The Swami Sarvapriyananda Thread

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

Thanks for the clarification. I am very familiar with lucid dreaming but had not recognized the abbreviation "LDing".

Regarding WILD (Wakeful Induced Lucid Dream), I recently had a dialogue with a Buddhist retreat facilitator who teaches "conscious sleep". He talked about becoming thought free in the wakeful state as a helpful preliminary practice and our discussion related well to what you wrote about WILD.

Thanks again for the clarification. I don't need any further explanation. I was just unfamiliar with the acronym though I am quite familiar with the processes themselves.

Being an IT Nerd I live by acronym and abbreviation.

After reading your reply and contemplating on this I'm thinking my meditation warm-up might be helpful in facilitating WILD.

https://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/s...6&postcount=10

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

As you probably known, Ramana Maharshi is one of my favorite sages.

There was one comment on the video that really resonated with me regarding the "Who Am I" self-inquiry process. It is right on target.

ONE COMMENT POSTED REGARDING THE VIDEO:

Venkat Raman
5 days ago

I remember reading Sri Raman saying this somewhere: "" You do not get an answer when you ask ' who am I? '; The questionnaire simply dissolves along with question ".

The "I" eventually disappears too, and what one is left with is That which cannot be known however is "known" by its Self-revealing nature. It's not something we can grab, but That which grabs us.

My experience is once grabbed one cannot really be ungrabbed. Sure, mind might creep back in and temporarily obscure It, but not for long.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

The "I" eventually disappears too, and what one is left with is That which cannot be known however is "known" by its Self-revealing nature. It's not something we can grab, but That which grabs us.

My experience is once grabbed one cannot really be ungrabbed. Sure, mind might creep back in and temporarily obscure It, but not for long.

Yes, the "I" does eventually disappear too.

Ramana added something that I did not write in my previous post. "That which is does not even say 'I' am " (eventually).

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

Yes, the "I" does eventually disappear too.

Ramana added something that I did not write in my previous post. "That which is does not even say 'I' am " (eventually).

The interesting thing for me is I didn't arrive at that "space" via Neti Neti Self-inquiry but through do nothing meditation. Best I can determine it's the exact same "space".

In that sense it's more akin to the Yogic method of attaining Samadhi however I don't think do nothing meditation is precisely the same as there's no merging with a specific object of attending as there is no attending. In any case I think all three practices lead to the same "space", the same realization.

Of course this is all an intellectual exercise on my part as I can't place myself in another's experience of Neti Neti Self-inquiry or Yogic Samadhi.

https://youtu.be/8WRnjJCGJ7o?list=PL...F2rGcUqIb4O F

Inspired by Swami Vivekananda's Jnana Yoga, Swami Sarvapriyananda gives a discourse based on the essay: "Realisation".

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

The interesting thing for me is I didn't arrive at that "space" via Neti Neti Self-inquiry but through do nothing meditation. Best I can determine it's the exact same "space".

In that sense it's more akin to the Yogic method of attaining Samadhi however I don't think do nothing meditation is precisely the same as there's no merging with a specific object of attending as there is no attending. In any case I think all three practices lead to the same "space", the same realization.

Of course this is all an intellectual exercise on my part as I can't place myself in another's experience of Neti Neti Self-inquiry or Yogic Samadhi.

The Neti-Neti approach was not my practice ... though, I must add, I do love the following song of Shiva (Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Sivoham). It is a combination of Neti-Neti with a concluding affirmation.

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

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

The Neti-Neti approach was not my practice ... though, I must add, I do love the following song of Shiva (Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Sivoham). It is a combination of Neti-Neti with a concluding affirmation.

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

Wow! That brought back deep memories from a time long past. A time of artificially altered states of consciousness. A very good friend made a special recording on cassette tape we would often listen to whilst out in the wild with a blazing fire dancing into the night. Here's one of the songs from that tape. https://youtu.be/HsffxGyY4ck

I'm all choked up now but in a very good way. Thanks for jogging that specific memory! Here's to the memory of my very good friend, Mike, who was killed on his motorcycle by a drunk driver. He's in the pink tie-dyed shirt.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared...k9lK0jv10d1Ofc

Interesting, but I never paid much mind to the lyrics of Within You Without You, but it's so fitting to this very sub-forum.

https://genius.com/The-beatles-withi...out-you-lyrics

We were talking about the space between us all
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Wow! That brought back deep memories from a time long past. A time of artificially altered states of consciousness. A very good friend made a special recording on cassette tape we would often listen to whilst out in the wild with a blazing fire dancing into the night. Here's one of the songs from that tape. https://youtu.be/HsffxGyY4ck

I'm all choked up now but in a very good way. Thanks for jogging that specific memory! Here's to the memory of my very good friend, Mike, who was killed on his motorcycle by a drunk driver. He's in the pink tie-dyed shirt.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared...k9lK0jv10d1Ofc

Interesting, but I never paid much mind to the lyrics of Within You Without You, but it's so fitting to this very sub-forum.

https://genius.com/The-beatles-withi...out-you-lyrics

We were talking about the space between us all
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away

Thanks for including this WITH the lyrics. The lyrics are quite profound.

https://youtu.be/LDOMOV6p6Gs

https://youtu.be/QgThz6H8kSE

Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda as part of a spiritual retreat at the Vedanta Society of New York on April 7th, 2019. List of Questions with Timestamps:
0:00 - On Vedantic meditation.
9:20 - How to overcome the fear of unknown and revel in the silence.
19:36 - In Nirvanashatakam, bliss is first negated but then accepted. Which is it? Difference between Ananda and happiness.
28:47 - Do negative emotions persists after Enlightenment?
48:10 - Should we trust our own insights?
50:28 - How to combine Vedantic meditation with the practice of Mantra meditation.
58:20 - How can the universe come out of nothing? Does Advaita Vedanta recognize an Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God?
1:10:18 - Which meditation should we practice - Vedantic or Mantra?
1:11:32 - Is the presence of a life force (Prana) an illusion?

I want to focus on the first question and it's at the very heart of non-duality from an experiential perspective.

Attuning the subject to the Absolute. Indeed, and it's right here, right now in our everyday experience. Awareness of awareness.

Moving from the gross to the subtle to the causal. Sounds are arising and disappearing in awareness. Notice this awareness itself. This awareness itself cannot be objectified.