#513. 2012/01/08.
Mountains
inspire our highest selves. When we encounter mountains in wild places we
experience the peak of our own humanity. Whether we are standing at the summit
or paying respect from below, we are flushed with awe. Perhaps this is the
beginning of religion.
Terry Tempest Williams. Extreme Landscape. Quoted in:
McDonald, Bernadette. (2011). Freedom Climbers. P. 128. ISBN 978-1-926855-60-8.
More about Terry Tempest Williams can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Tempest_Williams
More about Bernadette McDonald can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_McDonald
#514. 2012/01/15.
I
conjure you, my brethren, remain true to the earth, and believe not those who speak unto you of superearthly hopes! Poisoners are
they, whether they know it or not. Despisers of life are they, decaying ones
and poisoned themselves, of whom the earth is weary (...)
Friedrich
Nietzsche. (1999). Thus
spake Zarathustra. Mineola, NY:
Dover Publ. Inc. P.3.
More about Friedrich Nietzsche can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nietzsche
#515. 2012/01/22.
"Only
repeat the name of Amida with all your heart. Whether
walking or standing, sitting or lying, never cease the practice of it even for
a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly issues in salvation..."
Honen quoting Shan-Tao. Retrieved from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%8Dnen
on 22 January 2012.
More on Pure Land Buddhism or Jodo Shu can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Ddo_sh%C5%AB
More on Amida
buddha can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit%C4%81bha
#516. 2012/01/29.
Do not attach yourself to any
particular creed exclusively, so that you disbelieve all the rest ... God, the
omnipresent and omnipotent, is not limited to one creed, for He says, 'Wherever
you turn, there is the face of Allah' (Quran, 2:115).
Ibn
al-Arabi (1165-1240). Quoted in: R.A. Nicholson, (Ed). Eastern Poetry and Prose, P.148.
More on Ibn
al-Arabi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Arabi
#517. 2012/02/05.
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am
committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy
and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing the
words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to learn to speak
truthfully with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am
determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to
criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from
uttering words that can cause the family or the community to split apart. I
will make every effort to reconcile all conflicts however small.
Thich Nhat Hanh. (1999). Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. P.153-4.
More on Thich Nhat Hanh can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh
#518. 2012/02/026.
For me to be a saint means to be
myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem
of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self. Trees and animals have
no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them, and they are
perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever
we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We are at liberty to be
real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear
now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own
true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. Causes have effects,
and if we lie to ourselves and to others, then we cannot expect to find truth
and reality whenever we happen to want them. If we have chosen the way of
falsity we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to
need it!
Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Pp.31-32.
More on Thomas
Merton (1915-1968) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
#519. 2012/03/04.
Don`t let others tell you what you,
in their eyes, ought to be. On the other hand, never dismiss their advice
arrogantly. Try (...) to be always true to your own nature.
You will never change yourself by suppression. Real change comes only by
transcendence. (...) The secret is not to cease from enjoying anything – a
“solution” which leads only to apathy, and consequently, to a deadened
awareness. The secret, rather, is to center every enjoyment in the heart (...).
Ordinary likes and dislikes are not man’s enemies, as such. Rather, they are
like troublesome neighbors. (...)
Some people do have ugly traits.
Don’t waste energy in reacting to them, neither by dislike nor by abhorrence.
Don’t welcome them into your “galaxy” of interests. Move through life, rather,
like a swan off of whose back the rain flows lightly, never touching its body.
Swami Kriyananda.
(2007). The Essence of Bhagavad Gita.
Explained by Paramahansa Yogananda. Nevada City, CA: Crystal Clarity Publishers. P.166-7.
More on Kriyananda
(born 1926) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriyananda
#520. 2012/03/11.
If we study the teachings of the
Buddha and if we observe our own mind, we will find there is nothing permanent
within the constituents of what we call our “self.” The Buddha taught that a
so-called “person” is really just five elements (skandhas) that come together for a limited period of time: our
body, feelings, perceptions, mental states, and consciousness. These five
elements are, in fact, changing all the time. Not a single element remains the
same for two consecutive moments.
(...) Birth generally means that from
nothing you become something, and death generally means that from something you
become nothing. But if we observe the things around us, we find that nothing
comes from nothing. Before its so-called birth, this flower has already existed
in other forms – clouds, sunshine, seeds, soil, and many other elements. Rather
than birth and rebirth, it is more accurate to say “manifestation” or “remanifestation.” (...) We have to transcend notions like
birth, death, being and non-being. Reality is free from all notions.
Thich Nhat Hanh. (1995).
Living Buddha, Living Christ.
NY: Riverhead Books. P.133-5.
More on Thich Nhat Hanh can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh
#521. 2012/03/18.
Similarly, when a slave has come to
love his master and his own wife and children, he may reject true freedom
because of his bonds of physical kinship; and so he becomes a slave for ever, allowing his ear to be pierced through with an
awl (cf. Exod. 21:6). He will never hear the word that can set him free, but
will remain perpetually a slave in his love for present things.
St. Neilos
the Ascetic (died around the year 430 CE), quoted in: The Philokalia,
Vol. I., P.236.
More on St. Neilos
the Ascetic can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilus_of_Sinai
#522. 2012/03/25.
The hermitages at which Rama and his
companions had previously stayed had been uncomfortable and squalid. This was
because the hermits who lived in them wished to be holy. When Rama and his
companions came upon the Hermitage of the Gluttons they found it neat and clean
and pleasantly disposed between a half-circle of hills and the bank of considerable river. This was because these hermits did not
wish to be holy; they merely did not want to be wicked. (...)
The houses stood well apart in a
half-circle that followed the sweep of the enclosing hills. They were made of
clay and thatched with the dried leaves of palms. The ground rose gently behind
each of them, and it was terraced. On the terraces grew fruit trees, flowers,
and vegetables. The space in front of each house was sanded and paths led from
each sand patch to a banyan tree that grew near the river. Its wide-spreading
branches and the roots that grew down from them in thick columns made a meeting
place. (...) The men lived in perfect equality, none was jealous. (...) The
community was harmonious, since nobody would have cared a rap it it had broken up the very next day.
Valmiki had been the last
to join them and his house was therefore on the tip of the half-circle. Thus,
Rama, coming into the settlement, approached this house first. (...)
(...) such was Rama, after his months
of pilgrimage. His skin was a golden brown and gleamed with the movements of
the muscles beneath. His torso, naked save for the strap that
bore his quiver, was heavy-shouldered and greatly narrowed at the waist, in the
manner most admired among Indians. The pleated cloth around his hips
curved over buttocks that were something womanish, a sign in his race of high
breeding. It fell halfway down his thighs, which were strong and spare. His
feet were now shod with country sandals, made of the hide of a deer. He wore no
ornaments, so that nothing beguiled the eye from the astonishing beauty of his
face. (...) He had long eyes. His nose was thin and flaring; his lips rich; his
chin that of a boy. There was nothing arrogant in his expression, but the
carriage of his head was very noble. He moved with grace and spoke with the
voice of a man who is accustomed to being heard with attention. Apart from the
sum of all these attributes there was something more – an air of freshness, a clarity, a directness, as of a young man coming in from a
fine hunt on a glorious morning. At the time when he met Valmiki
he was twenty-eight years old (...).
Rama saluted him by raising his
joined hands and bowing his head. (...)
The description of the meeting
between Lord Rama and poet Valmiki as narrated in: Menen, A. (1954). The Ramayana. P.83-4.
More on Lord Rama can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama
More on Ramayana can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana
More on Valmiki
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valmiki
#523. 2012/04/01.
He who accepts gladly the suffering
of this world brings salvation to the world.
Talmud, Ta'an,
8a.
More on Talmud can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud
#524. 2012/04/08.
The climate of mercy, which is the
climate of the new creation, depends on the realization that all men are
acceptable before God, since the Word was made man, dwelt among us, died on the
Cross for us, rose from the dead, and is enthroned in our flesh, our humanity,
in the glory of God, Hence, all that is required for a man to be acceptable
before God, and a recipient of mercy, is for him to be a man and a sinner. (I
did not come to call the just, but sinners...Matthew 9:13; Romans 5:8). We
ourselves are not entitled to be more demanding than God. Whoever is acceptable
to Him is, therefore, acceptable to us, and this is the test of our faith and
our obedience to Him (John 15:12, 17; 12:34-35), that we become to some extent
able to be merciful to others as He has been merciful to us, (...) It is not
required that he be a certain type of man, belonging to a special race, or
class, or even practicing certain religious customs (Galations
5:6). Least of all is it required that he be exactly like ourselves, friendly
toward us, and disposed to flatter us with a privileged consideration of our
person and our ideas.
Thomas Merton,
Love and Living.
More on Thomas Merton can be found
at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
#525. 2012/04/15.
This deeper knowledge of God gives me
full liberty and spiritual freedom, and nothing can disturb my close union with
Him, not even the angelic powers. I feel that I am great when I am united to
God. What happiness it is to have the consciousness of God in one's heart and
to live in close intimacy with Him.
Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). The Diary, 1135.
More on Faustina
Kowalska can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Faustina_Kowalska
#526. 2012/04/22.
That which God
said to the rose,
and
caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty,
He
said to my heart,
and
made it a hundred times more beautiful.
Rumi, Mathnawi III, 4129, quoted in: Helminski,
Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.86.
More on Rumi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
#527. 2012/04/29.
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at
your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be
quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be
unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at
your feet.
Attributed to
Franz Kafka. Posted to Facebook
by Schocken Books.
More on Franz Kafka (1883-1924) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka
#528. 2012/05/06.
It has been said that the
continuation of the species is due to man's being
forgiving. Forgiving is holiness; by forgiveness the universe is held together.
Forgiveness is the might of the mighty; forgiveness is sacrifice; forgiveness
is quiet of mind. Forgiveness and gentleness are the qualities of the
self-possessed. They represent eternal virtue.
Yogananda, Autobiography of
a Yogi, P.513.
More on Paramahansa
Yogananda (1893-1952) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogananda
More on the Days of Remembrance and
Reconciliation can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_Remembrance_and_Reconciliation_for_Those_Who_Lost_Their_Lives_during_the_Second_World_War
#529. 2012/05/13.
What holds us back
from cultivating quiet?.........Quiet is rarely handed
to us. To find it requires going against the grain of habit and convention. We
may need to remember that ensuring we get it won't necessarily be
easy........we will have to face ourselves in ways we like to avoid. All of us
live with secret fears about ourselves. As long as my inner and outer worlds
stay noisy and frenetic, I can ignore things I need to confront: my
compromises, self-involvement, misgivings, lusts, guilt feelings, anxieties.
When I am busy, when I don't listen to my deeper self, I can hide. (...) as
long as I talk or fill my mind with the talk of others, I feel safe. (...)
Jones, Timothy. The Art of Prayer. PP.46-47
More on Timothy
Jones can be found at: http://www.stgeorgesnashville.org/The_Parish/Clergy
#530. 2012/05/21.
O Great Spirit
whose voice I hear in the winds,
I come to you as one of your many children.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Make me strong not to be superior to my brother,
But to be able to fight my greatest enemy: Myself!
May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong.
Ascribed to Chief
Dan George, 1967.
More on Chief Dan
George can be found at: http://www.newfederation.org/Native_Leaders/Bios/George.htm
#531. 2012/05/27.
The Spirit,
without moving, is swifter than the mind; the senses cannot reach Him: He is
ever beyond them. Standing still He overtakes those who run. To the ocean of
his being, the spirit of life leads the streams of action.
Iso Upanishad, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World Wisdom,
P.9.
More on Iso Upanishad can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isha_Upanishad
#532. 2012/06/03.
Once when Julius Kugy
was asked what kind of a man a mountaineer should be, he replied: “Truthful,
distinguished and modest.”
Heinrich Harrer,
(1959). White Spider, p.127.
More on Julius Kugy
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Kugy
More on Heinrich Harrer
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrer
#533. 2012/06/10.
The pleasures and pains of life are
not your lot alone. Even kings, emperors and saints have suffered. If you look
carefully around, you will see that no one has escaped them. For attaining
spiritual enlightenment, one has to pass through both pains and pleasures. In
moments of pleasure, do not forget the Lord, the abode of happiness and in pain
do not lose your heart, (...).
If any burden or thought troubles
you, let it not stay long. Read some holy scripture in such moments or engage
yourself in some selfless service or meditate or sing the glory of the Lord in
high tones or turn away your mind and transform such thoughts and drive away
the worry that assailed you.
Shri Anandpur, Treasures of Spiritual
Peace (1992), 579, 714.
#534. 2012/06/17.
Love is the perfect
stillness and the greatest excitement, (...).
Rabia (c.717-801),
quoted in: Ladinsky Daniel (2002). Love Poems from
God. Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. P.5.
More on Rabia
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabia_al-Adawiyya
#535. 2012/07/22.
In our ignorance we are innocent; in
our actions we are guilty. We sin without knowing and suffer without
understanding. Our only hope: to stop, to look, to understand and to get out of
the trap of memory. For memory feeds imagination and imagination generates
desire and fear.
Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj (2005). I Am That. P.416.
More on Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#536. 2012/07/29.
At this present
time in this world, Karma Yoga is greatly needed. The fact is, due to the
progress of science and technology, people are becoming lazy. For example,
computers have been invented and all calculations is done by computers and many
people are not using their minds and bodies.(...)
Science has made great progress in this world. Where we used to engage a
thousand men to work, now a bulldozer does the work in seconds. But that makes
a thousand people useless and unemployed. While unemployment is increasing in
this world, people have lost their peace of mind. The reason for this is
because man has ceased to work. Due to this inaction, all kinds of pains and
sicknesses are increasing in the world. I want you to take the energy of the
machines into yourselves and work like machines! (...) We must follow a Path
which will strengthen us, so we must not be dependent on machines. (...) That
is why it is very essential to be active and hard-working. (...) This is the
best Path for all.(...) This is the eternal,
unshakable way. (...)
Haidakhan Babaji
(1970-1984). Teachings of Babaji, P.105.
More on Shri Haidakhan Babaji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
#537. 2012/08/05.
You must find your own way. Unless
you find it yourself it will not be your own way and will take you nowhere.
Earnestly live your truth as you have found it — act on the little you have
understood. It is earnestness that will take you through, not cleverness — your own or another’s. (…) Live a clean, selfless life, that is all. (…) Don’t cheat, don’t
hurt — is it not important? Above all you need inner peace — which demands
harmony between the inner and the outer. Do what you believe in and believe in
what you do. All else is waste of energy and time.
Nisargadatta (1897-1981). I am That, P.499.
More on Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#538. 2012/08/12.
There are three
indications of real generosity: to remain steadfast without resisting, to
praise without the emotion of generosity, and to give before being asked.
Ascribed to Sufi
Master Maaruf Karkhi (died
815 C.E.). Submitted by John Savlove.
More on Maaruf Karkhi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maruf_Karkhi
#539. 2012/08/19.
Thy Name is my healing, O my God, and
remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for
Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succour in both this
world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Ascribed to Baha'u'llah (1817-1892).
More on Baha'u'llah can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h
#540. 2012/08/26.
The body is full
of lasciviousness and anger. The company of godly men washes them away.
ADI GRANTH, GURU IV,
GAURI RAG. Retrieved from: http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/quotations on
26 August 2012.
More on Adi
Granth can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Granth
#541. 2012/09/09.
"Ten thousand flowers in the
spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, the snow in winter.
If
your mind is not clouded by unnecessary things,
This
is the best season of your life."
Ascribed to Wu-Men
(1183-1260). Sent by Jeffrey Solomon.
More on Wumen
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wumen_Huikai
#542. 2012/09/16.
Many people take wine to banish sad
or unpleasant memories and worries, but that kind of forgetfulness robs man of
his native soul wisdom - the very power by which he was meant to overcome his
trials and to find lasting happiness. God, being Joy Itself, wants us to seek
and to find, within our souls, His ever-new bliss.
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), Man's Eternal Quest, P.160.
More on Paramahansa
Yogananda can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogananda
#543. 2012/09/23.
I've set my shelter
with you in my awe and fear
and in despair
established your name as a fortress;
I looked to the right
and left and no one was near-
and into your hands
I committed my loneness ...
The Hour of Song
by Gabirol (11th Century). Quoted
after: Cole, Peter (Trans.) (2001). Selected Poems of
Solomon Ibn Gabirol.
Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press. P.117.
More on Gabirol
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_ibn_Gabirol
#544. 2012/09/30.
Happiness is
possible but it requires effort.
One of the
premises of Positive Psychology.
More on Positive
Psychology can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology
#545. 2012/10/07.
"Believe
in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith
that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can
travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it."
Attributed to
Rainer Maria Rilke. Submitted to FB by Nirmal
Sharma.
More on Rainer
Maria Rilke can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke
#546. 2012/10/14.
Beware of the river, now in spate. Wear appropriate clothing to cover yourselves
adequately. Everyone should be mindful of cleanliness, so diseases may not
spread. (...)
You must all advance by taking
good care of your health. Only by taking good care of your health, you can gain
success. The fact is that if your health is not good, how can you do your
service? Taking care of your health is as important as any of the other duties
of your life. It is your duty towards your body. If your body does not work,
how will you function and advance?
Haidakhan Babaji. Teachings of Babaji. (11 Sep 1983; 9
Jan 1984)
More on Haidakhan Babaji can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
More on Navaratri
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaratri
#547. 2012/10/21.
Visiting the sick always brings
benefits.
Maybe the sick person is a hidden saint,
or maybe he is a friend of the Way, (...)
Even if he is your enemy,
your visit might turn him into a friend,
or at least lessen his dislike of you.
There is much more to be said,
but so as not to be tedious, the gist is this:
befriend the whole community.
Rumi, Mathnawi I, 2140 ... quoted in: Helminski,
Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.169.
More on Rumi
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
#548. 2012/10/28.
All these forms are strange to you, (...) they
terrify you, (...) and yet it is you who have created them. Do not give in to your
fright, resist your mental confusion! All this is unreal, and what you see are
the contents of your own mind in conflict with itself. All these terrifying
deities, witches and demons around you - fear them not, flee them not! They are
but (...) the content of your own mind in the mirror of the Void. If at this
point you should manage to understand that, the shock of this insight will stun
you, your subtle body will disperse into a rainbow, and you will find yourself
in a paradise among the angels.
Tibetan Book of the Dead, quoted after: Novak Philip,
The World Wisdom, P.87-91.
More on Halloween can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
More on Tibetan Book of the Dead can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Book_of_the_Dead
#549. 2012/11/04.
You all think
devotion is fun. Some day you will have to jump without fear of life or death;
then you will be able to make progress. When the time comes, you will have to
walk through fire and water. Only the man of courage can live through this
time.
Haidakhan Babaji. Teachings of Babaji, P.26 (6 April 1982).
More on Haidakhan
Babaji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
#550. 2012/11/12.
Tolerance is the virtue of devotion.
When not a leaf can be turned without Lord's Will, then why lose patience?
Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 787.
More on International Day for
Tolerance can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_Tolerance
#551. 2012/11/18.
The Supreme
Personality of Godhead said: Fearlessness, purification of one's existence,
cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, sense of control, performance of
sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity, simplicity, nonviolence,
truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, peacefulness, aversion to fault
finding, compassion toward every living entity, freedom from greed, gentleness,
shyness, determination, vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, and freedom
from both envy and the passion for honor - these are the transcendental
qualities, born of the godly atmosphere, O son of Bharata.
Bhagavad-Gita
16:1-3
More on
Bhagavad-Gita can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
#552. 2012/11/25.
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. (...) Guru Nanak, who appeared in Punjab, was
such a saint. Whatever he did, he did for the sake of humanity. The actions of
great saints like Guru Nanak are aimed exclusively at the welfare of mankind as
a whole to lead men to the true goal of life. The words of the saints contain a
vibration and energy that have the power to remove vice and evil from the
world. The value of their words is that they inspire. This is why the
scriptures say that their words have to be read again and a
gain and to be meditated upon and be put into practice.
Haidakhan Babaji. The Teachings of Babaji, 10 April 1983.
More on Guru Nanak can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanak
More on Haidakhan Babaji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
#553. 2012/12/02.
Some people have faith because their
ancestors taught them to believe. In one sense this is satisfactory, no
philosophical arguments will break their belief; in another sense, it is
unsatisfactory, since their belief does not come from personal knowledge. Others
come to belief through conviction after research. This is satisfactory in one
sense, they know God from inner conviction; in another sense, it is unsatisfactory: if others demonstrate to them the
fallacy of their reasoning, they may become unbelievers. The best believers are
those whose beliefs are satisfactory in every way; they believe because of
tradition and also through their own reasoning. This is what we mean when we
say: "Our God and God of our ancestors." God is our master both
because we know it and because our ancestors taught us.
Baal Shem Tov
(1698-1760), quoted in: Michael Shire, The Jewish Prophet, P.81.
More on Baal Shem Tov
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_Shem_Tov
#554. 2012/12/09.
“One can follow any religion, one can
follow any practice or path, but one must be humane.”
Haidakhan Babaji. The
Teachings of Babaji. 22 January 1983.
More on Haidakhan Babaji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
#555. 2012/12/16.
Mysticism is the awakening to and
cultivation of transcendental consciousness. It is unitive
awareness. All forms of mystical wisdom are unitive,
that is, non-dual. This is a significant point of convergence among the
religions themselves. (...) Interspirituality (...)
is a term to describe the breaking down of the barriers that have separated the
religions for millenia. It is also the crossing-over
and sharing in the spiritual, aesthetic, moral and psychological treasures that
exist in the spiritualities of the world religions. The deepest level of
sharing is in and through one another’s mystical wisdom, whether teachings,
insights, methods of spiritual practice and their fruits. The mystical life, in
its maturity, is naturally interspiritual because of
the inner freedom that is ignited in the depths of the person on the mystical
journey. This path frees us from the obstacles within us that would hold us
back from that generosity and willingness to partake from the mystical springs
of other traditions. To drink this precious nectar requires openness and a
capacity to assimilate the depth experience of these venerable traditions. More
and more it is becoming common for individuals to cross over the frontiers of
their own faith into the land of another or others. We can, indeed, speak of
this new millenial period as the Interspiritual
Age.
Wayne Teasdale. (1999). Mysticism as
the Crossing of Ultimate Boundaries: A Theological Reflection. Retrieved from: http://csp.org/experience/docs/teasdale-mysticism.html
on 16 Dec 2012.
More on Wayne
Teasdale (1945-2004) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Teasdale
#556. 2012/12/23.
And the one sitting on the throne
said, “Look, I am making everything new!”
Revelation 21:5
More on Book of Revelation can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_of_John
#557. 2012/12/30.
The only true joy on earth is
to escape from the prison of our own false self, and enter by love into union
with the Life Who dwells and sings within the essence of every creature and in
the core of our own souls.
Thomas Merton,
quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom, P.276.
Find joy within and express it
in your face. When you do that, wherever you go a little smile will surcharge
everyone with your divine magnetism. Everybody will be happy!
Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.174.
More on Thomas Merton can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
More on Paramahansa
Yogananda can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogananda