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Saturday, January 5

Michael Peters has created a simple but
powerful web page
dedicated to Nisargadatta. He writes:

I've set up a simple webpage that shows a random
Nisargadatta
saying (taken from the Asmi document) everytime
you load it.
It can be used as a browser start page (after
loading the
page, this can be set in the browser options),
reminding one
of Nisargadatta's wisdom every time a new
browser window is
opened, or the home button is clicked.

http://www.mpeters.de/nisargadatta/index.cfm

___________________________________________________________________

JAN SULTAN

Some sayings of Byron Katie

Anything you want to ask a teacher, ask yourself, and wait
for the answer in silence.

Don't be spiritual; be honest instead.

Everyone is a mirror image of yourself - your own thinking
coming back to you.

"I don't know" is my favorite position. It's the only true
position.

If I had a prayer, it would be this: "God spare me from the
desire for love, approval, or appreciation."

Just keep coming home to yourself. You are the one you've
been waiting for.

The direct route is "God is everything; God is good."

The teacher you need is the person you're living with.

It's not your job to like me - it's mine.

I am the perpetrator of my suffering - but only all of it.

There is no beginning of time, only beginning of thought.

I am a lover of reality. When I argue with WHAT IS, I lose -
but only 100% of the time.

Personalities don't love; they want something.

No one has a memory. Thoughts simply appear now.

We are entering the dimension where we have control - the
inside.

Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the
mirror.

I don't let go of my concepts - I meet them with
understanding. Then they let go of me.

No one can hurt me. That's my job. I do that.

Thoughts appear. It's not personal. You're not doing it.

Ultimately I am all that I can know.

Confusion is the only suffering.

Byron Katie http://www.thework.com/index.htm

___________________________________________________________________

CAITI
from the Yearnings list

Yo yo..
anybody yearning for a Scottish afternoon?

Here we go....I think it comes from a reliable
source...I bought the book at Edinbugh Castle.
So with greetings from the majestic Highlands and
pastoral Lowlands...enjoy results of your
creativity...

FORFAR SHORTBREAD
1,5 lb. plain flour
3oz rice flour
1lb. butter
4oz. castor sugar

Combine flours, rub in butter, stirrin sugar..kneed
into a dough on board. Shape into rounds, bake in
moderate owen (350° F?) till golden brown.

and another one goes:
AYRSHIRE SHORTBREAD
6 oz. plain flour
3oz.rice flour
6oz. castor sugar
a pich of salt
6oz,butter
1 egg
1tbsp. top of milk (haha, that's cream)

Mix flours, sugar ans salt,. rub in butter untill it
looks like breadcrumbs. beat egg lightly mix with
cream, mix with flour. kneed with hand into soft
pastry. roll out thinly on the board. prick with fork,
cut into rounds8or fingers), place on greased paper,
bake in moderate owen until golden brown, cool on wire
tray.

For the rich unforgettable taste of good shortbread
only the best ingrediences should be used, butter no
margerine and just the finest flour and sugar....right
Ashe!

So rest for a bit and then make:
SWEET ORANGE AND LEMON MARMALADE
2lb. oranges
1qt. water
juice of 4 lemons
4lb. sugar

Wash fruit thoroughly, cut oranges into thin slices
and purt into glas jar with water and let stand for 24
hours.
Squeeze lemons, put pips into muslin bag. In a big
sauce pan mix oranges, lemon juice and add pips, bring
to boil and boil gently for 1 hour. remove the pips,
add sugar ans stirr constantly until dissolved. Boil
for ten minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Now brush your hair from your forehead and make:

TODDY
a measure of whisky
brown sugar or 1dsp. honey
hot water

heat the glass, put in brown sugar and some hot water.
When sugar melted, add some whiskey stirring well,
more hot water and more whiskey and serve hot.

Traditionally toddy should be served in crystal glass
stirred with a silver spoon.

"LANG MAY YOUR LUMS REEK"

with greetings from
caiti

_____________________________________________________________

SANJULAG

Namaste,

This piece was put together by me.

Namaste: The Significance of a Yogic Greeting

In a well-known episode it so transpired that the great lover god
Krishna made away with the clothes of unmarried maidens, fourteen
to seventeen years of age, bathing in the river Yamuna. Their
fervent entreaties to him proved of no avail. It was only after
they performed before him the eternal gesture of namaste was he
satisfied, and agreed to hand back their garments so that they
could recover their modesty.

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/ha91.jpg (Size
87 kb)

The gesture (or mudra) of namaste is a simple act made by
bringing together both palms of the hands before the heart, and
lightly bowing the head. In the simplest of terms it is accepted
as a humble greeting straight from the heart and reciprocated
accordingly.

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zj23.jpg (Size
53 kb)

Namaste is a composite of the two Sanskrit words, nama, and te.
Te means you, and nama has the following connotations:

1). To bend

2). To bow

3). To sink

4). To incline

5). To stoop

All these suggestions point to a sense of submitting oneself to
another, with complete humility. Significantly the word 'nama'
has parallels in other ancient languages also. It is cognate with
the Greek nemo, nemos and nosmos; to the Latin nemus, the Old
Saxon niman, and the German neman and nehman. All these
expressions have the general sense of obeisance, homage and
veneration. Also important here is to note that the root 'nama'
is a neuter one, the significance of which will be elaborated
upon later.

The word nama is split into two, na and ma. Na signifies negation
and ma represents mine. The meaning would then be 'not mine'. The
import being that the individual soul belongs entirely to the
Supreme soul, which is identified as residing in the individual
towards whom the namaste is directed. Indeed there is nothing
that the soul can claim as its own. Namaste is thus the
necessary rejection of 'I' and the associated phenomena of
egotism. It is said that 'ma' in nama means death (spiritual),
and when this is negated (na-ma), it signifies immortality.

The whole action of namaste unfolds itself at three levels:
mental, physical, and verbal.

It starts with a mental submission. This submission is in the
spirit of total surrender of the self. This is parallel to the
devotion one expresses before a chosen deity, also known as
bhakti. The devotee who thus venerates with complete
self-surrender is believed to partake the merits or qualities of
the person or deity before whom he performs this submission.
There is a prescription in the ancient texts known as Agamas that
the worshipper of a deity must first become divine himself, for
otherwise worship as a transaction would become invalid. A
transaction can only be between equals, between individuals who
share some details in common. Hence by performing namaste before
an individual we recognize the divine spark in him. Further by
facilitating our partaking of these divine qualities, namaste
makes us aware of these very characteristics residing within our
own selves. Simply put, namaste intimates the following:

'The God in me greets the God in you
The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'

In other words, it recognizes the equality of all, and pays honor
to the sacredness of all.

Translated into a bodily act, namaste is deeply rich in
symbolism. Firstly the proper performance of namaste requires
that we blend the five fingers of the left hand exactly with the
fingers of the right hand. The significance behind this simple
act in fact governs the entire gamut of our active life. The five
fingers of the left hand represent the five senses of karma, and
those of the right hand the five organs of knowledge. Hence it
signifies that our karma or action must be in harmony, and
governed by rightful knowledge, prompting us to think and act
correctly.

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zj19.jpg (Size
60 kb)

By combining the five fingers of each hand, a total of ten is
achieved. The number ten is a symbol of perfection, and the
mystical number of completion and unity. It is true for all
ancient traditions. Ten is the number of the Commandments
revealed to Moses by God. In the Pythagorean system, ten was a
symbol of the whole of creation. Ancient Chinese thought also
regarded ten as the perfectly balanced number.

Another significant identification of namaste is with the
institution of marriage, which represents a new beginning, and
the conjoining of the male and female elements in nature.
Marriage is a semi-divine state of wholeness - a union between
the opposite principles of male and female necessary to create and
protect new life. The idea of human divine association was often
expressed in terms of marriage, as in the description of nuns as
"brides of Christ". Thus in the exhaustive marriage rituals of
India, after the elaborate ceremonies have been completed, the
new husband and wife team perform namaste to each other. Wedding
customs, full of symbolic meanings, attempt to ensure that
marriages are binding, hence fruitful and happy. Namaste is one
such binding symbolic ritual. The reconciliation, interaction and
union of opposites is amply reflected in this spiritual gesture.
It is hoped that the husband and wife team too would remain
united, as are the hands joined in namaste. By physically
bringing together the two hands, namaste is metaphorically
reconciling the duality inherent in nature and of which the
marriage of two humans is an earthly manifestation, a harmonious
resolution of conflicting tensions. Thus namaste, which
symbolizes the secret of this unity, holds the key to maintaining
the equilibrium of life and entering the area where health,
harmony, peace and happiness are available in plenty.

In this context, namaste is equated with the image of
Ardhanarishvara, the hermaphrodite form symbolizing the marriage
of Shiva and Parvati, or the coming together of the parents of
the universe, for the purpose of creation. In this form Shiva has
his beloved spouse engrafted in his body. It is conjectured that
by wresting from her husband one half of his body as her own, and
herself commingling in his physical frame, Parvati has obtained
an ideal, archetypal union with her husband. Indeed which couple
could be more devoted than the one which finds completion only by
merging into each other? By merging her creative aspect with him,
Parvati balances Shiva's destructive urge. Similarly when
Ardhanarishvara dances, the dance step is itself believed to be a
combination of two principal and antagonistic styles of dance.
'Tandava', the fierce, violent dance, fired by an explosive,
sweeping energy, is a delirious outburst, precipitating havoc. On
the other hand is 'lasya', the gentle, lyrical dance, full of
sweetness, and representing the emotions of tenderness and love.
It is in the lasya of the goddess that death is annihilated and
turned into transformation and rejuvenation, rebirth and
creation. The image of Ardhanarishvara is thus the perfect master
of the two contrary elements in the manifested universe. Such an
ideal, perfect marriage is the message of namaste. Thus is
'nama', the root of namaste, of neuter gender, as is
Ardhanarishvara, the androgyne.

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zc10.jpg (Size
60 kb)

Namaste recognizes the duality that has ever existed in this
world and suggests an effort on our part to bring these two
forces together, ultimately leading to a higher unity and
non-dual state of Oneness. Some of these dual elements which the
gesture of namaste marries together and unifies as one are:

God and Goddess

Priest and Priestess

King and Queen

Man and Woman.

Heaven and Earth

Sun and Moon

Solar bull and Lunar cow

Sulfur and Quicksilver (Alchemy)

Theory and Practice

Wisdom and Method

Pleasure and Pain

Astral body (consciousness) and Etheric body (sensation)

Mind and body

Pneuma (spirit) and Psyche (mind)

Hun (spiritual soul) and p'o (material soul) (Chinese)

Conscious and Unconscious

Animus (unconscious male element in woman) and Anima (unconscious
female element in man) (Jung)

Objectivity and Subjectivity

Extraversion and Introversion

Intellect and Instinct

Reason and Emotion

Thought and Feeling

Inference and Intuition

Argument and Experience

Talent and Genius

Silence and Cacophony

Word and Meaning

Schizophrenia and Epilepsy

Depression and Mania

Sexuality and Anxiety

Katabolism (breaking up) and Anabolism (building up)

Ontogeny (individual evolution) and Phylogeny (race evolution)

Right side of body (warm) and Left side (cool)

Front side of body (positive) and Rear side of body (negative)

Brain and Heart

Sahasara Chakra and Kundalini

Insulin and Adrenalin

Pingala (yellow solar channel in body) and Ida (white lunar
channel)

Hot breath and Cold breath (Yoga)

Exhalation and Inhalation (Yoga)

Linga and Yoni

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zj13.jpg (Size
55 kb)

There is indeed no sphere of our existence untouched by the
symbolic significance of namaste.

Finally, the gesture of namaste is unique also in the sense that
its physical performance is accompanied by a verbal utterance of
the word "namaste." This practice is equivalent to the chanting
of a mantra. The sonority of the sacred sound 'namaste' is
believed to have a quasi-magical value, corresponding to a
creative energy change. This transformation is that of aligning
oneself in harmony with the vibration of the cosmos itself.

At its most general namaste is a social transaction. It is usual
for individuals to greet when they meet each other. It is not
only a sign of recognition but also an expression of happiness at
each other's sight. This initial conviviality sets the positive
tone for the further development of a harmonious relationship.
Namaste as a greeting thus is a mosaic of movements and words
constituting an intimation of affirmative thoughts and
sentiments. In human society it is an approach mechanism,
brimming with social, emotional and spiritual significance. In
fact it is said that in namaste the hands are put together like a
knife so that people may cut through all differences that may
exist, and immediately get to the shared ground that is common to
all peoples of all cultures.

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zj18.jpg (Size
48 kb)

In this context, a comparison with the widely prevalent
'handshake' is inevitable. Though shaking hands is an extremely
intimate gesture, namaste scores over it in some ways. Primarily
is the one that namaste is a great equalizer. You do namaste with
God (and not shake hands!). A king or president cannot shake
hands with the large multitude they are addressing. But namaste
serves the purpose. It is the same gesture one would have
exchanged with a king when with him alone. So no incongruity
arises. In the absence of namaste, those facing a large audience
will have to make do with a wave of the hands, a much less
congenial greeting, and indeed which does not state the essential
equality of all people, but highlights the difference even more.
But on a parallel level it has been conjectured that both the
namaste and the handshake developed out of a desire on the part
of both the parties to show themselves to be unarmed and devoid
of malicious intention. The outstretched hand, and the palms
joined together, both establish the proponents as disarmed and
show that they come in peace.

Conclusion:

As much as yoga is an exercise to bring all levels of our
existence, including the physical and intellectual, in complete
harmony with the rhythms of nature, the gesture of namaste is an
yoga in itself. Thus it is not surprising that any yogic activity
begins with the performance of this deeply spiritual gesture. The
Buddhists went further and gave it the status of a mudra, that
is, a gesture displayed by deities, where it was known as the
Anjali mudra. The word Anjali itself is derived from the root
Anj, meaning "to adorn, honor, celebrate or anoint."

Illustration : http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/zn11.jpg (Size
125 kb)

According to Indologist Renov "Meditation depends upon the
relationship between the hands (mudras), the mouth (mantras) and
the mind (yoga)". The performance of namaste is comprised of all
these three activities. Thus namaste is in essence equivalent to
meditation, which is the language of our spirit in conversation
with god, and the perfect vehicle for bathing us in
the rivers of divine pleasure.

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References and Further Reading:

Cooper, J.C. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols:
London, 1999.

Nambiar, A.K. Krishna. Namaste; It's Philosophy and Significance
in Indian Culture: New Delhi, 1979.

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Krishna The Supreme
Personality of Godhead: Mumbai, 1996.

Rao, S.K. Ramachandra. Bharatiya Pranama Paddhati (Respectful
Salutations in India): Bangalore, 1997.

Sivaramamurti, C. Nataraja in Art, Thought and Literature: New
Delhi, 1994.

Sudhi, Padma. Symbols of Art, Religion and Philosophy: New Delhi,
1988.

Tresidder, Jack. The Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols: Oxford,
1997.

Walker, Benjamin. Encyclopedia of Esoteric Man: London, 1977.

------------------------------------------------------------

This article was sent as a newsletter from the website
http://www.exoticindia.com

Nitin G.

___________________________________________________________________

JERRY KATZ

The following is from the website which contains my writings:
<http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/umbada>

I recently revised the following portion. It concerns
insights I had when I was two. The portions in parentheses
are commentary and were not part of the original knowing.

Lessons learned by the colored water

It was 1952 and I was in Washington, D.C. with my parents. I
was still two years old. They'd come to see the cherry trees
alive with blossoms!

As though emerging from nothingness to light, suddenly I was
sitting alongside a small fountain upon which shone blue and
red lights.

It was as though I'd been in deep sleep and in an instant
awakened to the colored water. Without having the words, I
gained several levels of awareness:

that I had awakened and was having my first experience;

that the experience was installing itself as a memory within
the entity that had awakened;

that the experience was the memory; (that is, the awakened
entity perceived the transition from pure experience to
incorporated experience, or experience that jostles with the
memories, conditioning, personality and other qualities of
the entity -- and knew no separation;)

that the memory itself, as it was being formed, was not
separate from the experience prior to installation in memory;

that the experience was for all time; (that is, pure
experience is for all time because it happens in a timeless
field; therefore, there is no separation between pure
experiences or pure 'seeing'. There is only one experience
and it is consciousness.)

Thus I was destined to have a lifetime fascination with
awareness. I consider the experience by the colored water a
revelation of the nature of reality, but not an initiation,
by which I mean an introduction to I Am.

___________________________________________________________________

JAN SULTAN

Everybody living from 'Who they really are' - Douglas Harding

Well, before I try and answer that one, let me get something
out of the way. I don't use the word enlightened anymore;
it’s a buzz word, it’s a word which is a very, very tricky
one, and I don't say I’m enlightened and you’re endarkened. I
do not say that. In fact, I don't feel that way. I don't feel
myself to be enlightened in a world of endarkened people.
That distinction is not real for me, it does not feel like
that. I meet people. I don't think ‘you don't see what I do’.
It is the last thing I think and I swear that it is my
experience and you see—the way I think of other people
vis-à-vis myself—they and I living are living from the same
place, in the same way and in the same fashion. All of us are
living from who we really, really, really are and we couldn't
do otherwise. And if they wish—and certainly most people wish
to overlook this fact or to ignore this fact; of what they’re
looking out of, of who they really, really, really are—it
doesn't prevent them living in that place, and so one cannot
feel enlightened or superior to them at all. It’s just that I
happen to be interested in observing what I’m looking out of,
interested in making this 180º U-turn to be awake, not only
to the object as object, but to the subject as object. In
fact, I’m not content with one-way looking but with two-way
looking, but other people have the right to delay that. Why
should I really feel superior to all that?

Douglas Harding
http://realization.org/page/doc1/doc106a.htm

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