I am a bit... confused.
My 2nd Guruji told me that he would like to retract himself from all worldly relations that has been hindering him in obtaining the true meaning of the practice.
What I know, is that Siddharta Ghautama Buddha tried to attain sense by getting away from it all.
He was a hermit, with a bunch of yogis who chose to follow his lead, by ostracising himself from their surroundings.
One day Buddha decided that everything should strike a balance, and Nirvana was obtained when he has acknowledge that he fears nothing, even himself.
Now the concept of Nirvana is summed up in Wiki as :
Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान nibbāna ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण) is an ancient Sanskrit term used in Indian religions to describe the profound peace of mind that is acquired with moksha (liberation). In shramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is union with the Brahman (Supreme Being).
The word literally means "blown out" (as in a candle) and refers, in the Buddhist context, to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished.[1]
So, as you can see it has nothing to do with physical exclusion from human relations.
Human relations here did not just mean, sexually. It includes everything else.
So, do we really have to make sure that all kinds of relationships are severed to attain nirvana?
I believe Nirvana is subjective. My type of desired Nirvana might not be the same with the person sitting next to me.
I am really hoping for this to make sense. I just want to be in peace with myself, to love myself more than what I am doing now. And to extend whatever help I can to people who needs it and deserves it.
With Love, Namaste.
Ayu
It's a sticky situation this nirvana thing.
ReplyDeleteSo I am going to share my version of understanding with you on this.
It is about peace of mind.
Basically meaning (to me) the ability to no longer be unbalanced the by the noises in life journey. It is not to say to be cut off from it but instead to be fully accepting of it and to gain balance from it.
It is believed in his teaching that the reason for our pain and suffering in this worldly being is due to our emotional reactions that we associated with events and people. And these events and their relationship causes us to fall into a catch 22 situation. Thus mnny many followers took this to heart and decided that the only way to NOT get into this situation is by abstinence. Or cutting away all interaction that causes it.
But to me that is just smells too much like a fanatical interpretation. It just does not smell right to me. Instead I gravitate towards the version where we take away the control of such emotional state by embracing their true nature and understanding them. It is the same approach I use when I deal with abusive people. I take away their power by knowing who they are, what they do and why they do it. And then I choose to no longer allow these individuals any room of mental space within my life. They become transparent to me in their motives and I can deal with them appropriately.
You might see this being similar to what your guru is doing, by cutting away a social interaction thus avoiding these noises. But that's where the similarities end. I am not avoiding the noises. For me by understanding and accepting these noises, I nullify their effect. In other words there no longer is any voice.
If this sounds familiar, it's because it's one of the most heavily used concept in the first matrix movie. There is no spoon, remember? Suffering is all in the mind, once we fully grasp that then we can fully appreciate life and it's total offerings.
Living is about participation. It's about being one with it all. How does abstentions from social interaction being one with life? We filter away the noise to hear the music. And that filter is done by our mind.
I hope I did not confuse you more than you began.
No not at all! It makes perfect sense. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI thought I saw you walking towards Yoga Dynamics (I presumed) on Saturday morning 10.30ish? Was inside La Bodega with my yogi baby having brunch, would have waved and exchanged hug if you noticed us :)
ReplyDeleteNamaste!
Ninie
Hi Ninie,
ReplyDeleteYeah I was there around that time, that might be me. :)...
I saw you once or twice when you were preggers too. I didn't go over because you seemed like you were in a hurry.
No worries, the next time I see you, I would definitely go over. :)
Namaste!