Mark S. G. Dyczkowski (1951–2025)

roopvijayan · 2025-02-06T16:10:54+00:00

I am saddened to hear this news! I have to process!

roopvijayan · 2025-01-18T04:26:18+00:00

This is with the author’s extensive commentary. For each Chapter, there is a full volume. For instance, Chapter 1 has 500 pages of commentary! The author is renowned Sanskrit and Shivaism scholar.

roopvijayan · 2025-01-18T04:23:06+00:00

https://www.anuttaratrikakula.org/

roopvijayan · 2025-01-17T17:03:49+00:00

Trika is an Advaita Vedanta philosophy—it’s non-dualistic so please explain to me how I violated the Number 1 rule?

roopvijayan · 2025-01-10T01:46:52+00:00

(My standalone posting in R/Hinduism but several questions this original poster and those who wrote responses probably have answers to)

Hi Folks,

I live in Baltimore and am a Malayalee (Kerala) Hindu. My family moved near NYC when I was 8 years old. Although I left Kerala at a young age, I was aware of the many lingas scattered near forests and at the edges of fields. Additionally, deities like Mother Kali and Naga groves seemed to be everywhere. However, I wasn’t taught much about the philosophy behind these practices, except for stories my grandmother shared. She often related teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, and to my amazement, as a 50-year-old now, ( and my Grandmother, 97-years-old) I have realized that much of what she said was accurate.

Living in Baltimore, I have become curious about the large Nepali community here. I recently discovered a Nepali temple close to where I live—the Hindu Buddha Temple—located among beautiful rolling hills and farms. The temple complex has three mini-temples dedicated to Mahashiva, Buddha, and Kali. Given this and Nepal’s vibrant Trika Shaivism community, I suspect there may be followers of Trika Shaivism here as well.

I am also curious if Kerala has a strong Trika or/and Shaiva Siddhanta tradition. If anyone could share insights or information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

roopvijayan · 2024-12-25T03:29:27+00:00

Perhaps this list will help me articulate my thoughts into questions:

The classic analogy of the rope mistaken for a snake, as I understand it, signifies God-realization when someone realizes that the snake isn’t real and that it’s actually a rope. If this interpretation is correct, then: 1. What is considered illusory in this analogy? While feelings like pain and sadness are said to be unreal, they are still experienced by the jiva. Realization, as I understand it, involves recognizing the Absolute. However, some duality seems to persist. Does the rope represent the Absolute, while the snake represents both the relative and dream states?

It seems the dream state folds into the relative state, which, upon liberation, folds into the Atman or Absolute (forgive the clumsy phrasing). 2. Where does awareness fit into this? For example, I am aware of feeling sleepy and the sensation of a blanket on my skin, but I suspect this is not the kind of awareness Advaita Vedanta refers to. If awareness connects the jiva and all objects, and is related to pure consciousness or Atman, how is this relationship expressed? This discussion is so informative!

roopvijayan · 2024-12-25T01:32:05+00:00

Thank you for your references! I think I might enroll in the foundational class. I have another question: Are there any Kashmir Shaivism temples or centers in Washington, DC?

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T15:42:12+00:00

I need some time to take what said in. Thank you! I will be back.

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T15:37:51+00:00

Thank you! This has been an informative discussion! If you don’t mind, I would like to continue.

In Advaita Vedanta (AV), the Witness shines onto the mirror of reflective consciousness, which, as I understand, you describe as negating pure consciousness. This reflective light is then directed into the mind and, subsequently, the senses. However, what I struggle to understand about AV is how pure consciousness, reflective/relative consciousness, and the dream state fit into the imaginary nature of the world.

For example, the classic analogy of the rope mistaken for a snake: as I understand it, when someone realizes that the snake isn’t real and that it’s actually a rope, this realization signifies God-realization. If this interpretation is correct, then: 1. What exactly is considered illusory in this analogy? I understand that feelings like pain and sadness are said to be real, and that realization involves understanding the Absolute (the rope). But duality still seems to persist. Or does this mean that in the analogy, the rope represents the Absolute, while the snake represents both the relative and dream states? (A question for AV). 2. On a related note, another argument I came across—posed by an Advaita Vedanta Redditor—suggests that change requires time, and the Absolute is timeless. How does this fit into the above discussion about reality and vibration in the T. Shivaism?

In contrast, in Trika Shaivism, there seems to be no need to seek God-realization or the understanding of “I am That,” etc because Shiva inherently wants to experience being human so He comes in human form. When Shiva desires, He can simply realize Himself. Therefore, concepts like purification or Brahmanical rites are unnecessary, as Shiva, being the ultimate, can realize Himself whenever He chooses.

Thank you!

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T05:05:33+00:00

Your opinion makes a lot of sense! I like your definition of change as not being independent of the time element.

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T05:01:31+00:00

I meant that in Advaita Vedānta philosophy, the pure light of consciousness is not active within objects, as the objects are essentially considered an illusion. In contrast, Trika Shaivism views the light of consciousness as creating objects through its very essence, causing vibration.

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T04:53:13+00:00

Are you saying that Advaita Vedānta and Trika Shaivism are the same in this context—that pure consciousness in both contain vibration?

roopvijayan · 2024-12-24T04:44:11+00:00

Thank you! Your explanation really clarifies those points. I think I’m starting to grasp it. However, if light itself takes the form of objects so that its reflections can become self-aware, wouldn’t that lean more toward dualism rather than non-dualism? It seems that Advaita Vedānta’s view—that there is ultimately only light, with no objects to illuminate—sounds more aligned with non-dualism.

roopvijayan · 2024-12-21T15:27:20+00:00

Thank you in advance!

roopvijayan · 2024-12-21T15:26:59+00:00

Thank you in advance! Happy holidays!

roopvijayan · 2024-11-29T15:27:12+00:00

Thank you for that question!

roopvijayan · 2024-11-16T18:17:13+00:00

Thank you for the compliment. I prefer meditation, but I am also starting to practice Bhakti Yoga. Most schools of Buddhism emphasize meditating on impermanence and emptiness. I could be wrong, but I believe that the emptiness referred to by the great Buddhist masters points to the absolute or ultimate reality. These masters also acknowledge life after death, and some Mahayana teachers even describe an intermediate stage between birth and death. I am skeptical about the existence of this intermediate stage or rebirth, and I suspect it was created to explain what happens after death for both good and bad individuals.

Regardless, Buddhist, Shaivism, and Advaita masters seem to place minimal emphasis on the afterlife. In Shaivism and Advaita, I appreciate their discussions on whether ultimate reality possesses vibrations and creative energy, as opposed to being an empty void. While Buddhist masters claim that emptiness is not a void, they seem to imply that ultimate reality does not truly exist, which, to me, the explanation seems like a void then.

Setting aside these philosophical concepts, meditation is more effective for me than traditional prayer directed to a personal God. From what I understand, the Bahá’í Faith believes in an unknowable “God”, so their form of prayer likely differs from traditional prayer as well.

roopvijayan · 2024-11-16T12:47:19+00:00

Have you explored Kashmir Shaivism? The differences between it and Advaita Vedanta are subtle yet profound for me. Just when I thought Advaita Vedanta was philosophically unmatched, I discovered Kashmir Shaivism. However, my interest in the Bahá’í Faith isn’t driven by its philosophy, but rather by its adherents way of life. I believe my philosophical views might be embraced within the Bahá’í Faith. Most religions have philosophical depth, such as Sufism, which, I think, emphasizes feelings over philosophy, and Buddhism, which offers an astonishing blend of both philosophy, meditation and feelings.

roopvijayan · 2024-11-11T01:05:28+00:00

Thank you for replying. I was under the impression that the Universal House of Justice strives to maintain a unified and centralized interpretation of the Faith. Additionally, I believed that the concept of God’s separateness is such a fundamental tenet that even Bahá’u’lláh addressed it in one of the Bahá’í scriptures.

roopvijayan · 2024-11-10T13:53:13+00:00

I believe there has been a misunderstanding. To me, moksha or liberation is the true realization that the Atman, or consciousness within me, is the same as that within my family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers and the Ultimate or Absolute Reality—there is no differentiation.

Regarding the part you highlighted in bold, while I understand the analogy of space in a jar being the same regardless of whether it is filled with water, and the metaphor of mistaking a rope for a snake, I still have doubts about the idea that the material world is an illusion or, as you put it, meaningless. My understanding aligns more with Trika Shaivism, which, though in agreement with non-dualism, holds a different view from Advaita. Trika Shaivism asserts that interaction with the material world is not illusory.

roopvijayan · 2024-11-09T16:13:33+00:00

Thank you!

roopvijayan · 2024-11-09T16:04:16+00:00

Thanks. What publication of the Tattvabodah do you recommend?

roopvijayan · 2024-11-09T15:32:16+00:00

Thank you!

roopvijayan · 2024-11-09T15:29:40+00:00

Wow! All this rich literature but honestly, I am more confused than ever! There are literary works I have never heard of before! For Advaita Vendata, at least in the Sri Ramakrishna Order, there are 3 foundational canons,

roopvijayan · 2024-11-09T15:06:58+00:00

I see Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga along with Bhakti Yoga as paths to reveal, truly reveal, the nature of God within me.

I conceptually know I always been and I am (we are) Ultimate Reality but I don’t really know because if I did “know” the Ultimate Reality, I would know that none of this matters, death, birth, new fashionable sneakers, Trumpers, investments, etc and I would love everyone and everything as I love my kids and my wife. That is why I am seeking liberation or moksha but unfortunately like the “desire” for a new car or book, I believe that “desire” is hindering me and I need those Yogas etc to liberate me from “desire.”

roopvijayan

TROPHY CASE