[Buddha-l] Modern Advaita sages

[curt]

What an odd description of Vivekananda Erik's is. One would never 
suspect that this was the same guy who traveled around asking people if 
they had seen God - until he finally found someone who had. Or the same 
guy who was known for the beautiful voice with which he sang traditional 
devotional hymns to the Hindu Gods. Or the same man who asserted that 
when his teacher touched him he felt his own identity dissolve - and 
that when he panicked his teacher withdrew the touch and the the feeling 
went away. At that point his teacher (the country bumpkin Ramakrishna) 
reassured him "It need not be done all at once. It will come to pass in 
the course of time."

It is only natural for people with differing points of view to want to 
claim Vivekananda as "their own". Fortunately there is plenty of 
Vivekananda to go around. To the rationalists he is a rationalist. To 
the mystics he is a mystic. To the Hindus he's a Hindu. To wine drinkers 
he's a wine drinker. But once you have found your own reflection in him 
don't make the mistake of thinking that's all there is.

- Curt

Erik Hoogcarspel wrote:

>  
> I think you're right here, Ramakrishnan was an old style yogi. He came 
> from a small village not far from Calcutta and he taught himself yoga. 
> His village was a pelgrimsresort and there were always yogi's passing 
> by and Ramakrishnan watched them carefully and imitated what he saw. 
> He had visions of most Indian gods and even Jesus and Mohammed, but 
> being a rural Bengali Kali, mother Nature, has always been closest to 
> his heart. Vivekananda was like Rammohan Roy and others a rationalist 
> because of his English education. He liked science and he never had 
> any feelings for the trational Indian gods. Later on when he was 
> famous, some Germand vaidantins who offered him a place to stay, were 
> shocked to discover that he liked wine very much and used to smoke a 
> pipe as well.
>
> Erik
>
>
> www.xs4all.nl/~jehms
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>
>