You and I

 

“Except by the Lord’s Grace, which begins to function when one surrenders oneself completely at His Feet with sincere devotion, it cannot be cognised merely by the skill of the mind of the jiva - so subtle is the reality.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi

I mastered all the sacred texts but could not find you there.

I thought I was the teacher but found I was the taught.

What a tale is this, this lament of seeking and finding!

I thought I was the seeker and found I was the sought.

Between nothing and everything, you weave this wondrous tapestry.

With the secret voice of silence, you sing this eternal song.

Our game of hide-and-seek  has endured for a thousand lifetimes:

Enough! Tell me, oh player, where do I truly belong?

You eternal child, all the galaxies are your playthings;

You dwell in sacred wonder, in unending joy and grace.

Who can ever describe you if no one can look upon you and live?

All the faiths have sung your glory, yet no one knows your face!

I wasted my precious lifetime searching in all the wrong places;

Now the sand in my hourglass is swiftly running out.

It’s time you proved your compassion, now do whatever you must:

Just let me know you at last, beyond all shadow of doubt!

This fever of longing burns me like kindling on a pyre.

Helpless, I am  drawn like a moth to your flame.

Let the gentle rain of your grace cool me down, O beloved- 

As  voice blends in chorus, let me merge forever in the harmony of your name.

“Only when Self, the truth of love, is known, will the knot of all the severe problems in life be severed. Only when the pinnacle of love (the supreme love or para-bhakti) is attained can even liberation be said to be attained. Love is verily the heart of all religions.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi

Celebrating Christmas

 “Thou needst not seek Him here or there, He is no further off than at the door of thy heart; there He stands lingering, awaiting whoever is ready to open and let Him in. Thou needst not call to Him afar, He waits much more impatiently than thou for thee to open to Him. He longs for thee a thousandfold more urgently than thou for Him: one point the opening and the entering.” (Meister Eckhart, Sermon 4)

Today we celebrate the birth of the Lord of Light, the compassionate one who dispels the darkness and brings true comfort and joy.

He told us that we are made in God’s image and the kingdom of Heaven is always within us. He asked us to love all living beings and live a life of humility, faith and charity. He spoke of the purity of innocence, the mystery of grace, the magic of forgiveness and the power of living in the present. He proclaimed the truth for all to hear, but those who listened and understood were very few.

“I have one power in my soul fully sensible of God. I am as certain as I live that nothing is so close to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to my own self; my life depends upon God’s being near me, present in me.” (Meister Eckhart, Sermon 69) 

If you would honour Him, seek Him in the depths of your own being. This is His kingdom; your innermost soul is His throne, where He shines brighter than a thousand suns. Go there. 

Throw yourself at His feet in unconditional surrrender and love Him with all your heart.

“Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has ever grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart.” St. Catherine of Genoa, Life and Doctrine, 1551

 If you would know perfection, let yourself melt in that pure love and dissolve like salt in the ocean of His peace.

I wish you a blessed Christmas…may all your days be filled with His light!

“Those whose eyes are open do not need to go to a church and look at a picture or statue of the Lord. In the eyes of every infant, in the smile of every human being, they receive the blessing of Christ. If the eyes and ears are open, the leaves of the trees become as pages of the Bible. If the heart is alive, the whole of life becomes one single vision of His sublime beauty, speaking to us at every moment.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

Perfect Ripeness

 “The softest thing in the universe

Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.

That without substance can enter where there is no room.

Hence I know the value of non-action.

Teaching without words and work without doing

Are understood by very few.” Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

Empty your heart of  desire and fill it with gratitude.

Why beg for grace, when nothing but grace exists?

True prayer’s a gamble where you gladly offer your own head 

To the executioner’s sword.

Ah! Who can describe the wonder of that victory?

Let the illusion of selfhood drop off like a discarded cloak.

Once merged with the ocean, does the river still yearn for the sea?

Does the flute know anything of the sequence of  notes

When the divine musician plays His infinite melody?

Maturity means the end of all knowing and doing.

When all is one, all suffering will cease.

Clothed in infinite space, the sage stands firm as a mountain –

Perfect ripeness shines in unshakable peace.

“The Maharshi was an embodiment of Peace and Silence. The ocean’s surface dances in waves, laughs in sparkling foam, roars as its thunderous waves clap and clash! And yet, deep in its inner vaults, it rests in eternal Silence and Peace. Without such a divine and spiritual depth, the work and activities of this universe would become worthless and aimless. Work should be undertaken and pursued to take us ultimately to the workless abode of divine Silence and endless Peace. This is the secret doctrine of all our Vedas and ancient scriptures.” Swami Tapovanam, on Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi

This Last

 Now  I am old and grey and breathless -

when I sing, I just can’t hit the high notes anymore;

Been a long time since I was the life and soul of the party

But wait! I still have some ways to go.

 

I learn to delight in solitude and silence;

In stillness,  I seek the source of ‘I’.

Letting everything go in devotion and surrender,

With one-pointed mind, I  die before I die.

The inner space leads to states beyond description.

Deep diving mind disappears in the heart of me .

Breaking all moorings, this ship is adrift on the void.

Grace-winds  blow it across a thought-free sea.

The Guru’s glance is sure and certain deliverance

-the coming of dawn will end the longest night. 

Perfect bliss heralds the end of all suffering;

darkness cannot exist in the presence of light!

Death disappears and fear dissolves like mist-

at last this last shows me how to truly be:

Awake, alert and joyous, just here, just now;

Wherever I look, the sacred is all I see.

Om Bhagavan! Jai Bhagavan ! Jai Bhagavan!

The Way and the Wayfarer

 

“There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy.It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility.” Thomas Merton.

There is a secret at the heart of things, a gentle power, invisible yet undeniable, that is omnipotent, unchanging, eternal. There is an underlying, intelligent pattern that is responsible for the miraculous elegance and perfection of this natural universe.

Filled with compassionate wisdom, this divine energy is the source and the substance of all that exists. Call it Self or Brahman, Buddha-Nature or Consciousness, God or Tao or Great Spirit, intellect cannot fathom it nor language describe it. This is the Way.

Throughout human history, the true mystics and sages of all cultures and creeds have recognised the sacred in Nature and venerated this power, seeking through stillness and deep introspection to merge harmoniously with this vital ocean that is the substratum of everything.

“That which is consciousness alone, which is all-pervading, which is eternal, which is all-full, which is of the form of bliss and which is indestructible, is the only true Brahman.” Varaha Upanishad

At the core of every living being, a sacred flame burns incessantly – this is the Self, the divine truth that pervades all creation. This is the great mystery, the microcosm that contains the macrocosm, the source of all love and joy, the fountain of immortality. Any human can discover this infinite treasure within, this wellspring of unalloyed bliss and perfect peace. This is why a human birth is so precious! 

The true purpose of human existence is to directly experience this perennial truth; no greater purpose exists. 

“Why does everyone like the Tao so much at first?
Isn't it because you find what you seek and are forgiven when you sin?
Therefore this is the greatest treasure of the universe.” Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

There is a primordial echo in the deepest layers of human consciousness, a knowing in cell and blood and bone, a remembrance of one’s true home and one’s innate divinity. This is what drives humans to seek ultimate wisdom, to penetrate into the innermost depths of consciousness in search of perfection, to find the Way inside, outside, everywhere. The ancient Chinese mystics called this “cultivating the Way.”

Throughout human history, many enlightened beings have borne witness to the Tao, the Way, the blessing of Grace, the essence of the sacred.

O wayfarer, if you would know heaven on earth, return to the Way!

 When the Way and the wayfarer are one, then all is whole, all is holy, all is well.

Quietude

 

“Higher than quietude there is no achievement; higher than quietude there is no effort; higher than quietude there is no tapas; higher than quietude there is no deathless life.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi

My Guru told me : be quiet.

I get quieter and quieter.

I go deeper and deeper into the silence.

The deeper I go, the more I disappear.

What is left of me surrenders in humble devotion:

 A benediction of grace falls like a gentle rain.

In the tiny heart in the center of my chest, a lotus blossoms.

All the galaxies are but grains of dust in its vastness.

Perfect bliss reigns in that infinite ocean of peace.

“Except by the Lord’s grace, which begins to function when one surrenders oneself completely at His feet with sincere devotion, the truth cannot be cognised merely by the skill of the mind of the jiva- so subtle is the reality.

When the tricky senses are controlled, when mental conceptions are removed, and when one is unshakably established as Self in the Heart, then the knowledge which shines in that state of firm Self-abidance is the real God. Such a true seeing, which is devoid of illusion and deception, is the state in which one shines as the ocean of bliss. Only in the supreme silence, which is thus achieved in Self-abidance, will the soul never again have a downfall.”Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi

The Perennial Wisdom

 

(Painting by Meena Subramaniam- acryllic on canvas)

“They alone see truly who see the Lord the same in every creature, who see the Deathless in the hearts of all that  die.” The Bhagavad Gita 13:27

"The eye wherein I see God is the same eye wherein God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one vision, one knowing, one love.” Meister Eckhart

In plant and animal, fish and bug and reptile, in man and bird and tree, in mountain and meadow, in forest and sea, the miracle of life shines forth with a trillion faces, awesome in its glory. Can you not see? 

This is the true test of evolution, of spiritual wisdom, of enlightenment: do you look upon every living being with deep love and respect, seeing only the Divine shining in each one?

“ There is no joy in the finite -true joy can only be found in the infinite.” The Upanishads

The wise man soon learns that all the pleasures and objects of this world cannot bring him the true happiness that his heart yearns for. Embedded deep in his DNA is a memory of unlimited contentment and everlasting peace. Once he remembers this, nothing else can ever satisfy him.

So he dives into himself and seeks the source of his own existence. Stilling his tumultuous mind, he turns all his attention towards understanding his own true nature. With one-pointed faith and devotion, he surrenders to the divine within.

 Deep in consciousness, at the very core of being,  he discovers the gate-less gate, the doorway through the unknown into the unknowable.

“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 tranquility of the mind and senses and becomes absolved from grief.”Katha Upanishad

Thus begins the journey of spiritual evolution, the quantum leap in consciousness that is the true purpose of life as a human being. At last he knows, beyond all shadow of doubt, that it is possible to obtain a permanent and joyous state of mind in which all fears are banished, all conflicts are resolved and all desires fulfilled.

“To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness?” – Isa Upanishad

 Now he dwells in splendour, in union with the vast and perfect whole, immeasurably blessed and at peace. Wherever he looks, all he sees is Light.

“ 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.

Supreme Virtue - the Art of the Warrior

 

Painting by Tarini Dhar Prabhu

“Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original Oneness? 

Can you let your body become supple as a new-born child's? 

Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the Light?”

Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will? 

Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course? 

Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things? 

Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, 

acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: 

this is the supreme virtue.” Lao Tsu, Tao te Ching.

Every baby is born enlightened.

But then, the process of thinking develops - the brainwashing begins.

As the personality grows, thick layers of mindstuff envelop you in a cocoon of ignorance.

Unnecessary thoughts flow faster and faster, like whitewater rapids in a river.

Increasingly, you dwell on the dead past or the unborn future, while completely missing out on the actual present moment.

The illusion of individuality fills you with the terror of being alone and helpless in an uncaring world.

The shadow of death looms over you like an executioner’s sword.

Soon you are lost and suffering in the desert of space-time and the delusion of separation.

This is the adventure and the nightmare of being mortal.

You can wake up and end the suffering if you discover your true immortal nature.

Learn to be still; turn all your attention inwards.

Return to the original thought-free innocence of pure being.

Know the magic of direct experience without the filter of mind.

Feel the infinite, perfect wholeness that pervades and underlies everything.

Claim your divine inheritance and enjoy the bliss of heaven on earth.

“The art of a warrior is to balance the terror of being human with the wonder of being human.” Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan

Celebrating Light

 
“ What a mystery is Light!
Awareness in form, burning fog and mist and darkness away,turning all it touches into radiance.
See the Light within.
Let it shine into all the dark, hidden corners of your being.
This is enough.
Observation, without judgement, is transformation.”
Lightsongs -the book.

When darkness gathers, do not despair.

All that is needed to dispel it is the mere presence of Light.

Light is sun and moon and stars, fire and lightning, spark and flame.

Both particle and wave, it is the quantum expression of  eternal, absolute truth.

Light is indestructible, perfect, whole; it is the intelligent, living consciousness that is the substratum of all that exists.

Light pervades every atom and cell, forming the very fabric of creation.

Light is the fire of faith in the heart proclaiming the joy of devotion.

Light is Brahman , the infinite Self, the One, the Tao.

Light is unconditional love and compassion, radiant grace aflame at the innermost core of being.

In every living eye, this sacred Light shines through.

Be sure! There is nothing that this glorious Light cannot do.

“Singularly illuminating is the bright awareness,
Full of wonder is the pure illumination.
The moon’s appearance, a river of stars,
Snow-clad pines, clouds hovering on mountain peaks.
In darkness, they glow with brightness.
In shadows, they shine with a splendid light.”
Hongzhi Zhengjue, Zen Master, 11th Century

 

A Prayer for COP26

 (World leaders are meeting at Glasgow to try and save the planet.)

It is indeed the mind that is the cause of men’s bondage and liberation. the mind that is attached to sense-objects leads to bondage, while dissociated from sense-objects it tends to lead to liberation.”Amrita-bindu Upanishad

There is a race of beings who have God in their blood, their cells, their bones.

Divinity shines in every strand of their DNA.

Their home is a wondrous planet filled with beauty and life.

Immortal, infinite peace is theirs by birthright and ecstatic bliss is their natural state of being.

How fortunate, how blessed they should be!

Alas -this entire race has been driven insane by a sinister illusion, so they have forgotten who they really are. This has resulted in limitless selfishness and greed becoming the core of their world-view.

Brainwashed by this unreal, yet deadly, virus, filled with fear and insecurity and rage, they are destroying themselves and their home planet, creating self-inflicted suffering like dreamers trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

If only some miracle could jolt them awake!

What is required is an evolutionary quantum leap that results in a transformation of racial consciousness.

In the long history of this race, several individual beings across time and geography and cultures have achieved such transformation. This proves it is possible..

These beings, the mystics and sages and messiahs, have preached this possibility and exhorted their fellow beings to awaken too.

If enough individuals could achieve this, a critical mass would be created that could trigger a rapid, species-wide wave of transformation.

May every individual awaken!

May the intelligent power that pervades all creation make this happen!

May the blessings of the great enlightened beings shower down upon this race!

Om shanti, shanti, shanti .

“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 tranquility of the mind and senses and becomes absolved from grief”. – Katha Upanishad

 

The Unborn

 

“Heaven and Earth last forever.
Why do Heaven and Earth last forever?
They are unborn,
So ever living.
The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead.
He is detached, thus at one with all.
Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.” Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

The world is born from being.

Being is born from non-being.

All that is born will change.

All that is born will die.

The unborn is the eternal mother of all things.

Beyond being and non-being, beyond space and time, beyond body and mind,

Only the real exists.

The real is infinite, unchanging, unattached, perfect and whole.

Like a mirage rising from hot desert sands, the unreal rises and falls – again and  again.

“Is it not because one forgets one’s truth, the light of consciousness, that one gets caught in the net of  Maya, from which one does not know how to escape? The power of Maya is that it causes the jiva to do over and over again that which it already has done.”  Sri Ramana Maharishi, Padamalai.

If you identify with that which is born, you choose suffering and death.

If you identify with the source, the unborn, you choose immortality and blissful peace.

The first choice leads you into the maze of  delusion over and over again.

The second choice takes you home to your true perfect Self.

The sage, in his infinite compassion, says to us: before this body dies, choose wisely!

Return to the source and discover heaven on earth.

“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.”
Krishna Yajur Veda, Shvetasvatara Upanishad

Harmony

 “We are even closer to God than the fishes are to the ocean in which they live. The innermost being of man is the real being of God; man is always linked with God. If he could only realize it, it is by finding harmony in his own soul that he finds communion with God. All meditation and contemplation are taught with this purpose: to harmonize one's innermost being with God, so that He is seeing, hearing, thinking through us, and our being is a ray of His light.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

Kabir said “ I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty.”

Pause a moment – feel the flowing current of  God in which you live.

Deep in your chest, a flame shines like a thousand suns.

The triumphant music pouring from that flame is your wake-up call: listen!

Without instrument or voice, heaven and earth join in that hymn of glory.

Tree and wind and mountain and sea join the chorus of stars and sky.

Listen with the ears of your heart and you cannot but hear that music.

With all your being, just sing that divine song!

O child of immortal bliss, stand tall and claim your heritage.

If you would know Grace, understand that everything is pervaded by the One .

Fill your days with beauty and joy, live fearlessly and totally in that harmony.

Thus will you be a light unto yourself and unto all creation.

“Thou art my all in all, O Lord!-the life of my life, the essence of essence;

In the three worlds I have none else but Thee to call my own.

Thou art my peace, my joy, my hope; Thou my support, my wealth, my glory;

Thou my wisdom and my strength.

Thou art my home, my place of rest; my dearest friend, my next of kin;

My present and my future, Thou; my heaven and my salvation.

Thou art my scriptures, my commandments; Thou art my ever gracious Guru;

Thou the Spring of my boundless bliss.

Thou art the Way, and Thou the Goal; Thou the adorable One, O Lord!

Thou art the Mother, tender-hearted; Thou the chastising Father;

Thou the Creator and Protector; Thou the Helmsman who dost steer

My craft across the sea of life.” 

A favorite hymn of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

 

Hold Fast To The Center

The kingdom of heaven lies within you.

It is formless, soundless, intangible, but it is real.

It is the greatest treasure in the universe.

It is your birth-right, your true nature.

If you would see the invisible, 

hear the silent,

know the unknowable,

Be still.

Dive into yourself, deep down, into the very heart of being.

A mystical flower blossoms in these depths, revealing the Light divine.

This is the center,

the Tao, Brahman, God,

the eternal, immortal power that is the source and the substance of all things.

This is the place of blissful, loving, peace.

Hold fast to this center.

All that needs to happen will happen.

There is nothing more to be done.

“Empty yourself of everything.

Let the mind become still.

The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.

They grow and flourish and then return to the source.

Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.

The way of nature is unchanging.

Knowing constancy is insight.

Not knowing constancy leads to disaster.

Knowing constancy, the mind is open.

With an open mind, you will be openhearted.

Being openhearted, you will act royally.

Being royal, you will attain the divine.

Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao.

Being at one with the Tao is eternal.

And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.” Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching.

Wave or Ocean?

 

“The nature of the wave is to move. The nature of the ocean is to remain motionless. If the wandering wave loves the  nature of the ocean, namely, to remain still, it will lose its wave-form, subside, drown into the ocean and thereby become the ocean itself. Likewise, if the jiva, the wandering mind, loves Siva, the Self, he will be still, lose his jiva-nature of moving and standing as a separate entity, dissolve in Siva and become Siva Himself.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi

Are you the wave or are you the ocean?

Which would you rather be? 

Waste no energy on past and future –

live fully in the present.

Like a straw on the wind, like a leaf on the rushing river,

Let go and go gladly with the flow.

This is the key to mastery.

Drop the illusion of being a separate individual-

You are but a grain of sand on the vast beach of life.

Give up the fantasy of being in control -

In truth, you are as helpless as a new-born babe.

Stop  trying to  manipulate others or your environment-

Accept what is.

A compassionate divine intelligence takes care of the whole universe-

Trust that it is taking care of you as well.

Faith and humble surrender bring gifts beyond all price.

Return to the source of being through stillness:

Discover that your true nature is infinite, blissful peace.

“As rivers, flowing down, merge with the sea by giving up their names and forms, so also the illumined soul,  freed from name and form, merges with the self-effulgent supreme Self.” Mundaka Upanishad.

Rejoice

 

“Heart, the Source, is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all. It is the supreme space,  the formless light of Truth.The death of the mind drowned in the ocean of Self is the eternal silence. The real ‘I’ is the supreme Heart-space which is the great ocean of bliss.”                            Sri Ramana Maharishi, Guru Vachaka Kovai

When the body dies, you will not  die.

You are not that which comes and goes – you are the infinite perfection that underlies everything.

Your original state, the formless absolute, is the source of all creation.

Stillness returns one to this source – this has been the true way since the dawn of time.

If you would be immortal, take your stance in that original state.

Beyond beginnings and ends, the truth begins forever.

What changes is not real; what is real can never change.

The absolute truth is that nothing that happens can affect your real being.

The real is always you, so you need not wait to be what you always are.

You cannot know it – you  can only be it.

Silence is the ocean from which all things arise and into which all things must dissolve.

The mind and this world are but foam on the surface of this ocean .

Dive deep! Return to the formless whole.

Sat -chit-ananda is the eternal principle that always prevails .

Throw away everything else- die before your body dies.

When the illusion of individuality disappears, all desire – and all suffering- ends.

This is the true kingdom of heaven.

Your true and original state is Parabrahman, the divine, an immortal, eternal fountain of joyful, loving peace.

Be that – and rejoice!

“You are perfect. Abandon the idea of imperfection. There is nothing to be destroyed. Ego is not a real thing. Just as it is not necessary to kill the rope which one imagines to be a snake, there is no need to destroy the mind. Knowing the form of the mind benumbs the mind and makes it disappear. One cannot destroy what is eternally destroyed. Stability in the Self is the real posture. Be steady in that real posture.” Ramana Maharishi’s advice to Swami Madhavatirtha

All Is Well

" It is indeed the mind that is the cause of men’s bondage and liberation. The mind that is attached to sense-objects leads to bondage, while dissociated from sense-objects it tends to lead to liberation." – Amrita-bindu Upanishad

There is no beginning and there is no end.

Beyond knowing and unknowing, beyond emptiness and fullness, that which always is needs no names.

All the drama of this world is but a projection of the fevered human psyche on the screen of God.

The Real is the very source and  substance of all things.

Let the heart-lotus blossom - escape the prison of space and time and be free.

Stop trying to figure it all out ; mind cannot fathom the depths of soul.

Innocence plays there, naturally, without fanfare or fuss.

This is why little children own the kingdom of heaven; it was ever thus.

There is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go, no one to become.

All your learning is but a burden, all your doing, but a dream – just be.

Switch off the ceaseless chatter of  mind and live directly, joyously in the here and now.

Discover the real, at last! Taste the divine ecstasy!

Inside you, the Self shines with the glory of a million suns.

The entire universe chants a chorus of praise while love dances in waves on an endless sea.

This is your true home where perfect peace can dwell.

Be sure!

All is magic, all is always well.

"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 tranquility of the mind and senses and becomes absolved from grief." – Katha Upanishad

 

The Gift of The Masters

 

“The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.

The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Simple, like un-carved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.” Lao Tse, Tao Te Ching

The ancient masters of humanity discovered life’s greatest secret.

Beyond concepts and language, the truth they experienced was indescribable.

So, they embodied this truth and shared it as flowers share their fragrance.

Breathe deep  of such sweet wisdom! 

In the center of your chest there is a place of peace.

A secret flame shines there like a jewel in the moonlight.

It is a feeling place, a healing place.

It is a place of loving grace, of deep contentment and ecstatic bliss.

Every night you rest there, like  babe in mother’s lap, as your spirit suckles on the nectar of infinity.

In sleep,  you fall into its depths unaware and unconscious.

If you can be there in full awareness, you will truly inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Find this place – it is your greatest treasure, the birthright of every living being.

It is the key to experiencing your true immortality. 

The doorway to this heart-cave is silence and stillness.

Learn to still the restless mind, while you focus on pure existence, on your deepest sense of being.

Be alertly aware, totally present in each moment.

See clearly that you are not this limited body-mind complex.

Experience freedom from fear and delusion.

Rejoice in the glory of being one with everything.

Allow your consciousness to expand like the infinite blue sky.

This is the greatest good that you can ever do, the greatest gift you can give to those you love, the greatest blessing you can bestow upon humanity.

Be the divine perfection that you truly are!

Do It Now

 

The sun rises, the sun sets,  days drift by like dreams before your eyes. 

Sometimes things are up, sometimes, down; the face in the mirror gets older and older

As the years disappear like water down a drain.

Change fills you with doubt, with increasing uncertainty and fear.

Have you learned how to live in a world that is going insane?

People go away, people die : no  one stays forever.

Sooner or later,  everything will pass.

Snow melts, water flows, all  rivers end up in the sea.

Have you found your stance, have you learned the steps of this strange dance?

Tomorrow is not guaranteed – have you discovered how to truly be?

Listen , my friend…do not wait any longer, transformation is knocking at your door.

Fortunately, you are never alone- the divine shines always in your heart.

Turn your attention inwards, dive deep into the very core of your being.

Silence the endless cacophony of your flibbertigibbet mind.

Be still.

Surrender gladly and bathe in the light of that grace.

Place your feet firmly upon that earth, lift your head up into that wide blue sky.

Stand like a mountain, rooted in God.

Fear nothing anymore!

Discover the fountain of infinite bliss, the ocean of unshakable peace.

Do it now – there is no other time.

Do it now.

The Art of Waking Sleep

 

Deep sleep, an essential part of human existence, is a great mystery.

Here everything disappears-  the world, the body, the mind, the senses, the person – but some secret power remains, a power that grants happiness, rest and restoration to the weary spirit.

Every night you gladly lose yourself to taste infinity, to recharge your batteries for the effort of living your life. In that state of deep sleep, all attributes are lost..only a spark of pure being remains alive. This is what experiences the rejuvenation that you appreciate, so that you awaken feeling rested and refreshed.

Sleep conceals your greatest treasure: this divine spark  that is the very core of your being.

The process of falling asleep involves dropping all attributes, stilling mind and body, losing oneself in unconsciousness.

Learning how to achieve this same level of stillness, while maintaining an alert awareness of one’s own core, is meditation, the art of waking sleep.

Love, devotion, surrender – these are the keys to this art.

Grace is the blessing that shows you the way.

Turning all one’s attention inwards with loving devotion is the method…this is the warm sunlight that makes the heart-lotus blossom, revealing the perfection shining within.

This is how you touch God.

Once you have discovered this inner treasure, you need to practice paying all your attention to it.

Love is the motive and grace is the light that helps you be still enough to  touch the Self who dwells so radiant in your heart.

Throughout your day, whether walking or sitting, working or resting, speaking or silent, eating or sleeping, learn to hold onto  the divine within.

Every time you are distracted by some outer thought or feeling, observe your distraction and just return to the center.

Even in the midst of everyday activity, learn to return to deep stillness within.

Develop the habit of clinging to God – all the time, with every breath, with every beat of your heart. Not because you have to, but because you want to.

Become addicted to God.

This is the easiest and the greatest practice, to achieve the miracle of waking sleep.

This is the way.

Once you find that Light within, you will see it everywhere.

Nothing More

 “Out beyond all ideas of right and wrong there is a field.
Beyond that field, there is a secret harbour.
Pack your bags! I’ll meet you there -
We’ll sail out together into the vastness, with only the breeze to guide us.”
Jalaluddin Rumi

The world of death and the world of immortality are separated by the thinnest of veils.

In every moment, you chose where you wish to dwell.

O child of immortal bliss, see clearly and choose carefully;

One choice leads to heaven and the other, to hell.

Lost in the fog of samsara, have you overcome all sorrow and grief?

Have you found  your innermost core that is a treasure beyond all price?

Listen, this human birth is a precious gift – do not waste it!

Dive  deep within your own being and find that unchanging bliss.

Tossed on this turbulent sea, can constancy ever be found?

Is there, somewhere, something to hold on to, some anchor that stays forever firm?

Like a child clinging to his mother, cling to the Jnani’s blessed feet.

Sinking deep in the Heart cave where only He shines,  just melt in the glow of that peace.

In the end, all the sacred books are only words – truth lies immeasurably beyond.

Stop doing, stop striving, be thoughtless, be silent, be still.

When your mind is a perfect mirror that reflects faithfully with no judgement,

The infinite divine will blossom  in all its glory .

Nothing more can be said.

That Silence

 

“Higher than quietude there is no achievement; higher than quietude there is no effort; higher than quietude there is no tapas; higher than quietude there is no deathless life.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi

Who can speak of that silence that is the source of all language and all wisdom?

Who can begin to describe its secret ways, its magical power of  transformation ?

In the light of that grace, the divine shines in effortless splendour.

One sip  from that fountain bestows eternal, immortal bliss.

 Like a still lake reveals its translucent depths, the still mind reveals the shining Self.

This is the Heart, the divine silence that is the source of all that exists.

Turn within and surrender to this source that is the very core of being.

Dissolving in that silence, rest unshaken in deep and perfect peace.

He who stays forever anchored in that Self is a sage who has no wants.

Though he appears to inhabit a body, he is formless, boundless space.

Though he appears to speak, it is the Self alone that speaks:

The only words that transmit timeless truth are those that arise from that silence.

I am what I am

 (dedicated to Tarini, my dearest daughter, who lights up my life.)

You cannot begin to understand me, to capture me with your definitions, your classifications and projections; do not seek to mold me or groom me or change me – I will always be what I am.

I am as solid as a mountain yet as ethereal as air,  I am boundless space and fathomless ocean, I am thunder and lightning and storm.

I am the source and the goal, the beginning and end of everything, I am forest and fire and sky.

I am body and spirit, musician and instrument, artist and canvas, I am the writing on the wall that foretells all fates.

More beauteous than the dawn, I am invisible yet omnipresent, I am a secret power, take me lightly at your peril!

I am whole and I am strong, I am singer and song, I am the light in every living eye.

I can soak up my sadness, flow through my madness, dance like Shiva in my joy!

Softer than a mother’s kiss, yet sharper than a scimitar, I cut through all attributes, all limitations and bindings, to be forever free.

I am more than me.

Some  may praise me, some, condemn me: I do not give a damn!

Beyond rhythm and rhyme, beyond space and time,

I am what I am!