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Transcendent in America Hindu-Inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion

prasad1

Active member
Yoga, karma, meditation, guru—these terms, once obscure, are now a part of the American lexicon. Combining Hinduism with Western concepts and values, a new hybrid form of religion has developed in the United States over the past century. In Transcendent in America, Lola Williamson traces the history of various Hindu-inspired movements in America, and argues that together they constitute a discrete category of religious practice, a distinct and identifiable form of new religion.

Williamson provides an overview of the emergence of these movements through examining exchanges between Indian Hindus and American intellectuals such as Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and illuminates how Protestant traditions of inner experience paved the way for Hindu-style movements’ acceptance in the West.


Williamson focuses on three movements—Self-Realization Fellowship, Transcendental Meditation, and Siddha Yoga—as representative of the larger of phenomenon of Hindu-inspired meditation movements. She provides a window into the beliefs and practices of followers of these movements by offering concrete examples from their words and experiences that shed light on their world view, lifestyle, and relationship with their gurus. Drawing on scholarly research, numerous interviews, and decades of personal experience with Hindu-style practices, Williamson makes a convincing case that Hindu-inspired meditation movements are distinct from both immigrant Hinduism and other forms of Asian-influenced or “New Age” groups.

https://nyupress.org/books/9780814794500/
 
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Its occult finally...somehow those who do meditation seem to be in denial or euphoria.

One Guru recently claimed E is not = mc2
 
Its occult finally...somehow those who do meditation seem to be in denial or euphoria.

One Guru recently claimed E is not = mc2

Occult is after all not a four letter word to be shunned.

Occult means super natural.

The yoga and meditation which together lead to a state of trans is a supernatural experience. If normal natural experience is the average of humanity across societies, supernatural is sAyujyam, when for a moment or in some rare cases for hours together the individual is keenly aware of "his" place in the universe.

E is indeed not equal to mcsquare if you forget for a moment the given conditions.
 
Occult is after all not a four letter word to be shunned.

Occult means super natural.

The yoga and meditation which together lead to a state of trans is a supernatural experience. If normal natural experience is the average of humanity across societies, supernatural is sAyujyam, when for a moment or in some rare cases for hours together the individual is keenly aware of "his" place in the universe.

E is indeed not equal to mcsquare if you forget for a moment the given conditions.

Marijuana is cheaper and userfriendly and Sayujyam guaranteed!

Ma SuchaH
 
Marijuana is cheaper and userfriendly and Sayujyam guaranteed!

Ma SuchaH
Marijuana or mast......bation is certainly cheaper. But no sAyujyam there. The euphoria of a sAyujyam is pathetically empty and leaves the individual to rue and stew in his loneliness.
 
Marijuana or mast......bation is certainly cheaper. But no sAyujyam there. The euphoria of a sAyujyam is pathetically empty and leaves the individual to rue and stew in his loneliness.

The problem is Vaishnavas think Sayujyam is their birth right.

They are just obssesed with.a form.
Ask any Vaishnava to go beyond Narayana..all will be directionless.
 
The problem is Vaishnavas think Sayujyam is their birth right.
No.

They are just obssesed with.a form.

It is no obsession. It is deliberate. It is a convenience.

Ask any Vaishnava to go beyond Narayana..all will be directionless.

At least the Vaishnava will have one direction that points to Narayana. Ask others-the "I am God" people-they will be totally confused as to whether they are the subject or object or what else if not any of the two. It will be confusion confounded with total helplessness. Poor folks. And that includes you.

Come out of your confusion. Accept Narayana. Love him whole-heartedly. Pray, sing and dance and if you can, do write out a new Ashtapathi anthology. You will find sAyujyam. Otherwise you will, for ever, be nagged by doubt as to what is happening to you. Whether you are you or you are that. If you are that then what happens to you, why a you at all when it is nonexistent and actually is an altogether another entity. etc., etc.,

Sriman Narayana bless you. LOL.
 
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No.



It is no obsession. It is deliberate. It is a convenience.



At least the Vaishnava will have one direction that points to Narayana. Ask others-the "I am God" people-they will be totally confused as to whether they are the subject or object or what else if not any of the two. It will be confusion confounded with total helplessness. Poor folks. And that includes you.

Come out of your confusion. Accept Narayana. Love him whole-heartedly. Pray, sing and dance and if you can, do write out a new Ashtapathi anthology. You will find sAyujyam. Otherwise you will, for ever, be nagged by doubt as to what is happening to you. Whether you are you or you are that. If you are that then what happens to you, why a you at all when it is nonexistent and actually is an altogether another entity. etc., etc.,

Sriman Narayana bless you. LOL.

Naah...Allah is less complicated.

Just:

1) Shahada
2)Salah
3)Zakat
4)Sawm
5)Hajj.

Thats all.

No need Sayujyam..No need Aham Brahmasmi.

Ameen.
 
Naah...Allah is less complicated.

Just:

1) Shahada
2)Salah
3)Zakat
4)Sawm
5)Hajj.

Thats all.

No need Sayujyam..No need Aham Brahmasmi.

Ameen.
Okay. Be happy . If, if at all, you are ever tormented by questions beyond the five above, come to Narayana and you will find solace.
You are made differently and I am made differently. What is good for goose may not be good enough for gander.
Each one has to search for answers. There is no easy way out.
 
Okay. Be happy . If, if at all, you are ever tormented by questions beyond the five above, come to Narayana and you will find solace.
You are made differently and I am made differently. What is good for goose may not be good enough for gander.
Each one has to search for answers. There is no easy way out.

Yup...you have Vaagmi gene! Lol
 
No.



It is no obsession. It is deliberate. It is a convenience.



At least the Vaishnava will have one direction that points to Narayana. Ask others-the "I am God" people-they will be totally confused as to whether they are the subject or object or what else if not any of the two. It will be confusion confounded with total helplessness. Poor folks. And that includes you.

Come out of your confusion. Accept Narayana. Love him whole-heartedly. Pray, sing and dance and if you can, do write out a new Ashtapathi anthology. You will find sAyujyam. Otherwise you will, for ever, be nagged by doubt as to what is happening to you. Whether you are you or you are that. If you are that then what happens to you, why a you at all when it is nonexistent and actually is an altogether another entity. etc., etc.,

Sriman Narayana bless you. LOL.

Spoken by someone who has sold out his reasoning capacity. This happens to all those immersed in some religion where questioning is not encouraged.
The answer will be - you better worship this god form, love that god form and you will find bliss.

Is Sriman Narayana is waiting out there saying "OK you mortal fools, come fall on my feet and surrender all the capacities I gave you and love me like you never loved anyone before and I will offer you a brainwashed - you will have that Sayjyam with me where I will do things to you and you will have no more doubts"

Why should this God want this? Is he narcissist?

The answer would be - stop asking questions, do what you are told and you will experience Sayujyam

My answer - Thanks but no thanks
 
Spoken by someone who has sold out his reasoning capacity............ no thanks

Renukaji,

I handover this kid to you. If you choose you may answer him. I have no patience because I have to start at a very fundamental level by asking whether he had ever got a question in his mind about God--like whether there is a God at all etc., and whether he has ever searched for answers to such fundamental questions and if so where did he search for answers. A loud mouthed brat who is quick to cry out loud, point accusing fingers at every one around, throw up tantrums to attract attention etc., that is what he appears to be.

If you have the patience please take care of him. I have no time.

wish you all the best.
 
Renukaji,

I handover this kid to you. If you choose you may answer him. I have no patience because I have to start at a very fundamental level by asking whether he had ever got a question in his mind about God--like whether there is a God at all etc., and whether he has ever searched for answers to such fundamental questions and if so where did he search for answers. A loud mouthed brat who is quick to cry out loud, point accusing fingers at every one around, throw up tantrums to attract attention etc., that is what he appears to be.

If you have the patience please take care of him. I have no time.

wish you all the best.


LOL!


But he asked valid questions.

None of us for sure know anything about God in the true sense.
How are you so sure Narayana is everything?

For a Shaiva..Shiva is Supreme.

For Shakta..Devi is Supreme.

For a Muslim..only Allah verily is.

For a Christian..they have the Trinity.


So each will claim some form of "Sayujyam"...so how do we know?
 
LOL!


But he asked valid questions.

None of us for sure know anything about God in the true sense.
How are you so sure Narayana is everything?

For a Shaiva..Shiva is Supreme.

For Shakta..Devi is Supreme.

For a Muslim..only Allah verily is.

For a Christian..they have the Trinity.


So each will claim some form of "Sayujyam"...so how do we know?

None of us know God. Who disputed this? I did not. We do not know or we can not contain God within our known coordinates. But we do believe there is some kind of an entity which we call God. God for me is a generic name . But my mind is unable to grapple with this reality in which I know something which is just a haze. So I search. I look for tools with which I can search . I get a tool called veda and I use it. Another friend gets a tool Bible and he searches. And yet another friend gets a book that tells him about his God Allah. It is a different story that the other two friends wants to shoot me down because I am a "pagan" for one and a lowly "kafir" for another. So I keep away from them as I do not want to die so early in life.
I have a few other friends who say after using the same tool as me that they are the mselves gods. I am trying to sort out the matter with them by a debate. A debate -- because they do not come to the table with guns. A brat , an upshot, watching all this first abuses me that I have no reasoning capacity, that I am immersed in religion,that question s are not encouraged, and finally asks whether God is a narcissist.

The point that Shiva, Allah, Devi, Trinity Narayana are all icons is missed. Icons are okay. We accept them for our convenience to objectify the God entity. My effort is to use the tool I have -- the vedas-- to go further in my effort to understand the reality. I use the tools of others too in this effort.

I only get fed up when I am way laid by stupid brats.
 
None of us know God. Who disputed this? I did not. We do not know or we can not contain God within our known coordinates. But we do believe there is some kind of an entity which we call God. God for me is a generic name . But my mind is unable to grapple with this reality in which I know something which is just a haze. So I search. I look for tools with which I can search . I get a tool called veda and I use it. Another friend gets a tool Bible and he searches. And yet another friend gets a book that tells him about his God Allah. It is a different story that the other two friends wants to shoot me down because I am a "pagan" for one and a lowly "kafir" for another. So I keep away from them as I do not want to die so early in life.
I have a few other friends who say after using the same tool as me that they are the mselves gods. I am trying to sort out the matter with them by a debate. A debate -- because they do not come to the table with guns. A brat , an upshot, watching all this first abuses me that I have no reasoning capacity, that I am immersed in religion,that question s are not encouraged, and finally asks whether God is a narcissist.

The point that Shiva, Allah, Devi, Trinity Narayana are all icons is missed. Icons are okay. We accept them for our convenience to objectify the God entity. My effort is to use the tool I have -- the vedas-- to go further in my effort to understand the reality. I use the tools of others too in this effort.

I only get fed up when I am way laid by stupid brats.



BTW please give your input in the Did we kill God thread.

I am looking for answers.


Your answers could help.
 

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