The endeavour is deeply inspired by my beloved Masters, Gautam Buddha and Ramana Maharshi.
Please do not take any advice from these postings, enjoy the feeling if you can.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
A note from the author
This is the story of one devotees's struggle.
Monday, November 21, 2005
A new dawn
I chanced upon a piece by Osho named "The Great Nothing" after the Buddha's description of Nirvana. I read his words several times for a few days, and then all of a sudden (while looking at Bhagavan Ramana's photograph), I found myself lifting out of the malaise or depression of 2 months. I am happy once again, joyous each moment, i see You everywhere, in all things... This is what i thought just minutes before the dullness lifted:
Now that i have found You, i need nothing else. What "else" is there ?
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:
Sri Krishna said to Arjuna:
RamanaMaharshi
This dullness is itself Your grace, and Your will. It is itself a meditation. Instead of struggling against it, i must accept it, and relax.
i need to do less of meditation at present, and not stop the surrender process that i loved and kept me happy. i should not intellectualize this too much.
What happens happens. No struggle, no proactive actions. Your love is always there. It is upto me, to abide in You permanently, or not. It is upto me to abide in You, the flawless Brahman.
I resolve never to forget your words, never to for a moment doubt, never to despair. Since You and the Buddha came to me full of love, i recognize that my path is the path of loving You both. I am to cleanse myself through loving you and submerging myself in You.
How can one ever achieve reality by learning some tricks - it has to be by the simplest thing that no one needs to be taught - loving and being loved.
I am sorry to think that You abandoned me after coming to me. How could You, my Father, abandon me. How could You ever take Your eyes off me!
I can't call You (to me) any longer, my Lord, for You are already there, always there.
Now that i have found You, i need nothing else. What "else" is there ?
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:
For you singing the praises of God is enough. You need not desire realization, nor take up sadhana.
God's name is all you the food you need, live on it.
Sri Krishna said to Arjuna:
Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow to Me. Thus uniting yourself with Me, by setting Me as the supreme goal and the sole refuge, you shall certainly come to Me. (9.34)
Set aside all meritorious deeds and religious rituals, and just surrender completely to My will with firm faith and loving devotion. I shall liberate you from all sins, the bonds of Karma. Do not grieve. (18.66)
RamanaMaharshi
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Guru Disciple
“Isvaro gururatmeti” (The Self is the God and Guru) [See]
There never was any difference, my Lord, we are truly and undeniably One. Today i have burned so much in your love that there is really really no difference or distance left. I love Myself, my Lord, for you are me.
I touch myself and i touch you.
i have yearned to see and touch you, my Lord, and to my shock i realize that i always have. i yearned to be like you, and i realize that i never can, because i am you.
Yesterday we were the flower and the scent, today we are the flower.
What you said on August 18th (see blog below) is being realized today.
"The Buddha twirled a flower and Kashyap smiled."
Just the flower. The Guru and the Disciple are One flower. One mind, One soul.
The Guru-disciple are how a coin with only one side looks ... are the sound of one hand clapping!
In fact, the entire universe is the sound of one hand clapping.
Creation is a coin with only one side. There can only be one hand.
Even Duryodhana said of the guru-disciple relationship:
"AtmA hi Krishna pArthasya krishnasyAtmA dhananjayaha" (Krishna is Arjuna's soul, and Arjuna Krishna's soul).
"Nashto Mohah." - as Arjuna said to Lord Krishna.
Oct 17 2005 23:50
There never was any difference, my Lord, we are truly and undeniably One. Today i have burned so much in your love that there is really really no difference or distance left. I love Myself, my Lord, for you are me.
I touch myself and i touch you.
i have yearned to see and touch you, my Lord, and to my shock i realize that i always have. i yearned to be like you, and i realize that i never can, because i am you.
Yesterday we were the flower and the scent, today we are the flower.
What you said on August 18th (see blog below) is being realized today.
"The Buddha twirled a flower and Kashyap smiled."
Just the flower. The Guru and the Disciple are One flower. One mind, One soul.
The Guru-disciple are how a coin with only one side looks ... are the sound of one hand clapping!
In fact, the entire universe is the sound of one hand clapping.
Creation is a coin with only one side. There can only be one hand.
Even Duryodhana said of the guru-disciple relationship:
"AtmA hi Krishna pArthasya krishnasyAtmA dhananjayaha" (Krishna is Arjuna's soul, and Arjuna Krishna's soul).
"Nashto Mohah." - as Arjuna said to Lord Krishna.
Oct 17 2005 23:50
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Who Am I ?
(Note: Looking back several years later, embarassing exaggerations exist -- starred -- but it was overwhelming at that time and did seem like the end, lol )
The process of "Dissolution"* started in the beginning of August 2005, with the sudden bursting in of Ramana Maharshi. On August 18th, i recorded that i had lost myself/ my identity to Him (see previous blogs). What was happening through August and September was complete* surrender to the Divine, a period of intense devotion and letting go.
This was a period of "Nothing matters - Everything is just an illusion, anyway" - this physical world was fading away. The need for a separate identity had suddenly gone - the need for a cell-phone, keeping up with old friends, talking with people, maintaining a web-presence, getting searched up on Google ... After looking into the eyes of Ramana, there was nothing left to say or know, and nothing to hear. All doubts, questions, worries faded away.
A tradegy in the family (Oct 1)- the passing away of my 4-month old niece- shook me out of this "all is illusion" reverie, reminding me of the intense suffering of those still caught in the illusion, how very tangible and real the pain is for thousands of families every day.
This triggered the first serious attempt at self-enquiry - starting with a deep internal query of "What is the truth, what is reality?". This led to the "Who Am I/ Who is this in pain?".
Two days ago, i was wondering whether i/the ego was faking this sense of the losing the self. Was this some wish-fulfillment act happening ? After further, almost constant, self-enquiry over the last 24 hours, i realized that the one who thought he existed, never did. It was a figment of some imagination, a delusion. The one who my family loved all these years, never existed. The one who loved them never really existed. Those who think they are my family only think they exist!
(This is very similar to the way "suffering" vanished in Feb/March 2005) [See].
This body eats, sleeps, feel hungry or tired, but thats not "I". I know what I am not, but at this stage I have no idea who "I" really am. Yes, mentally, i do know that according to the Buddha or the Gita, "I" is the unborn, but i do not have any experience of that. "I" have lost the illusion, but not found reality.
I know that this body is working on its own, i am not controlling it, i can't - i am completely unconnected to it, i never was connected to it. i do not know what this body will do or say in the next moment, it is not me. [1][2]
Suddenly, i realized that the Ramana i knew, wasn't. Yes, Ramana is a name for someone who knows "I", is "I", but i thought Ramana was that body which passed away in 1950. Both "I" and "He" are no longer understood.
Here I am reminded of a Zen story ...
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
I wonder if this is my state. The false self is going/gone, and i am unassociated with anything. Does the self have to get cleared out, for the Self to become evident?
There are still some thoughts that come such as: if i retain certain likes and dislikes, does that mean that the ego/false self is still there? Or is it the body which is reacting afresh, retaining memory of past preferences? I am reminded of that story of 2 Chinese Zen masters who met.
"There once was a sage named Niu-T'ou Fa-Yung (Gozu Hoyu, Niutou Farong Fa-jung) 594-657, who lived in a lonely temple high in the mountains. He was visited one day by a wandering monk, T'ao Hsin, the Fourth Patriarch of the Chinese Lineage of Ch'an. As the two were talking a wild animal roared close by, T'ao Hisn, a fully Enlightened monk, jumped. "I see it is still with you," said the Fa-Yung...refering, of course, to the instinctive "passion" of fright. Shortly afterwards, while he was unobserved for a moment, T'ao Hsin inscribed the Chinese character for the Buddha on the rock Fa-Yung was accustomed to sit. When the sage returned to sit down he saw the sacred Name and hesitated to sit. "I see," said T'ao Hsin, "it is still with you!"
Footnotes:
[1] Events happen, deeds are done, there is no individual doer thereof - Buddha
[2] - "Tom, Dick, and Harry think they have written the books that they sign (or painted the pictures, composed the music, built the churches). But they exaggerate. It was a pen that did it, or some other implement. They held the pen? Yes, but the hand that held the pen was an implement too, and the brain that controlled the hand. They were intermediaries, instruments, just apparatus. Even the best apparatus does not need a personal name like Tom, Dick, or Harry." - The Wanderling
The process of "Dissolution"* started in the beginning of August 2005, with the sudden bursting in of Ramana Maharshi. On August 18th, i recorded that i had lost myself/ my identity to Him (see previous blogs). What was happening through August and September was complete* surrender to the Divine, a period of intense devotion and letting go.
This was a period of "Nothing matters - Everything is just an illusion, anyway" - this physical world was fading away. The need for a separate identity had suddenly gone - the need for a cell-phone, keeping up with old friends, talking with people, maintaining a web-presence, getting searched up on Google ... After looking into the eyes of Ramana, there was nothing left to say or know, and nothing to hear. All doubts, questions, worries faded away.
A tradegy in the family (Oct 1)- the passing away of my 4-month old niece- shook me out of this "all is illusion" reverie, reminding me of the intense suffering of those still caught in the illusion, how very tangible and real the pain is for thousands of families every day.
This triggered the first serious attempt at self-enquiry - starting with a deep internal query of "What is the truth, what is reality?". This led to the "Who Am I/ Who is this in pain?".
Two days ago, i was wondering whether i/the ego was faking this sense of the losing the self. Was this some wish-fulfillment act happening ? After further, almost constant, self-enquiry over the last 24 hours, i realized that the one who thought he existed, never did. It was a figment of some imagination, a delusion. The one who my family loved all these years, never existed. The one who loved them never really existed. Those who think they are my family only think they exist!
(This is very similar to the way "suffering" vanished in Feb/March 2005) [See].
This body eats, sleeps, feel hungry or tired, but thats not "I". I know what I am not, but at this stage I have no idea who "I" really am. Yes, mentally, i do know that according to the Buddha or the Gita, "I" is the unborn, but i do not have any experience of that. "I" have lost the illusion, but not found reality.
I know that this body is working on its own, i am not controlling it, i can't - i am completely unconnected to it, i never was connected to it. i do not know what this body will do or say in the next moment, it is not me. [1][2]
Suddenly, i realized that the Ramana i knew, wasn't. Yes, Ramana is a name for someone who knows "I", is "I", but i thought Ramana was that body which passed away in 1950. Both "I" and "He" are no longer understood.
Here I am reminded of a Zen story ...
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
I wonder if this is my state. The false self is going/gone, and i am unassociated with anything. Does the self have to get cleared out, for the Self to become evident?
There are still some thoughts that come such as: if i retain certain likes and dislikes, does that mean that the ego/false self is still there? Or is it the body which is reacting afresh, retaining memory of past preferences? I am reminded of that story of 2 Chinese Zen masters who met.
"There once was a sage named Niu-T'ou Fa-Yung (Gozu Hoyu, Niutou Farong Fa-jung) 594-657, who lived in a lonely temple high in the mountains. He was visited one day by a wandering monk, T'ao Hsin, the Fourth Patriarch of the Chinese Lineage of Ch'an. As the two were talking a wild animal roared close by, T'ao Hisn, a fully Enlightened monk, jumped. "I see it is still with you," said the Fa-Yung...refering, of course, to the instinctive "passion" of fright. Shortly afterwards, while he was unobserved for a moment, T'ao Hsin inscribed the Chinese character for the Buddha on the rock Fa-Yung was accustomed to sit. When the sage returned to sit down he saw the sacred Name and hesitated to sit. "I see," said T'ao Hsin, "it is still with you!"
Footnotes:
[1] Events happen, deeds are done, there is no individual doer thereof - Buddha
[2] - "Tom, Dick, and Harry think they have written the books that they sign (or painted the pictures, composed the music, built the churches). But they exaggerate. It was a pen that did it, or some other implement. They held the pen? Yes, but the hand that held the pen was an implement too, and the brain that controlled the hand. They were intermediaries, instruments, just apparatus. Even the best apparatus does not need a personal name like Tom, Dick, or Harry." - The Wanderling
Monday, August 29, 2005
August 29, 1896
This is the historic day when Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi left His home in Madurai, for Arunachala where He spent the rest of His life. The letter He left behind ran:
"I have, in search of my father, and in obedience to his command, started from here. This is only embarking on a virtuous enterprise. Therefore none need grieve over this affair. To trace this out, no money need be spent.
Your college fee has not yet been paid. Rupees two are enclosed herewith."
The letter begins with the personal "I", but soon passes into the impersonal "this" - and finally the letter is left unsigned because no one was there to sign. (Translation taken from Sri Maharshi - A short life sketch).
This was roughly a month, after He attained self-realization. Thus, began the journey of the most realized soul of the modern era of Man. The photo attached here was taken much later, when He was 21.
Tags: RamanaMaharshi | Acalayoga
"I have, in search of my father, and in obedience to his command, started from here. This is only embarking on a virtuous enterprise. Therefore none need grieve over this affair. To trace this out, no money need be spent.
Your college fee has not yet been paid. Rupees two are enclosed herewith."
The letter begins with the personal "I", but soon passes into the impersonal "this" - and finally the letter is left unsigned because no one was there to sign. (Translation taken from Sri Maharshi - A short life sketch).
This was roughly a month, after He attained self-realization. Thus, began the journey of the most realized soul of the modern era of Man. The photo attached here was taken much later, when He was 21.
Tags: RamanaMaharshi | Acalayoga
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Positive Thinking in India
Long ago, mystics and spiritual people in India realized that positive thinking actually works miracles. Your thoughts actually go "out" there [1], to get you what you want. The more your belief that it will happen, the higher the likelihood of it happening.
However, in India, the general public doesn't like any kind of mental exercise - be it thinking or mind related, (e.g. meditation). And so the mystics had to trick the public into positive thinking. And this benefitted them in MANY ways ....
The public would be asked to do some complicated ritual/havana/puja, or take a hike to some distant spot to solve a problem. This tricked the individual into thinking positively - he believed that the ritual would heal him, or solve the problem. If his belief was good, it worked.
The benefit the mystic got through this was that a dependency was created between the 2, and he could now control the individual. A mystic will NEVER talk about the power of positive thinking, because it FREEs you of him. He/She wants to control you.
When this worked, then new forms of rituals came out. If you could "donate" a large sum of money to some temple, you would get huge amounts of "grace", or your wishes would come true. So now the mystic even makes big money, by making you buy positive thinking! In India, people donate unthinkable amounts of money to temples (usually black money if you are rich, but for the average person, it is very hard-earned money).
Imagine, making God into someone who sells His "grace". Imagine the One who created this entire universe, who IS this entire universe, actually needs something from you, in order to let you live happily.
I know what happens in this country (India) in the name of God, gets me into "rant" mode, so let me take a deep breath and back out, and summarise.
1. Positive thinking works, and you should be in this state all the time. If you believe in God, it becomes very easy, since you see His hand in all things.
Avoid negative thinking, because that also works - against you - something that mystics and astrologers also use, to draw you to them.
2. Positive thinking gives you freedom from others, which is what they have been trying to take away from you. They wish to control you.
3. Positive thinking is FREE. Why buy God's grace when you get it free. Why pay some half-witted trickster, for something that is your right.
[1] - remember that the universe is in the mind, not out there. So the mind can change it.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
No separation
The pain that i have mentioned in previous blogs has gone! All I had to
do was to tell God about it. I then took a nap, and when i awoke, the
answer was there in my mind, and my mind and heart were light once
again, and laughing.
"You chose to experience this pain. Before you were born, you chose to have certain experiences. First you chose to experience what it is not to believe in God. For almost 40 years you experienced that, and were quite content in that experience. When you asked for me, I came into you. Then you chose to experience the pain of being separate from others, the pain of not being enlightened. When you had enough of that and told me, i freed you of that. Third, you chose to experience the pain of being separate from God, for which you had to first experience deeply loving God. Last
month, you were in state of such detachment that you would never have had that experience. So i gave you states of bliss, and near-union with Me. That made you experience the pain of being so close, and yet not being there. It was your choice. For several days you have wept in this pain, but today you told me to free you of it."
I laughed inside me. How could i ever have forgotten that we have chosen
all that happens. But i guess we have to keep forgetting this fact, so
that we can experience what we chose to experience. Its like in order to
enjoy a movie, you have to forget the fact that you are in a movie hall.
"What makes you think you were never enlightened, or you never knew me.
You have created this story about yourself, that you have for many lives been seeking God and not found Him. You enjoy the suffering and self-pity that story gives you."
It was almost like a hint, that i may have been awakened in previous
births, but have just for fun, decided to go thru the whole process of becoming
one with God all over again (Like watching a movie or hearing a symphony
again and again). For that i had to go through the charade of not
believing, and then of being separate.
Oh God, how lighthearted i feel once again.
I had also asked God yesterday for clarity on one point. The Buddha
speaks of not being attached. Yet, in India we have the path of Bhakti
(devotion), too. And i seem to be following both these, which today,
at the juncture I am at, seem to contradict. Should i try to
remove this attachment to you, or should i fervently pray and plead for oneness.
"You are and always were ONE with Me. You are me."
"Forget being my devotee. Forget pleading and weeping and finding a new excuse or avenue for suffering. There is nothing you can give me. Nothing. Just sit still and enjoy *my* love, my devotion to you.
Enjoy how I love you, and do nothing else."
Today, Beloved, i put on one bhajan[1], with a completely relaxed and free
mind, i sat still, and I felt your limitless love, i felt You hugging my
soul as though you loved nothing else, and wanted to do nothing else.
When i get back to "normal" life, i feel as though i am depriving You of
the opportunity to love me.
It is *You* who loves me helplessly, Lord, as
i am sure You love all beings, if only they would sit still and listen.
You look at me all day with love. Your eyes never shut. Your crazy smile
never wanes. Love me, beloved One, love me all you want, forever. We
have forever, you know. I will just sit and be loved.
[1] Mere man mandir - Vedic Chants
A little later...
Was that soul ecstacy or what ? I opened myself and an onslaught of love
came. In that deluge, all i could see deep inside me, was God. There was
just God, and nothing else. No me. There was no "Me" there. I just died,
just vanished suddenly.
There is just You. No more imagination of separation, no more
self-caused suffering, delusion of separation.
This blog should end here.
There is nothing more to say, or write.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
In the Lap of God
In the beginning of this month, Lord Arunachala came out of the blue, picked
me up and placed me in His lap. Since then i have been moving in and out
of periods of bliss and the most wonderful surrender imaginable.
But this stage is not about only bliss. There has been the intense pain of
separation from God as well. Even the few nanometers that separate me
from Him, feel like light-years thus causing anguish to the soul. My heart
feels like it is trying to tear out of my body and go surging up towards
our Him/Her.
And now that bliss that i spoke of in the last weeks, is not there,
there's more of the pain. Each morning i wake up, open my eyes and do a
check to see if the "I" is still alive. And yes it is. "Oh why dont you
die, wretched self" my soul cries out. "God, I am still alive, kill
"Me", kill it now".
I keep trying to locate that devil hidden deep somewhere in me, that
fugitive, keeping me from God, from my destiny. I am too exhausted to
find it.
This is not the agony of the self dying, it is the agony of finding that
the false self is still alive - that damn thief, that parasite sitting
in us, robbing us of the grandest experience of being One will all and
with God. Since childhood I have yearned for that false self to leave
me, and when that day is so tangible close, each moment seems like
years.
I know that now that He has appeared as Shiva, there must be some
purpose for His coming. Shiva is the destroyer - is He the destroyer of
the false self, of the ego - that's what i seem to think. So when He
destroys creation, He destroys creation which lies in the mind, in
thought, by destroying the ego. Ha Ha, how simple it seems now, how we
misjudged you, dear Shiva. We were taught you were some terrible God to
be feared. You are the one who actually saves us by destroying all
illusion. You are the good guy. i guess that thought gives me some
relief.
Blessed am I, my Lord, that You should take the trouble of calling me
Home, of calling me into Your heart. Blessed am I to be loved by You and
to fall in love with You. Blessed am i that You should walk right into
me, in order to awaken me.
I remember praying to You (You, as the Buddha) often to open Your eyes.
Today, you have come with your eyes permanently open, filled
with love, eyes that see deep into my soul, eyes that are always
laughing, full of passion and the fire of deep love.
These tears, that are always there, are of a sorrow that sees its end
near, the tears and the anxiety that precede a long-awaited reunion.
If You have come, then there is a purpose, a gauranteed outcome - You
are a Herald, Awakened One, and You can be the herald of only one thing
... The Herald of Awakening.
Tag: RamanaMaharshi
me up and placed me in His lap. Since then i have been moving in and out
of periods of bliss and the most wonderful surrender imaginable.
But this stage is not about only bliss. There has been the intense pain of
separation from God as well. Even the few nanometers that separate me
from Him, feel like light-years thus causing anguish to the soul. My heart
feels like it is trying to tear out of my body and go surging up towards
our Him/Her.
And now that bliss that i spoke of in the last weeks, is not there,
there's more of the pain. Each morning i wake up, open my eyes and do a
check to see if the "I" is still alive. And yes it is. "Oh why dont you
die, wretched self" my soul cries out. "God, I am still alive, kill
"Me", kill it now".
I keep trying to locate that devil hidden deep somewhere in me, that
fugitive, keeping me from God, from my destiny. I am too exhausted to
find it.
This is not the agony of the self dying, it is the agony of finding that
the false self is still alive - that damn thief, that parasite sitting
in us, robbing us of the grandest experience of being One will all and
with God. Since childhood I have yearned for that false self to leave
me, and when that day is so tangible close, each moment seems like
years.
I know that now that He has appeared as Shiva, there must be some
purpose for His coming. Shiva is the destroyer - is He the destroyer of
the false self, of the ego - that's what i seem to think. So when He
destroys creation, He destroys creation which lies in the mind, in
thought, by destroying the ego. Ha Ha, how simple it seems now, how we
misjudged you, dear Shiva. We were taught you were some terrible God to
be feared. You are the one who actually saves us by destroying all
illusion. You are the good guy. i guess that thought gives me some
relief.
Blessed am I, my Lord, that You should take the trouble of calling me
Home, of calling me into Your heart. Blessed am I to be loved by You and
to fall in love with You. Blessed am i that You should walk right into
me, in order to awaken me.
I remember praying to You (You, as the Buddha) often to open Your eyes.
Today, you have come with your eyes permanently open, filled
with love, eyes that see deep into my soul, eyes that are always
laughing, full of passion and the fire of deep love.
These tears, that are always there, are of a sorrow that sees its end
near, the tears and the anxiety that precede a long-awaited reunion.
If You have come, then there is a purpose, a gauranteed outcome - You
are a Herald, Awakened One, and You can be the herald of only one thing
... The Herald of Awakening.
Tag: RamanaMaharshi
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
What God is
In the recent past, God has begun revealing Himself and His true nature to me. It has taken me many months to be able to reach this stage, and even now it is not a realtime conversation (as perhaps Walsh had in his very interesting work "Conversations with God", which i have read some of, and which you should read). It is more like an email conversation, where replies come several minutes later, or hours. Answers come in bursts.
God has been very blunt and forthright in his introduction to who He is. And what he has revealed is nothing short of brilliant.
However, i need to say that what He reveals is a truth that can be painful to many. He can only reveal as much to you as you can digest, given how you have been brought up and lived and believed in. This is because God will *not* hurt you.
Thus, although I feel compelled to share with you what He said, in fact, i feel He wants me to share with you, yet - you must talk to Him for your *own* understanding of who He is, and how *you* should relate to Him. For each person the answer will be different, and there's a very solid reason to that, which i wont explain to you, but will dawn on you, when you start talking to Him or even thinking a long with lines I am sharing here.
For example, God is non-judgemental. When you actually translate that to real life, that can be very shocking for someone who has followed a set of irrational beliefs. Thus, God cannot expect you to shake off your beliefs - it would be like uprooting you, like pulling the floor from under your feet. Even when you realize you have a false belief, you may have to continue with it, because your mind simply won't accept that it is false, since you've spent your entire life believing it.
For some detailed points on His true nature, please go through my blog called "Every monent is God" - i could not separate this out from the rest of the blog, as i felt the continuity was required.
Please read that now, and then return. (Sorry for this)
I also point out there that being the creator of the entire universe, He is the most rational, scientific, intelligent, mature, just and fair being, and thus in order not to make him feel petty and small, we have to give up all our extensive, complicated rituals (that we find so much comfort in). In india, we have made God into some kind of local goon who needs to be paid a fee in order to let us just survive. We have made him into a local Minister who needs adulation, feet-touching, feeding, and bribing in order for us to get our job done. God's grace needs to bought with donations and gifts. Just like in India you have to pay a hefty fee to get a job in the government. So God has been made into someone pettier and greedier than us, who needs to be paid to get His grace !
He has been made into a little child who can be pleased with candy (toffee in India). He's like a dog who can be thrown a scrap - that's what you've been making the creator-of-all-there-is out to be.
So God has been made into this extorting "Don", he's the corrupt Minister, he's the feudal lord, he's the government clerk who needs a cut to do His job ...
"How do you think i survived long before I created you humans", He asks me.
Yet, i see no trace of desperation in His voice. Is he resigned ? Does He just accept it? Can He do anything about it ? Well, if He accepts it resignedly, then He certainly wouldnt be telling me all this. He wouldn't be exposing me everytime I follow some silly custom.
I think it's high time we began to have a second look at God, and start treating Him like He should be. It time we all start talking with Him directly and let Him guide us, rather than be taken for a ride by others. Please always always remember Him to be the most intelligent and rational and ... i know i keep saying this, but it has to be said again and again and yet again, so we never forget it. It doesnt matter to Him, but it matters to us, if we wish to get out of the darkness we've allowed ourselves to get into. It matters if we want Him to come out and start helping us more (which He finds it hard to, since we've been killing or trying to kill all his spokesmen, from Buddha to Jesus to Gandhi to ...)
Until you've struck your conversation with Him (which can take time, since He may want to just see whether you're serious, or just testing him out for kicks), only believe in what makes the Highest sense.
Goodbye for now, and may you discover Him fast - life is too short to be lonely.
Tag: God
Every moment is ... God
It has been some time since i have updated my blog. Truth is - there has
been a lot of internal change happening, and i've not been able to get a
grip on it.
In the last couple of months, i found attachments fading away. Attachments, yearnings, needs, dependencies, comfort zones ... even the attachment to God - which i found quite perplexing - till a chance discussion with a friend on a parallel path made me understood that it was all okay. this was part of the growth.
And just when i thought i might be losing God, or my connection with Him, it suddenly came back much stronger. I experience God in everything, everywhere. Everything is God, Everything is *just* God. There is nothing other than God. Thus, everything is perfect. I see and feel the perfection and joy in all things.
This is not something that i can explain to someone who is not in this state. You have to be *here* to know it. Otherwise, you can keep arguing with me, and asking questions, and i will keep answering, and more questions will arise, which i will answer. But you would never accept, or be satisfied with the answers, since more questions will arise. A month ago I would not have understood this myself. I think i understood it mentally, but i struggled to understand the perfection at an emotional level. Which is the problem. Today, i know it, thus there is a complete believing. You have to cross over to understand and feel this.
Things look bad when seen in the immediate present. But once you feel God in all things, and you look back at the sufferings of life, you know that whatever happened, is what got you here, into the lap of God. Had anything changed, or been better in my past, i would not be *here*. Thus, all the struggles of this life, the unrewarded struggles of my previous lives (which seemed unjust then), are now clearly perfect. When we reach the vicinity of God (or rather when we begin to realize that we were always there), we will then begin to understand the perfection, and start "sinking" into it, surrendering ourselves to it, we will stop resisting it, we will stop the incessant questioning and doubting.
Everyone, no matter in what situation, is on his way to being one with the maker. And thus his situation is perfect, and he will realize it as he begins to see the light.
I have in these past months realized that:
-God exists
-Everything is God, and there is nothing else
-Everything is perfect, and its all God's grace or blessing
-Everything, being God, is joy and love
-If you call God, He will "come" or awaken in You. If you deeply want to
be one with Him, it will happen.
-Questions can get you only answers, not happiness. Only God can give you
everlasting happiness and peace.
-For God there are *no* rituals, no right and wrong, no auspicious and
inauspicious, no sacred and unsacred. Every day is the same for Him,
every color is the same, every dress/clothing is the same, every place
is the same. We attach all kinds of significance to things, we attach
pleasure and pain to things, and thus increase our suffering, or atleast
complicate our lives. Fasts, incenses, chants matter not to Him. For Him
everything is a bunch of atoms. If in doubt, ask Him and wait for the
answer. Don't rely on others for answers. Society has taught us to rely
on a few others for all answers - you can understand where that will get
you.
-There is no need to place anyone between you and God. You can do it on
your own
- He is there within you, not light years away.
-Perhaps, an enlightened person can raise your consciousness and make
the path easier. Perhaps.
-In the beginning you may find it easier to connect to God through some
physical God/avatar/enlightened being such as Buddha, Jesus etc. But at
some point, you (probably) should connect to God, in His formless,
nameless form, and become independent of His manmade forms or
incarnations. This way you will be free of the discrimination and
separation that religions have caused. This may happen on its own,
particularly if you are already free of religious/racial etc
discrimination.
-Each person's path will be different. What works for one may not work
for another. God will show you the path meant for you. Keep asking and
watching and understanding what happens.
-God's presence may be detected in others by seeing the love and joy in
them - for that is the nature of God. If someone seems lacking in this,
don't go to them for clarity or advice - steer clear. If your inner
voice warns you, listen to it.
Taking guidance from others
When a person embarks on the spiritual "path" he has already made one statement - that physical pleasures and luxuries are no longer meaningful to him. His body is more a means to get him "there", than an end in itself. When a person reaches "realization" or even some level of maturity, his reliance on luxuries dies out or atleast reduces dramatically.
If you see some master or teacher who is fussy, quick to anger, stands on formalities, needs to supported and introduced by others (usually in glowing terms), you probably have someone who may not even be on the path let alone ahead of you. If He is more interested in your money (which is likely to be the norm) than your advancement, then further background checking is required. Masters and spiritual teachers do need food, housing and transport. But not a Mercedes, not fancy silk clothing and 5-star treatment.
Many masters have only a loincloth and walking-stick. (There is more on this below...)
Always remember what God is - the creator of this entire universe, not just this planet, or a single race. Any path, person, practice that makes God someone small, exclusive, judgmental, biased is to be questioned.
God does not get angry, punish, torture, create Hell, send to Hell and do other such mean things. Neither does He get pleased by gifts, false praise, money, fasts, self-imposed penances or pain, unquestioning or blind faith, sacrifices and other such petty things. Same for rubbing your forehead on the ground three times, kowtowing etc. These further trivialize and mock God. People who talk of shortcuts which their path offers trivialize God. People who create seemingly unsurmountable obstacles or prerequisites to achieving realization (such as having to be celibate for 12 years) wish to prevent you from realizing Him.
God is the greatest scientist and artist ever. This entire universe is the greatest invention and work of art ever. You have only to read a book on astronomy or nature to realize that. God is thus the most scientific and rational of all. Bear this in mind always when deciding or in doubt. This gives me great clarity, allows spirituality and God to be properly integrated into (my) real life, keeps my God above the petty, biased, vengeful feudal-lord blood-sucker kind of person who needs to be constantly appeased, that others make him into.
I dont keep jumping between spiritual and worldly, i dont make a mental
context shift between my computer and my meditation mat. God made the
world, how can the two be separate. If your spiritual world and physical
world are worlds apart then your spiritual practice could be based on a
belief in a God who is irrational and small. If you use your brain for
your worldly life, and shut it for your spiritual one, then what kind of
a God do you aspire to be one with, what kind of a mindless path are you
being made to follow. What use is the love and peace you find in God, if
it doesnt spill over into your regular life.
I think i use my brain *more* for my spiritual life - when you converse
with God, you need to be at your intellectual best. For heavens sake,
this is the father of Einstein and Hawkins you are talking to!
I save my mind for my conversations with God, and use it at a lower gear
when with humans.
Most people make God out to be less intelligent than us, less scientific
than us, less rational, less mature ... whereas the truth is to the
contrary. Please, please dont treat God like he's stupid.
There are probably as many charlatans on your "path" to God or
"self-discovery" as there are in any other field, probably more here,
since people dont like to seem questioning or rational when they
approach some guru. If blind-faith is required, think twice. Can you ask
your teacher what his credentials are? Can you ask him what He has to
offer to you, and by when, and what is the total cost up-front? This is
the age of the customer - if people expect you to give them several
years of your life, and often huge sums of money, there should be some
gaurantee as to what you will get by when.
Feel free to walk away if you feel you have got as much as was to be
given, or if that masters path does not suit you, or if you feel
something wrong. It's your life.
Remember this and you won't go wrong...
GOD = father of universe = greatest scientist + greatest artist = most
intelligent + most rational = most fair, most loving, most just
More on spiritual teachers
Can spiritual teachers do wrong/go wrong? I often hear of teachers who have been involved in activities one would not call spiritual. In some cases, the person says he has risen above the illusions of good and bad. But in cases, where he hurts or uses others, it is possible that at some point he has failed and lost, and not gone further. He can give you some
benefits, but he may not be able to take you much further than that. You have to know when you start getting used. He may take some people to realization, and severely abuse and use others.
If it seems like a business, then its not spirituality. Do you find yourself giving more than getting, being promised a lot and getting none, getting excuses for why you are getting nowhere ?
Here is a case of
a realized master. You can judge for yourself whether a realized masters path suits you. Here is a
caution from one of his people.
Here is another (in)famous case. There are more on that website...
Listen to your heart's signals. God will not directly condemn any of His children, so He will never give a clearcut answer about another person who is wronging others, but He may hint to you indirectly to move away. Hear those signals.
Does your Guru claim to be God, charge money, encourage proselytizing for new converts ... Read THIS NOW
Tags: RamanaMaharshi | God
been a lot of internal change happening, and i've not been able to get a
grip on it.
In the last couple of months, i found attachments fading away. Attachments, yearnings, needs, dependencies, comfort zones ... even the attachment to God - which i found quite perplexing - till a chance discussion with a friend on a parallel path made me understood that it was all okay. this was part of the growth.
And just when i thought i might be losing God, or my connection with Him, it suddenly came back much stronger. I experience God in everything, everywhere. Everything is God, Everything is *just* God. There is nothing other than God. Thus, everything is perfect. I see and feel the perfection and joy in all things.
This is not something that i can explain to someone who is not in this state. You have to be *here* to know it. Otherwise, you can keep arguing with me, and asking questions, and i will keep answering, and more questions will arise, which i will answer. But you would never accept, or be satisfied with the answers, since more questions will arise. A month ago I would not have understood this myself. I think i understood it mentally, but i struggled to understand the perfection at an emotional level. Which is the problem. Today, i know it, thus there is a complete believing. You have to cross over to understand and feel this.
Things look bad when seen in the immediate present. But once you feel God in all things, and you look back at the sufferings of life, you know that whatever happened, is what got you here, into the lap of God. Had anything changed, or been better in my past, i would not be *here*. Thus, all the struggles of this life, the unrewarded struggles of my previous lives (which seemed unjust then), are now clearly perfect. When we reach the vicinity of God (or rather when we begin to realize that we were always there), we will then begin to understand the perfection, and start "sinking" into it, surrendering ourselves to it, we will stop resisting it, we will stop the incessant questioning and doubting.
Everyone, no matter in what situation, is on his way to being one with the maker. And thus his situation is perfect, and he will realize it as he begins to see the light.
I have in these past months realized that:
-God exists
-Everything is God, and there is nothing else
-Everything is perfect, and its all God's grace or blessing
-Everything, being God, is joy and love
-If you call God, He will "come" or awaken in You. If you deeply want to
be one with Him, it will happen.
-Questions can get you only answers, not happiness. Only God can give you
everlasting happiness and peace.
-For God there are *no* rituals, no right and wrong, no auspicious and
inauspicious, no sacred and unsacred. Every day is the same for Him,
every color is the same, every dress/clothing is the same, every place
is the same. We attach all kinds of significance to things, we attach
pleasure and pain to things, and thus increase our suffering, or atleast
complicate our lives. Fasts, incenses, chants matter not to Him. For Him
everything is a bunch of atoms. If in doubt, ask Him and wait for the
answer. Don't rely on others for answers. Society has taught us to rely
on a few others for all answers - you can understand where that will get
you.
-There is no need to place anyone between you and God. You can do it on
your own
- He is there within you, not light years away.
-Perhaps, an enlightened person can raise your consciousness and make
the path easier. Perhaps.
-In the beginning you may find it easier to connect to God through some
physical God/avatar/enlightened being such as Buddha, Jesus etc. But at
some point, you (probably) should connect to God, in His formless,
nameless form, and become independent of His manmade forms or
incarnations. This way you will be free of the discrimination and
separation that religions have caused. This may happen on its own,
particularly if you are already free of religious/racial etc
discrimination.
-Each person's path will be different. What works for one may not work
for another. God will show you the path meant for you. Keep asking and
watching and understanding what happens.
-God's presence may be detected in others by seeing the love and joy in
them - for that is the nature of God. If someone seems lacking in this,
don't go to them for clarity or advice - steer clear. If your inner
voice warns you, listen to it.
Taking guidance from others
When a person embarks on the spiritual "path" he has already made one statement - that physical pleasures and luxuries are no longer meaningful to him. His body is more a means to get him "there", than an end in itself. When a person reaches "realization" or even some level of maturity, his reliance on luxuries dies out or atleast reduces dramatically.
If you see some master or teacher who is fussy, quick to anger, stands on formalities, needs to supported and introduced by others (usually in glowing terms), you probably have someone who may not even be on the path let alone ahead of you. If He is more interested in your money (which is likely to be the norm) than your advancement, then further background checking is required. Masters and spiritual teachers do need food, housing and transport. But not a Mercedes, not fancy silk clothing and 5-star treatment.
Many masters have only a loincloth and walking-stick. (There is more on this below...)
Always remember what God is - the creator of this entire universe, not just this planet, or a single race. Any path, person, practice that makes God someone small, exclusive, judgmental, biased is to be questioned.
God does not get angry, punish, torture, create Hell, send to Hell and do other such mean things. Neither does He get pleased by gifts, false praise, money, fasts, self-imposed penances or pain, unquestioning or blind faith, sacrifices and other such petty things. Same for rubbing your forehead on the ground three times, kowtowing etc. These further trivialize and mock God. People who talk of shortcuts which their path offers trivialize God. People who create seemingly unsurmountable obstacles or prerequisites to achieving realization (such as having to be celibate for 12 years) wish to prevent you from realizing Him.
God is the greatest scientist and artist ever. This entire universe is the greatest invention and work of art ever. You have only to read a book on astronomy or nature to realize that. God is thus the most scientific and rational of all. Bear this in mind always when deciding or in doubt. This gives me great clarity, allows spirituality and God to be properly integrated into (my) real life, keeps my God above the petty, biased, vengeful feudal-lord blood-sucker kind of person who needs to be constantly appeased, that others make him into.
I dont keep jumping between spiritual and worldly, i dont make a mental
context shift between my computer and my meditation mat. God made the
world, how can the two be separate. If your spiritual world and physical
world are worlds apart then your spiritual practice could be based on a
belief in a God who is irrational and small. If you use your brain for
your worldly life, and shut it for your spiritual one, then what kind of
a God do you aspire to be one with, what kind of a mindless path are you
being made to follow. What use is the love and peace you find in God, if
it doesnt spill over into your regular life.
I think i use my brain *more* for my spiritual life - when you converse
with God, you need to be at your intellectual best. For heavens sake,
this is the father of Einstein and Hawkins you are talking to!
I save my mind for my conversations with God, and use it at a lower gear
when with humans.
Most people make God out to be less intelligent than us, less scientific
than us, less rational, less mature ... whereas the truth is to the
contrary. Please, please dont treat God like he's stupid.
There are probably as many charlatans on your "path" to God or
"self-discovery" as there are in any other field, probably more here,
since people dont like to seem questioning or rational when they
approach some guru. If blind-faith is required, think twice. Can you ask
your teacher what his credentials are? Can you ask him what He has to
offer to you, and by when, and what is the total cost up-front? This is
the age of the customer - if people expect you to give them several
years of your life, and often huge sums of money, there should be some
gaurantee as to what you will get by when.
Feel free to walk away if you feel you have got as much as was to be
given, or if that masters path does not suit you, or if you feel
something wrong. It's your life.
Remember this and you won't go wrong...
GOD = father of universe = greatest scientist + greatest artist = most
intelligent + most rational = most fair, most loving, most just
More on spiritual teachers
Can spiritual teachers do wrong/go wrong? I often hear of teachers who have been involved in activities one would not call spiritual. In some cases, the person says he has risen above the illusions of good and bad. But in cases, where he hurts or uses others, it is possible that at some point he has failed and lost, and not gone further. He can give you some
benefits, but he may not be able to take you much further than that. You have to know when you start getting used. He may take some people to realization, and severely abuse and use others.
If it seems like a business, then its not spirituality. Do you find yourself giving more than getting, being promised a lot and getting none, getting excuses for why you are getting nowhere ?
Here is a case of
a realized master. You can judge for yourself whether a realized masters path suits you. Here is a
caution from one of his people.
Here is another (in)famous case. There are more on that website...
Listen to your heart's signals. God will not directly condemn any of His children, so He will never give a clearcut answer about another person who is wronging others, but He may hint to you indirectly to move away. Hear those signals.
Does your Guru claim to be God, charge money, encourage proselytizing for new converts ... Read THIS NOW
Tags: RamanaMaharshi | God
The Agony and the Ecstacy
11/8/2005
Dear Beloved God,
I am in bliss half the day, feeling you in me, in every cell of me, and
everywhere. I am also often in pain feeling the separation, since i am
still in the dual subject-object world.
My mind keeps asking me to keep still and not to ask, since i have
surrendered completely to You. Since everything is your grace, and since
you will come without fail.
But my heart cries out from behind for a final and complete union, like
a dog separated from his master, who is round the corner, whom he can
smell. Like a baby crying for its mother, it can't wait a single moment.
I so deeply need to completely awaken to You NOW.
Is this the darkest hour before dawn ?
11:15pm 11/8/2005 (a little later)
That may have been 11 minutes by the watch but it was way way longer
than 11.
What i feel in these moments of bliss may be my soul merging with the
cosmic consciousness, but it feels like two universes making love inside
me. By the time i pull myself out, i have lost the words to express it
..
I feel the universe loving me, and i love the entire universe. i feel
like the universe is dying to love me and merge with me, far more than
my wanting to merge with it. the universe is aching for me. the bliss or
love making doesnt stop. i grow tired, my facial muscles are tired from
holding the grimace, but it just goes on. some of me is saying
"stop", but then another part of me says "okay, go on... my beloved".
And it just goes on. i smile like a father whose child asked for 5
minutes on a swing but is taking ten. And then when i feel i just can't
take more, another round starts and i smile and say "okay, have more of
me". And it goes on. The universe doesnt want to stop. I am dying to put
my feelings down on paper, but the universe just wont stop...
That was 10 minutes by the human watch but it felt like an easy 20 or
30. If i had surrendered it might have felt like an eternity.
I lose myself totally in You in these moments, there is no me left. i
feel completely a part of you, like i have melted into you. i try to
find myself, but there's no me. just this often unbearable bliss that
just goes on. And when its unbearable is when it goes on and on.
"Every moment is ... God." - me, July 2005.
12/8/2005 11:53pm
So God knows how to play hanky-panky with Time! That was another 10
minutes by the watch, but it was clearly and undeniably 20 if not 25
minutes of bliss for me.
Thats a cool 100% of time-dilation or contraction or whatever the
scientific term should be.
So time with You is different from time on earth, without you. Time on
the spiritual plane can be far greater than the time on the physical
plane. Whew! When i go deeper it will be an eternity, each moment as
You.
Dear Beloved God,
I am in bliss half the day, feeling you in me, in every cell of me, and
everywhere. I am also often in pain feeling the separation, since i am
still in the dual subject-object world.
My mind keeps asking me to keep still and not to ask, since i have
surrendered completely to You. Since everything is your grace, and since
you will come without fail.
But my heart cries out from behind for a final and complete union, like
a dog separated from his master, who is round the corner, whom he can
smell. Like a baby crying for its mother, it can't wait a single moment.
I so deeply need to completely awaken to You NOW.
Is this the darkest hour before dawn ?
11:15pm 11/8/2005 (a little later)
That may have been 11 minutes by the watch but it was way way longer
than 11.
What i feel in these moments of bliss may be my soul merging with the
cosmic consciousness, but it feels like two universes making love inside
me. By the time i pull myself out, i have lost the words to express it
..
I feel the universe loving me, and i love the entire universe. i feel
like the universe is dying to love me and merge with me, far more than
my wanting to merge with it. the universe is aching for me. the bliss or
love making doesnt stop. i grow tired, my facial muscles are tired from
holding the grimace, but it just goes on. some of me is saying
"stop", but then another part of me says "okay, go on... my beloved".
And it just goes on. i smile like a father whose child asked for 5
minutes on a swing but is taking ten. And then when i feel i just can't
take more, another round starts and i smile and say "okay, have more of
me". And it goes on. The universe doesnt want to stop. I am dying to put
my feelings down on paper, but the universe just wont stop...
That was 10 minutes by the human watch but it felt like an easy 20 or
30. If i had surrendered it might have felt like an eternity.
I lose myself totally in You in these moments, there is no me left. i
feel completely a part of you, like i have melted into you. i try to
find myself, but there's no me. just this often unbearable bliss that
just goes on. And when its unbearable is when it goes on and on.
"Every moment is ... God." - me, July 2005.
12/8/2005 11:53pm
So God knows how to play hanky-panky with Time! That was another 10
minutes by the watch, but it was clearly and undeniably 20 if not 25
minutes of bliss for me.
Thats a cool 100% of time-dilation or contraction or whatever the
scientific term should be.
So time with You is different from time on earth, without you. Time on
the spiritual plane can be far greater than the time on the physical
plane. Whew! When i go deeper it will be an eternity, each moment as
You.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Divine Love
9/Aug/2005
I sit here bathing in divine love. Every cell of my body is being
filled by your love, O Enlightened One.
I cannot believe this, it gets better day by day. I sit here cross
legged feeling blissed out. I cannot thank you enough.
Buddha, God, Ramana Maharshi, Amma Bhagavan, Jesus, Shiva:
I dont know who it is, or is it all of you. To all of you my
heartfelt thanks.
My body moves along with the honey that drips from the top, each cell
absorbing. I sway and tilt so that all of me can drink of your divine
love.
My heart cries out "come to me", but my mind tries to say "I surrender
to you totally, and will not ask. Whatever you give is gratefully recvd,
and is perfect."
My mind asks for equanimity, but my soul pains and longs for oneness. I
do not know what to do, Dearest Lord.
I shall sit day by day quietly soaking in your love ...
It feels like some kind of celestial love-making - how would i know, a
simple brahmachari !
I sit here bathing in divine love. Every cell of my body is being
filled by your love, O Enlightened One.
I cannot believe this, it gets better day by day. I sit here cross
legged feeling blissed out. I cannot thank you enough.
Buddha, God, Ramana Maharshi, Amma Bhagavan, Jesus, Shiva:
I dont know who it is, or is it all of you. To all of you my
heartfelt thanks.
My body moves along with the honey that drips from the top, each cell
absorbing. I sway and tilt so that all of me can drink of your divine
love.
My heart cries out "come to me", but my mind tries to say "I surrender
to you totally, and will not ask. Whatever you give is gratefully recvd,
and is perfect."
My mind asks for equanimity, but my soul pains and longs for oneness. I
do not know what to do, Dearest Lord.
I shall sit day by day quietly soaking in your love ...
It feels like some kind of celestial love-making - how would i know, a
simple brahmachari !
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
What The Buddha really said
The Buddha asked us to believe only what we judged to be true, not to
believe in anything just because it was generally believed, or because
we read it somewhere, or someone wise said it.
Today there seem to be various streams of Buddhist philosophy, which
one I wonder conforms to even what He said. Even if we had what exactly
He said, we are now assuming that the Buddha's consciousness has not
evolved any further in the 2600 years since His passing. Even then He
asked us not to believe anyone without ourselves evaluating.
There are some schools that seem to see a falling away of attachments as
paving a way to a very boring mindless uncreative life, where one is not
permitted to have preferences, or enjoy life.
In my short experience in this path, i have found a falling away of
attachments to allow one to enjoy life even more, to enjoy the positive
without getting bogged down by the negative aspects of things. The fear
of losing is gone. Constant nagging thoughts of the future are gone. Our
experience of others and things leaves them unsullied, untouched in a
sense.
The purpose of God's creating this world, does *not* seem to be to
create a dull place where people come to karmically detoxify, or suffer,
as many seem to believe. If that's what some school of philosophy, even
Buddhism, teaches, then we must judge for ourselves, whether such a
depressing scenario makes sense.
Was such a fantastic place as this universe created with all its
richness, for anything other than celebrating and experiencing the most
collosal of all creative powers. If one cannot see the beauty and
miracle around us, then one is not looking around us - at nature, at the
skies, at love and what we truly feel inside us.
Was this amazing diversity of life on this very planet itself, were our
greatest artists and composers, was man's incredible brain created for
us to suffer some previous sins only. Surely if the Creator wanted us to
suffer or live in denial He wouldnt have inspired Beethoven's fifth, or
Mozart.
Even if one were to be truly self-centred, and were to look deep into
one's self, one would see the Creator, and would celebrate and rejoice
in His existence. When we look inside we see and experience God, when we
look without, we see Him in His creation, His physical expression.
The appearance of Buddha and Jesus and Krishna were like first-level
alerts. Today, a second-level alert has been sounded.
A Prayer to The Buddha
My Lord
Come to me
I sit before Thee, calling Thee
For lifetimes i have searched for you
For lifetimes i have gone from sage to sage
i have wandered and prayed
and meditated
i have yearned and struggled and wept
For lifetimes, i have lived and died without even the slightest glimpse of Thee
Today i sit, seemingly one last time
seemingly this is my final, dying call to Thee
Please come into me, permanently, fill me with your consciousness
completely.
Let me experience Thee, let me be Thee, in full force.
Let me know and experience fully that I am Thee, and none else.
Come beloved One, come now, before life ebbs out.
"These ascetics who flee the world and care nothing for its recognition
are precisely the ones who uphold the world. They are like the column
(stambha) which maintains the stability of the universe.
As far as they are concerned, being known or unknown is of no
importance. They go their way in secret. There is no sign to identify
them, they run alinga (that which has no visible symbol), avyakta cara
(avyakta: unmanifested, cara: way, manner). But society needs to know
them. It needs to know that they are there, so that it may preserve a
reminder of transcendence in the midst of the transient world."
From: http://www.angelfire.com/realm/bodhisattva/evamvidvan.html
Friday, July 01, 2005
the greatest man who ever lived
"It's all that's left of one of the greatest men who ever lived; he founded the only faith that never became stained with blood. I'm sure he would have been most amused to know that, forty centuries after his death, one of his teeth would be carried to the stars"
- Arthur C Clarke in The Songs of Distant Earth (p211).
My favorite author writing about my favorite human. Can I call it a tribute ? Surely, for those who know, his teeth will not be the only thing left thousands of years from now.
In a previous novel, The Fountains of Paradise, Clarke explores the space elevator in detail. For some reason, he includes jealous and superstitious Buddhist monks in his setting. Clarke likes to quote "All things are impermanent" hinting at the Buddha. Yet, he makes a joke of religion, God and even the Buddhists by making them abandon a several thousand year old Buddhist site due to some superstition.
Perhaps, Clarke's understanding of Buddhism has improved since that novel. Spaceship Magellan escapes just in time, when the Earth's sun goes nova. They "trash" various ancient texts and books. However, the Chief Tech person carries a tooth of the Buddha along with him, gifting it to a lady on Thalassa some 50 light years away.
Clarke may be a great science fiction writer, but I disagree about criticising and dismissing things we don't know about. But still he is "light years" more knowledgeable than one Ayn Rand.
Having said that, let me add that a quarter century after first reading his works, I have been spending some precious spare time reading them again. They are still great works. His mind is one of the finest and most imaginative. And many thanks, Mr. Clarke, for adding Beethoven's and Bach's works in what was carried to the stars by the seedship, even if you trashed the Vedas. It feels good to know that in some future life, on some strange planet, I will still be able to hear my favorite composers. But what did you have against Beethoven's Fourth ? Disk space will be very cheap in the future, is my prediction :-)
- Arthur C Clarke in The Songs of Distant Earth (p211).
My favorite author writing about my favorite human. Can I call it a tribute ? Surely, for those who know, his teeth will not be the only thing left thousands of years from now.
In a previous novel, The Fountains of Paradise, Clarke explores the space elevator in detail. For some reason, he includes jealous and superstitious Buddhist monks in his setting. Clarke likes to quote "All things are impermanent" hinting at the Buddha. Yet, he makes a joke of religion, God and even the Buddhists by making them abandon a several thousand year old Buddhist site due to some superstition.
Perhaps, Clarke's understanding of Buddhism has improved since that novel. Spaceship Magellan escapes just in time, when the Earth's sun goes nova. They "trash" various ancient texts and books. However, the Chief Tech person carries a tooth of the Buddha along with him, gifting it to a lady on Thalassa some 50 light years away.
Clarke may be a great science fiction writer, but I disagree about criticising and dismissing things we don't know about. But still he is "light years" more knowledgeable than one Ayn Rand.
Having said that, let me add that a quarter century after first reading his works, I have been spending some precious spare time reading them again. They are still great works. His mind is one of the finest and most imaginative. And many thanks, Mr. Clarke, for adding Beethoven's and Bach's works in what was carried to the stars by the seedship, even if you trashed the Vedas. It feels good to know that in some future life, on some strange planet, I will still be able to hear my favorite composers. But what did you have against Beethoven's Fourth ? Disk space will be very cheap in the future, is my prediction :-)
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Java 5 on Mac OS X
Looks like Apple quietly released J2SE 5.0 for Tiger (OS X 10.4.x) in April 2005. Found this out while searching for something else.
Looks like I have more work to do !
Links: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301073
and http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/java/
Looks like I have more work to do !
Links: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301073
and http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/java/
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Changed the template
On public demand (one person) am changing the template from 897 to this one. Hope ya like it. From now on your comments will be emailed to me, so i'll be able to respond.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Since when has Hatha Yoga (expounded by Indian sage Patanjali) become a Buddhist invention ?
Well, if you read Dan Brown's extensively researched novel, then everything you ever knew will be rearranged.
Dan's description of Pranayama is another joke.
Then there's what he has to say about Heaven and Hell in Hinduism and Buddhism. Perhaps that was his 11 year old daughter doing his research. His novel is very interesting and gripping, but due to the above blunders I wonder about the authenticity of the other 'researched' facts.
Read it if you seriously have no other reason for existence. (My mom asked me to read it, so like a good 40 year old, i did).
Well, if you read Dan Brown's extensively researched novel, then everything you ever knew will be rearranged.
Dan's description of Pranayama is another joke.
Then there's what he has to say about Heaven and Hell in Hinduism and Buddhism. Perhaps that was his 11 year old daughter doing his research. His novel is very interesting and gripping, but due to the above blunders I wonder about the authenticity of the other 'researched' facts.
Read it if you seriously have no other reason for existence. (My mom asked me to read it, so like a good 40 year old, i did).
Monday, May 30, 2005
Nirvana - Buddhist pilgrimages
I am currently reading a recently released book by Subhadra Sen Gupta named "Nirvana - Buddhist pilgrimages in India".
I like the book. It details the life of the Buddha and all the places he lived in, preached in, or touched upon.
It has a historical feel to it, but is not boring. I have enjoyed reading it. The details differ slightly from other books such as Ten thousand Miles without a cloud and The Historical Buddha.
While reading this book, I have felt my antaryamin (the in-dweller or higher self) grow stronger - thus i look positively upon the book.
I like the book. It details the life of the Buddha and all the places he lived in, preached in, or touched upon.
It has a historical feel to it, but is not boring. I have enjoyed reading it. The details differ slightly from other books such as Ten thousand Miles without a cloud and The Historical Buddha.
While reading this book, I have felt my antaryamin (the in-dweller or higher self) grow stronger - thus i look positively upon the book.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
When God and Man meet
There are 2 ways one can be associated with God. One is to search for someone who can lead you to God, or try to find God by yourself. In other words, here it's your effort. You are never sure till the end whether God really exists. You may die without really knowing one way or another.
The other is when God's consciousness (?) starts to mingle with yours, filling you with love and joy. In this case, the call is irresistible. There is no possibility of following a wrong path or being fooled or cheated. God's presence is as certain as ones own existence. God's presence is more certain, more meaningful than one's own existence. I can only speak for myself in this case, the only purpose left of living is a complete merger. Here it is debatable whether any effort on one's part can hasten what has to come.
I experience Him/ His consciousness mingling with mine. I experience God in the form of the Buddha slowly entering my consciousness. The wait is agonizing, but will surely be worth it.
26/5/2005 4pm
The other is when God's consciousness (?) starts to mingle with yours, filling you with love and joy. In this case, the call is irresistible. There is no possibility of following a wrong path or being fooled or cheated. God's presence is as certain as ones own existence. God's presence is more certain, more meaningful than one's own existence. I can only speak for myself in this case, the only purpose left of living is a complete merger. Here it is debatable whether any effort on one's part can hasten what has to come.
I experience Him/ His consciousness mingling with mine. I experience God in the form of the Buddha slowly entering my consciousness. The wait is agonizing, but will surely be worth it.
26/5/2005 4pm
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
No one comes here
This is real strange, but perhaps google doesnt take a peek here. I have got NO comments for any blog. All my other pages are attracting a lot of responses but not this ???????
Is blogspot dead, or am i doin' something wrong ?
Is blogspot dead, or am i doin' something wrong ?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Ten Thousand Miles without a Cloud
A book written by Sun Shuyun (a Chinese lady educated at Oxford) on the
journey of Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang). She retraces the steps of this
legendary traveller, who travelled from China to India and back facing great danger and
adversity, in search of The Buddha's original texts.
She travels not by foot or horse, but train and occasionally air. She
talks about the history of Chinese Buddhism, the rise of Communism and
consequent demolition of thousands of Buddhist monasteries (out of
200,000 only a hundred remained). The desecration of frescoes and murals
by the muslims, theft of the murals by European explorers (which
ultimately were destroyed in the World War). One also
learns of the spread of Islam thru many Chinese parts, and the genocide
of Muslims by the Han Chinese. Shuyun shares her life, stories about her
Buddhist grandmother, and parents (Commie father who relents in the end)
and aunt in Xinjiang (the Chinese version of Siberia).
An interesting read - a mix of history, culture, Buddhism, Mao and her own
search.
"The mind in meditation, like the sky.
Ten thousand miles without a cloud."
journey of Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang). She retraces the steps of this
legendary traveller, who travelled from China to India and back facing great danger and
adversity, in search of The Buddha's original texts.
She travels not by foot or horse, but train and occasionally air. She
talks about the history of Chinese Buddhism, the rise of Communism and
consequent demolition of thousands of Buddhist monasteries (out of
200,000 only a hundred remained). The desecration of frescoes and murals
by the muslims, theft of the murals by European explorers (which
ultimately were destroyed in the World War). One also
learns of the spread of Islam thru many Chinese parts, and the genocide
of Muslims by the Han Chinese. Shuyun shares her life, stories about her
Buddhist grandmother, and parents (Commie father who relents in the end)
and aunt in Xinjiang (the Chinese version of Siberia).
An interesting read - a mix of history, culture, Buddhism, Mao and her own
search.
"The mind in meditation, like the sky.
Ten thousand miles without a cloud."
Friday, March 18, 2005
Ruby on Rails
Spent yesterday playing with Ruby On Rails, a new web framework that promises to deliver applications in ten times the speed of other frameworks. Check Rails.
It looks promising. You should give it a try even if you are not a Ruby guy. I am a java guy for many years.
My only thought is... what about reports, graphs and many more things for which java has frameworks or libraries already. Will we have to wait for them to be developed in Ruby/Rails or what.
Still, it has been fun.
It looks promising. You should give it a try even if you are not a Ruby guy. I am a java guy for many years.
My only thought is... what about reports, graphs and many more things for which java has frameworks or libraries already. Will we have to wait for them to be developed in Ruby/Rails or what.
Still, it has been fun.
