Filed under: Inspirational Videos, Uncategorized, Videos | Tags: Ashrams, Brahman, Buddha, buddhist, buddist video, Christopher Titmuss, Gurus, Hindu, India, Krishna, Philosophy, religion, spiritual, spiritual video, truth, Vadanta, Vedānta, Yoga, Yogi, zen video
Christopher Titmuss speaks to a group in Sarnath, India about several topics the theme of the talk is “a life transformed”. To begin the discussion with the group Christopher give a little of his background and tells of his travels many years prior in Sarnath, India where he came upon a small book not to far from where he and the group were currently sitting. He tells of 2 references from the book that gave him great insight. The first reference dealt with the fact that everything changes, family friends, you, everything. The second reference in the book suggest that if one can recognizing that everything without exception changes one might realize that clinging to anything will bring misery, conflict and troubles.
Christopher then departs from his personal story to give a brief lesson on the history of the belief systems in India. He goes back about 2500 years ago where there were 2 influential figures in spiritual life. The first were the Brahmans who are still very influential in India to this day. The Brahmans were the priest, they were the facilitators and guardians of ritual and ceremony. This goes back to the Vedas, the earliest sacred texts of India. From the Vedas came the Vedānta and out of that extraordinary tradition came what we still see in India today, the Yogis.
He then goes on to explain that if we look back to those times one can now see that from the priest, rituals, astrology, sacrifice and 
other ceremonies this all gave rise to the conditions that manifest what we still see today in India with the cast systems and privilege by birth.
Aside from the Brahmans and priest there were the Yogis that lived on the outskirts of society. Over time you start to see this is when Ashrams began to be built on the outskirts of society as well. With the building of Ashrams then came the teachers Gurus and Swamis. Looking back you can see that this is how spirituality in India began, this was the beginning of of all the stories, gods and goddesses, etc.
When the Buddha finally came around he made a drastic departure from the systems of the Brahmans and the Yogis. In his teachings he attempted to shift the social life in society as a whole and the individual. The Buddha attempted to ignite a movement of complete transformation in the consciousness of mankind. The teachings and this movement of complete transformation were relevant for society 2500 years ago and are even more so today.
After Christoper catches the group up with the brief history lesson he then ask the group to bring their attention back to the current world in which we live. If we look closely at society today we will notice that there is a conditioning of society as a whole and the individual. This conditioning and the structure of society that we all contribute to, we have a very strong sense of connection with it and we all identify with it.
This conditioning that we are all cause and a part of, if we look at it closer and examine ourselves we will find that we are identified with it and we internalize.
There are 3 parts of our conditioning that we internalize, these 3 things we’ve been told are extremely important and we believe it completely.
- The pursuit of security through ownership.
- The maximization and pursuit of pleasure.
- Developing a sense of self-worth through what we do, e.g. career and accomplishments.
Christopher then goes on to explain that these 3 things have become the overall pursuit of all mankind. If we’re honest with ourselves and look at our lives as individuals you will see the the majority of your life’s attention and priorities are devoted to these 3 things.
He then goes on to point out how the link between all 3 of these pursuits or conditions is money. We all have the same conditioning and are perusing the same things. Out of all this conditioning arises a society of individuals with a common consciousness of anxiety and fear. Christopher points out that nobody ever talks about money, only in the most general ways. For one to talk about ones finances is very taboo in today’s society.
After making this point about our common conditioning and anxieties he then references how the Buddhas endeavor over 2500 years ago was to make a total shift in the in the consciousness of mankind who was at the time dealing with the same conditioned mind.
How do we make the transformation from this conditioned mind? Watch the video to find out what Christopher Titmuss has to say. I think you’ll find that he is very insightful and if you listen closely something might awaken within you that will have you questioning your pursuits and your conditioning.
After watching the video please feel free to leave general comments about the video or ask a question to start a dialog. The purpose of this blog is to talk with one another and investigate truth.
Namaste,
~ Echo
2 Comments so far
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degreesofemotion.wordpress.com 
Hi Echo,
I began listening to “A Life Transformed” Christopher Titmuss but the audio cut out at about 9:30 into it.
Comment by Transparent Human February 28, 2009 @ 1:23 pmNo way really… awe man! Okay thanks for the heads up I’ll have to re-edit the video and repost it later tonight hopefully.
Thanks again!
Comment by casualtyofdesign February 28, 2009 @ 1:30 pm