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.