Imagine ... taking your son or daughter, or niece or nephew, or younger brother or sister to a magic show. One of the acts performed by the magician is the well-known "sawing a lady in half." You and your child-friend watch as the magician opens the coffin-like wooden box, and helps his lovely assistant to lie down in it—with only her head and her feet protruding, on opposite ends. With The …
Advaita Vedanta
Analytic Idealism
I've followed the work of Bernardo Kastrup—in particular his critiques of materialism—on and off for several years now, and have greatly appreciated it. So was delighted (if a bit surprised) to hear that he was pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy. Here Mr. Kastrup defends his Ph.D dissertation titled Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology—during which he provides a succinct overview of his …
Light & Mirror
Krishna saw his own self — as the Infinite — In the throng of lovely gopis. They experienced in Krishna, O wonder, Their own self — but as the Absolute. And when, in play, he stole their veils, He wished to see himself in Truth's naked ray. Âtmâ and Mâyâ: light and mirror. God is Love and He loves His image. ~ Frithjof Schuon Playful Reflection In searching for an online version …
Practice Notes: The Transitivity Train
Among the great sayings (mahavakyas) of the Upanishads—central to the teaching of Advaita Vedanta—we have this one from the Chandogya Upanishad, spoken in a second-person voice, something a teacher might say to a student as a pointing-out instruction: Tat tvam asi. The English translation of this saying is That thou art or Thou art That. And its basic assertion is that Thou—i.e. Atman, your …
Practice Notes: Appetite, Irritation, Ratios
Mood I very much appreciate philosophy--and often find myself with an appetite for such texts, via eastern and western authors alike. But every now and again I'll shift into a mood in which pretty much all I can bear to read are the Ashtavakra and Avadhuta Gitas: the most direct pointing to nondual reality. In such a mood, even Longchenpa--whom I adore--feels a bit too flowery. My appetite is for …
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Practice Notes: Throwing Shade
Collections I guess it’s not unusual for kids to have collections. When I was growing up, there are three that I recall. The strangest – during my high school years – was beer cans. I didn’t drink beer – have never really liked it, then or now – but somehow ended up collecting beer cans, lining them up on shelves in my bedroom. Go figure. Several years before that, it was stamps: hundreds if …