#guru and disciple

[vjm001]

His Holiness Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj is a global spiritual leader and motivational guru from India. He is also the founding member of Vishwa Jagriti Mission also known as VJM. VJM is an initiative which works towards religious awakening and better overall health of all living creatures.

[xatmaa]

[sspacegodd]

There are hundreds of paths to the top of the mountain.

The only person wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that their path is wrong.

[sigappurojakal]

Importance of relation between Guru and disciple from Ramayana to Mahabharata...Guru-disciple tradition has a special importance in ancient Indian history and culture. The teacher is the source of knowledge and the disciple is considered the character of that knowledge. We get to see this tradition everywhere from epic Ramayana to Mahabharata. In this context, the story of Lord Hanuman and Lav-Kush also explains us the importance of the relation between Guru and disciple.When the war of Ramayana ended and Shriram accepted Sita, Lav and Kush were born. Love and Kush studied knowledge, martial arts and Vedas at Valmiki Ashram. Valmiki gave him full knowledge of Ramayana and prepared him for his duties towards society. They were strong, heroic and fearless, but their training and intellectual growth took place completely under the guidance of their Guru Valmiki.Love and Kush also fought with Shriram's army showing valour, but still, temples of Luv-Kush are rarely seen in India. There is a deep spiritual and cultural education hidden behind this.Now see Hanumanji on the other side. Respect and devotion towards Hanumanji can be seen all over India. Hanumanji attained his immortality because of his service, loyalty and dedication towards Lord Ram. They were not only devotees of Ram, but also the greatest disciples of Ram. Hanumanji got great life lessons from Shriram and put it in his actions.This devotion and dedication of Hanumanji made him a precious disciple of God. That is why you will find temples of Hanumanji in every corner of India. People worship Hanumanji because he established the symbol of selfless service and devotion towards his Guru, Lord Ram.Love and Kush were brave and great, but their place is not as high as the tradition of Guru-Disciple, as Hanumanji. Because Hanumanji taught us that no knowledge or valour is complete without devotion, loyalty and dedication. Knowledge and guidance obtained from the Guru is the path to true success in life.It is clear through this narrative that the relationship between teacher and disciple is given the most importance in India. Hanumanji's selfless dedication and service towards Ram teaches us that Guru's guidance and dedication of disciple gives right direction to life. This is why Hanumanji's temples are available everywhere in India, but the temples of Love and Kush are limited. This culture repeatedly reminds us that the existence of a disciple is incomplete without a teacher.

[subhashdagar123]

[ashasworld]

[nerdyfanwhispers]

#What_Is_Meditation

Radha Soami guru gives 5 names ( panch naam) in their naam diksha ( initiation) .Apart from this disciples are also taught to do Surat Shabad Yoga.

To know more must read the secred book GYAN GANGA 📚

Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj

[he-on-honeydew-hath-fed]

Think it's so funny how swami satchidananda referred to this as a "eating a candy bar in the closet" scenario, that is so apt especially considering all the sexual assault allegations (@nd the nature thereof)

[burst-of-iridescent]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 2)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

Part 1

In the previous post, I discussed some of the things ATLA got right in its depictions of desi and hindu cultures. unfortunately, they also got plenty of things wrong - often in ways that leaned towards racist caricatures - so let's break them down, starting with...

Guru Pathik

both the word "guru" and name "pathik" come from sanskrit. pathik means "traveler" or "he who knows the way" while guru is a term for a guide or mentor, similar to a teacher.

gurus were responsible for the very first education systems in ancient india, setting up institutions called gurukuls. students, referred to as disciples, would often spend years living with and learning from their gurus in these gurukuls, studying vedic and buddhist texts, philosophy, music and even martial arts.

however, their learning was not limited merely to academic study, as gurus were also responsible for guiding the spiritual evolution of their disciples. it was common for disciples to meditate, practice yoga, fast for days or weeks, and complete mundane household chores every day in order to instill them with self-discipline and help them achieve enlightenment and spiritual awareness. the relationship between a guru and his disciple was considered a sacred, holy bond, far exceeding that of a mere teacher and student.

aang's training with guru pathik mirrors some of these elements. similar to real gurus, pathik takes on the role of aang's spiritual mentor. he guides aang in unblocking his chakras and mastering the avatar state through meditation, fasting, and self-reflection - all of which are practices that would have likely been encouraged in disciples by their gurus.

pathik's design also takes inspiration from sadhus, holy men who renounced their worldly ties to follow a path of spiritual discipline. the guru's simple, nondescript clothing and hair are reflective of the ascetic lifestyle sadhus are expected to lead, giving up material belongings and desires in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and, ultimately, liberation from the reincarnation cycle.

unfortunately, this is where the respectful references end because everything else about guru pathik was insensitive at best and stereotypical at worst.

it is extremely distasteful that the guru speaks with an overexaggerated indian accent, even though the iranian-indian actor who plays him has a naturally british accent. why not just hire an actual indian voice actor if the intention was to make pathik sound authentic? besides, i doubt authenticity was the sole intention, given that the purposeful distortion of indian accents was a common racist trope played for comedy in early 2000s children's media (see: phineas and ferb, diary of a wimpy kid, jessie... the list goes on).

furthermore, while pathik is presented a wise and respected figure within this episode, his next (and last) appearance in the show is entirely the opposite.

in the episode nightmares and daydreams, pathik appears in aang's nightmare with six hands, holding what appears to be a veena (a classical indian music instrument). this references the iconography of the hindu deity Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. the embodiment of divine enlightenment, learning, insight and truth, Saraswati is a member of the Tridevi (the female version of the Trimurti), one of the most respected and revered goddesses in the Hindu pantheon... and her likeness is used for a cheap laugh on a character who's already treated as a caricature.

that's bad enough on its own, but when you consider that guru pathik is the only explicitly south asian coded character in the entire show, it's downright insulting. for a show that took so many of its foundational concepts from south asia and hinduism and yet provided almost no desi representation in return, this is just rubbing salt in the wound.

Chakras

"chakra", meaning "circle" or "wheel of life" in sanskrit, refers to sources of energy found in the human body. chakra points are aligned along the spine, with energy flowing from the lowest to the highest point. the energy pooled at the lowest chakra is called kundalini, and the aim is to release this energy to the highest chakra in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and consciousness.

the number of chakras varies in different religions, with buddhism referencing five chakras while hinduism has seven. atla draws from the latter influence, so let's take a look at the seven chakras:

Muladhara (the Root Chakra). located at the base of the spine, this chakra deals with our basest instincts and is linked to the element of earth.

Swadhisthana (the Sacral Chakra). located just below the navel, this chakra deals with emotional intensity and pleasure and is linked to the element of water.

Manipura (the Solar Plexus Chakra). located in the stomach, this chakra deals with willpower and self-acceptance and is linked to the element of fire.

Anahata (the Heart Chakra). located in the heart, this chakra deals with love, compassion and forgiveness and is linked to the element of air. in the show, this chakra is blocked by aang's grief over the loss of the air nomads, which is a nice elemental allusion.

Vishudda (the Throat Chakra). located at the base of the throat, this chakra deals with communication and honesty and is linked to the fifth classical element of space. the show calls this the Sound Chakra, though i'm unsure where they got that from.

Ajna (the Third Eye Chakra). located in the centre of the forehead, this chakra deals with spirituality and insight and is also linked to the element of space. the show calls it the Light Chakra, which is fairly close.

Sahasrara (the Crown Chakra). located at the very top of the head, this chakra deals with pure cosmic consciousness and is also linked to the element of space. it makes perfect sense that this would be the final chakra aang has to unblock in order to connect with the avatar spirit, since the crown chakra is meant to be the point of communion with one's deepest, truest self.

the show follows these associations and descriptions almost verbatim, and does a good job linking the individual chakras to their associated struggles in aang's arc.

Cosmic Energy

the idea of chakras is associated with the concept of shakti, which refers to the life-giving energy that flows throughout the universe and within every individual.

the idea of shakti is a fundamentally unifying one, stating that all living beings are connected to one another and the universe through the cosmic energy that flows through us all. this philosophy is referenced both in the swamp episode and in guru pathik telling aang that the greatest illusion in the world is that of separation - after all, how can there be any real separation when every life is sustained by the same force?

this is also why aang needing to let go of katara did not, as he mistakenly assumed, mean he had to stop loving her. rather, the point of shedding earthly attachment is to allow one to become more attuned to shakti, both within oneself and others. ironically, in letting go of katara and allowing himself to commune with the divine energy of the universe instead, aang would have been more connected to her - not less.

The Avatar State

according to hinduism, there are five classical elements known as pancha bhuta that form the foundations of all creation: air, water, earth, fire, and space/atmosphere.

obviously, atla borrows this concept in making a world entirely based on the four classical elements. but looking at how the avatar spirit is portrayed as a giant version of aang suspended in mid-air, far above the earth, it's possible that this could reference the fifth liminal element of space as well.

admittedly this might be a bit of a reach, but personally i find it a neat piece of worldbuilding that could further explain the power of the avatar. compared to anyone else who might be able to master only one element, mastering all five means having control of every building block of the world. this would allow the avatar to be far more attuned to the spiritual energy within the universe - and themselves - as a result, setting in motion the endless cycle of death and rebirth that would connect their soul even across lifetimes.

[alittlebitoftruthcan]

‘You told us to rejoice whenever we see other people becoming sincere seekers, and it is indeed a moving experience to see new people become sannyasins and begin to meditate. But how are we to feel when we see really beautiful, sincere young people giving up everything to follow destructive, false, so-called messiahs who are only using these followers for their own material and political gain? I am thinking of a man named Moon who is gaining more and more adherents every day. He is also making more and more enemies in the West, who criticize him and his methods most vehemently. But his poor blind disciples use this persecution as proof that he is a new Jesus.’ It is a very complicated phenomenon and you will have to be very subtle about it. The first thing—it is none of your business. If somebody follows Moon or Muktananda it is none of your business. You should not have any attitude about it, because who are you to decide? Whether Moon is right or wrong, how can you decide? And why should you decide? You are not following him. You should keep out of it. Because there is no way to decide from the outside. The same thing was said really against Jesus also. And the people who were against Jesus, they were also saying the same thing to people: ‘Why are you going with this man? He is a false messiah.’ That’s what Jews were saying against Jesus. They still say—they may not say loudly because they have been forced to be silent, crushed down the centuries, but they still say. Who is going to decide? And how? The same people are saying against me—you following me. People will say that you have fallen into the hands of a dangerous man. He has brainwashed you, he has destroyed you, you are hypnotized, and so on, so forth. So the first thing is, never be concerned about these things. Don’t waste your time. If somebody feels good to be with Moon, it is his business to decide. And you say ‘sincere, beautiful people…’ If they are really sincere they will understand sooner or later that this messiah is false. If their sincerity cannot reveal to them the falsity of their messiah, then who is going to reveal? So let them go wholeheartedly. If they are moving with a wrong person, sooner or later they will realize. And if they don’t realize, then too it is for them to choose. In fact, the more you criticize Moon and others, the more you make it impossible for the disciples to see themselves. The more you criticize, the more they become defensive. And logic is a double-edged sword. When you start being too much against, then Moon says, ‘Look, the same happened to Jesus, the same is happening to me. People are against me. It has always happened to great prophets that people are against them.’ By your being against him you are proving that he is important, you are giving him too much significance. If Jews had not bothered about Jesus, there may not have been any Christianity. I’m not saying that Jesus was wrong or right, I’m simply saying there would not have been any Christianity. But too much against him created a defensive attitude in his followers. They started fighting, arguing. Be indifferent. If you cannot rejoice then do at least one thing—be indifferent. If you can rejoice, good. Somebody who is following Moon at least is seeking—maybe seeking in wrong directions, maybe—but still seeking. Better than those people who are not seeking. Rejoice. Moving with a wrong person, but moving. Groping in the dark, far away from the door, but groping. Better than those who are sitting in the dark and not groping at all. Better than Christians, Hindus, Mohammedans, Jains, Buddhists, who are just sitting silently. Their groping has stopped. They think they have found. Just by birth you become a Christian. Christianity is not your choice—just an accident by birth. Just by birth you have become a Hindu. It is better at least that somebody is trying to move on his own. There is danger, but the whole life is danger. It is better to be a follower of Moon, alive, than to be a follower of a dead Christ. And I am not saying that he is right or wrong—he may be wrong—but at least the person has the courage to follow, to choose. If he is wrong, sooner or later his own experience will prove it—that he is wrong. But those people who are simply sitting in the darkness, they will never come to know whether they are wrong or right. The real trouble is with these people. You have taken it for granted that you are a Christian. How can you be a Christian? There were only a few Christians who followed Jesus alive. They risked their life. The greatest risk was this: that there was no way to decide whether they were following the right person or wrong—that was their greatest risk. Had they been with the old church—if they had remained Jews there was no risk. Things were settled by the tradition. For centuries down, everything was settled, every dogma was settled. These people started looking for themselves; they were trying to open their eyes. I am not worried whether Jesus was right or wrong, but I say these people are more alive people. Yes, even with a Muktananda it is good to move. And if you are a sincere seeker, how long can Muktananda or Moon deceive you? How long? Your sincerity is your only protection, nothing else. Go on—one has to grope long, one has to knock on many doors before one comes to the right door. There is no other way. So don’t criticize. There is no need; it is none of your concern. If you want to follow Moon, then you have to think about it. Others are following—let them think. Why should you take their responsibility? Why should you have any power over others? If somebody decides to follow a fool, that’s his decision—and he has the freedom to follow the fool. Forced—even if you are following the greatest wise man in the world, a Buddha—then too it is ugly, because it kills your freedom. With your own choice if you follow a fool, it is beautiful. My emphasis is on your freedom. And people who are against Moon, why are they against Moon? The same reason why people were against Jesus—because if Moon’s influence grows then more and more Christians will be disappearing. They will become ‘Moonites.’ These people are against Bhaktivedanta, the Hare Krishna movement leader, because more and more people are becoming Hindus; Christians are disappearing. These people are against Maharishi Mahesh Yogi because more and more people are dropping their Christian prayer and starting TM. The same happens everywhere. Here people are against me because if you come with me, by and by you will not be a Parsee, and you will not be a Hindu, and you will not be a Christian—you will become a pure human being, a simple human being with no adjectives. So those who live with the adjectives, how can they just watch it? They are afraid, their establishment is eroding. They will try in every way. But I will suggest to them that if they really want that no one should come to me, they should remain indifferent. The more they are against me, the more they make me important. Their very against-ness helps many people to become interested in me. The best way for them will be not to be bothered by me, be indifferent. Let people come and let people find. If they find more nourishment with me than they were finding in their old church, in their temple, in their mosque, then it is for them to choose. If they don’t find any nourishment with me, they move away, they go on searching. But if people are against me then you start becoming defensive. Then your eyes become dogmatic, then you are in an arguing mood. You have to prove somehow that your master is right and is the only true master in the world. Then even if sometimes you see flaws in me, errors, mistakes, you bypass them. How can your master have any mistake, flaw in his life?—impossible. And you go on hiding. And by and by you become almost determined by the people who are against me. They talk against me, you have to talk for me. They help me in a way. This is my suggestion: there is no need to be worried—the world is vast, and everybody is free to choose, should be free to choose. If somebody feels that he is attaining something with Moon—and Moon may be wrong, as far as I know he is wrong—but even then if somebody follows him I am not going to distract the person. This is my attitude—that he is wrong. Even if he is wrong somebody may be benefited by him. Life is very mysterious—you learn by your errors also. I know many people, like Muktananda, who have nothing to give. It is a miracle that Muktananda can also become a guru. But still if somebody is following Muktananda, I will not say don’t follow him. I will say go headlong. Because that is the only way to find out, to figure it out. I will say, ‘Go headlong with open eyes; maybe this is how your life is going to grow.’ Nothing is wrong in it. Why be so much afraid? One learns from fools as much as from wise people, and one learns from pseudo-gurus as much as from authentic gurus. They are part of one phenomenon. In fact, you get that which you deserve. Now there are a few people who deserve Muktananda. What to do? They have earned Muktananda through their lives; many lives of karmas and they have earned Muktananda. Now who am I or who are you to prevent them? Why? They deserve, that is their growth, they have to pass through it. One day Mulla Nasrudin came to me and he was very much worried and he said, ‘I would like to become a guru myself.’ I was intrigued. I said, ‘There are good opportunities. Why not? You try.’ He said, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m thinking. If Muktananda of Ganeshpuri can become a guru, why not I?’ And then he said, ‘Osho, there is one request. You supply me with my first disciple.’ A man was sitting by the side who suffered from an inferiority complex and he had seen psychoanalysts—Freudians, Jungians, Adlerians—and he had defeated all of them, and he went on suffering with inferiority complex. In fact he had become more skilled in it. The more he had been psychoanalysed, the more he had become skilful about it. In fact, he was enjoying it. So I told Nasrudin, ‘You take this man. Try—this man suffers from inferiority complex.’ Nasrudin took him away, sat with him, looked into his eyes, meditated a little, closed his eyes, and then told him finally, ‘I have good news for you. You have no inferiority complex, you really are inferior.’ Now there are people who really are inferior. They deserve Muktanandas, Moons, and that type of people. There are stupid people. What to do? Stupid gurus are also needed. Stupid gurus cannot disappear from the world unless stupid people disappear. It is a subtle economic law. Your demand has to be fulfilled, somebody from somewhere has to supply goods that you need. People think as if it is only just Moon or people who are exploiting. No, you want to be exploited, you cannot rest unless you are exploited. People think that followers are innocent. This is nonsense! You cannot exploit an innocent man. They are cunning, the followers are cunning—then they are exploited by more cunning people. An innocent person cannot be exploited by a cunning person, because innocence is so pure; in that purity he will immediately see that this whole thing is nonsense. You cannot exploit an innocent person, you can exploit only a cunning person. I was staying in a town. Mulla Nasrudin deceived somebody. He said he could double rupees just by magic, and he showed the trick. He doubled a one hundred rupee note. It was just a trick but the person was impressed. So the person brought all, whatsoever he had. He was not a very rich man, but whatsoever he had—ornaments, gold, precious stones, money—whatsoever he had he put before Nasrudin. Then he played the game and he disappeared with the whole lot. Now the man came to me and said, ‘Why do you allow such cunning people with you?’ I said, ‘You are cunning—that’s why he could exploit you. You wanted your money to be doubled without any effort—that’s why he could exploit you. If you were innocent, how could you be exploited? Your logic and his logic were not different. What were you expecting from him? He exploited your greed. He exploited because you were ready to be exploited. Can’t you see the whole nonsense of it?’ I told him, ‘If it is in my power, then I will send you both to the jail, because you are a participant. He alone is not responsible. In fact, his responsibility is secondary to you. If you were not ready how could he exploit you?’ So don’t call those people sincere, innocent, who are exploited by cunning people. No, they must have some cunningness in themselves; they must be looking for shortcuts for nirvana. Then anybody can exploit you. Somebody comes and says, ‘This will do. Just a mantra—you have to repeat it twenty minutes in the morning, twenty minutes in the evening, and you will attain to perfect bliss.’ Now he is delivering something so cheap—you call it Transcendental Meditation or something, whatsoever you want—and if he asks a hundred dollar fee what is wrong in it? And you say this man is exploiting. He is not exploiting your innocence; innocence cannot be exploited. An innocent man will understand—‘How is it possible? Just by uttering ‘Rama, Rama, Rama’, twenty minutes in the morning and evening and you become enlightened?’ Be reasonable, and if you are unreasonable and he asks a hundred dollar fee, he is asking simply something that fits with your logic. And you pay the hundred dollar fee, and then you think that he has been exploiting you! Nobody can exploit you unless you are ready to be exploited, nobody can deceive you unless you are ready to be deceived. The responsibility is yours, so be alert, be reasonable. Don’t be a fool, otherwise somebody is bound to—somebody is bound to become your guru. And then don’t go on shouting and crying and making a fuss about it that you have been exploited. You wanted to go to nirvana very cheap. Always remember—you fall into bondage because you want to become a slave. You cannot remain free, that’s why you fall into a sort of bondage. But it is you, otherwise nobody can imprison you. You are afraid of freedom, you are afraid of growing, you are afraid of facing life as it is. So from somewhere or other, sometimes from Korea—Moon comes from Korea; sometimes from India—Muktananda comes from India; sometimes from Japan… and of course these people have to come from the East because the East has the credit of being religious, spiritual. Just in the same way, if an engineer comes from Germany he has more prestige in India; a doctor comes from England, he has more prestige in India. The Indian doctor may be as educated as the English doctor, but the English doctor has prestige—he comes from the world of science, he has an aura. It is just as if you have a watch, an Indian-made watch, HMT watch—it is an ordinary watch, made in India. If you have a Swiss-made watch, it has an aura: imported. The same happens as far as religion is concerned. In America you need imported gurus and India has nothing else to export. So we are exporting in bulk. They carry an aura. Here it is difficult for them to find disciples. But they come from the East, the world of the rising sun, they come from the fabulous East, the land of Buddhas, Mahaviras, Krishnas—they carry an aura. Just very ordinary people with no talent, with no genius, with no intelligence, but they can just sit there and things start happening. And then you think they are doing something. You are hankering that something must happen to you and nothing is happening. The West is very much bored; something should happen. Now you have everything that you always needed, desired; all material things are there. Now for the first time the West is becoming aware that something spiritual is needed, a spiritual need is being felt. It always happens—whenever a society becomes very rich and affluent, only then the religious need is felt. A poor country cannot become religious howsoever it may pretend. It has never been so, it cannot be. I am not saying that a poor man cannot become religious. Individuals can be exceptions—a Kabir, a Nanak—but poor societies cannot be religious; their basic needs are unfulfilled. Religion is a very high need. It is as if you are hungry: who thinks in that moment of listening to beautiful music? When you are hungry you need bread, you don’t need music. Beethoven won’t do, Mozart is meaningless when you are hungry. When you are hungry, starved, naked, what to do with Shakespeare, Goethe, Kalidas?—it makes no sense. When your basic needs are fulfilled—your body is healthy, you have a hygienic world to live in, a good house, good clothes, good food, nourished—suddenly you feel that you need something of the aesthetic world—music, art, poetry. You become interested in Picasso and Van Gogh, and you become interested in Pablo Neruda—and a thousand doors open. When your aesthetic needs are also fulfilled, when you are getting bored by Beethoven also, Mozart also, then suddenly another door opens—the door of the Buddha, Krishna, Christ. That is the highest need. When every lower need is fulfilled then spirituality arises. The West has fulfilled its lower needs. Now suddenly a desire has possessed it; a passion for the ultimate is being felt all over the West, particularly in the new generation—a tremor, a longing for the unknown. It is a very critical moment. In this moment there will be many people who will exploit this need, because the West is like a child—a child in the world of spirit. They don’t know what is what. They just have a need, that’s all they know. And whosoever comes and says, ‘I can fulfill your need,’ whosoever is clever enough at least to pretend, you will follow him. But this is natural. Sooner or later you will be finished with Moons and Muktanandas. Because sooner or later you will see that they promise but they never deliver. How long can this go on? And then only will you become interested in true masters—Krishnamurti or Gurdjieff or Raman. Then you will start getting interested. But this is natural. In the beginning it has to be so. You don’t know what real roses are, so people who bring paper roses and plastic roses—you don’t know what real roses are, you don’t have any comparison—you simply purchase them. But how long can it go on? That’s why I decided not to go to the West. Right now it is a supermarket. And there are so many people standing on their soap-boxes and shouting and selling and advertising, that it is futile. I decided rather to wait here because people who have been with Moon, with Muktananda, with this and that, and are finished, and have come to know that these people have nothing to give, are bound to come towards the East in search. I decided to wait for them here, not to go there. Because when a seeker comes, travelling so far, then his desire is very authentic, then he is risking much. He is risking his whole life. And it is better that he should have passed through the super-market, so he knows. If sometimes somebody comes to me directly I am not much interested in him because I know it is better he should pass through the right channel—Muktananda, Moon, etc. When he passes through all of them and then he comes to me, there is a sudden contact, an immediate contact. So in a way they help. Here are many people who have been in all sorts of movements in the West. This is good, a good training. You have some background, you have a certain gestalt, to judge. So the first thing… YOU TOLD US TO REJOICE WHENEVER WE SEE OTHER PEOPLE BECOMING SINCERE SEEKERS, AND IT IS INDEED A MOVING EXPERIENCE TO SEE NEW PEOPLE BECOME SANNYASINS AND BEGIN TO MEDITATE. BUT HOW ARE WE TO FEEL WHEN WE SEE REALLY BEAUTIFUL, SINCERE PEOPLE GIVING UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW DESTRUCTIVE, FALSE, SO-CALLED MESSIAHS WHO ARE ONLY USING THESE FOLLOWERS FOR THEIR OWN MATERIAL AND POLITICAL GAIN? Let them go. Help them to go there. Tell them to go to the very end. Sincerity, their search—if it is true they will come out, and they will come out more mature, less childish. They will come out more experienced. Nothing to be worried. Never prevent anybody if he is really going somewhere. Let him go. There is only one way to learn and that is through experience; there is no other way. And if you think that he may be lost, then he deserves to be lost, then that is what he needs right now. Nothing happens without your deserving it. Whatsoever happens you deserve it. Nobody can exploit you unless you were in need to be exploited. Nobody can make you a slave unless you were ready to become a slave and you were afraid of freedom. Nothing happens to you for which you were not hankering, for which you were not desiring, consciously or unconsciously. So it is your life and it is your freedom. It happened one night, the phone rang at four A.M. ‘What do you want?’ I shouted into the instrument. ‘Nothing,’ was the reply. ‘Then why did you call me in the middle of the night?’ ‘Because the rate is cheaper.’ That’s why I stopped keeping the phone in my room since then, because there are absurd people. Because the rate is cheaper—that may be the only reason they phone in the middle of the night. You go with Moon because the rate is very cheap. You go with Muktananda because the rate is very cheap. What do I mean? I mean they promise you something and they don’t ask you to be transformed. The rate is very cheap. They say God can happen to you without any change on your part; just do this mantra for twenty minutes. When you come to me it is not a question of twenty minutes, it is a question of your whole life. You have to change from the very roots. I ask for a radical change. You have to drop your old values, your old morality, your old concepts, your old world view. You have to almost die with your past, only then your future starts sprouting. I ask you to be crucified so that you can be resurrected. I am like a death, and that is what the meaning of sannyas is—you die in me and a totally new person is born. I’m not saying that your life will become easy. No, it may become more difficult. I’m not promising you rose gardens. One thing only I can promise and that is if you are ready to take the risk, there may be many more difficulties, but you will start growing. I can only promise growth. Growth is always hard, painful; you have to destroy and dismantle many things in you, and you have to learn new ways of being, new styles of life. It is painful. I don’t say you will become rich, as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says: ‘If you meditate you will become successful, you will become rich.’ I don’t say that. In fact you may become more of a failure if you go with me. And you may never be rich if you go with me. Because if you go with me you will become less and less ambitious. If you go with me you will become less and less aggressive, less and less violent. Ambition is violence, the very effort to succeed in the world is violent. You may be a loser as far as the outside world is concerned. I cannot say anything about it. You may turn out to be just a beggar. But one thing I can say: you will be growing in, you will be enriched within, you will become more blissful. I don’t say more successful, I say more blissful. You will become more restful, you will be more relaxed. But I don’t say that you will have money and success and things like that. With me you will have to lose much, and with me the gain will be so inner that only you will know and nobody else will know. So you cannot exhibit it, you cannot show it to anybody. The gain is going to be very inner and very subtle and the loss is going to be very gross and very outer. Everybody will know that you are losing. Just the other night one Indian sannyasin came and said, ‘My whole ambition is gone and I am becoming indifferent to all success. I don’t even feel like struggling any more. I want to be in a deep let-go.’ I said, ‘Perfectly good. That’s how it should be.’ He was disturbed about one thing. He said, ‘But something is happening, and that is I am not even interested in meditation any more. I feel happy, silent, but I am not interested in meditation any more.’ I said, ‘That’s what one should expect finally—drop that too.’ About this he was a little puzzled—whether to drop meditation or not—because only through meditation has he come up to this point where he is feeling at home… so much so that all his desiring is disappearing. He wanted to cling to meditation. When I said, ‘Drop that too,’ his last barrier was broken. Now if you look at this person it will be difficult for you to see what is happening. In fact he may have looked more radiant to you before than he will look right now, because now he is so silent, his whole energy is so silent. You will not find him laughing; at the most he can smile—in fact that too he will have to do by an effort. Not because he is unhappy, he is simply happy. You laugh because of unhappiness. Twenty-four hours of unhappiness, you gather unhappiness, then you have to do something to get out of it—you laugh. But if a man becomes really happy then the very need for laughter disappears. It will be difficult to judge from the outside that something has happened inside in him—and a great transformation IS happening inside him. This is what sannyas is—he is disappearing from the world. For this transformation very few people are ready, and those who are not ready, they also need somewhere to go, somewhere to seek. They also need a guru, a master. Good, nothing wrong in it, but remember the dictum that you get only that which you deserve. They will find somebody. One politician used to come to me, and I asked him, ‘Why do you come to me?’ He said, ‘Just for your blessings. I have been trying hard, but for twelve years I have remained a minister and I couldn’t succeed in becoming a chief minister. Now every minister has his own guru, and I know only you, so I come to you.’ I said, ‘You have chosen a wrong guru. Go to Satya Sai Baba. You have chosen a wrong guru—because if you come too often here there is every possibility you will not even remain a minister. Don’t listen to me, to what I am saying, and don’t come close to me. It is dangerous.’ Since then he has disappeared. He must have got the point. With me you will fail in the world—of course very few people are ready to fail in the world. With me you can succeed in the inner—but very few people are mature enough even to desire for that. So there are so many grades of growth, so many types of people, so many centuries living together. Now a person who goes to Sai Baba and a person who comes to me are not contemporaries, cannot be. The person who goes to Satya Sai Baba because miracles are happening must be living somewhere two thousand years back, when these things were thought to be spiritual. These are just ordinary magical tricks. A Buddha is not known to have done anything like that. It would have been foolish. Two thousand years have passed: a few people have remained in that primitive state of mind. They go there. They cannot see simple things. There is no need to discuss about it—any ordinary magician on the street can do these things. But when a magician is doing these things you think he is just a magician. And when a religious person is doing these things you think these are miracles. They are the same things. Now Bangalore University has appointed a small committee of twelve people, and they have asked Satya Sai Baba to help them. They want to see the miracles done before the committee so they can see whether there is any scientific validity or not. He didn’t answer. Three letters were written from the Vice Chancellor—he would not answer. And when the Vice Chancellor released his letters to the press, then Sai Baba was very angry. Then he answered in a public talk, and answered in such an unspiritual way that it is unbelievable, ridiculous. He said: ‘These people are trying to fathom me. It is as if an ant is trying to fathom the ocean. These people are trying to pull me down. It is as if dogs are barking and thinking that stars will fall.’ Now this is very non-religious language, profane, not even gentlemanly. And if really you are doing miracles then why be afraid? Let them come. It will be a good opportunity for you to prove. Why not allow them? They will become your followers. They will beat the drum for you all over the world, that you are really a siddha, a miracle man. Why not allow them? Why are you afraid? They simply want to watch. Only one thing I have to suggest to the Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University is that their committee is not of the right people. In their committee there are professors of philosophy and psychology and science—physics, chemistry. These people cannot judge a magician, these people have no background. What has it to do with physics? These are simple people, very innocent people. They have lived in mathematics. The committee needs a Gogia Pasha, a K. Lal. Only then can these people be brought down to earth. A Gogia Pasha, a magician, is needed in the committee because he will know what Satya Sai Baba is doing. Every magician knows what he is doing. Professors won’t be of any help, professors are very poor people. What can they do? They don’t have any concept of magic. If you are going to find out the truth of a magician, take magicians with you. Only they will know. It is a very tricky world, the world of magic. Very great skill is needed. To deceive is not so easy; it is an art, a great art. But people are there; even if you expose Satya Sai Baba, that doesn’t matter—another Baba will arise because these people have a need. They will say, ‘Yes, that Baba was bogus, but this Baba is true.’ You go on exposing, it makes no difference, because you don’t understand that there is a basic need in people. Unless people are raised in their consciousness, Satya Sai Babas will continue. You can expose one Satya Sai Baba, another will be born. You can expose that one, another will be born, because people are in a real need. They don’t know any higher religion than that. All are not contemporaries. People coming to me are a totally different type of people. In fact they are a little ahead of their time; they will not be understood. That’s why when you go into Poona people cannot make out what you are, what you are doing. They cannot figure it out, because you don’t belong to this century. You have come a little earlier than your time. They cannot believe how a sannyasin can move with a girl, hand in hand—impossible. I am giving you something which will be possible only in the twenty-first century—one hundred years more are needed… when religion will not be anti-life, when religion will be life-affirmative… when religion will not be anti-love, when religion will be a tremendous release of love… when religion will not be anti-sex—because to be anti-sex is to be anti-life… when religion will be a total acceptance of all that life gives, of all the benedictions that life makes available. Then religion will be just a deep gratitude towards God. Whatsoever he has given, one has to move into it, love it, experience it, transcend it—but no anti-attitude. So when you go into Poona town people cannot believe that you are sannyasins; they have their own notions of the past. A sannyasin has to be anti-life, you are not. Now one of my old sannyasins, Paritosh, goes to the racecourse. What to do? And not only that, he is winning there. But good! I approve of it. I am not here to destroy your life, your enjoyment, your delights. I am here to enhance them, I am here to help you to become more flowing. To me, sannyas is not to take life very seriously—take it playfully. The racecourse is also part of life. And if you enjoy, it is perfectly good, nothing is wrong in it. So whatsoever one is following, remember, it may be a need to him. Let him go, help him, at least he is trying to find something. Some day we can hope he will find a place where he can bow, where he can surrender, and where he will not be exploited. And of course, if you start arguing, then people become defensive. It is just part of the ego of the disciple to defend the master. If somebody says anything against me, you simply feel it is against you. And it is natural, because you belong to me, I belong to you. If somebody is saying something against me you feel hurt, you start defending. And if he goes to exaggerations in his criticism, you go to exaggeration in your defence, and both become false. I have heard: The Puerto Rican couple had been married only three months when the wife gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. The proud grandmother was accosted on the street one day by one of her neighbours. ‘Hey, I see your Rosita just had a baby after only three months,’ smirked the neighbour. ‘You surprised?’ asked the new grandmother. ‘My Rosita is such an innocent. How would she know how long to carry a baby?’ Never argue, it is useless. Then you make the other person defensive, and then—extremes. Many people are simply going here and there because of curiosity. That too is good. Not to be curious is not to be alive. That too is good. But curiosity is not enough for spiritual growth. There are three words in the East: curiosity we call KUTAHEL. It is childish, you don’t put anything at stake. You just ask why the trees are green and then you forget about it. If nobody answers it you don’t go on thinking about it. Who created the world? Not that you are really interested—just a floating idea in the mind; not that you are ready to put your life for this question, that you have to find the answer. It does not matter. Then enquiry we call JIGYASA. Enquiry means now your curiosity is not just curiosity; it is taking deep roots in you, it is becoming a part of your life. You are not asking for asking’s sake, you really want to go into it. And then there is a third word, MUMUKSHA, for which no English equivalent exists. Curiosity is just amusement, enquiry becomes more scientific, mumuksha literally means the desire, passionate desire to know the truth. Curiosity will not take you anywhere else, you will remain a newspaper reader, that’s all. Every day you read the newspaper but it is just curiosity. Then you throw it. Enquiry can make you a scientific worker, a philosopher, a logician, but still it will not make you a religious person, a spiritual being. When your enquiry becomes so passionate—by passionate I mean when it becomes a question of life and death—when you cannot rest at ease unless you know the truth; when you are ready to die for it, for your enquiry, only then can you find a real master. So there are three types of masters: people who fulfil your curiosity, people who fulfil your enquiry and people who fulfil your mumuksha, your passionate desire to know the truth. It depends on you. Curiosity-mongers can go to Muktananda, Moon—that will do. They are never ready to commit, they are just spectators. And of course they get into many troubles. I have heard: A Jew was standing on a manhole cover jumping up and down and shouting, ‘Sixty-nine, sixty-nine, sixty-nine!’ A German came along and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ The Jew jumped off and took the German by the arm. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘you try it for a while.’ The German got on the manhole cover and as he started to jump the Jew grabbed the cover away and the German fell down the sewer. ‘Ha!’ exclaimed the Jew as he replaced the cover and starting jumping again. ‘Seventy! Seventy! Seventy!’ Curiosity is just like that. Somebody shouting, ‘Sixty-nine! Sixty-nine! Sixty-nine!’ and just in your mind an idea arises: ‘What does he mean? What is sixty-nine?’ Now you are no more… you have nothing to do with it. If you are really a little alert you will bypass. Let him say ‘Sixty-nine! Sixty-nine!’ Let him shout. Why should you get into it? But man is a monkey. If somebody is shouting, suddenly you become curious. What is the matter? That is how things are going. A Muktananda goes on shouting, ‘Kundalini! Kundalini! Kundalini!’ What is kundalini? Sixty-nine becomes seventy. So first you get caught and then it becomes very difficult to get out, because then it becomes an involvement with the ego. The seven-year-old was being taught the proper way to ask a girl for a dance. A half hour later he asked the teacher, ‘Now, how do you get rid of her?’ It is very easy to ask a girl to dance with you; the real problem arises in how to get rid of her. It is very easy to fall in love, the problem arises when you want to get out of it. You had never really thought of all the implications. When you go to somebody you may be just going for curiosity’s sake. Some friend goes there, your neighbour goes there and they say, ‘Baba is incredible!’ So you have to go—sixty-nine! Then you have ambitions, then you have illnesses, then you have a pending law suit against you in the court, then you have a thousand and one problems. And when you go to the Baba and there are people who say that he is a miracle, he can create things out of nothing, then your desire becomes aflame. ‘If he can create things out of nothing, maybe he can help me for my court case, or he can help me for my disease to disappear, or he can help me for my ambition, for my success in life.’ Then you are caught. And then others start saying that you are going to a false messiah. Then you defend, it becomes your ego problem. You?—how can you go to a fake messiah? When you go there the messiah has to be true. You cannot go; you are such an intellectual person, so intelligent. How can you be caught by a false messiah? Impossible. Then you try to prove that he is not false. Now you are getting into a trap on your own. And one day it will be very difficult to get out because then you will be swallowing your own thing that you have spat. You have been saying that he is the greatest master, then one day you want to leave. Now how to leave? It goes against your own assertions; ego becomes involved. One thing only I would like to say: go wherever you want to go, don’t get egoistically involved. Remain alert, watchful. If you can learn something, learn. If you find that there is nothing to learn, then be ready to leave. There is no need to leave with a grudge. There is no need to leave him only when you start being against him. There is no need to be an enemy—simply leave. Because to be too much in attachment is bad, and to be too much full of hatred is bad also. You go to a person; whatsoever you can learn you learn. If you feel that this is the home, you have arrived, then good for you. If you feel this is not, then leave, and thank him for whatsoever he has done for you. Maybe he has not done anything, but at least he has made you aware that you can become a victim of somebody who has nothing to give. Next time you will not become a victim so easily. Thank him for that. Three logicians were standing under one umbrella. ‘This is terrific,’ said one of them. ‘None of us are getting wet.’ ‘That is because it is not raining,’ said one bystander. There are many people who think they are happy because of the Baba, because the Baba’s blessing is making them happy. They think Baba is like an umbrella. But first look whether it is raining or not. This is my experience: if a hundred persons come to a Baba, fifty will become hangers-around. Fifty will leave, because those fifty will not feel any fulfilment, and these fifty will feel some sort of fulfilment—not because of the Baba; it is simple statistics. If a hundred ill persons come, almost fifty percent will be helped. Not because of the Baba; if they had not come then too they would have become healthy. They simply become healthy because it is not raining. You go on distributing anything—just water. You try it. You can just go and sit under a tree and start distributing water to people. Within a week you will see many people are hanging around you. What has happened? Many will start saying that you are a miracle: ‘I had a headache for many years, that disappeared.’ Somebody says he had a stomach ache and it has disappeared. And you will be surprised, but by and by you will see that things are working so you will become more confident. When you become more confident, things will work more. And these people who will hang around you because they have been helped, they will create an aura around you. Whenever a new person comes, they will say, ‘Certainly it is going to happen, absolutely it is going to happen. Look—to all of us it has happened. This man had a headache, and this man had a stomach ache, and this man was suffering from this and that man was suffering from that. We have all been helped.’ This creates a sort of deep suggestibility. When so many people have been helped then why not you? You become hopeful, faith arises, and then the water works. These are simple auto-suggestions that work. And then things go on growing. It is just like a snowball rolling on snow. Just by rolling more snow collects around it—it goes on bigger and bigger and bigger. Human stupidity is tremendous, and man has lived down the ages in such ignorant, stupid ways, unintelligent ways, that it seems natural. Nobody understands how things work. Still science has not been able to know exactly how things work, but the basic things are known. How do things work?—they work through faith. Nobody is working, nobody is doing anything, just your own faith. Jesus is true. He again and again says… People come to him—they are healed and they want to thank him, and he says, ‘Don’t thank me. Your faith has healed you.’ He is a true man. He says, ‘Don’t thank me. I have not done anything. Your faith has healed you.’ And these Babas also don’t understand. They are as much mystified as you are mystified by what goes on happening. Mulla Nasrudin had been out speaking all day in an election campaign and returned home late at night, tired and weary. ‘How did your speeches go today?’ his wife asked. ‘All right, I guess,’ the Mulla said. ‘But I am afraid some of the people in the audience did not understand some of the things I was saying.’ ‘What makes you think that?’ his wife asked. ‘Because,’ whispered Mulla Nasrudin, ‘I don’t understand them myself.’ Just watch how your mind functions: how your mind tends to be superstitious, how your mind tends to be egoistic, how your mind tends to be defensive, rationalizing. Just watch that. The real work is to be done inside your mind. Don’t be worried about Moon and others, you just think about your own mind, and by and by clarity will come to you. Understanding the mechanism of the mind, one becomes freed of that mechanism. Becoming aware, one goes beyond the mind, and that state of beyond the mind is the state of freedom. Then you cannot be exploited, then nobody can enforce you into any sort of imprisonment. Then nobody can deceive you, befool you.

Osho (The Discipline of Transcendence, Vol. 1)

[yoga-onion]

[Image above: D. T. Suzuki (11 November 1870 - 12 July 1966) was a Japanese Buddhist scholar and doctor of literature. ]

A message from 23 nights temple Q&A: Part 2 [Part 1]

Next question was, want to know more about Tendai Buddhism and how to do face-to-face learning outside of Japan:

More than 1,400 years after its introduction, Buddhism in Japan was born from the founders of sects in Japanese history and culture. Today, about 13 major sects exist, including the Tendai sect. Of these, three are Zen sects: the Soto, Rinzai and Obaku.

Among them the most representative are, Saicho, founder of the Tendai sect, whose head temple is Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei; Kukai, founder of the Shingon sect, who brought esoteric Buddhism to Japan, whose head temple is Kongobu-ji on Mt. Koya; and Dogen, author of the Shobogenzo, a philosophy book said to be a manual for Zen meditation practice and originator of mindfulness. Founder of the Soto sect, whose main temple is Eiheiji Temple.

Buddhism means 'Buddha's teachings'. In the beginning, everything was transmitted orally and it was only after Buddha's death that documents and scriptures were created. All of the Buddhist scriptures that remain today were described by the memory of Buddha's disciples. In the meantime, it underwent various transformations through the views of translators and other factors, and representative gurus from different countries established and divided into sects. The Tendai sect is one of these sects, founded by Master Saicho. Incidentally, my trusted teacher is a Zen monk of the Soto sect, and he says that one should not be confined to a sect. It is because Dogen, the founder of the Soto sect, taught that the Buddha's teaching is one and that we should not be obsessed with sects.

Those wishing to study face-to-face or Buddhist thought outside Japan should visit your local Buddhist temple or Zen centre. You can easily find one by hitting the usual keywords. However, not all are good teachers. It is recommended to search patiently for a teacher or centre that suits you. For international learners, books by Japanese Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki are relatively accessible. He wrote on Zen in English and introduced Japanese Zen culture to the rest of the world. He was also a prolific translator of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Sanskrit literature.

In fact, the teachings of Zen that we are learning are not like there is a holy scripture that says this is the absolute truth, nor is there a founder who says that this is the absolute truth.

And it is best not to decide on a teacher based on sect or culture, but to knock on the door of a person you can identify with. More importantly, he or she may not only be in the temple.

二十三夜堂からのメッセージ Q&A: その2 [その1]

次の質問は、天台宗についてもっと知りたい、日本国外で対面で学ぶ方法を知りたいというものでした:

伝来から1400年余りの年月を経て、日本の歴史文化のなかで、宗派の開祖たちから生まれたのが「日本の仏教。 現在、大きな宗派として存在しているのは、天台宗を含め約13宗派。その中で禅宗は、曹洞宗、臨済宗と黄檗宗の３宗。

中でも代表的なのは、天台宗の開祖の最澄、総本山は比叡山延暦寺、日本に密教をもたらした、真言宗の開祖の空海、総本山は高野山金剛峯寺、そして、坐禅修行のマニュアルとも言われている哲学書「正法眼蔵 (しょうぼうげんぞう）」の著者でマインドフルネスの元祖、曹洞宗の開祖の道元、大本山は永平寺など、が挙げられる。

仏教とは「ブッダの教え」という意味である。当初、全ては口頭で伝えられており文書·経典ができたのはブッダ没後のことだ。今日残っている仏教経典はすべて、ブッダの弟子たちの記憶によって記述されたもの。その間訳者の見解などを通して様々な変形を繰り返し、各国の代表的な教祖が宗派を立ち上げ分かれていった。天台宗はその一つで、最澄が立ち上げた宗派である。因みに私の信頼できる先生は曹洞宗の禅僧だが、彼は宗派に囚われるべきではないと言っている。というのも曹洞宗の開祖である道元禅師が「ブッダの教えは一つであり、宗派に執われるな」と教えていたからだ。

国外で対面学習や仏教思想を学びたいとご希望の方々は、ローカルの仏教寺院、または禅センターを訪ねてみると良いと思います。お決まりのキーワードを叩けば、すぐに見つかります。但し、全てが良い先生とは限りません。自分に合った先生やセンターを根気よく探すことをお勧めします。海外の方々は、日本の仏教学者、鈴木大拙氏の本が比較的手に入りやすいと思います。彼は英語で禅に関する著作を発表し、日本の禅文化を世界に紹介し、また中国語、韓国語、日本語、ベトナム語、サンスクリット語などの多作な翻訳者でした。

実際、私たちが学んでいる「禅」の教えは、これが絶対の真理だという聖典があるわけでも、これが絶対の真理だという教祖がいるわけでもありません。

宗派や文化で師を決めるのではなく、ご自分が共感できる門を叩くのが最良かと思います。もっと言えば、その人はお寺にのみいらっしゃるとも限りません。

[subhashdagar123]

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Unpopular opinion: I have some problem with Hordak's personality in relation to his "function".

I mean, the guy was created to literally be a living weapon meant to conquer, and to be completely submissive to Horde Pride, like a disciple facing his guru in a cult. So, I find it strange that Hordak not only has a certain autonomy which allowed him not only to adapt to Etheria, but also that he can love someone else, whereas given the egomaniacal and perfectionist personality of HP, I would have rather thought that he would have been programmed to love no one but HP. As well as being without fear, without guilt, without empathy, etc.

So, if the series wanted to be consistent with the fact that he is a clone created to be a servile soldier and weapon for HP, he should have been written in my opinion as cold, incapable of creating relationships with others, without psychological weaknesses, and not worrying about being loved by HP but just fulfilling its role as a weapon of conquest. In short, really more of a “weapon” than a person.

So certainly, that would make him lose sympathy, but nothing would prevent the series from writing him with subtleties or as a tragic villain victim of his condition.

i mean, i think one explanation to this would be that hordak was less robotic and apathetic because of his defect. it's not directly mentioned in the series but i can imagine that that was also part of the reason why prime cast him out. i'm not too sure though, that's just how i saw it.

[radical-revolution]

What you fear, you give power to. Think about it:

Whether it’s a person, a place, an event, maybe something that happened in the past, something that may or may not happen in the future, you are giving it power in your life: the power to engage your attention. The power over your time, your energy, your thoughts, your focus. You may even plan your life around it, or make certain choices to avoid it.

Fear can make you shrink from life. It can make you suppress your authentic self, turn away from your authentic path, hide what you really think and feel and want. Fear can suck precious attention away from all the beautiful things in your life.

In so many ways what you fear becomes your master, your guru, even your god. You become fear’s disciple, its servant, even its victim.

Fear wants to suck all your time and attention away from what you love. It wants you to ignore everything else and worship at its feet. It wants you to surrender. To join the “dark side”!

That’s why fear can end up controlling you.

Until you realise one day, fear has no power over you. At all.

And in reality it cannot control you.

This is where meditation comes in. Meditation invites us to come out of our conclusions and get curious. To bring our attention to the present moment. To lean in to uncomfortable emotions. To stop running from ourselves. To stop worshipping false gods, to break the guru-disciple dynamic, and to go within. To remember our own true power.

Meditation invites us to question what we fear instead of blindingly giving into fear’s lies.

So, we get curious about the tightness in our belly, the fluttery feeling in our chest. The beating heart. The undulating breath. We bring awareness to all the fearful thoughts spinning around in our minds and all the sensations rushing through the body.

What we fear is no longer sucking up all our attention. It is no longer the biggest thing in our awareness. It is no longer our master. It is no longer in control of our experience.

We take back our power from fear by consciously paying attention to it.

We remember the source of true power, something much bigger than fear: Our own being. Our rootedness. Our curiosity. Our ability to be present. Our deep capacity for love.

Our presence is so much more powerful than anything we fear, for it holds fear the way a mother holds her newborn baby.

Fear is just a small child in us, longing for love.

It does not have to hold us: We can hold it, lovingly. We can soothe it, rock it to sleep.

Fear is not an enemy, then. It’s a misunderstood pathway to presence.

We can meet it with the power of LOVE.

And the power of TRUTH.

- Jeff Foster

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👑MARIA HARPER👑

HARPER LEGACY DIARIES | Heiress | Generation Eleven

full name: maria harper

nickname: honeybun (by alvin only)

life state: spellcaster | elder | married

parentage: marcello harper & lucia martinez

partners: alvin sherwood

offspring: ursula harper

aspiration: computer whiz | spellcraft & sorcery

main traits: recycle disciple | childish | music lover

born in: strangerville

lived in: strangerville | evergreen harbor | oasis springs | moonwood mill | glimmerbrook

career: tech guru career - esports gamer branch (pro gamer - level 8) | paranormal investigator (n/a)

degree: computer science (foxbury)

👑generation milestones illustrated👑

Complete Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Complete Aspiration Spellcraft & Sorcery

Complete Aspiration Big Happy Family

Max DJ Mixing

Max Medium

Max Programming

Max Robotics

Max Video Gaming

Satisfaction Reward Traits: Brave, Fertile, Paranormal Investigator

Collections: Decorative Eggs, Holiday Cracker Plushies, Magical Artifacts

World: Oasis Springs, Glimmerbrook

Extra task: Become a Paranormal Investigator in Glimmerbrook.

Optional: Learn all 24 spells and 16 alchemy potions.

EXPLORE MORE START READING THIS GENERATION

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