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From: eileenm@sco.COM (Eileen Maceri)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: This is a great group!
Message-ID: <1991May24.063239.5349@nas.nasa.gov>
Date: 24 May 91 06:32:39 GMT
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Approved: prabhu@amelia.nas.nasa.gov


I have just recently discovered this net group, and have been very interested
in the past few days' postings by John Wheeler, Sridhar Pingali, and Rebecca
Radnor.  With Rebecca's latest posting (on meditation and the mind only
philosophy), I would like to offer a comment from my own observations.

I notice that some of the postings excite me as I read them, and I feel less
inspired by others, and I was wondering why.  All of those posting seem to
know their subject matter, and the presentations (particularly Rebecca's) are
scholarly and erudite.  It is obvious she is highly intelligent.  I read and
re-read all the postings, and I think I know what it is.

It is more moving to me when the postings are reflective of the person's own
experiences, rather than based on theory.  Given the choice, my preference
would always be to hear about someone's own experience (this is just IMHO)
than all the theories that the mind of man has been able to produce in
centuries of philosophizing.

I have found that mere academic knowledge, no matter how beautifully phrased,
is unable to inspire or convey the living quality that leaps from the page --
or computer screen :-) -- and really *speaks* to me when someone sincerely
shares his or her own experience.

In the end, the only thing one can or *will* really trust is one's own direct
experience.  I believe a spiritual master who inspires and encourages you to
experience for yourself the depths of which he speaks (and NOT just take his
word for it), is a good teacher.  This is the only kind of teacher I would
follow.  Life is too short for words that spin all around and take you
nowhere.  My experience in reading Krishnamurti was just that.  I felt that he
left me hanging there, just "twisting in the wind." And his life of suffering,
as described in his autobiography, was not inspiring to me.  I already KNOW
how to suffer.

Ramana Maharshi, whom I greatly admire as a realized Being, once said:  "The
Guru is the bestower of Silence who reveals the light of Self-Knowledge which
shines as the residual Reality.  Spoken words are of no use whatsoever if the
eye of the Guru meets the eye of the disciple." Such masters are rare, but I
believe they can awaken you to the place of peace and wisdom within yourself.
Many people who were privileged to be with the Maharshi speak of the peace and
joy they felt in his presence, whether silent or spoken.  It has been my good
fortune to be in the presence of an enlightened disciple of the Maharshi, and
I know now, for myself, just what they were expressing.  One is touched in the
deepest way by a master who lives and teaches from the solid foundation of
Being.  Many spiritual masters have referred to it as "the Self speaking to
the Self." All I know is what I feel, and it is profound peace and heightened
awareness.  And, most importantly, my everyday life has changed and continues
to change in ways that bring me increasing peace and happiness.  Now, this is
something solid and measurable...my very own experience.

In spiritual pursuits, I believe an open mind is of far more value than a mind
stuffed full of "knowledge," with no space left for simple heartfelt
experience.  Having spent several years in the academic corridors of
psychology and philosophy, and observing the fruits of these pursuits in
myself and others, I have found that academic knowledge and philosophizing
does not bring one to happiness, peace, or even wisdom.  Words are full if
they change your life for the better, and empty if they do not.  In my own
case, realizing that the written word was not helping to bring me to what I
wanted (peace or what I called a "lasting 'at-ease' feeling"), I was grateful
to hear from a friend about a master who was helping her to experience this
in her life.  It never occurred to me to think she was relating to me from a
"superior" stand.  She honestly expressed what her experience was, I could see
it was changing her life, and I was curious to explore this avenue that was
being presented to me.  I knew that if it were just "propaganda," I would soon
find that out for myself, and if it were really what she said it was, I would
be greatly benefited.  I couldn't lose.  To me, it seems that what WORKS, what
takes you most quickly to your goal (if you have one), is most important.  I
just want to be happy, and I am grateful for the help of anyone who can show
me how to have a greater and greater experience of happiness/peace.

I am truly enjoying the postings from everyone, and hope my comments will not
be misconstrued as heavy criticism or flames.   The sincerity of each poster
is very apparent.  It is VERY refreshing to find people like you on the net.
I just wanted to add this perspective [from *my* own experience :-)].