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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 28 2009 : 9:46:11 PM
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Many of us, in the United States at least, are familiar with the "For Dummies" series of books .... which covers pretty much everything ("Windows Vista for Dummies", "Accounting for Dummies", "Aardvark Ranching for Dummies" ... <- Okay, so maybe I made one or two of those titles up ...... )
Aaaand .... it turns out that well-known Kashmir Shaivism teacher and kirtan artist, Kumuda (aka Sharon Janis) is the author of the Spirituality for Dummies book.
The book allegedly gives an even-handed overview of all spirituality (which I'm guessing it pretty much does .... that's one of the key reasons so many of us resonate with Kashmir Shaivism .... it's simply a useful, generic template/container for Reality/Consciousness .... which has nothing to do with dogma, and is all verifiable in experience) .. and so, here's a link:
http://www.spiritual-happiness.com/...haivism.html
The top of the page has some streaming audio files (RealAudio) of Sharon Janis singing various Kashmir Shaivism scriptures in Sanskrit ... if you scroll down, you'll see the Spirituality For Dummies info, including a couple of YouTube videos.
There's also a link to all the music files which come with that book's CD ... which includes music from various traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Kashmir Shaivism, Buddhism, Hindusim, Etc.)
And so .... if, unlike many of us .... or some of us ..... or me ..... you don't enjoy spending hundreds of hours slogging through the finest in Sanskritical Thinking that leading Kashmir Shaivism academics and sages have to offer ... and would prefer to maybe just "get" Kashmir Shaivism's rather simple and elegant model of consciousness in plain English and simple charts ... well, click on the link above .... and enjoy.
And, by the way ... as with so many other similar ventures in life .... the main thing I got from (quite literally) spending hundreds (if not thousands .... lost count a while back ....) of hours slogging through a *ton* of Sanskrit, English translations .... of the most esoteric scriptures of Kashmir Shaivism (the 29th chapter of the Tantraloka alone will boggle your mind .... which I'm pretty sure was Abhinavagupta's intention!) ... and their commentaries (for two enlightened guys, Kshemaraja and Bhatta Bhaskara sure don't agree with each other very much ....)
... is that you *don't* have to spend hundreds of hours slogging through *any* scriptures.
A little AYP, a couple useful charts ... and some sincere contemplation .... and you'll be AUM before you know it!
Heart Is Where The AUM Is - And That: Thou Heart!
Kirtanman |
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stevenbhow
Japan
352 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2009 : 10:18:56 PM
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| Thanks for this Kirtanman. Great website. She was a student of Swami Muktananda. |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4375 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2009 : 3:38:30 PM
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Hi Kirtanman,
Thanks for the link. I found if you scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Sri Guru Gita picture, there is the whole hour long chant in sanskrit. What a treat!
Christi |
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Ananda
3115 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2009 : 3:48:59 PM
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beautiful as usual brother Kirtanman , thanks for the link. |
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Kashmir Shaivism For Dummies
