The Religion of Ahimsa

"Man is higher than the brute." MK Gandhi

Writing about Ahimsa, Gandhi briefly describes it as, "the world is full of violence, himsa, and nature does appear to be red in tooth and claw."
 He writes of a belief that man is more than a brute and potentially superior to nature. "If man has a divine mission to fulfill, a mission that becomes him, it is that of non-violence, ahimsa.

"The religion of non-violence is not merely meant for saints. It is meant for the common people as well... the dignity of man requires obedience to such a higher law to strengthen the spirit."
Gandhi observes that man as animal is violent, but mens' spirits are not. "The moment he awakes to the spirit within, he cannot remain violent. He either progresses to ahimsa or rushes then to his doom.

That is why the prophet and the avatars taught the lesson of truth, harmony, brotherhood and justice, etc., all attributes of ahimsa." This Gandhi writes in his essay, The Religion of Ahimsa, contained in the book, The Way to God.

The Cosmic Energy, Shakti and Siva

"Shakti and Siva are One." Amrita Patel

Shakti is transforming, manifesting herself in five specific ways as described in the Siva Sutras: Chitta--awareness; Ananda--bliss; Icha--desire; Gyana--knowledge; Kriya--action. For the one in growing self awareness, Shakti arises in consciousness as an element of passion. Passion isn't personal, however another may prompt awareness of its present possibilities. Passion as described in the Sutra is universal; it is the particles of light-giving life. In Christian terms, this passion is described as the Christ, who is the light of the world.

As a part of the cosmic energy Shakti is but one power, one part of light. Its energy is inspired by spirit and its drive is creative. Shakti in creation brings forth Siva in traditional Hindu view of the creative functioning of the world. Inspiring passion, the ordinarily abstract and unconscious Siva is made manifest by the dances of Shakti. The energy borne of the cosmic pair, passionate love, is energy that makes every thing new, every being renewed, innocent in expression.

Siva is all awareness, silent and intuitive. Siva as a part of cosmic energy described in tradition, creates, destroys or empties, protects, covers, reveals. Siva is present in life's processes. The miracle of the process in revelation is that the love energy borne by Siva, and directly in the world by Shakti, is like a miracle, revealing a divine shift, love itself manifesting in peacefulness, joy and a sense of the whole.

Siva is also known as "Pashupati," Lord of creatures. To this end, Sri Chakra worship is witness to the unity of Shakti and Siva. It is a symbol of the infinite as well. Sri Aurobindo writes:

"This is the knot that ties together the stars;
The two who are one and the Secret of all power,
The two who are one are the might and right in things "

For Aurobindo, this scripture and others demonstrates that Shakti and Siva are One, writes Amrita Patel in his literary book, Perspectives on Sri Aurobindo's Poetry, Plays and Criticism.

You Can't Go Home Again

"Simple persons live within the happiness of their inner world."--   Transformation  by R. Johnson

In most every spiritual tradition there is a sense of growing maturity, a ripening of the self into what some call satori, enlightenment or salvation, among other descriptions of this experience. Author and Jungian psychologist Robert Johnson discusses this in his book, Transformation.

He writes there are three levels of consciousness. They are universal the world over, yet in industrialized societies the progression of these experiences is made all the more difficult by our very advances in book learning and complex societies. The level of all mankind, endowed to each of us by nature is what he describes as 'simple consciousness,' followed by 'complex consciousness,' the "usual state of educated Western man, and an 'enlightened' state of consciousness, known only to a very few individuals."

Enlightenment, Johnson reckons, comes to very few men only after much work and training by highly motivated individuals. He recounts a simple story to illustrate these notions: 'the simple man comes home in the evening wondering what's for dinner; the complex man comes home pondering the imponderables of fate, and the enlightened man comes home wondering what's for dinner.
"Simple man and enlightened man have much in common, including a direct, uncomplicated view of life, and so they react in similar ways."

The difference between them is that the enlightened are conscious of their condition in ways that simple persons are not. Complex persons, however, are often engaged with worry and often live lives marked by anxiety.
Writing Walden Pond, 19th century author Henry David Thoreau writes about his experiences and those of others he knows. He chronicles the complex, Western man's attempt to regain a sense of simplicity in their life.
Gandhi urged India in an earlier era to retain its domestic simplicity; his urgings were largely ignored. Today when one travels to India we are often aware of the tremendous poverty, illness and wants of her citizens. All true. However alongside of these ills is a clear and abundant sense of joyfulness. There is a happiness among large numbers of Indians in their daily lives. Johnson writes of his experiences there, "I was witnessing the miracle of simple man finding happiness in a rich, inner world, not in the pursuit of some desired goal.

Simple persons live within this happiness of their inner world, no matter what the exterior circumstance may be. Those of enlightened conscious also know this and live with an attitude of happiness which bridges their inner world with objective facts, a connection the Simple person does not or is unable to make.
Many a Hindu learns that the highest worship is to simply be happy. On the other hand, complex persons often live in their sense of anxiety and dread, trapped between nostalgia and anticipation of what may come, a fate that mostly eludes ones' grasp.
Despite this, complex consciousness is so highly valued by Westerners that nothing is thought to be too great or expensive in a bid "to gain freedom, self-determination and choices," wrought by his expanded perception writes Johnson.

Traditional Indian society, he observes, is based "on a caste system that allows only a few superior individuals," Brahmins, the chief caste to gain consciousness. The lower castes are less concerned with enlightened minds or methods. This keeps the vast majority of Indians in a state of their natural given, simple consciousness.
For once on the path to enlightenment, many will make significant gains before meeting frustration warned Carl Jung, Johnson's mentor.

Jung noted that once one has left the innate state of simple consciousness for more complex states, one can no longer turn around to retrace the steps of the path from where one has come. Quite simply, he believed that on the path to consciousness, Complex persons may meet with stresses and frustration from which they cannot retire. In other words, Jung believed, one can't just go home again to an earlier simplicity and peace you once knew, in recognition of a certain loss of innocence.

I Am That

"...One who is ascended has achieved [the] Christ's injunction to be in this world but not of it." --The Path to Love by Deepak Chopra


I am that,
You are That,
All this is That.

These seemingly simple statements, from the Upanishads of India are thousands of years old; together they express what Hinduism calls Moksha, or liberation. Some see Moksha as freedom in love, enlightenment or ascension. Moksha ends karmic bonds. It is a freedom to be empty, but emptiness is not nothingness.

Many persons commonly suppose "they are what they eat," and in a little way this is true but not literally. Because one likes ice cream, for example, or chocolate doesn't make one an ice cream or a chocolate; because cowboys ride horses that doesn't make them a horse either. Nor is one either male or female by the simple wearing of any particular article of clothing. The same is true with ones' profession; the job one performs on a regular basis does not define the soul or the body; so it does not create Moksha either.


So often we fall into these notions of defining ourselves in literal, unskillful ways. It's easy to do and for many the application of a label is comforting; it provides a box or a stage from which to operate our daily lives, but it is not Moksha which is without limits. Moksha initiates one into a new birth of wholeness, of fullness. It states quite profoundly I am That, you are That, all this is That. Mokesha draws one close to the Divine.

The seeking is done. You find God is within; love enfolds  into pure religious devotion. You are simply an observer, a witness or a seer to life's journeys. The moment you are able to look deep within and see that I am That, meaning you see your lightness along with your darkness, your virtues and your sins as one, equal-- everything that matters is now a part of Being itself.
In other words, I am Being, and not anything else. 'I am as I am; you may love me or hate me; I aspire to no other. I am only myself.'

You are That tells the seer that they too are part of the Creation, both sacred be-loved and the lover. Creation becomes personal.

All is That tells us that as part of Creation, co-creators, we are all intimately and divinely involved in infinite consciousness. The possible expands, and very much-- because you are so much more than what you eat.

The Avataras of Vishnu

Vishnu, Hindu god, declares in the Bhagavad Gita that whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten or set aside, he will manifest on earth. Vishnu declares he is born in every age, a human birth with human parents; his mission is to protect the good, to counteract evil and re-activate dharma for those fallen asleep in the world.

With this statement, Hinduism declares itself to be a salvific faith, a messiah not entirely unlike the Judeo-Christian belief. Vishnu carries out his intercessions innumerable times though not always in human form, of incarnations or avataras. Vishnu is thought to take on a disguise at times to bring dharma where it is most needed.The earliest avataras are most associated with the primeval ocean, water long seen as a symbol of life. Avataras also represent primordial chaos whose arising in Hindu philosophy is thought to be a prerequisite to the development of an orderly cosmos derived from earlier chaos.

The pantheon of avataras in modern Hinduism are: Matsya, the fish; Kurma, the tortoise; Varaha, the boar; Narasinha, the lion; Vamana-Trivikrama, the dwarf-colossus; Parasurama, Rama with the axe; Rama, the most famous of avatars, demon king-killer; Krishna, the most important of Vishnu incarnations, despot eliminator; Buddha, rids the earth of evil doctrines without exception; Kalkin, the final avataras, futuristic, will usher in a new age when manifest.

The Hindu sects of Vishnu follow a doctrine of a supreme being, a Brahman; his avatara is Rama who represents the epitome of manhood and human aspiration. In his female aspect, Vishnu is referred to as Shakti, who represents the goddess Lakshmi. As previously mentioned here, there are two distinct views of Vishnu delineated by geography.

Another important movement of believers are the Bhakti, the devoted ones. These persons see Vishnu with uncompromising devotion, a mystical, total union which may be attained by contact with the mortal intermediary of his avatara, Krishna. Typical devotions include sung or chanted expressions of adoration. The movement has strong links with Buddhism, primarily Tantric sects such as Sahajayana whose founder was Krishnacarya. Author Patrick Bresnan writes of this and more in his book, Awakening, the History of Eastern Thought.

An Epic Tale, Mahabharata

"Lying on the bed of arrows, Bhisma thinks of me, and my mind is gone to him, to that repository of knowledge. Strive for truth. Be good." --The Mahabharata

 Many here in the West are familiar with the Bagvad Gita, a famous dialog between Krsna and Arjuna; however fewer are aware that it is actually a text contained within the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is an epic tale. It is the longest of poems, stretching out more than 100,000 verses!

According to tradition, its author is the sage Vyasa, the Arranger; however current scholarship has determined that the text was compiled over a lengthy period of time. It reached its current form about the fourth century CE. Along side the Ramayana, the Mahabharata is considered  two of the major epics in Hinduism, and sometimes compared to the great texts of other faiths
During the medieval period in Europe, the poem existed in two major forms, one northern and one southern. It was re-told in a Tamil version.

The central hero of the story is Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma personified as a deity. It is divided into 18 parts and is often acted out in a play throughout India and else where. It is a fluid and contemporary part of modern Hinduism. In the 1980's there was a version presented on television which was very popular.
 The origins of the story lay in the non-Brahminical social groups of the Aryavarta, especially the Ksatiya aristocrats, giving some understanding of their lives. The epic was overshadowed by the orthodox Brahmans and given its ideology by the same.
In a version told by Indian author, R.K. Narayan, the tale is shortened to its most critical elements and was published in London in 1978.

While the story may be enjoyed on many levels, it is an allegory and a metaphor for the human plane, the ethics of the higher and lower selves and the struggle between the two, and forms a profound philosophy. The story's central theme is a struggle over the rulership of a kingdom by two clans. It ends with the death of Krsna and the gradual uncovering of his divine identity.

Diwali Day and Other Hindu Festivals

Many of us who share many traditions don't often stop to think about what holidays and festivals others celebrate. If we are not exposed to other views and other customs it may come to seem that without our usual calendar, there is nothing else out there in the world. Yet the calendar in many places is filled with holidays virtually unknown in the west.

Let's Know Hinduism: The Oldest Religion of Infinite Adaptability and Diversity by R. C. Dogra, Urmila Dogra is a simple and interesting book about the ways of India, especially the major festivals celebrated by Hindus. He writes that Hindus celebrate hundreds of festivals, many of them with spiritual and cultural importance. They often involve dance, food, ritual, devotions, processions and feeding the poor. He details most of the occasions observed by most Hindus.

In the month of October-November falls the Festival of Lamps, or Diwali/Deepavali. In some places the festival is two days or as many as five. Celebrating Lord Rama return from exile. For some Hindus, the occasion commemorates the victory of Dharma and Ahisma over injustice and violence. In many areas there are events commemorating various aspects of the scripture regarding Lord Rama and the Goddess Lakshmi. Here in the United States more and more, Diwali day is being celebrated in communities small and large. Areas where there are growing numbers of  Indians are likely to have observances. It is also customary to wish friends and neighbors, Happy Diwali Day!

Today I Read, The Dilemma of Diversity

"Parents worry that their kids' beliefs will be influenced by exposure to other faiths. They needn't be." Sacred Ground by Eboo Patel

Today I read something really remarkable, an essay written by Eboo Patel, educated at the University of Illinois and Oxford, England, whose book is Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice and the Promise of America. In his essay he describes an American scene: A woman goes into an American hospital to deliver a baby. She enters an institution founded by Jewish philanthropy, with a Muslim physician attending her, while a Hindu physician administers anesthesia, and a Catholic Christian woman is assigned her nurse. Think about that a moment.

What joins all these persons together is their commitment to care, to care for persons who have  medical, physical needs, and possibly to attend to other emotional or spiritual needs as well. In America this scene is real and many of us have already experienced such compassionate care by those persons of faith who minister as doctors and other medical professionals. Because America is a Pluralistic nation as founded and announced by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We may really be more defined by Pluralism than by Democracy.

In his book, Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice and the Promise of America, Patel poses a simple question, "am I just preaching to the choir?" While he initially interpreted this as some sort of rebuke, further reflection has led him to a different thought. Embodying the Social Change Theory, he writes that the issue is: less defining the problem and more identifying those who hold solutions, and assisting them in promoting those methods and ideas for social change.

He continues his thoughts by relating his impressions of a visit to Chicago by the 14th Dalai Lama. He was definitely "preaching to the choir. The Dalai Lama can obviously assemble a pretty large choir, but still he was strategic about how he went about it." He assembled a group of interfaith leaders in Chicago for a panel discussion; in other words "he had created a religiously diverse choir." The Dalai Lama, as some may know, has become active in the teaching of interfaith literacy. His recent book is titled, Towards a True Kinship of Faith: How the World's Religions Can Come Together. He emphasizes the ability of building relationships across differences. He inspires others to do the same.

Patel also tells a bit of the history of Cordoba, Spain during the Early-Medieval period of the Moorish Invasion, a time when Muslim people of North Africa came onto the Iberian Continent and successfully colonized it. In the ultimately peacefully co-existence of people of different faiths, Spain carved out regions where Moors predominated and intermarried with the native population, thus a peace established itself. Today the Moors are recognized for their genius and inspiration that energized Spanish society at large.
It was this attitude, Patel writes, which transplanted easily to the American shores, brought first by the Conquistadors and their colonies along the Gulf of Mexico, from Florida to California. He writes how he realized that because of active cooperation these communities did thrive, rather than a modern attitude of oh, so politically correct 'co-existence of lukewarm tolerance.' Finally he concludes that Cordoba predicted America.

So it is indeed Pluralism, the active cooperation and participation in the affairs of American society which defines this nation, concludes Patel. Reading his book in its entirety sets one to thinking about  just how.

Prana, the Breath of God

"The heart is the chooser, the midway Chakra that stands between upper and lower; it is the mediator, the center of feeling. The function of the heart isn't to label good or bad; it doesn't judge or reject. Out of love it blends high and low..." --The Path to Love by Deepak Chopra

Human beings, writes Chopra "are the only creatures born with a higher and a lower nature." Here in the West, he notes, the terms higher and lower, are hued with the ideas of sacred and profane; yet we know by experience that there is one world, all things are infinite within it. There are not two worlds, good/bad, or sacred/profane. The world contains everything within herself: all good, all wicked, all holy, blessed and all corrupt. It is filled with love, indifference, intolerance and the One.

When young, we may wish, desire, crave even, for an intimate relationship with another. Chopra discusses in his book, The Path to Love that we may think that intimacy is sexualized love; later we may find through our life experiences, through being open to life challenges that life is love, sex, laughter and pain-- getting close is frightening, provoking, even. Sometimes the road seems as if it will swallow us up; we want to run, to hide. We fear abandonment or rejection along the path. "There's a spiritual issue here," says Chopra. 

Life is a process. It is forms; it's being and non being, the ways of feeling and doing. "In India it's taught that the same life force, or Prana, runs through everything. In Christian terms, it is the "Breath of God," which transforms dead, inert matter to life, says Chopra. Writing in the book, The Upanishads by Sri Aurobindo, Aurobindo details a bit more in contrast to Chopra. 

Sri Aurobindo describes, "Prana, the life force in the nervous system, is indeed the one main instrument of our mental consciousness; for it is that by which the mind receives the contacts of the physical world through the organs of knowledge, sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste; it reacts by action. All these senses are dependent upon the nervous life force for their functioning."
Aurobindo goes on to detail the inner and exterior workings of Prana, the breath or life force as he describes them. He says there are five workings of the life force. The discussion is lengthy and complex. 

He concludes in part, that respiration is only one part of the life force, but one which can be suspended (in his view) without the body necessarily being destroyed. He writes that we become aware of Prana through purification of the mind and body.

Reincarnation

"The withering hope in eternity is simply the reverse side of a withering faith."   J. Ratzinger

For as far back as recorded history exists, there rarely has been prevalent the idea that everything ends with death. Some form of the notion of judgement, and forms of salvation may be found the world over. In places with a strong tradition of faith within non-theistic religious expression, the imagining of  "other" life, life "beyond the veil," is sometimes vague and imprecise. While not quite an existence in nothingness, this unknowingness, or obscure relation, is perceived in a remarkable way, connecting itself with the everyday, living world.

Firstly, there are connections in many of those traditions, with the spirits of this shadowy realm who need the help of the living to continue to survive; first they need offerings and continual attention: food, prayer, money, housing, and other comforts. This makes for their immortality; they are not forgotten. And secondly, they, as spirits, are powerful; members of a universal realm, they may pose either as a help or as a threat to living persons.

People as often admire the departed spirit as they fear, even dread them.Over the ages a variety of rituals have been engaged to address the spirits and to sometimes protect themselves from them. Simultaneously the spirits of one's ancestors, primarily those who are seen in a protective role for the clan, are most often worshiped to ensure their favor. This practice of ancestor cults is one of the most ancient forms in human society.

Ancestor worship gives evidence that the bonds of love, family and community are unbroken, even by death. The belief of incarnation in these instances may be understood as a remedy for the justice or injustices of the world. One may, for example incarnate as a simple life form such as an animal or an insect, or they may attain perfection and complete their spiritual journeys, in the view of believers. The teachings of incarnation lend a sense of an inflexible justice, expiation for wrongdoings in life and a correction for that karmic condition. However when the bulk of life experience in this world is experienced as suffering, trans-migration of souls may not be enough. The goal may then be described as the intention to escape the bounds of individuality, to escape the confusion of the world, cycling of existence, so as to surrender to the origins of the true, universal self. This is sometimes described as the Dharmakaya, the great intelligence-mind.

Reincarnation encompasses a sense of everything and nothing; it is all times, all places and all spirit.  Full of hope and innocence, the belief in incarnation, cause and effect and the transmigration of souls is part of a vast, turning wheel in this world. For many today, however and for many in the West it loses its ancient sense of faith in moral justice; it is not universally perceived as the means by which a hidden power of justice is meted out in the here after.
Instead many now wish to interpret the ancient belief as a type of "energy conservation" wherein the soul's energy is not merely dispersed nor deleted at death; it instead in this view, there requires some form of embodiment. This newer view is at odds with the classic faith of the transmigration of souls.

Imagination, An Ability of the Heart

"I love you with all my heart." --by the many, the millions who have said and felt so.  And J. Hillman, author of the Force of Character

Reading the book, The Force of Character by James Hillman carefully, one stumbles upon many great and grand insights. It may take a few reads to grasp its themes. "Character used to be spoken of in terms of 'the of heart courage,' or the 'heart of generosity and loyalty.' " It is this heart which Hillman wants to address. He says this is also the heart that consoles the weary, that cooks a meal and shares its comforts with others, and delights in laughter. But there is a second heart, he says, that is even more familiar. It is the romantic heart of flowers and sweets; we 'give our heart away,'  'we are broken-hearted.'

And  Hillman writes of still another, a third heart. This heart is the one observed and practiced by early "great Christian writers, especially  Saint Augustine." This third heart is the one of inmost feeling, of true character. It is the me-mine, the closet of intimacy, an inward dwelling place." Because this heart is so deep and so private, "Augustine often refers to it as an abyss." Writers over time have elaborated upon this heart, calling it also 'the sacred heart.' Many practice devotions to realize and awaken this deepest heart. "The Sacred Heart is the heart of compassionate mysticism; it sets out a discipline of love parallel with the path" of Bhakti yoga, a part of Hindu tradition; it sets its path likewise with Jewish mystic tradition, the Kabbalah, Binah a mothering, discriminating intelligence-heart, leading one into an expanding character with regard to charity, compassion and mercy.

The "oldest heart of all, is the Egyptian Ptah, who created the world from the imagination of his heart! While the more recent Christian bible dares to state that the world was created by the Logos, the word which was with God, Ptah states "the same idea, except that for ancient Egypt, the words start out from the heart and express its imaginative power. The world was first imagined, then declared." Imagination, the 'ability to see things as images, is an ability of the heart, according to Arabic philosopher, Ibn Arabi." The images that we carry about in our reverie, in our dreams, in our deepest waking hearts become vividly real to the aware, awake heart. "Otherwise we assume them to be inventions, projections, and fantasies," Hillman writes.

This "imagining heart converts such indefinables as soul, depth, dignity, love and beauty-- as well as character and the idea of 'heart' itself into felt actualities, the very essence of life." Without it we only have a bio-mechanical pump to keep us going. And many of us do, when the occasion warrants, write to another, "I love you with all my heart."

Touching the Feet of Sainted Vashishtha

The Ideal of Forgiveness, a tale from India.
~For my friend of 30 years,  Alka Urwati~

Gopal's Eternal Brother

Once there was a great king named Vishwamitra. One day he learned that there was a saint in his kingdom whom everybody adored. The name of this saint was Vashishtha, and everyone gladly touched his feet. Now, although Vishwamitra was a very great king, nobody used to come and touch his feet.
People were afraid of him, and they would tremble before him. But with Vashishtha it was different. People gladly touched Vashishtha's feet with deepest appreciation and admiration.
So Vishwamitra was extremely jealous of Vashishtha. Vashishtha was a very great saint. After praying to God for many, many years, Vashishtha had realised God, and could speak to God face to face.
Vishwamitra knew that this was the reason why everybody was adoring Vashishtha instead of him, so he too started praying to God.

He prayed to God for a couple of years very seriously, often fasting but still he did not realize God. Then he became impatient. He went to Vashishtha and said, "You have realized God, but I have not been able to. I wish you to tell the world that I have also realized God, like you."

Vashista replied, "How can I say that?" "You can say it," the king insisted. "If you tell people, everybody will believe you, because you yourself have realized God. You know who God is, you speak to God. Tell everyone that I have realized God. Otherwise I shall kill your children!" Vashishtha said, "You can kill my children, but I cannot tell a lie."
Vishwamitra was a most powerful king. One by one he had the hundred sons of Vashishtha killed. The hundred sons were very well educated, kind and spiritual. They had studied the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious and sacred books.

Nevertheless, the notorious king killed them all. Even after doing this Vishwamitra was not satisfied, because Vashishtha still refused to announce that he had realized God.
After a few months he thought, "This time he has to tell the world that I have realized God, or I shall kill him!" With this idea in his mind he went to Vashishtha's small cottage.

Before knocking at the door he stood outside quietly listening to the conversation inside. Arundhati, one of Vashishtha's wives, was saying to her husband, "My lord, why don't you say that Vishwamitra has realized God? If you had said it I would still have all my children. They were such nice, kind, devoted children.
They were all jewels. But just because you wouldn't say that he has realized God, he has killed all my children, and who knows what he will do next!"
Vashishtha said, "How can you ask me to do that? I love him. He has not realized God. How can I tell people that he has realized God? I love him and that is why I cannot tell a lie."

Even though Vishwamitra had killed the hundred sons of Vashishtha, the father could still say that he loved him! When Vishwamitra heard what Vashishtha said, he came running in and touched Vashishtha's feet, crying, "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, my lord. I never knew that anyone on earth could love a person who had killed all his children."
Vashishtha placed his hand on Vishwamitra's head and blessed him. He said, "Today you have realized God, because today you know what love is, what truth is. God is all forgiveness. I am forgiving you, because the God in me is forgiving you. Today you have realized God."

What do we learn from this story? We learn that the ideal of forgiveness is the supreme ideal. When we pray to God, we see God's qualities: love and forgiveness. When we receive love and forgiveness from God, we can behave like God towards other people. Vashishtha's hundred sons were killed, yet even then he loved Vishwamitra.

Then, when Vishwamitra begged for forgiveness, Vashishtha gave it immediately, as well as giving him his inner Light, Joy and Power. Like Vashishtha, we always have the ability to forgive people when they do wrong things.
In this way we give them our Light, our Truth, our Joy. From this story we also learn the importance of associating with holy men.
When we are in the company of a spiritual person, even for a second, what transformation takes place in our life! Our life is changed in the twinkling of an eye.

From Gopal's Eternal Brother And Other Stories for Children by Sri Chinmoy

Mother Teresa, the Venerable: "If we really want to love,

[our self first, and then the other] we must learn how to forgive."

This article appeared here previously January 15, 2009

Sadhana, the Realization of Beauty

"A thing is only completely our own when it is a thing of joy." Sadhana by R. Tagore

Investigating further into the work of Rabindranath Tagore, he writes in his book, Sadhana several essays on different topics, combined together to create the whole of harmony as he sees it. The realization of beauty, of beauty-harmony, as he describes, is in terms of the realization of what is real.
"The greater part of this world is to us as if it were nothing... but we cannot allow it to remain so... Things in which we do not take joy are either a burden upon our minds to be got rid of at any cost, or they are useful and therefore in temporary and partial relation to us, becoming burdensome when their utility is lost. Or they are are like wandering vagabonds, loitering for a moment on the outskirts of our recognition and then passing on."
But, writes Tagore, "the entire world is given to us," and our final meaning and powers are taken from a patrimony, if you will."
 What is the function of beauty in the process of realization of the self into this world? It is this question which the author takes on here. Tagore muses that if beauty is present to separate light and shadow, or ugliness and other, then "we would have to admit that this sense of beauty creates a dissension in our universe, and sets up a wall of hindrance."

While disagreeing with this understanding of beauty, Tagore writes that the comprehending of beauty is  unexplored territory, as he sees it. Philosophers have come up with discourse as to its nature, and science writes of issues affecting beauty, but its reality remains wide open for exploration.
Truth, he writes, is everywhere. And "beauty is omnipresent." Beauty often comes to us as a smack, awakening consciousness suddenly and definitely. It then acquires its urgency, "by the object of the contrast." It first rends us with its discords. "But as our acquaintance ripens, the apparent discords are resolved into modulations of rhythm."

At first "we detach beauty from its surroundings, we hold it apart from the rest," but in the end we recognize its harmony with the rest. Appealing finally to our hearts, beauty enters into conscious relationship with us; it becomes us and becomes our joy. Our hearts skip a beat as we apprehend that which is in the world, beautiful, joyful, our very own. Beauty, says Tagore, does not exist without Truth. All beauty is some form of Truth.

"Last night I stood alone in the silence which pervaded the darkness, I stood alone and heard the voice of the singer of eternal melodies. When I went to sleep, I closed my eyes with this last thought in my mind, that even when I remain unconscious, in slumber, the dance of life will still go on in the hushed arena of my sleeping body, keeping step with the stars. The heart will throb, the blood will leap in the veins and the millions of living atoms in my body will vibrate in tune with the note of the harp-string that thrills at the touch of the master."

-- Rabindranath Tagore

Gopal's Eternal Brother

The Ideal of Forgiveness, a tale from India. This article appeared here previously on January 15, 2009.

Gopal's Eternal Brother

Once there was a great king named Vishwamitra. One day he learned that there was a saint in his kingdom whom everybody adored. The name of this saint was Vashishtha, and everyone gladly touched his feet. Now, although Vishwamitra was a very great king, nobody used to come and touch his feet.

People were afraid of him, and they would tremble before him. But with Vashishtha it was different. People gladly touched Vashishtha's feet with deepest appreciation and admiration.

So Vishwamitra was extremely jealous of Vashishtha. Vashishtha was a very great saint. After praying to God for many, many years, Vashishtha had realised God, and could speak to God face to face.

Vishwamitra knew that this was the reason why everybody was adoring Vashishtha instead of him, so he too started praying to God.

He prayed to God for a couple of years very seriously, often fasting but still he did not realise God. Then he became impatient. He went to Vashishtha and said, "You have realised God, but I have not been able to. I wish you to tell the world that I have also realised God, like you."

Vashista replied, "How can I say that?" "You can say it," the king insisted. "If you tell people, everybody will believe you, because you yourself have realised God. You know who God is, you speak to God. Tell everyone that I have realised God. Otherwise I shall kill your children!" Vashishtha said, "You can kill my children, but I cannot tell a lie."

Vishwamitra was a most powerful king. One by one he had the hundred sons of Vashishtha killed. The hundred sons were very well educated, kind and spiritual. They had studied the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious and sacred books.

Nevertheless, the notorious king killed them all. Even after doing this Vishwamitra was not satisfied, because Vashishtha still refused to announce that he had realised God.

After a few months he thought, "This time he has to tell the world that I have realised God, or I shall kill him!" With this idea in his mind he went to Vashishtha's small cottage.

Before knocking at the door he stood outside quietly listening to the conversation inside. Arundhati, one of Vashishtha's wives, was saying to her husband, "My lord, why don't you say that Vishwamitra has realised God? If you had said it I would still have all my children. They were such nice, kind, devoted children.

They were all jewels. But just because you wouldn't say that he has realised God, he has killed all my children, and who knows what he will do next!"

Vashishtha said, "How can you ask me to do that? I love him. He has not realised God. How can I tell people that he has realised God? I love him and that is why I cannot tell a lie."

Even though Vishwamitra had killed the hundred sons of Vashishtha, the father could still say that he loved him! When Vishwamitra heard what Vashishtha said, he came running in and touched Vashishtha's feet, crying, "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, my lord. I never knew that anyone on earth could love a person who had killed all his children."

Vashishtha placed his hand on Vishwamitra's head and blessed him. He said, "Today you have realised God, because today you know what love is, what truth is. God is all forgiveness. I am forgiving you, because the God in me is forgiving you. Today you have realised God."

What do we learn from this story? We learn that the ideal of forgiveness is the supreme ideal. When we pray to God, we see God's qualities: love and forgiveness. When we receive love and forgiveness from God, we can behave like God towards other people. Vashishtha's hundred sons were killed, yet even then he loved Vishwamitra.

Then, when Vishwamitra begged for forgiveness, Vashishtha gave it immediately, as well as giving him his inner Light, Joy and Power. Like Vashishtha, we always have the ability to forgive people when they do wrong things.

In this way we give them our Light, our Truth, our Joy. From this story we also learn the importance of associating with holy men.

When we are in the company of a spiritual person, even for a second, what transformation takes place in our life! Our life is changed in the twinkling of an eye.

From Gopal's Eternal Brother And Other Stories for Children by Sri Chinmoy

Mother Teresa, the Venerable: "If we really want to love,

[ our self first, and then the other ] we must learn how to forgive."

Jain Dharma

"Jainism is believed to be by its followers, without beginning or end. --The Jains by Paul Dundas

The Jain Way of Enlightenment has been described by writers in many ways; stereotypically the Jain practitioner is described as ascetic, naked and filthy. He engages in bizarre practices such as self-induced suffering, hair pulling, abstaining from physical contact with others, and more.

What Jainism has traditionally done throughout the centuries in its native India, is to reject the traditional pantheon of gods who both create and destroy within the Hindu tradition. Jainists have often mocked Hindu scholars. They rejected Brahmanism, the belief that as the highest caste in India, Brahmans are the natural religious leaders, who claimed both social and religious authority. While there may be a shred of truth in regard to certain ascetic practices, the modern Jain, like his ancestors seeks enlightenment through non-violent means.

Further, Jain thought holds to views such as: re-birth is undesirable; that like Buddhists, they share a belief in Dharma and Kharma "as representing basic facts of human experience." Within the Jain Way or Dharma, there developed a practice of non-violence, and a corresponding antagonism towards Brahmans, human sacrifice, even 'sacrifices in substitution.' Historically certain castes of Hindus were made sacrifices; it was this practice that Jains specifically abhorred, favoring purification rituals that abstained from any type of violence. Finally it is the developed Jain concept of freedom from action as the way to spiritual purity, and thus enlightenment which illustrates the principal beliefs of Jainism.

Through lack of attention to their physical selves, Jains sought inner, spiritual purity. In seeking this Way, modern Jains, like those of former times may live in monastic communities, as monks or nuns; they may be lay persons, living a typical life, or they may be ascetics or mystics. All these different persons in their various Jain denominations wish to live a life that will bring to them an inward, interior spiritual purity.

While one of the world's oldest religions, Jainism is native to India. It is believed that it is perhaps among the few of the most ancient religions which survives in the near east today, with perhaps three million practitioners within India, especially in Maharashtra, and perhaps another 100,000 world wide in primarily English speaking countries. In his book, The Jains by Paul Dundas, he writes of the faith, "The Sanskrit word Jaina derives from 'jina' meaning conqueror... who, having overcome the passions and attained enlightenment, teach the true doctrine of non-violence... these spiritual conquerors act according to the teaching of the three jewels, namely, right knowledge, right faith and right conduct." Many traditionally Hindu practitioners, especially in the north of India, have adopted a number of traditional Jain practices, writes Dundas.

A Jain Prayer

"Friendship to all living forms,
delight in the qualities of the virtuous ones,

unlimited compassion for all suffering beings,
equanimity toward all who wish me harm,

may my soul have these dispositions now and forever."

The Way to God: M.K. Gandhi

First published as The Pathway to God, the book was later republished under the new title, The Way to God in 1999. Both books are essentially the same text, and their author remains Mahatma K. Gandhi. It is a small book outlining M.K. Gandhi's undying faith. As a Hindu, the author organizes the text into four sections: Intellectual Foundations, Moral Discipline, Spiritual Practice and Spiritual Experience.

In the Gandhi mind, Hinduism is a philosophy since it is neither a highly organized religion nor a way of life. It is based on faith and allows an individual the freedom to define his way to God. While admiring elements of Christianity, Gandhi preferred Hinduism, because it allows a form of universal worship, incorporating prayer and forms of worship from other major faith groups. Mahatma Gandhi sincerely believed in the Oneness of God. The names and images for the Oneness may be different, but as Judaism expresses it, Adonai Echad! God is One. The man, the karma yogi, Gandhi, was action incarnate. He was a man of God which few would fail to recognize.

Intellectual Freedom

On God:
* God is One; there is no second.
* God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient
* God is a mysterious power.
* Goodness is God. God made man in his own image.
* God is Truth, Love, Life, Light.
* God's Law is eternal.
* God's mercy is infinite.
He allows us freedom.God is the hardest of taskmasters.
* God has many names.
* God is incarnate. He has no absolute form. He dwells within all living things.

The Soul:
* Divine spark
we may not be God, but we are of God as a drop of water is of the ocean.
* Man is the image of God.
* Life is a mere bubble.
If we shatter the chains of egotism,we share in the life of humanity,
in its dignity.
* Life and death
treasure suffering and death, appreciate their cleansing and purifying character.
* Freedom of Choice.
Man has reason, discrimination, free will. Man is the maker of his destiny.
Man is no beast or brute in that he may choose the manner in which he
uses his freedom.
* Man's Primary Duty.
The prime duty of every person is to look carefully within himself as he is, and spare no pains to improve himself. Realize the wickedness of injustice, vanity and the like; do his best to combat them.

The World
* The world is one body.
God has so ordered the world that no one can keep his
goodness or his badness exclusively to himself.
* Universe:
A family of nations. We are taught to regard the
whole of humanity as one indivisible, undivided family.
* The problem of Evil.
If there is good [in the world], there must be evil.God is long suffering and patient.
* Pair of opposite forces.
The distinction between good and evil is not unimportant.
* God's hand behind good and evil.
God is at the bottom of bothgood and evil. God is symbolically speaking, light.
* Blessings of calamity.
Every calamity brings a sensible man downon his knees. He sins.
He cries out to God for his help.

Moral Discipline

* What is truth?
There is so much untruth delivered into the world.Truth is within ourselves.
Every wrongdoer knows that he is wrong, deep down. Truth and
righteousness must forever remain the law in God's world.
* Act fearlessly.
We are surrounded by so much falsehood. Act fearlessly
upon what one believes is right.
* The pursuit of truth.
The pursuit if truth is true bhakti, the way of love.

Love

* Truth and love.
Truth and love are faces of the same coin.Without truththere is no love. True love is boundless like an ocean.
* Love unites.
* Love is life.
There is only life where there is love. Hatred ever kills.Love never dies. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden; it increasesitself. What is obtained by love is retained for all time.
* The law of love.
Love governs the world.
* The religion of hisma, violence.
Man as an animal is violent.Progress towards Ahisma, nonviolence.

Self-Restraint

* Restraint should be voluntary.
Choose self-restraint. A man who chooses self-indulgence will be a
bond slave to his passions.
* Control of the palate.
One should eat to keep the body going.
* Conquest of lust.
The conquest of lust is the highest endeavorof a man or woman's existence. Soul-force comes only through God's grace.Grace does not come upon a man
who is a slave to lust.
* Sublimation of Vitality.
Vitality is dissipated by evil thoughts.
* Restraint versus Suppression.
Body and mind must unite. It is harmfulto let one or the other go astray. Always aim at complete harmonyof thought, word and deed.

Selfless Service

* Self-less service is a source of joy.
Learn to use the body not for slavery, not for evil. Use the body for the purpose of service so long as it exists. Such an attitude brings real happiness and joy.
* Self realization.
The way to God is to see him in creation, in others,in service, in love.
* Salvation.
Strive for the Kingdom of Heaven. Service leads to salvation.

Spiritual Practice

* Dis-belief is a disease.
It is fashionable to dismiss God. A man without faith [in God] is like a drop of water out of the ocean.
* Testimony of Saints.
True faith is the approbation of the reasoned experience.Belief in prophets
is not idle superstition.
* Faith and reason.
Faith begins where reason stops.
* Child-like faith.
Have the faith of a child, innocent and simple.
* How to acquire faith.
Faith comes slowly. It is not acquired by force or reason.Prayer, experience, meditation, reading, singing all aid inthe development of faith.

Prayer

* The nature of prayer.
Prayer for the divine mind is unchangeable.
* Source of peace and light.
Men struggle with dark and light. Prayer is the means of bringing orderliness, repose and peace into our daily lives.
* He who hungers for the awakening of the divine, must fall back on prayer.
* Patience is necessary for success.
* Begin and close the day with prayer.

Meditation

* The virtue of silence.
The "divine radio" is always playing if we take a moment to listen to it...
* Silence facilitates co-union with God.
* True meditation.
Close all eyes and ears except to the object of one's devotion.
* The power of the name. Rama, God , is strength to the weak.
Repetition of his name brings strength.

Self-Surrender

* Self surrender brings joy.
God is an exacting master. He is a jealous Lord. I have been a willing slave to this master for more than a half century.
* God moves and protects all.
To see the face of God, we must learn, each oneof us,to stand alone. God is our infallible guide, our help.
* Dedicate all to God.

Spiritual Experience

* The Blessed feeling of God's power.
I believe it is possible for every human being to reach that inexplicable state of bliss. See God face to face. If I did not feel the presence of God within me, I would be a raving maniac.
* Vision of God.
We cannot see God with our eyes alone. God is spirit, visible to the eye of faith.
* All that glitters is not gold. I know this.
* The ideal sage.
The yogi who can be called such, who is truly religious, moral, whose mind is not tainted with hatred or selfishness, who leads a pure life, who lives disinterested service, that man is truly wealthy, great or happy. The Yogi, therefore is, one who reflects on all the attributes of life, who keeps the vision of the sun, undisturbed, whose mind is serene, so that thunder rocks him to sleep--that man is realized a yogi.
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