Re: Instant Zen School

["dvrok" <dvrok@...>]

Hi Tim,

It's interesting that you raise this topic, because I've had 
similiar questions myself. Some in the "Zen School" say that the 
conscious gradual rise through the planes is a waste of effort, 
because ultimately the astral and mental realms are just as 
illusionary as our everyday physical reality. The ultimate goal, 
they say, should be unity with divinity. 

Are you at all familiar with Mouni Sadhu's works?
(i.e. "Concentration, "Meditation," "Samadhi," etc..) Sadhu was a 
disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi, a sage of India during the early 
1900s. I've noticed quite a few similarities in the exercises of 
IIH and Sadhu's "Concentration" and "Meditation," mainly being, 
after quieting the mind, intense mental visualizations, which have 
nothing to do with "magic" imagery. In fact, Sadhu's commentary 
throughout his books is full of warnings about becoming enamored 
with the "occult," with advice on keeping the course, mainly by 
ignoring all astral/mental thought disturbances, focusing instead on 
the goal of Samadhi. 

There are quite a few parallels in the entire course of 
Sadhu's "Concentration" and the mental exercises of Bardon's ten 
steps in IIH. Bardon's exercises, of course, are more "magical," 
and he offers a lot more advice on how to live the life of an 
initiate, with the soul and physical exercises to be completed along 
with the mental ones.

I suppose that there are unique paths for different people, and 
ultimately one has to find their own path. I'd be interested in 
hearing what others have to say on this. Is it almost "dangerous" 
to follow a strictly mental "Zen" path, as our Eastern friends have 
done for years, due to the risk of imbalance? Or does imbalance 
even come into play when one's ascent is more Zen-based instead of 
Hermetically-based?

In a more abstract sense, do we incarnate to "Western" and "Eastern" 
circumstances based on the nature of our past inner work?

Thanks 
Devin