Prayer as being in stead of asking is a nice distinction. The grace I experience in prayer arises in surrender rather than desire. Pain certainly demands surrender. There is great beauty in us when we surrender, Sruti is such a perfect example of this beautiful surrender. Her grace is palpable.
I want to recommend her book, The Hidden Value of Not Knowing, to everyone here. I read it immediately after watching the interview this morning and with great appreciation. It can be quickly downloaded as a pdf file from her site or ordered as a hard copy and is well worth the effort in either case.
Thank you for this touching interview. It was a lot things all rolled into one. Also Rick I felt a deeper, compassionate part of yourself especially the first half of the interview. Continue the good work.
Thank you Sruti for your sharing with such clarity and strength. I believe it applies to both mental/emotional as well as physical, that which is truly unbearable. Thank you Rick for this interview!
Wow! So genuine! Amazing sharing. It touches me deeply. In such pain there remained no room to escape in anything but TRUTH itself. Very grateful for Sruti and Rick.
Sruti, I can understand and relate to your experiences of pain - and transforming that pain into understanding and enlightenment. You express your experiences very clearly and beautifully. I’ve experienced transforming experiences several times in my life when going through great physical and/or emotional suffering. One time was when experiencing intense back pain from a car accident I was in, 46 years ago. Not too long after the accident I experienced in a time of intense, writhing pain, an enlightening experience of great calm and peace. I experienced in an instant the taste of being my over-soul, viewing myself from above and behind myself, like being a witness to myself. I was elevated into a great sense of meditative stillness, peace and being-ness. These painful experiences can be like fire to the cauldron for the sensitive heart. My daughter had interstitial cystitis many years ago and, over time, I was lucky to be able to help her relieve her from this difficulty through diet, and relaxation and yoga practices. Many blessings to you, Sruti. Here are some pertinent quotes from the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a beloved great master of the heart: "As fire can cook food or burn it, so also does pain affect the human heart." "The pain of life is the price paid for the quickening of the heart. "All pain is significant of change; all that changes for better or worse must cause a certain amount of pain, for change is at once birth and death." "In friendship, as well as in the hostility of the worldly, there is pain." "If it were not for pain, one would not enjoy the experience of joy. It is pain that helps one experience joy, for everything is distinguished by its opposite." "... it is by pain that the heart is penetrated."
I actually suffer from a painful chronic disease called fibromyalgia, which usually leaves medicine, and patients as well, totally helpless in front of pain. Personally, this constant pain led me on the path of self inquiery (Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Francis Lucille...) which gave me a tool to push through these horrible sensations, just by staying as the impersonal witness. Anyway, these are the MOST pertinent and beautiful words I've ever heard about pain. Thanks for this wonderful note of hope. May it inspire all of us and be a source of courage for all those who face such situations, and don't know how to deal with "acid grace" (Mooji).
I will make it a point to rate this because of the coincidence of 1. having stumbled upon the live cast and being deeply moved by watching what after even just the few minutes I was there I feel is a kindred soul (which is quite a rare case for me among interviewees even among those that I really like) and 2. being called back here on PM by GetMeThere1. I will not return to the rating business here, but it seems to me like an honorific duty to make an exception with this interview. Please allow a few days before I can finish listening to this, not that my rating would matter... I also recommend visiting her channel.
@sruti I am glad you had the experience of realizing that you and pain are one and the same being and I am also happy that you experienced the sound of Silence. It is a beautiful being.
This one is great, really enjoy its depth! Powerful words from Sruti.. In my experience periods of intense pain or suffering often give my enquiry/meditation a much increased urgency, which leads to a big uptick in results.
I've just sent a message to user "Soteriologe." He's the fellow who used to rate all the interviews, and then decided to "retire" from that (after an interview I think he felt was a bad one). I recommended he visit this interview and give his review. Quite an extraordinary, revealing, inspiring, and insightful interview. Thanks for doing it!
Great interview, Rick and Sruti. Sruti, thank you for your courage in being honest about your pain and spiritual journey. Rick, I hope Sruti will inspire you stop insisting that physical pain precludes the transcendent state. You frequently argue that when a person stubs their toe, hits their thumb with a hammer, or otherwise suffers sharp physical pain, that suddenly - "poof" - all spirituality is forgotten, and we revert back to total, localized, identification with the body. This leaves me, and I'm sure many others who suffer chronic pain, feeling less than, feeling that there is no way we can abide in an awakened state. As Sutri points out, we feel abandoned enough as it is. To suggest that we are also precluded from salvation is frightening and hurtful. Along these same lines, you frequently suggest that a healthy nervous system and strong, healthy body is needed to withstand the energy release of awakening. Again, this makes those of us with chronic illness and pain feel forsaken, as in "better luck next lifetime." But Sruti shows us none of this is true.
I don't think Rick is suggesting that the occurrence of physical pain would then automatically cause a reversal back to an identification with one's body and ever were that the case, it would be so temporary that it could hardly undo one's "progress" on a spiritual based path. When Nisargadatta contracted throat cancer it certainly didn' t undo the great Awakening and Spiritual Realization he'd attained from years before though he had to naturally struggle more in his Satsangs to be understood by those in attendance.
Profound! (I am at 1hr 05min 20 sec)... Thank you for staying true and close to what you cannot doubt. Anything you experience cannot be you. There is nothing simpler than that, though that does not mean it is easily understood.
This may be the reincarnation of Simone Weil at last. Articulate, passionate. Simone suffered horrendous migraines and one day she had an experience similar to what Sruti had. I hear genuine spirituality here. Gravity and Grace (Le Pesanteur et la Grace) is a book, really Simone's notebooks rendered into a posthumous book, which is worth looking into. It is a wonder to have such a one speaking now, so fresh.
That is a comparison which sets a very high standard for the interview. I will right away resolve that my listening to this will not be colored by that. But you saying that makes me really look forward to it. Except it makes me sad that comments such as yours here tend to be lost on most viewers.
I'm sure Sruti has read everything and tried everything but probiotics are the first thing that comes to mind. My daughter is suffering very badly with topical steroid withdrawal which has led to a kundalini-like breakthrough. I will get her to watch this.
Except that probiotics if helpful are really designed for gastrointestinal issues. I myself have occasional intestinal upsets ( which required surgery) and found them useless.
Very nicely written material she reads from the book. Reminds me of Nisargadatta's experience of having throat cancer and at its worst telling his audience that he wasn't suffering because he had very well transcended any identification with the body. BTW, I wonder if medicinal marijuana would be of value. I used it for Shingles, and while it was clearly the most effective among the painkillers I used, I had to stop only because the current strain was making me disoriented.
In the end, "awakening" still seems a matter of "grace , or coincidence", Sadly enough most people suffer until suffering goes or stays. without" happy endings". I work with people in their last stages of death. It can be a very 'humbling" but also "raw" experience, To see very "faithful" people getting severe doubts , but also to see" cynical " and negative people find peace. In in the end we have all die a alone. No matter how many people surround you.That is the moment where all believes, faiths & conceptions do lose there value, and the "big unknown" awaits.
I haven't quite finished yet but this is a rare gem and thank you so much to both of you for this. Do we fear death or do we fear pain? If we think it through a little I think it's the latter though of course the question is highly nuanced. As a personal contribution I would like to respond to Sruti's comment that on retreats she found her pain level went substantially down. I feel we can reflect thus:- [When I go to a spiritual retreat I find the environment uplifting and can actually feel the benevolent vibes exuded from those present. Where do these vibes come from? And can I not through the power of visualization/imagination conjure such in myself too?] Experience has taught me that yes we can indeed "do" this ourselves and that this is what we should do if we wish to dive deeper into Life and the mystery of who we are. This of course is not an overnight thing but requires much work on developing our imaginations . And imagination as Ursual Le Guin the brilliant author has written IS reality.
I haven't got through the whole interview but at the halfway point I'm wondering if Sruti has done anything to get rid of the pain? I've been doing lots of personal work with the higher bodies and notice that all pain comes from our emotional body, the emotional body being superimposed on the physical shape, and so any pain emotions in there will manifest physically at the same location. If she has an "infection" without cause, I'd say that's because it stems 100% from a nonphysical source. Getting to that source will remove the pain, it will also uncover what belief set the pain. I'm doing this work on myself and can attest to its efficacy, although I've never worked on anyone else and don't know anyone else that does what I'm referring to outside of energy workers. EFT may help or other forms of energy work. #painsucks This, btw, is why I hate doctors and go to them only when things get pretty bad. They scoff at anything nonphysical and so limit themselves and the effective care they can give others. Most doctors are just pill pushers. They go to college in order to be the legal dispenser of drugs from the multibillion dollar drug companies. That's all they are and that's what all their education goes towards. If it can't be treated by a drug then they're dumbfounded. "Dumb" being the key word there. Most docs are idiots.
As far as I know I don't have any physical or mental pain. Only slight ache I have right now is from sitting on this chair for about 4 hours. I have had some physical pain in past and some high fever but all that seems a distant memory that I faintly remember. Right now, I don't truly understand how it is to have or live with pain - physical or mental. And, this greatly colors my perception.
As I read more and more on the nature of illness - physical and mental, I become aware of how widely and deeply the changes in our physiology, brain and hormones can change our sense, perception, experiences, thoughts and feelings. How much of what we feel is simply a result of who we are at the level of biology, physiology, chemistry and hormones. This makes me wonder if a lot of spirituality is actually quite mis-informed, misdirected in this regard and if it actually ends up misleading people down the wrong path.
Perhaps, the most respected, renowned, most influential and popular spiritual teacher alive, whom I deeply respect - Mr. Sri. Eckhart Tolle claimed in his bestselling book that the animals don't mentally suffer, don't get anxious and don't get depressed. Scientists and doctors seem to greatly disagree: ... Behind those funny animal videos, sometimes, are oddly human-like problems. Laurel Braitman studies non-human animals who exhibit signs of mental health issues - from compulsive bears to self-destructive rats to monkeys with unlikely friends. Braitman asks what we as humans can learn from watching animals cope with depression, sadness and other all-too-human problems. ... www.ted.com/talks/laurel_braitman_depressed_dogs_cats_with_ocd_what_animal_madness_means_for_us_humans?language=en ... But in fact, the science suggests that numerous nonhuman species do suffer from psychiatric symptoms. Birds obsess; horses on occasion get pathologically compulsive; dolphins and whales, especially those in captivity, self-mutilate. And that thing when your dog woefully watches you pull out of the driveway from the window-that might be DSM-certified separation anxiety. “Every animal with a mind has the capacity to lose hold of it from time to time,” wrote science historian and author Laurel Braitman in her 2014 book Animal Madness. ... www.scientificamerican.com/article/schizophrenia-may-be-the-price-we-pay-for-a-big-brain/
I don't discount the value of meditation, inquiry, surrender and service but, I wonder if many of those who suffer mentally or physically are in many cases, suffering from a real medical disease with possible medical solution and need real medical treatment first and foremost.
I am free of pain and suffering as far as I know. For a long time, I thought it was a result of "who I was as a person", "how I thought", "what my beliefs and principles were", "what my purpose was" and meditation, awakening, self-realization, service, surrender etc. Now, I wonder if this is largely a result of my good luck and fortunes at the level of mental and physical health. I wonder if how I think is the result of how sane, healthy and well I feel at the level of the body.
However, it was also true that my mind had changed. My interpreter had changed. It seemed to color all my perceptions and experiences and to interpret them into a largely happy and peaceful one. I had understood that judging was not for me as I almost never had complete picture, complete information and context and I never truly knew what should and shouldn't happen. I had understood that control and results were not really for me because truly I was not even in control of my own breathing. I wondered which one came first - a sane body or a sane mind or if both were same or deeply connected. I was supposed to be going through an immense misfortunes. Perhaps, it was the God's answer to me for my asking him for my "fair share" of suffering. My loved ones called me and they couldn't stop sobbing and crying, often wondering how such a cruel thing can happen to such a "nice person". I spent most of the conversation time explaining that I was in fact OK, I was not suffering* and I was not in mental pain. I did my best to ask them to not worry too much, to not think too much about it, to pray, to do their best and to in fact, I enjoy because worrying is not guaranteed to help someone. It is not that I never cried. In fact, few times, I cried deeply. However, saw a great depth and a great beauty in crying. I deeply loved those cries and I thanked God for giving me those opportunities to truly, deeply cry. I felt great. Most of the emotions were still possible and many still occurred. What had changed was the "story-telling". What had changed was "interpretation". The "story telling" was largely absent. When the story telling was there, it was very different - it was largely, No my will, but thy will be done... Why? How? I asked these questions too. I wondered if I was no longer human. I wondered if I was no longer "normal". I wondered if I truly understood "relationships". I wondered, if I could ever truly "suffer" together. I wondered if I would ever know what it is truly suffer. === * Sometime, I also wondered if I was living on some other plane, had landed on some "ga ga" land where everything was always nice and nothing was changing. I wondered if I had become too detached and too removed from reality and could no longer see what other people could easily see. The main difference that I saw was that I was no longer invested in the ideas of "what should and shouldn't happen". I had decided that only THAT which TRULY creates, sustains and runs everything and ONE that TRULY knows it all should decide what should happen and not me. Many others including those whom I deeply loved and respected still were deeply hurt when they saw what they thought "should not happen" happen.
Sruti has obviously suffered and has done some good work. It's also obvious that she's been strongly influenced by Gangaji. the way she expresses herself, the spacing between her words. I'd really like to hear about her experience from a more immediate, authentic source.
Rick, you mention Bushmen as one of the cultures that use pain to access altered states of consciousness. Can you give me an example and references? Because from what I've read that's not the case. They use cutting in some rites of passage but the purpose is not to access altered states of consciousness per se, in my opinion. It's a bit complicated to explain because it involves their ideas of First and Second Creation. In their healing dances (they have more than one type) they don't use that, as far as I know, and that's their main form of healing/spiritual "practice", besides kabis or visionary deams. Their main way to access altered states is through heating up n|om (life force) by means of dance, song, movement and touch, which initiates shaking as n|om goes up the spine, eventually opening up the spiritual senses. I'd be interested in exploring new information though. Thanks
Hi Goncalo. I just mentioned Bushmen off the top of my head, but you sound much more knowledgeable than I, so it was a poor example. I read and loved several books about them by Laurens van der Post (Especially "A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place", but that was decades ago. There are plenty of African tribes who do things to their bodies which must be quite painful, but maybe those things merely have a decorative purpose. I'm certainly not an expert. One thing I should have asked Sruti is, "So many people experience severe pain for various reasons, but as far as I know, very few are pushed into a spiritual awakening through it. Why do you suppose that you were while most are not?" - Sruti, if you're reading this maybe you could answer. Aves - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_people indicates that "Bushmen" is one of several names for them, and some people have used all the names pejoratively. But it's a legitimate name. van der Post used it, and he loved them.
Thanks Rick. Yes, actually I haven't read his books but I plan to. Even though they're not considered very accurate anthropologically I'm really curious to read his testimony. Classic stuff! Yes, both San and Bushmen have been used pejoratively. There are Bushmen who call themselves San but from talking to a few of them they usually prefer to be called Bushmen and that's the word they usually use to refer to themselves as a whole. Whenever possible, I refer to them by the name of their specific language group, like Ju/'hoansi, Nharo, !Kung, etc. But in general they like Bushmen even though many don't mind San either.
*A 1.8 on a -3.0 to +3.0 scale for the interview and a ♥♥♥♥♥ to the one carrying the name Sruti*. Disclaimers at the end of the comment. *And another note right up front:* I have dropped rating for good reasons, and this seeming "revival" is an exception following a confluence of a heartfelt impulse and of public demand led by GetMeThere1. Highly recommended interview ! Imagine this in contrast to some facile "law of attraction" BS. But slowly: Let's start technical to keep a semblance of objectivity: what her experience represents to a vipassana practitioner has a very obvious parallel to *a higher stage of vipassana called **_"releasing back to nature"_* in which every part and "layer" (Sruti) of the 5 skandhas _(which according to the buddhist description are what make up the person and its world)_ is seen through as being pervaded by the three marks _(of impermanence, suffering and not-self)_ and are therefore let gone of as being part of nature and as ultimately having nothing to do with the ground from which they are seen. Her path seems to have been a kind of _"throwing back to nature"_ enforced by the illness, whereas vipassana is designed to allow that disidentification with the skandhas ("layers") to naturally mature from the prolonged observation of the three marks (see above). I would venture to say that on grounds of this she has at least reached a profound level of equanimity which should be a pretty good place from which to enter the stream if she hasn't already done so. There couldn't be a purer and more honest disclaimer of cosmological competence and justifiable prioritization of the ending of suffering. And Rick and the question by that one Indian viewer couldn't sink their hindu teeth into this purity and try to make this over into some playfrom of perennialist pink all-is-one-chewing gum. Way to go ! *On the other hand, I have this one beef* with this interview which is - due to Rick's addiction to theistic harmony - the usual lack of penetration into *that profound question of gratitude*. Don't get me wrong, Sruti has my utter admiration for the gratitude she does have. And in those rare hours I kissed the ground of being myself _(or rather that kiss was all that was left of me)_ I would understand the sense of gratitude intuitively. But the frontal lobe having re-asserted itself, the issue why one would reasonably feel gratitude for the origin of the problem is beyond me (literally !). Intellectually, it appears to be *a kind of spiritual Stockholm syndrome*. Yeah, "god" can save us from that suffering _by means of_ that suffering, but if you are going to invoke theistic language, wouldn't that suffering not have been there in the first place if it wasn't for "god" ? As I see it, the more direct solution would have been not to be there in the first place. *If a sadist doctor breaks your leg so that he can fix and heal it to get your attention, is gratitude really a proper or even a moral response ? The chance of really delving into that matter was never greater than in this interview and lost, and therefore a -0.2* (should be a whopping -0.5 really, but my heart is bleeding). Now, having said all the above I hope I have earned your patience to say something personal with regard to this wonderful person. You may have noticed that there aren't too many women interviewees whose interviews I rated high and often I was full of sarcasm regarding their obvious attempts to substitute a lack of substance in their message with the usual sexual tricks and avalanches of makeup. People have accused me of warding off my attraction to them by my criticism. So allow me to set that straight here because I openly admit of my being attracted to the unspoiled, non-superficial beauty of this woman. She can shave her head all she wants and try to look like a boy but that won't fool me. I also suspect that most of the men with any brains left and not brainwashed by those fashion and make up peddling chicks see her beauty. We're all in love here if we are going to be honest about it. So if I openly admit it here why should I not have done so elsewhere ? Just look at these eyes - floodlights ! - which look from a place of innocence, only slightly touch on the objects and return the view back to its source in a neverending circle throughout the interview. It is just as well that "God" made it impossible for her to be spoiled by the war that sexual relationships between men and women have become. And thus I rejoice _(as does my fiancée, hehe)_ in the fact that physical contact with her is next to impossible (even though Portugal is not so far away for me). So in a nutshell, Sruti: you are a light in dark times. You have touched my heart like no other interviewee has (except maybe Russel Williams interview "Looking through the horse's eyes" on conscious tv), so maybe I can be grateful for your suffering. God bless you ! _About the rating: anything below and including 0 means by and large a waste of time, and anything below 0 is not only worthless but damaging to the world. For comparison, on that scale, Francis Bennett would be a +2 or more and Harri Aalto would be roughly a tentative +2 to +2.5. Not coming up with original, independent cosmological insights bans any interviewee from > 2.0 ratings as a matter of principle._ *General Disclaimer:* _the rating pertains to an interview, not to the interviewee_. If the rating is high it means merely and exclusively that I consider the interview to be of high value relative to the stated purpose of the channel, and that it is therefore no waste of time to listen to the interview. It would _not_ imply that whatever the interviewee speaks is the truth (as if I was the arbiter over that) or that you should follow him/her or accept whatever that person offers. _That is particularly in need of emphasis if that would be an expensive enterprise_ !
@Mary: _"Missing the value with this one given what you've been harping on during the time when I was around."_ As usual, *the rating values the fit to the stated purpose of the channel*. Therefore please note the _"About the rating"_ section and the disclaimers. I wonder how often I have to repeat that, and that is one reason among several I stopped rating. _"why is monetizing this set of experiences different from any of the others?"_ Why should it be ? _"Also, I see "experiences" vs. a true abiding."_ So what ? See paragraphs 3 and 4 of my above rating comment. _"I went through many of the same experiences and never felt bitter, then or now."_ And so ? _"She exhibits a very strong affect of bitterness."_ I think that is a projection because I don't see bitterness. I sense weariness which after years of not being allowed to sleep properly due to the illness is pretty fitting. She clearly states that she is undergoing pain while being interviewed. Should pain be sweet ? *But what is more disconcerting to me is why - after having been repeatedly pointed this out by myself - you still cannot bring yourself to read my disclaimers before replying.* Regarding the gratitude thingy, what I don't get goes quite a bit deeper: if some spiritual goal involves any suffering as a necessity how can we possibly even have _the right_ to be grateful: would that even be morally good ? Wouldn't gratitude for deliverance justify further suffering for the next one being created and tortured into deliverance ? Make no mistake: I don't have an answer here, nor does anyone else probably, only the question, and it won't tolerate lame excuses.
_"I was thrown off because you brought this guest to my attention before and then asked me to watch this interview."_ For several reasons, namely that we are both pain patients as is she, she is no nonsense and because of what I wrote in paragraphs 3 and 4 in my rating comment which pertain to the more advanced levels of vipassana meditation, the entrance to which is well hinted at by the links I had once sent you. _"Further, you went on in great detail about how much you like her."_ I fundamentally like her because she is so genuine, real, unfalsified - a rare thing for women especially from the US. You may want to look at a few videos on her channel to see it better. There she probably had the chance to choose a time for filming when the pain was not so strong. _"Sorry, but you missed it. I happen to know a lot about this subject"_ You know a lot about interstitial cystitis in particular or just about chronic pain ? As if I, having been in physical pain every day since the 1980s, don't ? So you think I am missing something here ? Well, I don't. Pain wears you down, she is weary. Whatever bitterness you see there in particular is in the seer. In fact she describes many of the tragic facts of her life in an extremely graceful way. You may disagree, so what. Again: you may want to look at a few videos on her channel to see it better. Generally, unless I meet cogent arguments, I don't particularly depend on agreement, in case you haven't noticed. jassznare is great but no authority for me even when he completely agrees with me as he does here. Regarding that tim13... I could dig up quotations from his comments that just makes your naming him pretty funny. But who cares what they or you or I think - unless you have something convincing to say in favor of your view. *Look:* I don't particularly care about mere opinions, not even my own. I was asked to come back here and give a rating. *One more thing*: if one knows meditation in the true sense, there is no way one cannot like it. The fact that you admittedly don't likely goes to show something about yourself that you would probably rather not see.
Whatever, and as I said before: _"if one knows meditation in the true sense, there is no way one cannot like it. The fact that you admittedly don't likely goes to show something about yourself that you would probably rather not see."_ In the meantime, since without your prompting I don't pay attention to his drivel, I looked for that post by this quasi-nihilist and would-be-scientific reductionist: and as was to be expected, he of course criticized the interview based on the most ridiculous, red herring grounds, on his not having even thoroughly listened to the interview _(I think generally he is fundamentally incapable of listening properly)_ because Sruti herself had led any presumptiousness about her founding a sangha to absurdity herself during the interview. In fact, your champion criticizes her based on his own assumptions that there can be no helpful injunctions from within realization, as if he could demand of an interviewee to agree to his own false views.
@Mary _"I thought your concern was with how Rick conducted this interview."_ Yes it was for the rating. But once you keep piling up errors and projections then I feel I have a certain limited responsibility to prune the error-tree in my thread so I will not be a contributing cause for spreading of erroneous thinking.
Meanwhile I found the place where she demonstrates profound understanding of what also happens during vipassana meditation (sounds much like Burmese style "noting" practice) which also completely demolishes the critique of that troll you mentioned: 1:05:30 - 1:08:23 . Well, your advice on pain management may be good practical advice but it also has no soteriological value. This is not the vipassana approach to pain, and it is also the reason why you cannot meditate. Not blaming you for that, just saying.
Re: the sciatica question. Had a but of that maybe seven years back and s uccessfully used Yoga I found on You Tube. Luckily cured after about two weeks of practice.
I read in another comment section that she has cystitis though she has said UTI - I would have suggested unsweetened cranberry juice (for uti) and cut out the sweets and processed foods, except that if it is cystitis and not uti - then this link has some helpful info nutritionarticlesonline.com/bladder_interstitial_cystitiIsIC/
@ 25:15, re the shamanic journey, please read Malidoma Some's book, Of Water and Spirit. Real life happens and all of your nice resilience and coping skills can be overwhelmed. All of your ideas about how your nice 'spiritual journey' should go can be taken away from you permanently. It doesn't get to happen on your terms. 'May your journey be blessed', or....a living hell. You don't get to decide. She's proof.
This almost seems like you're wishing it on people! I think everyone, ultimately, has their tricky/uncomfortable areas and truth to traverse (Like Rick suggests, their own 'dark night of the soul'. Many of us have fairly tricky, challenging lives already!
Many of us sit and dream of a more happy and 'spiritual' life of comfort with our PayPal video satsangs and luxury retreats and crystals and shit. What if the 'spiritual journey' felt like being filleted alive, having all of your misperceptions and 'illusions' removed from you like primitive surgery without anesthetics, would you still want it? My point is,....your ego may hate this process more than anything and find it torture, not love and light. We all want the fairy tale ending, not the truth of the journey. Then some idiot says some childish nonsense, 'there is no journey'. Best wishes to you, please read some real spiritual literature because these video teachers here are bluffing, for the most part.
brazfan Yes, I agree... in general, and it is important to know that spirituality is 'just facing the facts of life, the Bad along with the Sublime & Amazing, ultimate Truth... [and everything in between...] But I think I just sensed it was, on some level, a kind of detached-wish for others to suffer...? Sorry if this is not the case'.. I do think when you have been in pain, like most people are more or less, to a greater or lesser extent, it can be almost too-much-to ask to 'turn the other cheek' to unpleasant self-knowledge - which for me, comprise some of the central difficulties and discomfort of the 'Path', of Opening into what one truly is... I do believe, from my own experience, that we need at least a balance of tranquillity and Ease... But yes, I do not think those people who want a nice-path-only will not be able to get anywhere, for there is a rigidity... Best to be open to accept WHATEVER happens.
I suppose I seem like I have a bad attitude or something but I look at those cliff side temples in Tibet, there are (or were) 1000s of them, and I think 'that is devotion', building that and then committing to live there for some years. I saw pictures of 1000 year old mosques with a foot deep wear in the stone floor from literally millions of prostrations over the years. I think of the billions of people going to 'worship God' in their way for centuries upon century. Then I see ultra rich guys offering PayPal video 'satsangs' and $300 an hour Skype sessions and people on these forums pretending they 'get the teachings' or some such nonsense. It is all extremely weird. I don't have much respect for someone whose 'spiritual awakening' leads them to hang out a shingle and start charging $$$ for their flimsy 'teachings'. I would rather see their 'awakening' lead them to serve the poor or commit to the fulfillment of the journey. Life is really weird. Most of these guys aren't much different from the televangelists of the ’60s. I really like this person on the vid above, I didn't finish the vid, I hope she's not in business selling some 'spiritual teaching' or counseling or something like that. Best to you and her and everyone else.
I believe I can help her with her pain. I am the protege of Dr. Frederick B. Levenson, author of "The Causes and Prevention of Cancer". Amazingly, understanding the trigger for cancer helps you understand the core of humanity. I have had two near death experiences. One being brought on by working with Dr. Levenson which I now know to be called "Dying While Living". The other was a choking incident whereby I was completely unafraid while I was choking and only fear came back when I could breath again. I have become an expert on pain and how to deal with it from both working with Dr. Levenson and personal experiences. If interested have Rick or Sruti reply to this comment so we can connect.
Great interview. And speaking of pain: Yes, Rick. We will continue to survive, even if The Donald becomes POTUS...Will do further research on this gal. She has certainly taken the High Road. Red Pat
I am quite quiet. Many thoughts simply don't occur to me and therefore, I don't have to struggle to fight these thoughts or to quiet my mind. I don't even get the thoughts that in spiritual circles are generally considered grand, great or good. I usually don't get grand thoughts, concerns or worries about - global warming, climate change, impending doom, Donald Trump becoming president, corporations destroying planet, people eating meat, animal species dying, natural disasters, earth quakes, wars, child death, poverty, population, greedy gurus, fake gurus, corrupt politicians. I understand that considering that I am not even in true control of my own breathing, my own digestion, my immune system, my own cell division - and, considering that the world seems to run OK even while I sleep - perhaps, it is wise for me to not be concerned about these grand things. It is not that I am not willing and ready or that I don't do what appears good, wise, kind, compassionate to me. I understand that neither I truly know what is really good and bad, what should and should not happen and nor do I truly control it. I can't understand how someone might be truly concerned about Donald Trump, pollution, war, climate change, corporations and still be free of worry, relax and be peaceful at the same time. Worry and relaxation seems to be contradiction. You do what appears noble, wise and kind and know that neither you truly know nor do you truly control nor do you should control. At the lesser level, what happens in sports doesn't bother me because I don't watch most of it and I don't keep track of who wins what. At the personal level, I have been lucky, fortunate and blessed to have easy, loving, kind and comfortable living conditions - socially, family, physically, health, financially, economically, professionally and I have been relatively content with what I have and immensely grateful for what I have had and what I get on daily basis. I realize it fully that it is most definitely not same for everyone. I can't truly imagine how it is to have a body that constantly pains, a mind that is delusional or obsessive, to live without resources or to live in a very cruel society. Perhaps, I will be able to cope peacefully, perhaps, I will break or perhaps, I will adapt and I still count my blessings - 1. I am alive. 2. I am conscious. 3. I can think. 4. I have to air to breathe. 5. My lungs are breathing. 6. The sun is shinning. 7. The earth is moving. 8. The flowers are blooming. 9. The birds are singing. 10. My torturers are perhaps, happy. I am happy that they are happy. 11. Those who mock me are perhaps, happy. Mocking me, insulting me perhaps, makes them happy. Seeing me suffer perhaps, makes them happy. I am happy that they are happy. 12. Other people are perhaps, healthy, resourceful and happy. I am happy that they are happy. 13. I am able to withstand this pain. 14. Knowing and thinking this makes me happy. Some of this might be a result of mediation, inquiry, investigation, reading, learning, contemplation, awakening, spirituality and it is quite possible that a lot of it simply a part of who I am and might be simply a result of genetics, environment and the condition of my body. Some of this might simply be my personality. The flip side of naturally worrying less and being less concerned is that I can be called slightly irresponsible, indisciplined, careless and unorganized.
I HAVE WATCHED THIS 5 TIMES, AND EACH TIME I THINK! WHAT THE HECK IS SHE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT IS SHE TRYING TO CONVEY? THEN, I REALIZE THAT SHE DOES NOT EVEN KNOW
Since the young lady's (uninvited) 'pathway' had, seemingly, nothing to do with 'spirituality': I wonder why she has founded an organization (called Sruti Sangha, no less!), in order to inveigle others into believing that there are psycho-spiritual 'tools' which can be employed to bring about a 'situation' which cannot be brought about by these (or perhaps any other) means?..........On a more prosaic note: - if I were her, I'd be spending more time badgering the Doctor - there are more advanced painkillers being brought out all the time. Hopefully she'd find something to help her. (Certainly piss-farting around with Codeine won't!)......Meanwhile - you never know: - those looking down their noses at Donald Trump might find themselves (pleasantly, even, in spite of themselves!) surprised....There's nothing like casting your net out the other side of the boat, you know.....
I'll let you know when we reactivate the guest suggestion system: batgap.com/future-interviews/suggest-guest/ and you can submit him for consideration.
There is no way she can be enlightened and still suffer physical pain ...when someone is enlightened the mind stop talking so much and there is a releasing of the resistance that created the illness to begin with ... sorry but I don't realy get this graphic illustration of sickness mind set in this channel ..
Honestly I struggled to listen to her. She was a major turn off personality wise I am sorry if insulted. This subject is very familiar and her mannerism is not the spokesperson or way that I although maybe wrong would do it. Irritated.
+Manu Poosah listen there is no doubt there is great physical pain but one who is constant pain next level pain drops or better said cant even engage drama it's a matter of survival and holding on in the moment. Sruti just the way she started the interview about needing to express her illness and the subtle dramatic or quality of her tone throughout felt a little bit like an ego performing to an extent. Again without she has experienced great pain. Just not the kind of pain that breaks you...
+Yann Meyerstein If Sruti did not describe her painful condition at the beginning, the whole interview would be meaningless. She said, " Pain is a tool to let go of the personal in favor of the Eternal." You missed the point. You obviously listened to this interview with your analytical mind rather than with your heart. Thinking has no room here.
+Manu Poosah this is pointless;) either I am not expressing sufficiently or there is a lack of subtle understanding on your end. Look deeper at what I am saying. If nothing else this lady just turns me off. My problem no analytical mind just my own unevolved jerk of a self:) enough...take care
She is wondrously precise in her use of language. A real pleasure to listen to.
Thought the same.
This interview brought me to tears, not because of the pain but because of the astounding grace that was born of it.
Me too, just beautiful.
She has such simple clarity in her communication... amazing!
The authenticity is staggeringly beautiful.
Thank you for this.
An altogether outstanding interview. A real gem. Thanks to both of you.
Prayer as being in stead of asking is a nice distinction. The grace I experience in prayer arises in surrender rather than desire. Pain certainly demands surrender. There is great beauty in us when we surrender, Sruti is such a perfect example of this beautiful surrender. Her grace is palpable.
I want to recommend her book, The Hidden Value of Not Knowing, to everyone here. I read it immediately after watching the interview this morning and with great appreciation. It can be quickly downloaded as a pdf file from her site or ordered as a hard copy and is well worth the effort in either case.
Thank you for this touching interview. It was a lot things all rolled into one. Also Rick I felt a deeper, compassionate part of yourself especially the first half of the interview. Continue the good work.
Oh My God ... so tuching ... to tears and immense compassion and love ... much gratitude for your interviews Rick
This is THE MOST depressing interview I've ever heard. But I'm fully in her grip - I can't stop watching, or listening.
Stay tuned. There's a happy ending.
how is it depressing?
Thank you Sruti for your sharing with such clarity and strength. I believe it applies to both mental/emotional as well as physical, that which is truly unbearable. Thank you Rick for this interview!
Such a beautiful description of that recognition that cannot be described 🙏🏻💗
Wow! So genuine! Amazing sharing. It touches me deeply. In such pain there remained no room to escape in anything but TRUTH itself. Very grateful for Sruti and Rick.
I'm so thankful she has shared her story
Sruti, I can understand and relate to your experiences of pain - and transforming that pain into understanding and enlightenment. You express your experiences very clearly and beautifully. I’ve experienced transforming experiences several times in my life when going through great physical and/or emotional suffering. One time was when experiencing intense back pain from a car accident I was in, 46 years ago. Not too long after the accident I experienced in a time of intense, writhing pain, an enlightening experience of great calm and peace. I experienced in an instant the taste of being my over-soul, viewing myself from above and behind myself, like being a witness to myself. I was elevated into a great sense of meditative stillness, peace and being-ness. These painful experiences can be like fire to the cauldron for the sensitive heart. My daughter had interstitial cystitis many years ago and, over time, I was lucky to be able to help her relieve her from this difficulty through diet, and relaxation and yoga practices. Many blessings to you, Sruti. Here are some pertinent quotes from the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a beloved great master of the heart:
"As fire can cook food or burn it, so also does pain affect the human heart."
"The pain of life is the price paid for the quickening of the heart. "All pain is significant of change; all that changes for better or worse must cause a certain amount of pain, for change is at once birth and death."
"In friendship, as well as in the hostility of the worldly, there is pain."
"If it were not for pain, one would not enjoy the experience of joy. It is pain that helps one experience joy, for everything is distinguished by its opposite."
"... it is by pain that the heart is penetrated."
I actually suffer from a painful chronic disease called fibromyalgia, which usually leaves medicine, and patients as well, totally helpless in front of pain. Personally, this constant pain led me on the path of self inquiery (Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Francis Lucille...) which gave me a tool to push through these horrible sensations, just by staying as the impersonal witness. Anyway, these are the MOST pertinent and beautiful words I've ever heard about pain. Thanks for this wonderful note of hope. May it inspire all of us and be a source of courage for all those who face such situations, and don't know how to deal with "acid grace" (Mooji).
I will make it a point to rate this because of the coincidence of 1. having stumbled upon the live cast and being deeply moved by watching what after even just the few minutes I was there I feel is a kindred soul (which is quite a rare case for me among interviewees even among those that I really like) and 2. being called back here on PM by GetMeThere1. I will not return to the rating business here, but it seems to me like an honorific duty to make an exception with this interview. Please allow a few days before I can finish listening to this, not that my rating would matter... I also recommend visiting her channel.
I was just thinking pity Soteriologe isn't still visiting these pages as he would have liked this!
Aaaah I knew you were still around watching secretly and waiting for a gem to come 😜🙏
Done.
It's weird you didn't notice Atreya Thomas added on May 10th (or maybe you decided to ignore for a particular reason)
@Frank Tafani There is nothing weird about that, please read the rating comment to this video because I already answered your remark there.
@sruti I am glad you had the experience of realizing that you and pain are one and the same being and I am also happy that you experienced the sound of Silence. It is a beautiful being.
This one is great, really enjoy its depth! Powerful words from Sruti.. In my experience periods of intense pain or suffering often give my enquiry/meditation a much increased urgency, which leads to a big uptick in results.
I've just sent a message to user "Soteriologe." He's the fellow who used to rate all the interviews, and then decided to "retire" from that (after an interview I think he felt was a bad one). I recommended he visit this interview and give his review.
Quite an extraordinary, revealing, inspiring, and insightful interview. Thanks for doing it!
Done.
Great interview, Rick and Sruti. Sruti, thank you for your courage in being honest about your pain and spiritual journey. Rick, I hope Sruti will inspire you stop insisting that physical pain precludes the transcendent state. You frequently argue that when a person stubs their toe, hits their thumb with a hammer, or otherwise suffers sharp physical pain, that suddenly - "poof" - all spirituality is forgotten, and we revert back to total, localized, identification with the body. This leaves me, and I'm sure many others who suffer chronic pain, feeling less than, feeling that there is no way we can abide in an awakened state. As Sutri points out, we feel abandoned enough as it is. To suggest that we are also precluded from salvation is frightening and hurtful. Along these same lines, you frequently suggest that a healthy nervous system and strong, healthy body is needed to withstand the energy release of awakening. Again, this makes those of us with chronic illness and pain feel forsaken, as in "better luck next lifetime." But Sruti shows us none of this is true.
I don't think Rick is suggesting that the occurrence of physical pain would then automatically cause a reversal back to an identification with one's body and ever were that the case, it would be so temporary that it could hardly undo one's "progress" on a spiritual based path. When Nisargadatta contracted throat cancer it certainly didn' t undo the great Awakening and Spiritual Realization he'd attained from years before though he had to naturally struggle more in his Satsangs to be understood by those in attendance.
sruthi dear.....You are so inspiring. Just wanna say you are a rising Phoenix.
Profound! (I am at 1hr 05min 20 sec)... Thank you for staying true and close to what you cannot doubt. Anything you experience cannot be you. There is nothing simpler than that, though that does not mean it is easily understood.
Well put.
I am filled with gratitude.
I don't know if it is an energetic transmission or what but I feel like crying and I feel deeper from this interview.
This may be the reincarnation of Simone Weil at last. Articulate, passionate. Simone suffered horrendous migraines and one day she had an experience similar to what Sruti had. I hear genuine spirituality here. Gravity and Grace (Le Pesanteur et la Grace) is a book, really Simone's notebooks rendered into a posthumous book, which is worth looking into. It is a wonder to have such a one speaking now, so fresh.
That is a comparison which sets a very high standard for the interview. I will right away resolve that my listening to this will not be colored by that. But you saying that makes me really look forward to it. Except it makes me sad that comments such as yours here tend to be lost on most viewers.
Missing what ?
I explained what I meant on the rating comment, please ask me there.
sweet child of God x he's always smiling upon you
thank you!, VERY inspiraing
I'm sure Sruti has read everything and tried everything but probiotics are the first thing that comes to mind.
My daughter is suffering very badly with topical steroid withdrawal which has led to a kundalini-like breakthrough. I will get her to watch this.
Except that probiotics if helpful are really designed for gastrointestinal issues. I myself have occasional intestinal upsets ( which required surgery) and found them useless.
www.ichelp.org/diagnosis-treatment/treatments/ic-diet-self-management/do-probiotics-help-ic/
very pure..Good interview.
Very nicely written material she reads from the book. Reminds me of Nisargadatta's experience of having throat cancer and at its worst telling his audience that he wasn't suffering because he had very well transcended any identification with the body. BTW, I wonder if medicinal marijuana would be of value. I used it for Shingles, and while it was clearly the most effective among the painkillers I used, I had to stop only because the current strain was making me disoriented.
In the end, "awakening" still seems a matter of "grace , or coincidence", Sadly enough most people suffer until suffering goes or stays. without" happy endings". I work with people in their last stages of death. It can be a very 'humbling" but also "raw" experience, To see very "faithful" people getting severe doubts , but also to see" cynical " and negative people find peace. In in the end we have all die a alone. No matter how many people surround you.That is the moment where all believes, faiths & conceptions do lose there value, and the "big unknown" awaits.
These talks for individuals in Hospice would help a great deal.
I haven't quite finished yet but this is a rare gem and thank you so much to both of you for this. Do we fear death or do we fear pain? If we think it through a little I think it's the latter though of course the question is highly nuanced.
As a personal contribution I would like to respond to Sruti's comment that on retreats she found her pain level went substantially down. I feel we can reflect thus:-
[When I go to a spiritual retreat I find the environment uplifting and can actually feel the benevolent vibes exuded from those present. Where do these vibes come from? And can I not through the power of visualization/imagination conjure such in myself too?]
Experience has taught me that yes we can indeed "do" this ourselves and that this is what we should do if we wish to dive deeper into Life and the mystery of who we are. This of course is not an overnight thing but requires much work on developing our imaginations . And imagination as Ursual Le Guin the brilliant author has written IS reality.
I would find it useful if the age was mentioned for every guest, it helps to put things into perspective.
I haven't got through the whole interview but at the halfway point I'm wondering if Sruti has done anything to get rid of the pain? I've been doing lots of personal work with the higher bodies and notice that all pain comes from our emotional body, the emotional body being superimposed on the physical shape, and so any pain emotions in there will manifest physically at the same location. If she has an "infection" without cause, I'd say that's because it stems 100% from a nonphysical source. Getting to that source will remove the pain, it will also uncover what belief set the pain. I'm doing this work on myself and can attest to its efficacy, although I've never worked on anyone else and don't know anyone else that does what I'm referring to outside of energy workers. EFT may help or other forms of energy work. #painsucks
This, btw, is why I hate doctors and go to them only when things get pretty bad. They scoff at anything nonphysical and so limit themselves and the effective care they can give others. Most doctors are just pill pushers. They go to college in order to be the legal dispenser of drugs from the multibillion dollar drug companies. That's all they are and that's what all their education goes towards. If it can't be treated by a drug then they're dumbfounded. "Dumb" being the key word there. Most docs are idiots.
As far as I know I don't have any physical or mental pain. Only slight ache I have right now is from sitting on this chair for about 4 hours. I have had some physical pain in past and some high fever but all that seems a distant memory that I faintly remember. Right now, I don't truly understand how it is to have or live with pain - physical or mental. And, this greatly colors my perception.
As I read more and more on the nature of illness - physical and mental, I become aware of how widely and deeply the changes in our physiology, brain and hormones can change our sense, perception, experiences, thoughts and feelings. How much of what we feel is simply a result of who we are at the level of biology, physiology, chemistry and hormones. This makes me wonder if a lot of spirituality is actually quite mis-informed, misdirected in this regard and if it actually ends up misleading people down the wrong path.
Perhaps, the most respected, renowned, most influential and popular spiritual teacher alive, whom I deeply respect - Mr. Sri. Eckhart Tolle claimed in his bestselling book that the animals don't mentally suffer, don't get anxious and don't get depressed. Scientists and doctors seem to greatly disagree:
...
Behind those funny animal videos, sometimes, are oddly human-like problems. Laurel Braitman studies non-human animals who exhibit signs of mental health issues - from compulsive bears to self-destructive rats to monkeys with unlikely friends. Braitman asks what we as humans can learn from watching animals cope with depression, sadness and other all-too-human problems.
...
www.ted.com/talks/laurel_braitman_depressed_dogs_cats_with_ocd_what_animal_madness_means_for_us_humans?language=en
...
But in fact, the science suggests that numerous nonhuman species do suffer from psychiatric symptoms. Birds obsess; horses on occasion get pathologically compulsive; dolphins and whales, especially those in captivity, self-mutilate. And that thing when your dog woefully watches you pull out of the driveway from the window-that might be DSM-certified separation anxiety. “Every animal with a mind has the capacity to lose hold of it from time to time,” wrote science historian and author Laurel Braitman in her 2014 book Animal Madness.
...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/schizophrenia-may-be-the-price-we-pay-for-a-big-brain/
I don't discount the value of meditation, inquiry, surrender and service but, I wonder if many of those who suffer mentally or physically are in many cases, suffering from a real medical disease with possible medical solution and need real medical treatment first and foremost.
I am free of pain and suffering as far as I know. For a long time, I thought it was a result of "who I was as a person", "how I thought", "what my beliefs and principles were", "what my purpose was" and meditation, awakening, self-realization, service, surrender etc. Now, I wonder if this is largely a result of my good luck and fortunes at the level of mental and physical health. I wonder if how I think is the result of how sane, healthy and well I feel at the level of the body.
However, it was also true that my mind had changed. My interpreter had changed. It seemed to color all my perceptions and experiences and to interpret them into a largely happy and peaceful one. I had understood that judging was not for me as I almost never had complete picture, complete information and context and I never truly knew what should and shouldn't happen. I had understood that control and results were not really for me because truly I was not even in control of my own breathing. I wondered which one came first - a sane body or a sane mind or if both were same or deeply connected.
I was supposed to be going through an immense misfortunes. Perhaps, it was the God's answer to me for my asking him for my "fair share" of suffering.
My loved ones called me and they couldn't stop sobbing and crying, often wondering how such a cruel thing can happen to such a "nice person". I spent most of the conversation time explaining that I was in fact OK, I was not suffering* and I was not in mental pain. I did my best to ask them to not worry too much, to not think too much about it, to pray, to do their best and to in fact, I enjoy because worrying is not guaranteed to help someone.
It is not that I never cried. In fact, few times, I cried deeply. However, saw a great depth and a great beauty in crying. I deeply loved those cries and I thanked God for giving me those opportunities to truly, deeply cry. I felt great.
Most of the emotions were still possible and many still occurred. What had changed was the "story-telling". What had changed was "interpretation". The "story telling" was largely absent. When the story telling was there, it was very different - it was largely, No my will, but thy will be done...
Why?
How?
I asked these questions too.
I wondered if I was no longer human. I wondered if I was no longer "normal". I wondered if I truly understood "relationships". I wondered, if I could ever truly "suffer" together. I wondered if I would ever know what it is truly suffer.
===
* Sometime, I also wondered if I was living on some other plane, had landed on some "ga ga" land where everything was always nice and nothing was changing. I wondered if I had become too detached and too removed from reality and could no longer see what other people could easily see.
The main difference that I saw was that I was no longer invested in the ideas of "what should and shouldn't happen". I had decided that only THAT which TRULY creates, sustains and runs everything and ONE that TRULY knows it all should decide what should happen and not me. Many others including those whom I deeply loved and respected still were deeply hurt when they saw what they thought "should not happen" happen.
Great line: "the ground of not knowing"
Sruti has obviously suffered and has done some good work. It's also obvious that she's been strongly influenced by Gangaji. the way she expresses herself, the spacing between her words. I'd really like to hear about her experience from a more immediate, authentic source.
Rick, you mention Bushmen as one of the cultures that use pain to access altered states of consciousness. Can you give me an example and references? Because from what I've read that's not the case. They use cutting in some rites of passage but the purpose is not to access altered states of consciousness per se, in my opinion. It's a bit complicated to explain because it involves their ideas of First and Second Creation. In their healing dances (they have more than one type) they don't use that, as far as I know, and that's their main form of healing/spiritual "practice", besides kabis or visionary deams. Their main way to access altered states is through heating up n|om (life force) by means of dance, song, movement and touch, which initiates shaking as n|om goes up the spine, eventually opening up the spiritual senses. I'd be interested in exploring new information though. Thanks
“Bushmen” - Oooooohhhhhh I bet someone’s going to object to that term, on the grounds of political incorrectness. First world problems...
Hi Goncalo. I just mentioned Bushmen off the top of my head, but you sound much more knowledgeable than I, so it was a poor example. I read and loved several books about them by Laurens van der Post (Especially "A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place", but that was decades ago. There are plenty of African tribes who do things to their bodies which must be quite painful, but maybe those things merely have a decorative purpose. I'm certainly not an expert.
One thing I should have asked Sruti is, "So many people experience severe pain for various reasons, but as far as I know, very few are pushed into a spiritual awakening through it. Why do you suppose that you were while most are not?" - Sruti, if you're reading this maybe you could answer.
Aves - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_people indicates that "Bushmen" is one of several names for them, and some people have used all the names pejoratively. But it's a legitimate name. van der Post used it, and he loved them.
Thanks Rick. Yes, actually I haven't read his books but I plan to. Even though they're not considered very accurate anthropologically I'm really curious to read his testimony. Classic stuff!
Yes, both San and Bushmen have been used pejoratively. There are Bushmen who call themselves San but from talking to a few of them they usually prefer to be called Bushmen and that's the word they usually use to refer to themselves as a whole. Whenever possible, I refer to them by the name of their specific language group, like Ju/'hoansi, Nharo, !Kung, etc. But in general they like Bushmen even though many don't mind San either.
*A 1.8 on a -3.0 to +3.0 scale for the interview and a ♥♥♥♥♥ to the one carrying the name Sruti*. Disclaimers at the end of the comment. *And another note right up front:* I have dropped rating for good reasons, and this seeming "revival" is an exception following a confluence of a heartfelt impulse and of public demand led by GetMeThere1.
Highly recommended interview ! Imagine this in contrast to some facile "law of attraction" BS. But slowly:
Let's start technical to keep a semblance of objectivity: what her experience represents to a vipassana practitioner has a very obvious parallel to *a higher stage of vipassana called **_"releasing back to nature"_* in which every part and "layer" (Sruti) of the 5 skandhas _(which according to the buddhist description are what make up the person and its world)_ is seen through as being pervaded by the three marks _(of impermanence, suffering and not-self)_ and are therefore let gone of as being part of nature and as ultimately having nothing to do with the ground from which they are seen.
Her path seems to have been a kind of _"throwing back to nature"_ enforced by the illness, whereas vipassana is designed to allow that disidentification with the skandhas ("layers") to naturally mature from the prolonged observation of the three marks (see above). I would venture to say that on grounds of this she has at least reached a profound level of equanimity which should be a pretty good place from which to enter the stream if she hasn't already done so.
There couldn't be a purer and more honest disclaimer of cosmological competence and justifiable prioritization of the ending of suffering. And Rick and the question by that one Indian viewer couldn't sink their hindu teeth into this purity and try to make this over into some playfrom of perennialist pink all-is-one-chewing gum. Way to go !
*On the other hand, I have this one beef* with this interview which is - due to Rick's addiction to theistic harmony - the usual lack of penetration into *that profound question of gratitude*. Don't get me wrong, Sruti has my utter admiration for the gratitude she does have. And in those rare hours I kissed the ground of being myself _(or rather that kiss was all that was left of me)_ I would understand the sense of gratitude intuitively. But the frontal lobe having re-asserted itself, the issue why one would reasonably feel gratitude for the origin of the problem is beyond me (literally !). Intellectually, it appears to be *a kind of spiritual Stockholm syndrome*. Yeah, "god" can save us from that suffering _by means of_ that suffering, but if you are going to invoke theistic language, wouldn't that suffering not have been there in the first place if it wasn't for "god" ? As I see it, the more direct solution would have been not to be there in the first place. *If a sadist doctor breaks your leg so that he can fix and heal it to get your attention, is gratitude really a proper or even a moral response ? The chance of really delving into that matter was never greater than in this interview and lost, and therefore a -0.2* (should be a whopping -0.5 really, but my heart is bleeding).
Now, having said all the above I hope I have earned your patience to say something personal with regard to this wonderful person. You may have noticed that there aren't too many women interviewees whose interviews I rated high and often I was full of sarcasm regarding their obvious attempts to substitute a lack of substance in their message with the usual sexual tricks and avalanches of makeup. People have accused me of warding off my attraction to them by my criticism. So allow me to set that straight here because I openly admit of my being attracted to the unspoiled, non-superficial beauty of this woman. She can shave her head all she wants and try to look like a boy but that won't fool me. I also suspect that most of the men with any brains left and not brainwashed by those fashion and make up peddling chicks see her beauty. We're all in love here if we are going to be honest about it. So if I openly admit it here why should I not have done so elsewhere ? Just look at these eyes - floodlights ! - which look from a place of innocence, only slightly touch on the objects and return the view back to its source in a neverending circle throughout the interview.
It is just as well that "God" made it impossible for her to be spoiled by the war that sexual relationships between men and women have become. And thus I rejoice _(as does my fiancée, hehe)_ in the fact that physical contact with her is next to impossible (even though Portugal is not so far away for me).
So in a nutshell, Sruti: you are a light in dark times. You have touched my heart like no other interviewee has (except maybe Russel Williams interview "Looking through the horse's eyes" on conscious tv), so maybe I can be grateful for your suffering. God bless you !
_About the rating: anything below and including 0 means by and large a waste of time, and anything below 0 is not only worthless but damaging to the world. For comparison, on that scale, Francis Bennett would be a +2 or more and Harri Aalto would be roughly a tentative +2 to +2.5. Not coming up with original, independent cosmological insights bans any interviewee from > 2.0 ratings as a matter of principle._
*General Disclaimer:* _the rating pertains to an interview, not to the interviewee_. If the rating is high it means merely and exclusively that I consider the interview to be of high value relative to the stated purpose of the channel, and that it is therefore no waste of time to listen to the interview. It would _not_ imply that whatever the interviewee speaks is the truth (as if I was the arbiter over that) or that you should follow him/her or accept whatever that person offers. _That is particularly in need of emphasis if that would be an expensive enterprise_ !
@Mary: _"Missing the value with this one given what you've been harping on during the time when I was around."_
As usual, *the rating values the fit to the stated purpose of the channel*. Therefore please note the _"About the rating"_ section and the disclaimers. I wonder how often I have to repeat that, and that is one reason among several I stopped rating.
_"why is monetizing this set of experiences different from any of the others?"_
Why should it be ?
_"Also, I see "experiences" vs. a true abiding."_
So what ? See paragraphs 3 and 4 of my above rating comment.
_"I went through many of the same experiences and never felt bitter, then or now."_
And so ?
_"She exhibits a very strong affect of bitterness."_
I think that is a projection because I don't see bitterness. I sense weariness which after years of not being allowed to sleep properly due to the illness is pretty fitting. She clearly states that she is undergoing pain while being interviewed. Should pain be sweet ? *But what is more disconcerting to me is why - after having been repeatedly pointed this out by myself - you still cannot bring yourself to read my disclaimers before replying.*
Regarding the gratitude thingy, what I don't get goes quite a bit deeper: if some spiritual goal involves any suffering as a necessity how can we possibly even have _the right_ to be grateful: would that even be morally good ? Wouldn't gratitude for deliverance justify further suffering for the next one being created and tortured into deliverance ? Make no mistake: I don't have an answer here, nor does anyone else probably, only the question, and it won't tolerate lame excuses.
_"I was thrown off because you brought this guest to my attention before and then asked me to watch this interview."_ For several reasons, namely that we are both pain patients as is she, she is no nonsense and because of what I wrote in paragraphs 3 and 4 in my rating comment which pertain to the more advanced levels of vipassana meditation, the entrance to which is well hinted at by the links I had once sent you.
_"Further, you went on in great detail about how much you like her."_ I fundamentally like her because she is so genuine, real, unfalsified - a rare thing for women especially from the US. You may want to look at a few videos on her channel to see it better. There she probably had the chance to choose a time for filming when the pain was not so strong.
_"Sorry, but you missed it. I happen to know a lot about this subject"_ You know a lot about interstitial cystitis in particular or just about chronic pain ? As if I, having been in physical pain every day since the 1980s, don't ? So you think I am missing something here ? Well, I don't. Pain wears you down, she is weary. Whatever bitterness you see there in particular is in the seer. In fact she describes many of the tragic facts of her life in an extremely graceful way. You may disagree, so what. Again: you may want to look at a few videos on her channel to see it better.
Generally, unless I meet cogent arguments, I don't particularly depend on agreement, in case you haven't noticed. jassznare is great but no authority for me even when he completely agrees with me as he does here. Regarding that tim13... I could dig up quotations from his comments that just makes your naming him pretty funny. But who cares what they or you or I think - unless you have something convincing to say in favor of your view. *Look:* I don't particularly care about mere opinions, not even my own. I was asked to come back here and give a rating.
*One more thing*: if one knows meditation in the true sense, there is no way one cannot like it. The fact that you admittedly don't likely goes to show something about yourself that you would probably rather not see.
Whatever, and as I said before: _"if one knows meditation in the true sense, there is no way one cannot like it. The fact that you admittedly don't likely goes to show something about yourself that you would probably rather not see."_ In the meantime, since without your prompting I don't pay attention to his drivel, I looked for that post by this quasi-nihilist and would-be-scientific reductionist: and as was to be expected, he of course criticized the interview based on the most ridiculous, red herring grounds, on his not having even thoroughly listened to the interview _(I think generally he is fundamentally incapable of listening properly)_ because Sruti herself had led any presumptiousness about her founding a sangha to absurdity herself during the interview. In fact, your champion criticizes her based on his own assumptions that there can be no helpful injunctions from within realization, as if he could demand of an interviewee to agree to his own false views.
@Mary _"I thought your concern was with how Rick conducted this interview."_ Yes it was for the rating. But once you keep piling up errors and projections then I feel I have a certain limited responsibility to prune the error-tree in my thread so I will not be a contributing cause for spreading of erroneous thinking.
Meanwhile I found the place where she demonstrates profound understanding of what also happens during vipassana meditation (sounds much like Burmese style "noting" practice) which also completely demolishes the critique of that troll you mentioned: 1:05:30 - 1:08:23 .
Well, your advice on pain management may be good practical advice but it also has no soteriological value. This is not the vipassana approach to pain, and it is also the reason why you cannot meditate. Not blaming you for that, just saying.
Re: the sciatica question. Had a but of that maybe seven years back and s uccessfully used Yoga I found on You Tube. Luckily cured after about two weeks of practice.
oops, meant a "bout", hardly a "but". Some typo there!
I read in another comment section that she has cystitis though she has said UTI - I would have suggested unsweetened cranberry juice (for uti) and cut out the sweets and processed foods, except that if it is cystitis and not uti - then this link has some helpful info
nutritionarticlesonline.com/bladder_interstitial_cystitiIsIC/
She needs to check out Omega Quantum Technologies. They have healing pads for pain.
@ 25:15, re the shamanic journey, please read Malidoma Some's book, Of Water and Spirit. Real life happens and all of your nice resilience and coping skills can be overwhelmed. All of your ideas about how your nice 'spiritual journey' should go can be taken away from you permanently. It doesn't get to happen on your terms. 'May your journey be blessed', or....a living hell. You don't get to decide. She's proof.
This almost seems like you're wishing it on people! I think everyone, ultimately, has their tricky/uncomfortable areas and truth to traverse (Like Rick suggests, their own 'dark night of the soul'.
Many of us have fairly tricky, challenging lives already!
Many of us sit and dream of a more happy and 'spiritual' life of comfort with our PayPal video satsangs and luxury retreats and crystals and shit. What if the 'spiritual journey' felt like being filleted alive, having all of your misperceptions and 'illusions' removed from you like primitive surgery without anesthetics, would you still want it? My point is,....your ego may hate this process more than anything and find it torture, not love and light. We all want the fairy tale ending, not the truth of the journey. Then some idiot says some childish nonsense, 'there is no journey'. Best wishes to you, please read some real spiritual literature because these video teachers here are bluffing, for the most part.
brazfan Yes, I agree... in general, and it is important to know that spirituality is 'just facing the facts of life, the Bad along with the Sublime & Amazing, ultimate Truth... [and everything in between...]
But I think I just sensed it was, on some level, a kind of detached-wish for others to suffer...? Sorry if this is not the case'..
I do think when you have been in pain, like most people are more or less, to a greater or lesser extent, it can be almost too-much-to ask to 'turn the other cheek' to unpleasant self-knowledge - which for me, comprise some of the central difficulties and discomfort of the 'Path', of Opening into what one truly is... I do believe, from my own experience, that we need at least a balance of tranquillity and Ease...
But yes, I do not think those people who want a nice-path-only will not be able to get anywhere, for there is a rigidity... Best to be open to accept WHATEVER happens.
I suppose I seem like I have a bad attitude or something but I look at those cliff side temples in Tibet, there are (or were) 1000s of them, and I think 'that is devotion', building that and then committing to live there for some years. I saw pictures of 1000 year old mosques with a foot deep wear in the stone floor from literally millions of prostrations over the years. I think of the billions of people going to 'worship God' in their way for centuries upon century. Then I see ultra rich guys offering PayPal video 'satsangs' and $300 an hour Skype sessions and people on these forums pretending they 'get the teachings' or some such nonsense. It is all extremely weird. I don't have much respect for someone whose 'spiritual awakening' leads them to hang out a shingle and start charging $$$ for their flimsy 'teachings'. I would rather see their 'awakening' lead them to serve the poor or commit to the fulfillment of the journey. Life is really weird. Most of these guys aren't much different from the televangelists of the ’60s. I really like this person on the vid above, I didn't finish the vid, I hope she's not in business selling some 'spiritual teaching' or counseling or something like that. Best to you and her and everyone else.
I believe I can help her with her pain. I am the protege of Dr. Frederick B. Levenson, author of "The Causes and Prevention of Cancer". Amazingly, understanding the trigger for cancer helps you understand the core of humanity. I have had two near death experiences. One being brought on by working with Dr. Levenson which I now know to be called "Dying While Living". The other was a choking incident whereby I was completely unafraid while I was choking and only fear came back when I could breath again. I have become an expert on pain and how to deal with it from both working with Dr. Levenson and personal experiences. If interested have Rick or Sruti reply to this comment so we can connect.
Great interview. And speaking of pain: Yes, Rick. We will continue to survive, even if The Donald becomes POTUS...Will do further research on this gal. She has certainly taken the High Road. Red Pat
I am quite quiet. Many thoughts simply don't occur to me and therefore, I don't have to struggle to fight these thoughts or to quiet my mind.
I don't even get the thoughts that in spiritual circles are generally considered grand, great or good. I usually don't get grand thoughts, concerns or worries about - global warming, climate change, impending doom, Donald Trump becoming president, corporations destroying planet, people eating meat, animal species dying, natural disasters, earth quakes, wars, child death, poverty, population, greedy gurus, fake gurus, corrupt politicians. I understand that considering that I am not even in true control of my own breathing, my own digestion, my immune system, my own cell division - and, considering that the world seems to run OK even while I sleep - perhaps, it is wise for me to not be concerned about these grand things. It is not that I am not willing and ready or that I don't do what appears good, wise, kind, compassionate to me. I understand that neither I truly know what is really good and bad, what should and should not happen and nor do I truly control it.
I can't understand how someone might be truly concerned about Donald Trump, pollution, war, climate change, corporations and still be free of worry, relax and be peaceful at the same time. Worry and relaxation seems to be contradiction. You do what appears noble, wise and kind and know that neither you truly know nor do you truly control nor do you should control.
At the lesser level, what happens in sports doesn't bother me because I don't watch most of it and I don't keep track of who wins what.
At the personal level, I have been lucky, fortunate and blessed to have easy, loving, kind and comfortable living conditions - socially, family, physically, health, financially, economically, professionally and I have been relatively content with what I have and immensely grateful for what I have had and what I get on daily basis.
I realize it fully that it is most definitely not same for everyone. I can't truly imagine how it is to have a body that constantly pains, a mind that is delusional or obsessive, to live without resources or to live in a very cruel society. Perhaps, I will be able to cope peacefully, perhaps, I will break or perhaps, I will adapt and I still count my blessings - 1. I am alive. 2. I am conscious. 3. I can think. 4. I have to air to breathe. 5. My lungs are breathing. 6. The sun is shinning. 7. The earth is moving. 8. The flowers are blooming. 9. The birds are singing. 10. My torturers are perhaps, happy. I am happy that they are happy. 11. Those who mock me are perhaps, happy. Mocking me, insulting me perhaps, makes them happy. Seeing me suffer perhaps, makes them happy. I am happy that they are happy. 12. Other people are perhaps, healthy, resourceful and happy. I am happy that they are happy. 13. I am able to withstand this pain. 14. Knowing and thinking this makes me happy.
Some of this might be a result of mediation, inquiry, investigation, reading, learning, contemplation, awakening, spirituality and it is quite possible that a lot of it simply a part of who I am and might be simply a result of genetics, environment and the condition of my body. Some of this might simply be my personality.
The flip side of naturally worrying less and being less concerned is that I can be called slightly irresponsible, indisciplined, careless and unorganized.
I HAVE WATCHED THIS 5 TIMES, AND EACH TIME I THINK! WHAT THE HECK IS SHE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT IS SHE TRYING TO CONVEY? THEN, I REALIZE THAT SHE DOES NOT EVEN KNOW
Since the young lady's (uninvited) 'pathway' had, seemingly, nothing to do with 'spirituality': I wonder why she has founded an organization (called Sruti Sangha, no less!), in order to inveigle others into believing that there are psycho-spiritual 'tools' which can be employed to bring about a 'situation' which cannot be brought about by these (or perhaps any other) means?..........On a more prosaic note: - if I were her, I'd be spending more time badgering the Doctor - there are more advanced painkillers being brought out all the time. Hopefully she'd find something to help her. (Certainly piss-farting around with Codeine won't!)......Meanwhile - you never know: - those looking down their noses at Donald Trump might find themselves (pleasantly, even, in spite of themselves!) surprised....There's nothing like casting your net out the other side of the boat, you know.....
Hi Rick:
I think you and your viewers might enjoy and benefit from an interview with Jurek Wyszynski: ruclips.net/video/FcVQtlSH6Ok/видео.html
I'll let you know when we reactivate the guest suggestion system: batgap.com/future-interviews/suggest-guest/ and you can submit him for consideration.
There is no way she can be enlightened and still suffer physical pain
...when someone is enlightened the mind stop talking so much and there is a releasing of the resistance that created the illness to begin with ... sorry but I don't realy get this graphic illustration of sickness mind set in this channel ..
Honestly I struggled to listen to her. She was a major turn off personality wise I am sorry if insulted. This subject is very familiar and her mannerism is not the spokesperson or way that I although maybe wrong would do it. Irritated.
Trivializing Sruti's pain/experience because of your mood. Ridiculous. Let's hear you talk when you're in continuous extreme pain.
+Manu Poosah listen there is no doubt there is great physical pain but one who is constant pain next level pain drops or better said cant even engage drama it's a matter of survival and holding on in the moment. Sruti just the way she started the interview about needing to express her illness and the subtle dramatic or quality of her tone throughout felt a little bit like an ego performing to an extent. Again without she has experienced great pain. Just not the kind of pain that breaks you...
+Yann Meyerstein
If Sruti did not describe her painful condition at the beginning, the whole interview would be meaningless. She said, " Pain is a tool to let go of the personal in favor of the Eternal." You missed the point. You obviously listened to this interview with your analytical mind rather than with your heart. Thinking has no room here.
+Manu Poosah this is pointless;) either I am not expressing sufficiently or there is a lack of subtle understanding on your end. Look deeper at what I am saying. If nothing else this lady just turns me off. My problem no analytical mind just my own unevolved jerk of a self:) enough...take care
+Yann Meyerstein
No need for subtle understanding to understand your narcissistic comment. Nothing deep to look at your shallow saying.
is she single? :3