Bhagavad Gita: a perspective on current events . . .

[patrice]

||Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field||

"Undivided but situated in the beings divided, bearer of beings but also to be known as the devourer and illuminator."



. . . kind of interested in the proximity of "devourer and illuminator" here.

[RagAss]

1. My take.

One must devour the illusion of divided reality. Self and other are one. All is "one" in the void, the only true reality...and that "one" is no thing....this understanding is the illumination.

[patrice]

3. Yes, indeed. Thank you for your response, RagAss. Love the BG!

I was also thinking of how eating produces a burning event called metaolism that sustains life, and the person/food is illuminated, in the fire of the "only true reality," in which all things are one.

I was thinking about how that devouring illumination literally and concretely pervades all things from the smallest mitochondria to galaxies.

We burn. Everything burns in What Is.

[Vehl]

6. i like this! nt

[GliderGuider]

2. It's also known as "essence"

At least in the Diamond Approach teachings of A.H. Almaas.

Essence can be thought of as the ground of being, or the field from which being arises. Essence is by nature undivided, and since it is the ground of being it is the bearer of beings. As essence manifests within us it devours the sense of separateness that is grounded in our personalities (the beings divided by the dualism of self-awareness) by illuminating the fact that we are not our personalities.

Essence manifests in many aspects within us, mirrored darkly in similar traits in our personalities. If we recognize and open to the arising of our essential nature it can lead us through the knots in our personalities that keep us out of touch with our essential self, and allow the true self to emerge. This unfoldment of our essential nature is the goal of all paths.

[AlecBGreen]

8. That is how I conceptualize God

"God can be thought of as the ground of being, or the field from which being arises. God is by nature undivided..."

[leed]

4. Message to Patrice

Hello Patrice, I was unable to send a private message to you so I hope you read this post. I came accross an older post by you on this site where you mention wearing an old braclet with Capt. USAF James V. Dawson SVN on it. James Dawson was my father and I came across your post via a Google search on his name. I am curious about the bracelet you mention. Can you tell me anything about it or how you came across it? I'm not looking to posess it but I am very curious how you came accross it. Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks!

-Lee Dawson

[LAGC]

5. Try sending a Personal Message.

She might not see your post here, you might have better luck sending a PM to her by clicking the little mail icon next to her name up in her Original Post.

Welcome to DU.

[Jim__]

9. Here's a link to a website on MIA bracelets.

This has nothing to do with Patrice, and I don't know if this is where she got her bracelet. But, there is a website The Origin of the POW-MIA Bracelets that talks about this. You may still be able to get info through that website or its links.

[Vehl]

7. My take on this, would be that its an expression of Advaida (non duality)

Hinduism has multiple schools of thought, ranging from schools that teach that the soul and god are different, to schools that claim that the soul and the divine are the same, to certain schools that don't need a god at all


The Advaida school of Hinduism claims that we are but souls who have forgotten our one-ness with the universe(s). some followers of the the aforementioned school do not have a need for god, as "god" itself is (according to adwaida vedanta) a result of the illusion that prevents us from seeing the underlying unity amongst all things, both animate and inanimate. like super-strings from the M theory



Advaida literally means "not -two" (non-dual) = Monism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monism
Most of the Vaishnavite schools of Hinduism tend to be Daiwda (dual -god, soul) while most shaivite school of Hinduism tend to be Non_dual in their outlook.


Amongst the different types of Yogas, the Dawaidins prefer "bakti yoga" (the yoga of devotion), the Adwaidins prefer "Jnana yoga" (the Yoga of knowledge). Bakti yoga, as the name suggests, requires a divine being, whereas jnana yoga does not, because its goal is to find the underlying unity amongst things we consider as different through the pursuit of knowledge


i digress...


"Undivided but situated in the beings divided, bearer of beings but also to be known as the devourer and illuminator."

^^ imho that would mean the "brahman" (universal self/consciousness/underlying unity) (i hasten to add that the "brahman" might be interpreted as divine...or not, depending on the school) that is found amongst all things.


"undivided, but situated in beings divided" , might mean that ,even though this "brahman" (not to be confused with brahmin) is undivided (non dual), it is still found inside beings which consider themselves to be unique/different from each other(due to their lck of knowledge regarding the universal one-ness).


"devourer and illuminator" might refer to the same thing, that with knowledge, this "illusion"(maya) of separateness will vanish when the underlying unity is illuminated/uncovered.

this is why, Hindu divinities (actually metaphors) are depicted as creators and destroyers. because, contrary to what we might believe, destruction is not always a bad thing, nor creation always good.


The example i would like to provide, to underscore this point, would be that of a supernova


When a star goes nova, it will result in the destruction of solar systems, and possibly the destruction of life in those systems as well. So, in that regard, the supernova is bad/evil

on the other hand...eons later, from the nebulae created by this supernova, new stars are created. if not for nebulae , our universe will not have any new stars. and it will soon die a cold death....old stars winking out of existence.

thus, something which is a destroyer, also turns out to be a creator. this is why Hindus consider creation (illumination?) and destruction (devouring) as part and parcel of eternal cycles.



regards:)

[westerebus]

10. Dance like Ganesh.

Please digress more often. Thanks for the information.