One God Notes Archives
2004
#145. 2004/01/03
Imagine a circle with its centre and radii or rays going out from this centre. The further these radii are from the centre the more widely are they dispersed and separated from one another; and conversely, the closer they come to the centre, the closer they are to one another. Suppose now that this circle is the world, the very centre of the circle, God, and the lines (radii) (…) are the paths of men's lives. (…) Insofar as the saints move inwards within the circle toward the centre, wishing to come near to God, then, in the degree of their penetrations, they come closer both to God and to one another (…). Abba Dorotheus, (7th Century). Quoted from the posting to the Center-L Discussion Group

#146. 2004/01/11
Mysticism is man's long, loving look at reality to which he is united by love. It is the highest expression of man's intellectual and spiritual life. Its activity is its own end. Mysticism has no utilitarian purposes: just looking, loving, being utterly, magnificently, wildly useless. It is life itself fully awake and active and aware that it is alive. Mysticism is awe and wonder at the sacredness of life and of being and of the invisible, transcendent and infinite abundant source of being. It knows the source obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude beyond reason. It is a veritable vision of the Godhead - in the human, earthly context. This act by which man sees who he is - not in isolation, but against the background of eternity - and so simultaneously and experientially sees who God is - this is genuine mysticism. William McNamara, Christian Mysticism, P. 8

#147. 2004/01/18
You are a child immortal. You have come on earth to entertain and to be entertained. This is why life should be a combination of both meditation and activity. If you lose your inner balance, that is just the time when you are vulnerable to wordly suffering. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.242.

#148. 2004/01/25
Then Ezra said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10.

#149. 2004/02/01
There is but one instruction to give. There should be humanity in you. People of all countries should unite with each other as brothers. All of you must be happy and healthy and appreciate the joy of life. (...)  Teachings of Babaji (1970-1984), P.41.

#150. 2004/02/08
Love is not a virtue. Love is a necessity; more so than bread and water; more so than light and air.
Let no one pride himself on loving. But rather breathe in Love and breathe it out just as unconsciously and freely as you breathe in the air and breathe in out. The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy, Chapter Eleven. Submitted by Aleksandra.

#151. 2004/02/15
The world is transitory. You will achieve stability only on the path of karma yoga. Only action can take a man to God and give him liberation. The law of karma is so deep that no words are great enough to describe it. The day karma stops on this earth will be the day of its dissolution (pralaya). Haidakhan Babaji (1970-1984). Teachings of Babaji, P.91.

#152. 2004/02/22
You must be careful never to strain your body or spirit irreverently. Simply sit relaxed and quiet and plunged and immersed in sorrow. The sorrow I speak of is genuine and perfect, and blessed is the man who experiences it. Every man has plenty of cause for sorrow but he alone understands the deep universal reason for sorrow who experiences that he is. (...) He alone feels authentic sorrow who realizes not only what he is but that he is. (...) This sorrow purifies a man of sin and sin's punishment. Even more, it prepares his heart to receive that joy through which he will finally transcend the knowing and feeling of his being.  The Cloud of Unknowing, (XIII-th Century) P.103.

#153. 2004/03-07
It is true that the highest of all companionship is the company of the real self. Those who learn to enjoy the real self within are never lonely. Who makes us lonely? Those who claim to know and love us, or those whom we love, create loneliness and make us dependent. (...) Those who know the Friend within love all and are not dependent. (...) Being alone happily means enjoying the constant company - the constant awareness - of the Reality. Swami Rama (2001). Living with the Himalayan Masters. P.103.

#154. 2004/03/14
God is within you, and that which is within you is subject to self-realization. No one can show God to anyone else. One has to independently realize his real self; thereby he realizes the self of all, which is called God. In the state of ignorance, the student thinks that God is a particular being, and he wants to see that being exactly as he sees something in the external world. It never happens. But when he realizes that God is truth and practices truth in action and speech, then his ignorance about the nature of God disappears and self-realization dawns.  Swami Rama (2001). Living with the Himalayan Masters, P.64.

#155. 2004/03/21
A Zoroastrian is not a fire worshiper but through the veneration of fire is able to generate an intimate communion with Ahura Mazda. When Zoroastrians stand in devotion before a sacred fire they believe that they are standing in the presence of the radiating power of Ahura Mazda. When they pray before a fire they pay homage to the creation that represents life and the inherent nature of Ahura Mazda -- total goodness.
Quoted after: http://www.parsicommunity.com/Religion/Fire.htm

#156. 2004/04/04
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Jesus. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on the right and one on his left. (One of them) said: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Jesus replied)"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:33, 42-43

#157. 2004/04/11
Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me. John 12:31-32

#158. 2004/04/18
As long as you remain conscious, be with God consciously by remembering Him. When your conscious mind starts fading as you fall asleep, surrender yourself. The last thought before you go to bed should be, "O Lord, be with me. I am Thine and Thou art mine." The whole night the Lord will remain with you. You can always remain together. Sadhu Sundar Singh, quoted in: Swami Rama (2001). Living with the Himalayan Masters, p.269

#159. 2004/04/25
All the great religions of the world have come out of one Truth. If we follow religion without practicing the Truth, it is like the blind leading the blind. Those who belong to God love all. Love is the religion of the universe. A compassionate one transcends the boundaries of religion and realizes the undivided, absolute Reality. Swami Rama (2001). Living with the Himalayan Masters, p.263

#160. 2004/05/09
The mother is an expression of the unconditional love of God. Mothers were created by God to show us that He loves us with or without cause. (...) The mother who looks upon all God's children as her own is no longer a mortal mother. She becomes the Mother immortal. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.246, 248.

#161. 2004/05/17
Where is your faith? Stand firm and hold your ground. Be a man of courage, and wait in patience; my comfort will come to you in its own good time. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.30.2

#162. 2004/05/23
O our Father, do Thou cause the divine light of thy face to shine upon every one of us, for by the divine light of thy face, O Lord our God, hast Thou revealed to us the Torah, which sustains life, which teaches the love of kindness, righteousness, blessing, mercy, life, and peace.
Jewish prayer. Quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name. P.107.

#163. 2004/05/30
Have them pray also for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that all those who come here will feel the presence of God.  Our Lady of Medjugorie, June 3, 1983. Words from Heaven, P.145.

The important thing is to pray to the Holy Spirit so that He may descend on you. When one has Him, one has everything. People make a mistake when they turn only to the saints to request something. Our Lady of Medjugorie, October 21, 1983. Words from Heaven, P. 150.

#164. 2004/07/11
The Sufi should not travel for amusement, vanity, ostentation, or to seek wordly things. Abu Turab al-Nakhshabi said that nothing is more injurious to the novices than to travel in the pursuit of their caprice. Kitab Adab al-Muridin, A Sufi Rule for Novices, 106-107, p.52-53.

#165. 2004/07/18
Man's mind is very fast, faster than the wind. By doing work while repeating God's name, your mind becomes cleansed of thoughts and useless, negative thoughts cannot enter it. To uplift man, for the progress of the whole of humanity, karma is a great sadhana. All of you, therefore, continue to make progress through karma.

(...) Only through Karma Yoga can you advance in your life; your heart becomes purified, your thinking will be good. Karma Yoga is also beneficial for your health; you will sleep well and have a good appetite. A man with good appetite and sound sleep is always a healthy man and with good health he can achieve anything in life. Haidakhan Babaji (1970-1984), Teachings of Babaji, P.66, 79.

#166. 2004/07/25
Self-surrender is the highest and easiest method for enlightenment. One who has surrendered himself is always protected by the divine power. One who possesses nothing and has no one to protect him belongs to God and is constantly under the protection of the Divine. Swami Rama (2001). Living with the Himalayan Masters, p.287.
 
He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.'" Luke 11:2-4

#167. 2004/08/01
One of the astonishing attributes of Sabbath time is its unflinching uselessness. Nothing will get done, not a single item will be checked off any list. Nothing of significance will be accomplished, no goal realized. It is thoroughly without measurable value. Many of us are reluctant to slow our pace because we feel a driving need to be useful. (...) But Sabbath time offers the gift of deep balance; in Sabbath time, we are valued not for what we have done or accomplished, but simply because we have received the gentle blessing of being miraculously alive. Wayne Muller, Sabbath, PP.210-212. Submitted to Merton-L Discussion Group by Norman King.

#168. 2004/08/08
One of the novices, brother B., was afficted by the paroxysm of laughter. He laughed more and more every week. In the end he laughed all day long and had to go. I was told that once, before a choir practice he was so taken by this thing that he rolled on the floor. Life here is far more merry than we think. Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, (trans. from Polish).

#169. 2004/08/15
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. (...)"
Luke 1:46-49

#170. 2004/08/22
Breath conquers thinking, because one must "let go" when breathing out. The power of breath goes beyond the judging mind... The method of counting breaths aims at keeping the mind busy, so the mind does not keep us busy. Though we count "one, two, three," in reality the sequence is one, one, one. It does not depend on memory or consciousness. This superficially linear repeating changes into a mantra and in this way frees the linear mind. Whenever we exhale, the air we breathe out is compassion. It is the breath of giving or releasing. Inhalation is receiving. Like birth and death. Inhalation is a constant birth. In this way, we say, we are able to receive life. Jakusho Kwong, Zen in America, quoted in: Smith, J. (ed.)(1999). 365 ZEN: Daily Readings. The quotation translated from the Polish edition.

#171. 2004/08/29
The first chirps of the waking day birds mark the "point verge" of the dawn under a sky as yet without real light, a moment of awe and inexpressible innocence, when the Father in perfect silence opens their eyes. They begin to speak to Him, not with fluent song, but with an awakening question that is their dawn state, their state at the "point verge." Their condition asks if it is time for them to "be." He answers "yes." Then, they one by one wake up, and become birds. (...) Thomas Merton.(1989). Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander. N.Y.: Image Books. P.131

#172. 2004/09/05
What really matters is openness, readiness, attention, courage to face risk. You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope. In such an event, courage is the authentic form taken by love. Thomas Merton.(1989). Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander. N.Y.: Image Books. P.208.

#173. 2004/09/19
In order to understand the philosophy of Gorakhnath, it has at every stage to be remembered that the whole is essentially prior to the parts, which are its self-manifestations. The whole is really one and it manifests itself in the forms of many, and in relation to these manifestations it is called whole. Ultimately Siva (the Supreme Spirit) with His Sakti immanent in and identified with Him is One Reality (...). Thus at every stage the whole originates the parts, and the parts contribute to the richness of the whole; every living part again functions as a whole giving birth to parts which enrich it. In this way evolution goes on, and the Ultimate Reality becomes a greater and greater whole through the origination of parts within parts, all of which had been initially present in an unmanifested state in that ultimate Cause and are in the manifested states also essentially one with it. (...) Nothing absolutely new is added to the ultimate Reality, the ultimate Cause. Akshaya Kumar Banerjee.(1999). Philosophy of Gorakhnath. Delhi.: Motilal Banrsidass Publ. P.140-141.

#174. 2004/09/26
A certain Philosopher asked St. Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books? Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me. Thomas Merton. (1960). The Wisdom of the Desert. Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century. NY: A New Directions Book, CIII, p.62.

#175. 2004/10/03
You are One,
prior to all computation
    and ground to all figuration.
You are One,
and your oneness's mystery amazes the wise,
    who've never known what is was.
You are One,
        and in your oneness
know neither loss nor addition,
neither lack nor magnification.
You are One,
but not as one that's counted or formed,
for neither enhancement nor change pertains to you,
    neither description nor name.
You are One,
and my speech can't establish your boundary or line,
therefore I said I would guard my ways,
    so as not to sin with my tongue.
And you are One,
sublime and exalted above all that might fall -
    that One might fall is impossible ...
 
Quoted after: Cole, Peter (Trans.) (2001). Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol (XI-th Century). Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University
Press. P.141

#176. 2004/10/10
(...) with every out-breathing the individual self (jeeva) frees itself from the bodily limitations and goes forth to the Cosmos and identifies itself with the Soul of the Cosmic Body (Siva); and with every in-breathing He, - the Soul of the Cosmos, Siva - enters into the body and reveals Himself as Aham or the individual soul. (...) The cultivation of this conception and constant remembrance of the essential identity of the individual soul and the Soul of the universe with every breath occupies very important position in Goraknath's system of yogasadhana. It is known as Ajapa-Yoga. Akshaya Kumar Banerjee.(1999). Philosophy of Gorakhnath. Delhi.: Motilal Banrsidass Publ.

#177. 2004/10/17
The lamps are different,
But the Light is the same.
(...)
Concentrate on essence, concentrate on Light.
(...)
One matter, one energy, one Light, one Light-mind,
Endlessly emanating all things.
One turning and burning diamond,
One, one, one.
Ground yourself, strip yourself down,
To blind loving silence.
Stay there, until you see
You are gazing at the Light
With its own ageless eyes.
 
Rumi, One, One, One, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.112.

#178. 2004/10/24
Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built. James Allen, As A Man Thinketh. Marina del Rey, CA: DeVorss & Co. P.58.

#179. 2004/10/31
In Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati Gorakhnath defines Samadhi thus: (...) The realisation of the spiritual unity of all orders of existences, the perfectly effortless state of consciousness, and living a life of perfect ease and equanimity and tranquility and self-fulfillment, - this is the nature of Samadhi.
An enlightened Yogi, (...) sees and enjoys the differences and at the same time sees and enjoys the internal unity of differences; he consciously deals with the plurality of finite things , and at the same time sees the One Infinite Eternal Spirit in them; (...) he outwardly participates in the joys and sorrows of the people, and at the same time inwardly enjoys supreme bliss amidst all these particular and transitory enjoyments and sufferings. While living and moving amidst diversities and changes, he always inwardly dwells in the realm of blissful changeless spiritual Unity.  Akshaya Kumar Banerjee.(1999). Philosophy of Gorakhnath. Delhi.: Motilal Banrsidass Publ. P.246-7.

#180. 2004/11/07
In the supreme golden chamber is Brahman indivisible and pure. He is the radiant light of all lights (...). There the sun shines not, nor the moon, nor the stars; lightnings shine not there and much less earthly fire. From his light all these give light; and his radiance illumines all creation. Katha Upanishad, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World Wisdom, P.16.

#181. 2004/11/14

Fasting is one of the great ways of approaching God: it releases the life force from enslavement to food, showing you that it is God who really sustains the life in your body. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.104.

#182. 2004/11/21

Shri Babaji shows us the practical side of the teachings of great saints like Guru Nanak, who did not preach a particular religion or cult. He gave teachings of spiritual perfection, valid for all mankind. To follow these teachings is to realize good for all humanity and the unity of all humanity and the unity of the individual soul with the universal Soul. (...) Teachings of Babaji, P.58.

#183. 2004/12/05

On June 24 (1985), the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, the Vatican office responsible for the dialogue, issued a document (...) Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church. The document, intended to guide sermons, the Church's Holy Week liturgy, and Catholic religious education at all levels, stressed that "Jesus was and always remained a Jew ... fully a man of his environment." To present this accurately "cannot but underline both the reality of the Incarnation and the very meaning of the history of salvation, as it has been revealed in the Bible." Notes stressed the importance of teaching Catholics the continuing spiritual mission of the Jewish people, who remain a chosen people and whose contemporary faith and religious life can help Catholics better understand aspects of their own faith and practice. (...) John Paul praised the Notes (...), which would "help to promote respect, appreciation, and indeed love for one and the other, as they are both in the unfathomable design of God, who 'does not reject his people' (Psalm 94:14, Romans 11:1). By the same token, anti-Semitism in its ugly and sometimes violent manifestations should be completely eradicated. Better still, a positive view of each of our religions, with due respect for the identity of each, will surely emerge ..."John Paul II, quoted in: Weigel, George (1999). Witness to Hope. The Biography of Pope John Paul II. N.Y.: Cliff Street Books. PP. 492-493.
 

#184. 2004/12/12.

Patience is a hard discipline.  It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control:  the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are.  We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand. Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey. P. Jan. 5.
 
Be patient, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strenghten your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8. 

 

#186. 2004/12/27.

"For the monks of old, the secret of success in the practice was to keep the name of Jesus always in mind. The name of Jesus brings the energy of God, namely the Holy Spirit, into your own being. When the monk was able to do this, he could live his daily live in the presence of God. (…)" (P.166). "The Holy Spirit can be described as being always present in our hearts in the form of a seed. Every time we pray or invoke the name of the Lord, that seed manifests itself as the energy of God." (P.183). Thich Nhat Hanh. (1995). Living Buddha, Living Christ. N.Y.: Riverhead Books.

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