Ismael Marksteiner

“Once a conceptual identity occupies the place of “self,” this is what we think we are “being.”
― Peter Ralston, The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness

“I might think I’m smarter than everyone else, or a great person. These seem positive and yet, as with believing I’m stupid, I’m likely to feel isolated and separate from others, misunderstood, and underappreciated. I may well become protective of my “status,” which could be the only value I feel I have as a person and the only characteristic through which I can relate to people. I would become less and less willing to look the fool, or risk revealing myself as “normal” or fallible, and so cut myself off from any real and honest interactions or self-expressions. We can see how this will feed upon itself and how the condition could easily become more and more intolerable as it grows.”
― Peter Ralston, The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness

“Brahmacharya means 'living in Brahman.' It has no connection with celibacy as is commonly understood. A real brahmachari finds bliss in Brahman, the same as Self.

- The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi (2010)”
― SantataGamana, Kundalini Exposed: Disclosing the Cosmic Mystery of Kundalini. The Ultimate Guide to Kundalini Yoga, Kundalini Awakening, Rising, and Reposing on its Hidden Throne

“I have traveled to the high altitudes of the Himalayas. In one case I was going on the way to there because I wanted to do as we've heard. After the battle of Mahabharata, the Pandavas went to heaven by foot. So I also wanted to go by foot. When I arrived at there someone said: 'This way you should go.'

So I started going, and on the way, there was one man doing penance in a cave. He was from Bengal. It was very cold, so I asked him 'Can I spend the night with you?' He said 'Yes, but you must cook.'

It was a very small cave, 6 feet by 6 feet, and he said I would sleep there while he would sleep in the kitchen. There was a stone bench, with a cloth, and the pillow was also made of cloth with sand inside.

So, this man was living in such a sacrifice, but I said 'I don't want this pillow because it's not comfortable. I can sleep without this sand pillow.' When I removed the pillow, under it, I found a book about sex.

So this man had left his country, and went to do penance in the Himalayas and had a Filmfare book of sex. So this is the result of going to the caves. If you have to study sex living in such a cold place, why not stay in your home place?

- Papaji Satsang in Lucknow, 1994”
― SantataGamana, Kundalini Exposed: Disclosing the Cosmic Mystery of Kundalini. The Ultimate Guide to Kundalini Yoga, Kundalini Awakening, Rising, and Reposing on its Hidden Throne