Sunday, June 28, 2020

In the Beginning




“At first was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What covered it? Where was it? In whose keeping?
Was Water there, unfathomable and deep?
There was no death then, nor yet deathlessness;
of night or day, there was not any sign.
The One breathed without breath by its own impulse.
Other than that, there was nothing at all.

Darkness was there, all wrapped around by darkness, and all was Water indiscriminate,

Then that which was hidden by Void, that One, emerging,
stirring, through the power of Love, came to be.

In the beginning, Desire arose, which was the primal seed born of Mind.
The Sages, searching in their hearts with wisdom,
discovered that Being is kin to Non-being.
They have stretched a cord across the void
and know what was above and what below.
Seminal powers made fertile mighty forces,
Below was strength and above it , impulse.
Who really knows? Who can presume to tell it?
Whence was it born? Whence issued this creation?
Even the Gods came after its emergence.
Then who can tell from whence it came to be?

Whence this creation had its origin,
the One, whether He fashioned it or whether it formed itself,
the Creator, who surveys it all from highest heaven,
He knows — or maybe even He does not know!” 
Nasadiya Sukta, Rig Veda.


Before Time began, in the still, silent void, something stirred – consciousness becoming aware of itself in limitless delight, formless perfection expressing itself in cascading waves of bliss.

This ecstatic dance is the source of all becoming, all forms, all life, weaving worlds without measure across the vastness to celebrate the infinite wonder and the glory of it all.

This dance never ceases.

Like breath, like a heart-beat, it pulses forever as the innermost core of every separate life-form, yet always remains the pristine, unchanging whole, ever joyous, ever compassionate, ever peaceful.

Beyond all words and thought, beyond knowing and unknowing, beyond all measure or description, this is the radiant Divine, the shining Self, the One.

This is who you really are.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

I Can Choose!

“ Hear , O children of immortal biss! You are born to be united with the Lord. Follow the path of the illumined ones and be forever united with the Lord of Life.” The Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

“The great mountain of worldly anxieties is an unreal accumulation of fictions bundled together by the feverish imagining mind. One’s own reality, which shines within everyone as the Heart, is the infinite ocean of unalloyed bliss. Therefore, like the unreal blueness of the sky, misery exists only in the imagination, not in reality.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi.

What a bold, life-affirming, triumphant message the ancient sages have given us: we are the inheritors of divine bliss!

Down the ages , the declaration of the illumined ones remains consistently positive and triumphant- our true nature is joy. Misery is but a figment of the unreal, a nightmare conjured from nothing!

So, in every moment, I can make a choice :   sorrow or joy, craving or  contentment, suffering or peace.

I can seek outward amidst the projections of my fears and desires or inwards to discover the unshakable, blissful reality of my being.

I can wander the ghostly byways of a dead past or an unborn future or I can stay alertly aware in the radiant present that is my greatest treasure.

I can choose the unnecessary suffering of an illusion spun by the mind or the serene perfection of my own innermost truth . 

I can create my own heaven or hell.

 I can choose!

“The Self that is subtler than the subtle and greater than the great is seated in the heart of every creature. One who is free from desire sees the glory of the self through the tranquillity of the mind and senses and becomes absolved from grief.”Katha Upanishad


Friday, June 19, 2020

The Dust At Your Feet


“The fire of devotion purifies the heart of the devotee and leads to spiritual freedom. Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food and can never be assimilated. 'I am the heart of my devotees,' says Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. And Hafiz says, 'O joyous day when I depart from this abode of desolation, seeking the repose of my soul and setting out in search of my Beloved.'” Hazrat Inayat Khan 

Bhakti and Jnana are not different – each leads to the other.

The greatest jnanis never ceased to weep tears of absolute devotion.

If you would love God, do it with all your being, with no holding back.

Let your heart melt in that flame!

Devotion is the way and the goal, the seeker and the sought.

Devotion is bone-melting, ecstatic and unconditional love,

It is joyous sacrifice and absolute surrender. 

The true devotee seeks only to lose himself totally like salt in the sea,

To merge forever with the Beloved.

The bliss of devotion is infinite and eternal,

an end in itself, asking for nothing else. 

Sweet Lord shining so radiant in my Heart,

I would gladly live a million lifetimes

 as the dust beneath your feet!


“When a man knows God, he is free: his sorrows have an end, and birth and death are no more. When in inner union he is beyond the world of the body, then the third world, the world of the Spirit, is found, where the power of the All shines, and man has all—for he is one with the One.” 

KrishnaYajur Veda, Shvetasvatara Upanishad 


Tuesday, June 16, 2020

That Truth Will Set You Free



“ Know the real Self and the truth will shine forth within your heart like sunshine. The mind will become untroubled and flooded with real happiness, for happiness and the true Self are identical. Once you attain this Self- awareness, you will have no more doubts.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi to Paul Brunton, from A Search in Secret India.

Know your own truth.
Do it now, while you still can.

If you would discover the elixir of immortal bliss, turn your focus inwards.
Dive through the fog of all your masks, your stories, your ancient, primal fears.
Look your deepest self in the eye, squarely, with no filters.
Look at the one who is looking.
Turn the mirror inside-out ; look at the source and not the reflection.

Who are you, really?
Who shines as the very core of your being?

Focus all your attention on discovering the answer to this question.
Once you do this, a mysterious Grace awakens and inner energies take over.

That truth will set you free.