AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana Yogas

November 4, 2009

Dear Siva,

You sent this mail to me instead of the list. I am forwarding this to the list.

Please feel free to write directly to the list on spiritual matters in future!

Best regards,

Narasimha

Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam

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Spirituality:

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Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org

> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:18:24 -0000

> " schinnas " <schinnas

> -owner

> AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana Yogas

>

> Dear all,

> Namaskarams. I occasionally visit this forum. I happened to see several

emails about AOL and the below email from Shri. Narasimha.

> As a follower of AOL's spiritual practices and as a disciple and devotee of

Sri Sri Ravishankar, I want to clarify a few things to the extent of my

understanding.

>

> There are several paths each leading to the destination of Sat-Chit-Ananda.

Some are ritualistic, some use austerities, some use devotion, etc. AOL is a

path, where the path to Bliss is also blissful. That does not make it in any way

inferior to paths of austerities. As Sri Aurobindo would call it, it is a

" Sunlit path " . In this path one does not suddenly emerge into SatChitAnanda. The

personality of the sadhak is transformed slowly and the sadhak radiates more and

more as they progress more and more.

>

> In my experience, AOL is a seamless blend of Raja yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma

yoga and Gnana yoga. Spritual practice in AOL is not just doing Sudarshan Kriya

everyday as it is commonly (mis)understood. Pranayams and Sudarshan Kriya are

done for cleansing and settling of the mind and preparing for meditation and

doing other spiritual practices of contemplation, Seva for rest of the day wit

the right attitude. Regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya removes / breaks old

patterns and

>

> AOL includes some yoga asanas to prepare the body (the Padma Sadhana sequence

of asanas taught in DSN course and Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) taught in

Part II or advance courses fall under this category.

>

> The raja yoga practices include all the pranayams, Sudarshan Kriya, mudras,

bandhas, meditations taught in Art of Living course, advance courses, Sahaj

samadhi meditation course, etc.

>

> The Knowledge part includes deep contemplative study and imbibing of Narada

Bhakti Sutras, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Ashtavakra Gita and Bhagavat Gita. Sri Sri

Ravishankar has given very elaborate commentary on all of the above. His

commentary on Bhakti Sutras runs to 30 or so tapes and the publicly available

commentary on Ashtavakra gita runs to over 33 DVD episodes! Besides daily study

of Yoga Vashishtam is highly

> recommended. Learning and contemplation of this Wisdom is mandatory for those

that strive to become Art of Living teachers.

>

> The path of AOL emphasises on Surrender and Seva. Guru puja to Guru parampara,

nama sankeertan and bhajans are a standard feature of AOL satsangs.

>

> Some wonder why AOL charges for these courses and some wonder about lack of a

Sadhguru at every stage.

>

> Let me clarify from my personal experiences that Sri Sri Ravishankar is a

fully Enlightened Master living in Sahaj Samadhi all times. He is capable of

guiding millions of devotees in every step of the sadhana without having to be

near them in person. Several get necessary guidance in dreams (I myself had that

experience twice), some in person and several via various other ways. However,

to get these guidance, an inner connection with the Master is essential. Until

that stage, the various AOL courses, Sri Sri's elaborate and in-depth

commentaries on various Knowledge are more than enough to guide disciples to a

stage where conscious inner communion with Guru can be established.

>

> Several of the senior AOL teachers (mostly Swamis and Rishis) are yogis of a

very high order capable of reaching SatChitAnanda consciousness at will during

meditation. They may be not fully established in it like Sri Sri, but act as

channels of the SatGuru and can appropriate guide a Sadhak as and when needed.

>

> It is very easy to accept those that left their body as having achieved

highest realization such as Sri Aurobindo or Sri Ramakrishna or Ramana

Maharishi. However it is a human tendency to doubt them when they are in

physical form.

>

> Regarding AOL charging money for its courses: AOL is world's largest volunteer

run organization. Neither AOL teachers nor its founder Sri Sri Ravishankar make

monitory profits. All the proceeds go to the charitable activities again run by

volunteers. Many of the full time teachers have given up veyr lucrative careers

and millions worth in property to become teachers and teach for free. Sri Sri

Ravishankar neither needs all the money. All senior AOL teachers including Sri

Sri have went through very bad and sometimes even dangerous conditions to bring

the Knowledge to the masses. This is a time when the highest Knowledge needs to

be revealed to maximum number of people.

>

> Senior AOL teachers have faced danger to their lives by going without any help

or guidance to areas infested with naxalites, terrorists in North East, Kashmir,

Iraq, Palestine, Pakitan, Sri Lanka, etc. with nothing but love and Divine Grace

as their aid.

>

> As far as I know, money is charged in AOL courses for two reasons.

>

> 1) Past experience showed that those that paid for the courses seem to follow

the practices more diligently. It is Sri Sri's guidance that no deserving person

should be denied a course because they cannot afford to pay. As a volunteer, I

was part of organizing several AOL courses and know first hand many cases where

people took courses for free and were also provided free accommodation, etc.

Whenever natural disaster strikes, AOL teachers go there paying from their own

pocket or by AOL and teach courses for free and provide healing to the victims.

AOL does not advertise it or make a show of it.

>

> 2) This is my understanding and not AOl position. It removes the Karmic debt

to the AOL teachers and volunteers who still may have some doership in them.

>

> Finally, Sri Sri is only interested in getting everyone turn inwards and

express the love, joy and compassion that is inside everyone. As long as one

follows a path, any path and surrenders to any Sat Guru, we are happy.

>

> Jai Gurudev!

> Siva.

>

> , Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote:

> >

> > Namaste,

> >

> > There was some discussion on breathing exercises such as Sudarshan kriya

taught at AOL courses. I do not want to comment on specific courses or

techniques, but will make a comment on Raja yoga practices in general.

> >

> > Breathing is a very important activity and is connected to the balance

between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. It maintains the life

force and emotional balance. Several breathing exercises are taught by various

scriptures and traditions, such as praanaayaama taught by Baba Ramdev of

Patanjali Yoga Foundation, Kriya yoga taught by Mahavatar Babaji and Paramahamsa

Yogananda, Sudarsana kriya taught by Art Of Living foundation.

> >

> > All these fall under Raja yoga, in the four-fold division of Jnaana, Bhakti,

Karma and Raja yogas. If these exercises are used as a means to regulate

breathing and thoughts upto some level and keep the body fit, it is fine. They

are quite useful.

> >

> > * * *

> >

> > I was watching a nice TV program of a Baba who popularized praanaayaamas

like kapaalabhaati and anuloma-viloma among Indian masses. He talked about

breathing in and out slowly and gradually reaching nirbeeja samadhi through it.

I was amused. Most people have too many (and quite firm) impurities in their

subtle bodies in the form of prior mental conditioning to be cleared just

through breathing exercises and to reach samadhi - nirbeeja or sabeeja - just by

doing praanaayaama. However, I like the praanaayaamas he teaches. In fact,

things like anuloma-viloma praanaayaama and kapaalabhaati are badly needed in

today's stressed out world. However, I see this as something that relieves

physical and emotional stress and enables better spiritual sadhana, rather than

something that enables spiritual realization.

> >

> > Of course, there are yogic techniques meant for raising Kundalini forcefully

(e.g. bandhas such as Jalandhara bandha). But, with such techniques, one is

playing with fire. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa discouraged his disciples (e.g. Swami

Abhedananda and Swami Yogananda) from Hatha yoga and other Raja yoga practices,

telling them to stay away from practices that emphasize the body and to absorb

the mind in god'a name instead. He said that realizng god through practices that

emphasize the body and its perfection, is nearly impossible in this age due to

impurities present everywhere, in food, water, air and thinking.

> >

> > If one practices yama, niyama etc and attains perfect composure, then it may

be possible to go into samadhi through the control of breathing. But it is

unrealistic for most people. Suppose one has an ocean (samsaara) to cross and a

boat (body) is given to one. If one is close to the bank (liberation), one can

just jump out of the boat and land on the bank. If one in the middle of an ocean

jumps out of the boat, one will only sink in the ocean! In jnaana yoga, bhakti

yoga or karma yoga, one uses knowledge or faith or ability to work without

expectations as a rudder to steer the boat towards the bank. In raaja yoga, one

takes control like a raja (king) and just jumps out of the boat. That will work

if one is close to the bank, i.e. already quite elevated. Otherwise, just

jumping out of the boat is very risky. Raja yoga requires a lot of preparation.

One in Raja yoga practices needs a good guru to gauge one's progress and

prescribe the next steps at every stage. If some things are done too early, it

may result in irreversible damage.

> >

> > Bottomline: Use various praanaayaamas, kriyas and other exercises for

physical and emotional health and to create an environment conducive to

spiritual sadhana. But do not be under an impression that you can realize god

through such activities alone. That may have been possible in the past, but it

nearly impossible for most people today.

> >

> > * * *

> >

> > Regarding charging a lot of money for such things, one should realize that

Ramakrishna and Ramana maharshi stayed away from money for a reason. When Srila

Prabhupada initiated so many people into mahamantra, he did not charge any fee.

He had faith in Krishna and ended up building a really big organization, though

he did not demand any fee for his lectures or initiations and did not keep his

teachings secretive.

> >

> > If Ramakrishna Mutt is doing great service even today, it is because the

organization was built by Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Shivananda

and Swami Premananda with a lot of sattwa guna and they kept rajas and tamas at

bay. They suffered in the beginning and it took a long time to build, but it

will last a long time. Things built with tamas or rajas do not last too long and

do not take people to god. One intending to build an organization to fulfil

one's dharma should try to ensure that sattwa drives the activities and not

rajas or tamas. Usually, money brings rajas or even tamas into picture and that

is why great masters have been wary.

> >

> > There may be exceptions of course. All activities of a fully realized and

liberated soul without any self-identification are guided by sattwa. If such a

person builds an organization based on selling divine knowledge, it means that

Nature wanted him/her to sell divine knowledge for some reason. Such things are

possible but rare. In general, you see great souls like Ramakrishna, Ramana

Maharshi and Srila Prabhupada operating within their means and not charging for

spiritual knowledge.

> >

> > Best regards,

> > Narasimha

November 4, 2009

Dear Siva,

Nice mail. However I have one issue with Sri Ravishankar. Why did he accept to debate the infamous Zakir Naik on Hinduism? Sri Sri Ravishankar maybe an enlightened master but he just cannot debate. If you see the vedios of that debate that happened a couple of years back, you will find Sri Ravishanker utterly clueless on stage, not knowing what and how to counter the polemical queries of the Zakir Naik.

Now when Sri Sri choses to accept an offer to debate Naik on stage, he does not go there merely in his own capacity but as a representative of the religion - Hinduism. And when he fails miserably on stage, it becomes shameful to watch for hindus. I mean, if you are not good with debating why did you even take it up?

I am sorry if this mail sounds a little strong, but everything I have stated here is a fact. The vedios are available for free on youtube, for anyone who wants to see how that debate went.

-Regards

Rajarshi

The upsurge (of consciousness) is Bhairava - Shiva Sutra--- On Thu, 5/11/09, Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote:

Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana Yogas Cc: schinnasDate: Thursday, 5 November, 2009, 5:12 AM

Dear Siva,You sent this mail to me instead of the list. I am forwarding this to the list. Please feel free to write directly to the list on spiritual matters in future!Best regards,Narasimha------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homamDo Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ tarpanaSpirituality: http://groups. / group/vedic- wisdomFree Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro. home.comcast. netFree Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAst rologer.orgJyotish writings: http://groups. / group/JyotishWri tingsSri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagan nath.org------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:18:24 -0000> "schinnas" <schinnas (AT) gmail (DOT) com>> - owner@ s.com> AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana Yogas>

> Dear all,> Namaskarams. I occasionally visit this forum. I happened to see several emails about AOL and the below email from Shri. Narasimha.> As a follower of AOL's spiritual practices and as a disciple and devotee of Sri Sri Ravishankar, I want to clarify a few things to the extent of my understanding.> > There are several paths each leading to the destination of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Some are ritualistic, some use austerities, some use devotion, etc. AOL is a path, where the path to Bliss is also blissful. That does not make it in any way inferior to paths of austerities. As Sri Aurobindo would call it, it is a "Sunlit path". In this path one does not suddenly emerge into SatChitAnanda. The personality of the sadhak is transformed slowly and the sadhak radiates more and more as they progress more and more.> > In my experience, AOL is a seamless blend of Raja yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Gnana yoga.

Spritual practice in AOL is not just doing Sudarshan Kriya everyday as it is commonly (mis)understood. Pranayams and Sudarshan Kriya are done for cleansing and settling of the mind and preparing for meditation and doing other spiritual practices of contemplation, Seva for rest of the day wit the right attitude. Regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya removes / breaks old patterns and> > AOL includes some yoga asanas to prepare the body (the Padma Sadhana sequence of asanas taught in DSN course and Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) taught in Part II or advance courses fall under this category.> > The raja yoga practices include all the pranayams, Sudarshan Kriya, mudras, bandhas, meditations taught in Art of Living course, advance courses, Sahaj samadhi meditation course, etc.> > The Knowledge part includes deep contemplative study and imbibing of Narada Bhakti Sutras, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Ashtavakra Gita and

Bhagavat Gita. Sri Sri Ravishankar has given very elaborate commentary on all of the above. His commentary on Bhakti Sutras runs to 30 or so tapes and the publicly available commentary on Ashtavakra gita runs to over 33 DVD episodes! Besides daily study of Yoga Vashishtam is highly> recommended. Learning and contemplation of this Wisdom is mandatory for those that strive to become Art of Living teachers.> > The path of AOL emphasises on Surrender and Seva. Guru puja to Guru parampara, nama sankeertan and bhajans are a standard feature of AOL satsangs.> > Some wonder why AOL charges for these courses and some wonder about lack of a Sadhguru at every stage.> > Let me clarify from my personal experiences that Sri Sri Ravishankar is a fully Enlightened Master living in Sahaj Samadhi all times. He is capable of guiding millions of devotees in every step of the sadhana without having to be near them in person.

Several get necessary guidance in dreams (I myself had that experience twice), some in person and several via various other ways. However, to get these guidance, an inner connection with the Master is essential. Until that stage, the various AOL courses, Sri Sri's elaborate and in-depth commentaries on various Knowledge are more than enough to guide disciples to a stage where conscious inner communion with Guru can be established.> > Several of the senior AOL teachers (mostly Swamis and Rishis) are yogis of a very high order capable of reaching SatChitAnanda consciousness at will during meditation. They may be not fully established in it like Sri Sri, but act as channels of the SatGuru and can appropriate guide a Sadhak as and when needed.> > It is very easy to accept those that left their body as having achieved highest realization such as Sri Aurobindo or Sri Ramakrishna or Ramana Maharishi. However it is a human tendency

to doubt them when they are in physical form.> > Regarding AOL charging money for its courses: AOL is world's largest volunteer run organization. Neither AOL teachers nor its founder Sri Sri Ravishankar make monitory profits. All the proceeds go to the charitable activities again run by volunteers. Many of the full time teachers have given up veyr lucrative careers and millions worth in property to become teachers and teach for free. Sri Sri Ravishankar neither needs all the money. All senior AOL teachers including Sri Sri have went through very bad and sometimes even dangerous conditions to bring the Knowledge to the masses. This is a time when the highest Knowledge needs to be revealed to maximum number of people.> > Senior AOL teachers have faced danger to their lives by going without any help or guidance to areas infested with naxalites, terrorists in North East, Kashmir, Iraq, Palestine, Pakitan, Sri Lanka, etc. with

nothing but love and Divine Grace as their aid.> > As far as I know, money is charged in AOL courses for two reasons.> > 1) Past experience showed that those that paid for the courses seem to follow the practices more diligently. It is Sri Sri's guidance that no deserving person should be denied a course because they cannot afford to pay. As a volunteer, I was part of organizing several AOL courses and know first hand many cases where people took courses for free and were also provided free accommodation, etc. Whenever natural disaster strikes, AOL teachers go there paying from their own pocket or by AOL and teach courses for free and provide healing to the victims. AOL does not advertise it or make a show of it.> > 2) This is my understanding and not AOl position. It removes the Karmic debt to the AOL teachers and volunteers who still may have some doership in them.> > Finally, Sri Sri is only

interested in getting everyone turn inwards and express the love, joy and compassion that is inside everyone. As long as one follows a path, any path and surrenders to any Sat Guru, we are happy.> > Jai Gurudev!> Siva.> > , Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote:> >> > Namaste,> >> > There was some discussion on breathing exercises such as Sudarshan kriya taught at AOL courses. I do not want to comment on specific courses or techniques, but will make a comment on Raja yoga practices in general.> >> > Breathing is a very important activity and is connected to the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. It maintains the life force and

emotional balance. Several breathing exercises are taught by various scriptures and traditions, such as praanaayaama taught by Baba Ramdev of Patanjali Yoga Foundation, Kriya yoga taught by Mahavatar Babaji and Paramahamsa Yogananda, Sudarsana kriya taught by Art Of Living foundation.> >> > All these fall under Raja yoga, in the four-fold division of Jnaana, Bhakti, Karma and Raja yogas. If these exercises are used as a means to regulate breathing and thoughts upto some level and keep the body fit, it is fine. They are quite useful.> >> > * * *> >> > I was watching a nice TV program of a Baba who popularized praanaayaamas like kapaalabhaati and anuloma-viloma among Indian masses. He talked about breathing in and out slowly and gradually reaching nirbeeja samadhi through it. I was amused. Most people have too many (and quite firm) impurities in their subtle bodies in the form of prior mental

conditioning to be cleared just through breathing exercises and to reach samadhi - nirbeeja or sabeeja - just by doing praanaayaama. However, I like the praanaayaamas he teaches. In fact, things like anuloma-viloma praanaayaama and kapaalabhaati are badly needed in today's stressed out world. However, I see this as something that relieves physical and emotional stress and enables better spiritual sadhana, rather than something that enables spiritual realization.> >> > Of course, there are yogic techniques meant for raising Kundalini forcefully (e.g. bandhas such as Jalandhara bandha). But, with such techniques, one is playing with fire. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa discouraged his disciples (e.g. Swami Abhedananda and Swami Yogananda) from Hatha yoga and other Raja yoga practices, telling them to stay away from practices that emphasize the body and to absorb the mind in god'a name instead. He said that realizng god through practices that

emphasize the body and its perfection, is nearly impossible in this age due to impurities present everywhere, in food, water, air and thinking.> >> > If one practices yama, niyama etc and attains perfect composure, then it may be possible to go into samadhi through the control of breathing. But it is unrealistic for most people. Suppose one has an ocean (samsaara) to cross and a boat (body) is given to one. If one is close to the bank (liberation) , one can just jump out of the boat and land on the bank. If one in the middle of an ocean jumps out of the boat, one will only sink in the ocean! In jnaana yoga, bhakti yoga or karma yoga, one uses knowledge or faith or ability to work without expectations as a rudder to steer the boat towards the bank. In raaja yoga, one takes control like a raja (king) and just jumps out of the boat. That will work if one is close to the bank, i.e. already quite elevated. Otherwise, just jumping out of

the boat is very risky. Raja yoga requires a lot of preparation. One in Raja yoga practices needs a good guru to gauge one's progress and prescribe the next steps at every stage. If some things are done too early, it may result in irreversible damage.> >> > Bottomline: Use various praanaayaamas, kriyas and other exercises for physical and emotional health and to create an environment conducive to spiritual sadhana. But do not be under an impression that you can realize god through such activities alone. That may have been possible in the past, but it nearly impossible for most people today.> >> > * * *> >> > Regarding charging a lot of money for such things, one should realize that Ramakrishna and Ramana maharshi stayed away from money for a reason. When Srila Prabhupada initiated so many people into mahamantra, he did not charge any fee. He had faith in Krishna and ended up building a really

big organization, though he did not demand any fee for his lectures or initiations and did not keep his teachings secretive.> >> > If Ramakrishna Mutt is doing great service even today, it is because the organization was built by Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Shivananda and Swami Premananda with a lot of sattwa guna and they kept rajas and tamas at bay. They suffered in the beginning and it took a long time to build, but it will last a long time. Things built with tamas or rajas do not last too long and do not take people to god. One intending to build an organization to fulfil one's dharma should try to ensure that sattwa drives the activities and not rajas or tamas. Usually, money brings rajas or even tamas into picture and that is why great masters have been wary.> >> > There may be exceptions of course. All activities of a fully realized and liberated soul without any self-identification are

guided by sattwa. If such a person builds an organization based on selling divine knowledge, it means that Nature wanted him/her to sell divine knowledge for some reason. Such things are possible but rare. In general, you see great souls like Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi and Srila Prabhupada operating within their means and not charging for spiritual knowledge.> >> > Best regards,> > Narasimha

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November 5, 2009

Dear Narasimha, namaste and pranaamsWhat is sahaja samadhi and how is it different from nirvikalpa samadhi?best regardsHari

November 5, 2009

Dear Rajarshi,

Very good question. In fact, this is a question that was raised by disciples

of Sri Sri than those that dont know him. In fact, if one looks into it, one

will be dumbfounded! How is it that somebody like Sri Sri, who has commented

exhaustively on several scriptures, who is an authority on vedanta both by his

inner Realization and learning, who recited the Bhagavad Gita when he was 4

years old without anybody teaching him, and who gives impromptu discourses in

various forums across the world on all topics under the sun shy away from

explaining some simple questions that are about his home turf?

The answer is that Sri Sri did not debate. He never debates on Truth! To him

Truth / God is not an article of debate. He can show the way to Realization of

Truth to those that are ready. He is not interested in anything else. He answers

only when there is sincerity in the heart of the questioner. Otherwise he would

say some polite words and let it pass, however big the occasion may be. Most of

the questions that were raised in that meeting were answered elaborately by Sri

Sri in his various commentaries & discourses year ago!

One may ask why then did he go to this meeting or whatever it was? The topic of

the meeting was something like " Concept of God in Hinduism and Islam " . IMHO, Sri

Sri did justice to the topic by " BEING " an embodiment of the very thing that was

supposedly the topic of discussion. Those that were ready to benefit from it

from the audience would have benefited.

************

The below part is not for Rajarshi but may be of interest to everyone,

especially those among us that are intellectually curious about spirituality

than practicing it.

Sri Sri always practices " experience first and explanation and knowledge later "

principle. Sometimes in AOL, there will be big congregation of thousands of

people and Sri Sri will only say very simple things or share some simple jokes

and laughs, but his presence would convey what needs to be conveyed for those

that are receptive. A Master may not be interested in getting 100,000 people

trading one mental concept for another, but prefers one sincere person opening

up to Truth in silence. A Masters mere presence is enough for that to happen.

Words are secondary and optional. In spiritual discussions, the point of words

is to create inner silence or illumination and if that is not created, there is

no point in talking!

It is a great privilege and an immense blessing to be in the presence of a

living Master whether it is Sri Sri or someone else. We gain immensely if we

listen to them from our Being instead of our mind. In Sri Ramakrishna's life,

there are innumerable examples of very simple people benefiting from his mere

looks & presence while big intellectuals would debate with him and miss the

opportunity of a lifetime. Sometimes when he countered insincere queries, Sri

Ramakrishna would feign ignorance and say what would I know - I am an

illiterate! What a disaster it would have been for a seeker if he were to label

Sri Ramakrishna as an illiterate and ignoramus!

Without an accompanying experience (at least a small glimpse or even a fragment

of an experience) accumulating knowledge can be very dangerous as it will become

yet another mental concept and will actually be a hindrance to the Sadhak. Some

of the most subtle and dangerous hindrances for a sadhak are created by none

other than the sadhak's empty concepts of spirituality and God! Things like

lust, greed, anger, etc., stand out conspicuously and are in that way less

dangerous.

Jai Gurudev!

Siva.

, rajarshi nandy <rajarshi14 wrote:

>

> Dear Siva,

> Â

>

> Nice mail. However I have one issue with Sri Ravishankar. Why did he accept to

debate the infamous Zakir Naik on Hinduism? Sri Sri Ravishankar maybe an

enlightened master but he just cannot debate. If you see the vedios of that

debate that happened a couple of years back, you will find Sri Ravishanker

utterly clueless on stage, not knowing what and how to counter the polemical

queries of the Zakir Naik.

> Â

> Now when Sri Sri choses to accept an offer to debate Naik on stage, he does

notÂ go there merely in hisÂ own capacity but as a representative of the

religion - Hinduism. And when he fails miserably on stage, it becomes shameful

to watch for hindus. I mean, if you are not good with debating why did you even

take it up?Â

> Â

> I am sorry if this mail sounds a little strong, but everything I have stated

here is a fact. The vedios are available for free on youtube, for anyone who

wants to see how that debate went.

> Â

> -Regards

> Â Rajarshi

> Â

>

> The upsurge (of consciousness) is Bhairava - Shiva Sutra

>

> --- On Thu, 5/11/09, Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote:

>

> Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr

> AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana

Yogas

>

> Cc: schinnas

> Thursday, 5 November, 2009, 5:12 AM

>

> Â

>

> Dear Siva,

>

> You sent this mail to me instead of the list. I am forwarding this to the

list. Please feel free to write directly to the list on spiritual matters in

future!

>

> Best regards,

> Narasimha

> ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

> Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homam

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> ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

>

> > Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:18:24 -0000

> > " schinnas " <schinnas (AT) gmail (DOT) com>

> > - owner@ s.com

> > AOL: Seamless blend of Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Gnana Yogas

> >

> > Dear all,

> > Namaskarams. I occasionally visit this forum. I happened to see several

emails about AOL and the below email from Shri. Narasimha.

> > As a follower of AOL's spiritual practices and as a disciple and devotee of

Sri Sri Ravishankar, I want to clarify a few things to the extent of my

understanding.

> >

> > There are several paths each leading to the destination of Sat-Chit-Ananda.

Some are ritualistic, some use austerities, some use devotion, etc. AOL is a

path, where the path to Bliss is also blissful. That does not make it in any way

inferior to paths of austerities. As Sri Aurobindo would call it, it is a

" Sunlit path " . In this path one does not suddenly emerge into SatChitAnanda. The

personality of the sadhak is transformed slowly and the sadhak radiates more and

more as they progress more and more.

> >

> > In my experience, AOL is a seamless blend of Raja yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma

yoga and Gnana yoga. Spritual practice in AOL is not just doing Sudarshan Kriya

everyday as it is commonly (mis)understood. Pranayams and Sudarshan Kriya are

done for cleansing and settling of the mind and preparing for meditation and

doing other spiritual practices of contemplation, Seva for rest of the day wit

the right attitude. Regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya removes / breaks old

patterns and

> >

> > AOL includes some yoga asanas to prepare the body (the Padma Sadhana

sequence of asanas taught in DSN course and Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

taught in Part II or advance courses fall under this category.

> >

> > The raja yoga practices include all the pranayams, Sudarshan Kriya, mudras,

bandhas, meditations taught in Art of Living course, advance courses, Sahaj

samadhi meditation course, etc.

> >

> > The Knowledge part includes deep contemplative study and imbibing of Narada

Bhakti Sutras, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Ashtavakra Gita and Bhagavat Gita. Sri Sri

Ravishankar has given very elaborate commentary on all of the above. His

commentary on Bhakti Sutras runs to 30 or so tapes and the publicly available

commentary on Ashtavakra gita runs to over 33 DVD episodes! Besides daily study

of Yoga Vashishtam is highly

> > recommended. Learning and contemplation of this Wisdom is mandatory for

those that strive to become Art of Living teachers.

> >

> > The path of AOL emphasises on Surrender and Seva. Guru puja to Guru

parampara, nama sankeertan and bhajans are a standard feature of AOL satsangs.

> >

> > Some wonder why AOL charges for these courses and some wonder about lack of

a Sadhguru at every stage.

> >

> > Let me clarify from my personal experiences that Sri Sri Ravishankar is a