Atma Svarupa Mahadeva

By Edwina Shaw on Friday March 31st, 2017   Can Spirituality Feed Your Ego? ‘Spiritual materialism’ is a term first used by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche , a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who came to the United States in the early seventies. In his book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism,  Trungpa expounded on his theories of how the ego likes to use the spiritual path for its own ends, and the mistakes seekers easily fall into in their quest for enlightenment. The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use… even spirituality. ~ Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche In the west, we have come to think of our spiritual quest as ‘self-improvement,’ which is all well and good, except what is the self? Ego. Especially in the west, where we are conditioned from an early age into individualism and material accruement, it is easy to impose these ingrained structures of understanding onto spirituality as well. We can collect courses and retreats and practices like medals, or ch

Spiritual materialism is a term coined by Chögyam Trungpa in his book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. The book is a compendium of his talks explaining Buddhism given while opening the Karma Dzong meditation center in Boulder, Colorado. He expands on the concept in later seminars that became books such as Work, Sex, Money. He uses the term to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spirituality into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor, based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress.[1] Conventionally, it is used to describe capitalist and spiritual narcissism, commercial efforts such as "new age" bookstores and wealthy lecturers on spirituality; it might also mean the attempt to build up a list of credentials or accumulate teachings in order to present oneself as a more realized or holy person.[2] Author Jorge Ferrer equates the terms "Spiritual materialism" and "Spiritual Narcissism"

Sometimes transliterated as: Adhibhautika, adhidaivika, adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, adhidaivika, AdhyAtmika, Adhibhautika, adhidaivika, aadhyaatmika Adhibhautika literally means pertaining to the bhuta or living beings. Adhidaivika literally means pertaining to the daiva or fate, unseen forces and gods. Ādhyātmika literally means pertaining to the ātma or the body (and the mind). Sorrow and suffering (duhkha, tāpa) are inevitable part of life. Knowledge regarding their origin, causes and even categorization helps one to minimize their effect, if not eradicate them. The scriptures usually call them ‘tāpatraya,’ (‘the three miseries.’) and categorize them into ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and adhibhautika. The ādhyātmika duhkha or tāpa is that which is caused by bodily suffering and mental anguish. Hereditary diseases like leprosy, disabilities like blindness or lameness and diseases caused by the violation of the rules of health and sanitation are classed und

Oṃ gurur bramhā gurur viṣṇū gurur devo maheśvarā gurur śākṣāt paraṃ brahmā tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ Meaning: Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Maheshwara (Shiva), Guru is Supreme Brahman Itself Prostration unto that Guru  Esoteric Meaning: Our creation is that guru ( Brahma -the force of creation); the duration of our lives is that guru ( Vishnu -the force of preservation); our trials, tribulations, illnesses, calamities and the death of the body is that guru ( devo  Maheshwara -the force of destruction or transformation). There is a guru nearby ( Guru Sakshat ) and a guru that is beyond the beyond ( param Brahma ). I make my offering ( tasmai ) to the beautiful ( shri ) remover of my darkness, my ignorance; ( Guru ) it is to you I bow and lay down my life ( namah ). Guru is the remover of darkness: Gu means darkness, and Ru means remover. Darkness refers to what obscures

Thou art the body of Shambhu with two breasts which are the Sun and Moon. Oh, Bhagavati, thou art the all pervading stainless one; therefore the connection between each, of thee as part and whole is the nature common to both, the same lordship and supreme bliss - Wave of Bliss (Woodroffe's translation) The Sodha Nyasa (sixfold nyasa), which is part of the daily worship of Tripurasundari, is here for the first time translated into English, from the work called Nityotsava , itself a commentary on the famous Kalpasutras of Parashuram. Parashurama was a brahmana initiated by Lord Dattatreya into the worship of Shri Shri Mahatripurasundari Lalita Devi . The Kalpasutras provides a compendium for the worship of that Devi. Various forms of nyasa , which means 'placing', enter into this and all other forms of tantrika puja. The dialogue between Parashuram and Dattatreya is contained in the Tripura Rahasya , a wonderful work which is available in an English translat

By Anadi The Founders of Advaita Vedanta Advaita is not so much a spiritual path as a philosophy, a highly intellectualized vision of reality. It has risen to popularity in the West largely due to Ramana Maharishi, a great sage who chose to articulate his self-experience through the philosophy of Advaita, even though he himself did not follow the teachings of Advaita on his path to self-realization. The concept of non-duality, which sits at the heart of Advaita, is very old. It can be found in the ancient Brahma Sutras of Bādarāyana and the teachings of Gaudapada. Gaudapada was GovindaBhagavatpāda’s teacher, and he in turn was Adi Shankara’s guru. However, it was Shankara who, in the 8th century, gave Advaita Vedanta its final, recognizable shape and who became its most influential expounder. Adi Shankara was not a practical teacher, but a religious reformer and philosopher who travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses an

Shiva Dhyana Sloka We chant dhyana slokas to meditate on Lord Shiva before chanting Sri Rudram that describes Lord Shiva in three different perspectives. 1. Eka Roopa  (sloka 1 to 4) Initially we look upon the Lord as a person (as a personal god). Therefore the initial description of the Lord is as a person with hands and legs, asanams and ornaments etc. 2. Aneka Roopa or Viswaroopa  (sloka 5 to 6) Once we evolve enough then this perspective changes. The Lord should not be seen as one particular person but Lord must be seen as total creation endowed with all the forms of creation. 3. Aroopa or Nirguna Brahman  (sloka 7 to 8) Once we have evolved sufficiently then we have to go beyond the viswaroopa also. We have to learn to appreciate the same Lord as formless, attribute less, the absolute nirguna brahman. We can choose our personal god or Ishta Devata from different names and forms, viz. Shiva, Vishnu or Devi.   After doing sufficient puja to Shiva or