| Master Da Free John, or Heart-Master Love-Ananda, as he is also known,
has given the following Great Questions for pondering. The
consideration of these may be used by anyone. They are simply a
way to help one in the process of Listening, self-Observation and
self-Understanding. They are found in his book _The Dawn Horse
Testament_, Chapter 19, pages 296-297.
"What Am 'I' Always Doing?"
"Avoiding Relationship?"
"Who or What Is Always Already The Case (Before 'I' Do Anything
At All)?"
"Am 'I' The One Who Is 'Living' (Animating or Manifesting) me (the
body-mind) Now?"
"Who Is 'Living' me Now?"
"How Do 'I' Relate To The One Who 'Lives' me?"
"Do 'I' know What any one or any thing Is?"
--
"What Is it?"
--
"Who, What, and Where Is Happiness?"
--
"Who, What, and Where Is Consciousness?"
--
"What Will 'I' Do If 'I' Love The Divine Person (The Self-Radiant
Being, Happiness Itself, or Consciousness Itself)?"
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| For a number of years I read Da Free Johns teachings, and yet,
though his logic is impeccable, and on a deeper level, though I know
intuitively that these insights are true, they didn't make much
of a dent in my own state or actions. And, I didn't feel a pull to
him as teacher that inclined me to do sadhana (spiritual practice) with
him. However, his descriptions of Muktananda are what attracted me to
Siddha Yoga and I'm grateful to him for that. I'm no longer
fully committed to Muktananda's path, but I don't think the affect
of my time spent there will ever leave me.
The differences in Da Free John's and Muktananda's approaches are
interesting. Da Free John, if I read him right, regards the "Shakti,"
the Divine creative power which is responsible for, most importantly,
the evolution of consciouness, is a secondary phenomena. In fact,
I think he no longer gives "Shaktipat", the awakening of this power,
as a matter of course. Rather he feels that knowledge itself is what
transforms people.
Muktananda, on the other hand, believed that the Shakti was the most
important thing in the world of things. And that liberation comes
through shaktipat, when the Kundalini energy is awakened by the touch,
look, or thought of someone in whom it is already fully awakened.
Da Free John mentioned in one of his books that Muktananda seemed
stuck in "highest experience", and hadn't passed from the Sahasrar
back into the Transcendent Heart, that Ramana Maharshi talks about,
or further, wasn't established in the current between the heart and the
head that he calls "Amrita Nadi". I used to mull this over once in
awhile, but one day I read a casual statement that Muktananda had
made to someone: "The Atman exists in the region between the head
and the heart. Not in one or the other."
As for Da Free John, I still think his knowledge and understanding
of spiritual culture and the workings of subtle and hard to grasp
processes within Man is unmatched. But it wasn't until I went to
Muktananda's Ashram that I really felt, tangibly, something
outside of my ordinary experience. I know now that his is not
the only path where that miraculous power exists, but to me then,
it was an amazing discovery.
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