Jack Kornfield describes his encounter with Nisargadatta Maharaj

Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield describes his encounter with Nisargadatta Maharaj in "The Eightfold Path for the Householder."

"There's something in us, in our nature, which compels us to discover. I remember a very powerful moment with the old guru who I studied with, Nisargadatta Maharaj, who taught the way of Nisarga Yoga. "Nisarga" means natural. The basic translation of his name was "Mr. Natural". He was this 80-year old cigarette-smoking man. He had a little cigarette stand. He was kind of a combination like Krishnamurti and Fritz Perls. He would put you on the hot seat when you came in and ask you about your spiritual life.

One day we were in a room about this big.

People were coming in and asking questions. Somebody came in and asked a question and was a little bit dissatisfied and left. And another person raised their hand and said, "Maharaj, what will happen to that person who came and asked that question and left? Is it all over for them in this life? They didn't stay here. You are a great guru, and they weren't interested, and they went home." And he twinkled at that moment, he really lit up, and he said,

"It's too late. Even the fact that they put their foot in this room, even if they hadn't asked the question, means that somewhere in there there's a seed of really knowing who we are and what this life is about. Not what you were taught in elementary school or what's on TV or the newspapers, but a deep seed of knowing our true nature, that wants to discover; it's like coming home. The fact that he just walked in the room means that that seed has started to sprout. And no matter if he tries to forget it and goes back and gets lost, sooner or later that will manifest in awakening.

...I'll read you a passage from Nisargadatta Maharaj, the old bidi wallah who I studied with in Bombay; wonderful old teacher. He sold little Indian cigarettes on the street corner, and he was fully enlightened somehow at the same time. He had these classes. He died a couple of years ago. He was a wonderful old man.

Someone asks:

What can truth or reality gain by all our practice?

He uses truth and love interchangeably. He says:

"Nothing whatsoever, of course. But it is in the nature of truth or love, cosmic consciousness, whatever you want to call it, to express itself, to affirm itself, to overcome difficulties. Once
you've understood that the world is love in action, consciousness or love in action, you will look at it quite differently. But first your attitude to suffering must change. Suffering is primarily a call for attention, which itself is a movement of love. More than happiness, love wants growth, the widening and deepening of awareness and consciousness and being. Whatever prevents that becomes a cause of pain, and love does not shirk from pain."

-- The Eightfold Path for the Householder:

PDF
Ten talks by Jack Kornfield,
transcribed from audio tape

Sri Anandamayi Ma - Samadhi

"During samadhi Her face lost all freshness of life; the body appeared to be very frail and weak and in Her general appearance there was no expession whatever of either joy or pain. In that state it took Her much longer to recover Her normal self. In 1930, when She came to Ramna Ashram, She often appeared to have lost all signs of life during samadhi and passed four or five days together without response to any outer stimulus. During the whole phase, from the beginning of the samadhi to its end, there was no indication that She was alive or could ever become alive. Her body became as cold as ice and remained cold for a long time after consciousness returned. . . On inquiry we learned from Her later that while She was in that condition She would feel a fine threadlike upward current of life flowing from the lower end of the spinal cord right up to the topmost centre in the brain, and along with it a thrill of joy would run through every fibre of Her body and even through the pores of Her hair. She would feel at that time that every particle of Her physical frame danced, as it were, with infinite ripples of bliss. Whatever She touched or saw appeared to Her to be a vital part of Herself. Her physical body gradually ceased to function.
At that time, if Her backbone was massaged or the joints of Her body were rubbed for a long time, She would remain quiet for a while and recover Her normal condition. It was at this stage that She was found to be brimming over with heavenly joy and Her looks had all the indications of one lost in Universal Love. . . .
One evening, just at dusk, Sri Ma was lying in a state of samadhi. Our Didima (Mataji's mother) was on the bed by Her side. Pitaji was also in the room. At about 2 A.M. I was seated on the verandah meditating on Mother's lotus feet. I felt a thrilling sensation in my heart produced by the sound of Her footsteps. I opened my eyes but could not notice anything. I heard some feeble sound inside the room. When I left my seat I noticed two tiny footprints of Mataji's wet feet.
On entering the room I found Sri Ma in bed. I inquired from Didima if Ma had gone out. The reply was 'no'. The night passed. Next morning She was on the plane of physical consciousness for a brief interval. Though She recovered Her sense on the following day, it took three or four days more to regain Her normal ways of life.
A few days later I said to Mataji: 'I have heard that during samadhi it is not possible for anybody to move about in his physical body. How was it that I noticed your footprints on the floor last night?' Sri Ma said: 'Is it possible for man to explain all things in words?' and resumed silence."

~Bhaiji (Jyotish Chandra Ray), from his book "Mother As Revealed To Me", pages 63-66, 1983 edition printed by Shree Shree Anandamayee Charitable Society, Calcutta, India

Thanks to  Ccarol Grayson

http://www.anandamayi.org/

Mystic Meandering - The Sanctuary of Silence

Sitting in the Sanctuary
of Silence,
the deep space of
Formlessness
keeps pulling me in,
enticing me to
remember,

to
listen
D
E
E
P
L
Y
.
.
.


In this space of Pure Awareness,
beyond thought,
I can feel the intimacy of Silence
once again;
The organic Rhythm,
immersed in its Quiet Flow...
Out of which all movement arises
and takes form...

Formlessness-Form
Form-Formlessness,
Not two - yet not one;
not either/or
but
both/and
The Ineffable Mystery


I sometimes call it "The Beloved",
sometimes now "The Unmanifest."
It has many names -
this Aware Silence,
this Hush of the Mystery
that we are,
that we emerged from,
Life ItSelf;
and is no-name as well...

The Unknown...

In this Sea of Silence
I remember the feel of
Its Rhythm;
the transparency and
boundarylessness
of its endless S p a c i o u s n e s s
that Just IS...

The Mystery of Life living ItSelf
in/as
the vast
and
rhythmic
pulse of Living Silence...

recognizing ItSelf as "me",
and "me" recognizing It
as my
Self

I had forgotten
this Sacred Silence
that knows us intimately
as ItSelf...

Our pain, sorrow, grief;
our laughter and joy,
are inexplicably
ITs own

Inseparable

It knows our shadow
and embraces
all darkness
as ITs own -
because
IT is -
ITs own

Light...

that knows
no darkness


The grief, the loss,
the sadness, the suffering,
the woundings...

ALL ITs own;
feeling what we feel,
experiencing what we experience
as ItSelf...

Ever-present
Ever-aware
Ever-open
to all experience

Not a cold, conceptual
hollow vacuum of Nothingness...

But the V a s t n e s s of Life ItSelf,
intimately living ItSelf...
OM-ing pre-Existence into Existence...
Breathing ItSelf into Life -
into every wound of pain
and suffering
with ITs soft caress...

Aware Living Silence
knows our Hearts
as ITs own,
and dances with
Joy
in
the
delight
of
knowing
it
.
.
.

I had forgotten THIS...
The feel of this deep intimacy
in ITs complete and utter Embrace;
Its total enfoldment;
Its inclusiveness
of all that we are;
forgotten the once known
innocence of
being touched
by the
Vastness
and
Depth
of


Silence



Mystic Meandering
April 11, 2015

https://mysticmeandering.blogspot.com/ 

Badshah Khan - Your dear heart

art Reza Badrossama

 Rubayiat Al Thurab (Verses of the Dust) – 84

BismillahIr RahmanIr Raheem

Listen politely to your dear heart,
Its Speaking to you’
Its uttering the language of eternal love.

Heed to your dear heart,
Its a boundless wealth of righteous,
Your heart, habitually recite the sacred words.

The sacred words of your divine creator
Keenly listen to your dear heart’
Without any scholarly literatures.

Properly referring to you,
The poetic language of eternal love,
Listen willingly to your dear heart.

Divinely revealing your eternal truth,
Whom you unconditionally Follow,
Who you Call Him as your beloved.

Allah Khair….. Khairul Rabul Alameen Yah Arrahmanur Yah Raheem

Rubayiat Al Thurab (Verses of the Dust) 

Arthur Osborne - Be Still

art Jane Adams

 Thou art? — I am?
Why argue? — Being is.
Keep still and be.

Death will not still the mind.
Nor argument, nor hopes of after-death.
This world the battle-ground, yourself the foe
Yourself must master.

Eager the mind to seek.
Yet oft astray, causing its own distress
Then crying for relief, as though some God
Barred from it jealously the Bliss it sought
But would not face.

Till in the end,
All battles fought, all earthly loves abjured,
Dawn in the East, there is no other way
But to be still.

In stillness then to find
The giants all were windmills, all the strife
Self-made, unreal; even he that strove
A fancied being, as when that good knight
Woke from delirium and with a loud cry
Rendered his soul to God.

Mind, then, or soul?
Break free from subtle words.

Only be still,
Lay down the mind, submit, and Being then
Is Bliss, Bliss Consciousness: and That you are.

Source 

PDF - Be Still, It Is. The Wind. That Sings:

 

HERE 

My Life and Quest-Arthur Osborne

  HERE

 

 

 

Rashani - The feast of this moment (a song of gratitude)

art Reza Badrossama

 

"During the months of May and June, 2003, I offered 7 retreats, several
public satsangs and over 70 private sessions in New York City, at
Kripalu Yoga Center and in Sweden and Denmark. 

The following is a song I wrote for the many people who attended these
events. I was deeply moved by their willingness to be present with
whatever arose and to trust in the unknown."
                 THE FEAST OF THIS MOMENT  (a song of gratitude)

            welcome to the feast, it’s just begun.
            it’s a celebration for everyone,
            a chance to meet the moon and sun within you.

            there’s space for every part of you,
            regardless of your point of view.
            come and share the old and new together.
            bring to the feast your tender child,
            bring to the feast the meek and mild,
            bring the jaguar and all your wildest creatures.
            bring the one who’s been abused,
            and the part of you which feels confused.
            bring the pride which has refused forgiveness.
            bring your beauty and strike the gong,
            enter the field beyond right and wrong,
            bring the ones who long to be received now.
            invite the one who’s so afraid,
            invite the child who never stayed,
            invite the part of you which played perfection.
            come to the feast, oh come and start
            to know the truth you kept apart,
            bring to the feast your total heart and being.
            bring the one who’s crying in pain,
            bring the dancer in the rain,
            bring the one who’s vain and sometimes selfish.
            bring the parts you left behind,
            bring the one who’s hard to find,
            bring the lonely and confined fixations.
            all are welcome here today.
            i long to hear what they each say.
            this feast of the moment may just last forever!
            invite the beast who has no name,
            who all these years you could not tame,
            in mercy’s presence, even shame will turn to gold.
            bring the nun & the monk you deified,
            and the lover’s heart you crucified.
            invite them gently, to abide together now.
            bring the betrayer and the betrayed,
            bring the wisdom you have not obeyed.
            yes, come to find Who made what can’t be broken. 

            this is a feast of day and night,
            where we receive the fragrance of light
            while leaving behind the plight of past and future.
            bring, yes, the one who wanted to die,
            whose heart is sepalled within the sigh.
            there’s space for every cry and song of creation.
            we’ve come to remember who we are,
            to marvel at the falling star
            that reminds us how far we’ve been from home.
            bring the child who wanted to hide,
            the one you lock so deep inside.
            even bring the voice which tried to silence you.
            bring the boy who played in the streams,
            whose only friends were deep in his dreams.
            invite him now to surf on beams of laughter.
            the sadness he carried all those years
            which turned his thoughts into so many fears
            are transforming now, into tears of understanding.
            bring the girl who was taught to believe
            that pain was the only gift she’d receive.
            deeper than pain, her Heart can perceive the truth
            now.
            she tried so hard to therapise
            and then she tried to analyse
            her purest being which has no guise or garments.
            invite the one who tried to transcend
            the haunting memories that would not end;
            who tried, but failed, to bend the spoon of childhood.
            bring the fear you tried to cage,
            the explosiveness that turned to rage.
            invite the tyrant who wants to wage each war.
            bring to the feast the exhausted mind
            which searched for years, hoping to find
            a way to change and leave behind all suffering.
            let us open now to this blessed day!
            and trust that there’s an effortless way
            to Be who we are while giving away our burdens.
            let’s close our eyes and open to grace,
            see, without seeing, our original face
            and know, deep within,our place  in this creation. 
            it’s a caravan of no despair!
            it doesn’t matter what you wear.
            you’ll see that love is everywhere around you!
            around, within, above, below,
            in the breath itself, it’s not fast or slow.
            kiss the earth and throw to God your sorrows.
            feel the butterflies in your womb,
            the cobra rising from the ancient tomb.
            we’re the tapestry on the heart-loom of existence.
            there’s something waiting deep  inside.
            a radiant aliveness unable to hide.
            it’s the  ever-abiding  current in our center.
            it’s "the pearl beyond price" deep within,
            it’s the essence of both yang and yin,
            what we are, have always been & will always be!
            it’s the golden light in the polarbear’s fur,
            the star that shines in every "him" and "her".
            it’s the gentle purr of the white siberian tiger.
            it’s the sea turtle eating what you thought was pain,
            the woman in the desert who you thought was insane,
            who turned out to be the sanest, wisest shaman.
            it’s the diamond he gave you from the other side,
            the forgiveness from your sister who long ago died,
            it’s the nectar of love residing in us all.
            purusha, buddha, quan yin, and tao,
            tatanka weanska, to you i bow...
            coming home, without knowing how i came here.
            "blissful sobriety" is one of its names,
            a pristine clarity that plays no games.
            it’s a quiet spark within the flames’ bright center.
            it’s a powerful force,
            an effortless current, ofcourse:
            an invitation to divorce the mind’s dilemmas.
            to dyhani ywahoo and ma ananda mayi,
            to every bodhisatva in their suit and tie,
            to the 5 year old child who asked, "Why do stars grow
            in spirals?"
            i bow to ramana and papaji too,
            gangaji, faisal, pema and norbu,
            to family, friends and lovers, who show me the
            pathless way.

https://rashani.com/

Rumi ♡ - "Wake up lovers"

"Wake up lovers, it is time to start the journey! We have seen enough of this world, it is time to see another.

These two gardens may be beautiful but let us pass beyond them and go to the Gardener.

Let us kiss the ground and flow like a river towards the ocean.

Let us go from the valley of tears to the wedding feast, let us bring the colors of blossoms to our pale faces.

Our hearts shiver like autumn leaves about to fall, in this world of dust there is no avoiding pain or feeling exiled.

Let us become like beautifully colored birds and fly to the sweet land of paradise.

Everything is painted with the brush of the Invisible One let us follow the hidden signs and find the Painter.

It is best to travel with companions on this perilous journey only love can lead the way.

We are like rain splashing on a roof let us find our way down the spout.

We are like an arched bow with the arrow in place let us become straight and release the arrow towards the target.

We have stayed at home scared like mice let us find our courage and join the lions.

Let us begin the journey home"

 

Clare Blanchflower - Saturated Silence / Be Taken

Saturated Silence

A mind that is looking
for something
will always find
something

An innocent,
open mind
will discover the emptiness
in which the mind and the ‘something’
is taking place

Let go of spiritual ambition
Surrender to grace
Discover you are already

Be Taken

You are known
by silence
Be still
Be taken
Grace is here
in the pause
between

Listen
Receive silence
as your guest
Open to the heart
of Being
Hold nothing back

Be still
Be taken
You are here
Silent radar
will find you
Presence will enter you
Be found
in the stillness
of Now
Stop seeking
Be found

Be taken
home
Be filled
with awe
Do not need to know
where you are
Not knowing
nourishes presence
Stillness knows
Be found
here
Silent
arms hold you
tenderly

http://clareblanchflower.com/