Re: Professor Lanes Lecture on June 4th (week 7-12)

In our last lecture for the semester Professor.Lane mentioned all the new technology that is growing exponentially and so fast that even a modern day person or as I like to say someone part of the 'I' generation. Named after the i.pod etc. usually born mid to late 1980's can't keep up with. I know these videos are quite popular, but hopefully there are some people that will just enjoy plain old facts about the world we live in futuristically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q75KhAeqJg

Silence Tapas Ramana Maharshi (week 7-5)

Not your average newage guru there's no video on youtube, goggle, myspace, hulu or any other social networking site exposing a blessed or holy silver necklace being mysteriously pulled out of thin air or as Professor. Lane would counter argue, "out of pocket." Ramana Maharshi stands out to me personally of course there is no proof of anyone bad mouthing him, could it be because technology didn't exsist during his time it is a possibility yes, but there are many other well known people who commit some mistakes and yet make it on to networking cites decades after. For example Dorothy Hunt (wife of watergate scandal burglar) who was a courier to steal hush money known as secret funds from the white house still going strong on youtube. It would be interesting to even analyze a negative point of view when speaking of Maharshi, but I searched and searched with no results. Therefore when he came to exsistance he was not well known like most of us start out unless your name is suri or shiloh. He was an ordinary child went to school, played, and endured some suffering with the passing of his father at an early age. He then consciously made a decision during his teenage years when he received premonitions. I don't think a child could make a religious decision until there teenage years and in the later periods of young adulthood. For Ramana Maharshi this realization came at a somewhat later stage in his life where 16 years of age was the median life span for humans across the world, so he feared death. This pondering question of death is what set him free to live happily, peacefully, and holy.





"The true teaching was in silence" (maharshi)

This is very true and one of my favorite quotes you can even test this out see how much you learn by talking or see how much you can learn by listening while understanding and contemplating with yourself through silence.



"Happiness is your real nature" (maharshi)


If nothing bothered you and everything went your way would you be happy?
Identifying happiness as ones nature is simple when we humans are mad do we stay mad, some might say yes quite some time, but eventually that time runs up because the essence of who you are kicks in and you become happy again even if it's for a split second before you get away from the idealistic feeling and go back to feeling otherwise.


PLEASE SEE BELOW :)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNHUSVIk614

Re:When Scholars Study the Sacred (week 2-4)

After reading this book I would like to do so several more time it is not a particularly religious, or spiritually oriented, but based on a excellent idea just from a analytical aspect which really cleared up alot of issues. This is a great choice for a reference or a broad overview of all exsisting major religions. I think its quite genial to organize all(in the book) religion in dimesions and then lane gives examples of each whether it was myths, doctrines, or expiereinces because all religions can relate to those dimensions. This book really made me take a step back out of your everyday shoes and just examine with out critique. Refering to When Scholars Study the Sacred (Lane 28): Biological: Religion developed as a survival mechanism. Theological: Religion comes from God. Anthropological: Religion can be understood when examining the thought process of primal humans; it began with animism or a deification of the forces of nature. Psychological: Religion originates from our unconscious mind. Sociological: Religion has social origins. Egotistical: Religion, in some special cases, is a conscious formulation so as to garner for its creator praise and income. On another note study religion to be informed and to make a more conscious decision when just talking, debating, or learning new information.