Hari
Om
'Freedays' are the 'gather our thoughts' days;
Q&As; a general page reviewing the week so far…
No
one has submitted request for a chance of the free copy of Kindle Life. It shall remain on the shelf for now. As we progress to more and more study, the
offer may be revived. It is still early
days here with Aatmaavrajanam. Not your standard blog! One of the things which
delayed the launch by more months than intended was the constant thinking and
rethinking of what form it would take.
In the end it was a case of "just take the leap and trust the
process". Within
a matter of days the format developed itself.
This
is partly trusting the inner voice which is ever-present. A large element though is that the training
of the last few years has not gone astray. There comes a time when the
apprentice is ready and can be trusted with carrying on the 'craft';
maintaining tradition even whilst finding their own 'voice'. An apprentice will
always appreciate what the master has given them and their work will always
reflect the influence of that master and, therefore, all the masters before
him/her. Master and apprentice? Yes! This is the tradition the West would
most recognise as being close to that of guru and shishya. The difference is that in West, this
tradition has almost entirely been wiped out.
There came a point at which it was considered that unless one had
'formal education' (i.e. a paper to wave around) at the end of a defined period
of study, then one was somehow lacking; the passing of practical knowledge
combined with experiential wisdom from one 'unpapered' craftsman to another was
not considered worthy.
A
point of difference between university study and being at gurukula is that of
surrender. At uni, whilst there may be respect for professors and tutors, there
would rarely be the reverence which is found when under a guru. That reverence is not only for the personage
which has raised itself to such heights of understanding but also for the
knowledge which they have decided you are worthy to share.
"Knowledge can only truly be preserved by the teaching of it."
(Sw. Advayananda)
As all who have ever been in the position of teaching will know,
this itself adds to one's own learning and aids one's growth. Having to lay out
the basics and cover familiar territory reinforces disciplines, reminds what
has been forgotten, aids in the expansion of saadhana. It means that ever wider
and deeper researches are undertaken - for it becomes easier to make things
simple by knowing the most one can.
Teachers require aids. In the
medium of blogging, images and videos become a great tool in this regard.
Browsing the Chinmaya channel this week, this small program was found. A lot of
it is spoken in English and where the French comes, subtitles have been
provided. Here you will find a good, general expression of what it is to feel
the call of advaita and to guru.
You will have noted, again, the mention of study group and seen it
in action here. Clearly a genuine study
group setup is not possible in this particular arrangement, however you are
most definitely encouraged to ask your questions, debate points, voice doubts
either via the comments box OR, if shy or wish specific direction, by
emailing. The link is on the P-O-O-P
page. This is not to be a monologue. The
feedbacks already given are gratefully received, but interaction is
sought. Questions will always be
responded to; the more which appear publicly the better as this too aids
learning. Those who have remained shy in their reading (there are quite a
number of you!) do consider joining fully.
You are all encouraged to print off each of the posts, as, almost by
default, a 'handbook' of study is developing. This
comes with a proviso, however; in no way must this material be used for
anything other than your own edification. It has been seen everywhere,
not just in vedanta but in any spiritual learning, that the over-eager take
things away and use them as whips against their near and dear…"see I told
you…!!!" or seek to take up a position of authority for which they are not
qualified.
Nothing here is ever for you to use against others. It is to build yourselves.