In honour of the Master.

Hazrat Inayat Khan..the Heart-master He who is filled with the knowledge of names and forms has no capacity for the knowledge of God.                         Bowl of Saki, March 25, by Hazrat Inayat Khan Kind Courtesy of Wahiduddin.net

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.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIII/VIII_2_7.htm 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.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_I_2.htm 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.    from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_16.htm

The Cave

The Lord of Love has built his home in a secret cavern smaller than a mustard seed.

In this tiny bud of the Heart-lotus, rests the spark that is Tao, mother of the ten thousand things.

This is the treasure of treasures, the jewel in the lotus, Om Mani Padme Hum.
It is your Heart-centre, the divine spark of life that is within you, in that tiny lotus-bud on the right side of your chest

Dive deep within yourself and find this.
Once you touch it, you drown in it forever.

Like a river running home to the sea, dissolve in this ocean of perfect peace.

Buddha called it “ the end of suffering”.

Shankara called it the Self, the one and only reality.

It is the life of life, the answer of answers, the beginning and end of all that is.

It is your true home.

Stay there.

You are It. 

Guru Tree

Who am I ?
Where did I come from? Where am I going?
Where do I begin and where do I end? How can I discover my boundaries?
Am I this body-mind complex? Am I a collection of memories, projections, fears and desires?
Is there somewhere , for me, a place of peace?
A place where all the questions cease and there is true rest  and harmony?
Without words, the universe and all my gurus told me to dive deep into myself and find the place of waking sleep.

I leaned my face into the bark of an ancient tree and silently asked for help, for support, for sustenance and blessing.
"Root yourself deep, deep , deep in the earth.
Lift your head  high up in the heavens.
Breathe the breath of freedom.
Feel the sun's loving touch warm upon you.
Feel your connection to everything.
Find your innermost core, your source, your sap, your truth.
Be dignified, be strong, be silent.
Just be."
So spoke the ancient tree direct to the depths of my soul.
I felt his strength, his infinite wisdom and energy flow into me like a blessed storm.
I bowed at his feet in gratitude and surrender.
And knew that we were One.
With his blessings I sank down into the Heart.
At last, I was free.

The One

Periyar Tiger by Meenakshi S.

There is a place of infinite beginnings, where gods are born.

Smaller than the smallest, yet greater than the greatest, it has no name...though whispers of Tao and Brahman are heard in that silence.

It is everywhere and nowhere, the invisible heart of everything.

It is a secret spring of energy, the power of becoming bubbling out of the depths of being.

Gurgling  mysteriously between the formless and form, it is  the breath of breaths, the life-force, the divine ecstasy.

Here the rivers of knowledge and devotion and action all have their source....and also here is their final confluence, the ocean into which they dissolve and disappear.

From this fire of waters, dreams of creation rise like many-coloured smoke....yet this is the unchanging ground of forever, the heart of now and always.

This is home.

Out of the infinite depths of absolute peace, bubbles of truth-consciousness-bliss rise inexorably towards the surface, towards expression in the dance of dimensions  that flings endless galaxies across space-time.

Siva-Shakti dances in creation and destruction.... perfection arising!

Aware,conscious, intelligent energy spins atoms out of emptiness and creates the infinite universe.

This energy and this emptiness are equally divine;  everything is built of God-stuff, sparks of eternity.

Thus the Real is hidden at the very heart of the illusion; the veil appears and disappears, only the substratum stays unchanged.

There is only One.

Everything is One.
You are It!

Dive Deep

This human life is the most precious of all gifts – use it to find the infinite perfection that underlies everything. 

Every human being is born divine : look at a baby, a child and you know this is true!

Then the ego-mind complex develops...and things change.

Less divinity, more individuality/humanity.

It's nice to have a healthy, well-functioning ego-mind complex , just as it's nice to have a well-maintained and tuned car, where everything works smoothly.

The problem begins when the car begins to want to drive itself- and you!

The mind goes crazy, always chasing the mirages of past and future, spinning heavens and hells from its never-ending, uncontrollable stream of thoughts and emotions, cutting you off from your own divine flame like a heavy curtain blocking the light.

Thus begins the insanity of the race.
 Past and future rob you of your eternal present.

Death may come silently and suddenly, like a thief in the night.

But he can only come when the time is right.

So wake up! Here and now, while the going is good.

Stop the ticker-tape inside your head. Sink deep into yourself, into the silence and the mystery of your own perfection.

Because your own perfection is the universal perfection, the One, the source and the substance and the goal of everything.

Go to the nest where the ego is hidden in deep sleep...the secret cave of the Heart. Lead your attention there, sink like a stone in those silent bottomless depths.

Stay aware, stay awake....in that silence, that stillness, the place of waking sleep.

When you sink deep enough, like the diver finding the pearl, you find the treasure that was always in you. And what a priceless gift that is!

In the words of the Maharishi, Bhagavan Sri Ramanna,

“When we turn the mind inwards, God manifests as the inner consciousness. Realisation is everyone’s birthright. Find the source of the “ I” thought that is the cause of all thought. Thoughts are like bubbles on the surface of the sea. How can they disturb the vast ocean in its depths?

In these depths, there is stillness, no mental or emotional activity.

Stillness means being free from thoughts and yet aware- the state of waking sleep.

Here you taste infinite bliss. Do not yield to the great bliss, but pass through to the great peace; this is higher than the ecstasy.

Experiential truth is the only truth; intellectual understanding is but a pointer on the way. Simply be!

Once you taste this current of Self awareness, you will practice it and make it permanent.

Like a river becomes one with the ocean, the Jivanmukta becomes one with the unchanging supreme consciousness.”

And the secret of secrets: once you dissolve in  the Self, the everyday reality around you reveals its pure and perfect magic.
 Heaven is right here, on Earth, right now!

Praise be! Om shanti, shanti, shanti he.

Three Score Years on Planet Earth

On Saturday, the seventh of March, it will be my 60^th birthday.

Six decades have elapsed since I was born into this life.

How do I feel?

I feel whole and well.

I feel joyous and fulfilled.

I feel deeply grateful for all the  blessings that I have received.

Above all, I feel a blissful and lasting peace.

Thanks to a story,a tree, a river, a mountain , a sage, a mystery - I have found all that I seek. Right here, right now. How I laugh  in joy!

I have been   nurtured and protected all my life. The universe has been a loving and benevolent mother, She of the thousand names,gently erasing my ignorance, my delusions, my pain and showing me the way home.

"From Brahma to a blade of grass, all things are my Gurus. "
Innumerable living spirits in mineral or plant or insect or animal or human form have helped and blessed me;  these many-splendoured teachers have  shared their enlightening wisdom with me. How fortunate am I!

All the great rishis and sages of the universe have showered their benevolent gifts upon me, like monsoon rain upon the thirsty earth.

 Kusum , Mihir and  Tarini, three  beautiful, divine  and compassionate souls,  have blessed me with their presence in my life,with their laughter, their companionship, their wisdom and their love. 

 They shine like stars in my heart always...filling it with ambrosial joy and indescribable tenderness -  I am indeed richer than all the emperors!
Love fills me,  an infinite ocean, unconditional and total.
 Tears flow freely from my eyes and from my  soul.......tears of unspeakable joy.

Many compassionate and generous beings - strangers, friends, familiars, family...have blessed my life:  I thank them all with all my heart.

On this my 60^th birthday, I bow at the feet of my  lord Ramana-Arunachala who shines as  the Self in the Heart.....no words can describe his grace, as I dissolve so gladly in that  sat-chit-ananda !

All is magic, all is well.