About Nirmala, Advaita Spiritual Teacher. Free Spiritual Poetry by Nirmala - Free Poems from the Heart. Spiritual Teacher: The Role of Spiritual Teachers and Mentors in Spiritual Teaching. In general, a teacher or mentor is a person who guides, instructs, or helps another in the process of gaining knowledge, understanding, or skills. What about a spiritual teacher or mentor? What is their role? And more specifically what does a spiritual teacher or spiritual mentor in the nondual or Advaita tradition do? A spiritual teacher/mentor’s role is unique in that the goal is not to transmit knowledge or understanding as much as it is to somehow bring about a recognition in the student of the student’s own pre-existing nature.
This is a much more subtle thing than simply teaching someone a skill or understanding. This may seem like a subtle distinction between the role of a spiritual teacher and a regular teacher, but it makes a huge difference. In the case of an Advaita or nondual spiritual teacher, the teacher or mentor is pointing to the most fundamental qualities of the student’s already existing nature, specifically, the qualities of oneness, awareness, and emptiness. Spiritual Enlightenment | Awakening | What is Spiritual Enlightenment or Awakening? A definition of spiritual enlightenment or spiritual awakening is hard to pin down. This is, in part, because "spiritual enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" have been used in so many ways to describe so many things, similar to the way in which "love" is used to describe everything from a preference for ice cream to a merging with everything.
And it is also because spiritual enlightenment and spiritual awakening are such rich and complex experiences that they are innately hard to define. Some definitions are very specific and narrow. One such definition for spiritual enlightenment is the complete dissolution of one's identity as a separate self with no trace of the egoic mind remaining. The opposite approach is to say that everyone is enlightened, that there is only awake consciousness. Combining perspectives on spiritual enlightenment What about the spiritual awakening happening now? What really matters is what your awareness is doing right now. Consider the miracle of a flower. Nirmala's Satsang Blog | Nonduality | Advaita | Spiritual Truth. Q: I have read most of your books and many others who teach from the same perspective. Your book that I just finished reading has a great discussion about being in a state of "not knowing. " I wonder if I focus on not knowing, then how do I deal with the situations in front of me in the present moment.
I am a long-time veterinarian and I have patients every day that come in with illnesses that I address. My rational mind formulates data (symptoms, etc), makes plans for treatment and predicts outcome (prognosis). How can I be in this mind-set and at the same time be in a not-knowing state of mind? A: Thanks for your question. For example even in your professional role, there might be moments where your mind alone cannot serve your patients and their owners. And in the much larger context of your spiritual unfoldment, the mind is a powerful but ultimately limited tool. True transcendence includes everything. This life is full of challenges and deep abiding mysteries.
What is Satsang? Definition of Satsang in Nondual Traditions. The meaning of satsang: Satsang is a Sanskrit word that means "gathering together for the truth" or, more simply, "being with the truth. " Truth is what is real, what exists. So all there is, is Truth. Whenever something increases your experience of the Truth, it opens your Heart and quiets your mind. Truth is too simple for words before thought gets tangled up in nouns and verbs there is a wordless sound a deep breathless sigh of overwhelming relief to find the end of fiction in this ordinary yet extraordinary moment when words are recognized as words and truth is recognized as everything else (From Gifts with No Giver, a free ebook of nondual poetry by Nirmala. )
Advaita - What is Nonduality - Experiential Definition of Oneness. What is Advaita, or nonduality? Advaita means nondual or "not two. " This oneness is a fundamental quality of everything. Everything is a part of and made of one nondual conciousness. Often the question arises, "If it is all one thing, why don’t I experience it that way? " To continue with the hand analogy, your fingers are all made of the same substance. But what about your experience right now? As an experiment, just notice your fingers and the palm of your hand. Now, notice the simple sensations you are having: the sounds you are hearing, the sensations of touch, and the objects and events you are seeing. Then, where does the source of the sound stop and the sound itself start? Nondual consciousness is the natural state. The Advaita truth of nondual consciousness, or oneness of Being, has often been thought of as something hidden or difficult to experience, when it is quite ordinary and available in every moment.
What is Advaita or Nonduality? - by Dennis Waite "Really? " "Good! " Satsang: Advaita Spiritual Teacher Nirmala, Free Ebooks, Satsang Video.