob over at acalayoga blog for the link.
James: My guru has had a face lift.
Jani: A face lift? What for?
James: I believe it is so that the appearance appears younger and more appealing to existing and prospective disciples.
Jani: Ah! I see. Appearances are so important for one who puts themselves in the public eye.
James: I thought you would be annoyed.
Jani: Annoyed? Why would I be annoyed that your guru has had a face lift?
James: I just assumed that you would point out the absurdity of an advaita guru who is besotted with physical appearance to the point that they would spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery in order to perpetuate their guru-ness.
Jani: Why would I point that out? It is self apparent, as your last statement makes perfectly clear.
James: Yes. You are right. I won't go back.
Jani: Oh! That is a shame. You've invested so much going to the satsangs.
James: Life is a learning curve.
Jani: And... before you know it you are back where you started. [laughter]
I was sent a link to an interesting video on YouTube. It's a bit Blair Witch Projecty but that seems to add to the action.
ISKCON continues to go through the doldrums. Here we see a civil war at Ratha Yatra in Detroit. It is a not so epic battle between those who would follow Srila Prabhupada as the sole guru of the movement and those who would follow the zonal acharyas who seem to drop like flies with regard to sticking to the basic principles that the founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada laid down for them.
The magazine at the center of this little controversy is called "Back to Prabhupada". This is the magazine which the local Temple President's wife is seen ripping up in a hissy fit.
Here's the link, enjoy!
I think I begin to understand this infatuation with serial commercial satsang.
It is symptomatic of modern life. We watch celebrity chefs prepare exotic food dishes on television with little or no attempt to learn how to prepare the dishes ourselves. Voyeurism suffices. It is the same with programmes on dog training, weight loss, DIY. We are happy to watch but make little or no serious attempt to practice.
It is the same with satsang. We pay our money at the door, sit and watch for a couple of hours, perhaps doze, and then depart feeling good about ourselves. If the satsang provider tells us we don't have to do anything that is all the better. The guilt just falls away to be replaced by the warm glow of complacency. Idea-"I" is caressed and reinforced. Job done and you leave the venue with resonant goodbyes and promises that you'll see everyone next time.
Common Sense - is innate. It is the birthright of one and all.
Decisions and acts, which operate from that basic innate state of common sense, without subjection to overlays of egotistic wants, are always right and proper. These decisions and acts are, without doubt, in tune with Nature. Where common sense holds court, greed has no place. The depths to which human society falls from grace is in direct proportion to the suppression of common sense.
Time is relative and the fact, that it is, is relevant.
Like a colony of short-lived parasites that sets up home in a tree, causing a wholesale destruction, which ultimately contributes to its own demise, human society has assumed dominion over planet earth, without due care and attention.
Like the tree, the earth will rejuvenate. The parasites will become no more than a distant memory echoed in fading scars until at last even these scars will disappear completely.
Humans, and their signs, will be no more.
The need to make an about turn in our attitude towards nature has nothing to do with religion. It has nothing to do with morality. It has nothing to do with any ethical concern. It has all to do with common sense.
This common sense goes way beyond "don't put your hand in the fire" or "don't play in the traffic".
