A living Presence...
“The great mystics of all religions agree that in the very depths of the unconscious, in every one of us, there is a living presence that is not touched by time, place or circumstance. Life has only one purpose, they add, and that is to discover this presence. The men and women who have done this – Francis of Assisi, for example, Mahatma Gandhi, Teresa of Avila, the Compassionate Buddha – are living proof of the words of Jesus Christ, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within.’
“But they are quick to tell us — everyone of them – that no one can enter that kingdom, and discover the Ruler who lives there, who has not brought the movement of the mind under control. And they do not pretend that our own efforts to tame the mind will suffice in themselves. Grace, they remind us, is all-important. ‘Increase in my my grace,’ Thomas a Kempis prays, ‘that I may be able to fulfill thy words, and to work out mine own salvation.’
“The hallmark of the man or woman of God is gratitude – endless, passionate gratitude for the previous gift of spiritual awareness…. it surrounds us always. Like a wind that is always blowing, said Francis de Sales; like fire, said Catherine of Genoa, that never stops burning..”
-Eknath Easwaran
RAIN...
"RAIN is a useful acronym for the four key principles of mindful transformation of difficulties.
RAIN stands for Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation, and Nonidentification.
A line from Zen poetry reminds us,
'the rain falls equally on all things.'
Like the nourishment of outer rain,
the inner principles of RAIN can be applied to all our experiences, and can transform our difficulties."
Jack Kornfield
Sentience...
The mind has no sentience.
It is only the
reflection that is arising from the Heart
sentience – from your own Self.
But because of the belief in the mind,
the
belief gives it a sense of autonomy and life,
like it exists by itself, but it doesn’t!
Rather than go into what you are watching,
look at what IS watching.
- Mooji
Awareness...
That we know this awareness exists means only that we have an idea of awareness.
We do not see that awareness as itself an object, nor can we ever do so.
If we are to know the awareness by itself,
first we would have to drop knowing its objects,
its reflections in thought,
including the ego-thought,
and then be it, not see it.
— Notebooks Category 21: Mentalism > Chapter 5: The Key To the Spiritual World > # 168
Paul Brunton
Bondage and Freedom...
"Where is bondage? Maybe the bondage is a concept.
You feel that you are bound and you are bound.
Then take another concept 'I am free' is a concept to overthrow the previous concept that 'I am bound.'
Having done away with the previous concept of bondage, this one also falls away."
"What's left? Emptiness!
Freedom doesn't mean you have to win something.
When you shun all notions and all ideations, you need not do anything, as freedom is not a notion.
It is the birthright of every human being. This blessed incarnation is the final incarnation, if you desire freedom."
"Otherwise, another round is waiting.
Why another round? Because this is all imagination, and imagination is never-ending.
A child sees a ghost in a room, and for the child, it is a ghost. The child is very afraid, but in truth, the ghost never existed."
--
Poonja
Ego and Love...
We speak of opposites in this world of Duality..
Ego is the prisoner pretending to be You..
Love is the Self not hiding..
The Mind tells You that it is master..
Love answers; "there is no master, there is only Truth"..
A master requires ego,
Truth only requires Consciousness..
In the end of seeking,
The seeker dissolves into Love..
Love is without ego and is called Freedom...
namaste, thomas
seeking Love...
“Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
― Rumi
Love...
Love is from the infinite,
and will remain until eternity.
The seeker of love escapes the chains of birth and death.
Tomorrow, when resurrection comes,
The heart that is not in love will fail the test.
From Thief of Sleep
by Shahram Shiva
Ram Tzu Speaks...
Ram Tzu knows this;
The fear never leaves you.
It is part of you
As tied to your center as your breath.
Touch it,
Stroke it
Get to know it well.
As long as you are
It will be with you.
You scream
You shout
You rage
You want quit of it.
You push it away with all your strength.
But hear this;
It thrives on all this exercise
You give it.
It gets stronger when
You give it something to push against.
Left alone it will wither and die.
But you know you can not leave it alone.
You must always fight the fear.
It is your nature to always fight.
Yet sometimes there is Grace..
You disappear into it
And there is no longer a battle.
The warrior is gone.
- Ram Tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
No Way for the Spiritually "Advanced"
Ram Tzu
Advaita Press, 1990
the root of pain...
What is the root of pain?
Ignorance of
yourself.
What is the root of desire?
The urge to find yourself.
All creation
toils for its self and will not rest until
it returns to it.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Francis Bennett quotes...
The only thing covering over the clear, light, peaceful, joyous presence that you have always been, is the constant activity of "your mind". You think that you ARE that "mind" and so you are distracted from who you really are.....radiant presence here and now! But in reality, there is no entity called"mind". What you think of as your mind, is simply a bunch of thoughts. There is no such thing as "a mind" at all! There is a function of thinking that constantly comes and goes, but you are not that function. You don't need to identify with a function. That is where all the trouble begins! If you "liberate" all thoughts as they arise, if you simply let them come and go in the clear, bright sky of awareness and don't make them into an entity of some kind. You will be free of the pesky ego you are trying so hard to get rid of. Your belief in the existence of an ego-entity is exactly the same as your belief in a mind-entity.
Ego = Mind...........They are the same illusion!
Often, we think of awakening and "enlightenment" as a very complicated, very esoteric or exotic experience that only happens to very special people who go off to India and sit in a cave for 13 yrs or so! But one simple way of describing enlightenment would be to simply say it is the realization that "past" and "future" are completely in our heads and NEVER in our own direct, most obvious experience. All we ever directly experience is NOW. We create past and future as a purely conceptual "reality" and then take them to be true reality. They are not. The only real reality you ever have...is NOW! It has always been so. It has ALWAYS been NOW! Obviously, if past and future are illusory, the "self" you have also created in your head is no more real! To exist, this "self" is entirely dependent on past and future. So, it doesn't really exist as anything more than a concept either.
Who you REALLY are always, in your own most simple, direct experience, is simple, open awareness right here and now. You have always been that, you never were NOT that awareness. How could you NOT be that!? On a certain level, this is already as plain to you as the nose on your face! The realization of this simple truth is enlightenment "in a nutshell"!! NOT esoteric, not complicated, not inaccessible but rather, who you always have been!
Western Mysticism...
Who's Who in the History of Western Mysticism
by Professor Bruce B. Janz
INTRODUCTION
This page only covers Western mysticism to about 1700. This does not imply any value judgment about mysticism in other cultures, or after 1700. The page was originally constructed for a course called "Philosophy of Western Mysticism" and reflects the research focus of the page's original author.
The people and movements on this list are arranged chronologically, rather than alphabetically. It is by no means complete in reflecting mystical figures or texts in the West -- there are literally hundreds of these. I have simply included writers and texts that seem to me to reflect the high points of mystical writing. They do not represent a single tradition of mysticism.
This list is intended only to mention the major figures. A good source should be consulted for more extensive biographies and discussions. Where to start? Check out the "Biographies" section at the end.
The biography I give for each of these is intended only to identify the person. For a complete life, see the biography sources listed below. If "influences" are mentioned, they are only to try to identify major precursors to a particular person's mystical thought. I have also included a section in which useful terms, important trends, and influential movements are briefly outlined.
This document has been prepared by Bruce B. Janz of the University of Central Florida for the free use of scholars and students of mysticism. If this document is reproduced in whole or in part, it must include this note to indicate the original author. If there are any suggestions for additions, please contact the author. This version was edited and linked to web sites by Gene R. Thursby, with permission from Bruce Janz who retains the rights of authorship. You will find some additional information relevant to the study of mysticism at the Mysticism Resources Page.
PRE-CHRISTIAN MYSTICS AND INFLUENCES ON MYSTICISM
Pythagoras (c.580/570-c.500 B.C.E.): A Presocratic philosopher. Founder of a major school of philosophy/religion that emphasized the mystical interconnections in numbers, nature, and the human soul. The natural and the ethical world were inseparable.
Parmenides (c.515-c.450 B.C.E.): On Nature, extant in fragments. Another of the Presocratics. Extends Pythagoras by insisting that all that exists is unchanging and unified. Therefore, if something is changing, it is illusory. This paves the way for the two-world view important for much mysticism. Influences: Pythagoras.
Plato (428-348 B.C.E.): Sophist, Republic, Parmenides, many others. Most important of ancient philosophers. His philosophical system provides the basis of most later mystical forms. Influences: Pythagoras, Parmenides.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.): Metaphysics, De Anima, Nicomachean Ethics. While Aristotle himself is not really considered to be a mystic, he is an important influence on later mystics, especially when combined with Plato by Plotinus, and also when Christianized in the high Middle Ages.
Philo (c.20 B.C.E.-c.41 C.E.): The Contemplative Life. An Alexandrian Jew who drew from Platonist tradition, Stoicism, and neo-Pythagoreanism to create a fusion of the active or virtuous life and the contemplative life.
Plotinus (c.205-270 C.E.): Enneads. The non-Christian, neo-Platonic basis for much Christian, Jewish, and Islamic mysticism. Influences: Plato, Aristotle.
Porphyry (c.232-304 C.E.): Isagoge. Compiled Plotinus' Enneads, and wrote a life of Plotinus. He was strongly anti-Christian, yet he became important in the history of Christian mysticism.
Proclus or Proclusthe Lycian (412-485 C.E.): The Elements of Theology. Athenian Neo-platonist, who influenced Pseudo-Dionysius, and beyond him most of the mystical tradition. While respecting Plotinus, Proclus also amended his philosophical structure.
CHRISTIAN MYSTICS AND MOVEMENTS
(1) Early Church
Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-c.107): Christocentric mystic. For him Christ's death and resurrection take on mystical significance.
St. Polycarp (c.69-c.155): Had a mystical vision which foretold his martyrdom by fire.
Justin Martyr (c.105-c.165): First Apology. Used Greek philosophy as the stepping-stone to Christian theology. The mystical conclusions that some Greeks arrived at, pointed to Christ. Influences: Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus, Aristotle, Stoicism.
Irenaeus (c.125-c.202): Revolution and Overthrow of False Knowledge (or Against Heresies). Irenaeus' work was directed against Gnosticism. He emphasized John's gospel, particularly the Logos, which became the voice of God that revealed itself to all people.
Tertullian (c.155-c.222): To Martyrs, Apology, Against the Valentinians, Against Marcion, On the Soul. Emphasized a faith that was a contradiction to reason. "I believe because it is absurd." First to use trinitarian (three-in-one) formulation for God.
Origen (c.185-254): On Principles, Against Celsus. Studied under Clement of Alexandria, and probably also Ammonius Saccus (Plotinus' teacher). He Christianized and theologized neo-Platonism. Each soul has individually fallen (emanation), and must find its way back to God (return) through the help of the Logos, Christ. Origen looks quite Gnostic at times.
St. Antony (c.251-356): The Letters of St. Antony the Great. Early hermit or solitary monk, and a model for later monasticism, particularly of his eremetical type.
St. Athanasius (c.296-373): Against the Gentiles, Apology Against the Arians. Bishop of Alexandria (328-73), wrote a Life of Antony, and was an influence on later Eastern Orthodox mysticism.
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389): Forty-five Sermons. One of the Cappadocians, early church fathers.
Basil the Great (c.330-379): Longer Rules, Liturgy of St. Basil. One of the Cappadocians, early church fathers. He gave a mystical orientation to the monastic movement.
Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-c.398): Dialogue with his Sister Macrina concerning the Resurrection. Believed that the universe existed as a harmonious order emanating from God. One of the Cappadocians.
Augustine (354-430): De Trinitate, Confessions. Important source for much mediaeval mysticism. Brings Platonism and Christianity together. He emphasizes the soul's search for God, made possible by the illumination of the mind of God. Influences: Plato, Plotinus.
(2) Mediaeval (Catholic and Orthodox) Church
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (writing c.500): The Celestial Hierarchy, the Mystical Theology, and The Divine Names. Originates the distinction between kataphatic and apophatic theology. Influences: Plotinus.
John Scotus Eriugena (c.810-c.877): Periphyseon. Eriugena translated Pseudo-Dionysius from Greek into Latin. He holds that humans are a microcosm of the universe. That which is shared, the essence of all things, is God. Influences: Plotinus, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius.
Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153): Sermons, De diligendo Deo, On the Love of God. Cistercian mystic. Promoted a mystical vision of rhapsodic love, in which the Church is described in erotic terms as the bride of Christ. His love-mysticism had the tendency to be anti-intellectual, as in his disputes with Abelard.
William of St.-Thierry (c.1085-1148): Golden Letter, On the Contemplation of God, On the Nature and Dignity of Love. A Cistercian contemporary of Bernard's, William also emphasized love-mysticism, but with subtle differences from Bernard in his use of Augustine.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179): Scivias, The Book of Divine Works, Letters. Early German speculative mystic, reminiscent of Isaiah or Ezekiel at times. She was greatly respected in her time, both for her writings as well as for her music and art. Influences: Augustine, Bernard of Clairvaux.
Victorines: Hugh of St. Victor (c.1096-c.1142), Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173): On Sacraments. Hugh is the more important of the two. He argues for a close tie between reason and mysticism.
Francis of Assisi (John Bernardone) (1182-1226): Canticle of the Sun. Founder of the Franciscan order, which emphasized self-renunciation and poverty. Francis approaches nature mysticism at times, particularly when he sees God in all living things.
Albertus Magnus (1206-1280): The teacher of Thomas Aquinas. In the tradition of Pythagoras, emphasized the essential unity of science and mysticism. Influences: Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius.
Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268): The Seven modes of Sacred Love. Belgian Cistercian mystic. Associated with the Beguines. Influences: Augustine.
Mechthild of Magdeburg (1207-1282): The Flowing Light of the Godhead. Strongly feminine images in mysticism. Devotional mystic. Associated with the Beguines. Influences: Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard, Gregory the Great.
Bonaventure (John Fidanza) (1217-1274): The Mind's Road to God, The Tree of Life, The Life of St. Francis. Franciscan monk, and the architect of the philosophical, theological, and mystical side of Francis' thought. Mysticism in the Augustinian tradition. Influences: Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, Victorines.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1275): Summa Theologica, De Anima, many others. Dominican monk and the greatest Catholic theologian and philosopher. Late in life, he had a mystical experience which caused him to question his scholastic past. Influences: Aristotle, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Eriugena.
Ramon Llull (c.1235-1315): Great Art, The Book of the Lover and the Beloved. Franciscan. Legend has it that Llull wrote 200 works, was an alchemist and a magician. He also worked on the logic of science. The "Great Art" is the scientific and mystical calculation of the interrelations of all things. Influences: Bonaventure.
Angela of Foligno (c.1248-1309): The Book of Divine Consolations of the Blessed Angela of Foligno. Mysticism is based on the facts of Christ's life and death. Influences: Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure.
Marguerite Porete (d. 1310): The Mirror of Simple Souls.
Meister Eckhart (1260-1327/8): Sermons, Parisian Questions and Prologues. [Some English-language selections from his writings are available.] Dominican monk. One of the most important early German speculative mystics. Eckhart is the first of the so-called "Rhineland" mystics. The Sermons were in German, the academic works in Latin. Influences: Pseudo-Dionysius.
Hadewijch (Adelwip) of Brabant/Antwerp (13th century): Letters, Poems in Stanzas, Visions, Poems in Couplets. Belgian Beguine. One of the greatest exponents of love mysticism. Influences: Plato, Plotinus, Pseudo-Dionysius, Gregory of Nyssa, Richard of St. Victor.
Jan van Ruysbroeck (1293-1381): The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage (Spiritual Espousals), The Sparkling Stone, The Book of Supreme Truth. Flemish mystic, sometimes considered one of the Rhineland mystics. Outlines the stages of the mystical life. Influences: Eckhart, Hadewijch.
Henry Suso (1295-1366): The Little Book of Truth, The Little Book of Wisdom (Horologium Sapientiae). A Rhineland mystic. Influences: Eckhart.
Gregory Palamas (1296-1359): Eastern Orthodox mystic. Influences: Pseudo-Dionysius, Athanasius.
Johannes Tauler (1300-1361): Sermons. Rhineland mystic and Dominican. Tauler emphasized the inner person rather than outer works, and because of this became popular in Protestant circles in the Reformation, and later Pietism and Romanticism. He was part of the same community that produced the Theologia Germanica. Influences: Eckhart, Mechthild of Magdeburg.
Anonymous (c.1350-1400): Theologia Germanica or Theologia Deutsch. Important influence in the German mystical tradition. Luther rediscovered and popularized it. Influences: Augustine, Eckhart, Tauler.
Richard Rolle (1300-1349): The Fire of Love. Part of the "English school" of late mediaeval mysticism. Emphasizes the "physicality" of the mystical experience (feeling heat, seeing colours, etc.).
Birgitta (Brigida) Suecica of Sweden (1302-1373): Ascetic mystic. Heavily involved in political activity. Influences: St. Francis of Assisi.
Anonymous (c.1349-c.1395): The Cloud of Unknowing, [as modernized, see also early text] The Book of Privy Council. Part of the "English school" of late mediaeval mysticism. The emphasis on "unknowing" God is part of Pseudo-Dionysius' apophatic theology. Influences: Pseudo-Dionysius.
Walter Hilton (d. 1395): The Scale (Ladder) of Perfection, Epistle to a Devout Man. An Augustinian monk, Hilton was an English mystic.
Julian of Norwich (1342-1413?): Showings or Revelations of Divine Love. Julian was part of the "English school" of late mediaeval mysticism. Mystical experience that came at the point of death. The experience came with healing, and she devoted her life to understanding her vision. Influences: Pseudo-Dionysius, Aquinas (?).
Margery Kempe (c.1413): Mainly known as the biographer of Julian of Norwich.
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380): Il Dialogo. Italian. Mystic; advisor to Pope Gregory XI. Influences: Augustine.
Thomas à Kempis (c.1380-1471): The Imitation of Christ. Augustinian monk. Finest expression of devotio moderna, modern spirituality, which downplays the Rhineland mystics' concern with contemplation and speculative theology, and stresses the practice of simple piety and asceticism. Influences: Eckhart.
Nicolaus of Cusa (Cusanus, Nikolaus Krebs) (1401-1464): The Vision of God (1453), De Docta Ignorantia. German mystic. Part of the revival of Platonism in the Renaissance. Cusanus was a speculative mystic who emphasized the incomprehensibility and paradoxicality of God. Influences: Plotinus, Pseudo-Dionysius, Eckhart.
St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510): Life and Doctrines, Treatise on Purgatory. Mysticism spurred in part by the abuse and neglect by her husband. Her trauma becomes mystical as she argues that purgatory is a stage on the mystical path, the final purification of the effects of self-love.
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582): Life, by Herself; The Way of Perfection; The Interior Castle. Spanish Carmelite nun. Formed the Discalced (Barefoot) Carmelites, with St. John of the Cross. Is very important for describing the stages of the mystical journey. Influences: Augustine.
St. John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes) (1542-1591): Dark Night of the Soul and Ascent of Mt. Carmel. Spanish mystic. (Discalced Carmelite) Both John and Teresa emphasize mysticism as union with God, attainable only in the denial of the self. Influences: Teresa of Avila.
Giordano Bruno (1548-1600): Hermetic philosopher, one of the most important philosophers of the Renaissance. Bruno advocated a kind of nature mysticism which had a strong scientific component to it.
St. Francois de Sales (1567-1622): The Introduction to the Devout Life (Philothea), Treatise on the Love of God. French mystic. Devout Life is a classic of French spirituality.
Louis Claude de Saint Martin (1743-1803): Theosophic Correspondence. While technically Catholic, St. Martin's mysticism follows much closer in the tradition of Boehme and other nature mystics. Influences: Boehme, Swedenborg, Weigel, Law.
(3) Non-Catholic Christian Mystics (16th-18th century)
Martin Luther (1483-1546): While Luther had a well-known antipathy to mystics, it is also true that there is the foundation of mystical life in his theology of the heart, particularly in his early thought. Influences: Augustine, Theologica Germanica.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486-1535): De Occulta Philosophia (1533). It is not clear whether to call Agrippa Catholic or not. He did not embrace the Reformation, yet many of his themes are much closer to Weigel and Boehme than to any Catholic mystic. His was a speculative mysticism, as much interested in magic and alchemy as in spiritual life.
Paracelsus (Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) (1493-1541): Another speculative mystic more interested in medical alchemy, astronomy, and natural philosophy.
Valentin Weigel (1533-1588): Know Thyself (1572). Weigel begins in the tradition of Rhineland mysticism, and moves to the speculative nature mysticism of Paracelsus. Influences: Eckhart, Tauler, Theologica Germanica, Paracelsus.
Jacob Boehme (1575-1624): Aurora (1612) [in German], Mysterium Pansophicum (1620), Signature Rerum (1622), Mysterium Magnum (1623). Lusatian Lutheran. A major figure in German mysticism. Influences: Eckhart, the Jewish Kabbalah, Valentin Weigel, Renaissance alchemy, Paracelsus.
Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (1636-1689): Kabbala Denudata: The Kabbalah Uncovered. A Christian Kabbalist. Influenced by the Kabbalah, Jacob Boehme.
Angelus Silesius (Johannes Scheffler 1624-1677): The Cherubic Wanderer [Hungarian version] (1657-on). Mysticism in epigrammatic couplets.
George Fox (1624-1691): Founder of the Quakers. Influences: Boehme.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716): Monadology. Usually thought of as a rationalist philosopher rather than a mystic. However, while it may be too much to call him a mystic, it is certainly possible to see the affinities between his thought and that of Cusanus, Weigel, Boehme, and other nature mystics. His most important contribution is to blend inner life with rationality; most Pietists (and most scientists) assumed them to be mutually exclusive.
William Law (1686-1761): The Spirit of Love (1752-1754). English mystic. Law is most famous for his devotional works (like A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life), but later in his life he became interested in Jacob Boehme, and wrote several mystical treatises.
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772): Many works, including Arcana Coelestia, Heaven and Hell, The Heavenly City, Divine Love and Wisdom, etc. Swedenborg worked out a detailed understanding of nature mysticism, applying it to everything from the animal world to the spiritual world. He is one of the few mystics to have an active following to the present.
Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702-1782): Nature mystic, Pietist. Influences: Boehme, Weigel, Swedenborg.
Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803): Another person who is often not counted as a mystic, but who followed Leibnitz in attempting to blend science and mysticism into a kind of vitalism. Influences: Cusanus, Boehme, Leibnitz.
NOTE: After the 18th century, the influence of mysticism explodes in the Romanticism of Germany, England, and America. True mystics, however, remain few.
JEWISH MYSTICS AND MYSTICISM
Kabbalah [See also links maintained by Colin Low.]
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (1240-1291): One of the founders of the Spanish Kabbalah.
Moses ben Shem Tob de Leon (1250-1305): Zohar (The Book of Splendor). The most important writer of the most important Kabbalist document.
Moses Cordovero (1522-1570): Pardes Rimmonim, Elimah Rabbati, Palmtree of Deborah. Spanish Kabbalist. Cordovero laid the groundwork for the Kabbalist ethical literature that proliferated in the 16th-18th centuries.
Isaac Luria (1534-1572): Founder of the Lurianic Kabbalah, which is the modern version. Most modern Kabbalists follow Luria's version.
Hasidism
Israel ben Eliezer, Ba'al Shem Tov (Besht) (1700-1760): Founder of the Hasidim, the sect appearing during the final stages of the Kabbalah's development.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in the Ukraine (1772-1810): Martin Buber, the author of I and Thou (Ich und Du), calls him the last Jewish mystic.
ISLAMIC MYSTICS AND MYSTICISM
Sufism has sources in sacred texts, the remembrance of Allah, and respect for those who exemplify the straight path of Islam through and beyond explicit injunctions of the law.
Hasan of Basra (d. 728): Early advocate of ascetic piety. Hasan emphasized the Koran or Qur'an as the standard of right and wrong, which in turn emphasized the fear of God.
al Hallaj (d. 922): The Ta wa-sin Tried and executed for claiming that God had come to dwell in him.
al Farabi (ca. 873-950): Important philosopher as well as a mystic. Influences: Plotinus.
al Ghazali (d. 1111): First-rate Aristotelean philosopher, who extended Aristotle's theory of perception to argue for a kind of mystical perception that goes beyond reason. Influences: Aristotle.
ADDENDUM: TERMS, TRENDS, AND MOVEMENTS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT
Alchemy: Alchemy, as often as not, assumes a Hermetic world view. Most people know alchemy as the search for the principle of transmutation of baser metals into higher (e.g., lead into gold). It is really broader, and represents the attempt to understand the connections in the world. Paracelsus practiced a medical alchemy, in which the body was a collection of balancing principles, and illness meant that the balance was off. If you take away the spiritual assumptions behind the alchemical forces, you have something remarkably close to Newtonian physics.
Beghards: male counterparts to the Beguines. Fewer, and less of an issue for the church at the time.
Beguines: group of female contemplatives, some of whom were mystics. They were condemned as heretics because they represented a challenge to the church's authority. Many important female mystics were associated with the Beguines, although the group was not necessarily mystical (some thought that mystical visions got in the way of practical life).
Gnosticism: Derived from Greek gnosis, knowledge. The Gnostic is one who claims esoteric knowledge about God and the metaphysical structure of the universe. There is a strong distinction between spirit and matter, God and the world. This position sometimes resulted in asceticism (the spirit must be liberated from the bonds of the flesh), and sometimes antinomianism (the material world is inconsequential, so there is no point in resisting carnal impulses). Some later mysticism (e.g. quietism) has the world-denying aspects of gnosticism.
Hermeticism: Followers of the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus, or thrice-great Hermes, reputed to be an Egyptian writer. Much nature mysticism of the Renaissance found hermetic thought useful, because both understood the world to be intrinsically interconnected, and only understandable once those connections were understood. Hermes mixed with Pseudo-Dionysius was common fare in Renaissance Italy, until Isaac Casaubon showed that Hermes was not who he said he was.
Kabbalah: Jewish mysticism that has its roots earlier than Christianity, but which flourishes in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Kabbalah struggles with the problem of how the human person can relate to a God who is totally other, and how that God relates to creation.
Monasticism: Although the tendency to live apart for spiritual devotion has a long history, it is closely tied to mysticism in the Middle Ages. The disciplines associated with mysticism have their most rigorous application there. The most famous orders are the Franciscans (St. Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure), the Dominicans (Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart), the Carmelites (Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross), the Benedictines (St. Benedict), and the Jesuits (St. Ignatius of Loyola). The orders exist to this day, and continue to be places that encourage mysticism and contemplation (Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk, for instance).
Rhineland Mysticism: The Rhineland mystics were German mystics that follow the influence of Meister Eckhart. They tend to emphasize the search for the inner ground of the soul.
Sufism: The mystical bent in Islam is supported by passages from the Koran (or Qur'an) and is represented by the Sufis. Because there is a dominant emphasis on prophetic activism and legalism in Islam, Muslim tradition may be misunderstood as entirely inhospitable to mysticism. But the Sufi way, mainly transmitted through "lay orders" that trace their origin to some influential spiritual teacher, preserve a distinctively Islamic mysticism. Among these Sufi subtraditions are the Naqshbandi and the Nimatullahi, but there are several others. A few modern organizations (such as the International Sufi Movement led by Hidayat Inayat Khan) claim descent from traditional Sufis but do not require their followers to be Muslims. And recently the great Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi has been rediscovered as a source of inspiration by poets Robert Bly and Coleman Barks. However, most practicing Sufis affirm that they are Muslims.
IMPORTANT SECONDARY SOURCES
The secondary sources in mysticism are quite varied. Sometimes whole works are devoted to the subject; sometimes chapters of quite unexpected works will be on mysticism. More general reflections on mysticism can be found as introductions or appendices to works on particular mystics or chapters in philosophies or psychologies of religion. And, many works on mysticism that seem to be reflections on the nature of mysticism turn out to be anthologies of writings of various mystics. Compounding the problem is the fact that the word "mysticism" has been used for all sorts of experiences, philosophical positions, personality types, writings, or whatever. Where to go?
Well, here are my favorites. Of course, this is highly selective, not to mention somewhat idiosyncratic. I will start with the good general bibliographies first -- consulting these will lead you to other things. You will have to find bibliographies for individual mystics yourself (come see me on this; I might be able to help). In the "General Secondary Sources" section, I have not included several fine works that reflect on mysticism in general from the point of view of a particular mystic (except for von Huegel's work, that is). Most of these you can find by looking for the particular mystic.
(1) Bibliographies
Bowman, Mary Ann. Western mysticism: A guide to the basic works. Chicago: American Library Association, 1978. ~~ A very good work, to 1978. It is well organized, and has a good index. It is better than Sharma & Arndt, although both are quite old.
CD-ROM Indices -- Modern Languages Association (MLA) Index, Philosopher's Index, PsychLit Index, Religion Index. ~~ All of these will produce more references than you can use, if you look either under "mysticism" or under a particular mystic's name, or under the name of a movement (e.g. "Beguine"). These indices have the virtue of also giving you abstracts. . . .
Jones, C., Wainwright, G., Yarnold, E., eds. The study of spirituality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. ~~ Each entry comes with a short bibliography. This is a good place to start if you want information on a particular individual.
McGinn, Bernard. The foundations of mysticism. New York: Crossroad Press, 1991. ~~ McGinn has a great bibliography in the back of this book. More on McGinn later.
Sharma, Umesh and Arndt, John. Mysticism: A select bibliography. Waterloo, Ont.: Waterloo Lutheran University, 1973. ~~ This bibliography goes well beyond Western mysticism. At over 1500 entries, it is quite good (although of course, still selective, given the immense amount of material they could have included). There are only two real drawbacks: it is hard to find . . . , and it is over 20 years old (a lot has happened in theory of mysticism since 1973). While the entries are not organized under headings, there is an index at the back. A good resource.
Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism, 12th edition. New York: Meridian Books, 1955. ~~ Underhill lists texts, translations, and studies for many different mystics, quite a number not included in my list.
(2) Biographies
Encyclopedia of philosophy, Macmillan and Free Press, 1967. ~~ It will not have all the mystics listed above, but only those that are clearly philosophically significant. However, what it does have is well done.
Ferguson, John. An illustrated encyclopedia of mysticism and the mystery religions. New York: Seabury Press, 1977. ~~ Although sometimes a bit sloppy about its characterizations (I think it buys into the hype a bit too much), this is a good quick reference for people, movements, and ideas.
Jones, C., Wainwright, G., Yarnold, E., eds. The study of spirituality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. ~~ A good resource on the history of spirituality, with dozens of entries by major writers on important people, movements, and concepts.
Reese, W. L., Dictionary of philosophy and religion. Humanities Press, 1980. ~~ Very brief entries on virtually all the people mentioned here.
(3) General Secondary Sources
Almond, Philip. Mystical experience and religious doctrine: An investigation of the study of mysticism in world religions. Berlin and New York: Mouton, 1982. ~~ Almond focusses on the interpretation of mystical experience, and does a good critique of different thinkers.
Bynum, Caroline Walker. Jesus as mother. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. ~~ A classic on mysticism and women in the High Middle Ages.
Carmody, Denise L. & John T. Carmody. Mysticism: Holiness east and west. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. ~~ A breezy overview of mysticism around the world. As with most works of this sort, the further the term mysticism is extended, the harder it is to maintain the commonalities. Still, not a bad introduction.
Certeau, Michel de. The mystic fable. Volume 1: The 16th and 17th Centuries. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992. ~~ de Certeau is chiefly known for his work in post-modern and post-colonial circles, mainly on embodiment. This is one of his final works, and is an excellent rethinking of early modern mysticism as the "attempt to represent the unrepresentable."
Ellwood, Robert. Mysticism and religion. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1980. ~~ Long used as a basic introduction to mysticism in religion departments. Also available in a slightly revised second edition ~ New York: Seven Bridges Press, 1998.
Evans, Donald. Spirituality and human nature. Albany, New York: SUNY Press, 1992. ~~ A philosopher/mystic teaching at the University of Toronto gives a defense of the rationality and respectability of mystical experience.
Forman, Robert K. C., ed. The problem of pure consciousness: Mysticism and philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. ~~ A good compilation of essays on the debate between perennialists and constructivists, as Forman calls them, or those who regard mystical experience as pure, and those that argue that it is mediated through language, tradition, culture, religion, and other factors.
Happold, F. C. Mysticism: A study and an anthology. London, England: Penguin, 1963. ~~ One of the first attempts to place mysticism in the modern world.
Horne, James. Beyond mysticism (1978). The moral mystic (1983). Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ~~ Both these books deserve more attention than they receive. Horne identifies and tackles several issues in philosophy and mysticism.
Huegel, F. von. The mystical element of religion. 2 vols., London: Dent, 1908; New York: Dutton, 1923. ~~ The grand-daddy of modern scholarship on mysticism. Working from the writings of Catherine of Genoa, Huegel concludes that the mystical or experiential element is an essential component of true religion.
Idel, Moshe. Kabbalah: New perspectives. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988. ~~ The best recent discussion of the Kabbalah.
Idel, Moshe & Bernard McGinn, eds. Mystical union and monotheistic faith: An ecumenical dialogue. New York: MacMillan, 1989. ~~ An investigation of the unio mystica in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ~ Reprinted as Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam : An Ecumenical Dialogue. New York: Continuum, 1996.
James, William. The varieties of religious experience. New York: Mentor Books, 1958. ~~ One of the first Gifford Lectures ever given (1901-1902), James' book has a long section in which he gives examples of mystical experience and outlines a rudimentary phenomenology of mysticism. This is the starting point for many later writers. His (1897) essay "The will to believe" raises questions that complement rather than contribute directly to the study of mysticism.
Jones, Richard. Mysticism examined. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1993. ~~ A collection of Jones' essays from the previous 15 years, he takes an analytic philosophical approach to the questions of mysticism.
Katz, Steven, ed. Mysticism and philosophical analysis (1978). London and New York: Oxford University Press.
___________, ed. Mysticism and religious traditions (1983). London and New York: Oxford University Press.
___________, ed. Mysticism and language (1992). London and New York: Oxford University Press.
All these volumes have important essays in them, not the least of which is Katz' own "Language, Epistemology, and Mysticism" in the first book. That essay set the stage for a debate over the nature of mystical experience that continues today.
Louth, Andrew. The origins of the Christian mystical tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. ~~ Just about anything Louth writes is worth reading (he also did a very good introduction to Pseudo-Dionysius, called Denis the Areopagite, and several essays on patristic-age mystics); this was the best on this topic before McGinn's work.
McGinn, Bernard. The foundations of mysticism. New York: Crossroad Press, 1991. ~~ The first of a promised 4-volume series on the history and theory of mysticism, this is a spectacular beginning. It is wide-ranging, sympathetic to mysticism without being blind to its problems, very well researched, and easy to read. Besides that, it gives intelligent critiques of many other recent writers on mysticism. It is already orders of magnitude better than anything else out there. (Do I sound enthusiastic?). Volume II, The growth of mysticism, continues the strong tradition of scholarship. It covers the period from Gregory the Great to the 12th century.
Otto, Rudolf. The idea of the holy. London: Oxford University Press, 1958. ~~ As the subtitle says, "an inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine and its relation to the rational." Technically not mysticism, but Otto (1869-1937) has major implications for mysticism. His later book, Mysticism east and west, which may from the title seem more relevant to a discussion of mysticism, is a seriously flawed attempt to compare Meister Eckhart and Acharya Sankara.
Scholem, Gershom. Major trends in Jewish mysticism. New York: Schocken Books, 1961. (First published in 1941.) ~~ Scholem is the most famous modern interpreter of Jewish mysticism. This provides a good, if somewhat breezy overview.
Scholem, Gershom. Kabbalah. New York: Dorset Books, 1974. ~~ Much more indepth on this important type of Jewish mysticism, although Idel's book is more scholarly.
Staal, Frits. Exploring mysticism. London, England: Penguin, 1975. ~~ Staal argues that mystical experience can be studied in the same way that we would study any other object of scientific investigation, as long as there is some way of inducing actual mystical states in the researcher.
Stace, W. T. Mysticism and philosophy. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott, 1960. ~~ Stace makes some classic distinctions here that have become part of the language of theory of mysticism.
Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism, 12th edition. New York: Meridian Books, 1955. ~~ First published in 1910, Underhill tries to consider mysticism from both the outside and the inside. This is an old classic, and worth consulting, even though later works fulfill this project better.
Underhill, Evelyn. Practical mysticism. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1915. ~~ Despite the odd title, this is a good introduction to the life and practice of mysticism. Underhill intends this as a kind of primer to the mystical life.
Weeks, Andrew. German mysticism. Albany, New York: SUNY Press, 1993. ~~ After work on Jacob Boehme, Weeks provides solid treatment of mysticism through about 800 years of German history. Weeks is an historian, and as such contextualizes mysticism in the political, social, and intellectual worlds very well.
Woods, Richard, ed. Understanding mysticism. New York: Image Books, 1980. ~~ A very good collection of essays on mysticism, from a variety of points of view and disciplinary commitments.
Zaehner, R. C. Mysticism: Sacred and profane. London: Oxford, 1961. ~~ Zaehner argues for a difference between theistic and monistic (nature) mysticism, the latter of which is induced by (among other things) drugs.
"Who's Who" text © 1997-2009 by Bruce B. Janz
Complexity...
There is nothing as simple as the number one..
the ego loves complexity,
it can keep Realization lost within argument..
division and duality consume the words of complexity,
and the ego laughs in delight..
namaste, thomas
Zen...
That the self advances and confirms the ten thousand things
is called delusion;
That the ten thousand things advance and confirm the self
is called enlightenment.
- Zen Master Dogen Zenji, 1200 - 1253
Moon in a Dewdrop
Translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi
Universal Presence...
The mind cannot know the Self as the mind is not conscious.
Only consciousness is conscious, only the Self is knowing.
..
Realize that you are mistaking yourself to be a mind, mistaking yourself to be a body mind.
The body mind is not knowing. All the imagined knowledge of the body mind is null and void. It is impossible for an observed object to be knowing.
It is consciousness that is knowing and consciousness is not an object, consciousness is not a person. Only consciousness is knowing.
..
The Self does not need to discover itSelf.
Simply realize your true nature and all will be done.
All your angst will dissolve.
~~
Your angst have always been empty. But you need to realize that and not simply accept the notion of emptiness.
Look directly at your experience and notice the seamless presence that everything is. You are that empty eternal universal presence!
Magdi Em Be
a mirror...
You've no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to
bring You.
Nothing seemed right.
What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine,
or water to the Ocean.
Everything I came up with was like taking spices to
the Orient.
It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you
already have these.
So - I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself,
and remember me.
--Rumi
Consciousness is One...
"Since Consciousness is one by nature,
no distinction is admissible under any
circumstances.
Even the condition of the individual soul must be understood to
be unreal, like the apprehension of a serpent in a rope.
As the rope, in
consequence of one's ignorance of it, appears in an instant as a serpent,
so
does consciousness, which is ever pure, manifest itself as the universe."
Sri Shankaracharya
_Select Works Of Sri Sankaracharya_
Translated By S. Venkataramanan
Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1921, p. 52-53
stillness...
Anyone can hear the noise in their mind
that's hiding within the silence.
But can you also hear the silence in your
heart that's hiding within the noise?
Only in stillness will you discover the quiet
in the middle of the chaos.
Only in stillness will be discover the hush
in the middle of the rush.
- Chuck Hillig
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Seeds for the Soul
Chuck Hillig
Black Dot Publications, 2003
quiet and clear...
Let them throw their curses.
If inside, I am connected
to what's true, my soul
stays quiet and clear.
Do you think Shiva worries
what people say!
If a few ashes fall on a mirror,
use them to polish it.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Complete Surrender...
The reason that I stated that Love is the absence of ego is because of personal experience..
more than forty years ago, I was determined to find and know the Truth of life..
after a few years of meditation, I decided to do the same thing that Gautama did..
I sat beneath a tree and was determined that I would meditate and would not leave this spot until I knew Truth..
I started to feel the ego die and the fear of bodily death that the ego presented to me as a deterent to go further into the mystery of Truth..
I decided that if need be, I would die to know Truth..
As soon as I thought of this decision, I was knocked to the ground with a wave of Love and left the body..
I awakened as Light, Love, and Consciousness..
These Energies seem to flow in a circle throughout eternity..
I knew that I was these three energies and I knew that I had just awakened from the dream called life..
There was no longer an ego-self, there was only the Personality of these three energies..
This is why, I have said that Love is the absence of ego..
Since then, I have learned that there is one more step to travel..
The state of Pure Intelligence, which is established upon surrender of even this Personality of Light, Love, and Consciousness..
Complete Love is Complete Surrender...
namaste, thomas
What is Source ?...
Known by many alias', according to a specific teacher or language..
In the end of seeking, We Realize that We are that Source..
The preventor of this Realization is our own mind..
Therefore, we must leave the mind behind if we are to find Reality..
The mind can be used as a finger pointing to the Knowledge of Reality but is useless in finding this Reality..
The mind hides behind the nomenclature of the manifestation..
The mind is the protector of the illusion..
The mind is the Ego..
To go beyond the mind is the entrance into Source..
Consciousness watches the mind..
We are that Consciousness..
Source is Consciousness...
namaste, thomas
traces of God...
If a man asks why he can find no trace of God's presence in himself,
I answer that he is full of evidence, not merely traces.
God is present in him as consciousness, the state of being aware; as thought, the capacity to think;
as activity, the power to move; and as stillness, the condition of ego, emotion, intellect, and body
which finally and clearly reveals what these other things simply point to.
"Be still, and know that I am God" is a statement of being whose truth can be tested by experiment and whose value can be demonstrated by experience...
— Notebooks Category 22: Inspiration and the Overself > Chapter 3: The Overself's Presence > # 409
Paul Brunton
Karma and Reincarnation...
If in Truth and Reality, there is actually no false ego, and it is only a
delusion of separation from Love,
Who or what is there, to carry Karma or Reincarnation ?..
There is no illusion of self left to carry these burdens of imprisionment back
into this prison planet of illusion..
Thus Freedom begins it's song of Love...
namaste, thomas
How simple it is...
You can read a thousand books and study under a hundred different spiritual teachers and still not achieve an understanding of Reality..
The simple Truth is that;
Source (God) is composed of Love..
'Love is the absence of ego'..
It is that simple..
The mission of your life is to Realize this Truth...
namaste, thomas
Enlightenment...
Enlightenment absorbs this universe of qualities.
When that merging occurs, there is nothing
but God. This is the only doctrine.
There is no word for it, no mind
to understand it with, no categories
of transcendence or non-transcendence,
no vow of silence, no mystical attitude.
There is no Shiva and no Shakti
in enlightenment, and if there is something
that remains, that whatever-it-is
is the only teaching.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
pain...
Everyone that uses a human body or animal body experiences pain..
You have to leave the body to exit pain..
The Mystic leaves the body during meditation and returns to the Reality of no pain..
Complete Love is the state of non-attachment to the body and material worlds.. the end of desire..
The egoic-consciousness is the desire for separation from each other and from the Source of All..
Once this Truth is Known and this desire for separate self is eliminated, The Reality of the Source Energy called Love is found..
At this point, there is no longer a 'you', there is only 'Source', and 'You' are 'Source'..
This is called Enlightenment..
namaste, thomas
faults...
O, happy the soul that saw its own faults,
and if anyone mentioned a fault,
wished eagerly to take responsibility—
for half of each person
has always belonged to the realm of fault,
but the other half belongs
to the Realm of the Unseen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-- Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
Mathnawi II: 3034-3035
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra
Time...
Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is.
In the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly.
How can we bargain with it?
The sage calls a person, who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day,
'one who knows the better way to live alone.'
Bhaddekaratta Sutta
Death...
Death,
Is one of God’s great ideas,
for the fear of extinction
drives the mind
to search for that which is undying –
one’s unborn Being.
- Mooji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Writing on Water
Mooji (Anthony Paul Moo-Young)
Padam Sangha Limited, London, 2011
a cross of iron...
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired,
signifies, in the final sense,
a theft from those who hunger and not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone.
It is spending the sweat of laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children..
This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense.
Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."
President Dwight Eisenhower
the Adored...
“I have loved in life and I have been loved.
I have drunk the bowl of poison from the hands of love as nectar,
and have been raised above life's joy and sorrow.
My heart, aflame in love, set afire every heart that came in touch with it.
My heart has been rent and joined again;
My heart has been broken and again made whole;
My heart has been wounded and healed again;
A thousand deaths my heart has died, and thanks be to love, it lives yet.
I went through hell and saw there love's raging fire,
and I entered heaven illumined with the light of love.
I wept in love and made all weep with me;
I mourned in love and pierced the hearts of men;
And when my fiery glance fell on the rocks, the rocks burst forth as volcanoes.
The whole world sank in the flood caused by my one tear;
With my deep sigh the earth trembled, and when I cried aloud the name of my beloved,
I shook the throne of God in heaven.
I bowed my head low in humility, and on my knees I begged of love,
"Disclose to me, I pray thee, O love, thy secret."
She took me gently by my arms and lifted me above the earth, and spoke softly in my ear,
"My dear one, thou thyself art love, art lover,
and thyself art the beloved whom thou hast adored.”
― Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Dance of the Soul
this Truth...
There are many methods to use to recognize this truth.
This is why I share these with you.
Not everyone can practice atma-vichara, self-inquiry.
Therefore I share these other methods with you.
There are many things that you should do.
How many more years do you think you've got in your body?
Why go after the fleeting things that change and disappear.
Forget about trying to win the lottery.
Forget about who's hurt you.
Forget about your sins of omission and commission.
Let go of everything.
Be yourself.
Do not react to the world.
Do not even react to your own body.
Do not even react to your own thoughts.
Learn to become the witness.
Learn to be quiet.
I know sometimes you get up in the morning and you feel out of sorts.
You may feel depression, you may feel the collective unconscious of the world, which is a negative vibration.
You should immediately snap out of this by realizing this is not the truth about me.
The truth about me is I am love, I am consciousness, I am absolute reality.
Identify with the truth about yourself.
Do not allow your mind to tell you one iota of negative thinking.
Catch yourself.
It makes no difference what position you're in.
Do not believe and think, "Well, when things get better I'll have time to do this".
There's no such thing.
You've got to start where you are.
You've got to be yourself now and forever.
Things will never change.
Get rid of your arrogance.
Develop humility.
Become humble.
By that I don't mean become a door mat for people to step on.
In humility there is strength.
You understand the truth, therefore you do not get involved in pettiness, in nonsense.
The truth shall always prevail, regardless of appearances.
~ Robert Adams ~
a spiritual path...
As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth,
so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.
To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.
To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
Henry David Thoreau
Half-heartedness...
Gamble everything for love,
if you're a true human being.
If not, leave
this gathering.
Half-heartedness doesn't reach
into majesty. You set out
to find God, but then you keep
stopping for long periods
at meanspirited roadhouses.
- Rumi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Version by Coleman Barks
"Birdsong"
Maypop, 1993
The illusion...
"The illusion is a distraction that needs to be discarded, dissolved, and that
will happen when you withdraw your collective attention from it.
It is an imaginary environment in which fear and anxiety are your constant
companions. Even if you deny them or bury them below your level of conscious
awareness, they lie there festering until you address and release them, or until
they explode venomously, demanding your shocked attention.
Many are undergoing this experience at present as your fears break into your
consciousness, disturbing your peace. Acknowledge them, observe them, and
release them.
There is no need to engage with them by attempting to uncover their roots, or
to take the actions that unwarranted fear might deem advisable, just let them
go.
To withdraw your collective attention from the illusion will cause it to fade
away like an ancient veil deteriorating into dust, and as it does so, it will
reveal for you the wonder of Reality where you always are. Presently, that
seems like a dream, a scarcely perceptible impression of some faint and distant
memory, so remote and unattainable that you remain almost totally unaware of It.
However, the Illusion is but a veil that you have chosen to hide behind, and
because you have forgotten that choice it has become amazingly real for you,
frighteningly real."
http://johnsmallman2.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/you-are-becoming-less-addicted-to-\
the-illusions-validity/
Awakening into Reality...
I think that this is a good time to speak of Reality and Awakening from sleep..
This adventure into the pain of duality and separation from Love is an experimental Dream..
We are Consciousness, playing many parts within this Dream..
In Duality, We must feel both evil and good, selfishness and selflessness..
At every moment, our 'free will' chooses which side of the experience to choose..
Love (selflessness)(non-self) or Non-Love (selfishness) (egoic self)..
How do we remove ourselves from this Duality of emotions ?..
First, we have to find out who we are..
Are We Love or Non-Love ?..
Egoic-Consciousness or Non-Egoic Consciousness ..
Which Consciousness brings Happiness or Sadness..
Those, that have contemplated upon these questions and searched for Truth have experienced egoic-consciousness and then experience non-egoic consciousness..
non-egoic consciousness brings peace and happiness,
therefore, they travel into the Heart of Non-egoic Consciousness called God..
They surrender the 'egoic consciousness' during meditation, feel the death of the ego and the pain of this fear of death, and Awaken in Reality as their 'True Selves'..
This 'True Self' has no ego but does have a Personality called Divine Consciousness and is composed of Light, Love, and Consciousness..
This is Awakening from the 'Egoic Dream' and this is 'Enlightenment'...
namaste, thomas
You are Consciousness...
Consciousness is the Observer, the Watcher, the Intelligence that creates and participates within the illusions called life..
This Dream that we call 'real' was meant to be felt by senses within the life forms of this Dream..
The problem is that We forgot that We are not that which We are Watching..
We 'fell' into the lower heavier frequencies of matter as Consciousness and thus feel the pains of the physical plane and the pains of separation from Reality..
We are constantly reminded of Reality by the mental sensation of the longing for the feeling of Love..
This is the 'Door of God'..
This is placed within Divine Consciousness to lead us back to Reality when we become lost within the Dream..
As Jesus said; " Knock, and the Door shall be opened"...
namaste, thomas
self-centered striving ceases...
For the Realized mind at one with the Way
all self-centered striving ceases.
Doubts and irresolutions vanish
and the Truth is confirmed in you.
With a single stroke you are freed from bondage;
nothing clings to you and you hold to nothing.
All is empty, clear, self-illuminating,
with no need to exert the mind.
Here, thinking, feeling, understanding, and imagination
are of no value.
In this world "as it really is"
there is neither self nor other-than-self.
- Seng-ts'an, Third Zen Patriarch
strengthen your sincerity...
"Relinquish your negative habits and attitudes.
Strengthen your sincerity.
Live in the real word,
and extend your virtue to it without discrimination in the daily round.
Be the truest father or mother, the truest brother or sister,
the truest friend, and the truest disciple.
Humbly respect and serve your teacher,
and dedicate your entire being unwaveringly to self-cultivation.
Then you will surely attain self-mastery
and be able to help others in doing the same."
Lao Tzu
_Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu_, 80
Rendered by Brian Walker
HarperSanFrancisco, 1992, p. 105
evolution of consciousness...
According to his evolution, man knows truth.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Every person's desire is according to his evolution. That for which he is ready
is desirable for him. Milk is a desirable food for the infant, other foods for
the grown-up person. Every stage in life has its own appropriate and desirable
things.
When one realizes the ultimate truth, one comes to understand that one single
underlying current to which all the different religions, philosophies and faiths
are attached. These are all only different expressions of the same truth, and it
is the absence of that knowledge which causes all to be divided into so many
different sects and religions.
In India there is a well-known story exemplifying this fact: that some blind men
were very anxious to see an elephant. So a kind man one day took them to see
one. There, standing by its side, he said, "Now, here is the elephant, see what
you can make of it." Each one tried to make out by touch what the elephant
looked like, and afterwards when they met together they began to discuss its
appearance. One said, "It looks like the big pillar of a palace," another said,
"It looks like a fan." And so they differed and discussed amongst one another,
then they quarreled so much as to come to a hand-to-hand fight. Each one said,
"I have seen it, I know what it is; I have touched it." Then the man who took
them to the elephant came and said, "You are every one of you right, but you
have each seen only a part of the elephant."
So it is with the religions. A person says, "This religion is the one, this
doctrine is the only one, this truth is the only truth possible." That shows a
lack of knowledge of the ultimate truth. As soon as one comes to the realization
of the depth of truth, one begins to discern that it is the same truth which the
great ones have tried to express in words. They could not put it fully into
words. They have done their best to help humanity to evolve and reach to a point
at which it is able to understand what can never be explained in words.
Somebody can be praised by one and hated by another, and ten people may all have
a different idea of the same person, because each understands him according to
his state of evolution. Each sees that person according to his own point of
view, each looks at him through his own eyes, and therefore the same person is
different to each being. In the mind of one the person is a sinner, in the mind
of another he is a saint. The same person who is considered gentle and good by
one is considered the opposite by another. If this can be so in connection with
a living being, it is equally possible that various ideas of the deity should be
formed in each heart, and that each soul should mold his own deity according to
his own evolution and according to his way of idealizing and understanding.
Therefore the deity of every heart is different and is as that person has
imagined; but the God of every soul is one and the same, whatever people
imagine. It is the same God that they all imagine, but their imaginations are
different and it is the lack of understanding of this that has caused the
differences in religion.
Here I am...
The observation: 'Here I am' , does not signify there is a separate self.
The 'I' refers to consciousness.
..
What is it that makes consciousness seem personal?
Is it not thought? A habitual old thought accompanied with a feeling that 'I' is personal.
When you were a baby, did you experience yourself as a person? No, you did not. It is much later on that the separative thoughts settled in the body.
..
Consider the following: What is it that makes thought seem to be 'my thought'?
Is it not another thought?
The separate self is like a house of cards.
..
You are openness of being. Infinite and formless appearing as all forms. When this realization settles, the Self's radiance is revealed!
Magdi Em Be
what is a Mystic ?...
A Mystic is someone that works daily to dissolve the false self and return to
the Reality of True Self..
And if they are completely serious in this mission,
they will surrender this false self (ego) while in meditation, and Awaken into
the Reality of Love,Light, Consciousness, and Wisdom..
This is True Self..
This is called Enlightenment...
namaste, thomas
Good Friday ...
This was the day that the great Mystic, Yeshua ben Yosef (Jesus)was tortured and murdered by the command of egoic entities that control the minds of some humans in positions of power..
They did not then, and they still do not want you to know that 'You and the Father are One'..
Anyone that tells many humans of this Truth will be attacked..
This is how the 'prison planet' works..
If you knew that you were always free and have mental powers of manifestation, you would not need these leaders of government and religion..
The only escape route from this prison of constant reincarnations and pain is to Realize that 'You'
are not the prisoner,
You are the observer of the manifestations..
your belief that You are the prisoner, keeps you in prison..
you must change your belief if manifestation is to occur..
Belief is something hoped for but Realization is something Known..
Thus enters Enlightenment..
Surrender of this false self called prisoner is essential for escape..
The amount of ego-self released from belief is equal to the amount of Unconditional Love that is found..
When all ego is dissolved or surrendered, Only Love exists..
We call this state of Reality... God
namaste, thomas
free will...
The free will that we have been given as illusions of separation is exactly
that which keeps us separate..
free will is the ability of the false identity of ego to remain as such..
Once the egoic consciousness is seen as false and is dissolved or surrendered,
the only thing left is Reality or what some call God..
namaste, thomas
you are what you think...
"One assumes the form of that which is in one's mind.
That is the eternal secret."
_Maitri Upanishad_
in George Feuerstein
_Teachings of Yoga_
Boston: Shambhala, 1997, p. 38
surrender all...
"Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory,
my understanding, and my whole will.
Thou hast given
me all I am and all that I possess.
I surrender it all
to Thee that Thou mayest dispose of it according to
Thy will.
Give me but Thy love and Thy grace:
these
are sufficient for me, and I will have no more to
desire."
St. Ignatius of Loyola
in Whitall N. Perry
_A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom_
Varanasi: Indica, 1998 (1971), p. 179
Self is Formless...
The body is but our shadow. You should not be proud
of the body.
That is why a man who has realized Brahman has not
one iota of respect for rituals.
All rituals are performed because of
fear. Only those who are afraid perform various rituals. Loss is the
father and the mother of fear.
Fear is only of suffering a loss. If one
is having no fear, why should he perform any rituals? Fear is the
reason for all actions. One who is fearless has neither fear nor Karma.
The fearless man is beyond the body. He is formless.
Karma is born out of doubt. Doubt is the seed of Karma. To
be doubtless means to be seedless.
If roasted rice is sown, it does
not grow. Similarly, Karma does not give any gain or loss to one
who is wise.
When the Self is realized as formless and bodiless,
God is known to be formless. Such a Realized One, is Himself
formless.
Formless is His Town and formless is His House. He is
His own food and maintenance. Everything is the Self. This is the
achievement of Reality, which is imperishable.
Nisargadatta
Ramana Maharshi...
Although Ramana said almost nothing to the author Paul Brunton during Brunton's visit in 1931, the publication of A Search In Secret India made them both famous. The notoriety brought Somerset Maugham, Mercedes de Acosta, Julian P. Johnson, Arthur Osborne, Maurice Frydman, Merston Ethel, Henri Cartier-Bresson and many others to Ramana's ashram from the West. The avalanche of publications they sparked, presented this unique and beloved sage to a wider world. Almost as unusual as his obviously spontaneous and beautiful realization was his willingness to overlook the tradition of caste in sharing it with Americans and Europeans.
The final truth, as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj and all the sages before them have clearly stated, is that there is neither creation nor destruction, neither birth nor death, neither destiny nor free will, neither any path nor any achievement. All there is is Consciousness.
from Who Cares? by Ramesh Balsekar
In 1927 Ramana composed a thirty verse poem summarizing his teaching. Unlike other writings, he composed this as an integral work without revision. He considered it important enough to prepare in four of the major Indian languages. What follows is a portion of an English-language interpretation by Ramesh Balsekar's disciple Shirish Murthy.
Upadesa Saram "Teaching Essence"
In the vast ocean of cause and effect, actions happen and impermanent results follow. If one takes them as 'my' actions the idea of having a free will gets stronger. This sense of personal doership gives rise to a feeling of guilt or pride and effectively blocks the spiritual understanding that everything happens according to the will of God.
When there is total acceptance that all actions happen purely by the will of God, and if the fruits and the consequences are accepted as His grace, the mind gets purified and attains freedom from expectations.
Accepting and understanding that God has created the world for His sport and God is playing the lila through billions of body-mind organisms, is better than chanting the sacred names of the Lord, which in turn is superior to worshipping the image of the Lord with body, mind and speech.
When there is an understanding that God himself has become the manifestation; when, by His grace, one feels His presence in the phenomenal existence one obtains the blessings of worshipping the Lord of eight-fold forms without neglecting one's responsibilities.
Understanding that nothing happens according to 'my' will and merely witnessing the billions of body-mind organisms act under God's will is excellent. It is superior to singing the glories of the Lord or reciting His sacred names.
When there is an understanding that God's will prevails all the time and witnessing happens without any 'one' to witness, it is like the stream of ghee (clarified butter) or the flow of a river. This is true meditation. It is much better than meditating with an assumption that one has free will.
The nondualistic approach of understanding that 'I AM' is God is far more purifying and superior than the dualistic approach of assuming the difference between God and the 'me' and struggling to be one with Him.
By the grace of God or the Master when one is firmly established in the 'I AM,' devoid of the thinking mind, with an impersonal knowing that there is no 'me' to get involved, that is Supreme Devotion.
The dissolving of the thinking mind in the Heart, purely by the grace of God or the Master, is true devotion, Yoga and understanding.
Through the act of regulating breath the mind is subdued, just as a bird is restrained when caught in a net. This helps in checking the involvement of the thinking mind at that moment.
Thought and breath have their origin in Consciousness.
When the mind is absorbed, in work or otherwise, and the thinking mind is not active it may be said that the mind is in control temporarily, only to become active again. When, through the deep understanding that "God is the doer and no 'one' has any control over thoughts and actions" the thinking mind is totally annihilated, then it can be said that the thinking mind in that body-mind organism is dead and only the working mind remains.
The thinking mind can be temporarily suspended through the control of breath. It can be annihilated only when there is total understanding that God's will prevails all the time and the different forms are only puppets having no free will of their own. With this understanding three beautiful things happen: there is no 'one' to feel guilty or proud, to get frustrated or to have a sense of enmity. Life becomes simple.
The Sage, whose thinking mind has been destroyed by the total acceptance of the fact that nothing happens unless it is the will of God, and Who rests in the 'I AM' does all the actions with the knowledge that Consciousness alone functions through the billions of body-mind organisms.
When the enquiry, "What is the thinking mind?" occurs, the thinking mind understands intuitively that it has no free will and stops thinking itself to be the doer and gives way to the feeling of 'I AM.' This is the Direct path.
In the ordinary man when a thought occurs the ego takes delivery of it as 'my thought' and gets involved. The thinking mind is nothing but the ego identifying with a thought and getting involved.
In the enlightened Sage, when a thought arises, witnessing happens and involvement with the thought does not take place. Ramana Maharshi says, "The Sage has no thinking mind and therefore there are no 'others' for him."
When one enquires, "Where has the 'me' come from?" it will vanish into Consciousness revealing the truth that the 'me' has really come from Totality as part of the 'divine hypnosis'. Consciousness has created the ego and Consciousness will annihilate the ego by initiating the process of Self-enquiry.
When we accept that God's will prevails all the time and not the individual will, the 'me' as the doer gets smaller and smaller till it gets completely merged in Consciousness.
When the sense of personal doership disappears with the total acceptance that "All there is, is Consciousness," the thinking mind ceases to exist during the waking hours as in deep sleep.
What remains is the light of pure Consciousness, the indestructible 'I AM.'
advaita.org home
the Master...
"In the Beyond state, time, space and the whole world of phenomena are
non-existent.
Only in the phenomenal
world of duality is there space, time or operation of the law of cause and
effect.
"When the Master works in the sphere of duality for the upliftment of humanity,
his work becomes subject to the
laws of time, space and causality.
From the point of view of external work, at
times he appears to be limited,
though in reality he is all the time experiencing the oneness and infinity of
the Beyond-state.
Though he himself is
beyond time, when he works for those who are in duality, time counts.
"The Master's universal work for humanity, in general, goes on without break
through the higher bodies.
When he works for the members of his Circle, his
action follows a timing which he himself fixes with utmost carefulness, for it
has to be a precise and definite intervention in the mechanical working out of
their sanskaras.
He works for the Circle at fixed times.
Therefore those who in
following the instructions received from the Master abide by the time given by
him, have the benefit of his special working."
Meher Baba, Discourses, 6th ed, v. 3, p. 49
http://discoursesbymeherbaba.org/v3-49.php
the flow...
Life and living is a flow,
and if we accept that
flow
and get into that flow,
life can be
tremendously simple.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
the second illumination...
In the moment that there dawns on his understanding
the fact of Mind's beginninglessness and deathlessness,
he gains the second illumination,
the first being that of the ego's illusoriness and transiency...
— Notebooks Category 28: The Alone > Chapter 2: Our Relation To the Absolute > # 106..
Paul Brunton
Teachers today refer to the first illumination as no-self or emptiness of self and the second illumination as Oneness ~Mark
come within...
"Once in the season of spring she (Rabi'a al
'Adawiyya) went into her chamber and bowed her head in
meditation.
Her handmaid said,
'Oh, mistress, come
forth that thou mayst behold the wondrous works of
God,'
"'Nay,' she answered, 'do thou come within, that thou
mayst behold their Maker.
Contemplation of the Maker
hath turned me from contemplating that which He
made.'"
Rabi'a
in Whitall N. Perry
_A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom_
Varanasi: Indica, 1998 (1971), p. 154-155
Ram Tzu speaks...
Ram Tzu knows this.
All that ever was'
Is..
And forever will be...
- Ram Tzu
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
No Way for the Spiritually "Advanced"
Ram Tzu
Advaita Press, 1990
Aware is Awake...
To be aware is to be awake.
Unaware means
asleep.
You are aware anyhow, you need not
try to be.
What you need is to be aware of
being aware.
Be aware deliberately and
consciously, broaden and deepen the field
of awareness.
You are always conscious of
the mind, but you are not aware of yourself
as being conscious.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
mind is not there...
When the ego is there with the thought "I am doing this, I am doing that, I want this, I don't want that," then there is trouble, and there are mistakes also.
When you recognize yourself—as when a river discharges into the ocean and is no longer a river—all qualities are gone. Ocean has no limits. When you are free you are no longer a man with past habits. You are not functioning, because doer is not there; mind is not there.
No mind is functioning, so who is? The lord within is functioning through the person, for the good of others. Otherwise, it is no use.
After enlightenment your work is done. When you are free, freedom takes charges of you. Something else will arise instead of ego, instead of doer. I am doing will no longer be there.
Another power called prajna, transcendental function, will take charge of you. It will enter into all your nerves, and all the atoms of your body will be changed. You will no longer be the previous person.
You need not make any effort. Simply surrender to the lord seated in your heart. Then you will see how beautiful this lifespan—in dealing with people, your relationships—how beautiful it will become.
Action will not come from ego, but from that supreme Purusha [enlightened intelligence]. It will be in charge. Whenever you speak, it is speaking. Whatever you see, it is seeing. Your eyes will be changed. There will be no hatred; these eyes will see God everywhere.
Papaji
Wake Up and Roar
how admirable !...
How admirable!
to see lightning and not think
life is fleeting.
- Matsuo Basho
from Zen Poems, Haiku & Writings
Who is at my door?...
He said, "Who is at my door?"
I said, "Your humble servant."
He said, "What business do you have?"
I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."
He said, "How long will you journey on?"
I said, "Until you stop me."
He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"
I said, "Until I am pure.
"This is my oath of love.
For the sake of love
I gave up wealth and position."
He said, "You have pleaded your case
but you have no witness."
I said, "My tears are my witness;
the pallor of my face is my proof.'
He said, "Your witness has no credibility;
your eyes are too wet to see."
I said, "By the splendor of your justice
my eyes are clear and faultless."
He said, "What do you seek?"
I said, "To have you as my constant friend."
He said, "What do you want from me?"
I said, "Your abundant grace."
He said, "Who was your companion on the journey?
I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."
He said, "What called you here?"
I said, "The fragrance of your wine."
He said, "What brings you the most fulfillment?"
I said, "The company of the Emperor."
He said, "What do you find there?"
I said, "A hundred miracles."
He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"
I said, "They all fear the thief."
He said, "Who is the thief?"
I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.
He said, "Where is there safety?"
I said, "In service and renunciation."
He said, "What is there to renounce?"
I said, "The hope of salvation."
He said, "Where is there calamity?"
I said, "In the presence of your love."
He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"
I said, "By keeping true to myself
Now it is time for silence.
If I told you about His true essence
You would fly from your self and be gone,
and neither door nor roof could hold you back!
Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved, Jonathan Star
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997
language of the Mystic...
"All mystics speak the same language for they come
from the same country."
Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin
in Whitall N. Perry
_A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom_
Varansi: Indica, 1998 (1971), p. 796
"[God] listens only to the language of the heart,
which constitutes love. The most practical way for the
common man to express this language of the heart,
whilst attending to daily-life duties, is to speak
lovingly, think lovingly, and act lovingly towards all
mankind, irrespective of caste, creed and position,
taking God to be present in each and every one."
Meher Baba
_The Path of Love_, p. 69-70
http://www.ambppct.org/meherbaba/Book_Files/POL.pdf
Live Unity, Celebrate Diversity
stages of ascent...
There are degrees of the ascent of consciousness.
You don't jump into something at once.
Gradually,
you move from the lesser, or the more external, to
the higher, and the more internal.
From the external,
you move to the internal; from the internal, you move
to the Universal.
These are the three stages of
spiritual ascent.
- Swami Krishnananda
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Swami Krishnananda
The Divine Life Trust Society, 1995
earthly knowledge...
He who is filled with the knowledge of names and forms has no capacity for the
knowledge of God.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
A man filled with earthly knowledge -- and what he calls learning is often only
the knowledge of names and forms -- has no capacity for the knowledge of truth
or God. It is the innocent and pure soul who has a capacity for learning. When a
person comes to take a lesson on any subject, and he brings his own knowledge
with him, the teacher has little to teach him, for the doors of his heart are
not open. His heart that should be empty in order to receive knowledge is
occupied by the knowledge that he already had acquired.
Intellect is the knowledge of names and forms, their character and nature,
gathered from the external world. It shows in an infant from birth, when he
begins to be curious about all he sees; then, by storing in his mind the various
forms and figures he sees he recognizes them as an addition to his knowledge of
variety. Man thus gathers the knowledge of numberless forms of the whole world
in his mind and holds them... and calls that 'learning'. This becomes his world,
although it neither gives him a sense of unchanging comfort, nor does he thereby
gain an everlasting peace.
Wisdom is contrary to the above-named knowledge. It is the knowledge which is
illumined by the light within; it comes with the maturity of the soul, and opens
up the sight to the similarity of all things and beings, as well as the unity in
names and forms. The wise man penetrates the spirit of all things; he sees the
human in the male and female, and the racial origin which unites nations. He
sees the human in all people and the divine immanence in all things in the
universe, until the vision of the whole being becomes to him the vision of the
One Alone, the most beautiful and beloved God.
Every soul yearns for knowledge, that knowledge which will give exaltation. But
the soul cannot be satisfied by the knowledge one gathers from books, by
learning, or by the study of outside things. For instance the knowledge of
science, the knowledge of art, are outside knowledge. They give one a kind of
strength, a kind of satisfaction, but this does not last. It is another
knowledge that the soul is really seeking. The soul cannot be satisfied unless
it finds that knowledge, but that knowledge does not come by learning names and
forms. ...
We must enrich ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual
happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that liberty, that
freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that higher knowledge which
breaks all the fetters of life and raises our consciousness to look at life from
a different point of view. Once a person has realized this opportunity he has
fulfilled the purpose of Life
the long path...
The Long Path gives many benefits
and bestows many virtues
but it does not give the vision of truth,
the realization of the Overself,
nor does it bestow Grace.
For these things we must turn to the Short Path.
— Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 2: Pitfalls and Limitations > # 156
Paul Brunton
worry...
The only way that worry will stop is
through the proper understanding that
change is the very basis of life,
that we
cannot continuously have something we
like.
We're got to be prepared to accept
things in life which may not be acceptable.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
A Net of Jewels
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1966
.
Courage...
Whatever you do, you need courage.
Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.
To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs.
Peace has its victories,
but it takes brave men and women to win them..
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A dream...
"Everything I see,
I see as a dream!
But in spite of that,
I feel bothered about
it all because I have to work for
others to make them see it as a dream."
Meher Baba
in Bhau Kalchuri
Lord Meher: The Biography of Avatar of the Age Meher Baba
Myrtle Beach, SC: Manifestation, v. 3, p. 815
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