Ian, as we say over here on this side of the atlantic, "you da man!" LOL :)
No, you don?t have to be a Buddhist or Hindu to find the "True Path" (and I don?t actually consider Ramana as the archetypal Hindu) ? Buddhism and Ramana (as opposed to pure Hinduism) will bring you to a greater awareness about the Truth of Reality than you would likely find in other religions/philosophies. You are less likely to get bogged down with doctrine but will, on the contrary, be able to lead a wonderfully free and happy life ? all while your spirituality blossoms.
Yes, in a manner of speaking, we are all God and God is in all of us (depends on whether you believe in God or not). I believe in Consciousness. I believe in the greater Self. We have evolved to our present level.
Thank you so much for giving me exactly what I needed! Your insights are invaluable. I should clarify when I said that "God is in all of us and we are God" that I was speaking in terms of the ultimate reality or pure self or what ever you might want to call it; I no longer believe in God as a spirit entity, rather in a Force like manner that binds all and is in all, for want of a better example. I don't believe in God as a separate being- spirit or in the form of any teacher/guru; I agree with you about Conciousness and greater Self.
I do feel so much more free already not being chained so to speak to all my previous ideas about what God is, worrying if god existed per se in the fairy tale sense of being a father figure that swoops in and saves whom he chooses while he lets others die, as in the tsunami. I couldn't reconcile in my mind any of that, yet I knew that there was something greater than just a world full of billions of separate people.
Another moment of clarity that has come to me through the realisations of the past few days...is that by realising that all people are divine, I will have a lot more capacity for tolerance and less hostility to those who do believe that God is a personage of spirit being; somehow it no longer feels insulting to me. I think that insecurity was the basis for some of the anger that believers raised in me; that was a failing on my part and I realize now completely that everyone who is sincere has to find their own path and that different people reach their true Self in different ways. Some believe in God to do so and surrender completely to God's superiority;
SURRENDER
There are two ways of achieving surrender. One is looking into the source of the 'I' and merging into that source. The other is feeling 'I am helpless myself God alone is all powerful and except throwing myself completely on Him, there is no other means of safety for me', and thus gradually developing the conviction that God alone exists and the ego does not count. Both methods lead to the same goal. Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation. "
I choose the first option; it is also amazing to me that this is not some self-centered ego trippy kind of thing; "Oh, I'm god, god is me, i'm better than everyone else." no way! It is working the opposite way for me. It is reminding me of things that i always knew. I explained it to a friend that it's as if I'm remembering a lullaby that someone I loved sang to me when i was an infant...the tune was familiar from the first note, but the words were missing. I couldn't remember. Then someone said a couple words from the first verse of the song, and now I remember; and it's more beautiful than I remember.
Thank you again Ian for your insight...I understand about finding a teacher; I am reading right now and concentrating on being still and letting this develop at the pace my mind and heart is ready for; I know these things cannot be rushed. ((((((((Ian)))))))))
Unfettered, I loved your example of students in your classes. Made perfect sense to me. I have always been overly-sensitive to people's emotions, even from childhood, where at the age of three my mother found me comforting another child in pre-school whose father had just left the family. I came to my mother and said "so-and so is sad, we have to find her father and tell him so that he can come home." I was only three; and I sat and cried with this little girl and patted her on the back and told her that I would be her friend.
So yeah, learning that agility is a balance that I long for and hope that will develop in me as time goes on. Walking around this way...it's like sensory overload emotionally. There is only so much I can take before I have to withdraw completely and go into hiding in my own little mental cave. Those who know my history with coming and going from the board here may understand that better in light of this. It got, in the past, to a point where it became physically painful to feel other's emotions; and I had no choice but to back away for awhile to get my bearings. I have already become better at protecting myself from this; and I know that I am on the right path to learning that balance. I want to be compassionate but not to the point that it kills me LOL.
Okay...shall i toss another hat into the ring or do we have too many plates spinning already to mix metaphors? How about Taoism? Unfettered brought it up and I was already thinking about that too; so anyone have any comparisons for me between that and Buddhism and Ramanist teachings (which so far seem the most appealing to me without involving the Hindu religion outright) and Taoism and how it is the same/ different?
Please don't think I'm being lazy and not wanting to do the research on all this, I spent the whole day yesterday devouring every word I could find on these subjects. Its just my hunger for information is great and I also love getting people's personal perspectives on how each of these schools of thought have effected them.
Thank you again, everyone...amazing discussion here.
love,
essie
