Paul Muller-Ortega - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:45 - Symbolic forms of goddesses
00:08:59 - The Origins and Influences of Nilakanta Meditation
00:13:22 - The Meaning of Mantra
00:17:25 - The Chalice of the Mantra
00:21:53 - Vibratory Frequencies and Higher Consciousness
00:26:18 - The Power of Mantra in Meditation
00:36:03 - The Shaiva Tradition and the Malas
00:40:35 - The Appearance and Relative Reality in the Shaiva Shakta Tradition
00:44:53 - The Purpose of Creation and the Value of Evolution
00:49:59 - Different Mantras for Household and Renunciate
00:54:05 - Encounters with Ramana Maharshi
00:58:12 - The Wave of Freedom and Transformation
01:02:18 - The Awakening Process and Transformation Levels
01:06:33 - Liberation without Practice
01:10:38 - The Fourth State of Consciousness and Beyond
01:15:24 - Celestial Perception and Stages of Enlightenment
01:19:35 - The Role of Substandard Teachers in Spiritual Circles
01:23:31 - The Curious Cherishing and Denouncing of Knowledge
01:27:38 - Understanding the concept of "madhya"
01:31:39 - The Krama Tradition and Sequential Manifestation
01:36:24 - The Yoga Vasishta's Philosophical Outlook
01:41:58 - The Rush to Act from Knowingness
01:44:50 - Understanding the Planetary Phenomenon
01:49:15 - The Transformation of Spirituality
01:53:37 - The Ocean of Milk and the Poison
01:57:45 - Making the Maximum Use of Time
02:01:34 - The Mandukya Upanishad and Aum as a mantra
02:05:30 - The Subtle Level of Understanding
02:08:56 - Being an Instrument in the Transition to Higher Consciousness

Professor Paul Muller-Ortega, Ph.D., is recognized internationally as one of the world’s most highly respected and renowned academic scholars in the field of Indian Religion and Hindu Tantra. He is the founder of Blue Throat Yoga, which teaches the elegant Svatantra philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, along with the practice of Neelakantha Meditation.

For nearly fifty years, Paul has been a pioneer in the technology of Consciousness, lecturing and teaching about meditation and Indian philosophy to hundreds of thousands of people in North and South America, Europe, and India. Through his books, articles, essays, commentaries, and translations, Paul has earned a reputation for his unparalleled scholarly authenticity and for being a charismatic teacher with a remarkable capacity to convey esoteric truths and teachings. Paul’s teachings are highly accessible, relevant, and comprehensible to the Western mind.

Paul Muller-Ortega is the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Triadic Heart of Siva: Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-Dual Shaivism of Kashmir (Suny Series, Shaiva Traditions of Kashmir), in which he examines the “Heart” as the mystical core of Consciousness. He is also one of the co-authors of Meditation Revolution, as well as numerous scholarly articles on aspects of Tantric Studies.

Professor Paul Muller-Ortega earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Yale University in 1971. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California, where he studied Sanskrit, Indian Religions, and Asian Philosophy and Culture. For twenty-five years he was a Professor of Religion at Michigan State and then the University of Rochester, and was known for his passionate and innovative teaching style and enrolled-to-capacity classes.

Paul has been a meditation practitioner and teacher for nearly fifty years. He has formally studied with several of the greatest meditation masters of our time, and subsequently, has organized and taught hundreds of meditation seminars, disseminating potent practices of meditation to thousands of individuals. With this rare combination of training, experience, skill, spiritual practice, and profound insight, Paul teaches his students to abide in the heart of Consciousness: a journey that is inspiring, life-changing and enlightening.

Another book:

The Philosophy of Sadhana (SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

Interview recorded September 16, 2017

[danielholman]

Thank you Rick for doing what you do. And you do it so well. Om!

[danielholman]

I read his book The Triadic Heart Of Shiva. Really good book on Kashmir Shaivism. I’am a devotee of Swami Muktananda. Muktananda during his lifetime was interested in reviving Kashmir Shaivism during his lifetime after K/S was secret for 800 years. Kashmir Shaivism is a branch of non dual Hinduism influenced by the Tantra sages.
K/S devotees worship Lord Shiva as did Baba Muktananda.

[danielholman]

Swami Muktananda also wrote books on Kashmir Shaivism. Some are out of print but can be found on Amazon. Swami Shankarananda wrote Consciousness Is Everything about Kashmir Shaivism. Om!

[danielholman]

I read his book The Triadic Heart Of Shiva. Really good book on Kashmir Shaivism. I’am a devotee of Swami Muktananda. Muktananda during his lifetime was interested in reviving Kashmir Shaivism during his lifetime after K/S was secret for 800 years. Kashmir Shaivism is a branch of non dual Hinduism influenced by the Tantra sages.
K/S devotees worship Lord Shiva as did Baba Muktananda.