Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Bindu*
I heartily agree with David Frawley's wiews about this. He is a longtime student of the Ramana maharshi teachings and a much respected schoolar in both India and the west for his encyclopedic knowledge about Hinduism and vedas et.c.
https://www.vedanet.com/the-teaching...integral-view/
" By David Frawley. Note: The teachings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi (1878-1950), the great sage of Tiruvannamalai, South India, have become popular throughout the world as part of a new interest in Advaita or non-dualist Vedanta. However, there is a tendency to oversimplify his teachings as a kind of instant enlightenment for all that neglects the necessary prerequisites and support practices to make it really work. The following article attempts to elucidate the greater tradition behind the Maharshi’s teachings to provide students a better foundation for practice."
Also another famous nondualist frequently emulated by nondualist teacher in the west; Nisargatta Maharaj did in fact practice bhakti yoga (devotional yoga), and did encourage mantra practice.
http://www.enlightened-spirituality....a_Maharaj.html
"We hasten also to note here that Nisargadatta Maharaj was a very devotional and spiritually respectful man, devoutly respecting the One Spirit or Reality in everyone, and maintaining an outwardly devotional life, even if he had inwardly long ago dropped any sense of dualism toward a separate God. This devotional, spiritually respectful aspect is lost on some of those who have more recently endeavored to spread Maharaj's teachings and even emulate his style of teaching. The Maharaj sang in his Marathi tongue the old bhajan songs and litanies four times daily (two sessions open to visitors), performed the traditional arati-worship ritual to his lineage of gurus and egalitarian distribution of prasad (fruit, sweets or flowers). And every morning he tirelessly (doerlessly!) cleaned, garlanded and anointed with sandalwood paste and kum-kum (vermillion) powder those altar photos and higher-hanging photos of the sages and saints adorning his meeting room. He was also known to have lovingly initiated many aspirants from East and West into mantra-recitation in a traditional Guru-disciple relationship (see a text of one such encounter, reproduced below), and to promote veneration of the Guru, as Sri Siddharamesvar had likewise done before him."
Just some food for thoughts......  |
Hi Bindo,
Yes all that you refer to may work for certain characters, for example those in the East that may have been raised in those traditions, and for those in the West whose characters also suit paths and practises. Characters vary and for some those traditions may not seem relevant at all. It is not a coincidence that Neo Advaita has become more popular than Traditional Advaita in the West as our traditions are more thought based around ideas and concepts in Western philosophy of which there is much. It is not surprising that the East has been adapted by the West to suit its different traditions. Some traditionalists understand this, others do not and in some cases bitterly. In my view there is no need for the dispute if cultural and character differences are taken into account.
So what has been called the direct method resonates more in the West and is regarded as valid by those it suits as the traditional is for its supporters. One size does not fit all.