Beyond Thought

 

“The more you think about it, the further you are from the truth.
Cease all thinking, and there is nothing that will not be revealed to you.
To return to the root is to find the essence, but to pursue appearances is to miss the Source.
The moment you are enlightened, you go beyond appearances and emptiness.”
 Zen Master Seng Tsan, 6th century.

Discover the  treasure of the thought-free state, the crystal clarity of the empty mirror-mind.

Everything that happens is a gift.

Every circumstance that arises is a blessing.

All is always well.

All that you will ever need is already within you.

If you would dance through life with effortless ease, abide steadfastly in your own true nature. 

Being happy has nothing to do with how rich or famous or powerful you are.

Everything you think you possess can disappear in a flash.

Life is short and death is certain- the pursuit of wealth and power will rob you of your time.

Being who you truly are has nothing to do with how good you look or how tall you walk, how smart you think or how smooth you talk.

Being true to your self is being real, being present and aware, being one with what is in serene acceptance.

Stillness and silence are the great magicians- they transform earth into heaven, man into God.

“The darkness in me that had been heavy and unbearable before, gradually lightened and melted into a glow within. My erstwhile sadness disappeared completely, leaving in my Heart an inexplicable joy. My limbs appeared to be washed in an ocean tide of freedom. The colour of the world changed for me and the light of the day now took on an ethereal aspect. I saw the foolishness and futility of turning my gaze on the dark side of  life. Bhagavan, the strange magician, had opened before me a fresh new world of illumination and joy.” Chaganlal Yogi, describing his first meeting with his guru, Sri Ramana Maharishi.

The Guru’s grace is no ordinary blessing: it is the lightning bolt that changes everything.

Be still and open your heart to receive it.

Let go with total trust in absolute surrender.

As you return to the source deep in yourself, the veil of illusion disappears.

From here, wherever you look, the Self is revealed in all its glory.

Drink deep of that wellspring of infinite bliss!

Rejoice in that haven of perfect, unshakable peace.

A Joyous Heart

“If you live every day with a joyous heart, suffering and worry will withdraw, strife and conflict will also disappear, and the world will become calm and peaceful.” Maitreya Buddha

Every human being wants to be happy, to live every day with joy and wonder.

To dwell in pure, unalloyed happiness, regardless of circumstances -if such a state was possible, surely everyone would want it!

Since the dawn of time, all attempts at spiritual evolution have sought the practice or technique that could make this happen.

Siddhartha, the runaway prince, went through many years of arduous penance before he finally discovered the truth : happiness is the divine core of one’s  own true nature. This transformed him into the Buddha. When asked about his transformation, he called it “ the end of suffering.”

Throughout history, mystics and sages of all religions and cultures discovered this  same universal truth:

If you would know infinite, undisputed happiness, know the Divine within yourself.

“Heaven is not a place; it is a state, a condition within oneself, only experienced when the rhythm is in perfect working order. If one knows this, one realizes that happiness is man's own property. Man is his own enemy: he seeks for happiness in the wrong direction and never finds it. The one and only thing that hinders man from advancing spiritually is this: that the mind is so absorbed by the demands and wants of the physical body that it has hardly a moment to give itself entirely to focusing its attention inwards on the light of the soul.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

Turn your attention inwards. With one-pointed mind, seek the Heart, your innermost centre,  where the “I” rises from upon first awakening every day and sinks back into every night, in deep sleep.

With practice, you will master the ability to still the mind and to dive deeper and deeper into the silent core of being.

Here the mind dissolves in the light of the Self, the real “I”, the source and the substance of everything, the infinite peace that is ever real, ever aware, ever blissful.

Hold fast to this Self - cast your anchor deep!

Stay rooted forever in that joy.

“Heart, the source, is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all. Heart, the supreme space, is never a  form, It is the light of truth. The death of the mind drowned in the ocean of Self-consciousness 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