Re: A Note About this Discussion Group

[Ram]

Sometimes commentary and discussion about the teaching of Shri
Siddharameshwar or any true saint is useful and necessary, and
sometimes not. Nisargadatta in his great wisdom said in the
introduction to the book of his master's teachings, "I cannot explain
his words, therefore I keep quiet about that." indicating that one
must make the effort to understand for oneself. This is also why I
debated posting these teachings in a discussion group as I did not
want to see them relegated to the sea of endless opinions and debate.
This is also why this discussion group is being moderated for all new
members. This group is not intended to be a free-for-all forum for
opinions and socializing. There are many other places on the internet
that are very well suited for such purposes.

This is some of the reasoning as to why this discussion group is being
presented as an "experiment" in order to see where it leads, and if it
proves to be a help to sincere spiritual aspirants, or if it merely
ends up turning into just another discussion board. If the latter is
the case, the experiment will be over and simply be considered to have
been an experiment that was a noble idea, but did not meet its
intended objective. In the event that this is the case, this message
group will continue to exist, but will remain as only another place
for aspirants to access the words of the masters of this Sampradaya,
but not to comment on them.

The over-riding reason to go ahead with this experiment is that in the
past couple of years there has been increasing interest in the
teachings of Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, Shri Ranjit Maharaj, and
Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj in the way that they have been traditionally
presented in the Sampradaya India and not just in the way that they
are typically being presented in the west in modern times.

Very few westerners availed themselves of the traditional approach to
presenting advaita teachings that Nisargadatta Maharaj presented to
his Indian devotees even though his full scope of teaching was freely
available to all. Most westerners who were with him, or who have only
read "I Am That" do not think that the traditional method of the
Sampradaya, or classical approaches to Advaita Vedanta are relevent
for modern day western minds. I tend to think that this opinion is
based more on a of lack of exposure to the traditional methods of
instruction rather than an understanding of them. Thus an effort is
being made to make the teachings of Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj as
well as that of the great saint Shri Samartha Ramdas available in the
west in as accurate a representation as possible. This is not to say
that the traditional approach is the only valid approach, only that
the purpose of this forum is to make the knowledge of the traditional
approach available to 21st century westerners.

The other reason for deciding to go ahead with this experiment is that
there are many disciples of Ranjit Maharaj from around the world, and
of Nisargadatta Maharaj mostly in India, who speak English and have
had the great blessing to have received direct guidance from these
great masters. Many of these devotees are capable of helping aspirants
who have questions about the teaching, but have not had the good
fortune to be with a true master, to understand the teaching of this
Sampradaya that is true to how it has been traditionally presented and
to the realization that it represents, in such a way that can help
clear the aspirant's doubts and confusion, and help the aspirant
arrive at clarity and conviction for one's self.

So, we shall see how this experiment progresses. If even one aspirant
is truly benefitted, it will be deemed a success by my accounts.


Namaste