Saturday, May 23, 2015

John Squadra - If you listen




If you listen,
not to the pages or preachers
but to the smallest flower
growing from a crack
in your heart,
you will hear a great song
moving across a wide ocean
whose water is the music
connecting all the islands
of the universe together,
and touching all
you will feel it
touching you
around you…
embracing you
with light.

It is in that light
that everything lives
and will always be alive.
 
 
from: 
 
 

Rumi - What do you think will happen





If you pass your night
and merge it with dawn
for the sake of heart
what do you think will happen

if the entire world
is covered with the blossoms
you have labored to plant
what do you think will happen

if the elixir of life
that has been hidden in the dark
fills the desert and towns
what do you think will happen

if because of
your generosity and love
a few humans find their lives
what do you think will happen

if you pour an entire jar
filled with joyous wine
on the head of those already drunk
what do you think will happen

go my friend bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen


Friday, May 22, 2015

Steve Taylor - Moments Without Thought



A moment without thought
And the background noise ceases
And I can suddenly hear
The silence between sounds
The silence beneath sound
From which all sounds emerge
Like waves from the sea.

A moment without thought
And the fog disperses
And the world is filled with translucent light
New dimensions of detail
And sharpness and colour and depth.

A moment without thought
And these suburban streets
Are a pristine new world
Like a garden glistening with dew
The morning after creation
As if a husk of familiarity
Has cracked and fallen away
Leaving naked primal isness.

A moment without thought
And I’m no longer standing separate
No longer an island but part of the sea
No longer a static centre
But part of the flowing stream.

A moment without thought
And the train has stopped between stations
And there was never any motion, never any track
A moment like a wormhole
Infinitely expanding
Like stepping through a narrow gate
To find an endless open plain
The panorama of the present.

And this new world of no-thought
Is neither alien nor unfamiliar
But a place where benevolence blows through the air
And soft shimmering energy fills every space
And the sunlight is the translucent white light of
spirit
The deepest, closest, warmest place
The ground where I am rooted.


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Mooji - For This Reason I Come


Kahlil Gibran - “On Joy and Sorrow”

Man in search of existence, c. 1920
Kahlil Gibran


 When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater thar sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable.




Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Milarepa - Dharmakaya




For the mind that masters view the emptiness dawns
In the content seen not even an atom exists
A seer and seen refined until they're gone
This way of realizing view, it works quite well

When meditation is clear light river flow
There is no need to confine it to sessions and breaks
Meditator and object refined until they're gone
This heart bone of meditation, it beats quite well

When you're sure that conducts work is luminous light
And you're sure that interdependence is emptiness
A doer and deed refined until they're gone
This way of working with conduct, it works quite well

When biased thinking has vanished into space
No phony facades, eight dharmas, nor hopes and fears,
A keeper and kept refined until they're gone
This way of keeping samaya, it works quite well

When you've finally discovered your mind is dharmakaya
And you're really doing yourself and others good
A winner and won refined until they're gone
This way of winning results, it works quite well.






Monday, May 18, 2015

Ernest Holmes - She let go.



She let go.
Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations
about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone, forevermore…


 —Rev Safire Rose, Agape International Spiritual Center


Ernest Holmes
She let go.
Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations
about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone, forevermore…

—Rev Safire Rose, Agape International Spiritual Center

- See more at: http://www.onethemagazine.com/featured-poet-1/poetry-awakening-hearts-2/#sthash.UrU2SgkD.dpuf

Sri V. Ganesan - Maurice Frydman



From: Ramana Periya Puranam (Inner Journey of 75 Old Devotees)
by V. Ganesan, grand nephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi :

Bhagavan gave me the opportunity to meet Maurice in Mumbai.
I had earlier met him at the ashram in the 1960´s during the rare visits that he made. Again, I met him when I went to Mumbai in the 70´s to collect funds for the advertisements for Ramanasramam´s journal, The Mountain Path.

Maurice then told me, “While your body is engaged in running the ashram, your heart should be totally settled in that pure awareness of truth.
Never miss that, whatever you are doing.”

We used to have beautiful private conversations. Once, Maurice confessed to me in all seriousness, “The burning regret for us is that probably full advantage was not taken of those happy and precious days when Bhagavan was with us physically - eating, talking, laughing and openly available to us all. Reality was there in abundance in our midst for the taking, and anyone could take it. But, we enclosed ourselves in our false humility, in procrastination, and false excuses. We took therefore, a cupful, when the ocean was at our feet!”
On yet another occasion, he prodded me on, just to give me a push:
“See, Bhagavan is not the person. He is the teaching. As the teaching, he is fully available to you. In addition to whatever work you are doing, plunge within and taste awareness inwardly. That awareness is our Bhagavan.”

Maurice used to take me for long walks in Mumbai. He would tell me,
“I will not provide you with a car; I will not even take you by bus; you have to walk wherever you go, along with me. Are you prepared?” With hands folded in a namaste, I would answer, “Would I hesitate to be in the proximity of the truth of reality?”
Maurice was a spiritual giant, but physically he was less than five feet tall.
Surely no one would hesitate to walk next to him!

On one of these walks, Maurice said, “Ganesan, today I am going to take you to the place where I met a simple man selling beedis.”
As we were walking towards the place, Maurice narrated,
“I saw a group of people smoking beedis; they were relating their woes of life. This simple man answered them exactly in the manner of Ramana Maharshi. Had Ramana Maharshi spoken in Marathi, it would have been the same! I stopped in my tracks and listened intently. It was astounding to see an ordinary man selling beedis talking so spontaneously! I started going to the place every day and noting down what he says. I would then go home and translate all the questions and answers into English.”

However, Maurice was ridden with guilt because he had not sought the permission of this person. He informed the man what he had been doing and read out all his writings, translating them into Marathi.
The man was delighted and told Maurice, “Go on recording, go ahead!”
This was later published as I am That -
a publication that shook the entire spiritual world.
This man was none other than Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Later on, after I had met Maharaj, I told Maurice,
“Whatever you say is absolutely true. I can feel Bhagavan´s presence in his presence. The teaching of Bhagavan comes from him spontaneously.”

Maurice always used to encourage me, “Come on and narrate to me the dialogue that you had with Maharaj.” He would add, “Being a spiritual seeker, associating with sages and saints will deepen your understanding; it will help you go deeper and experience it. Reading improves only intellectual understanding. This experience oriented understanding will happen, whether you have understood it or not, only in the presence of realized masters.”
Saying this, he encouraged me to go to Maharaj.

I was unable to be with Maurice Frydman in his last days.
But I was happy to understand from a devotee of Bhagavan who was also Nisargadatta Maharaj´s devotee, that Bhagavan himself looked after him. The devotee told me about a nurse in Mumbai who normally charged a huge fee for her services. This nurse had a dream, in which a sadhu wearing only a loin cloth told her very clearly, “My devotee is suffering. Go and attend on him.” The sadhu also gave her precise directions to reach Maurice´s residence. The nurse went to the place described in the dream the next day and found Maurice Frydman in bed. Miss Petite was older than Maurice and she too was helpless and unattended. The nurse immediately offered her services. Maurice´s austere attitude would not allow him to accept her services and so he refused. Disappointed, the nurse was leaving the room when she saw a picture of Ramana Maharshi there. She turned to Maurice and exclaimed, “This is the sadhu who appeared in my dream.” Maurice, visibly moved, said, “So, my master has come to look after me.” The nurse served him till the end. Apa Pant, who looked upon Maurice as his guru, was present during Maurice‟s last days. I would like to quote Apa‟s own words: “The sage is dying,” whispered a soft voice over the phone from Mumbai. “The sage is asking for you. Apa, come as soon as you can.” When I arrived, Miss Petite, the doctor and the nurse complained to me that Maurice was refusing to eat and take medicine. They implored me to make Maurice eat and take medicine - as if anyone could make Maurice do anything that he did not want to! There he lay in his familiar room, with everything meticulously clean and in its proper place. As I approached him reverentially, he shouted, „Apa, who is dying?‟ The next day, he drove everyone out of the room, ordering them to leave him alone with me. Then, he said beautifully, „Apa, I hear music. I see the bright light. Who dies? No one is dying. This diseased body is keeping me away from that harmonious beauty. Do not let them keep me in this body. Go now in peace.‟ The next day, we were all at his bedside as he breathed his last. Three breaths, “Hari Om, Hari Om, Hari Om,” and he was gone.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was also at his bedside, so I asked him, „Maharaj, where is Maurice going? What is happening to him?‟ Maharaj replied, „Nothing is happening. No one is dying, for no one is born.‟ Then I asked him, „Then why this sorrow, this emptiness, this loss, Maharaj?‟ Maharaj graciously turned to me and said, „Who is feeling the sorrow? Who is feeling the emptiness? Who is feeling the loss?‟ I remained silent.
Within hours, in the presence of Nisargadatta Maharaj, the remains of what we called Maurice Frydman were consumed in the fire. The remains had returned to their original order. The great devotee, Maurice Frydman, had returned to the source, Arunachala.
Once, I went to Nisargadatta Maharaj´s house because he had asked me to stay with him. I stayed there for eight days. In the morning, from eight to ten, he would ask me to be seated while he did pooja. There were photographs of saints such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ramana Maharshi, and yes, even Maurice Frydman, in his room. Maharaj would apply sandal, vermillion powder and perfume to the photographs and garland them. As he was doing this ritual one day, I was asking myself, “Why is he doing this?” He turned to me and said in a compassionate tone,
“Maurice Frydman was a jnani. He was a saint, a sage.”
This is undeniably true.

Maurice Frydman has blessed us all by bringing to us the essence of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.
How fortunate we are to be able to share the life of such a great person, a person who wanted to remain unnoticed and unseen.
So much so, that the first edition of The Maharshi‟s Gospel compiled by Maurice did not even bear his name!
We sincere seekers of truth must cling to him in our Heart. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book: Maharshi´s Gospel:
http://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Maharshi%27s-Gospel.pdf
**********
Book: I Am That:
http://selfdefinition.org/nisarg…/Nisargadatta_I_Am_That.pdf

Sri V. Ganesan 

on youtube


source text facebook 

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mark McCloskey - Psalm of the Bursting Heart

Heart chakra


This moment, only this moment, this gentle moment adrift in the void of the universe, there is a heart bursting forth in liquid light in a plasma of love.
From just here and now there is a bolt of energy sailing freely into the soul of all being and all beings.
I cannot contain this, I can just express this as I am able, the expression of which is so limited, which is so small and yet contains every word, every thought, every exasperated emotion.
Take this now Worldheart, take this and taste; eat; digest this which comes only from you and is now returned in the sublime presence veiled as truth, love and life.
In my smallness I entreat you to drink from your own Pure Silence, which is me and thou and all.
Would that I could caress you now in joyful touch, in a never ending embrace.
How I long for you to see your own blossoming into the infinity which you already are.
I understand the fear, the rejection, the coils and snares into which and out of which you have birthed and died.
Only for this millisecond, will you please just stop and see what has always been your host, your echo and your target.
And in that seeing, look past the seen, the words, the ideas and the memories and allow just the seeing itself.
I know you will find me. I trust in your own groping. I live in your very hope.
Return now to the gentleness.
Bath in the warmth of this bursting heart, just for a sec!
There you are now.
You, I, and we.
One
May all beings enjoy this moment