Explaining Yoga of the Mind to the Samaritans

Re: Depression Kicking In

Inbox

from: Shantanu Panigrahi <shanpanigrahi3000@gmail.com>

date: 2 Sept 2023, 07:07

subject: Re: Depression Kicking In

Dear Jo

I will try and explain Hindu dharma to you; it is something that I have studied from a raw state of mind for the better part of 26 years but I had a very strong background in upbringing in India for the first 15 years of my life where I lived in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh. I went to a Englsih medium Catholic school then and went to church from time to time.

The fundamental aspect of Hindu dharma is yoga, and these come in various descriptions, but the one that caught my thoughts was the yoga of the mind, which was to seek truth even as a young boy. So I never was discounting any source of information as being irrelevant, and fortunately came to the United Kingdom to study in the schools, colleges and universities in the scientific field which was seeking the truth and so was yoga of the mind continuing. During my career in the Natural Resources Institute I was so open minded that I switched from subject to subject in the biological and agricultural areas of the environment and because I had studied Physics, Chemistry and Zoology at A levels with Pharmacology at Undergraduate level it was a process of continued diversification of knowledge in the mind, so was yoga of the mind. It went on from there when I studied Agricultural Development at Post Graduate level Diploma with Economics in it so you can imagine the breadth of knowledge that my mind was accumulating.

When I lost my job at the University of Greenwich in 1998, I had premonitions that I was to give up the formal sector of studies to go freelance from the confines of my home, so as it happens I went through practical experiences of lodging legal proceedings that have lasted from 1998 to present day and continuing. It went to Forums got banned by nearly all of them for my deep probing activities that my mind was always getting to work on, but accumulated further knowledge of religion, the humanities and law and order and justice in one of the most sophisticated democracies in the world.

All this was knowledge accumulation as a decade ago I set my mind to creating websites on Knowledge for World Conservation to do some good for the world from the knowledge that had accumulated and still accumulating.

So what is this process within the Hindu dharma: I call it satya-advaita yoga, or the yoga of truth-accommodation. To seek truth, to expose truth as a probe but also as a dissemination exercise, and to accommodate within the truth that is revealed each moment of the day.

Through this process I reached the highest levels of Hindu dharma in discovering Vishista Advaita Vedanta, with Advaita being reality accommodation, one cannot go wrong with this for it is failsafe and highly protective in terms of countering the obstacles that one faces in life. Vishista means reverence to God Sri Krishna the Creator of Brahman the universe to which we aspire to be become in union, for I have found that being Brahman as the Self is a Self-fulfilling exercise: you cannot go wrong because you are in tune with the universe.

Wo what does the endpoint look like: This is Hindu dharma:

The Self, Brahman, and Vishista-advaita Vedanta

in Religion and Philosophy

The Hindu liberation concept boils down to the idea of the Self, and many gurus have talked about it from over hundreds of years.

My present concept of the Self is to have no attachments whatsoever.

Never drive yourself forward towards a destination,

Never have plans, objectives, aims, missions, anticipations, expectations, wishes, hopes, strategies, tactics, or desires to shrug off any remnants of ego.

For the Reality is what we Hindus call Brahman consisting of Brahma-Nature which is always in a state of flux so that plans are subject to what goes on around us which if adhered to causes suffering mentally and one is not free.

Free to be One, the Self, able to function nonchalantly, spontaneously and unpremeditatedly in everything one does each moment of the day.

This works because the mind is not cluttered with beliefs, biases, prejudices, and is unattached to everything.

This Self is so unattached that it becomes Brahman itself.

God created Brahman, and I name this God Sri Krishna. He is always there and everywhere. But as Self there is no attachment to the concept of God. As Self we are Brahman.

This is the framework described to be Vishista Advaita Vedanta.

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In modern times, no one understands Hindu dharma like this. That is why I have survived persecution from trolls for so long: truth accommodation. They are all Brahman but they do not realise this simple fact. I cannot harm anyone by my actions, I am nonjudgmental except to state what Hindu dharma requires in this manner.

On to the other issues that you alluded to, my mind is calm only because I have no objectives, no strategies, no plans, no wishes, etc as I have explained. I will go on holidays only because my wife organises these. I am just as happy remaining at home.

Hope all this makes sense to the uninitiated.

Shantanu

On Sat, 2 Sept 2023 at 02:23, <jo@samaritans.org> wrote:

Dear Shantanu

Thank you for sharing with us a comprehensive overview of the challenges you are facing at the moment. It seems that there are themes of feeling persecuted, tormented and treated as an alien in the United Kingdom. These sound like extremely difficult experiences, and it is clear what a huge impact this has had, and continues to have, on your wellbeing.

You have mentioned Hindu dharma as something which is very important in your life. I wonder if you could tell us a bit more about how this influences the way in which you live and the values which you prize?

It sounds as if your upcoming trips to Turkey and India offer some hope for you to have some respite from the feelings relating to the State. Have there been other times in your past when these feelings have lifted and you have been able to feel a little lighter and/or freer?

I hope the conversation with your Surgery went well, and you were able to achieve the medication outcome you desired. Please do continue to email us about your feelings if it helps you to cope with the difficulties you are facing.

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