FluteHolder wrote:I could not find any video on Shiva by SG on English. This Tamil video refers to the connection between music and Shiva. In other videos/lectures he did talk about 'Shiva' as key sound/mantra which..

goodcitizn wrote:Flutie: In your view, is God an invention or discovery?

FluteHolder wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:Flutie: In your view, is God an invention or discovery?

IMHO, it is a discovery which is already prevalent/existing,  a revelation after understood/felt/realized.

goodcitizn wrote:

FluteHolder wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:Flutie: In your view, is God an invention or discovery?

IMHO, it is a discovery which is already prevalent/existing,  a revelation after understood/felt/realized.

Is Shiva then the ultimate destroyer?

FluteHolder wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:

FluteHolder wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:Flutie: In your view, is God an invention or discovery?

IMHO, it is a discovery which is already prevalent/existing,  a revelation after understood/felt/realized.

Is Shiva then the ultimate destroyer?

I am not sure u can refer as ultimate.

Creation/dissolution are 2 actions in nature. Some may refer the dissolution as Shiva. ( you may watch SG videos which describe more clearly and in detail).

http://cds.cern.ch/record/745737?ln=en

Seva Lamberdar wrote:Btw what is Sadhguru's view on "Shivoham" (i.e. the meaning of "Shivoham"?) in the Atmasaktam by Adi Shankra (http://livingunbound.net/inspiration/atmastakam_shivoham/comment-page-1/)?

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:bw -- gosh even if it's to poke fun, how can you sit through such heavy duty bovine excrement?

FluteHolder wrote:You can also directly post/ask your questions in the chat in this website.
https://www.innerengineering.com/online/

Seva Lamberdar wrote:

FluteHolder wrote:You can also directly post/ask your questions in the chat in this website.
https://www.innerengineering.com/online/

I thought you would be more interested in getting answer to this question directly since you keep on posting the video links to Swami.

bw wrote:


i just want to be remembered as a mystic and not a mistake. anything for that.

on another note, i know a couple of people, who are very sensible otherwise, fans of this whole isha foundation/sadhguru thing. one of them goes to retreats in their ashram at coimbatore regularly. she is pretty disillusioned with some aspects of her life and i wonder if this is just an escape route for her.

Kinnera wrote:“So long as you seek self realization the Guru is necessary. Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the real Self and your self as the individual self. The disappearance of this sense of duality is the removal of ignorance. So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Because you identify yourself with the body you think that the Guru is also a body.You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are the Self and so is the Guru. This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-realization.” (Be as you are, The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, p. 95)
GRACE IS ALWAYS PRESENT.
THE SADGURU IS INSIDE YOU.

smArtha wrote:

Kinnera wrote:“So long as you seek self realization the Guru is necessary. Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the real Self and your self as the individual self. The disappearance of this sense of duality is the removal of ignorance. So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Because you identify yourself with the body you think that the Guru is also a body.You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are the Self and so is the Guru. This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-realization.” (Be as you are, The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, p. 95)
GRACE IS ALWAYS PRESENT.
THE SADGURU IS INSIDE YOU.

True. Grace is ever Present. There is ever present Sunshine all through the day and people are still lost in their own self-constructed walls and roofs of protection. Even some of those who had taken the 'risk' of coming out of those shelters for a few minutes are lost addressing their own mental/emotional/physical conveniences/irritants to even notice the magnificence of the Sun and its Glorious shine. Only it's intense presence on a hot Summer afternoon or its absolute absence on cold and dark Winter nights will make someone realize the significance of Sun. 

In the same way a Guru (embodied or not) is there to magnify such an ever present Grace or cloud it wholly to create a huge Void both of which cannot be ignored. For a large majority of people one of those two extremes are needed to make them just see that Forever Presence.

smArtha wrote:

Seva Lamberdar wrote:

FluteHolder wrote:You can also directly post/ask your questions in the chat in this website.
https://www.innerengineering.com/online/

I thought you would be more interested in getting answer to this question directly since you keep on posting the video links to Swami.

Why should someone else be interested in the questions you have Sevaji? If you have a question and if it is burning/churning you then should you not be seeking the avenues to find the answer yourself.

goodcitizn wrote:Sometime back when Sai Baba passed away my mother, who was a devotee,  was distraught. I was perhaps insensitive to the depth of her belief when I started saying he was a fake, that it is foolish for his devotees to think that he can spit out gold idols of the Lord out of his mouth by some divine process when it takes a whole lot of work to convert a nugget of golden ore to a nice ornament. All she could respond in exasperation was whatever had happened to the little boy she had raised with faith. I never brought up the subject with her again.

smArtha wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:Sometime back when Sai Baba passed away my mother, who was a devotee,  was distraught. I was perhaps insensitive to the depth of her belief when I started saying he was a fake, that it is foolish for his devotees to think that he can spit out gold idols of the Lord out of his mouth by some divine process when it takes a whole lot of work to convert a nugget of golden ore to a nice ornament. All she could respond in exasperation was whatever had happened to the little boy she had raised with faith. I never brought up the subject with her again.

I went to the Satya Sai school from elementary all the way till completion of high school. My first encounter with any Swami/Godman in life. Myself and siblings managed to stay out of Swami is God 'indoctrination' even back then. On one major occasion the Principal even singled me out to tell everyone that I'm an atheist (his extrapolation of my agnosticism to Satya Sai is God Incarnate). Even today there are enough Sai devotees in my close and extended circle of friends and relatives. However, I remain agnostic to his Divinity still. 

Here are few salient observations during my interactions with them. Of course, some of these may be true of followers of many other Gurus/Swamis/Paths too
- Almost all who believed in his Divinity are those that had a direct or indirect experience of some 'miracle' that helped/amazed/scared them. Extremely few (actually only two) talked about any Spiritual growth or transformation.
- On home turf or when unchallenged, they'll have no qualms proclaiming his Superiority to all other Gurus/Swamis or even other 'petty' Gods. At other places they just mingle with the larger group. 
- Other than 'Love All', 'Serve All', 'Have Faith' kind Universal instructions, very few ever venture into any deeper philosophical inquiry or interpretation of his mission or teachings. 
- Any discussion on allegations of frauds/scams in the miracles or activities associated with him and the affiliate organizations is countered by suitably toning down the 'Swami is God Incarnate' claim and highlighting the 'Swami is a Do Gooder' and the inspiration/motivation behind the Seva Dal, its volunteers and activities.

FluteHolder wrote:Years Back (I think Junior Vikatan) did a sting operation on how the fake/vibhuti/lingam episodes are happening with video proof) and made an investigative report. It caused a major furor in media/among devotees then.

smArtha wrote:

bw wrote:


i just want to be remembered as a mystic and not a mistake. anything for that.

on another note, i know a couple of people, who are very sensible otherwise, fans of this whole isha foundation/sadhguru thing. one of them goes to retreats in their ashram at coimbatore regularly. she is pretty disillusioned with some aspects of her life and i wonder if this is just an escape route for her.

Are you hinting that 'otherwise sensible' folks should not be at ashram retreats?

We can make similar case for 'otherwise sensible' people seeking escape from boredom or other deficiencies of life spending time on online forums.