Rumi - Every moment, a new beauty

Make peace with the universe. 
Take joy in it.
It will turn to gold.
Resurrection will be now.
Every moment, a new beauty.
Human beings are mines.
World-power means nothing.
Only the unsayable, jeweled inner life matters.
Don?t ask what love can make, or can do.
 Look at the colors of the world! 

Jeff Foster - Enligthenment is free

You cannot achieve enlightenment.

The ocean cannot achieve water.
The mountains cannot achieve their height; 

the Sun cannot achieve its own light.
Your nature is not an achievement; 

it comes before achievement or failure; 

it breathes with you, feels as you feel, laughs when you laugh.
It is pure alignment; 

your brilliance, hidden within every devastation.

Nobody ever reached enlightenment, 

they just stopped trying to be something they could never be, 

and found a love closer than their most fundamental idea of themselves.

Like the bed that holds you when you sleep.

Like grandmother, who gave you her wisdom 

and her safety and asked for nothing in return.

Like a warm Summer's day, inviting you to rest.

The greatest blessings are already here.

http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/ 

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Kabir - The Light of the Sun

The light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright:
The melody of love swells forth, and the rhythm of love’s detachment beats the time.
Day and night, the chorus of music fills the heavens; and Kabîr says
“My Beloved One gleams like the lightning flash in the sky.”

Do you know how the moments perform their adoration?
Waving its row of lamps, the universe sings in worship day and night,
There are the hidden banner and the secret canopy:
There the sound of the unseen bells is heard.
Kabîr says: “There adoration never ceases; there the Lord of the Universe sitteth on His throne.”
The whole world does its works and commits its errors: but few are the lovers who know the Beloved.
The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the streams of Ganges and Jumna;
In his heart the sacred water flows day and night; 

and thus the round of births and deaths is brought to an end.

Behold what wonderful rest is in the Supreme Spirit! and he enjoys it, who makes himself meet for it.
Held by the cords of love, the swing of the Ocean of Joy sways to and fro; 

and a mighty sound breaks forth in song.
See what a lotus blooms there without water! and Kabîr says
“My heart’s bee drinks its nectar.”
What a wonderful lotus it is, that blooms at the heart of the spinning wheel of the universe! 

Only a few pure souls know of its true delight.
Music is all around it, and there the heart partakes of the joy of the Infinite Sea.
Kabîr says: “Dive thou into that Ocean of sweetness: thus let all errors of life and of death flee away.”

Behold how the thirst of the five senses is quenched there! and the three forms of misery are no more!
Kabîr says: “It is the sport of the Unattainable 

One: look within, and behold how the moon-beams of that Hidden One shine in you.”
There falls the rhythmic beat of life and death:
Rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant with light.
There the Unstruck Music is sounded; it is the music of the love of the three worlds.
There millions of lamps of sun and of moon are burning;
There the drum beats, and the lover swings in play.
There love-songs resound, and light rains in showers; 

and the worshipper is entranced in the taste of the heavenly nectar.
Look upon life and death; there is no separation between them,
The right hand and the left hand are one and the same.
Kabîr says: “There the wise man is speechless; for this truth may never be found in Vadas or in books.”

I have had my Seat on the Self-poised One,
I have drunk of the Cup of the Ineffable,
I have found the Key of the Mystery,
I have reached the Root of Union.
Travelling by no track, I have come to the Sorrowless Land: 

very easily has the mercy of the great Lord come upon me.
They have sung of Him as infinite and unattainable: but I in my meditations have seen Him without sight.
That is indeed the sorrowless land, and none know the path that leads there:
Only he who is on that path has surely transcended all sorrow.
Wonderful is that land of rest, to which no merit can win;
It is the wise who has seen it, it is the wise who has sung of it.
This is the Ultimate Word: but can any express its marvellous savour? {p. 65}
He who has savoured it once, he knows what joy it can give.
Kabîr says: “Knowing it, the ignorant man becomes wise, 

and the wise man becomes speechless and silent,
The worshipper is utterly inebriated,
His wisdom and his detachment are made perfect;
He drinks from the cup of the inbreathings and the outbreathings of love.”

There the whole sky is filled with sound, 

and there that music is made without fingers and without strings;
There the game of pleasure and pain does not cease.
Kabîr says: “If you merge your life in the Ocean of Life, 

you will find your life in the Supreme Land of Bliss.”

What a frenzy of ecstasy there is in  every hour! and the worshipper is pressing out 

and drinking the essence of the hours: he lives in the life of Brahma.
I speak truth, for I have accepted truth in life; I am now attached to truth, I have swept all tinsel away.
Kabîr says: “Thus is the worshipper set free from fear; thus have all errors of life and of death left him.”

There the sky is filled with music:
There it rains nectar:
There the harp-strings jingle, and there the drums beat.
What a secret splendour is there, in the mansion of the sky!
There no mention is made of the rising and the setting of the sun;
In the ocean of manifestation, which is the light of love, day and night are felt to be one.
Joy for ever, no sorrow,–no struggle!
There have I seen joy filled to the brim, perfection of joy;
No place for error is there.
Kabîr says: “There have I witnessed the sport of One Bliss!”

I have known in my body the sport of the universe: I have escaped from the error of this world..
The inward and the outward are become as one sky, the Infinite and the finite are united: 

I am drunken with the sight of this All!
This Light of Thine fulfils the universe: the lamp of love that burns on the salver of knowledge.
Kabîr says: “There error cannot enter, and the conflict of life and death is felt no more.”

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Khadim - My religion is love

Cupbearer, this prosperous tavern flourishes with your spirit.
You are the beauty of the goblet, you are the verdance of the tavern.
You are the invigoration of every eye, in every heart you dwell.
To you is the consecration of every soul, to you each head is given.
Your lovers are strangers to this world, even strangers to religion,
Inebriated madmen, drunk on your affection.
Kind cupbearer, pour all the tavern's spirits into my cup.
This drunkard has thirsted for your spirit for ages.
He is indifferent to you, who is infatuated with everyone.
The one you choose, to you belongs his fascination.
I too drank when I was filled by my Friend.
Now my fortune's turned, now the cupbearer never returns.
Every heart, infidel or believer, adores you.
You are the desire of the ka'ba, the splendour of the temple.
I am a stone in Khwaja's threshold, dust on Uthman's doorsill.
My religion is love, my cult licentiousness.
What could I possibly give you to honour you?
This impoverished man has nothing but a pining heart.
I am Khadim, I am a servant of Khwaja, I am a slave of Uthman.
A faqir hides within my princely countenance.

Naghma-e-dard 108

The sounding of my destiny beckoned me with exhilarating ecstasy.
I listen to that vibrant sound resounding throughout my own existence.
My own existence appears not mine but the vibrant being of my Friend.
From the moment of my destruction I have no being save living in my Friend.
You caused my existence to exist, You are my renown.
Certainly I am not, only You exist “ You are.
In idols I see the elegant Witness of the realms:
I found God, I witness to God, God I found in idol worship.
Eyes of my lovely Friend, plunderer of my faith are you:
In your infidel's splendour I see the worshipper of truth.
Why not dance your exuberance, o Khadim, with every particle of your existence.
The face of your exquisite Friend reflects in the exhilaration of your ecstasy.

Saz-e-Ishq 14

Dzokchen - Flight of the Garuda, Song Six

SONG SIX: Initiation into our true existential condition

EHMAHO! Again, beloved children of my heart, listen! "Mind", this universal concept, this most significant of words, being no single entity, manifests as the gamut of pleasure and pain in samsara and nirvana. There are as many beliefs about it as there are approaches to Buddhahood. It has innumerable synonyms.

In the vernacular it is "I"; some Hindus call it "the Self"; the Disciples say "self-less individual"; the followers of Mind-only call it simply "mind"; some call it "perfect insight"; some call it "Buddha-nature"; some call it "the Magnificent Stance" (Mahamudra); some call it "the Middle Way"; some call it "the cosmic seed"; some call it "the reality-continuum"; some call it "the universal ground"; some call it "ordinary consciousness". Since the synonyms of "mind", the labels we apply to it, are countless, know it for what it really is. Know it experientially as the here and now. Compose yourself in the natural state of your mind's nature.

When at rest the mind is ordinary perception, naked and unadorned; when you gaze directly at it there is nothing to see but light; as Awareness, it is brilliance and the relaxed vigilance of the awakened state; as nothing specific whatsoever, it is a secret fullness; it is the ultimacy of nondual radiance and emptiness. 

It is not eternal, for nothing whatsoever about it has been proved to exist. It is not a void, for there is brilliance and wakefulness. It is not unity, for multiplicity is self-evident in perception. It is not multiplicity, for we know the one taste of unity. It is not an external function, for Awareness is intrinsic to immediate reality.

In the immediate here and now we see the face of the Original Lord abiding in the heart centre. Identify yourself with him, my spiritual sons. Whoever denies him, wanting more from somewhere else, is like the man who has found his elephant but continues to follow its tracks. He may comb the three dimensions of the microcosmic world systems for an eternity, but he will not find so much as the name of Buddha other than the one in his heart.

Such is my introduction initiating recognition of our true existential condition, which is the principal realization in Cutting Through to the Great Perfection. 

Source :

Flight of the Garuda 

 

Matt Licata - An Extraordinary Meeting

There are pieces of you wandering in the forests of the inner and the outer worlds.

Do you sense them nearby? Do you feel them gathering around you?
Sadness, shame, loneliness, and grief. 

Abandoned joy, unbearable openness, and long-forgotten aliveness.

Even the ancient ones anxiety, unworthy, and unlovable have arrived and are circling.
Look carefully as they are being assembled for an extraordinary meeting. 

Your raw, sensitive heart – your tender, ripening body – the most outrageous host.
Open to your fellow travelers and keep them close, for they are weary from a long journey. 

They have not come from outside to harm you, 

but are only longing for one moment of your presence and your care. 

They have not appeared in order to be ‘understood,’ ‘transformed,’ or ‘healed,’

but have come spinning out of the unseen only to be held. 

Held, not ‘healed.’ For what you are has never been unhealed.
While they may appear as obstacles along the way, they are only seeking wholeness. 

If you will provide sanctuary where they can unfold and illuminate, 

they will reveal their essence as pure, wisdom-allies 

on the raging path of metabolization by love.

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Jinendra Swami - Pilgrimage to Self

Would you like to take pilgrimage to Self? 
If yes,
Then just walk with me as 'I'
  holding the hand of my guru -- the Awareness
Let's journey together 
  through space and time and then beyond

Now that 'Alok' and 'Kalpak'
Have taken responsibility for their own destiny
Now that 'Shaku' and 'others related' 
  are on their own course of life
There's nothing to do
I know 
The 'Source' takes care of everyone's needs
What else shall I do?
What else shall I create?
What else should I achieve?

As I sit doing nothing
Relaxed with no care of the world 
Brooding, pondering, and speculating 
Suddenly a thought just flashed by
Who is this 'i'?
It's better to know this  'i'
As it seems to be 
   the root cause of all my questions 
Thus began my pilgrimage to Self    

Sitting alone in 'solitude' 
  which is different than just being alone
The mind is at peace 
  but with this one desire
To find
'Who is the questioner within me?

For hours I would sit there like an idiot
Doing nothing 
Simply observing my mind
But with no desire to find the answer 

I don't know 'what' protected me
  from the deadly virus called 'Excuse'
The power of  'Grace' protected me 
  from the tamasic negative energy of Laziness

In the beginning of my sadhana 
I did not understand what 'surrender' is 
I used it as a 'peg'
   to hang all my minds problems on it
Until I realized 
I was using surrender
  to escape from my own mind
I observed my mind, to find where from it arise
I realized the futility, as I was making efforts
So in utter helplessness, I surrendered  'it 'in my prayer

I was not concerned with 'what Reality is'
The focus of my Awareness was always on 'what is Reality'
Like a fish 'immersed' in water
   knows not the reality outside the water

I observed that in my daily life    
I too am always 'immersed' in the world of senses
Unaware of the Reality outside this world of senses
  
My mind is continuously being caught up
   in the surrounding stimulies of the world
These stimulies causes mind to constantly create
   and build dynamic models of my world
But at times
   with my Awareness focused 'within' 
There was this great feeling
   of being completely 'Un -immersed'

In my sadhana 
I kept moving from place to place 
In search of  'right environment'
Until my Awareness revealed to me 
My mind is my ' true environment'
In my daily life
I Watched my own motives
  in all my 'actions'
I found that the mind
  is the wrong instrument to use for actions 
Instead it's Awareness that works wonders

In my sadhana 
I realized, it's not what I do 
   but what I stop doing that matters 
There was nothing to be changed
   but simply my attitude 
Which required no conscious efforts
   but simple Awareness

In my sadhana
I did not follow any procedure
  or methods or steps or routines    
It was simply through my own Awareness 
  I began to lose my self-importance 
I Realized that Pure Awareness is my inner 'guru'
The ever present 'guru' is always with me 
   helping me curtail my self-importance  

I realized Outside guru is needed 
  as long as I am 'Bahirmukhi' 
My Awareness is my guru
  when I become 'Antarmukhi'

In the very beginning of my sadhana
At times, I had doubts 
Then 'Dada (Shaha)' came to my rescue 
His understanding of different 'faiths'
   and clear perception of the truth in scriptures
Helped me overcome the confusion in my mind

In my sadhana
I also read many scriptures 
  and books of different 'faiths' 
But there was still no clarity of the 'doubtful' 

As I continued my sadhana 
My yearning to seek the doubtless continued 
Until I realized
Why bother about the doubtful or doubtless 
When I don't even know
    'who is the doubter'?

In my sadhana 
I had no problem of not having time 
For I needed hardly any time 
  for this 'person' and it's daily needs    

In my sadhana
With focused Awareness I looked
   at my own individual personality
   to know the 'person' I call  'self '
But how could I catch the ever changing 'person'?
I did not give up 
  and continued with focused Awareness 
Until I Realized the Fact
'I  am' is not the 'person' 
This experience of not being the 'person' 
Automatically led to experiencing freedom 
For the first time 
My consciousness in the waking state
Experienced the bliss of not being a 'person'

In my sadhana
I experienced existence without body
Which definitely brought detachment to my body 
The experience also eliminated the fear of death 
But is it going to stop the cycle of birth and death?

In my sadhana
At times in heightened state of Awareness 
There's something that happened to my perception 
It lead to serene aloofness and hardened detachment 
Which slowly and naturally
   became my normal behavior

In this changed perception, when I 'See' the world
 I 'see' like a video camera 
The camera sees and registers everything 
  without judgment or evaluation or any opinion 
And when it focuses on another view
It lingers not on the past views 
  nor is it constrained by previous angle-of-view  
But is at once free and fresh
  to register the next impression as they come

Mind's nature being impermanent 
It tends to constantly 'anchor' itself 
As the 'anchor' itself is transitory 
It keeps moving from 'anchor' to 'anchor' 
Until it comes to rest
When it finds a permanent 'anchor ' --  the 'Self '

'Silence' is the meditation, to know what ' Silence' is 
In the silence of  'the void' is this 'no-thing'
   that stands alone, changeless, here and now
I know nothing like it nor can I name it 
Should I also call it  'IT', 'That', 'Atman' or 'Self '?
I did not create 'IT '
  nor do I find any beginning or end of  'IT'
'IT' just remains suspended, 
   all motionless and still
   in calm, and in silence I cannot describe 

Though life is interdependence
The Awareness is free and independent now 
To test this independence
My mind 'let go' all I was dependent on

And to my surprise I found
  that I can be with life the way it is
For 'IT' is inseparable from Life 

Is this the end of my pilgrimage to Self ? 
My journey has not ended but just begun
    from Enlightenment to the point of no return

These words are simply to create the urge in you
And help you take - the First step   
You too can in this life itself 
Choose consciously to take pilgrimage to 'Self '
Have faith and trust in your 'Guru ' 
Begin now,  your journey to discover the 'Self '

Your mind must flip and take a somersault
Walk away from these words 
   towards the Reality that exists without these words 
Oh please
Don't turn words into ideas, beliefs, and concepts 
Find 'that'  which is greater than all Wisdom

Be Alert   ...   Be Aware
Choose to move away from all ideas and concepts  
Only that Truth which you discover yourself
Will be of any use to you, on this pilgrimage to 'Self '

Be aware and perceive rightly
Then the words come alive and become meaningful
If not, they are like writings on water
Soon to disappear into meaninglessness!!

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Solomon - All they need do is enter

My heart was split, and a flower
appeared: and grace sprang up;
and it bore fruit for my God.
You split me, tore my heart
open, filled me with love.
You poured your spirit into me;
I knew you as I know myself.
Speaking waters touched me
from your fountain, the source of life.
I swallowed them and was drunk
with the water that never dies.
And my drunkenness was insight,
intimacy with your spirit.
And you have made all things new;
you have showed me all things shining.
You have granted me perfect ease;
I have become like Paradise,
a garden whose fruit is joy;
and you are the sun upon me.
My eyes are radiant with your spirit;
my nostrils fill with your fragrance.
My ears delight in your music,
and my face is covered with your dew.
Blessed are the men and women
who are planted on your earth, in your garden,
who grow as your trees and flowers grow,
who transform their darkness to light.
Their roots plunge into darkness;
their faces turn toward the light.
All those who love you are beautiful;
they overflow with your presence
so that they can do nothing but good.
There is infinite space in your garden;
all men, all women are welcome here;
all they need do is enter.