Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Last edited on 14th June 2015 This post is based on two comments of mine on a Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/groups/813523495355493/903603373014171 . [I have presumed that Sai Mafalda will not have objections to me sharing her small comment on this post, which is free for interested readers, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.] Sai Mafalda wrote (slightly edited): I heard many devotees say we are all God; we are all Avatar. What we are missing from that statement is that we have to realize the Atma first to call ourself Avatar. Certainly we are, but the Diamond has to be polished and cleaned first so he can Shine. So we have to realise the Atma first so we can become one with God, and can call ourself Avatar. --- end Sai Mafalda edited quote from the post--- Ravi: I entirely agree with Sai Mafalda's words based on what Swami has said in this interview shared by Al Drucker. I would also like to say that from my study of Sri Sathya Sai Baba...

Last updated on 14th June 2015 [This post is from a comment of mine in this FB post, https://www.facebook.com/groups/813523495355493/903603373014171 ] In my humble opinion, the essence of Sai's teachings, as I have DIRECTLY heard Sai say so many times, is LOVE (Prema). I have been a teacher/mentor both in a university and in the software industry. So I know the value of repetition to drive home the point to most students (only a few that I would teach would be so bright and so concentrated on my lecture that they would fully grasp a point and later remember it, even if the point is said only once). We are all Swami's students (at least I certainly consider myself to be Swami's student). Swami used to repeatedly drive home Prema, Prema, Prema to us in Sai Kulwant Hall. Again and again and again. Therefore, to this student of Swami, there is no doubt whatsoever that the essence of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's teachings was Prema/Love. Typically this love would get...

I heard one contemporary Indian spiritual master (a lady) say that there are two great signs of a realized spiritual master (or words to that effect): Prema (meaning selfless, unconditional love) and Vairaagya (detachment). I think she got it spot-on! Its a very difficult combo. to have both Prema and Vairaagya. Prema can very easily lead one to get attached to the object of Prema.

Is it true that women have more devotion than men? Sathya Sai Baba: "I wish to emphasise in this context that during the life time of any Avatar, it is only the women who recognise His divinity first. They are the ones who lead their husbands to the path of divinity. It is only because of the devotion of the women that men cultivate devotion to some extent at least. But for women, few men would have had devotion. Since time immemorial, women have been identified with devotion and men with wisdom. Women can enter even the inner chambers, whereas men can go only up to the durbar hall of God. It means that wisdom can lead you near God while devotion will take you to the heart of God. That is why such a great value has been attached to Bhakti, devotion." SS Oct 2002 P 306 [From page 662 of book, A Compendium of the Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, by Charlene Leslie-Chaden, Google Books link  (note sometimes the particular page may not be shown in Google Books)] Said so aut...

[Note this if from a Facebook post of mine here: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1626880937528477 ] A few days ago I was passed a link to an interview of Jerry Coyne on the incompatibility of religion and science, http://fivebooks.com/interviews/jerry-coyne-on-incompatibility-religion-and-science . The interview covers five books which he says, makes his case that "Embracing a scientific worldview excludes the possibility of also believing in God". I am not a scientist (I am a software technolgist) and so do not want to get into the main part of his argument as mentioned above. However I thought I should share a couple of extracts from the initial part of the interview, and give my views on it. Here are the extracts (Jerry Coyne's words): My argument is not that religious people are constantly battling science or trying to prevent it moving forward, but that the methods that religion uses to ascertain truths about the universe are at odds with the me...

Carl Jung - Face to Face [BBC - 1959], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTBs-2cloEI , 39 min. 27 secs, published on Mar. 21, 2013. Page 423 onwards of http://archive.org/stream/MemoriesDreamsReflectionsCarlJung/carlgustavjung-interviewsandencounters-110821120821-phpapp02_djvu.txt , contains the transcript of the above BBC video interview of Dr. Jung by John Freeman. [Searching for "423" in the web page is an easy way to reach this part (the first search result when searching from the top of the page)] As the interview transcript is available on archive.org I have presumed that the copyright has expired. So I have put up some extracts of the transcript below as this is a free blog for interested readers with no profit motive whatsoever. Some excerpts from the transcript (with minor editing to correct typo kind of stuff and to put in names of interviewer, Freeman, and Jung), and some comments from me: I AM experience (Around 2:55 in the video) Freeman: Now, can I tak...

Last updated on 8th June 2015 In the context of realizing the ultimate truth of our existence, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba wrote in a letter (heart should be understood in this context as feelings, the feeling heart): It is the heart that reaches the goal; follow the heart. A pure heart seeks beyond the intellect. It gets inspired. Whatever we do reacts upon us, if we do good, we shall have happiness and if evil, unhappiness. Within you is the mighty ocean of nectar divine. Seek it within you, feel it, feel it, it is here the Self. It is not the body, the mind, the intellect, the brain, it is not the desire of the desiring, it is not the object of desire. Above all these you are. All these are simply manifestations. You appear as the smiling flower, as the twinkling star. What is there in the world, which can make you desire anything? -------------- Reference: http://www.saibaba.ws/teachings/swamiletters.htm . [Note that I have corrected one error in this reference where i...