Hi Rupert,
I would like to say thank you for this group, and for the opportunity to clarify some of the more perplexing aspects of the practice. Francis Lucille and yourself focus on the necessity to embody the understanding, that is to say to daily practice Tantric Kasmir yoga. Please clarify.
I am also wondering if you could direct me to a site or a class where I could find out more about such a practice.
Thanks,
Morven
Dear Morven,
There has been no suggestion to focus on or daily practice Tantric Kasmir Yoga. What has been said thus far is that in order for ignorance or duality to be fully and clearly seen in all its ramifications, an exploration of our feelings at the level of the body is necessary as well as an investigation of our beliefs at the level of the mind.
This is equally true of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Atmananda (where they were mostly implicit rather then explicit) as it is of the teachings of Jean Klein and Francis Lucille or those that are expressed here.
This exploration of our feelings (and indeed our beliefs) comes from interest, love and enthusiasm. It is enjoyably and joyful. It is not a discipline or a routine practice. These feelings can be explored whenever they are present, that is, at any moment in the waking state. I would suggest exploring them only when the interest, love and enthusiasm to do so arises, for instance, while waiting for a bus, sitting on a train, taking the dog for a walk or eating breakfast, or anytime the attention is completely free of all other engagements, such as sitting silently in one’s bedroom or sitting room.
It is true that the Kashmir tradition is one of the traditions that has gone extremely deeply into this issue of the feeling of separation at the level of the body. Its exploration will reveal layer upon layer of the separate entity’s secret hiding places in the body, which are often left undetected and therefore continue to give rise to suffering long after the Advaita perspective has been understood at an intellectual level.
This tradition is not a prescribed set of exercises or practices. Please understand that I am not suggesting that you think this, but am rather using your question to make a more general comment about something that has been raised a few times in our discussions.
Whilst there are in the Kashmir tradition numerous guidelines as to how this exploration may proceed (and they carefully cover every conceivable and perceivable bodily location of ignorance), there is tremendous freedom in this approach. And of course there are other approaches.
I tend also not to refer to Tantric Kashmir Yoga, because each of these words may evoke, in its own way, an image that is somewhat exotic and that has been utterly perverted, in most cases, in the West (and possibly in the East) due to lack of understanding. It is this exoticism and misunderstanding that lead to the idea of repetitive practice, to ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’ and which, as a result, understandably alienate people.
In answer to your question about teachers who use this approach, I would recommend Francis Lucille if you are in the US (http://www.francislucille.com). If you are in the UK (or Europe) I would recommend Ellen Emmet (http://www.ellenemmet.com) and Billy Doyle (http://www.billydoyle.com/), and this approach is of course incorporated in my meetings.
With kind regards,
Rupert
