The Heart

In the depths of being, warmed by the sunshine of grace, the Heart-lotus blossoms.
Floating on an infinite ocean of peace, under endless skies of freedom,
this is the kingdom of heaven, the source, the immortal flame.

Here the Self dances in joyous delight and the fragrance of sat-chit-ananda fills the air.

Here, no darkness or fear or doubt can ever arise; here, all suffering ends, all sadness dissolves in the warmth of compassionate bliss.

Here there is no space, no time, no birth, no death.

Here the Divine One sits in eternal samadhi, abiding in perfect peace.

Be still. Be silent. Be thought-free.
Sink deep into yourself and surrender at His feet.

Guru Poornima Prayer

“Praise to the holy feet of him who assigned the moon its coolness, the sun its heat, and the mind its discrimination.
Supreme consciousness of the Self, whose divine radiance shines fulsomely within the Heart as an inextinguishable lamp.
You are light! You are darkness! You are the reality that is neither of these!
You are the Supreme that is the refuge for us your devotees.

You are jnana! You are the brilliance of jnana! You are grace’s clear serenity!
Yours is the greatness of the all-transcending space of consciousness. 
You are one! You are two! You are the beauteous temple of mauna standing beyond both of these.
You are medicine! You are a jewel! You are the exalted holy mantra.

You are love, deep and bliss-bestowing, arising first as the source of all that is!
You are the infinitude that abides immovably as Sivam.”
Ramana Puranam

“ What is meant by moksha? Do the heavenly world and heavenly bliss exist somewhere in the sky? Are these to be experienced in some other body and in some other world after leaving this world and this body? The supreme world is only the Heart. Tranquility in the form of supreme silence is supreme bliss, the happiness of liberation. Cessation of worries is the attainment of the supreme state. Through the state of being-consciousness, the life of perfect bliss can be attained at all times and in all states in this very world and in this very body.” Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharishi.

No words can describe the infinite glory of the Guru.

The Guru is a cosmic principle, the Light that banishes all darkness, the Grace-bestowing power of God.

The Guru is the Self, the shining Brahman that dwells at the very heart of all beings, the source and the substance of everything.

The Guru is the embodiment of unconditional, infinite love, the mountain of  unshakable peace, the ocean of divine bliss.

The Guru is the purifying fire, the transforming flame, the fountain of all blessings.

Father, mother, protector, beloved, teacher, God…..the Guru is all these and more.

The Guru is the wish-fulfilling tree whose shade grants immortal, eternal joy.

Let go your fear, your guilt, your sadness, your doubt - surrender with loving devotion at the Guru’s lotus feet.

This is enough : nothing more needs to be done.                                   

“The eternal, unbroken, natural state of abiding in the Self is jnana. To abide in the Self you must love the Self. Since God is  verily the Self, love of the Self is love of God; and that is bhakti. Jnana and Bhakti are thus one and the same.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi, Maharishi’s Gospel.

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.

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

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 

https://lightsongs.blogspot.com/2016/02/surrender-in-heart.html

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.

That Mystery

“He endows the sun each day with its effulgence;
He imbues the sacred moon with her coolness;
Within fire he kindles its warring might;
To the incorruptible ether he gives its pervasive power;
To the glorious wind he imparts its forceful energy;
To the reflecting waters he gives sweet savour;
To the earth he gives its obvious dense solidity.
Thus does he ever enclose within the countless crores of entities
their respective qualities, each according to their nature’” Tiruvachakam

That mystery that is ever whole, ever perfect, ever still,
That dancing energy at the heart of being,
That infinite emptiness that contains all things,
That silence that sings the song of truth,
That divine peace where perfect contentment reigns supreme,
That blissful benediction that grants immortal freedom,
That ecstatic love that embraces all that is;

To that formless vastness, that wondrous power, that sweet certainty,
I bow in absolute surrender.

O Lord of Gurus, let me melt like wax in that flame!

Call it the Tao, the Void, God or  Brahman – the foundation and very substance of all that exists is pure, self-aware, intelligent Consciousness. When this concentration of absolute potential rises up in waves, it creates the energy underlying all matter, and thus, it creates the universe. All creation is therefore but froth on the infinite ocean of consciousness.