Uma and Amit Goswami at Krotona Day 2

I missed the morning 10 to 12 Session. Maybe Alana is blogging about it.
I took notes on Amit, not on Uma. Usually I am napping on Saturday afternoon and so I allowed myself to just kind of soak her up without trying to keep up.


Amit
"What is the conditioning we bring to this life?"
"We do reincarnate...there is a tremendous amount of data."

This was a funny moment cuz he kind of checked in with the group to make sure we all accepted the idea of reincarnation.

"Where do we experience the nurturing of the soul?"
This lead to a discussion of the 5 bodies/koshas in the Upanishads, the 5 bodies in Christian Tradition and the 7 bodies in the Theosophical Tradition.

Physical: Most Obvious
Thinking
Feeling
Supramental: Intuitive

"What you cannot explain, you deny"
And so the body is the most obvious and we are so in the mind, that if things cannot be explained, we deny their existence.

"Mind is step by step. Feelings do not make sense to the Mind."

Amit dipped into dangerous territory cuz he started talking about women and men
"Without feeling there is no sense of being a woman."
The instinctual Feeling is Maternity
The motherly feeling is strong even if you never have children

"The Mind denies intuition."
"Intuition is how we look at the soul"

"Creative and Feeling People have been persecuted in this mind dominated phase of evolution."

"How did this "MIND" View grow so fast and dominate so quickly?"
Cuz it makes sense.

"What is the Way out of this?"

Waves of possibility continually expand if not looking.
Once we look, there is a decision/choice and everything collapses.
So practice allowing the waves of possibility to open and expand for as long as possible.

He began to discuss macro and micro bodies which must have been left over from this morning.

"Macro Bodies are Waves."
"Waves of possibility becomes so sluggish that they hardly expand...and yet the center of mass moves..but hard to tell."

Example of a Chair.

"Illusion of Solidness."
So look into the realm where the illusion of solidly is much less.
Look into the realms that are not physical.

"We think our thoughts are private."
"The illusion that our thoughts are inside."
"the illusion of inside and outside."

"Why did God make it this way?"

"Without the physical body, you could not nourish the soul. The physical body makes representation of what is subtle."

"The physical is essential, but not the essence...it is a representational model"

Like a Canvas to an Artist.
The canvas is essential, you want a good canvas, but you do not need to spend all your time on that. "In materialist society, we are busy improving the canvas and ignoring the other part."

Conditioning is Made 3 Ways
- Genetic
- Environment
- Reincarnation

Amit moved into a discussion about the 3 ways change can come about. He used the Gunas to describe the types of change. This was confusing to me.

Tamastic Change - Forced Change due to a change in the conditions
Rajastic Change -- Using Aspects of the Known for creative Effort

In Western Society, we have empire building capacity and we are fickle. No ability to Sit.
In Eastern Society, we simply sit and do not do anything.

In Western, we value famous people, cuz it is a measurable aspect of creativity. We rely on the collective to tell us what is good.

Truth (for scientists)
Beauty (for artists)
Love (for everyone)
Justice (for activist, judges, lawyers)
Good (ethics)


Amit spoke along time of how we starve our soul by manifesting and then sticking to it. Wiring romance novels for our entire life cuz it makes us famous and pays the bills. This is not soul nourishing.

He suggested that most poets and novelists are not actually happy.

"Accomplishment is a distraction."

Used the 9 dot example with straight line connection diagram to illustrate
"How many unspoken prejudices have you picked up to solve your problem."

"Particularly with LOVE, working with a lot of unspoken prejudices."

Stages of Creative Process
1. Preparation
2. Incubation
3. Sudden Insight
4. Manifestation

if we wait, the possibility of meaning will expand, more chances to discover new meaning.

do-be-do-be-do-be-do-be
"we need direction in our meaning process"
"focused in a relaxed way"

"In a relaxed life, creativity can come."
"What is the proof that it is sudden?"
"insights always come with a surprise."

Ah -HAH

"i never knew this."

"Quantum leap of love."
"I never knew that it could feel like this."

Jesus had only 12 disciples.
He was just a local rabbi

Buddha was an exception cuz he was supported by Kings
But most of these great saints were ignored during their lifetime.
They became known through the years.

Now, "enlightenment is an accomplishment."
We claim to be an enlightened master, we set up a website and go into business.

We hurry in the West to the Manifestation Stage "before the brain circuit has been made."

The "Love Guru" Example and when a Guru falls like anyone else, it disables his/her ability to teach.

Insight needs to become more ordinary, not so special.
"There is nothing to glamorize about enlightenment."
"Nurture the Soul, without misleading others."

"Just as a rose is recognized by its fragrance, so you will be seen if you are steeped in it."

"Walk your Talk"

And we must use this Creativity to Look at SOCIAL SYSTEMS, cuz we need to change collectively.


UMA

I did not take notes.
Her talk was one I had heard before.
And I just felt like listening

She spoke of the four paths of yoga:
Jnana
Bhakti
Karma
Raga

And how the correspond to the Jung Temperments:
Thinking
Feeling
Action
Will powered

(or something like that)

She emphasized that while we are naturally drawn to one, we must do them all.



She spoke of Sutra 1.33 (without mentioning sutra 1.33)
Maitri
Karuna
Mudita (she particually emphasized this one, purifying ourselves of jeaously. being able to truely be happy for others)
Upekshanam
and added a 5th: Cheerfullness

Mantra
man- mind
tra - protection

We must be given a mantra by someone who is steeped in it.
She told the stroy of the son of the master giving out a mantra, "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna" to a client. The master saying, "Do you think God is deaf? If said with heart you only need to call out once."

This lead to the story of Mahabahrata Gambling match and the attempted humilation of Arjuna's wife. First she told how Draupadi became the Wife to All 5 brothers.
When Arjuna brought her home to his mother, he said, "Mother I have a gift for you!" She replied from the bath, "Whatever it is, you must share it with all your brothers" The word of mother is sacred, so that is how it happened.

Then, when the Kauravas were trying to strip Draupadi to humilate her and the brothers, she called out to Krishna and her sari was endless in length and she was spared.


We chanted to Ganesha
We chanted OM