"To be constantly centered
on one's all perfect pure Self
is the acme of Yoga, Wisdom, and
all other forms of spiritual practice.
Even though the mind wanders restlessly
involved in external matters
and so is forgetful of its own state,
one should remain alert and remember;
the body is not 'I'.
'Who am I?'
Enquire in this way turning the mind
backward to its primal state.
The enquiry, 'Who am I?' is the only method
of putting an end to all misery
and ushering in Supreme Beatitude."
--Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi--
Emanant Ego Collapse...
Article by Ralph Miller
When we experience a big loss of control it makes us feel insecure and vulnerable. There is a letdown and perhaps we experience ourselves as being a little more genuinely human. Our collective ideas about ourselves form an assembly of self-importance or ego. This letdown is the collapse of those ideas. We are humbled. We become willing to learn in another way. We notice others who are also open and vulnerable, and we feel a camaraderie or empathy.
Very traumatic experiences for individuals such as accidents or illnesses can deeply affect those lucky enough to survive. When we experience a trauma, we experience loss of control and our illusion of self importance falls. This collapse of ego becomes a gift that can wake us up. It can propel us from a continuum of ego delusion to profound new meaning in our life.
When loss of control happens on a global scale to entire cultures, we then as a group begin to experience our group ego crashing. We seek answers when we even think about questions like, “What’s going to happen to mankind?” or “How will anything ever change for us?” When large groups of people begin to experience this collapse of ego, they are moving as a group to a place of great change and transformation. In shedding individual and group egos, they are granting themselves an evolution beyond anything they could have conceived of.
The illusion of our personality and ego arose out of growing contradiction in our thoughts as to our sense of “self.” This is the internal dialogue we experience that relates to who we know we are as compared to who we think we are, or who we think we would like to be. The illusion of self along with its auto-mechanism for dealing with these chronic contradictions IS our ego/personality.
From this view then, ego/personality is only illusion. It is a construct to facilitate our survival, especially when we encounter only a world full of “other egos.” Our individual ego along with all the others, form a global consensus-ego that is held as a standard of “what is consciousness” that permeates the species. It is our idea of consensual consciousness because it is the experience we all have. It is the idea of consciousness that we consent to.
The physicist David Bohm describes the illusory process of ego in a fascinating dialogue with his brother-in-law.
“So one has to see the ego process is always engaged in setting up the illusion of “what should be,” dressing it up in alluring colors, and pushing away “what is,” hiding it in a frightening and ugly disguises. But nothing can be done without our understanding what is, in its totality, at least as far as we are experiencing it. As soon as we push aside a certain part of what is in our experiencing, in favor of the illusion of what should be, we are in a state of contradiction, which leads immediately to an internal conflict. We then try to escape the conflict because it is very unpleasant, seeking to cover it up by introducing confused ideas and feelings, and by distracting our attention, drawing it to something else instead. But then our escapes, being confused, lead to even more and more conflicts, which in turn must be escaped. Thus, the whole process tangles up, in a sort of cancerous growth of contradiction, conflict, escape, and confusion, until it fills the whole mind.”
David Bohm, Letters to brother-in-law Yitzhak Woolfson, 1958-1967
When our societies and cultures experience crisis there is a wave of culture shock that washes through us. We are reoriented to a group perspective that is less egocentric. We experience the same thing as individuals. The process of the illusions of ego falling is happening now much more frequently. The process is accelerating.
We are potentially at the very end of an age or epoch where we maybe still will fail to recognize what is just around the corner; what is happening for us next. That is actually a good thing, because anything that we could imagine with our ego based point of reference, could not possibly describe what great change is coming.
It gives us hope to realize that the world will change and evolve. This hope is rooted in the possibility that right now we can grant ourselves an evolution beyond illusion.
When we experience a big loss of control it makes us feel insecure and vulnerable. There is a letdown and perhaps we experience ourselves as being a little more genuinely human. Our collective ideas about ourselves form an assembly of self-importance or ego. This letdown is the collapse of those ideas. We are humbled. We become willing to learn in another way. We notice others who are also open and vulnerable, and we feel a camaraderie or empathy.
Very traumatic experiences for individuals such as accidents or illnesses can deeply affect those lucky enough to survive. When we experience a trauma, we experience loss of control and our illusion of self importance falls. This collapse of ego becomes a gift that can wake us up. It can propel us from a continuum of ego delusion to profound new meaning in our life.
When loss of control happens on a global scale to entire cultures, we then as a group begin to experience our group ego crashing. We seek answers when we even think about questions like, “What’s going to happen to mankind?” or “How will anything ever change for us?” When large groups of people begin to experience this collapse of ego, they are moving as a group to a place of great change and transformation. In shedding individual and group egos, they are granting themselves an evolution beyond anything they could have conceived of.
The illusion of our personality and ego arose out of growing contradiction in our thoughts as to our sense of “self.” This is the internal dialogue we experience that relates to who we know we are as compared to who we think we are, or who we think we would like to be. The illusion of self along with its auto-mechanism for dealing with these chronic contradictions IS our ego/personality.
From this view then, ego/personality is only illusion. It is a construct to facilitate our survival, especially when we encounter only a world full of “other egos.” Our individual ego along with all the others, form a global consensus-ego that is held as a standard of “what is consciousness” that permeates the species. It is our idea of consensual consciousness because it is the experience we all have. It is the idea of consciousness that we consent to.
The physicist David Bohm describes the illusory process of ego in a fascinating dialogue with his brother-in-law.
“So one has to see the ego process is always engaged in setting up the illusion of “what should be,” dressing it up in alluring colors, and pushing away “what is,” hiding it in a frightening and ugly disguises. But nothing can be done without our understanding what is, in its totality, at least as far as we are experiencing it. As soon as we push aside a certain part of what is in our experiencing, in favor of the illusion of what should be, we are in a state of contradiction, which leads immediately to an internal conflict. We then try to escape the conflict because it is very unpleasant, seeking to cover it up by introducing confused ideas and feelings, and by distracting our attention, drawing it to something else instead. But then our escapes, being confused, lead to even more and more conflicts, which in turn must be escaped. Thus, the whole process tangles up, in a sort of cancerous growth of contradiction, conflict, escape, and confusion, until it fills the whole mind.”
David Bohm, Letters to brother-in-law Yitzhak Woolfson, 1958-1967
When our societies and cultures experience crisis there is a wave of culture shock that washes through us. We are reoriented to a group perspective that is less egocentric. We experience the same thing as individuals. The process of the illusions of ego falling is happening now much more frequently. The process is accelerating.
We are potentially at the very end of an age or epoch where we maybe still will fail to recognize what is just around the corner; what is happening for us next. That is actually a good thing, because anything that we could imagine with our ego based point of reference, could not possibly describe what great change is coming.
It gives us hope to realize that the world will change and evolve. This hope is rooted in the possibility that right now we can grant ourselves an evolution beyond illusion.
The Illusion of the ego...
By Remez Sasson
Who are you? How would you describe yourself? If someone calls your name, would you turn your head to see who called you? Are you the name that was called, or is it just a way to refer to you? What if you changed your name, would you still be the same person?
You change the clothes you wear. You change your hairdo, and may dye your hair sometimes. Does this change who you are?
You change your job, car, house, but yet you still are the same one. These are outside changes. The "inner you" never changes. Most people consider their possessions, dress, name, job etc, as being an inseparable part of themselves. If something of theirs is broken or lost they feel as if they have lost a part of themselves. This is the ego at work.
The ego is the erroneous identification of the limitless spirit with the physical body, the emotions and thoughts. The perfect homogenous spirit expresses itself in the world through these three, and identifies itself with them.
The ego is not an independent entity. It is just the union of the spirit with the other three components, the body, emotions and thoughts. According to the philosophy of nonduality, these components, except the spirit, are not independent and constant, and therefore are not real. They are the products of the mind.
The spirit infuses them with life and expresses itself through them. The identification of the spirit with this trio is so strong that hardly anyone notices this erroneous identification. The spirit is free, perfect and independent. The body, thoughts and feelings are temporary and dependent on the spirit. This mixture is the cause of fear, desire, misunderstanding, anger and conflicts in the world.
When talking about the spirit I don't mean a particular soul, but the True Essence, the One vast and limitless Spirit, which is beyond every manifestation.
Each ego unit considers itself as real, and desires to survive and gain power over the other egos. This leads to clashes between them. Each one is shackled to its belief system, thoughts and ideas, and will do everything to defend them.
People also feel being a part of, and identify with the larger ego of family, workplace, neighborhood, football or basketball team, political party, city, country, religion etc. They identify with a thought, an idea or a common cause, and join together, sometimes against other groups carrying a different set of thoughts.
Look what happens at sport contests. If you support one sport team, and your team loses you get depressed. If it wins you get happy. The same thing happens with political parties or with other kinds of groups.
These units sometimes fight with each other, everyone believing they are right and the other party wrong. Isn't it a bit funny? If we consider that the Spirit is one, but manifests in myriads of forms, why then should we identify with one particular and temporary form? What if we become aware of this Spirit, and shift our awareness into it? Would we stay the same, or will we rise above the ego?
The ego is dependent on the thoughts that the mind thinks. These thoughts evoke feelings and desires, which evoke action. If a desire cannot be fulfilled, anger, unhappiness or hostility arises.
Believing we are this ego, each one of us enacts the role of a specific actor on the stage of life. This ego is the mask hiding the real Spirit that we are. Identification with the role we play makes us forget who we really are, and go on thinking we are this or that.
Forgetting our true essence is due to seeing through the eyes of the ego. This is the reason for suffering, unhappiness, depression, anger, conflicts, lack of satisfaction and every other negative feeling. But these negative feelings and situations are sometime the reason for the awakening of the desire to find who we really are, to come home and to return to what we really are - The Pure Spirit.
Who are you? How would you describe yourself? If someone calls your name, would you turn your head to see who called you? Are you the name that was called, or is it just a way to refer to you? What if you changed your name, would you still be the same person?
You change the clothes you wear. You change your hairdo, and may dye your hair sometimes. Does this change who you are?
You change your job, car, house, but yet you still are the same one. These are outside changes. The "inner you" never changes. Most people consider their possessions, dress, name, job etc, as being an inseparable part of themselves. If something of theirs is broken or lost they feel as if they have lost a part of themselves. This is the ego at work.
The ego is the erroneous identification of the limitless spirit with the physical body, the emotions and thoughts. The perfect homogenous spirit expresses itself in the world through these three, and identifies itself with them.
The ego is not an independent entity. It is just the union of the spirit with the other three components, the body, emotions and thoughts. According to the philosophy of nonduality, these components, except the spirit, are not independent and constant, and therefore are not real. They are the products of the mind.
The spirit infuses them with life and expresses itself through them. The identification of the spirit with this trio is so strong that hardly anyone notices this erroneous identification. The spirit is free, perfect and independent. The body, thoughts and feelings are temporary and dependent on the spirit. This mixture is the cause of fear, desire, misunderstanding, anger and conflicts in the world.
When talking about the spirit I don't mean a particular soul, but the True Essence, the One vast and limitless Spirit, which is beyond every manifestation.
Each ego unit considers itself as real, and desires to survive and gain power over the other egos. This leads to clashes between them. Each one is shackled to its belief system, thoughts and ideas, and will do everything to defend them.
People also feel being a part of, and identify with the larger ego of family, workplace, neighborhood, football or basketball team, political party, city, country, religion etc. They identify with a thought, an idea or a common cause, and join together, sometimes against other groups carrying a different set of thoughts.
Look what happens at sport contests. If you support one sport team, and your team loses you get depressed. If it wins you get happy. The same thing happens with political parties or with other kinds of groups.
These units sometimes fight with each other, everyone believing they are right and the other party wrong. Isn't it a bit funny? If we consider that the Spirit is one, but manifests in myriads of forms, why then should we identify with one particular and temporary form? What if we become aware of this Spirit, and shift our awareness into it? Would we stay the same, or will we rise above the ego?
The ego is dependent on the thoughts that the mind thinks. These thoughts evoke feelings and desires, which evoke action. If a desire cannot be fulfilled, anger, unhappiness or hostility arises.
Believing we are this ego, each one of us enacts the role of a specific actor on the stage of life. This ego is the mask hiding the real Spirit that we are. Identification with the role we play makes us forget who we really are, and go on thinking we are this or that.
Forgetting our true essence is due to seeing through the eyes of the ego. This is the reason for suffering, unhappiness, depression, anger, conflicts, lack of satisfaction and every other negative feeling. But these negative feelings and situations are sometime the reason for the awakening of the desire to find who we really are, to come home and to return to what we really are - The Pure Spirit.
One Source...
The light of the gas illumines various localities with various intensities. But
the life of the light, namely, the gas, comes from one common reservoir. So the
religious teachers of all climes and ages are but as many lamp-posts through
which is emitted the light of the spirit flowing constantly from one source, the
Lord Almighty.
Sri Ramakrishna
in F. Max Muller
_Ramakrishna: His Life And Sayings_, 224
Longmans, Green, And Co., London & New York, 1898, p. 148
the life of the light, namely, the gas, comes from one common reservoir. So the
religious teachers of all climes and ages are but as many lamp-posts through
which is emitted the light of the spirit flowing constantly from one source, the
Lord Almighty.
Sri Ramakrishna
in F. Max Muller
_Ramakrishna: His Life And Sayings_, 224
Longmans, Green, And Co., London & New York, 1898, p. 148
Home...
Everywhere is Consciousness and everywhere is
Home. "Everywhere" is but a small corner of your
heart. You are that vast. There is no travel because
you are always Home. Surrender your ego and you
are Home.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Home. "Everywhere" is but a small corner of your
heart. You are that vast. There is no travel because
you are always Home. Surrender your ego and you
are Home.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Can God be Found?...
God cannot be found, God can only be Realized.. And what is Realization?.. Realization is the Knowing that You and God have never been separated but the feeling of separation is created by the false ego.. As You begin the dissolving of the ego, You will find that God becomes more present within Your life and is seen and felt as the energy of Unselfish Love.. this is why Jesus always taught the Path of Unselfish Love as the manner of Realizing God.. and who and what is God?.. God is everything and everyone.. this is why Jesus said," I and the Father are One".. There is absolutely no difference between You and Jesus.. Only the belief that you are different is keeping You from Realizing that You are Christ.. Until we Realize Christhood, we remain as sons and daughters of God.. Upon Christhood, we Realize that We and The Father are One...............namaste, thomas
I and objects are One...
Shri Atmananda from Spiritual Discourses
I AND OBJECT ARE ONE.
1. Objects are nothing but form, sound, touch, taste or smell. It is evident that any
one of these can never be separated from its respective sense organ, even in
thought. So objects and sense perceptions are one.
Similarly, seeing, hearing etc. can never shine independently of Consciousness.
So, by the same logic, they are Consciousness itself.
Thus objects are only Consciousness; and that is the ‘I’-principle.
2. One directs attention to something. But is it that something that we perceive by the
senses? No. We perceive only the superimpositions of the senses upon that something.
This vague something remains as the substratum of form, sound etc.; and
always remains unknown to the senses or the mind.
But it is that unknown something that we want to know, without any superimposition.
So, no agent like the senses or the generic mind can be utilized, for they can
only superimpose their own objects. The mind always functions conjointly with
the sense organs. In the absence of these agents, neither forms nor thoughts appear.
But using Consciousness to know it, we see it as Consciousness alone, that is to
say as one with the ‘I’-principle.
There is a fundamental difference between the functionings of the agents and of
Consciousness. When the senses and mind function, they have separate objects and
they superimpose these objects upon that something. In the case of Consciousness
strictly viewed, Consciousness has no object of its own. Therefore, when anything
is viewed from the standpoint of Consciousness, superimposition is impossible.
I AND OBJECT ARE ONE.
1. Objects are nothing but form, sound, touch, taste or smell. It is evident that any
one of these can never be separated from its respective sense organ, even in
thought. So objects and sense perceptions are one.
Similarly, seeing, hearing etc. can never shine independently of Consciousness.
So, by the same logic, they are Consciousness itself.
Thus objects are only Consciousness; and that is the ‘I’-principle.
2. One directs attention to something. But is it that something that we perceive by the
senses? No. We perceive only the superimpositions of the senses upon that something.
This vague something remains as the substratum of form, sound etc.; and
always remains unknown to the senses or the mind.
But it is that unknown something that we want to know, without any superimposition.
So, no agent like the senses or the generic mind can be utilized, for they can
only superimpose their own objects. The mind always functions conjointly with
the sense organs. In the absence of these agents, neither forms nor thoughts appear.
But using Consciousness to know it, we see it as Consciousness alone, that is to
say as one with the ‘I’-principle.
There is a fundamental difference between the functionings of the agents and of
Consciousness. When the senses and mind function, they have separate objects and
they superimpose these objects upon that something. In the case of Consciousness
strictly viewed, Consciousness has no object of its own. Therefore, when anything
is viewed from the standpoint of Consciousness, superimposition is impossible.
Saint and Satan...
Life is the same for the saint and for Satan;
and, if they are different, it is because of their
outlook on life. The one turns the same life
into Heaven and the other into Hell.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Mastery Through Accomplishment
Omega Press, 1978
and, if they are different, it is because of their
outlook on life. The one turns the same life
into Heaven and the other into Hell.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Mastery Through Accomplishment
Omega Press, 1978
Infinite Loving-Kindness is an Exalted State !...
The Blessed Buddha once explained Loving-Kindness like this:
This is what should be done by a clever one to arouse the advantageous:
Having attained a peaceful state: He should be capable, straight, and very
upright, easy to speak to, gentle and not proud, contented & easy to support,
with few duties, living simple, with calmed senses, devoted, & neither angry
nor greedy . He should not do any mean thing, which wise men would criticize.
Always he should wish: Let all beings be happy, joyous, glad, safe and secure.
Whatever living creatures there exist, still or moving, small or large, seen or
unseen, far or near, already existing or coming into being, let all these living
beings without an y even single exception be completely happy !
One should never despise any one any where, nor humiliate any one any where,
nor ever wish for any being misery or harm, because of anger or irritation.
Just as a mother would protect her only little son even risking her own life,
exactly so should one cultivate an unbounded mentality towards all beings;
loving-kindness towards all in this universe. One should cultivate an infinite
mind, above, below and across, without barriers, without enmity , matchless.
Whether standing, going, sitting, or lying down, even when slumbering should
one practise this exalted infinite goodwill. This is said to be a Sacred State !
Sn 143-151
This is what should be done by a clever one to arouse the advantageous:
Having attained a peaceful state: He should be capable, straight, and very
upright, easy to speak to, gentle and not proud, contented & easy to support,
with few duties, living simple, with calmed senses, devoted, & neither angry
nor greedy . He should not do any mean thing, which wise men would criticize.
Always he should wish: Let all beings be happy, joyous, glad, safe and secure.
Whatever living creatures there exist, still or moving, small or large, seen or
unseen, far or near, already existing or coming into being, let all these living
beings without an y even single exception be completely happy !
One should never despise any one any where, nor humiliate any one any where,
nor ever wish for any being misery or harm, because of anger or irritation.
Just as a mother would protect her only little son even risking her own life,
exactly so should one cultivate an unbounded mentality towards all beings;
loving-kindness towards all in this universe. One should cultivate an infinite
mind, above, below and across, without barriers, without enmity , matchless.
Whether standing, going, sitting, or lying down, even when slumbering should
one practise this exalted infinite goodwill. This is said to be a Sacred State !
Sn 143-151
Sophia...
The Sun burns in the sky like the Face of God, but
we do not know his countenance as terrible. His light
is diffused in the air and the light of God is diffused
by Hagia Sophia.
We do not see the Blinding One in black emptiness.
He speaks to us gently in ten thousand things, in
which His light is one fullness and one Wisdom.
Thus He shines not on them but from within them.
Such is the loving-kindness of Wisdom.
All the perfections of created things are also in God;
and therefore He is at once Father and Mother. As
Father He stands in solitary might surrounded by
darkness. As Mother His shining is diffused, embracing
all His creatures with merciful tenderness and light.
The Diffuse Shining of God is Hagia Sophia.
We call her His "glory." In Sophia His power is
experienced only as mercy and as love.
(When the recluses of fourteenth-century England
heard their Church Bells and looked out upon the
wolds and fens under a kind sky, they spoke in their
hearts to "Jesus our Mother." It was Sophia that had
awakened in their childlike hearts.)
Perhaps in a certain very primitive aspect Sophia is
the unknown, the dark, the nameless Ousia. Perhaps
she is even the Divine Nature, One in Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. And perhaps she is in infinite light unmanifest,
not even waiting to be known as Light. This I do not know.
Out of the silence Light is spoken. We do not hear it or see
it until it is spoken.
In the Nameless Beginning, without Beginning, was
the Light. We have not seen this Beginning. I do not know
where she is, in this Beginning. I do not speak of her as a
Beginning, but as a manifestation.
Now the Wisdom of God, Sophia, comes forth, reaching
from "end to end mightily." She wills to be also
the unseen pivot of all nature, the center and significance
of all the light that is in all and for all. That which is poorest
and humblest, that which is most hidden in all things is
nevertheless most obvious in them, and quite manifest, for it
is their own self that stands before us, naked and without care.
Sophia, the feminine child, is playing in the world,
obvious and unseen, playing at all times before the Creator.
Her delights are to be with the children of men. She is their sister.
The core of life that exists in all things is tenderness, mercy, virginity
the Light, the Life considered as passive, as received, as given, as
taken, as inexhaustibly renewed by the Gift of God. Sophia is
Gift, is Spirit, Donum Dei. She is God-given and God
Himself as Gift. God as all, and God reduced to Nothing:
inexhaustible nothingness. Exinanivit semetipsum. Humility as
the source of unfailing light.
Hagia Sophia in all things is the Divine Light reflected in them,
considered as a spontaneous participation, as their invitation
to the Wedding Feast.
Sophia is God's sharing of Himself with creatures. His outporing,
and the Love by which He is given, and known, held and loved.
She is in all things like the air receiving the sunlight. In her
they prosper. In her they glorigy God. In her they rejoice to reflect
Him. In her they are united with him. She is the union between them.
She is the Love that unites them. She is life as communion, life as
thanksgiving, life as praise, life as festival, life as glory.
Because she receives perfectly there is in her no stain.
She is love without blemish, and gratitude without
self-complacency. All things praise her by being themselves
and by sharing in the Wedding Feast. She is the Bride and the
Feast and the Wedding.
The feminine principle in the world is the inexhaustible source
of creative realizations of the Father's glory. She is His
manifestation in radiant splendor! But she remains unseen,
glimpsed only by a few. Sometimes there are none who
know her at all.
Sophia is the mercy of God in us. She is the tenderness
with which the infinitely mysterious power of pardon
turns the darkness of our sins into the light of grace.
She is the inexhaustible fountain of kindness, and would
almost seem to be, in herself, all mercy. So she does in us
a greater work than that of Creation: the work of new being
in grace, the work of pardon, the work of transformation from
brightness to brightness tamquam a Domini Spiritu. She
is in us the yielding and tender counterpart of the power, justice
and creative dynamism of the Father.
Father Thomas Merton
we do not know his countenance as terrible. His light
is diffused in the air and the light of God is diffused
by Hagia Sophia.
We do not see the Blinding One in black emptiness.
He speaks to us gently in ten thousand things, in
which His light is one fullness and one Wisdom.
Thus He shines not on them but from within them.
Such is the loving-kindness of Wisdom.
All the perfections of created things are also in God;
and therefore He is at once Father and Mother. As
Father He stands in solitary might surrounded by
darkness. As Mother His shining is diffused, embracing
all His creatures with merciful tenderness and light.
The Diffuse Shining of God is Hagia Sophia.
We call her His "glory." In Sophia His power is
experienced only as mercy and as love.
(When the recluses of fourteenth-century England
heard their Church Bells and looked out upon the
wolds and fens under a kind sky, they spoke in their
hearts to "Jesus our Mother." It was Sophia that had
awakened in their childlike hearts.)
Perhaps in a certain very primitive aspect Sophia is
the unknown, the dark, the nameless Ousia. Perhaps
she is even the Divine Nature, One in Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. And perhaps she is in infinite light unmanifest,
not even waiting to be known as Light. This I do not know.
Out of the silence Light is spoken. We do not hear it or see
it until it is spoken.
In the Nameless Beginning, without Beginning, was
the Light. We have not seen this Beginning. I do not know
where she is, in this Beginning. I do not speak of her as a
Beginning, but as a manifestation.
Now the Wisdom of God, Sophia, comes forth, reaching
from "end to end mightily." She wills to be also
the unseen pivot of all nature, the center and significance
of all the light that is in all and for all. That which is poorest
and humblest, that which is most hidden in all things is
nevertheless most obvious in them, and quite manifest, for it
is their own self that stands before us, naked and without care.
Sophia, the feminine child, is playing in the world,
obvious and unseen, playing at all times before the Creator.
Her delights are to be with the children of men. She is their sister.
The core of life that exists in all things is tenderness, mercy, virginity
the Light, the Life considered as passive, as received, as given, as
taken, as inexhaustibly renewed by the Gift of God. Sophia is
Gift, is Spirit, Donum Dei. She is God-given and God
Himself as Gift. God as all, and God reduced to Nothing:
inexhaustible nothingness. Exinanivit semetipsum. Humility as
the source of unfailing light.
Hagia Sophia in all things is the Divine Light reflected in them,
considered as a spontaneous participation, as their invitation
to the Wedding Feast.
Sophia is God's sharing of Himself with creatures. His outporing,
and the Love by which He is given, and known, held and loved.
She is in all things like the air receiving the sunlight. In her
they prosper. In her they glorigy God. In her they rejoice to reflect
Him. In her they are united with him. She is the union between them.
She is the Love that unites them. She is life as communion, life as
thanksgiving, life as praise, life as festival, life as glory.
Because she receives perfectly there is in her no stain.
She is love without blemish, and gratitude without
self-complacency. All things praise her by being themselves
and by sharing in the Wedding Feast. She is the Bride and the
Feast and the Wedding.
The feminine principle in the world is the inexhaustible source
of creative realizations of the Father's glory. She is His
manifestation in radiant splendor! But she remains unseen,
glimpsed only by a few. Sometimes there are none who
know her at all.
Sophia is the mercy of God in us. She is the tenderness
with which the infinitely mysterious power of pardon
turns the darkness of our sins into the light of grace.
She is the inexhaustible fountain of kindness, and would
almost seem to be, in herself, all mercy. So she does in us
a greater work than that of Creation: the work of new being
in grace, the work of pardon, the work of transformation from
brightness to brightness tamquam a Domini Spiritu. She
is in us the yielding and tender counterpart of the power, justice
and creative dynamism of the Father.
Father Thomas Merton
Here and Now...
In this moment here and now, letting go of past and future, seeking the pure consciousness in itself, and not the identifications it gets mixed up with and eventually has to free itself from--in this moment he may affirm his true being and ascertain his true enlightenment without referring it to some future date.
— Notebooks Category 24: The Peace within You > Chapter 3: Practise Detachment > # 256.......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 24: The Peace within You > Chapter 3: Practise Detachment > # 256.......Paul Brunton
Can the ego find God?...
The ego trying to kill itself.. It is an interesting concept and accepted by
some.. I believe that It is the Divine Consciousness within the body that seeks
to return Home.. Enlightenment can only be Realized when You have surrendered
the belief in separate ego.. therefore, You will not be allowed within the Light
of Love and Divine Consciousness, while you still want to believe that You are
separate (ego).. This is the power of creativity and power that You have.. You
have the power to create and believe that Bliss is found within the world, while
you still allow the ego to rule.. This is why the belief in the illusion of
separation (ego) MUST be Dissolved and Destroyed.. With remnants of the ego
left, You will find yourself within Spiritual Schools after passing from the
body..but, not Free within the Light and Love that only Nothingness can
enter.........namaste, thomas
some.. I believe that It is the Divine Consciousness within the body that seeks
to return Home.. Enlightenment can only be Realized when You have surrendered
the belief in separate ego.. therefore, You will not be allowed within the Light
of Love and Divine Consciousness, while you still want to believe that You are
separate (ego).. This is the power of creativity and power that You have.. You
have the power to create and believe that Bliss is found within the world, while
you still allow the ego to rule.. This is why the belief in the illusion of
separation (ego) MUST be Dissolved and Destroyed.. With remnants of the ego
left, You will find yourself within Spiritual Schools after passing from the
body..but, not Free within the Light and Love that only Nothingness can
enter.........namaste, thomas
Pride...
Pride is another fruit of the ego.. It is also a mental state of pain that hides well within the ego.. It is the belief that we are smarter and more advanced than others.. As a Rabbi friend of ours once said, " The last shall be First", meaning that humility overcomes pride everytime.. and what is humility but non-ego.. The smart man Knows that he has much to learn.. the unwise believe that they already know everything.. Sometimes, the deepest learning comes from the mouth of a fool, only, he does not know it.. Let us all pray for Humility.........namaste, thomas
Anger...
Anger is the control of the mind by the ego.. Anger cannot survive within
Unselfish Love.. When You are within the mental state of Unselfish Love (which
is Your natural state), You cannot remember the last time that You felt anger..
Anger is painful as is everything that is the fruit of the ego.. Pain is a
warning device from Divine Consciousness that something is wrong within the body
or mind.. Take heed of the warnings of mental and physical pain.. You cannot
progress in Spiritual Consciousness while You harbor thoughts of
Anger........namaste, thomas
Unselfish Love.. When You are within the mental state of Unselfish Love (which
is Your natural state), You cannot remember the last time that You felt anger..
Anger is painful as is everything that is the fruit of the ego.. Pain is a
warning device from Divine Consciousness that something is wrong within the body
or mind.. Take heed of the warnings of mental and physical pain.. You cannot
progress in Spiritual Consciousness while You harbor thoughts of
Anger........namaste, thomas
The Aim...
The aim of prayer is to keep you always in the state
you were in during prayer. Asleep or awake, writing or
reading, whatever you do, you must never be without
the remembrance of God.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Muriel Maufroy
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Sanyar Press - London, 1997
you were in during prayer. Asleep or awake, writing or
reading, whatever you do, you must never be without
the remembrance of God.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Muriel Maufroy
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Sanyar Press - London, 1997
Union...
When a man consciously asks for union with the Overself, he unconsciously accepts the condition that goes along with it, and that is to give himself wholly up to the Overself. He should not complain therefore when, looking forward to living happily ever after with a desired object, that object is suddenly removed from him and his desire frustrated. He has been taken at his word. Because another love stood between him and the Overself, the obstruction had to be removed if the union were to be perfected; he had to sacrifice the one in order to possess the other. The degree of his attachment to the lesser love was shown by the measure of his suffering at its being taken away; but if he accepts this suffering as an educator and does not resent it, it will lead the way to true joy.
— Notebooks Category 18: The Reverential Life > Chapter 4: Surrender > # 138.... Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 18: The Reverential Life > Chapter 4: Surrender > # 138.... Paul Brunton
Remembering God...
Swami Ji Maharaj: "You faltered through a million lives before you found this human form. Do not waste it this time - devote every moment to remembering God." (Sar Bachan)
Dive Deep...
Dive deep; one does not get to the precious
gems by merely floating on the surface. God
is without form, no doubt; but He also has a
form. By meditating on God with form one
speedily acquires devotion; then one can
meditate on the formless God. It is like throwing
a letter away after learning its contents, then
setting out to follow its instructions.
- Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
by M. (Mahendranath Gupta)
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Society, 1942
gems by merely floating on the surface. God
is without form, no doubt; but He also has a
form. By meditating on God with form one
speedily acquires devotion; then one can
meditate on the formless God. It is like throwing
a letter away after learning its contents, then
setting out to follow its instructions.
- Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
by M. (Mahendranath Gupta)
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Society, 1942
Words...
Words must be used like stepping stones:
lightly and with nimbleness, because if you
step on them too heavily, you incur the
danger of falling into the intellectual mire
of logic and reason.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
lightly and with nimbleness, because if you
step on them too heavily, you incur the
danger of falling into the intellectual mire
of logic and reason.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
Teachers of Truth...
"Teachers of truth do not wish to offend anyone, wishing only to
show sleeping men their hazardous condition."
The Power of Esoterics, p. 119....Vernon Howard
show sleeping men their hazardous condition."
The Power of Esoterics, p. 119....Vernon Howard
Thank You...
If the only prayer your say in your entire life is
"thank you," that would suffice.
- Meister Eckhart
"thank you," that would suffice.
- Meister Eckhart
Is the Heart, Love?...
Since the heart is really just a pump, we have to look further into the sense of
Compassion and Love that erupts with Joy.. and that place is
Consciousness..........namaste, thomas
Compassion and Love that erupts with Joy.. and that place is
Consciousness..........namaste, thomas
Eyes...
The eyes are our most sensitive organ, and when
you look and look and look into another person's
eyes you are looking at the most beautiful jewels
in the universe. And if you look down beyond that
surface beauty, it's the most beautiful jewel in the
universe, because that's the universe looking at you.
We are the eyes of the cosmos. So that in a way,
when you look deeply into somebody's eyes, you are
looking deeply into yourself, and the other person is
looking deeply into the same self, which many-eyed,
as the mask of Vishnu is many-faced, is looking out
everywhere, one energy playing myriads of different
parts.
- Alan Watts
you look and look and look into another person's
eyes you are looking at the most beautiful jewels
in the universe. And if you look down beyond that
surface beauty, it's the most beautiful jewel in the
universe, because that's the universe looking at you.
We are the eyes of the cosmos. So that in a way,
when you look deeply into somebody's eyes, you are
looking deeply into yourself, and the other person is
looking deeply into the same self, which many-eyed,
as the mask of Vishnu is many-faced, is looking out
everywhere, one energy playing myriads of different
parts.
- Alan Watts
The Mind's Camera...
There is only a single light of consciousness in the mind's camera. Without it the world could not be photographed upon the film of our ego-mind. Without it, the ego-mind itself would be just as blank. That light is the Overself.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 78...Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 78...Paul Brunton
The Soft Voice...
O blessed, silent one, who speaks everywhere!
We do not hear the soft voice, the gentle voice, the
merciful and feminine.
We do not hear mercy, or yielding love, or non-resistance,
or non-reprisal. In her there are no reasons and no answers.
Yet she is the candor of God's light, the expression of His
simplicity.
We do not hear the uncomplaining pardon that bows
down the innocent visages of flowers to the dewy
earth. We do not see the Child who is prisoner in all
the people, and who says nothing. She smiles, for
though they have bound her, she cannot be a prisoner.
Not that she is strong, or clever, but simply that
she does not understand imprisonment.
The helpless one, abandoned to sweet sleep, him the
gentle one will awake: Sophia.
All that is sweet in her tenderness will speak to him
on all sides in everything, without ceasing, and he
will never be the same again. He will have awakened
not to conquest and dark pleasure but to the impeccable
pure simplicity of One consciousness in all and through all:
one Wisdom, one Child, one Meaning, one Sister.
The stars rejoice in their setting, and in the rising of
the Sun. The heavenly lights rejoice in the going
forth of one man to make a new world in the morning,
because he has come out of the confused primordial dark
night into consciousness. He has expressed the clear silence
of Sophia in his own heart. He has become eternal.
by Father Thomas Merton
We do not hear the soft voice, the gentle voice, the
merciful and feminine.
We do not hear mercy, or yielding love, or non-resistance,
or non-reprisal. In her there are no reasons and no answers.
Yet she is the candor of God's light, the expression of His
simplicity.
We do not hear the uncomplaining pardon that bows
down the innocent visages of flowers to the dewy
earth. We do not see the Child who is prisoner in all
the people, and who says nothing. She smiles, for
though they have bound her, she cannot be a prisoner.
Not that she is strong, or clever, but simply that
she does not understand imprisonment.
The helpless one, abandoned to sweet sleep, him the
gentle one will awake: Sophia.
All that is sweet in her tenderness will speak to him
on all sides in everything, without ceasing, and he
will never be the same again. He will have awakened
not to conquest and dark pleasure but to the impeccable
pure simplicity of One consciousness in all and through all:
one Wisdom, one Child, one Meaning, one Sister.
The stars rejoice in their setting, and in the rising of
the Sun. The heavenly lights rejoice in the going
forth of one man to make a new world in the morning,
because he has come out of the confused primordial dark
night into consciousness. He has expressed the clear silence
of Sophia in his own heart. He has become eternal.
by Father Thomas Merton
Humility...
Humility is the enemy of ego and is our Real Self.. Humility is the state of
peacefulness and acceptence of life's challenges.. Humility is the path to
Freedom.. Humility is the Realization that we are not of this world and are not
the body or mind.. To enter Reality, humility is necessary, all desires of the
ego except for that one desire to end the pain of the ego are thrown away.. God
is Humble.. God is Love.. Love is Humility.. It is that simple.. If you wish to
return Home, then Humility is necessary and you are wasteing your time Being
anything else........namaste, thomas
peacefulness and acceptence of life's challenges.. Humility is the path to
Freedom.. Humility is the Realization that we are not of this world and are not
the body or mind.. To enter Reality, humility is necessary, all desires of the
ego except for that one desire to end the pain of the ego are thrown away.. God
is Humble.. God is Love.. Love is Humility.. It is that simple.. If you wish to
return Home, then Humility is necessary and you are wasteing your time Being
anything else........namaste, thomas
Self and Bliss...
Self is always Present, Bliss is always Present.
You are not to work at attaining it,
just remove the obstacles by which you can't see it.
The hindrance is only one: Attachment to the past.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
You are not to work at attaining it,
just remove the obstacles by which you can't see it.
The hindrance is only one: Attachment to the past.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
What is the purpose of life? ...
As I see it, and as the great mystics of all the great religions saw it, the purpose of life is a simple one: conscious union with our Source.
As Meister Eckhart said, "God's in, I'm out." He said, "Put on your jumping shoes and jump into God."
Jump from your appearance to your Reality. It is our business to jump into the place we never left.
~ From: Open to the Source, by Douglas Harding
As Meister Eckhart said, "God's in, I'm out." He said, "Put on your jumping shoes and jump into God."
Jump from your appearance to your Reality. It is our business to jump into the place we never left.
~ From: Open to the Source, by Douglas Harding
Thoughts...
What drives the interest in thoughts is the seeking for reality or identity in them. When one finds that these do not lie in the thoughts, but in that which is the substratum of the thoughts, the identification with thoughts automatically subsides. - John Wheeler
One Dark Night...
One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
(St John of the Cross, from The Dark Night)
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
(St John of the Cross, from The Dark Night)
The Doer...
The present difficulty is that man thinks
he is the doer. But it is a mistake. It is the
higher power which does everything, and
man is only a tool. If he accepts that position,
he is free from troubles, otherwise he courts
them.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana, 1985
he is the doer. But it is a mistake. It is the
higher power which does everything, and
man is only a tool. If he accepts that position,
he is free from troubles, otherwise he courts
them.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana, 1985
Fakery...
"Fakery is the father of futility. Memorize that sentence.
What's your cover story? What's your front? What do you tell
people about yourself, hoping that they'll believe it? And
then when they act as if they believe it, you can see them
believing in you and you feel as if you are real. So here
are two unreal people deceiving each other, and pretty soon
they're going to cry and fight together. Both lose because
both work so hard at losing."
Your Power of Natural Knowing, p. 103.... Vernon Howard
What's your cover story? What's your front? What do you tell
people about yourself, hoping that they'll believe it? And
then when they act as if they believe it, you can see them
believing in you and you feel as if you are real. So here
are two unreal people deceiving each other, and pretty soon
they're going to cry and fight together. Both lose because
both work so hard at losing."
Your Power of Natural Knowing, p. 103.... Vernon Howard
In the Beginning...
"In the beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself:
the formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being.
Then was there neither beginning, middle, nor end;
Then were no eyes, no darkness, no light;
Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no fire, water, nor earth;
no rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna,
no seas, oceans, and waves.
Then was neither vice nor virtue;
scriptures there were not, as the Vedas and Puranas, nor as the Koran.
Kabir ponders in his mind and says,
"Then was there no activity:
the Supreme Being remained merged in the unknown depths of His own self."
The Guru neither eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies:
Neither has He form, line, colour, nor vesture.
He who has neither caste nor clan nor anything else --
How may I describe His glory?
He has neither form nor formlessness,
He has no name,
He has neither colour nor colourlessness,
He has no dwelling-place."
Kabir
in _Songs of Kabir_, LXXXI
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1915, p. 127-128
the formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being.
Then was there neither beginning, middle, nor end;
Then were no eyes, no darkness, no light;
Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no fire, water, nor earth;
no rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna,
no seas, oceans, and waves.
Then was neither vice nor virtue;
scriptures there were not, as the Vedas and Puranas, nor as the Koran.
Kabir ponders in his mind and says,
"Then was there no activity:
the Supreme Being remained merged in the unknown depths of His own self."
The Guru neither eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies:
Neither has He form, line, colour, nor vesture.
He who has neither caste nor clan nor anything else --
How may I describe His glory?
He has neither form nor formlessness,
He has no name,
He has neither colour nor colourlessness,
He has no dwelling-place."
Kabir
in _Songs of Kabir_, LXXXI
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1915, p. 127-128
What did Gautama look like?...
The Buddha usually referred to when discussing Buddhism, did not look like the happy, fat, bald man, that the many statues now sold in gift shops, claim to be The Buddha. That particular character is a representation of a mythical Father Christmas type figure in Buddhist belief. That character is sometimes known as the Happy Buddha' or the, Laughing Buddha.' Within Buddhist mythology, that happy Buddha,' was actually an itinerant Chinese monk named Ho-tei.
The Buddha usually referred to within the field of Buddhism is a man called Siddhattha Gotama (Siddhartha Gautama). Siddhattha lived around 2500 years ago in an area of Northern India. In paintings and statues, Siddhattha is usually represented meditating, sitting in the lotus position, or standing with his right arm up in front of him with the palm of his hand facing you. He looks extremely serene and peaceful, but he is not laughing, as the representations of the Happy Buddha' sometimes are. In any case, what he looked like is irrelevant in many ways, but I felt it was important for me to try to clarify this potential misunderstanding. I for one, had always thought that the fat, bald figure was The Buddha. Indeed, my children, love them, often refer to the fact that I seem to be doing my best to try to look like The Buddha. I took this as a compliment until I realized that it was the hairline and body shape of the Happy Buddha' to which they were referring!
Amongst all the literature about Buddhism that I have read, there are some different versions of the early life of Siddhattha. However, almost all of them agree that he was born a prince to a fine and wealthy royal household. During his childhood, teenage years and early adult life he was given everything he could possibly want. He lived a life of total and utter luxury for the first twenty-nine years of his life, wanting for nothing, and caring about less. Because of the life he led and the protective nature of his father, he was sheltered from all things in the world which could be regarded as upsetting, or even thought provoking.....
by Graham Fisher
The Buddha usually referred to within the field of Buddhism is a man called Siddhattha Gotama (Siddhartha Gautama). Siddhattha lived around 2500 years ago in an area of Northern India. In paintings and statues, Siddhattha is usually represented meditating, sitting in the lotus position, or standing with his right arm up in front of him with the palm of his hand facing you. He looks extremely serene and peaceful, but he is not laughing, as the representations of the Happy Buddha' sometimes are. In any case, what he looked like is irrelevant in many ways, but I felt it was important for me to try to clarify this potential misunderstanding. I for one, had always thought that the fat, bald figure was The Buddha. Indeed, my children, love them, often refer to the fact that I seem to be doing my best to try to look like The Buddha. I took this as a compliment until I realized that it was the hairline and body shape of the Happy Buddha' to which they were referring!
Amongst all the literature about Buddhism that I have read, there are some different versions of the early life of Siddhattha. However, almost all of them agree that he was born a prince to a fine and wealthy royal household. During his childhood, teenage years and early adult life he was given everything he could possibly want. He lived a life of total and utter luxury for the first twenty-nine years of his life, wanting for nothing, and caring about less. Because of the life he led and the protective nature of his father, he was sheltered from all things in the world which could be regarded as upsetting, or even thought provoking.....
by Graham Fisher
Light and Love...
When You have reached the state of Divine Consciousness, the singular objects
that You have observed by the human senses fade into Thought Forms instead of
material objects.. Divine Consciousness is the Energy of Light and Creativity..
The Energy of Light forms the objects that you believe are real..Therefore, All
is Consciousness and is Realized as Light and Love..........namaste, thomas
that You have observed by the human senses fade into Thought Forms instead of
material objects.. Divine Consciousness is the Energy of Light and Creativity..
The Energy of Light forms the objects that you believe are real..Therefore, All
is Consciousness and is Realized as Light and Love..........namaste, thomas
" I Am that I Am"...
Your duty is to be and not to be this or that.
'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The
method is summed up in the words 'Be still'.
What does stillness mean? It means destroy
yourself. Because any form or shape is the
cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I
am so and so'. All that is required to realize
the Self is to be still. What can be easier than
that?
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana
'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The
method is summed up in the words 'Be still'.
What does stillness mean? It means destroy
yourself. Because any form or shape is the
cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I
am so and so'. All that is required to realize
the Self is to be still. What can be easier than
that?
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
edited by David Godman
Arkana
Consciousness...
Shri Atmananda from Spiritual Discourses
When you know any object, you stand as Consciousness; and the object also cannot
help appearing as Consciousness, since Consciousness cannot perceive anything but
Consciousness. Or, in other words, when you rise to the level of Consciousness to
examine the object, it is also transformed into Consciousness and its objectivity
disappears.
So objects cannot exist as such, when you stand as Consciousness. While everything
shines by the light of Consciousness, Consciousness does not require any other
light, because it is self-luminous.
#35
When you know any object, you stand as Consciousness; and the object also cannot
help appearing as Consciousness, since Consciousness cannot perceive anything but
Consciousness. Or, in other words, when you rise to the level of Consciousness to
examine the object, it is also transformed into Consciousness and its objectivity
disappears.
So objects cannot exist as such, when you stand as Consciousness. While everything
shines by the light of Consciousness, Consciousness does not require any other
light, because it is self-luminous.
#35
Old Friends...
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them....
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Pure Soul...
"The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
flows into a pure soul the way that light
rushes into a transparent object.
The more love that it finds, the more it gives
itself; so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of heaven is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love,
and, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other."
Dante Alighieri (1265? - 1321)
from Stephen Mitchell
_The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry_
flows into a pure soul the way that light
rushes into a transparent object.
The more love that it finds, the more it gives
itself; so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of heaven is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love,
and, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other."
Dante Alighieri (1265? - 1321)
from Stephen Mitchell
_The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry_
Something More...
Meditation and self-discipline
are not all that's needed, nor even
a deep longing to go through
the door of freedom.
You may dissolve in contemplation,
as salt does in water,
but there's something more
that must happen.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
are not all that's needed, nor even
a deep longing to go through
the door of freedom.
You may dissolve in contemplation,
as salt does in water,
but there's something more
that must happen.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Reflection...
I see the same world as you do, but not the same
way. There is nothing mysterious about it.
Everybody sees the world through the idea he has
of himself. As you think yourself to be, so you think
the world to be. If you imagine yourself as separate
from the world, the world will appear as separate
from you and you will experience desire and fear.
I do not see the world as separate from me and so
there is nothing for me to desire, or fear.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
way. There is nothing mysterious about it.
Everybody sees the world through the idea he has
of himself. As you think yourself to be, so you think
the world to be. If you imagine yourself as separate
from the world, the world will appear as separate
from you and you will experience desire and fear.
I do not see the world as separate from me and so
there is nothing for me to desire, or fear.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Many Words...
We read many words but still the Spirit sits hungry at the table.. With the
mouth speaking, the throat cannot swallow.. Is it not better to sit and think
then to sit and speak?.. The ego is celebrating the holidays early and feasting
upon our souls.. Are we the Love that we proclaim?.. What is Love but non-ego..
Why do we continue to batter ourselves with ignorance?.. Awakening is the only
Answer.......namaste, thomas
mouth speaking, the throat cannot swallow.. Is it not better to sit and think
then to sit and speak?.. The ego is celebrating the holidays early and feasting
upon our souls.. Are we the Love that we proclaim?.. What is Love but non-ego..
Why do we continue to batter ourselves with ignorance?.. Awakening is the only
Answer.......namaste, thomas
Vipassana - The technique of Gautama Buddha...
Vipassana is the technique of lord Gautama Buddha . The path of Buddha is considered as Golden Mean because he teaches that there in no need to go to any extreme - neither in indulgence nor in abstinence. His path is a Golden path, which does not demand affiliation to any idea, belief or dogma. Even after the lapse of more than 2500 years since he walked on this earth, there is no decline in his teaching or in the relevance of his miraculous and amazingly simple meditation technique 'Vipassana'. In fact this meditation technique is often considered as the technique of the future because of its extremely simple yet very powerful method. For the busy and extremely complicated life of 21st century, Vipassana is the kind of friendly meditation which can be done by anybody, anywhere and at any time.
What and why of Vipassana
Vipassana means 'to come and see'. To be more precise - to come inward and see. It is the way of the Buddha. He do not give sermons on reality. He only says ' "come and see - 'Eehee Pissico'. Just come inward and see for yourself the reality.
In a single sentence :What is Vipassana ?
Vipassana is :
"To watch your breath with awareness. "
That's all ! It is just simple . To be watchful of your breath as it comes and go. It is Vipassana. The easiest meditation technique of all time.
Breathing is the most of important life process of our body. Nobody can exist without breath even for a single moment. In fact breathing is so important that nature has made it automatic in all living being. Nobody has to remember to breath. Just like internal vital process of our body like pumping of heart, circulation of blood, digestion of food etc, the breathing also happens on its own. Numerous meditation techniques are centered around breath. Almost all spiritual schools has developed a majority of their meditation techniques around breath. The reason for such infatuation with breathing is that it (breathing) is not merely a process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling Carbon Dioxide. Breathing, in reality, is a bridge between our body and our self.
From the moment we come into this world - till the moment we die, we continue taking breath. Breathing is a link between our soul and our body. So when one meditates on breathing, invariably, he gets connected with his self. As already described in 'What is meditation' (that all meditation techniques are the methods through which our true self is revealed to us), when you mediate in Vipassana , you will realize your real identity - Self.
In Vipassana you have to be just aware of your breath. A simple rule is that no matter what you do, no matter in whichever action you indulged in - just be aware of your breathing process. Be watchful of breath as it comes inside your body and goes outside. Don't try to control your breath. Vipassana is not 'Pranayam ( the yogic exercise in which one control various movements of breath). If your breath is deep let it be, if it is shallow let it be. Just let your breathing in its natural rhythm.
Understand this by this analogy: Just imagine that a river is flowing. Now the flow of the river may be fast or slow. What you have to do is to sit on its bank Just watch the river as it flows. Don't try to create ripples in it. Don't do anything that affects its flow. Just be a watcher. This river is your breath. The breathing process is going on. Just be a watcher of this process. Slowly slowly as you watch your breathing, your mind will start calming own. You will see that all thoughts are disappearing on their own. Eventually as you keep practicing, such moment will start coming when you see that everything has come to a standstill. There will be no thoughts, there will be no emotions. However, there will be full awareness. The state of choiceless awareness. In this state you will know the real you.
........from meditationiseasy.com
What and why of Vipassana
Vipassana means 'to come and see'. To be more precise - to come inward and see. It is the way of the Buddha. He do not give sermons on reality. He only says ' "come and see - 'Eehee Pissico'. Just come inward and see for yourself the reality.
In a single sentence :What is Vipassana ?
Vipassana is :
"To watch your breath with awareness. "
That's all ! It is just simple . To be watchful of your breath as it comes and go. It is Vipassana. The easiest meditation technique of all time.
Breathing is the most of important life process of our body. Nobody can exist without breath even for a single moment. In fact breathing is so important that nature has made it automatic in all living being. Nobody has to remember to breath. Just like internal vital process of our body like pumping of heart, circulation of blood, digestion of food etc, the breathing also happens on its own. Numerous meditation techniques are centered around breath. Almost all spiritual schools has developed a majority of their meditation techniques around breath. The reason for such infatuation with breathing is that it (breathing) is not merely a process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling Carbon Dioxide. Breathing, in reality, is a bridge between our body and our self.
From the moment we come into this world - till the moment we die, we continue taking breath. Breathing is a link between our soul and our body. So when one meditates on breathing, invariably, he gets connected with his self. As already described in 'What is meditation' (that all meditation techniques are the methods through which our true self is revealed to us), when you mediate in Vipassana , you will realize your real identity - Self.
In Vipassana you have to be just aware of your breath. A simple rule is that no matter what you do, no matter in whichever action you indulged in - just be aware of your breathing process. Be watchful of breath as it comes inside your body and goes outside. Don't try to control your breath. Vipassana is not 'Pranayam ( the yogic exercise in which one control various movements of breath). If your breath is deep let it be, if it is shallow let it be. Just let your breathing in its natural rhythm.
Understand this by this analogy: Just imagine that a river is flowing. Now the flow of the river may be fast or slow. What you have to do is to sit on its bank Just watch the river as it flows. Don't try to create ripples in it. Don't do anything that affects its flow. Just be a watcher. This river is your breath. The breathing process is going on. Just be a watcher of this process. Slowly slowly as you watch your breathing, your mind will start calming own. You will see that all thoughts are disappearing on their own. Eventually as you keep practicing, such moment will start coming when you see that everything has come to a standstill. There will be no thoughts, there will be no emotions. However, there will be full awareness. The state of choiceless awareness. In this state you will know the real you.
........from meditationiseasy.com
Wrapped in Silence...
Last night
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently he whispered,
"Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
it is wrapped in silence."
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved:
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently he whispered,
"Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
it is wrapped in silence."
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved:
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
Displacement...
There is much confusion about this reiterated counsel to practise self-surrender, to give up the ego, and to become unselfish. Its primary meaning is not that we are at once to run out in the street and transfer all our possessions to other men. Indeed, it is not concerned with society at all. It is that we are to effect in consciousness a displacement of the lower by the higher self. Such a displacement cannot happen so long as there is any inner resistance on the ego's part. Hence the counsel warns us to avoid such resistance, encourages us to offer the ego willingly as a sacrifice to the Overself, stimulates us to let go of the animal and human complexes which retard the consummation of such a sacrifice. Each struggle passed through successfully builds up our higher will. — Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practicies Involved > Chapter 7: Discipline Desires > # 31....Paul Brunton
Sentience Itself...
You have considered yourself to be a separate
"self" only because of having regarded a "solid"
object with a name, that is the body, as yourself.
But in fact the body itself is nothing but an insig-
nificant, vastly intricate complex of electrical wave-
patterns, a series of rhythmic functions, a throb-
bing field of energy, and emptiness. What you
actually are, then, is what everybody else is:
sentience itself. Therefore, instead of being a
puny self by way of an object, you are indeed
everything.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
"self" only because of having regarded a "solid"
object with a name, that is the body, as yourself.
But in fact the body itself is nothing but an insig-
nificant, vastly intricate complex of electrical wave-
patterns, a series of rhythmic functions, a throb-
bing field of energy, and emptiness. What you
actually are, then, is what everybody else is:
sentience itself. Therefore, instead of being a
puny self by way of an object, you are indeed
everything.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
The Light...
The narrow limited presentation of the path to enlightenment needs rebuttal. And this can be found in the cases of men who entered and remained in the light not by the persevering practice of yoga, or by personal guru-initiation, but by fastening interest, thought, feeling, devotion, faith on the light itself solely and exclusively.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 2: Pitfalls and Limitations > # 135.....Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 2: Pitfalls and Limitations > # 135.....Paul Brunton
Bliss...
Bliss is Eternal,
even though it appears to arise when the mind dies.
Bliss is not an experience, it is your nature.
This is the Heart of the Wise.
This Gift is always calling to everyone,
"You are seated in the Heart of all Beings."
This is the Truth: Your face shines.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
even though it appears to arise when the mind dies.
Bliss is not an experience, it is your nature.
This is the Heart of the Wise.
This Gift is always calling to everyone,
"You are seated in the Heart of all Beings."
This is the Truth: Your face shines.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
To Love Goodness...
"The one way to be happy is to love life - the glowing life.
Say the same thing in another way, the one way to be happy
is to love goodness. What a sensational idea! No one ever thinks
about that, you think about it. The one way to be happy is to love
what is good. Oh I wonder, I wonder how many in this world really
can see the connection, see that goodness is happiness, happiness
is goodness. Now, since that is true, I want you from now on to
think of it and act as if it is true, so that something, some
strength will come to you to knock out of your life the notion
that you're already happy, therefore, it doesn't apply to you.
I want you to realize that you have to start all over with these
first ideas and not think of yourself as either good or happy
because you're not."
from a talk given 1/5/1992
Vernon Howard's Higher World - MP3 CD Volume 33, talk 805
Say the same thing in another way, the one way to be happy
is to love goodness. What a sensational idea! No one ever thinks
about that, you think about it. The one way to be happy is to love
what is good. Oh I wonder, I wonder how many in this world really
can see the connection, see that goodness is happiness, happiness
is goodness. Now, since that is true, I want you from now on to
think of it and act as if it is true, so that something, some
strength will come to you to knock out of your life the notion
that you're already happy, therefore, it doesn't apply to you.
I want you to realize that you have to start all over with these
first ideas and not think of yourself as either good or happy
because you're not."
from a talk given 1/5/1992
Vernon Howard's Higher World - MP3 CD Volume 33, talk 805
The Buddha...
This chapter has been published in the book INDIA & Southeast Asia to 1800.
.
The oldest known date in the history of India is the death of the one called Buddha in 483 BC, and even that date is somewhat controversial. Buddha means "one who is intuitive, awakened, or enlightened." The famous historical person known as Buddha was also called the Tathagata, which means "the one who has come thus," and Shakyamuni, which means "the sage of the Shakya tribe." He is said to have lived eighty years, and thus was probably born in 563 BC.
Siddartha Gautama
His father Suddhodana of the Gautama clan was elected king of the Shakya tribe by its five hundred families just south of the Himalaya mountains in the realm of influence of the powerful Kosala monarchy. The son was born in the Lumbini garden and named Siddartha, which means "he who has accomplished his aim." Many myths and legends surround the birth of Siddartha, but most of these seem to have been developed centuries later in the Jatakas. A famous seer named Asita predicted that the child would either become a great king or, if he left home, a great teacher. His mother Maya died seven days after giving birth, and her younger sister Mahapajapati, who was also married to Suddhodana, became his foster mother.
By all accounts Siddartha was raised amid the finest luxuries of the time. Later he said that three palaces had been built for him - one for hot weather, one for cold, and one for the rainy season. His clothes were of the finest silk. When he walked on the grounds, someone held a white umbrella over his head. Even the servants were well fed, and music was played only by beautiful women.
Having demonstrated his skill in archery, Siddartha chose Yasodhara to be his wife, and they were married when he was about sixteen years old. For the next thirteen years he continued to live in luxury with his wife and concubines. Then about the time of the birth of his son Rahula, the famous four signs occurred. According to legend, his father had tried to prevent his princely son from experiencing any suffering or sorrow or religious contact so that he would become a king rather than a spiritual teacher.
However, one day while traveling outside the palace gates, Siddartha happened to come across an old man for the first time in his life. He was appalled at the wrinkles and decrepitude. On another occasion he happened to observe a sick person and learned about the loathsome nature of disease. The third sign came when he witnessed a funeral procession and was able to see the lifeless corpse that was being carried. The suddenness of these three experiences set him thinking about the transitoriness of human life. Finally he came upon a religious ascetic, who had renounced the world to seek enlightenment, a common occupation for Kshatriyas like himself as well as for Brahmins.
With the birth of his son he had fulfilled his obligation to continue his family line and decided that he too must renounce his kingdom and seek a way out of the human miseries of old age, sickness, and death. So he took off his silk garments and put on the coarse clothes of an ascetic and went south to Magadha seeking enlightenment.
While begging for his food in Rajagriha, the capital city of Magadha, his princely demeanor was observed by King Bimbisara (Shrenika). The king went to see Siddartha to find out who he was and what he was doing. Siddartha told him that he was purifying himself in order to achieve nirvana, and he promised to teach the king after he attained enlightenment.
Like the sages of the Upanishads, Siddartha practiced yoga and meditation. At Vaishali to learn meditative concentration he studied with Alara Kalama, who was said to have had hundreds of disciples. Siddartha soon learned how to reach the formless world, but still having mental anxieties he decided not to become a disciple of Alara Kalama. Nor did he become a disciple of his second teacher, Uddaka Ramaputra, after he attained the higher state of consciousness beyond thought and non-thought.
Still not satisfied, Siddartha decided to practice the path of extreme austerities, and in this quest he was joined by the sage Kaundinya and four others. He pressed his tongue against his palate to try to restrain his mind until the perspiration poured from his armpits. He restrained his breath and heard the violent sounds of wind in his ears and head. He went into trances, and some thought he was dead. He fasted for long periods of time and then decided to try limiting his food to the juice of beans and peas. As his flesh shrank, the bones almost stuck out of his skin so that he could touch his spine from the front; after sitting on the ground his imprint looked like a camel's footprint.
For six years Siddartha practiced such austerities, but instead of achieving superhuman knowledge and wisdom he only seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally he thought that there might be a better way to attain enlightenment. He remembered how, while his father was working, he would sit in the shade of an apple tree free of sensual desires. Perhaps in concentrating his mind without evil ideas and sensual desires he should not be afraid of a happy state of mind. However, to gain the strength he felt he needed for this concentration he decided to start eating again. When he gave up practicing the extreme austerities, the five mendicants who were with him became disillusioned and left him, saying that Gautama lives in abundance and has given up striving.
Siddartha reasoned that a life of penance and pain was no better than a life of luxury and pleasure, because if penance on Earth is religion, then the heavenly reward for penance must be irreligion. If merit comes from purity of food, then deer should have the most merit. Those who practice asceticism without calming their passions are like a man trying to kindle fire by rubbing a stick on green wood in water, but those who have no desires or worldly attachments are like a man using a dry stick that ignites.
Regaining his strength from normal eating of the food he begged, Siddartha once again practiced meditation. Now he easily attained the first stage of joy and pleasure, then a joyful trance arising from concentration with serenity and the mind fixed on one point without reasoning and investigation. The third stage produced equanimity to joy and aversion in a mindful, happy state. In the fourth stage pleasure and pain were left behind in a mindful purity. With his mind thus concentrated and cleansed he directed it to the remembrance of former existences from previous births, also perceiving cycles of evolution and dissolution of the universe.
Then he directed his mind to the passing away and rebirth of beings, perceiving how the karma of evil actions, words, and thoughts leads to rebirth in miserable conditions and suffering in hell; but those beings leading good lives are reborn in a happy state in a heavenly world. Finally directing his mind to the means of ultimate release Siddartha realized that there is pain, a cause of pain, the cessation of pain, and a way that leads to that cessation of pain. Thus his mind was emancipated from sensual desires, the desire for existence, and ignorance.
According to legend this whole process occurred in one night after he had decided to sit under a tree until he became enlightened or died. It was also said that he was tested by Mara, the tempter, but Siddartha could not be swayed from his purpose. Thus darkness and ignorance were dispelled by the light as Siddartha Gautama became enlightened and was henceforth known as the Buddha.
.
The oldest known date in the history of India is the death of the one called Buddha in 483 BC, and even that date is somewhat controversial. Buddha means "one who is intuitive, awakened, or enlightened." The famous historical person known as Buddha was also called the Tathagata, which means "the one who has come thus," and Shakyamuni, which means "the sage of the Shakya tribe." He is said to have lived eighty years, and thus was probably born in 563 BC.
Siddartha Gautama
His father Suddhodana of the Gautama clan was elected king of the Shakya tribe by its five hundred families just south of the Himalaya mountains in the realm of influence of the powerful Kosala monarchy. The son was born in the Lumbini garden and named Siddartha, which means "he who has accomplished his aim." Many myths and legends surround the birth of Siddartha, but most of these seem to have been developed centuries later in the Jatakas. A famous seer named Asita predicted that the child would either become a great king or, if he left home, a great teacher. His mother Maya died seven days after giving birth, and her younger sister Mahapajapati, who was also married to Suddhodana, became his foster mother.
By all accounts Siddartha was raised amid the finest luxuries of the time. Later he said that three palaces had been built for him - one for hot weather, one for cold, and one for the rainy season. His clothes were of the finest silk. When he walked on the grounds, someone held a white umbrella over his head. Even the servants were well fed, and music was played only by beautiful women.
Having demonstrated his skill in archery, Siddartha chose Yasodhara to be his wife, and they were married when he was about sixteen years old. For the next thirteen years he continued to live in luxury with his wife and concubines. Then about the time of the birth of his son Rahula, the famous four signs occurred. According to legend, his father had tried to prevent his princely son from experiencing any suffering or sorrow or religious contact so that he would become a king rather than a spiritual teacher.
However, one day while traveling outside the palace gates, Siddartha happened to come across an old man for the first time in his life. He was appalled at the wrinkles and decrepitude. On another occasion he happened to observe a sick person and learned about the loathsome nature of disease. The third sign came when he witnessed a funeral procession and was able to see the lifeless corpse that was being carried. The suddenness of these three experiences set him thinking about the transitoriness of human life. Finally he came upon a religious ascetic, who had renounced the world to seek enlightenment, a common occupation for Kshatriyas like himself as well as for Brahmins.
With the birth of his son he had fulfilled his obligation to continue his family line and decided that he too must renounce his kingdom and seek a way out of the human miseries of old age, sickness, and death. So he took off his silk garments and put on the coarse clothes of an ascetic and went south to Magadha seeking enlightenment.
While begging for his food in Rajagriha, the capital city of Magadha, his princely demeanor was observed by King Bimbisara (Shrenika). The king went to see Siddartha to find out who he was and what he was doing. Siddartha told him that he was purifying himself in order to achieve nirvana, and he promised to teach the king after he attained enlightenment.
Like the sages of the Upanishads, Siddartha practiced yoga and meditation. At Vaishali to learn meditative concentration he studied with Alara Kalama, who was said to have had hundreds of disciples. Siddartha soon learned how to reach the formless world, but still having mental anxieties he decided not to become a disciple of Alara Kalama. Nor did he become a disciple of his second teacher, Uddaka Ramaputra, after he attained the higher state of consciousness beyond thought and non-thought.
Still not satisfied, Siddartha decided to practice the path of extreme austerities, and in this quest he was joined by the sage Kaundinya and four others. He pressed his tongue against his palate to try to restrain his mind until the perspiration poured from his armpits. He restrained his breath and heard the violent sounds of wind in his ears and head. He went into trances, and some thought he was dead. He fasted for long periods of time and then decided to try limiting his food to the juice of beans and peas. As his flesh shrank, the bones almost stuck out of his skin so that he could touch his spine from the front; after sitting on the ground his imprint looked like a camel's footprint.
For six years Siddartha practiced such austerities, but instead of achieving superhuman knowledge and wisdom he only seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally he thought that there might be a better way to attain enlightenment. He remembered how, while his father was working, he would sit in the shade of an apple tree free of sensual desires. Perhaps in concentrating his mind without evil ideas and sensual desires he should not be afraid of a happy state of mind. However, to gain the strength he felt he needed for this concentration he decided to start eating again. When he gave up practicing the extreme austerities, the five mendicants who were with him became disillusioned and left him, saying that Gautama lives in abundance and has given up striving.
Siddartha reasoned that a life of penance and pain was no better than a life of luxury and pleasure, because if penance on Earth is religion, then the heavenly reward for penance must be irreligion. If merit comes from purity of food, then deer should have the most merit. Those who practice asceticism without calming their passions are like a man trying to kindle fire by rubbing a stick on green wood in water, but those who have no desires or worldly attachments are like a man using a dry stick that ignites.
Regaining his strength from normal eating of the food he begged, Siddartha once again practiced meditation. Now he easily attained the first stage of joy and pleasure, then a joyful trance arising from concentration with serenity and the mind fixed on one point without reasoning and investigation. The third stage produced equanimity to joy and aversion in a mindful, happy state. In the fourth stage pleasure and pain were left behind in a mindful purity. With his mind thus concentrated and cleansed he directed it to the remembrance of former existences from previous births, also perceiving cycles of evolution and dissolution of the universe.
Then he directed his mind to the passing away and rebirth of beings, perceiving how the karma of evil actions, words, and thoughts leads to rebirth in miserable conditions and suffering in hell; but those beings leading good lives are reborn in a happy state in a heavenly world. Finally directing his mind to the means of ultimate release Siddartha realized that there is pain, a cause of pain, the cessation of pain, and a way that leads to that cessation of pain. Thus his mind was emancipated from sensual desires, the desire for existence, and ignorance.
According to legend this whole process occurred in one night after he had decided to sit under a tree until he became enlightened or died. It was also said that he was tested by Mara, the tempter, but Siddartha could not be swayed from his purpose. Thus darkness and ignorance were dispelled by the light as Siddartha Gautama became enlightened and was henceforth known as the Buddha.
Thoughts...
"Distracted as we are by various thoughts,
if we would continually contemplate the Self
which is itself God, this single thought would
in due course eliminate all distraction and
would itself ultimately vanish.
The pure consciousness which alone finally
remains is God. This is liberation."
--Ramana Maharshi--
if we would continually contemplate the Self
which is itself God, this single thought would
in due course eliminate all distraction and
would itself ultimately vanish.
The pure consciousness which alone finally
remains is God. This is liberation."
--Ramana Maharshi--
Thoughts...
Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don’t realize this because almost everyone is suffering from it, so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being.
Eckhart Tolle
Witness your thoughts, quietly and passively without interfering or judging or pulling or pushing, and you will find they are useless. Thoughts, and their derivative beliefs, are useless.
Most thoughts are about “me”, an attempt to define you as this or that. I am like this, I am like that, I want this or that. Thoughts define you, but only momentarily, because you will also notice that they change.
Ever believe in something wholeheartedly and then later wondered how it is you could have believed in it?
Your sense of self changes constantly, in small and big ways. It is never stable or consistent, because thoughts are not stable or consistent.
Do you need your thoughts? You can see easily that you don’t need them to exist. You exist just fine in deep sleep or in flow, when you are aware and present and light.
It’s a little harder to see you don’t need thoughts to function. Look closely and see that many of your actions are spontaneous. There is no “me” driving the action; thoughts about the action come in afterward to take credit. In fact, thoughts get in the way of flow. They can make you indecisive and doubtful. Creative activity does not come from thinking. It comes from the space between thoughts.
Thoughts about yourself create the false self, what is popularly known today in these circles as the ego. The ego is not one thing—though it is sometimes useful to think of the ego as an entity. It is a bunch of thought and emotions—an amorphous nothing of swirling and changing thoughts and emotions. This is why you play various roles and why you are different now from five minutes ago; only memory gives you seeming continuity.
This is a fantastic delusion. You are conditioned to believe a lie, to believe in something that doesn’t exist. Try to find it, try to find your ego, your sense of self, try it right now. This thing that doesn’t exist runs your life. It is what needs and wants, desires and fears. What is really living life is life itself; it creates everything, including the illusion of the ego.
Fascinating.
The key to seeing this is to notice thoughts. Be a passive witness to thoughts, observe them without interfering or judging. If you do this you discover a few things right away. You discover that thoughts are very compelling; they pull you right in. You discover it’s hard to observe thoughts. You discover that thoughts are incessant—a clackety stream of endless thunking going on in the head.
You notice you will forget to observe.
But soon you do remember and you can observe and thoughts begin to diminish. Soon you discover the lovely irony that it’s easier when you don’t put in a lot of effort. Just a little. A Chinese finger trap kind of thing.
Then the gaps between thoughts expand, and you understand, not mentally, but in a different way, you understand what Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti and people like him go on about.
You understand this has nothing to do with spiritual accumulation. To go around and accumulate spiritual
beliefs is fine, if that’s what you want, but that is the ego replacing one set of beliefs with another. This has nothing to do with beliefs at all.
Thinking Man - Rodin
If you do this, you will experience periods of difficulty and confusion. The ego will resist.
You can’t get rid of that by fighting it. What is present is what is unfolding, and what may be unfolding is seeming difficulty, so struggle against it just makes the resistance more resistant.
The trick is allowing and patience and love. Allow uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Watch them without any agenda. Notice the story lines. Notice the voice of thought. Notice that the ego always wants things a certain way. But where is the ego? Can you find it?
What you may find is your true nature—clear and present awareness.
It’s hard to see this when we are wrapped up in the delusion of “me.”
Watch thoughts. Learn to let go. Cease to cherish beliefs. Then, the only mistake we can make is to forget that we can fool ourselves............from beyondkarma.com
Eckhart Tolle
Witness your thoughts, quietly and passively without interfering or judging or pulling or pushing, and you will find they are useless. Thoughts, and their derivative beliefs, are useless.
Most thoughts are about “me”, an attempt to define you as this or that. I am like this, I am like that, I want this or that. Thoughts define you, but only momentarily, because you will also notice that they change.
Ever believe in something wholeheartedly and then later wondered how it is you could have believed in it?
Your sense of self changes constantly, in small and big ways. It is never stable or consistent, because thoughts are not stable or consistent.
Do you need your thoughts? You can see easily that you don’t need them to exist. You exist just fine in deep sleep or in flow, when you are aware and present and light.
It’s a little harder to see you don’t need thoughts to function. Look closely and see that many of your actions are spontaneous. There is no “me” driving the action; thoughts about the action come in afterward to take credit. In fact, thoughts get in the way of flow. They can make you indecisive and doubtful. Creative activity does not come from thinking. It comes from the space between thoughts.
Thoughts about yourself create the false self, what is popularly known today in these circles as the ego. The ego is not one thing—though it is sometimes useful to think of the ego as an entity. It is a bunch of thought and emotions—an amorphous nothing of swirling and changing thoughts and emotions. This is why you play various roles and why you are different now from five minutes ago; only memory gives you seeming continuity.
This is a fantastic delusion. You are conditioned to believe a lie, to believe in something that doesn’t exist. Try to find it, try to find your ego, your sense of self, try it right now. This thing that doesn’t exist runs your life. It is what needs and wants, desires and fears. What is really living life is life itself; it creates everything, including the illusion of the ego.
Fascinating.
The key to seeing this is to notice thoughts. Be a passive witness to thoughts, observe them without interfering or judging. If you do this you discover a few things right away. You discover that thoughts are very compelling; they pull you right in. You discover it’s hard to observe thoughts. You discover that thoughts are incessant—a clackety stream of endless thunking going on in the head.
You notice you will forget to observe.
But soon you do remember and you can observe and thoughts begin to diminish. Soon you discover the lovely irony that it’s easier when you don’t put in a lot of effort. Just a little. A Chinese finger trap kind of thing.
Then the gaps between thoughts expand, and you understand, not mentally, but in a different way, you understand what Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti and people like him go on about.
You understand this has nothing to do with spiritual accumulation. To go around and accumulate spiritual
beliefs is fine, if that’s what you want, but that is the ego replacing one set of beliefs with another. This has nothing to do with beliefs at all.
Thinking Man - Rodin
If you do this, you will experience periods of difficulty and confusion. The ego will resist.
You can’t get rid of that by fighting it. What is present is what is unfolding, and what may be unfolding is seeming difficulty, so struggle against it just makes the resistance more resistant.
The trick is allowing and patience and love. Allow uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Watch them without any agenda. Notice the story lines. Notice the voice of thought. Notice that the ego always wants things a certain way. But where is the ego? Can you find it?
What you may find is your true nature—clear and present awareness.
It’s hard to see this when we are wrapped up in the delusion of “me.”
Watch thoughts. Learn to let go. Cease to cherish beliefs. Then, the only mistake we can make is to forget that we can fool ourselves............from beyondkarma.com
Fear...
Intellect is what brings about the sense of
fear, because it is the intellect that rejects
change and wants security.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
fear, because it is the intellect that rejects
change and wants security.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
Seek...
Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot.
Seek the path that demands your whole being.
Leave that which is not, but appears to be.
Seek that which is, but is not apparent.
Jalaludin Rumi
in Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mali, Translators
_Rumi: Hidden Music_
Barnes & Noble, 2009 (reprint), p. 68
Seek the path that demands your whole being.
Leave that which is not, but appears to be.
Seek that which is, but is not apparent.
Jalaludin Rumi
in Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mali, Translators
_Rumi: Hidden Music_
Barnes & Noble, 2009 (reprint), p. 68
Those who become Complete...
"Those who became complete
didn't live this life in hypocrisy,
didn't learn the meaning of things
by reading commentaries.
Reality is an ocean; the Law is a ship.
Many have never left the ship,
never jumped into the sea.
They might have come to Worship
but they stopped at rituals.
They never knew or entered the Inside.
Those who think the Four Books
were meant to be talked about,
who heave only read explanations
and never entered meaning,
are really in sin.
Yunus means "true friend"
for one whose journey has begun.
Until we transform our Names,
we haven't found the Way."
Yunus Emre (1238 - 1320)
from _The Drop That Became the Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre_
Translated by Kabir Helminski & Refik Algan
http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/E/EmreYunus/Thosewhobeca.htm
[The four books are the Torah (Moses), the Psalms (David), the Gospels (Jesus),
and The Qur'an (Muhammad). tjh]
didn't live this life in hypocrisy,
didn't learn the meaning of things
by reading commentaries.
Reality is an ocean; the Law is a ship.
Many have never left the ship,
never jumped into the sea.
They might have come to Worship
but they stopped at rituals.
They never knew or entered the Inside.
Those who think the Four Books
were meant to be talked about,
who heave only read explanations
and never entered meaning,
are really in sin.
Yunus means "true friend"
for one whose journey has begun.
Until we transform our Names,
we haven't found the Way."
Yunus Emre (1238 - 1320)
from _The Drop That Became the Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre_
Translated by Kabir Helminski & Refik Algan
http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/E/EmreYunus/Thosewhobeca.htm
[The four books are the Torah (Moses), the Psalms (David), the Gospels (Jesus),
and The Qur'an (Muhammad). tjh]
Enlightenment...
In the early stages of enlightenment, the aspirant is overwhelmed by his discovery that God is within himself. It stirs his intensest feelings and excites his deepest thoughts. But, though he does not know it, those very feelings and thoughts still form part of his ego, albeit the highest part. So he still separates his being into two--self and Overself. Only in the later stages does he find that God not only is within himself but is himself.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 300.......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 7: Contemplative Stillness > # 300.......Paul Brunton
Ego and Self...
In the secret cave of the heart, two are seated by life's fountain.
The separate ego drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,
Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,
While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter
Neither liking this nor disliking that.
The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self lives in light.
Quote / poem n° 3217 : Upanishads, Hinduism
Source : Katha Up. Part 1, 3:1, p. 88 in The Upanishads. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1987
The separate ego drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,
Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,
While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter
Neither liking this nor disliking that.
The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self lives in light.
Quote / poem n° 3217 : Upanishads, Hinduism
Source : Katha Up. Part 1, 3:1, p. 88 in The Upanishads. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1987
What is the World ?...
Someone asked a man of understanding: "What is the world? What can it
be compared to?" He replied: "This world, which is compounded of
horrors and crime, is like a palm-tree of wax, adorned with a hundred
colours. If you squeeze the tree it becomes a lump of wax; therefore
the colours and shapes you admire are not worth an obol. If there is
unity there cannot be duality; neither 'I' nor 'Thou' has significance."
"But what is the use of my words, though they come from the depth of my
soul, if you do not ponder over them? If you have fallen into the
ocean of exterior life, like a partridge whose wings and feathers
cannot support it, then never cease to think about how to reach the
shore."
--Fariduddin Attar
from The Conference of the Birds
C. S. Nott version
be compared to?" He replied: "This world, which is compounded of
horrors and crime, is like a palm-tree of wax, adorned with a hundred
colours. If you squeeze the tree it becomes a lump of wax; therefore
the colours and shapes you admire are not worth an obol. If there is
unity there cannot be duality; neither 'I' nor 'Thou' has significance."
"But what is the use of my words, though they come from the depth of my
soul, if you do not ponder over them? If you have fallen into the
ocean of exterior life, like a partridge whose wings and feathers
cannot support it, then never cease to think about how to reach the
shore."
--Fariduddin Attar
from The Conference of the Birds
C. S. Nott version
Wisdom...
Wisdom is not in words, it is in understanding.
Bowl of Saki, November 15, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
What a great thing is understanding! It is priceless. No man can give greater
pleasure to his fellow man than by understanding him.
What can one wish for more in life than understanding? Understanding gives one
harmony in the home with those near and dear to one and peace outside the home
with so many different natures and characters. If one lacks understanding, one
is poor in spite of all that one possesses of the goods of this world; it is
understanding which gives a person riches. ... A life without such understanding
is like a dark room which contains everything you wish -- it is all there, but
there is no light.
If there is no understanding between two persons, words are of no use. They may
talk and talk, and discuss and discuss, and it will only go from bad to worse,
for argument will never end. As it is said in the Vadan, 'Why? Is an animal with
a thousand tails. At every bite you give it, it drops one of its curved tails
and raises another.' Can argument bring about understanding? Never. Argument
only increases argument, and so one can go on till two persons turn their back
upon one another. Understanding is a gift of God, understanding is a soul's
unfoldment, and understanding is the greatest fortune one can have in life.
Bowl of Saki, November 15, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
What a great thing is understanding! It is priceless. No man can give greater
pleasure to his fellow man than by understanding him.
What can one wish for more in life than understanding? Understanding gives one
harmony in the home with those near and dear to one and peace outside the home
with so many different natures and characters. If one lacks understanding, one
is poor in spite of all that one possesses of the goods of this world; it is
understanding which gives a person riches. ... A life without such understanding
is like a dark room which contains everything you wish -- it is all there, but
there is no light.
If there is no understanding between two persons, words are of no use. They may
talk and talk, and discuss and discuss, and it will only go from bad to worse,
for argument will never end. As it is said in the Vadan, 'Why? Is an animal with
a thousand tails. At every bite you give it, it drops one of its curved tails
and raises another.' Can argument bring about understanding? Never. Argument
only increases argument, and so one can go on till two persons turn their back
upon one another. Understanding is a gift of God, understanding is a soul's
unfoldment, and understanding is the greatest fortune one can have in life.
Sri Ramakrishna/Everything That Exists Is God ...
"The Master said: 'Everything that exists is God.' The pupil understood it
literally, but not in the true spirit. While he was passing through a street, he
met with an elephant. The driver (mâhut) shouted aloud from his high place,
'Move away, move away!' The pupil argued in his mind, 'Why should I move away? I
am God, so is the elephant also God. What fear has God of Himself?' Thinking
thus he did not move. At last the elephant took him up by his trunk, and dashed
him aside. He was severely hurt, and going back to his Master, he related the
whole adventure. The Master said, 'All right, you are God. The elephant is God
also, but God in the shape of the elephant-driver was warning you also from
above. Why did you not pay heed to his warnings?'"
Sri Ramakrishna
in F. Max Muller
_Ramakrishna: His Life And Sayings_, 15
Longmans, Green, And Co., London & New York, 1898, p. 102
literally, but not in the true spirit. While he was passing through a street, he
met with an elephant. The driver (mâhut) shouted aloud from his high place,
'Move away, move away!' The pupil argued in his mind, 'Why should I move away? I
am God, so is the elephant also God. What fear has God of Himself?' Thinking
thus he did not move. At last the elephant took him up by his trunk, and dashed
him aside. He was severely hurt, and going back to his Master, he related the
whole adventure. The Master said, 'All right, you are God. The elephant is God
also, but God in the shape of the elephant-driver was warning you also from
above. Why did you not pay heed to his warnings?'"
Sri Ramakrishna
in F. Max Muller
_Ramakrishna: His Life And Sayings_, 15
Longmans, Green, And Co., London & New York, 1898, p. 102
Objects...
What you seek is pleasure and not an object. So do not
make the mistake of thinking that your mind wants this or
that object. You do not want anything, only pleasure. And
if you think that a particular object can give pleasure you
go near it, but if it does not give satisfaction you will leave
it alone and go to another place for another object. In this
way, your life is spent looking for pleasure and not for a
particular object which it really cannot find. And nowhere
you will find this pleasure you are seeking - nowhere.
Because it is not a commodity of this world. It belongs
to some other realm altogether.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Facets of Spirituality
Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
make the mistake of thinking that your mind wants this or
that object. You do not want anything, only pleasure. And
if you think that a particular object can give pleasure you
go near it, but if it does not give satisfaction you will leave
it alone and go to another place for another object. In this
way, your life is spent looking for pleasure and not for a
particular object which it really cannot find. And nowhere
you will find this pleasure you are seeking - nowhere.
Because it is not a commodity of this world. It belongs
to some other realm altogether.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Facets of Spirituality
Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
Forever...
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease.
Creating, yet not possessing.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
- Lao-tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Tao Te Ching
Translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English
Vintage Books Edition, September 1972
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease.
Creating, yet not possessing.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
- Lao-tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Tao Te Ching
Translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English
Vintage Books Edition, September 1972
Apocalypse...
Within, without the cosmos wide am I;
In joyful sweep I loose forth and draw back all.
A birthless deathless Spirit that moves and is still
Ever abides within to hear my call.
I who create on earth my joys and doles
To fulfil my matchless quest in all my play,
I veil my face of truth with golden hues
And see the serpent night and python day.
A Consciousness Bliss I feel in each breath;
I am the self amorous child of the Sun.
At will I break and build my symbol sheath
And freely enjoy the world's unshadowed fun.
- Sri Chinmoy. From My Flute
In joyful sweep I loose forth and draw back all.
A birthless deathless Spirit that moves and is still
Ever abides within to hear my call.
I who create on earth my joys and doles
To fulfil my matchless quest in all my play,
I veil my face of truth with golden hues
And see the serpent night and python day.
A Consciousness Bliss I feel in each breath;
I am the self amorous child of the Sun.
At will I break and build my symbol sheath
And freely enjoy the world's unshadowed fun.
- Sri Chinmoy. From My Flute
Your Being...
When you have understood that all existence,
in separation and limitation, is painful, and
when you are willing and able to live integrally,
in oneness with all life, as pure being, you have
gone beyond all need of help. You can help another
by precept and example and, above all, by your
being. You cannot give what you do not have and
you don't have what you are not. You can only give
what you are - and of that you can give limitlessly.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
in separation and limitation, is painful, and
when you are willing and able to live integrally,
in oneness with all life, as pure being, you have
gone beyond all need of help. You can help another
by precept and example and, above all, by your
being. You cannot give what you do not have and
you don't have what you are not. You can only give
what you are - and of that you can give limitlessly.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Fear...
"Fear may have a terrifying appearance, but has no power whatever
to whoever lives from his cosmic mind."
Vernon Howard..... Inspire Yourself, p. 119
to whoever lives from his cosmic mind."
Vernon Howard..... Inspire Yourself, p. 119
What Is A Friend? ...
A friend is someone you hold dear:
Someone who is always there, through thick and thin;
Someone who is only a phone call away.
A friend is someone you can always rely on:
Someone who is there to share your thoughts with;
Someone to listen, no matter the subject.
A friend is someone you can feel comfortable with:
Someone you can sit silently beside, without conversation;
Someone you do not need to fill the quiet moments with.
A friend is someone you can trust:
Someone who will guard your deepest secrets;
Someone who will never let you down.
A friend is someone who is not judgmental:
Someone who will gently offer advice and opinions,
Yet, someone who is not overbearing or critical.
A friend is someone who can keep you grounded:
Someone who can help you see through your obstacles;
Someone to shoulder you through life's trials.
A friend is someone who shares unconditionally:
Someone to laugh and to cry with;
Someone to lean on, through both the good and the bad.
A friend is someone you choose wisely,
For a friend is your own mirrored image:
Someone to compliment your own self;
Someone who indicates who you are as a person.
A friend.... is what you are to me...........by Kit McCallum
Someone who is always there, through thick and thin;
Someone who is only a phone call away.
A friend is someone you can always rely on:
Someone who is there to share your thoughts with;
Someone to listen, no matter the subject.
A friend is someone you can feel comfortable with:
Someone you can sit silently beside, without conversation;
Someone you do not need to fill the quiet moments with.
A friend is someone you can trust:
Someone who will guard your deepest secrets;
Someone who will never let you down.
A friend is someone who is not judgmental:
Someone who will gently offer advice and opinions,
Yet, someone who is not overbearing or critical.
A friend is someone who can keep you grounded:
Someone who can help you see through your obstacles;
Someone to shoulder you through life's trials.
A friend is someone who shares unconditionally:
Someone to laugh and to cry with;
Someone to lean on, through both the good and the bad.
A friend is someone you choose wisely,
For a friend is your own mirrored image:
Someone to compliment your own self;
Someone who indicates who you are as a person.
A friend.... is what you are to me...........by Kit McCallum
Maya...
"Do not fall in love with Maya, it will ruin you.
It will drag you from love and leave you a pauper.
Surrender to the Perfect Master, he will better your lot
He will adorn you with the jewelry of spirituality
and make you the richest of the rich.
Then what power will the angel of death have over you?
It behooves you to always remember this!"
Meher Baba
Ghazal dictated in Hindi
August 26, 1960
in Bhau Kalchuri
_Lord Meher: The Biography of Avatar of the Age Meher Baba_
Asheville, NC: Manifestation, p. 5787
It will drag you from love and leave you a pauper.
Surrender to the Perfect Master, he will better your lot
He will adorn you with the jewelry of spirituality
and make you the richest of the rich.
Then what power will the angel of death have over you?
It behooves you to always remember this!"
Meher Baba
Ghazal dictated in Hindi
August 26, 1960
in Bhau Kalchuri
_Lord Meher: The Biography of Avatar of the Age Meher Baba_
Asheville, NC: Manifestation, p. 5787
Find...
You are beyond happiness itself.
You are that place where the waves of happiness
arise from. Find that place, don't understand it.
You have to simply see that you are That itself.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
You are that place where the waves of happiness
arise from. Find that place, don't understand it.
You have to simply see that you are That itself.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
Gautama the Buddha quotes..
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
“To understand everything is to forgive everything”
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
“A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.”
“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.”
“However many holy words you read,However many you speak,What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
“You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself”
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
“To understand everything is to forgive everything”
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
“A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.”
“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.”
“However many holy words you read,However many you speak,What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
“You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself”
What Happened?...
What has happened to me?
All these songs tell one story:
that of Lalla on a lake, not knowing
what sandbar I'll run aground on.
What kind of luck have I had?
I made harmony out of a man's clumsy
plastering job on the ceiling.
Still I wonder which
sandbank will strand me.
And how is it now with me?
Magnificent, this becoming
more and more awake.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ``
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
All these songs tell one story:
that of Lalla on a lake, not knowing
what sandbar I'll run aground on.
What kind of luck have I had?
I made harmony out of a man's clumsy
plastering job on the ceiling.
Still I wonder which
sandbank will strand me.
And how is it now with me?
Magnificent, this becoming
more and more awake.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ``
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Suffering...
All suffering is born of desire. True love
is never frustrated. How can the sense of
unity be frustrated? What can be frustrated
is the desire for expression. Such desire is
of the mind. As with all things mental,
frustration is inevitable.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
is never frustrated. How can the sense of
unity be frustrated? What can be frustrated
is the desire for expression. Such desire is
of the mind. As with all things mental,
frustration is inevitable.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Permanent Illumination...
These glimpses come quite fitfully. Rare is the person to whom the Light comes and stays, day after day, year after year. Most have to work on, with, and by themselves to convert this momentary experience into the ever-present feeling of living in the Overself.
— Notebooks Category 22: Inspiration and the Overself > Chapter 8: Glimpses and Permanent Illumination > # 100......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 22: Inspiration and the Overself > Chapter 8: Glimpses and Permanent Illumination > # 100......Paul Brunton
Centered...
"To be constantly centered
on one's all perfect pure Self
is the acme of Yoga, Wisdom, and
all other forms of spiritual practice.
Even though the mind wanders restlessly
involved in external matters
and so is forgetful of its own state,
one should remain alert and remember;
the body is not 'I'.
'Who am I?'
Enquire in this way turning the mind
backward to its primal state.
The enquiry, 'Who am I?' is the only method
of putting an end to all misery
and ushering in Supreme Beatitude."
--Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi--
on one's all perfect pure Self
is the acme of Yoga, Wisdom, and
all other forms of spiritual practice.
Even though the mind wanders restlessly
involved in external matters
and so is forgetful of its own state,
one should remain alert and remember;
the body is not 'I'.
'Who am I?'
Enquire in this way turning the mind
backward to its primal state.
The enquiry, 'Who am I?' is the only method
of putting an end to all misery
and ushering in Supreme Beatitude."
--Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi--
Absolute Monism...
Sankara's philosophy is called Kevaladvaita or absolute monism which can be summed up thus. The Supreme Spirit or the Brahman is alone real and the individual self is only the Supreme Self and no other. Brahman is supreme intelligence, devoid of attributes, form, changes or limitations. It is self-luminous and all pervading and is without a second. The empirical world is unreal, an illusion born of ignorance. The jiva continues in Samsara only as long as it retains attachment due to ignorance or Maya. If it casts off the veil of Maya through knowledge or Jnana it will realize its identity with the Brahman and get merged into it.
(source: Main Currents in Indian Culture - By S. Natarajan p. 35 - 37).
(source: Main Currents in Indian Culture - By S. Natarajan p. 35 - 37).
We Are Light...
Sheikh Shihab ud Din, of Aleppo (twelfth century), was a Sufi who
taught that the ultimate reality was Light (Nur). His heterodoxy
caused him to be executed. This Light is self-existent, perpetually
luminous, self-manifesting, and is the source of all existence. It has
two expressions. The sheikh also taught in his writing that the path
of spirituality had five stations: (1) selfishness, (2)
self-centeredness, (3) "I am not," (4) "Thou God art," and (5) I am
not and thou art not--the annihilation of distinctions of subject and
object.
— Notebooks Category 15: The Orient > Chapter 5: Islamic Cultures, Egypt > # 37......Paul Brunton
taught that the ultimate reality was Light (Nur). His heterodoxy
caused him to be executed. This Light is self-existent, perpetually
luminous, self-manifesting, and is the source of all existence. It has
two expressions. The sheikh also taught in his writing that the path
of spirituality had five stations: (1) selfishness, (2)
self-centeredness, (3) "I am not," (4) "Thou God art," and (5) I am
not and thou art not--the annihilation of distinctions of subject and
object.
— Notebooks Category 15: The Orient > Chapter 5: Islamic Cultures, Egypt > # 37......Paul Brunton
Kashmir Shaivism's 15 Verses of Wisdom...
Fifteen Verses of Wisdom (bodhapancadasika) by Abhinavagupta, the great
master of all aspects of
Kashmir Shaivism.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/lakshmanjoo.htm
These fifteen verses provide a brief exposition, and capture the
essence, of the doctrine of Kashmir Shaivism.
_____
Fifteen (15) verses of Wisdom
1. The brilliance of the One Being's light does not vanish in external
light or in darkness because all light and darkness resides in the
supreme light of God Consciousness.
2. This Being is called Lord Siva. He is the nature and existence of all
beings. The external objective world is the expansion of His Energy and
it is filled with the glamour of the glory of God Consciousness.
3. Siva and Sakti are not aware that they are separate. They are
interconnected just as fire is one with heat.
4. He is the God Bhairava. He creates, protects, destroys, conceals, and
reveals His nature through the cycle of this world. This whole universe
is created by God in His own nature, just as one finds the reflection of
the world in a mirror.
5. The collective state of the universe is His supreme Energy (Sakti),
which He created in order to recognize His own nature. This (Sakti), who
is the embodiment of the collective state of the universe, loves
possessing the state of God Consciousness. She is in the state of
ignorance, remaining perfectly complete and full in each and every
object.
6. The supreme Lord Siva, who is all-pervasive and fond of playing and
falling, together with the Energy of His own nature simultaneously
brings about the varieties of creation and destruction.
7. This supreme action cannot be accomplished by any other power in this
universe except Lord 'Siva, who is completely independent, perfectly
glorious and intelligent.
8. The limited state of consciousness is insentient and cannot
simultaneously expand itself to become the various forms of the
universe. The possessor of independence is absolutely different from
that insentient state of consciousness. You cannot, therefore, recognize
Him in only one way. The moment you recognize Him in one way you will
also recognize Him in the other way.
9. This Lord Siva, who is completely independent (svatantra), has the
diversity of creation and destruction existing in His own nature. And,
at the same time, this diversity is found existing in its own way as the
field of ignorance.
10. In this world you will find varieties of creation and destruction,
some of which are created in the upper cycle, some of which are created
below, and some of which are even created sideways. Attached to these
worlds smaller portions of worlds are created. Pain, pleasure, and
intellectual power are created according to the status of being. This is
the world.
11. If you do not understand that there is actually no span of time,
this misunderstanding is also the independence (svatantrya) of Lord
Siva. This misunderstanding results in worldly existence (samsara). And
those who are ignorant are terrified by worldly existence.
12. & 13. When, because the grace of Lord Siva is showered upon you, or
due to the teachings or vibrating force of your Master, or through
understanding the scriptures concerned with Supreme Siva, you attain the
real knowledge of reality, that is the existent state of Lord Siva, and
that is final liberation. This fullness is achieved by elevated souls
and is called liberation in this life (jivanmukti).
14. These two cycles, bondage and liberation, are the play of Lord Siva
and nothing else. They are not separate from Lord Siva because
differentiated states have not risen at all. In reality, nothing has
happened to Lord Siva.
15. In this way the Lord, Bhairava, the essence of all being, has held
in His own way in His own nature, the three great energies: the energy
of will (iccha-sakti), the energy of action (kriya-sakti), and the
energy of knowledge (jnana-sakti). These three energies are just like
that trident which is the three-fold lotus. And seated on this lotus is
Lord Bhairava, who is the nature of the whole universe of 118 worlds.
16. I, Abhinavagupta, have written and revealed these verses for some of
my dear disciples who have very little intellectual understanding. For
those disciples, who are deeply devoted to me, I have composed these
fifteen verses just to elevate them instantaneously.
Source:
Self Realization in Kashmir Shaivism by John Hughes pp. 21-34; State
University of New York Press
master of all aspects of
http://reluctant-messenger.com/lakshmanjoo.htm
These fifteen verses provide a brief exposition, and capture the
essence, of the doctrine of Kashmir Shaivism.
_____
Fifteen (15) verses of Wisdom
1. The brilliance of the One Being's light does not vanish in external
light or in darkness because all light and darkness resides in the
supreme light of God Consciousness.
2. This Being is called Lord Siva. He is the nature and existence of all
beings. The external objective world is the expansion of His Energy and
it is filled with the glamour of the glory of God Consciousness.
3. Siva and Sakti are not aware that they are separate. They are
interconnected just as fire is one with heat.
4. He is the God Bhairava. He creates, protects, destroys, conceals, and
reveals His nature through the cycle of this world. This whole universe
is created by God in His own nature, just as one finds the reflection of
the world in a mirror.
5. The collective state of the universe is His supreme Energy (Sakti),
which He created in order to recognize His own nature. This (Sakti), who
is the embodiment of the collective state of the universe, loves
possessing the state of God Consciousness. She is in the state of
ignorance, remaining perfectly complete and full in each and every
object.
6. The supreme Lord Siva, who is all-pervasive and fond of playing and
falling, together with the Energy of His own nature simultaneously
brings about the varieties of creation and destruction.
7. This supreme action cannot be accomplished by any other power in this
universe except Lord 'Siva, who is completely independent, perfectly
glorious and intelligent.
8. The limited state of consciousness is insentient and cannot
simultaneously expand itself to become the various forms of the
universe. The possessor of independence is absolutely different from
that insentient state of consciousness. You cannot, therefore, recognize
Him in only one way. The moment you recognize Him in one way you will
also recognize Him in the other way.
9. This Lord Siva, who is completely independent (svatantra), has the
diversity of creation and destruction existing in His own nature. And,
at the same time, this diversity is found existing in its own way as the
field of ignorance.
10. In this world you will find varieties of creation and destruction,
some of which are created in the upper cycle, some of which are created
below, and some of which are even created sideways. Attached to these
worlds smaller portions of worlds are created. Pain, pleasure, and
intellectual power are created according to the status of being. This is
the world.
11. If you do not understand that there is actually no span of time,
this misunderstanding is also the independence (svatantrya) of Lord
Siva. This misunderstanding results in worldly existence (samsara). And
those who are ignorant are terrified by worldly existence.
12. & 13. When, because the grace of Lord Siva is showered upon you, or
due to the teachings or vibrating force of your Master, or through
understanding the scriptures concerned with Supreme Siva, you attain the
real knowledge of reality, that is the existent state of Lord Siva, and
that is final liberation. This fullness is achieved by elevated souls
and is called liberation in this life (jivanmukti).
14. These two cycles, bondage and liberation, are the play of Lord Siva
and nothing else. They are not separate from Lord Siva because
differentiated states have not risen at all. In reality, nothing has
happened to Lord Siva.
15. In this way the Lord, Bhairava, the essence of all being, has held
in His own way in His own nature, the three great energies: the energy
of will (iccha-sakti), the energy of action (kriya-sakti), and the
energy of knowledge (jnana-sakti). These three energies are just like
that trident which is the three-fold lotus. And seated on this lotus is
Lord Bhairava, who is the nature of the whole universe of 118 worlds.
16. I, Abhinavagupta, have written and revealed these verses for some of
my dear disciples who have very little intellectual understanding. For
those disciples, who are deeply devoted to me, I have composed these
fifteen verses just to elevate them instantaneously.
Source:
Self Realization in Kashmir Shaivism by John Hughes pp. 21-34; State
University of New York Press
Self-observation...
“Self-observation brings man to the realization of the necessity of self-change. And in observing himself a man notices that self-observation itself brings about certain changes in his inner processes. He begins to understand that self-observation is an instrument of self-change, a means of awakening.”
George Gurdjieff
George Gurdjieff
ego...
What is the ego but the Overself surrounded with barriers, conditioned by its instruments--the body, the feelings, and the intellect--and forgetful of its own nature?
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 6.....Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 6.....Paul Brunton
The Awakened State...
One of the by-products of an awakened state
is to simply view every event as an extension
of Consciousness and embrace what is--as is.
No judgment, no comparison, no opinion about
it, and no preference for how it should be.
- Satyam Nadeen
is to simply view every event as an extension
of Consciousness and embrace what is--as is.
No judgment, no comparison, no opinion about
it, and no preference for how it should be.
- Satyam Nadeen
Rise...
Are you searching for your soul?
Then come out of your prison.
Leave the stream and join the river
that flows into the ocean.
Absorbed in this world
you've made it your burden.
Rise above this world.
There is another vision...
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved"
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
Then come out of your prison.
Leave the stream and join the river
that flows into the ocean.
Absorbed in this world
you've made it your burden.
Rise above this world.
There is another vision...
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved"
Selected and translated by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Thorsons, London 1999
What is Real?...
The man who embraces the world as real,
like the man embracing a woman in his dream,
ultimately awakens to find nothing there but
himself.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
like the man embracing a woman in his dream,
ultimately awakens to find nothing there but
himself.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
A.H.Almaas - The Unfolding Now ...
When you settle into the moment, you realize that there is not much
happening—a few things here and there. The primary awareness is of the
immediacy of the moment. This is because presence being in the now—is
characterized by beingness, simply being here now. In contrast, our
familiar self is based on doing, going, making things happen. We do
not trust that action can arise and proceed from inner stillness; we
do not recognize that Being is the ground of everything. To be in the
now connects you with that quiet beingness that underlies all changes,
all activity—the simple hereness where what is most basic is not
activity but presence.
A.H.Almaas
pp 160
The Unfolding Now
happening—a few things here and there. The primary awareness is of the
immediacy of the moment. This is because presence being in the now—is
characterized by beingness, simply being here now. In contrast, our
familiar self is based on doing, going, making things happen. We do
not trust that action can arise and proceed from inner stillness; we
do not recognize that Being is the ground of everything. To be in the
now connects you with that quiet beingness that underlies all changes,
all activity—the simple hereness where what is most basic is not
activity but presence.
A.H.Almaas
pp 160
The Unfolding Now
You Are...
“You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.”....
Teilhard de Chardin
Teilhard de Chardin
First...
First, he has a vague feeling of being attracted towards the Overself.
Then he bestows more attention upon it, thinks of it frequently; at
length attention grows into concentration and this, in turn,
culminates in absorption. In the end, he can say, with al Hallaj: "I
live not in myself, only in Thee. Last night I loved. This morning I
am Love."
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 5:
Self-Development > # 329.......Paul Brunton
Then he bestows more attention upon it, thinks of it frequently; at
length attention grows into concentration and this, in turn,
culminates in absorption. In the end, he can say, with al Hallaj: "I
live not in myself, only in Thee. Last night I loved. This morning I
am Love."
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 5:
Self-Development > # 329.......Paul Brunton
Commonsense...
Commonsense too will tell you that to
fulfill a desire you must keep your mind
on it. If you want to know your true
nature, you must have yourself in mind
all the time, until the secret of your
being stands revealed.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
fulfill a desire you must keep your mind
on it. If you want to know your true
nature, you must have yourself in mind
all the time, until the secret of your
being stands revealed.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Nobility...
There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.....
- Hindu proverb
- Hindu proverb
time is Now...
If you're not 100 percent happy in the present
moment of Now, then you'll unconsciously create
reasons for you to seek happiness out of some
imaginary future where you can, hopefully,
become satisfied, sanctified or made more whole.
However, if you believe that true happiness is
just around the corner for you, you'll always be
noticing more corners.
- Chuck Hillig
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Seeds for the Soul
Chuck Hillig
Black Dot Publications, 2003
moment of Now, then you'll unconsciously create
reasons for you to seek happiness out of some
imaginary future where you can, hopefully,
become satisfied, sanctified or made more whole.
However, if you believe that true happiness is
just around the corner for you, you'll always be
noticing more corners.
- Chuck Hillig
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Seeds for the Soul
Chuck Hillig
Black Dot Publications, 2003
Wei Wu Wei quote ...
From 'Posthumous Pieces':
Wei Wu Wei ...If we clearly apperceive the difference
Between direct apprehension in Whole-mindAnd relative comprehension by reasoning
In mind divided into subject-and-object,All the apparent mysteries will disappear.
For that will be found to be the keyWhich unlocks the doors of incomprehension.
from Allspirit
Wei Wu Wei ...If we clearly apperceive the difference
Between direct apprehension in Whole-mindAnd relative comprehension by reasoning
In mind divided into subject-and-object,All the apparent mysteries will disappear.
For that will be found to be the keyWhich unlocks the doors of incomprehension.
from Allspirit
Courage...
Courage is stepping forward when everything inside of us tells us to run.. What tells us to run?, It is the sense of self called the ego.. Courage appears when we push the ego aside and do what is Right.. This pushing back on the ego is called Unselfish Love.. It is the main Teaching of Jesus and All of His fellow Mystics.. Unselfish Love is Divine Consciousness and is often called God.. Why do we seek the happiness called Love, even though it goes against that which we hold most dear, the ego?.. because, It is the only thing that is Real within this dream.. It gives us pleasure because Unselfish Love is the Energy and Presence that we call God.. Once, we understand that We in fact are this Energy also, then we come to Realize that We and the Father are One................namaste, thomas
False Desires...
"'Please explain how false desires cause distress.'
'Let's track down a typical human trait, that of vanity. Have
you ever noticed the undercurrent of pain and anxiety there is
in vanity? We worry that people won't notice or appreciate us
enough. Now, vanity feeds the false self, which has an endless
appetite. It can never get enough; it keeps us chasing fran-
tically around, seeking the food of attention and flattery.
So observe how painful it is to live with this nagging off-
spring of the false self. That is a superb start for
dismissing it from your mental household.'"
The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power, p. 70..... Vernon Howard
'Let's track down a typical human trait, that of vanity. Have
you ever noticed the undercurrent of pain and anxiety there is
in vanity? We worry that people won't notice or appreciate us
enough. Now, vanity feeds the false self, which has an endless
appetite. It can never get enough; it keeps us chasing fran-
tically around, seeking the food of attention and flattery.
So observe how painful it is to live with this nagging off-
spring of the false self. That is a superb start for
dismissing it from your mental household.'"
The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power, p. 70..... Vernon Howard
Thomas - A Gnostic Gospel ...
Thomas - A Gnostic Gospel from a Parallel Universe or Past Life
By James Bean
Copyright October, 2010 - All Rights Reserved
In 1945 this mysterious ancient text known as the Gospel of Thomas was unearthed in Egypt along with forty nine other fascinating writings from the early days of monastic Christianity in the Egyptian desert. The Book of Thomas was also used as scripture by the Valentinian sect in Egypt and elsewhere around the Roman Empire in the Second and Third Centuries, a Gnostic movement with a version of Christianity that seemed much more "Eastern", in many ways closer to Hinduism and Buddhism.
Meeting An Unembedded Messiah For the First Time
Have always been a fan of this contemplative "wisdom gospel", with its format of proverbs and parables. It contains absolutely no narrative whatsoever. It's comprised solely of one hundred and fourteen unvarnished sayings of Jesus, one after the other, and that's it. There is no commentary, no spin, no story. No more Roman centurions, scribes, pharisees, and locusts to block our view. Rather than being presented through the "lens" of others, the reader encounters a more direct, unfiltered historic Jesus. The picture goes from black and white to Hi-Def. The intention by those who compiled and circulated this collection is to encourage readers to deeply ponder each and every saying for themselves, leading them to their own personal insights and revelations, to internalise the words and be transformed by them - lectio divina.
This collection of sayings allegedly recorded by the Apostle Thomas has an definite allegiance to the Inner Circle of Hebrew Disciples or Ebionite Movement that was originally lead by the Apostle James of Jerusalem. "The disciples said to Jesus, 'We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?' Jesus said to them, 'No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.'" (Saying Twelve)
The Gospel of Thomas was missing for almost two millennia until three copies of it were almost miraculously discovered several decades ago: two sections of it written in Greek found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and a more complete edition in the Coptic language found near Nag Hammadi buried under the sands of time in a clay storage jar. This lost book has been found, and now has it's own home page on the worldwide web. The "second coming" of Thomas has occurred - it is a "resurrected" or "reincarnated" book, if you will. Practically predicting it's own rediscovery the Book of Thomas says: "Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor anything buried which will not be raised." (Saying Five)
Though nowadays associated with Egypt, these surviving pages are copies of an even earlier Greek manuscript most likely originating from Syria, which was, and remains, home-base of the "Saint Thomas Branch of Christianity", the Syriac-Aramaic Church of the East. It is said that Saint Thomas during the First Century AD headed East, eventually ending up in India, where he spent the rest of his life. That's recorded in another holy book known as the Acts of Thomas, one of several writings in the Thomas tradition: Gospel of Thomas, Thomas the Spiritual Athlete, Psalms of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Thomas, and the Apocalypse of Thomas. For more on "Sayings Gospels", type the word "Logia" into the search box at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logia
Summarising the Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas in the Context of Syriac Mysticism
The Living Master said to his initiates: "What your own eyes cannot see, your human ears do not hear, your physical hands cannot touch, and what is inconceivable to the human mind - that I will give to you!" (Saying Seventeen) "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the Hidden Things will be revealed." (Saying One Hundred Eight) The Master taught his disciples that in order to see the spiritual realm, they must "fast from the world" and enter into heavenly repose (sabbath rest) -- rise above body-consciousness, mental impressions, memories, worries, and agitations. They must set aside some time to rest spiritually, to temporarily close their physical eyes (and ears) to the outside world in order to "see the Father", the Supreme Being, with the eye of the soul. (Saying Twenty Seven)
Quite frequently mystics describe inner visions as something that spontaneously appears when they reach a certain level of interior awareness called "pure prayer", a term used for what we might call "meditation". The Egyptian mystic Evagrius wrote: "The offspring of pure prayer is swallowed up by the Spirit. From this point on, the mind is beyond prayer, and prayer has ceased from it now that it has found something even more excellent. No Longer does the mind actually pray, but there is a gaze of wonder at the Inaccessible Things which do not belong to the world of mortal beings." ("The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life") "We have come from the Light". (from Gospel of Thomas, Saying Fifty One) "For you have come from it, and you will return there again." (from Saying Forty Nine)
Becoming a Child of the Light
Many of these spiritual movements of Essenes, Gnostics, Friends of God, Ebionites, Manichaeans, etc.... have described themselves as "the Children of the Light". It was not an old scripture dating back many centuries, but a living teacher by the name of Yeshua who once taught his living students at the time that they would be able to experience "entering the Kingdom", the other dimensions of Inner Space in the present-tense by seeing Divine Light. Note: the usage of the word "Light" here is not as a metaphor for intellectually understanding teachings, but refers to a real Divine Light that is mystically seen during contemplative meditation with the eye of the soul.
"If your eye be Single, your whole body will be full of Light." (Saying preserved in Matthew 6:22) "For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with Light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness." (Yeshua, from Saying Sixty One, Gospel of Thomas) Becoming "a Single One", a spiritually whole person united with God, was the goal of the Thomas tradition of Syrian mysticism. "When you make the two into one ...... then you will enter the Kingdom." (Saying Twenty Two) The spirit, mind and body of the mystic all become united in God; its new way of being is "Singleness." The word for "Single One" or "Singleness" in the Syriac-Aramaic language is "Ihidaya", and is used to describe souls that enter into mystical oneness. ("Ihidayutha, A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient", ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies) According to this book by Sebastian Brock of Oxford, the hermits of the Syrian tradition eventually were called "the ihidaya." However, "Ihidaya" isn't merely a title, office, or a robe that one puts on, but is a matter of spiritual realisation, an interior state of being, an individual experience, a mystical level of awareness that is reached by a contemplative soul.
"There is Light within a Person of Light, and it illuminates the entire cosmos." (Saying Twenty Four, Gospel of Thomas) Kabir said, "The Light of one soul is equal to that of sixteen suns." "When the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with Light. And so a person who has such a heart is called blessed, for that person will see God." (Valentinus of Alexandria) "Faith in Christ is living, noetic Light. The Light of Jesus is noetic [spiritual] Light, and blessed is the soul which is accounted worthy to see it!." (Saint Isaac the Syrian) "The sun of consciousness within my heart keeps on shining and shining, all the time. Neither does it set nor does it rise." (Maitrey-Upanishad) "Man's soul shall become, when it leaveth the body, a great flood of Light, so as to traverse all the regions until it cometh into the Kingdom of Mystery ...... Seek, all of you, after the Light, so that the power of your soul that is in you may find Life. Do not cease seeking day or night until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you, transform you into pure Light, and guide you into the Kingdom of the Light." (Gospel of Faith-Wisdom -- Pistis Sophia)
"Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." (Saying One, Gospel of Thomas)
By James Bean
Copyright October, 2010 - All Rights Reserved
In 1945 this mysterious ancient text known as the Gospel of Thomas was unearthed in Egypt along with forty nine other fascinating writings from the early days of monastic Christianity in the Egyptian desert. The Book of Thomas was also used as scripture by the Valentinian sect in Egypt and elsewhere around the Roman Empire in the Second and Third Centuries, a Gnostic movement with a version of Christianity that seemed much more "Eastern", in many ways closer to Hinduism and Buddhism.
Meeting An Unembedded Messiah For the First Time
Have always been a fan of this contemplative "wisdom gospel", with its format of proverbs and parables. It contains absolutely no narrative whatsoever. It's comprised solely of one hundred and fourteen unvarnished sayings of Jesus, one after the other, and that's it. There is no commentary, no spin, no story. No more Roman centurions, scribes, pharisees, and locusts to block our view. Rather than being presented through the "lens" of others, the reader encounters a more direct, unfiltered historic Jesus. The picture goes from black and white to Hi-Def. The intention by those who compiled and circulated this collection is to encourage readers to deeply ponder each and every saying for themselves, leading them to their own personal insights and revelations, to internalise the words and be transformed by them - lectio divina.
This collection of sayings allegedly recorded by the Apostle Thomas has an definite allegiance to the Inner Circle of Hebrew Disciples or Ebionite Movement that was originally lead by the Apostle James of Jerusalem. "The disciples said to Jesus, 'We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?' Jesus said to them, 'No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.'" (Saying Twelve)
The Gospel of Thomas was missing for almost two millennia until three copies of it were almost miraculously discovered several decades ago: two sections of it written in Greek found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and a more complete edition in the Coptic language found near Nag Hammadi buried under the sands of time in a clay storage jar. This lost book has been found, and now has it's own home page on the worldwide web. The "second coming" of Thomas has occurred - it is a "resurrected" or "reincarnated" book, if you will. Practically predicting it's own rediscovery the Book of Thomas says: "Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor anything buried which will not be raised." (Saying Five)
Though nowadays associated with Egypt, these surviving pages are copies of an even earlier Greek manuscript most likely originating from Syria, which was, and remains, home-base of the "Saint Thomas Branch of Christianity", the Syriac-Aramaic Church of the East. It is said that Saint Thomas during the First Century AD headed East, eventually ending up in India, where he spent the rest of his life. That's recorded in another holy book known as the Acts of Thomas, one of several writings in the Thomas tradition: Gospel of Thomas, Thomas the Spiritual Athlete, Psalms of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Thomas, and the Apocalypse of Thomas. For more on "Sayings Gospels", type the word "Logia" into the search box at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logia
Summarising the Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas in the Context of Syriac Mysticism
The Living Master said to his initiates: "What your own eyes cannot see, your human ears do not hear, your physical hands cannot touch, and what is inconceivable to the human mind - that I will give to you!" (Saying Seventeen) "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the Hidden Things will be revealed." (Saying One Hundred Eight) The Master taught his disciples that in order to see the spiritual realm, they must "fast from the world" and enter into heavenly repose (sabbath rest) -- rise above body-consciousness, mental impressions, memories, worries, and agitations. They must set aside some time to rest spiritually, to temporarily close their physical eyes (and ears) to the outside world in order to "see the Father", the Supreme Being, with the eye of the soul. (Saying Twenty Seven)
Quite frequently mystics describe inner visions as something that spontaneously appears when they reach a certain level of interior awareness called "pure prayer", a term used for what we might call "meditation". The Egyptian mystic Evagrius wrote: "The offspring of pure prayer is swallowed up by the Spirit. From this point on, the mind is beyond prayer, and prayer has ceased from it now that it has found something even more excellent. No Longer does the mind actually pray, but there is a gaze of wonder at the Inaccessible Things which do not belong to the world of mortal beings." ("The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life") "We have come from the Light". (from Gospel of Thomas, Saying Fifty One) "For you have come from it, and you will return there again." (from Saying Forty Nine)
Becoming a Child of the Light
Many of these spiritual movements of Essenes, Gnostics, Friends of God, Ebionites, Manichaeans, etc.... have described themselves as "the Children of the Light". It was not an old scripture dating back many centuries, but a living teacher by the name of Yeshua who once taught his living students at the time that they would be able to experience "entering the Kingdom", the other dimensions of Inner Space in the present-tense by seeing Divine Light. Note: the usage of the word "Light" here is not as a metaphor for intellectually understanding teachings, but refers to a real Divine Light that is mystically seen during contemplative meditation with the eye of the soul.
"If your eye be Single, your whole body will be full of Light." (Saying preserved in Matthew 6:22) "For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with Light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness." (Yeshua, from Saying Sixty One, Gospel of Thomas) Becoming "a Single One", a spiritually whole person united with God, was the goal of the Thomas tradition of Syrian mysticism. "When you make the two into one ...... then you will enter the Kingdom." (Saying Twenty Two) The spirit, mind and body of the mystic all become united in God; its new way of being is "Singleness." The word for "Single One" or "Singleness" in the Syriac-Aramaic language is "Ihidaya", and is used to describe souls that enter into mystical oneness. ("Ihidayutha, A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient", ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies) According to this book by Sebastian Brock of Oxford, the hermits of the Syrian tradition eventually were called "the ihidaya." However, "Ihidaya" isn't merely a title, office, or a robe that one puts on, but is a matter of spiritual realisation, an interior state of being, an individual experience, a mystical level of awareness that is reached by a contemplative soul.
"There is Light within a Person of Light, and it illuminates the entire cosmos." (Saying Twenty Four, Gospel of Thomas) Kabir said, "The Light of one soul is equal to that of sixteen suns." "When the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with Light. And so a person who has such a heart is called blessed, for that person will see God." (Valentinus of Alexandria) "Faith in Christ is living, noetic Light. The Light of Jesus is noetic [spiritual] Light, and blessed is the soul which is accounted worthy to see it!." (Saint Isaac the Syrian) "The sun of consciousness within my heart keeps on shining and shining, all the time. Neither does it set nor does it rise." (Maitrey-Upanishad) "Man's soul shall become, when it leaveth the body, a great flood of Light, so as to traverse all the regions until it cometh into the Kingdom of Mystery ...... Seek, all of you, after the Light, so that the power of your soul that is in you may find Life. Do not cease seeking day or night until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you, transform you into pure Light, and guide you into the Kingdom of the Light." (Gospel of Faith-Wisdom -- Pistis Sophia)
"Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." (Saying One, Gospel of Thomas)
Insights and intuitions...
There are primary and secondary levels of mind and consequently primary and secondary products. The former are insights, the latter are intuitions.
Sages speak from the highest level; mystics contemplate, while genius speaks, writes, paints, and composes from the secondary levels.
Primary consciousness is exalted but calm; secondary consciousness is exalted but excited. The first does not change its settled mood, but the second falls into rapture, ecstasy, and absent-minded reverie.
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 1: What the Quest Is > # 63
Paul Brunton
Sages speak from the highest level; mystics contemplate, while genius speaks, writes, paints, and composes from the secondary levels.
Primary consciousness is exalted but calm; secondary consciousness is exalted but excited. The first does not change its settled mood, but the second falls into rapture, ecstasy, and absent-minded reverie.
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 1: What the Quest Is > # 63
Paul Brunton
The Greatest...
The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
Atisha
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
Atisha
Go Confidently...
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.
Henry David Thoreau
US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)
Henry David Thoreau
US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)
The Impossible...
“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”.......
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi
Reality Is...
Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the
ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is
no entity it will automatically vanish and reality
will shine forth by itself.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from "Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is
no entity it will automatically vanish and reality
will shine forth by itself.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from "Be As You Are"
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Contemplate the Self...
"Distracted as we are by various thoughts,
if we would continually contemplate the Self
which is itself God, this single thought would
in due course eliminate all distraction and
would itself ultimately vanish.
The pure consciousness which alone finally
remains is God. This is liberation."
--Ramana Maharshi--
if we would continually contemplate the Self
which is itself God, this single thought would
in due course eliminate all distraction and
would itself ultimately vanish.
The pure consciousness which alone finally
remains is God. This is liberation."
--Ramana Maharshi--
Demand Nothing...
When you demand nothing of the world,
nor of God, when you want nothing, seek
nothing, expect nothing then the Supreme
State will come to you uninvited and
unexpected.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
nor of God, when you want nothing, seek
nothing, expect nothing then the Supreme
State will come to you uninvited and
unexpected.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
You...
"How is it I can love You
within me,
yet see You from afar?
How is it I embrace You
within myself,
yet see you spread across the heavens?
You know. You alone.
You, who made this mystery,
You who shine
like the sun in my breast,
You who shine
in my material heart,
immaterially."
Symeon the New Theologian (949 - 1032)
English version by Ivan M. Granger
within me,
yet see You from afar?
How is it I embrace You
within myself,
yet see you spread across the heavens?
You know. You alone.
You, who made this mystery,
You who shine
like the sun in my breast,
You who shine
in my material heart,
immaterially."
Symeon the New Theologian (949 - 1032)
English version by Ivan M. Granger
Pumpkin Pie...
The Creator of the Pumpkin Pie Knows that the atoms of the Pie are pretending to
be separate from the atoms of the Maker of the Pie.. Yet, they are still the
same atoms and Spirit that comprise Both.. Would the Pie have any other purpose
than to be consumed by the Maker.. One becomes One..........namaste, thomas
be separate from the atoms of the Maker of the Pie.. Yet, they are still the
same atoms and Spirit that comprise Both.. Would the Pie have any other purpose
than to be consumed by the Maker.. One becomes One..........namaste, thomas
What is Death?...
Death is a term that we use to signify that the Spirit and Soul has left the body.. Knowing that You are Only Spirit will release You from further incarnations.. Believing that You are a separate entity called ego will admit you into the realm of souls.. this location is one of learning for your next incarnation.. Therefore, your mission in this world is to Realize that You are Spirit and not Soul.. The soul is the culmination of thoughts and longings.. You are beyond Thought, You are Presence....As Jesus said:" I and the Father are One".........namaste, thomas
The Quest...
If it be asked, "What is the nature of mystical experience?" the answer given very tersely is, "It is experience which gives to the individual a slant on the universal, like the heart's delight in the brightness of a May morning in England, or the joy of a mother in her newborn child, in the sweetness of deep friendship, in the lilt of great poetry. It is the language of the arts, which if approached only by intellectual ways yields only half its content. Whoever comes eventually to mystical experience of the reality of his own Higher Self will recognize the infinite number of ways in which nature throughout life is beckoning him. The higher mystical experience is not a sport of nature, a freak phenomenon. It is the continuation of a sequence the beginning and end of which are as vast as the beginning and end of the great cycle of life in all the worlds. No man can measure it."
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 1: What the Quest Is > # 63
Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 1: What the Quest Is > # 63
Paul Brunton
Intelligence...
"There's no intelligence in anger. There's no intelligence in
worry. There's no intelligence in being depressed. There's no
intelligence in being hostile. There's no intelligence whatever
in thinking about yourself because there's no self there to think
about."
A Treasury of Trueness, # 1137..... Vernon Howard
worry. There's no intelligence in being depressed. There's no
intelligence in being hostile. There's no intelligence whatever
in thinking about yourself because there's no self there to think
about."
A Treasury of Trueness, # 1137..... Vernon Howard
Self stands as a wall between man and God...
Self stands as a wall between man and God.
Bowl of Saki, November 1, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
God speaks to everyone, not only to the messengers and teachers. He speaks to
the ears of every heart, but it is not every heart which hears it. His voice is
louder than the thunder, and His light is clearer than the sun -- if one could
only see it, if one could only hear it. In order to see it and in order to hear
it man should remove this wall, this barrier which he has made of the self. Then
he becomes the flute upon which the divine Player may play the music of Orpheus
which can charm even the hearts of stone; then he rises from the cross into the
life everlasting.
Our limited self is like a wall separating us from the Self of God. God is as
far away from us as that wall is thick. The wisdom and justice of God are within
us, and yet they are far away under the covering of the veil of the limited
self.
Humility is the principal thing that must be learnt in the path of training the
ego. It is the constant effort of effacing the ego that prepares man for the
greater journey. This principle of humility can be practiced by forgetting one's
personality in every thought and action and in every dealing with another. No
doubt it is difficult and may not seem very practicable in everyday life, though
in the end it will prove to be the successful way, not only in one's spiritual
life but in one's everyday affairs. The general tendency is to bring one's
personality forward, which builds a wall between two souls whose destiny and
happiness lies in unity. In business, in profession, in all aspects of life it
is necessary that one should unite with the other in this unity, in which the
purpose of life is fulfilled.
Bowl of Saki, November 1, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
God speaks to everyone, not only to the messengers and teachers. He speaks to
the ears of every heart, but it is not every heart which hears it. His voice is
louder than the thunder, and His light is clearer than the sun -- if one could
only see it, if one could only hear it. In order to see it and in order to hear
it man should remove this wall, this barrier which he has made of the self. Then
he becomes the flute upon which the divine Player may play the music of Orpheus
which can charm even the hearts of stone; then he rises from the cross into the
life everlasting.
Our limited self is like a wall separating us from the Self of God. God is as
far away from us as that wall is thick. The wisdom and justice of God are within
us, and yet they are far away under the covering of the veil of the limited
self.
Humility is the principal thing that must be learnt in the path of training the
ego. It is the constant effort of effacing the ego that prepares man for the
greater journey. This principle of humility can be practiced by forgetting one's
personality in every thought and action and in every dealing with another. No
doubt it is difficult and may not seem very practicable in everyday life, though
in the end it will prove to be the successful way, not only in one's spiritual
life but in one's everyday affairs. The general tendency is to bring one's
personality forward, which builds a wall between two souls whose destiny and
happiness lies in unity. In business, in profession, in all aspects of life it
is necessary that one should unite with the other in this unity, in which the
purpose of life is fulfilled.
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