Here is a satsang discourse from Nome, at SAT in Santa Cruz, CA., one that Carol and I think is very worth listening to for someone on a spiritual path.
For those interested in Advaita Vedanta and Sri Ramana Maharshi, this discourse lays the entire teaching out clearly and poetically and invites you to look within. There are long pauses. I meditate, inquiring within myself during these.
Living in the Embrace of Arunachala 
June 22, 2014 at 10:21 am |
Hey Richard, you may be interested to know there’s a world-wide forum that formed somewhat organically over the last few years to discuss the nature of Reality, non-duality and all associated matters. It’s not a site for the faint hearted and no stone is left unturned. The various so-called spiritual teachers are examined in depth with many being torn to shreds and if necessary exposed for who or what they really are. You see, there are people who are not easily accepting of anything and everything, especially in this highly commercial age.
That aside, my point is that since you posted this latest information about Nome I decided to run him through this rather harsh gauntlet and he has come up as being a highly credible teacher. This is extremely rare but the general consensus is that it is refreshing to hear proper Advaita Vedanta being taught. He also answers people’s questions very skillfully and whilst he may not be as ‘entertaining’ as many of the ‘super-star teachers’ his teaching makes many of them look like real scoundrels in propagating their false understandings. Curious also that Nome sounds like he is reading what he is saying when he’s clearly not.
Big thumbs up for Master Nome it seems.
June 22, 2014 at 11:09 am
It is good to hear your comment about the credibility of Nome’s Advaita Vedanta teaching. What they have found, that he is a rare highly credible teacher, has been my immediate expedience since 1990 when I first heard him teach. I also know that nothing he says is scripted. If you listen closely to the quality of his answers to questions and compare it any satsang discourse, you will see what I mean.
I have always thought it needed no script, since he speaks directly from his experience.
Are they online? What is the URL.
June 22, 2014 at 11:29 am
Richard, I may not have chosen my words well in my last post. The suggestion is that whilst it may sound like he is reading what he is saying he is clearly not and does appear to come out of his direct experience. That one could be fooled into thinking it is scripted, when indeed it’s not. It is this clarity that was found to be so refreshing.
The site you ask about is online but not open, you have to be invited. I have no idea how one gets invited other than to say that due to comments I made on another site I myself was invited to join. It’s a funny thing but it seems they want to keep it relatively small and avoid the usual hoards of trolls that are attracted to such forums, So far it has worked well. I’ll see what can be done, they certainly appreciate Nome, I’m sure they would appreciate you too.
June 21, 2014 at 10:41 pm |
In my experience, the outer and inner senses have to be quietened before self-inquiry and meditation can begin. There are spiritual practices to quieten them. That is why the Hindu scriptures have prescribed the eight-fold path.
Also, Good Lord, $300 for a skype session? How many sadhus you could have fed and trees you could have planted with that money and earned some punya with Arunachala!
June 22, 2014 at 10:02 am
@maryjoma, the very point of Self-inquiry is to realise that there is indeed no one there at all to be affected by the senses or indeed by meditation. Ultimately there is no one to even enquire into the Self. This can be realised immediately or you can stay wriggling on the hook for 10 or 20 years while speaking into a bucket enjoying the sound of your own voice. There is no need for anything other than to realise who you really are, the true nature of reality is a very simple thing, utterly radical in appearance but just not that complicated.
June 22, 2014 at 10:19 am
In regards to the comment: “Good Lord, $300 for a skype session? How many sadhus you could have fed and trees you could have planted with that money and earned some punya with Arunachala!”
I think maybe you’ve misunderstood, as Richard never wrote that he did this, and cspacenz was just mentioning how he’s heard of so many disingenuous things in the name of spirituality, an example being skype sessions being $300 an hour. He is also saying that this is a ridiculous option and he’s stating appreciation for the more genuine SAT Center in Santa Cruz.
I’m just wondering…why do you follow this blog? You don’t seem to enjoy it, and I’ve only seen responses from you that are disdainful of others, including the writers and their followers.
June 23, 2014 at 12:36 am
No Marilyn, I did not misunderstand at all. I took cspacenz’s comment and asked how many sadhus you can be fed with that kind of money, something Richard does in Tiruvannamalai; how many trees can be planted, something others do in Tiruvannamalai.
Why do I read this blog? I am not sure it is for you to ask. If you don’t like my observations, do not read them, skip to the next. It wouldn’t bother me one bit.
Take care. 🙂
June 23, 2014 at 2:08 pm
@maryjoma,I suppose it depends how hungry the sadhus are, how expensive the trees are and whether it is in New Zealand dollars or US dollars !!
June 23, 2014 at 6:46 pm
Maryjoma: The question, “Why do you read this blog?” was rhetorical, as I already know the answer. It was meant to suggest that perhaps you could realize that your remarks, although easy to dismiss or ignore, are placed on sacred pages. Here is a powerful satsang by a remarkable sage bringing the teachings of the Great Saint, Ramana Maharshi to light for us. Let us fill the page with love, honor, and devotion, as they deserve. And let us respect those who post them for us.
June 24, 2014 at 3:13 pm
June 19, 2014 at 7:06 am
Umm, you want ‘respect’ when you are not willing to accord it to others especially the sadhus who are standing in line for food or for animals and birds because “it opens up MY world.” There is the feeling of entitlement there. It is an attitude that has to be dealt with before you can start the inner journey. BTW, Bhagavan was once a sadhu who begged for his food.
June 25, 2014 at 10:11 am
MaryJOAM,
You are going overboard. There is no need to insult people. This all started with someone commenting on the absurdity of someone charging #300 to listen to a satsang broadcast. This has nothing to do with whether or not they respect sadhus. This is some argument that you dredged up from your own projections, then accuse other about. If you want people to respect you, you need to do much better than this.
I have allowed your comments, wanting to open to various points of view, especially if they might bring someone to challenge their own assumptions. Accusing others is not going to do this. If you want to succeed at this, ever, you need to rethink how you approach people.
Behave yourself or I must blacklist you from writing comments. If you want a free hand, then start your own blog.
June 25, 2014 at 8:54 am
maryjoma writes….”There is the feeling of entitlement there. It is an attitude that has to be dealt with before you can start the inner journey”.
More work to do before we can even begin.
Is there any hope for any of us ??
June 25, 2014 at 1:05 pm
cspacenz said: “Is there any hope for any of us ??”
O-f-c-o-u-r-s-e. That is why it is called sadhana. Every now and again, Arunachala will send someone to shake us out of our slumber. Notice how angry people get, when that happens. Nothing wrong with that. It is human nature. That is what we have to get rid off before real meditation can begin.
There is a chant that the Indians do during Navaratri called Chandi Path. It describes how it took the Devi nine days and nine nights to fight our negativities and emerge victorious on Navaratri day. … and what a fight we i.e.our negativities gave her.
In Tiru, we do the same thing… walk around the mountain and in the four hours it takes us, we are so bone tired that we cant put up a fight anymore and Arunachala is able to fill us up with goodness.
It is a process cspacenz. We will all get there. 🙂
******
ok Richard, that is it for me on this. Apologies if I shook some people up. It had to be done or not. Take care. 🙂
June 25, 2014 at 2:34 pm
maryjoma, I wasn’t asking seriously, really, I was just joking.
You talk about Arunachala, about Ramana, about Self-enquiry and about practice, yet you don’t seem to know anything of what you are talking about, your thinking is very muddled and you appear to be thinking way more highly of yourself than you ought. What you write is at odds with Reality with the talk of an apparent need to ‘get yourself sorted’ before you look within and before Self-enquiry is just nonsense, talk of ‘process’ is about as nonsensical as it gets, in fact, everything you talk about suggests the appearance of a very active but deluded imagination. As I wrote in an earlier post, it’s just not that complicated, you’ve just got to find out who you really are, there is no requirement to first become a saint before realising the Self.
June 21, 2014 at 10:00 am |
Fullness itself is perfection and vice versa. How can there be imperfect fullness?
June 20, 2014 at 7:05 pm |
Oh how marvelous! Thanks, Richard, for posting this. He is the real deal, and I feel such peace when listening to his words. The pauses give one some time for the words to sink in.
June 20, 2014 at 6:38 pm |
Hey Richard, on reaquainting myself with the satramana site you posted the link for above, it’s really great to see a more genuine and modest approach in a non-dual world that seems to have gone mad with it’s commercialisation of all these super-star-so-called ‘spiritual teachers’ charging a small fortune for satsang, retreats and one hour one-on-one skype sessions up to $300 per hour. I like what they are doing there and with Ramana as the perfect example of modesty it’s good to see there are a few, at least, who are prepared to follow his lead in offering these teachings to everyone, not just those who can afford it. Thanks.