The Mystery of History: The Froth and the Depths

                         ( Photo of Tirruvannamalai Lake courtesy Aaron Sapru)

( Recorded human history is merely 5000 years old: this is like the wink of an eye compared to the age of the planet. The story of the human race itself is so tiny….how much more petty is the story of any one individual lifetime!)
“ I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:14

Over thousands of years, see how the mighty have fallen!
Kings and heroes , fabled cities and empires, all vanished in time.
How many tales of glory lie forgotten in the ocean depths?
How many great monuments lie buried beneath the desert sands?

Our vaunted civilisations, our revered intellects, our science and technology, our philosophies and religions ….where have they brought us now?
Socio-economic systems based on madness and greed and war have led to tremendous disparities in the distribution of resources, unprecedented human suffering and environmental degradation.
Unbiased observers from another planet would be justified in concluding that this race is definitely insane- rabidly destroying its own home and all the species who share it.

Unless there is a quantum leap in the evolution of human consciousness, will there be any meaningful change ? Every human being must first transform his or her own state of being. Like ripples in a lake, this will lead to a “critical mass” of evolved consciousness that can trigger an avalanche of transformation that sweeps through the whole race. Will this happen in time?
Fortunately ,Nature is still whole. Nature is far more intelligent and powerful than the human race.
She will handle the crisis in her own way and in her own time.

Of course , all this is still just froth on the surface of the ocean of the Real. Will you identify yourself with the froth or will you claim the infinite depths?

Life shines on, in serene tranquillity: white herons flashing over jewel-green rice fields ,a still mountain reflected in a lotus-filled lake at dawn…can anyone deny such sacred beauty?
The Divine is the unchanging source and substance of all things-
Impeccable, immortal, invulnerable and limitless Perfection
This is who you really are: you are part of the Divine, like all that exists.

Somewhere along the way, you forgot your source, wandered along the path of delusion, identified with a ghost called the ego that robbed you of your infinite and immortal Self.
Like body and mind, the ego is a good servant…but a terrible master.
The servants have usurped the throne!
Drop your intellect, your habits, your story!
Return to the Self . Dive deep into the still source of Being.

Let the Self take its rightful place as the true monarch.
Then you will once more know the perfection of Sat-Chit-Ananda, Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
You will be- and whatever needs to be done will get done, effortlessly and perfectly.
Thus all will be whole and all will be well.

The Great Devourer

" Arunachala destroys attachment to worldly things."
"Until the mind has totally and permanently merged in its source, the less you use it, the better! "
Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi

O Lord of Mountains, your stillness is an infinite chasm that devours everything.
Devour my so-called knowledge, my stubborn opinions, my pride in my learning.
Destroy my boastful intellect and all its smug concepts.
Incinerate my ancient vasanas, my habits, my form, my story.

O Arunachala, swallow my ego, my mind, my attachments, my sense of individuality.
Rescue me from the illusion of time that traps me in the past and robs me of the eternal present.
Grant me the grace of being still in the thought-free peace and perfection that is you.
In the blaze of your compassion , melt me like steel in your forge.

Embrace me in your infinite Silence and let me be one with you.
Be merciful, great fire-linga, and clothe me with your Light.

O fiery Pillar of Brahman, sacred Arunachala, shine forever in my Heart!

Longing

"Devotees by their power of concentration, by their purity of life, and by their divine love become wonderful healers. Their every tear and sigh become a source of healing for themselves and those around them. Devotion is the fire in which all infirmities are consumed." Hazrat Inayat Khan

Deep in my soul, a primordial longing awakens:

Faint memories of a thousand lifetimes reminding me of my true home.

Turning away from the outer, I dive deep into myself to find that forgotten peace,

To once more embrace that infinite Self who is all love and wisdom and truth.

Sweet Lord of my Heart, your grace is the source of this blessing:

How amazing and marvellous !

The source of my longing for you is your longing for me!

Now, like babe in mother’s lap, I rest in the bliss of your Silence.

In the perfection of this meeting and merging,
there is only One.

Heart Moon

In a hole in a tiny lotus-bud in my chest, the whole universe is contained.

Here, in that boundless space of consciousness, the full moon of divine rapture shines eternally.

The Lord of my Heart graciously cleared the eclipse of ignorance so that I could gaze upon this glory.

To see it is only to be it.

In total surrender, I dissolve in the sacred silence of Love.
Here is the timeless ground of  unshakable peace.

All is radiance, wholeness, perfection.

Here compassionate grace swells in an infinite ocean of bliss.

Tapasya

What language is spoken in dreams?

Should you speak to the Divine in words? Who and where is He?
The end of the quest is the end of the question.

He is the one true Listener, the giant ear in the Heart.

Speak to him with all your being….humbly, sincerely, lovingly.

Wait patiently for His answer.

When He begins to speak, every cell, every atom in you will hear.

Then all your speaking will end.

So will all your doubts and questions, your suffering, your pain , your misery.

This is how the axe of Grace will descend upon your neck: sadhana ends when the sadhak disappears!

Now you will be perfect and ecstatic silence; as you sink in the Heart cave,

you will be bathed in that loving, healing, compassion,

you will dissolve so gladly in that transcendent bliss.

So what happens when you merge at last with the Self?

Does tapasya end?

The tapasvin disappears, but Jeevan mukti is merely incessant, joyous tapas,

natural, blissful, involuntary and impersonal tapas.

This total, self-effulgent, perfect tapas is jnana, is bhakti, is Brahman.

This is the true power behind all that exists.

Go For It!

“Being born as a human being is a precious gift, since it is possible for every human being to experience the divine Self. If you waste your life on pursuit of external fulfilment alone, you are throwing away the pearl beyond all price. This is the real suicide.” Shankaracharya

"You know you can be free and now it is up to you. Either you remain forever hungry and thirsty, longing, searching, grabbing, holding, ever losing and sorrowing or you go out wholeheartedly in search of that state of timeless perfection to which nothing can be added, from which nothing can be taken away. In it all desires and fears are absent, not because they have been given up, but because they have lost their very meaning." Nisargedatta Maharaj

Who is the life within you?

Every minute, breath flows in and out, keeping you alive.

Whether awake or asleep, without conscious intent or volition, this breathing  goes on.

Who is the in-dweller, deep in your chest, who breathes incessantly, without fail?

Focus all your attention inwards, on the source of your sense of life, of your very existence.

Deep within, where  the mind retires in sleep, something stirs: something effulgent, something divine.

Here in this vast and perfect space of consciousness,

There is no body, no mind, no person, no world, no God:

In this sweet Silence where the Guru shines in the heart, Being is all there is.

This is the Self.

Peace is the very nature of the Self.

Peace is where you discover Vedanta, that which lies beyond the mind, the end of all knowing.

Give yourself wholeheartedly to this inner exploration, this return  to the source, to the Self.

This is the metamorphosis, the transformation that frees you of all suffering and misery forever.

This is the gift of Grace, immortal peace and infinite bliss.

This is your birth-right, your inheritance, your greatest treasure, the crowning glory that makes being human worthwhile!

Go for it!

In the Eye of the Storm

In this life-storm , I battled ferocious hurricanes of greed and desire ,

Somehow burrowed through the body of the cyclone of karma,

Used the last of my strength and willpower to seek the centre,

the eye of the storm,

Where I can finally rest in your blissful stillness and peace.

I am holding on to your feet, sweet Lord of my heart,  with all my being: do not let me be torn away!

Let your Grace envelop and protect me.

Do not let fate seize me in  the noose of ego once more

and drag me out into that fierce vortex of samsara

To be tumbled like a feather across endless lifetimes by powerful vasana winds.

I beg you: hold me still, dear Lord!

Swallow me once and for all and digest me in the fire of your bliss!