The Advaita Podcast #31 - Douglas Harding 1909 - 2007
Steve Da Wittness emailed me this morning to pass on the information that Douglas Harding, He Who Had No Head, passed away last night. So we did a show in his honour.
If you don’t know who he is, here’s a few links for you.
PRESS PLAY [audio:http://advaita.thepodcastnetwork.com/audio/tpn_advaita_20070112_031.mp3]
OR DOWNLOAD THE ADVAITA SHOW HERE
January 13th, 2007 at 3:48 am
“and perhaps not too die”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikMQn6BExu4
January 13th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Nice Show. Will have to look into the work of this gentleman a bit more. Funny impression Steve.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:46 am
I enjoyed these podcasts when Bob was on the show, but it seems as though these later shows with Steve and Cam are just opportunities for the two to name drop and prove that they’ve read a lot of books. What gives?
January 13th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Hey Clarity, did I tell you about the time I met Sir Anthony Hopkins?! Maaaaan, that was cool. And then there was the time I stood in line at LAX next to Jean Reno. And the time I walked past Elvis Costello and Diana Krall at MOMA in NYC?
Fred - great find!
January 13th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Another great show, guys!
Steve, thanks for the recommendations. I only learned of John Wheeler when I started listening to The Advaita Show. I’d choose to check out some of his work if I had a choice. I’ve been reading Alan Watts’ “The Book” this week and would highly recommend it to listeners as a great summary of the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. By the way, who is this DharmaMike you guys mention? Someone in the past, maybe? I’m sure glad there is only the NOW.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
The Pointing experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLP5HRikZw
January 14th, 2007 at 5:12 am
It had the biggest head you ever saw… A great enormous thing, - like nothing. A huge big – well, like a – I don’t know – like an enormous big nothing.
…………………………………….A.A. Milne, “Winnie The Pooh”
A wee gem from headless.org - Harding himself could not have put it better.
Clarity, hmmm, a show in honour of a wonderful expression that includes many quotes from his work and those like his and from those who loved him.
That is strange…comes the chuckle from the abyss…
January 14th, 2007 at 5:34 am
Imagine a magician who explains to you his trick in great detail after which he performs his trick. You watch his trick and know what is going on, but you still get fooled and afterwards you think “what the fuck just happened!!â€.
That’s the advaita seeker!
January 14th, 2007 at 6:05 am
“I enjoyed these podcasts when Bob was on the show, but it seems as though these later shows with Steve and Cam are just opportunities for the two to name drop and prove that they’ve read a lot of books. What gives? ”
I do, I don’t care to hear bob speak(even though he is great), I have heard all the advaita talk a million times, I can dream it, so I don’t need a guru to explain it to me. Besides I have my own guru. I like that it is just two guys talking stuff.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I love James Brown! You guys cracked me up! “Get Jimmy!”
All the Alan Watts references made me want to share a hilarious story I read about him in Rolling Stone. It was the edition devoted to Hunter S. Thompson’s death:
A guy named John Clancy tells the story of how he and Hunter moved to Big Sur in 1960 and lived in a beautiful house. One night while driving home they hit a baby deer. They took it home and nursed it, putting a splint on it’s leg. Here’s Clancy’s quote from the mag…
“A couple days later, Alan Watts, the great Zen Buddhist guru who was very popular at the time, happened to come by. He looked at the deer and said, “Oh I think I can help the little deer.” Then he kind of did all these weird mumbo-jumbo things and touched it. “This little deer’s going to be fine now”, he said. About an hour later it died. Hunter said, “That fucker, that crackpot, that fraud- don’t believe anything that charlatan speaks. He killed a deer.”
I still love Alan Watts, but that story just slays me! HST rocked!
January 14th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Love that story! I named one of my kids Hunter after HST. God I loved that man’s spirit.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:00 am
I know it is completely off topic, but what a weird name…
What if poor kid would like to be vegetarian one day?
No I’m not English and I could never understand how you could name a child after parents nationality (Norman). or a job (Hunter).
Sorry, but I could not stop myself ;)
January 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Arek, I don’t think there’s much chance he’ll actually *be* a hunter, unless of course western civilization completely regresses about 2000 years.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:31 am
I saw on t.v. that they give so many dollars for killing cats and rabbits in the outback so maybe that could in fact be a career opportunity.
January 18th, 2007 at 4:35 am
Clarity, give Steve a break. At least he articulates some of the oh-so-simple-yet-incredibly-complex concepts in a fun easily understood manner. I doubt that you would feel much more satisfied with the pablum that many so-called Advaita gurus seem awash in.
January 18th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Cam, I enjoyed reading your interview in the Green Guide this morning. So THAT’S what you look like!
January 18th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Cameron:
Great show, simple conversation on an incridibly important topic. There aint no way its supposed to go… just speak and enjoy… what comes.. its all you.
Completion
Life is never complete
Life is never ending
Life is never done creating itself
You are never done creating life
Because you are Life
Existing, growing, changing always
January 18th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I’m really glad you guys did this show. Douglas Harding has been a big influence on me. I had just finished recording a song called The Guillotine (inspired by Douglas and other teachers) and five minutes later I received Richard Lang’s email telling of Douglas’ death. RIP Headless One!
January 19th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I have a capitalist right wing Liberal(aus) party supporting friend( i.e. a mentally retarded person) who uses the ‘no free will’ line to support his belief system and actions.
Why does the ‘no free will’ line get used purely to justify doing something you like? Or a mistake you’ve made? Or an action that doesn’t sit right?
What about the thoughts that come up to encourage you to act in a different way? Are they not also part of that ‘no free will’?
When I said that to him, he replied “no one here”
Advaita can be dangerous when used purely for its word play, as opposed to it’s attempt at pointing to what your true nature is.
Frankly, I think the only way to get rid of capitalism is thru an intense intake of peyote/mushrooms etc
This may give way to another set of circumstances. It may produce a dream closer to its source i.e unbound. If thats whats meant to happen. If it actually matters as to what happens. Which It doesn’t, ultimately. But hey, since were just talkin’ here.
I’ll try pointing him to Bob
January 20th, 2007 at 11:47 am
So Cam, when’s the next show?
Any chance of gettin’ John Wheeler?
January 24th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Cameron,
Thought you might be interested in this essay on free will from one Michael Bearrentine, at http://rentine.com/html/FreeWill.html.
Among other things, he says what I’ve heard you say, which is that we have no idea where our thoughts come from or how we organise them and move them around prior to thinking them, because most of what the brain does (which is a LOT) and how it does it, is completely inaccessible to us and remains out of our awareness.
Oh, and for you advaita fans out there, he gets stuck into the illusory nature of the self.
Stan
February 1st, 2007 at 4:44 am
I’m just here to complain. I need some Advaita audio. I check this page atleast 5 times a day for updates and even the comments have dried up.
Cam hook ‘me’ up with some pointers!
February 1st, 2007 at 6:52 am
Stan - thanks for the link, I’ll check it out!
Corey - are you offering yourself up as a victim… sorry I mean “Guest” for the show?
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:34 am
Cam,
Hmmm, I don’t know what I have to offer and definitely can’t claim any great level of understanding, but I guess I’m willing to contribute. Who knows what will come out.
I’m in Rochester, NY and have relatively modern gear and broadband.
Let me know what I can do to get things moving.
February 3rd, 2007 at 3:31 am
Hi Cam,
Any chance of getting John Wheeler?
thanks,
Helen in Los Angeles
December 24th, 2008 at 11:07 am
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