#substratum

And here it is, with some delay on there's a second review on quite an actual LP (or i should say EP due to it's length?) from a lesser known that is know the house of such a well known vocalist on the realms of Black Metal as Aldrahn himself is.

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Q: So the world is not really illusory?

Maharshi: 

At the level of the spiritual seeker you have got to say that the world is an illusion. There is no other way. 

When a man forgets that he is Brahman, who is real, permanent and omnipresent, and deludes himself into thinking that he is a body in the universe which is filled with bodies that are transitory, and labours under that delusion, you have got to remind him that the world is unreal and a delusion. Why ? Because his vision which has forgotten its own Self is dwelling in the external, material universe. It will not turn inwards into introspection unless you impress on him that all this external, material universe is unreal.

When once he realizes his own Self he will know that there is nothing other than his own Self and he will come to look upon the whole universe as Brahman.

There is no universe without the Self.

So long as a man does not see the Self which is the origin of all, but looks only at the external world as real and permanent, you have to tell him that all this external universe is an illusion. You cannot help it.

Take a paper. We see only the script, and nobody notices the paper on which the script is written. The  paper is there whether the script on it is there or not. To those who look upon the script as real, you have to say that it is unreal, an illusion, since it rests upon the paper. The wise man looks upon both the Paper and script as one. So also with Brahman and the universe. 

SEATTLE AFTER SUNDOWN

~Words & Photos by Chris Schanz~

Doomed & Stoned's chief contributor from the Emerald City gives us a decidedly Northwest perspective on the music scene and how it affected him in 2017. Here are the albums the ruled the night, mixed in among the Chris' unparalelled photographic vision. (Editor)

Bell Witch -- Mirror Reaper

Mirror Reaper by Bell Witch

Finding out that Adrian Guerra was the younger cousin of a schoolmate of mind and from my hometown after his death, not seeing them play live before his death, and discovering just how awesome they were may be a tragedy. Seeing Dylan Desmond come back with a stunning tribute and beautiful album this year made it

Year Of The Cobra -- Burn Your Dead

Burn Your Dead by Year of the Cobra

A wonderful couple, rewriting the power duo dynamic for our local heavy and doom scene. Killer album packaging, as well (I’m not just saying that because of the photos, either). A perfect sophomore album for the band and shows growth in the songwriting curve.

Substratum -- Substratum

Substratum by Substratum

While it’s an “official” debut LP, Substratum has been around awhile. Shredding metal riffs and searing, soaring vocals that rival Vengeance-era Judas Priest and Seattle’s own Sanctuary (RIP Warrel Dane). WATCH THESE ONES.

Chelsea Wolfe -- Hiss Spun

Hiss Spun by CHELSEA WOLFE

I’ve been a rabid fan since Apokalypsis. I finally got to see her up close at the Showbox. The things I had to endure to get there (drunken Amazon bro’s and all) made my effort all the more worthwhile to hear these songs performed live.

Heiress/Great Falls -- Split 7”

Split 7" w/Great Falls by heiress

Two of my favorite and heaviest acts in one 7”, part of a three 7” package on Mylene Sheath Records that utilizes the artwork by Demian Johnson from Great Falls beautifully. Very collectible!

Terrasone -- Reclaim

Take Off by Terrasone

Sadly, this album was released posthumously, as the lineup refocused on other projects (Infinite Flux and The Deaddrones). I regret not being able to see my good friends perform live, even though there were ample opportunities! Long live Terrasone!

Crystal Fairy -- Crystal Fairy

Crystal Fairy by Crystal Fairy

If the Melvins produce an album in any flavor – it makes my list!! Gifted on vinyl to me on my birthday by my brother and sister-in-law, all Melvins projects carry my favorite musical memories of our band together.

Kings of Cavalier -- Sacred Fruit

Reid’s Viking vocals rage and Ian’s guitar work shines on this recording by Jack Endino at Soundhouse. A proud addition to the Seattle heavy scene family, and I’m proud to call them friends! And that album art? Classy!

Old Iron -- Lupus Metallorum

Lupus Metallorum (see album description for vinyl) by Old Iron

I saw Jerad Shealey play bass with Heiress when I was introduced to them a few years back -- just missing his set with Old Iron. It’s in my New Year resolutions to see more shows and not miss my friends’ performances. Great album and tour!

Brett Netson and SNAKES -- Snakes/Crosss

SNAKES/CROSSS by Brett Netson and SNAKES

More name dropping, please. I split a 7” with Caustic Resin in 1994 -- so vague, so early in their game that it only exists on cassette anymore. Caustic Resin were early Pacific Northwest stoner-desert rock pioneers. Brett continued his journey touring with Built to Spill and the Mark Lanegan Band. Snakes/Crosses is a long, dark road through the desert at midnight, passing through the badlands in a thunderstorm. A journey worthy of Doomed & Stoned...and once again, not just because I took some bitchin’ photos at their last Seattle gig.

PALOOKA -- Turbo Excelente

Once again, it’s NOT just because it took a year to produce the photography, cover art, typography and marketing collateral – it’s because PALOOKA ROCKS! Technically not doom or stoner, but essential listening for the local heavy listening buff. Consisting of Seattle rock royalty (NW Metalfest, anyone?), PALOOKA’s sophomore album is a London Bridge Studio masterpiece evoking Mother Love Bone, Alice Cooper and that BIG, THICK ROCK guitar mastery lost since 1977.

Twelve Thirty Dreamtime -- Dreamsongs

Dreamsongs 1997-1999 by Twelve Thirty Dreamtime

We near the end of my list with a look ahead at 2018. Devil’s Child Records does it again, releasing the 1997 project by Mos Generator’s Tony Reed on a beautiful smoked vinyl (available in February).

There's more of Chris Schanz's work to be amazed by. Head on over to his site and you'll get lost for hours. He's also covered quite a few Doomed & Stoned events for us, including this year's High Summer Fest. Check all his published work to date in these pages right here.

Maya is Abhinna Sakti of Brahman. ‘Abhinna’ means inseparable. Maya cannot be separated from Brahman. Just as heat is inseparable from fire, so also Maya is inseparable from Brahman.

ॐ

Avarana, The Veiling Power

49. Master: Avarana (the veiling power) veils the inner vision of all embodied beings, except unexcelled Ishvara and Self-realized jnanis, in the shape of: “It is not; It does not shine forth,” in the same way as the dense darkness of a wintry night hides the sky, the earth and the directions from our view. 

50. Outwardly, this veiling power altogether obstructs the distinguishing of Brahman who is Perfection, from His modifications as the world, and inwardly that of the Self which is Pure Consciousness, from Its modifications as the inner faculties, that is, the ego, the mind. It is therefore the sole cause of that chronic disease, the endless series of births and deaths. 

51. The question then arises: Whereon does the superimposition rest when the substratum is completely hidden? And how can there be any superimposition if the substratum is not hidden? The answer is: The substratum is twofold: general and particular, of which the general substratum remains continuous and unbroken. Transient superimposition is particular. 

52. In the world, the common substratum, “This is”, can never be veiled; but only the particular identity, “This is a rope”. Similarly with the jiva, ignorance does not veil the substratum, “I AM”; but it veils the specific knowledge, “I am Brahman.” 

~ Kaivalya Navaneeta - The Cream of Liberation, by Tandavaraya Swami,  Section I - The Exposition of the Truth 

ॐ

http://ramana-maharshi.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/7/2/24723372/kaivalya_navaneeta_-_cream_of_liberation.pdf

🕉️ Arunachala Shiva 🕉️ - Photo by  Bernd Kalidas Flory

Superimposition and its effacement

26. Master: The Vedanta as a whole mentions as the cause of bondage and release, superimposition [1] and its effacement [2], respectively. Bondage is caused by superimposition; release, by its effacement.

Now listen as regards the former.

27. Superimposition is seeing one thing in another: a snake, for instance, in a rope, a man in a post, water in a mirage, or a blue canopy in the empty sky.

28. Similarly, the five elements and their combinations seen in Brahman — which is free from name and form, one and the same without a second, self-conscious and perfect — are products of illusion.

...

Only he is a jnani who knows beyond doubt that all that is seen is only ephemeral like a dream.

Now, listen to the process of effacement of superimposition, the way to wonderful moksha (Liberation) which resembles the placid sky when all the clouds of winter clear away.

46. Just as one examines and finds out that this is not a snake but a rope, and this is not a thief but a thick post, so also one makes out beyond doubt, by the word of the Master and the light of the scriptures, that the body, the world and the elements are only Brahman, i.e., unchanging Consciousness. Know this to be the effacement of superimposition.

47. Cause and effect are the same, like cloth and yarn, ornaments and gold, utensils and clay. To resolve the body into its antecedent cause, until avidya (ignorance) is traced as the root-cause of all, is the method of effacing superimposition.

[1]  Aropa — erroneous knowledge, false attribution, or illusion.

[2]  Apavada

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Kaivalya Navaneeta, by Tandavaraya Swami