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Shivani Devi 05-06-2018 02:40 AM

Aneka Rasa
 
Namaste.

In the literal sense 'rasa' means the experience of taste or flavour. In the spiritual/metaphorical sense, rasa means to experience the lifestyle, rituals and tradition of Hinduism with a unique mindfulness or through the mindset of devotion or cultural conditioning.

I have been looking for a while now to find something...anything that made me feel anything other than spiritually and emotionally numb...something that bought back pleasant memories and something I could actually apply in my life that has meaning to me, besides going through prayer and worship only wanting to feel, instead of actually feeling it like I used to.

I then watched a video on youtube and by the end of it, tears were stinging my eyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viNuxD7AJ34

With the dancer, every movement is an offering to the Divine within and without. With the weaver, every soul is a thread interwoven in the tapestry of space/time...worn as a garment by the Divine beloved.

Hinduism isn't about parroting/reading the scriptures and having dry discourse like Adi Shankaracharya...a lot is missing. A lot gets left out and it involves the heart and it involves intuition and a sense of the sacred or sublime either within or beyond the reach of one's understanding.

The dancers, the weavers...the sculptors, carvers and the puppeteers are all doing their art for love of God and not for money and not 'mass producing' artefacts for the tourism market and even little babies are taught to follow these rituals until they become 'second nature'...only later do they find out exactly why they are doing them and what they actually mean.

This is the Hinduism I was raised into and the practice that brings about the 'warm fuzzies' inside when I consider how timeless it is...how these practices have not changed for thousands of years despite the world changing around them.

I am tired of reading religion vs science debates (and partaking in them) and I am tired reading about the scientific basis for consciousness or the biology of belief or anybody making any attempt to rationalise God and then turn around and say that I am 'irrational' for believing in it...and all I can do, is say "yep, I am totally irrational". lol

It's amazing how much emphasis human beings place on 'mind' and on 'knowledge' when they miss the whole point of existence by doing so and their 'knowledge' is only as good until the next scientific discovery disproves it.

Om Namah Shivaya

barrynu 05-06-2018 10:41 AM

Hi Shivani.
Its nice to hear you got something from the youtube video.
I'm only commenting on the end of your post about thinking and knowledge.

The great thinking mind of humans
The earth is flat....ooops!
The earth is the center of the universe.......ooooops!
Light travels through the Ether...........oooops!
God wants us to kill or convert our enemies,then we will have peace...a very big oooops!
The Universe is static oooops!
The expansion of the universe is slowing down.........oooops!
Prohibition will solve our society problems.........ooooops!
Donald Trump won't go far in the elections.........ooooops!

People who believe in a God are deluded........some are,some are not
People who don't believe in a God are deluded.....some are,some are not.

Thinking and knowledge from "others" are only part of our beings.
Feeling and personal "knowledge/knowing" without scientific proof can be much more rewarding,,but sometimes can't be shared or explained to other's

The moon is made of cheese.....not sure,it just might be.:smile:

Raziel 05-06-2018 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrynu
Hi Shivani.
Its nice to hear you got something from the youtube video.
I'm only commenting on the end of your post about thinking and knowledge.

The great thinking mind of humans
The earth is flat....ooops!
The earth is the center of the universe.......ooooops!
Light travels through the Ether...........oooops!
God wants us to kill or convert our enemies,then we will have peace...a very big oooops!
The Universe is static oooops!
The expansion of the universe is slowing down.........oooops!
Prohibition will solve our society problems.........ooooops!
Donald Trump won't go far in the elections.........ooooops!

People who believe in a God are deluded........some are,some are not
People who don't believe in a God are deluded.....some are,some are not.

Thinking and knowledge from "others" are only part of our beings.
Feeling and personal "knowledge/knowing" without scientific proof can be much more rewarding,,but sometimes can't be shared or explained to other's

The moon is made of cheese.....not sure,it just might be.:smile:


I admire the honesty & openness of this posting.

It has been referred to as "standing on the shoulders of giants" whereby we pat ourselves on the back for being very clever yet really alot of the things that we encounter in life are borrowed from others.

Our languages, customs & fashions are not original or unique to us at all - we didn't design them or develop them yet many people give them selves a sense of superiority for what is essentially following the heard.

I admire those who test the water for themselves, who double check facts for themselves & are prepared to keep an open mind despite whatever the "experts" are saying at the moment.

If it works for us, if we have seen things for ourselves or have strange experiences that might defy logic - as long as we are honest then its all anyone can do.

I like the unexplained, I like a good mystery - the universe is just that.

I never hear Shivani try to convert anyone which is why she interests me, shes not selling **** or trying to self convince - shes always learning ... sound like you are too.

:smile:

barrynu 05-06-2018 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raziel
I admire the honesty & openness of this posting.

It has been referred to as "standing on the shoulders of giants" whereby we pat ourselves on the back for being very clever yet really alot of the things that we encounter in life are borrowed from others.

Our languages, customs & fashions are not original or unique to us at all - we didn't design them or develop them yet many people give them selves a sense of superiority for what is essentially following the heard

. I admire those who test the water for themselves, who double check facts for themselves & are prepared to keep an open mind despite whatever the "experts" are saying at the moment.


If it works for us, if we have seen things for ourselves or have strange experiences that might defy logic - as long as we are honest then its all anyone can do.

I like the unexplained, I like a good mystery - the universe is just that.

I never hear Shivani try to convert anyone which is why she interests me, shes not selling **** or trying to self convince - shes always learning ... sound like you are too.

:smile:

Hello Raziel.I enjoyed your post.

The "expert's" have being trying to nail down things for a long time and they get it wrong and right.Our modern world is because of the expertise of great minds.
The problem with experts is that they are often not open enough to leave some room in case they might be wrong.
Trying to explain mystical and spiritual experiences with science just makes me laugh but I do understand as I was in their shoe's once,,Personal Experience is a better teacher than any book or rational or inquisitive thought and you won't get that Experience unless you go out into the world and look for it everywhere.

When the experts try to nail down God that's when they will always fail.
As Shivani has said "You can't put God in a box":D

Shivani Devi 06-06-2018 02:28 AM

A deep and heartfelt gratitude to both of you for taking the time to reply.

I shall quote Aldous Huxley to begin this:

"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception" - Aldous Huxley

It is the scientific mindset which says that everything has a rational explanation and if it cannot be explained, it simply does not exist. However, things like dark matter cannot be explained...and yet it exists, but a 'self-aware Consciousness in the form of energy' is too much of a stretch, it seems.

A lot of emphasis is also placed upon 'change' in that 'everything changes' and so must we to adapt/conform to it and to society at large, but this seems totally idealistic to me in that 'change' can involve a progression or a regression, however the Absolute remains as the only constant in this Universe and it is only the manifested energies (Shakti) which instigates whatever change is perceived with the passage of time.

I have also just found out recently that the heart has brain cells inside it and it can 'think' too:

https://exploringyourmind.com/the-he...s-neurons-too/

The heart thinks in the language of feelings, intuition and empathy which isn't really relatable to the brain in terms of logic or rationality, even though it can also be very logical, scientific and rational in its own way...and this all goes back to the sacred rituals of the Hindus which is aimed to strengthen this heart/mind connection with the purpose to realise the immanent and transcendent Divinity.

It also goes back to Tantra; which has been corrupted by the West (and many) who associate it with sex and the 'Kama Sutra' when if such people knew what true Tantra actually entailed, they would have kittens.

It goes to the 'New Age' movement totally corrupting the ancient and sacred teachings for profit, and the more 'spin' that gets placed on stuff like chakras and kundalini, the further away from the truth it becomes...until everything is a symptom of 'kundalini awakening' but whether it is or not is highly doubtful.

I guess you could call my way, my perception 'spiritual aesthetics' ...I am the 'aesthetic ascetic' (lol) in that what many call 'cultural superstition' can lead to experiences that take one out of the mind and the thinking space and directly into the heart-space, where everything else is only an extension of this.

Our modern world has, for about two centuries, tried to overturn almost 20,000 years of human thought and experience and that is only one hundredth of the time that the human species have allegedly inhabited this planet and we like to believe we are more technologically and scientifically advanced than any other civilisation which existed before us....oooops!

We also take this scientific rationalism (and alcohol) into primitive cultures...or wipe them out with disease and force them to live in accordance with the 'modern scientific view of reality' or else they are 'superstitious' and/or 'uncultured' and/or 'barbaric' and place them in government controlled reservations and such...so any of the ancestral knowledge is lost...and this may include many plant-based herbal medicines or keys to the history of humanity....oooops.

No, I don't preach or proselytize because everybody is different and has their own path and I don't like it when another does this to me...also, another person is bound to be more receptive and open-minded when one is presenting views and experiences in the mode of 'sharing' or 'storytelling' or 'relating' rather than shoving them down another's throat with spoon-fed dogma and diatribe.

Yes, I am also learning - learning how to relate thoughts to emotions, learning to 'let go' more, learning not to take life too seriously or too intellectually and learning to go beyond concept when applying ritual. Our innate state is joy, but we seem to place convenient limitations upon it and then try to rationalise doing so by using socially accepted and acceptable models of cognition.

Again, all the best to you my brothers...with love, light and peace.

Aum Namah Shivaya

Shivani Devi 07-06-2018 02:30 AM

I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom last night. I recall watching it about 30 years ago at the cinema when it first came out, but realised I had forgotten the whole plot and storyline to it - which is what made me watch it again.
I missed a lot the first time around because I was too busy drooling over Harrison Ford.

This time, I watched it to see how 'accurate' George Lucas was in relating Hindu stories and myths...there were a few cringe-worthy moments, but overall, the stories related to previous stories and I learned that when a representation of a myth portrays a myth, if it is accurate, the portrayal becomes fact relative to the original myth (whether that is true or not).

However, I never heard about the "Shankara Stones" and from my knowledge, there are 12 Jyotir Lingas (glowing Lingams) and not 5, so today I went on an internet search to try and place the last bit of the jigsaw in:

http://www.raven.theraider.net/showthread.php?t=13674

What I also felt is that with the movement of the younger generation away from village 'tribal life' into larger cities trying to find work and earning money, a lot of this subsistence way of life is lost...and the culture along with it.

What these people don't understand is that millions upon millions of young people are moving to cities like Mumbai and Delhi, looking for work that is not there either, and so it would be better for them to stay where they have love and support..in my opinion, of course.

Maybe I am 'romanticising' Hinduism, but why not? I see no harm in romanticising anything if it leads to a deeper understanding and the ability to feel the love...the connection to the whole ideal itself.

As such, there are many words and concepts that seem to bring up negative connotations to the so-called Western scientific mindset.

"Romanticising" is one, "Belief" is another, "Tradition" yet another and everything seems to get compartmentalised into that convenient box called "cognitive dissonance" and yet, when Indy was dangling from the bridge with hundreds of Thuggis shooting arrows at him, why did they all go around him and not one hit him? The only logical explanation for it was because he was carrying the Shankara Stone...yes, it is all 'make believe', but you get my point.

Also, recently (within the past century) people have totally admonished and discredited any outward display of emotions associated with spirituality, like trance states and such because modern 'rationality' tells them that entranced people have 'mental problems' or are 'auto suggestive' or even 'possessed by evil' or have 'eaten ergotamine' ...yep, it becomes apparent they have never experienced a trance state themselves so they wouldn't have a clue what they are talking about...all they know is that it totally embarrasses them and makes them feel very uncomfortable to be in the presence of such people....and so they try to demean and discredit the whole experience for their own benefit...i.e. "don't eat the cookies because you are making me fat".

When one has been to Batu Caves in Malaysia and witnessed Thaipusam, been to Bali and witnessed the Kris ceremony, seen firewalking in Fiji etc, they begin to understand...they begin to feel how 'thick' the air is with all of these spiritual vibrations and when they look deep into the eyes of one who has been pierced by the "Vel" - they change forever.

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/sB...1b47e56a34.jpg

Now, to many 'scientific' people, things like this are 'barbaric' and 'irrational' and yet, there is no pain...no blood and the whole 'rush' the participant feels is better than any drug out there. It is the most intoxicating thing of all...and it is called "Soma" or "Amrita" or the nectar of Divine Grace.

With that, this will be enough for today. I am at the library typing this because I have run out of credit for my pre-paid modem and it's going to be another week before I can afford to buy more...so I am limited to one hour a day, or whenever I can be bothered to make the trip to the library. lol

Aum Namah Shivaya

Shivani Devi 08-06-2018 02:31 AM

Researching this in the modern context, I came across the actual definition of Rasa:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_(aesthetics)

Quote:

According to the Rasa theory of the Natya Shastra, entertainment is a desired effect of performance arts but not the primary goal, and the primary goal is to transport the individual in the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder and bliss, where he experiences the essence of his own consciousness, and reflects on spiritual and moral questions.

This is exactly what I have been trying to describe here and this is what brought me to Hinduism in the first place. It's like a kind of 'shaktipat' through artistic expression and religious penance...often combined.

The Vedas and the sacred texts merely form a backdrop to the whole experience and goes to justify/explain what it's all about.

Quote:

Rasa is produced from a combination of Determinants (vibhava), Consequents (anubhava) and Transitory States (vyabhicaribhava).

— Natyashastra 6.109

It is like a 'fine tuning' of the spiritual vibration through purposeful intent.

Quote:

Many Upanishads use the word rasa. For example, the "Ananda Valli" section of the Taittiriya Upanishad states, according to Dinkgrafe Daniel Meyer, "rasa is essence par excellence, the universal essence/bliss".

रसो वै सः । रसँ ह्येवायं लब्ध्वाऽऽनन्दी भवति ।

So now, I am going into the 'Tantra of Nine Emotions' - which is something I had never learned previously...but it seems that it's time now I did:

http://sanatansociety.org/yoga_and_m...m#.Wxnpq5X_qUk

Ooooh...it was written by Peter Marchand (a disciple of Harish Johari) and I have watched a few of his discourses before, so this is like a 'message' for me...and I also really like that website.

Here are some books and information about Harish Johari:
https://www.innertraditions.com/author/harish-johari/

http://www.sanatansociety.com/artist...ri_history.htm

I have come full circle.

Aum Namah Shivaya

Imzadi 08-06-2018 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shivani Devi
Namaste.

In the literal sense 'rasa' means the experience of taste or flavour. In the spiritual/metaphorical sense, rasa means to experience the lifestyle, rituals and tradition of Hinduism with a unique mindfulness or through the mindset of devotion or cultural conditioning.

I have been looking for a while now to find something...anything that made me feel anything other than spiritually and emotionally numb...something that bought back pleasant memories and something I could actually apply in my life that has meaning to me, besides going through prayer and worship only wanting to feel, instead of actually feeling it like I used to.

I then watched a video on youtube and by the end of it, tears were stinging my eyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viNuxD7AJ34

With the dancer, every movement is an offering to the Divine within and without. With the weaver, every soul is a thread interwoven in the tapestry of space/time...worn as a garment by the Divine beloved.

Hinduism isn't about parroting/reading the scriptures and having dry discourse like Adi Shankaracharya...a lot is missing. A lot gets left out and it involves the heart and it involves intuition and a sense of the sacred or sublime either within or beyond the reach of one's understanding.

The dancers, the weavers...the sculptors, carvers and the puppeteers are all doing their art for love of God and not for money and not 'mass producing' artefacts for the tourism market and even little babies are taught to follow these rituals until they become 'second nature'...only later do they find out exactly why they are doing them and what they actually mean.

This is the Hinduism I was raised into and the practice that brings about the 'warm fuzzies' inside when I consider how timeless it is...how these practices have not changed for thousands of years despite the world changing around them.

I am tired of reading religion vs science debates (and partaking in them) and I am tired reading about the scientific basis for consciousness or the biology of belief or anybody making any attempt to rationalise God and then turn around and say that I am 'irrational' for believing in it...and all I can do, is say "yep, I am totally irrational". lol

It's amazing how much emphasis human beings place on 'mind' and on 'knowledge' when they miss the whole point of existence by doing so and their 'knowledge' is only as good until the next scientific discovery disproves it.

Om Namah Shivaya


From my experience, there is an Intelligence of Divine Spirit that exists in a dimension that surpasses and transcends worldly conceptual knowledge and the mundane minds that tries to grapple with it are like wrestlers spinning around in circles trying to best each other. From crossing paths with you and your writings, I would believe that you would most likely understand what I mean. It would be impossible for those who have not actualize (although they can certainly fantasize) this dimension to understand something beyond their conceptual thoughts. And indeed there are a lot of wonderful logical and intelligent debates, but seldom do we cross a Soul that speaks in the language of the Sages hidden behind a clever ruse. Divine Blessings to you, dear Shivani. Don't let the mundane distract you from the Sacred path of your mission. :hug3:

Shivani Devi 12-06-2018 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imzadi
From my experience, there is an Intelligence of Divine Spirit that exists in a dimension that surpasses and transcends worldly conceptual knowledge and the mundane minds that tries to grapple with it are like wrestlers spinning around in circles trying to best each other. From crossing paths with you and your writings, I would believe that you would most likely understand what I mean. It would be impossible for those who have not actualize (although they can certainly fantasize) this dimension to understand something beyond their conceptual thoughts. And indeed there are a lot of wonderful logical and intelligent debates, but seldom do we cross a Soul that speaks in the language of the Sages hidden behind a clever ruse. Divine Blessings to you, dear Shivani. Don't let the mundane distract you from the Sacred path of your mission. :hug3:

Namaste and thank you, my dear. :hug3:

I don't know how much of it is a 'clever ruse' and how much of it is trying to explain direct experiences into words so that others may be able to understand it. lol

When I was a lot younger...

It was just after dawn and I was sitting on Sanur Beach in Bali, reading Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

All of a sudden, my reading solitude was disrupted by throngs of people gathering on the beach and going into deep spiritual trance. It was the sacred festival known as Melasti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3D94O-Y7g4

Three days after, is the day of silence called Nyepi, where nobody works, speaks...just meditation and prayer is done for the whole day.

After this, huge effigies of demons (Ogoh-Ogoh) are burned to cast out negative thoughts and emotions from the heart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwYgTzq1rAg

Everything has a deep meaning beyond the obvious.

Aum Namah Shivaya


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