Sadhana, the realization of life

"There is a bond of unity between our two eyes which makes them act in unison."  Sadhana; the Realization of Life by Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, mystic and writer known for his elegant, lyrical writing style; he also is known for his Nobel Prize win for literature in 1913. Written in his philosophical prose style, Tagore's  book, Sadhana, the Realization of Life, addresses many aspects of the Self and the world. He writes for example, that opposites do not bring confusion; in reality they bring harmony. Rhythm can never be born of disharmony, or of  "the haphazard struggle of combat."

This principle is the chief mystery of all unities. Unity in Tagore's mind could be viewed as: the one which appears as the many. And while seeming to be opposite, it is the truth, a paradox of sorts. He writes of a great poem, as a compilation of most pleasing sounds, yet if one stops to hear the import of those sounds, something more emerges; 'the inner connects to the outer [meaning].'

In the following poem below Tagore writes a bit of this and other ideas further discussed in prose style in his book, Sadhana. The poem is 'a thing of beauty which transcends grammar, laws' and becomes unto itself.

I

By Rabindranath Tagore

I wonder if I know him
In whose speech is my voice,
In whose movement is my being,
Whose skill is in my lines,
Whose melody is in my songs
In joy and sorrow.
I thought he was chained within me,
Contained by tears and laughter,
Work and play.
I thought he was my very self
Coming to an end with my death.
Why then in a flood of joy do I feel him
In the sight and touch of my beloved?
This 'I' beyond self I found
On the shores of the shining sea.
Therefore I know
This 'I' is not imprisoned within my bounds.
Losing myself, I find him
Beyond the borders of time and space.
Through the Ages
I come to know his Shining Self
In the 'If ' of the seeker,
In the voice of the poet.
From the dark clouds pour the rains.
I sit and think:
Bearing so many forms, so many names,
I come down, crossing the threshold
Of countless births and deaths.
The Supreme undivided, complete in himself,
Embracing past and present,
Dwells in Man.
Within Him I shall find myself -
The 'I' that reaches everywhere.

True Love From the False

"Love gives itself; it isn't bought." Henry W. Longfellow

As we move through our lives, one hears and learns by experience a simple truth as the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote. Love is free, it cannot be bought or coerced. Nor can it be captured or restrained, like a pet canary, adored in a golden cage.
Loving persons come together by desire, by free will, in giving. Lovers cannot be used, one blind to the motives of another. 'Love,' as the Bible tells us, 'sees all, knows all, tolerates, is patient and forgives'. In the book of Corinthians it is written:

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

The conclusion of this passage is also simple enough:

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now-- faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." --1Corinthians-NSB translation

For those whose life experience has been without the experience of love's purity, innocence, freedom, or patience, the foundation of relationship as adults may easily turn to an experience in which there is a transaction of "confusion between winners and losers in a game of competing needs," writes Deepak Chopra in his book, The Path to Love.
 Instead of weaving together in friendship, in desire, in love, individuals concentrate on what will benefit me. "How many couples bond by forming a "we" that is just a stronger, tougher version of "me"? muses Chopra.

"Undoubtedly," he continues,  "mutual ego needs have a place in every relationship... however when they obliterate the tender growth and life of love in the Spirit," love is replaced with something that is false. He notes that "acquiring an ally to fulfill them [needs] isn't the same as getting free from them. 
Only love can free us."
"The reason that ego and love are not compatible comes down to this: you cannot take your ego into the unknown, where love wants to lead. Ego craves control, certainty, and power alone. As practitioners on the Way, looking carefully, we see this is false notion. By life experience, we have found that the world is not static, it is not every man an island. Rather the world is as the Buddha preached: a world of change, impermanence; a world that survives because of the inter-being of all. One depends upon another.

Think about your morning habits, for example. The dwelling you awoke in was quite possibly built by another, the electricity you used was wired and made safe for you by others. The food you eat was grown and delivered by others; the water you drink, and the road you travel-- all made safe by others. A truth of love versus ego, then, is that "Uncertainty is the basis of life," writes Chopra.
And inter-being is the way.
Allow yourself what you deeply desire.  In love, in spirit, there are no ulterior motives. While acknowledging another's needs or wants, "Spirit neither takes responsibility for that need nor opposes it." In this way, the person and their love is seen as real, because whatever your true need is, is your reality.

Fools For the Christ

The Simple Mind is away from the computer.

"Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you, and utter every kind of slander against you because of me." Bible, St. Matthew 5:11

When in the park land of the world, in the gardens or the towns, wherever, turn the other cheek, commands the Christ. It does seems a fool thing; however perhaps it is the most appropriate thing for a disciple to do when faced with unwarranted aggression and basic disrespect from others. Most often when there is the impulse to retaliate, the aggressor is responding to a past, perceived slight or insult. They may be emotionally hurt, or they may be quite imaginary in their thinking. In the first incident, recalls Anthony Gittins in his book, Come Follow Me, "these words of the Christ assumes that the recipient of the blow is an innocent party... the recipient of the blow being completely taken aback by the unprovoked aggression." Anyone so deeply committed as a disciple is likely to antagonize the less responsible, the less committed members of any given community.

As the former Saul, now Saint Paul knew, discipleship entails risk. The bible book, 1 Corinthians 4:10 records, 'we are fools on the Christ's account. Ah, but in Christ you are wise! We [the people of Corinth] are the weak ones, you are the strong! They honor you while they sneer at us.' Considering the aftermath or consequences of such exchanges is possibility. The possibility that courage may enter into the equation, that the way to justice may become clearer, that growth of discipleship may lead to faith, to peace.

The possibility that the world may be unified as one in the Lord, that nations may beat swords into plowshares is part and parcel of the radical directives of the Christ. In preaching and teaching, Jesus challenged the status quo of first century C.E. Palestine, a world where "honor was accrued or defended through fighting or contesting. If someone was looking for a fight, he is anticipating being the winner, either by causing his opponent to withdraw and thereby being shamed, or making a loser out of him, and shaming him. If the would-be opponent retaliates... the drama proceeds until winner and loser are determined. So, what if the opponent fails to either retaliate or withdraw?" Instead, he turns the other cheek, then dominance can only be realized by bullying, or by an unfair fight.

This does not however, honor an aggressor; rather it shames him. Without a fair fight, the would-be aggressor is forced into a potentially uncomfortable position; he may even be required to apologize to restore the community. Jesus rejected the entire 'honor system' of the ancient world in which he lived. He exposes a world built on honor and shame as false; he teaches for the good. He unmasks the  world built upon the poverty of an 'eye for an eye,' the moral rule widely in force during his time.