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

The Guru

 “He who turns you towards Self and reveals to you the knowledge of Self, is the Guru. In truth He is Self and He is God. Cling to Him. Without killing the body, but by killing, with His compassionate glance, the ego which poses as if it were really existing, the Guru exposes the entire fiction of name and form as nonexistent, and reveals the shining of the one Supreme Self as the only real existence. Just as a deer caught in the jaws of a tiger cannot escape, so those who are caught by the glance of the Sadguru’s grace will never be abandoned, but, having their ego and vasanas completely destroyed, they will realize the non-dual truth.” Sri Ramana Maharishi, Guru Vachaka Kovai

No words can begin to describe the glory and the mystery of the Guru.

Looking upon all with an equal eye, he sees only the Self everywhere.

On all those who take refuge at his feet, he showers divine blessings unstintingly.

His arrow of grace pierces the lotus of the Heart and grants perfect freedom and bliss.

The Guru is the grace-bestowing power of God.

He is Shiva, he is Brahman, he is the Self in every being.

Beyond space and time, he is the essence of Vedanta, pervading all that exists.

Though his true nature is formless, absolute, infinite and immortal, out of  compassion for his devotees, he sometimes takes a human form.

“Sri Ramana is not a theme for discussion; he is an experience; he is a state of consciousness. Sri Ramana was the highest reality and the cream of all scriptures in the world. He was there for all to see  how a Master can live in perfect detachment. Though in the mortal form, he lived as the beauty and purity of the Infinite.” Swami Chinmayananda

Sri Ramana Maharishi, the sage of Arunachala, left his body in 1950, after 54 years spent at the foot of his beloved mountain. He said “ Though they say I am dying, I am not going anywhere. Where can I go? I am here.”

Those who saw the sage while he was in his mortal form were truly blessed. His samadhi and the surroundings of Ramanasramam continue to be permeated by a wondrous, powerful, undiminished grace. Millions from all over the world have been drawn there and experienced the deep peace and compassionate blessings of the sage. There are even those who have never been to the Ashram but only worshiped from afar, reading his teachings and seeing his luminous gaze in photographs. 

Like thousands of fortunate souls, I bear witness to the living presence of Sri Ramana , at Ramanasramam and in my Heart. By his compassionate grace, all my deepest longings have been fulfilled. I cannot count his multitudinous blessings nor begin to describe the marvel of the transformation he has wrought in my soul. All I can do is bow at his sacred feet and give thanks, again and again. Om namo bhagawathe, Sri Ramanaya! 

The Art of Dying

 “Arise! Awake! Approach the great and learn. Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path, so the wise say—hard to tread and difficult to cross.”– Katha Upanishad

This human birth is a precious gift – use it wisely!

Experience your true nature-  the divine Self that is the source and the substance of everything.

You have lived a long life, a full life, had your share of all that the world can offer.

In this, the fading twilight of your life, will you wake up at last?

Are you prepared or will you fall unconscious into that dark limbo of death and rebirth?

Will you meet death in a fog of pain and sadness and fear  or will you embrace it in the clear light of truth: alert, aware, unafraid and joyful?

At the edge of eternity, do not waste energy on attachment and desire, worry and anger and regret.

Make your choice while you still can- practice now: learn how to die before your body dies.

“If you have firmly decided on one big unchanging goal, you can move forward without losing your way, no matter how many choices you may face.” Maitreya Buddha

Turn inwards with earnest determination – dive deep into yourself. 

Seek the core of being in devoted, humble surrender.

Give yourself totally to the prayer and the seeking, let the thirst for God be greater than all others.

While you still draw breath, practice every day.

Shravana - listen to the Truth.

Manana - ponder upon the Truth.

Niddhidhyasana - meld with the Truth.

Again and again and again.

Until you are one with the One.

"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 

The Tavern of the Mystic

“Come to the mystic, then, and sit with him when you are tired of all these other remedies that you have employed in vain; come take a glass of wine with him. The mystic wine is the inner absorption, which removes all the worries, troubles and cares of the physical and mental planes. All these are now done away with forever. It is the mystic who is truly at rest. It is he who experiences that perfect happiness which others do not experience. It is he who teaches the way to attain that infinite peace and joy which are the original heritage of man's soul.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

In the tavern of the mystic, a magical wine is served: I took but one sip and experienced the ecstasy of heaven. Now I am a shameless drunkard of the Heart, lost forever in surrender as a river is lost in the sea.

Poor addict that I am, I crave only that wine of total inner absorption: nothing else can ever satisfy me. People may scorn and mock me for always being drunk  – I care not! Lost in the Heart, how can anything of this world affect me ? In my father’s tavern, my intoxication is my protection, my joy knows no bounds.

“Abandon the drama of the world and seek the Self within. Stay within and I will protect you, ensuring that no harm befalls you. Seek my grace within the Heart. I will drive away the darkness and show you the light. This is my responsibility. Like the children of an emperor, my devotees are heirs to abundant rejoicing.!” Sri Ramana Maharishi,Padmalai, 

Now the days of my life flow gently and joyfully: whatever needs to happen  happens, whatever needs to be done gets done. Glad gratitude fills my heart to overflowing; drunk with love, all suffering disappears.

In the tavern of the mystic, I sit and I drink and I sing:

“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.” 
Favorite hymn of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

Shatter the Pot

 “Dissolve the self in the supreme Self as the pot-space is dissolved in infinite space; then, as the infinite, be silent for ever, oh sage!” – Adhyatma Upanishad

The space contained in an empty clay pot is never separate from the space outside it, which is  the vast space that contains the whole universe.

In the same way, the core of every living creature is never separate from the Self, the divine perfection that underlies and pervades all that exists.

The delusion of separation is the only problem – this is the primordial ignorance that traps one in the great illusion of samsara that is the realm of suffering.

Shatter the pot! This is all it takes to be free.

“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

Once you have shattered the illusion that is the ego, the Self is revealed in all its glory; you disappear - inside and outside there is only the One, transcendent, divine, blissful. 

This is enlightenment, to discover your true nature and union with the Self. All suffering ends when the illusion ends.

You are no longer a small, separate and limited individual – you are universal and divine. Being one with all that exists, you can truly love and cherish everything. 

Established firmly in existence-consciousness-bliss, nothing more is needed: there is perfect, joyous peace. 

“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

Dazzled by your identification with the body, you let the mind and senses run outwards in the world, as dictated by desire or fear.

Be still and break free from this false identity; return to the formless state. Without form, there is no desire or aversion. Thus one returns to the tranquility of original being which is your true nature.

Just turn all your attention inwards and seek your source. Hold fast to this source.This is enough. 

Become Love

 “Only when Self, the truth of love, is known, will the knot of all the  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 Sri Ramana Maharishi.

How much love is in your heart?

Let it be as vast and pure as the sky and as deep and full as the sea.

Love with every fibre of your being in total surrender to the Beloved.

Like a drop  falling into the ocean, lose yourself in that joy!

Love is the greatest of all treasures – nothing else can compare.

Love is the real, the true, the absolute value that is the ground of all things.

Love is the eternal, deathless, divine perfection at the heart of all that exists.

Love is your source and your very being, the secret in you that makes you precious.

In the cave of the heart, a lotus bud awaits the spring of your awakening.

Love totally, unconditionally, hold nothing back!

Crack yourself open like a walnut: let that feeling explode

And fill the boundless expanse of  bliss that you truly are!

How can words describe what it is to drink deep of this love?

Only the true lover understands its infinite power and grace.

Once you taste such celestial nectar, nothing else will ever satisfy you.

Become this love and you will discover its radiance everywhere.

Mother Anandamayi Ma

For Whomsoever The Bell Tolls

 “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.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi.

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed  to repeat it.

On your TV screen, missiles fly and buildings fall, war is smoke and fire, suffering and death.

It’s happening somewhere far away, it’s not really affecting you.

You read about unjust imprisonment, torture and rape and genocide…death again in a hundred different ways.

It’s happening to someone else, someone far away, nothing like that is happening to you.

Human greed multiplies like cancer, icebergs melt and forests burn, 200 living species disappear every day:

Your daily life seems mostly normal, it seems a long way from affecting you.

Until, one day, Armageddon explodes, the earth, air and water are poisoned, all the sparrows are gone;

Finally, you are forced to wake up and see-

Everyone is a part of you, everything touches you.

The whole universe is your own body: 

for whomsoever the bell tolls, it tolls for thee!

Despite all our vaunted scientific advances, our powerful technology, our superior intelligence, the same story happens over and over again.

Can human nature ever change? What is to be done?

The only magic wand is the evolution of human consciousness.

This evolution begins with you.

If you would save yourself, save your race and save this planet, do not waste another day in unconscious living.

Wake up! Break out of the matrix!

Discover your true nature and rest in that pure awareness: this is the best thing you can do.

All else will follow naturally, in just the right way, at just the right time.

“Everything is connected to everything else.
Everything must go somewhere.
Nature knows best. 
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Barry Commoner, the Four Laws of Ecology.