Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Last minor update on 9 Jun. 2023 I felt an urge to share how vital a role, prayer to Sai (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Bhagavan Sri Shirdi Sai Baba) is playing in my current (perhaps around 9 months to a year now) efforts of 'Divine Awareness' Japa-Dhyaana sadhana. Actually I think I should refer to it as Praarthana (prayer), Japa (chanting) and Dhyaana (meditation) sadhana. For many years now, chanting Om Sai Ram and seeking Bhagavan Sai's help and support while doing such chanting (interspersing the chant with requests to Bhagavan Sai to help and support) has been a part of my life. This prayer and Sai Namasmarana has been a source of great support, solace and strength over so many years that I have been doing it. BTW I am far from a perfect Sai devotee. In fact, very often in my prayers I ask Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to forgive me for my many human flaws. Over the past 9 months to a year, I have spent much more time than earlier on what I think I can refer to as ...

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer). To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers may have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link. ==========================================   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwQf8mDlUnA , around 9 mins. [ISKCON bhajan] ----- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0dJKE4rYY4 , around 20 min. video (Rishikesh travel video) ----------- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eda6GIqtaPY (SPB Bilvashtakam) ----------- Jnani identifies himself with all-pervading Brahman and uses his mind and body as his instruments for worldly activities, whereas an ajnani (ignorant person) identifies himself with his body - From The Mind of a Jivanmukta, http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2000s/2009/0902/0902mnjv.html (recent link as earlier link is now broken) The content of the below shared Fac...

Following is an interesting video, even if some of it is hard to comprehend (for me 😀 at least): What Happens During Enlightenment? Sadhguru Answers, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cNUnmKBkAE , around 13 mins, published on 9 Feb. 2023. Detailed comments of mine about above video: I think Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadhguru , has had some level of mystical experience and so I view him as a genuine contemporary mystic who speaks English and speaks publicly on various spiritual topics quite freely and which speeches/interviews are available on youtube. That makes him a very valuable and quite rare person to me. Currently, I am exploring going into, or rather trying to acquire the ability to go into, trance or rise above body consciousness/go beyond body consciousness through meditation (dhyaan or dhyaana aspect of yoga). In this context, he has given accounts of him going into trance (through meditation, if I recall correctly) and him helping a Swami t...

Last updated on 2 May 2023 As usual for such posts, after some hesitation about whether to keep these private or put them up as a post, I decided to put up the post as it may be useful to someone, if not now then in the future. Given below are edited form of my meditation notes from around 16th Jan. 2023 to 3rd April 2023 ------------- Around 16 Jan. 2023 In meditation, what I'm seeing is that there are two ways of concentration.One way is to focus on a particular point within, like in the centre of the eyebrows.The other is more subtle where one tries to go at a deeper inner level without focusing effort. ------------- 1st Feb. 2023 Namasmarana inner zone (plunging deep into Sai namam while meditating) In this zone there is slightly (not greatly) reduced experience of body consciousness.  So it is a slightly reduced body consciousness state but not a transcended body consciousness state or out of body consciousness state or a beyond body consciousness state.  It also is a sta...