शिष्यः
Shishya. The disciple, the pupil. The one with a passion to learn.
One of the many great works of Adi Shankaracharya is the Vivekachudamani (Crown-jewel of Discrimination). Throughout, मुमुक्षुत्वम् /mumkshutvam is stressed...the burning desire for liberation. From what? From the trials and tribulations, the lacks and excesses, the swings and roundabouts...
The first step towards liberation is the asking of questions.
Yamini Ali MacLean (YAM) is a Scottish-born, naturalised Australian who has followed her 'soul' not just across the physical globe, but also the ethereal world of spirit. Not coming from a religious background, the roaming began very early in life when there was a sense of presence beyond the physical. Asking to attend Sunday School was a bolt from the blue for her parents. Much later, YAM became a teacher of Christian Scripture. That the first steps were made in the Baptist Church, then via Anglican to the Presbyterian Scottish Kirk meant that differences of doctrine had also to be absorbed.
Emigrating to Australia, there were initial forays into the United Church of Australia, but already there were questions. Having been exposed to Juju and Islam in West Africa, as well as Judaism and Catholicism via friends and neighbours, it seemed that there must be one common factor underpinning spirit.
The true roaming was begun. Researches were made into not only those mentioned, but also B'Hai, Shamanism and Buddhism. At no time, however, was there a sense of having found 'the answer', or the desire to join.
All, at the deepest level, appeared to be claiming the same thing and yet so much was being clouded by dogma, doctrine and defensiveness.
Then Advaita Vedanta opened its doors. It did so at a time when the fundamental questions of life were being wailed into a spiritual chasm. As so often is the case when we are totally open, an opportunity arose. In this case a workshop at a Hindu organisation.
Each of us finds a place at some point in life where we are suddenly freed of care, allowed to release and to move on refreshed. By the end of that first weekend at the Chinmaya Mission in Sydney, YAM knew she had to commit. That commitment reached it's culmination in being accepted to enter Sandeepany Sadhanalaya. Two years of intense, focused study, exploring astounding knowledge and absorbing philosophy so ancient as to be almost undateable, yet as pertinent to modern man as is the computer.
The course finished in September 2013. Choices were made. Now YAM resides on the West Coast of Scotland. Her acharya's parting words were "...don't forget to teach, amma!"
As part of the commitment to ongoing daily study and growth, this blog has been established. If, in the process of working out thoughts and sharing works of worth something of the guru-shishya parampara is passed on to you, the reader, so much the better.
Shishya. The disciple, the pupil. The one with a passion to learn.
One of the many great works of Adi Shankaracharya is the Vivekachudamani (Crown-jewel of Discrimination). Throughout, मुमुक्षुत्वम् /mumkshutvam is stressed...the burning desire for liberation. From what? From the trials and tribulations, the lacks and excesses, the swings and roundabouts...
The first step towards liberation is the asking of questions.
Yamini Ali MacLean (YAM) is a Scottish-born, naturalised Australian who has followed her 'soul' not just across the physical globe, but also the ethereal world of spirit. Not coming from a religious background, the roaming began very early in life when there was a sense of presence beyond the physical. Asking to attend Sunday School was a bolt from the blue for her parents. Much later, YAM became a teacher of Christian Scripture. That the first steps were made in the Baptist Church, then via Anglican to the Presbyterian Scottish Kirk meant that differences of doctrine had also to be absorbed.
Emigrating to Australia, there were initial forays into the United Church of Australia, but already there were questions. Having been exposed to Juju and Islam in West Africa, as well as Judaism and Catholicism via friends and neighbours, it seemed that there must be one common factor underpinning spirit.
The true roaming was begun. Researches were made into not only those mentioned, but also B'Hai, Shamanism and Buddhism. At no time, however, was there a sense of having found 'the answer', or the desire to join.
All, at the deepest level, appeared to be claiming the same thing and yet so much was being clouded by dogma, doctrine and defensiveness.
Then Advaita Vedanta opened its doors. It did so at a time when the fundamental questions of life were being wailed into a spiritual chasm. As so often is the case when we are totally open, an opportunity arose. In this case a workshop at a Hindu organisation.
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| Br Gopal-ji and sisters in spirit; Sydney CM centre |
Each of us finds a place at some point in life where we are suddenly freed of care, allowed to release and to move on refreshed. By the end of that first weekend at the Chinmaya Mission in Sydney, YAM knew she had to commit. That commitment reached it's culmination in being accepted to enter Sandeepany Sadhanalaya. Two years of intense, focused study, exploring astounding knowledge and absorbing philosophy so ancient as to be almost undateable, yet as pertinent to modern man as is the computer.
The course finished in September 2013. Choices were made. Now YAM resides on the West Coast of Scotland. Her acharya's parting words were "...don't forget to teach, amma!"
As part of the commitment to ongoing daily study and growth, this blog has been established. If, in the process of working out thoughts and sharing works of worth something of the guru-shishya parampara is passed on to you, the reader, so much the better.
HARI OM