One
God Notes Archives
2013
One
God Note #558. 2013/01/06.
Followers of the Way [of
Chán], if you want to get the kind of understanding
that accords with the Dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you're facing inward or facing outward,
whatever you meet up with, just kill it! If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha. If
you meet a patriarch,
kill the patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. If
you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your
kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation, will not be
entangled with things, will pass freely anywhere you
wish to go.
Ascribed to Linji (died 866 CE). Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linji_Yixuan
on 6 January 2013.
More on Linji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linji_Yixuan
One
God Note #559. 2013/01/13.
Until all things become one for you, traced to One source and seen in One act of vision, you cannot find
anchorage for the heart, or rest calmly in God.
Thomas A Kempis (1380-1471), Imitation of
Christ, I.3.2
More on Thomas A Kempis
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%C3%A0_Kempis
One
God Note #560. 2013/01/20.
Then Honen said: (...) It is because of the
presence of others that our vanity is awakened within our hearts, and so we
fail to attain that Birth (ojo) after death.
And though that is so true, none of us can live absolutely alone. So how
then is it possible to practice the nembutsu
(repetition of the sacred name of Amida Buddha –
P.R.) with a sincere mind (shijoshin) and not
with a mind which tries to do things that will please the eyes of others?
Someone who is always living with other people and takes no time for quiet
reflection is forever living a feigned life. Now if there’s no one to see or
hear him and he still quietly rises from his bed in the middle of the night to
practice the nembutsu a hundred or a thousand
times to his heart's content - this is the kind of nembutsu
which is not practiced for show but is in harmony with the mind of the Buddha
and definitely leads to Birth in the Pure Land. As long as one practices it
with a mind like this, it doesn’t matter whether or not it is done in the night
time or in the morning, at noon or at twilight. We must always do it as if no
one were listening.”
Honen Shonin
(1133-1212). Retrieved from: http://jsri.jp/English/Honen/LIFE/teaching/poor/poor.html
on 20 January 2013.
More on Honen Shonin can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%8Dnen
One
God Note #561. 2013/01/27.
Plurality
of faiths simply reflects divine revelation in different lands to different
people in the language, idiom and metaphor best suited for them. Supreme faith
consists of remembering God and being pure in conduct. God pervades all
creation and all act in accordance with His will. A Sikh is always conscious of
the nearness of God and believes in universal brotherhood. This realization can
only come through love. Hatred has no place in Sikhism. A Sikh is self-reliant
and believes in honest living and sharing the fruits of his labour with others.
Service in humility is a basic principle. Men of God see God in everyone, their
hearts are filled with love, and they do not see anyone as bad or evil.(...).
Ranbir S. Sandhu Quoted in:
Potter Jean, Braybrooke Marcus (Eds.).(1997). All in Good Faith. A Resource Book for Multi-faith Prayer. The
World Congress of Faiths, Oxford, UK.
More on Ranbir S. Sandhu can be found at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ranbir-s-sandhu-phd
One
God Note #562. 2013/02/03.
(...) If your happiness depends on money you
will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in
the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world
belongs to you.
Tao Te Ching 44,
quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom. P.163.
More on Tao Te Ching can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching
One
God Note #563. 2013/02/10.
My body is meant to dry up one day (...). This
body is nothing; it is here only to serve people. (…) Even my own body has come
only to perform a duty to serve all human and all living things.
Haidakhan Babaji, The Teachings of Babaji. 2 February 1983.
More on Haidakhan Babaji
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
One
God Note #564. 2013/02/17.
From his royal throne in Persian’s capital city
of Susa, King Xerxes ruled 127 provinces all the way from India to Sudan. (...)
the king gave a banquet for all the men in the capital city of Susa, rich and
poor alike. (...) Drinks were served in gold cups, no two of them alike, and
the king was generous with the royal wine. There were no limits on the drinks;
king had given orders that everyone could have as much as he wanted. (...) On
the seventh day of his banquet the king was drinking and feeling happy, so he
called his servants to bring in Queen Vashti. The
queen was a beautiful woman and the king wanted to show off her beauty to the
officials and all the guests. (But) she refused to come. This made the king
furious. (Expert) Memucan declared (...): “Queen Vashti has insulted not only the king but also his
officials – in fact, every man in the empire! Every woman in the empire will start
looking down on her husband as soon as she hears what the queen has done. (...)
give her place as a queen to some better woman.” (So the king) sent message to
each of the royal provinces (...) saying that every husband should be the
master of his home and speak with final authority.
So some of the king’s advisers (...) suggested,
“Why don’t you make a search to find some beautiful young virgins? (...)” When
the king had issued his new proclamation and many girls were being brought to
Susa, Esther was among them. (Eunuch Heggai) lost no
time in beginning her beauty treatment of massage and special diet. (...) The
regular beauty treatment for the women lasted a year – massages with oil of
myrrh for six months and with oil of balsam for six more. (...) The time came
for Esther to go to the king. (...) The king liked her more than any of the
other girls (...). He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in
place of Vashti. Then the king gave a great banquet
in Esther’s honor and (...) proclaimed a holiday for the whole empire (...).
The Book of Esther, fragments of chapters 1 and
2. Today’s English Version.
More on Purim can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim
More on the Book of
Esther can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther
One
God Note #565. 2013/03/03.
Ha’aheo
ka ua i na pali
Ke
nihi a’ela i ka nahele
E
uhai ana paha i ka liko
Pua
‘ahihi lehua o uka
Aloha
‘oe, aloha ‘oe
E
ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A ho’i
a’e au
Until we meet again.
Proudly swept the rain
by the cliffs
As it glided through the
trees
Still following ever the
bud
The ‘ahini
lehua of the vale
Farewell to you,
farewell to you
The charming one who
dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace, ‘Ere I
depart
Until we meet again.
Aloha Oe
(Song of Farewell) attributed to Queen Lili’uokolani
(1838-1917), the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
More on Queen Lili’uokolani can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani
You can listen to one of
the interpretations of this famous Hawaiian song at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXOzNiKceps
One
God Note #566. 2013/03/10.
Shri Babaji teaches us about the unity of creation.
We are all made from the five elements; we are all of one spirit. In all
respects, we are one humanity, one human family.
Limitations arise from political beliefs and world leaders who hold thinking to
time, place and culture, thereby creating differences and separateness. The
birthright of all mankind is to love and follow God. Limitations arise from
erroneous human beliefs. Shri Babaji has appeared to
illumine the minds and hearts of mankind, so that all may know unity and
harmony. OM NAMAH SHIVAYA.
Haidakhan Babaji. The Teachings of Babaji. 30 October 1982.
More on Mahashivaratri can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri
More on Haidakhan Babaji
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
One
God Note #567. 2013/03/17.
What is important is that you attend to your own
calling and do not discuss or judge God's designs in the lives of others. (...)
Be at peace in your own calling. (...)
The Book of Privy Counseling, P.178.
More on the anonymous
writings such as The Book of Privy Counseling and The Cloud of Unknowing can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloud_of_Unknowing
More on St. Patrick’s
Day can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day
One
God Note #568. 2013/03/24.
Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep
quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting.”
Luke 19:40.
More on the Gospel of
Luke can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Luke
More on Palm Sunday can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday
One
God Note #569. 2013/03/31.
“I am the resurrection. If anyone believes in
me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will
never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26
More on the Gospel of
John can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John
More on Easter can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
One
God Note #570. 2013/04/07.
May His great name be
exalted and sanctified is God’s great name in the world, which He created
according to His will. May He establish His kingdom and may His salvation
blossom and His anointed be near, during your lifetime and during your days,
and during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel, speedily and very soon!
And say, Amen.
First part of Kaddish, Jewish prayer, often recited at the time of loss
to show that the mourners, despite their loss, have not lost their faith in
God.
More on Yom HaShoah can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_HaShoah
More on Kaddish can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaddish
One
God Note #571. 2013/04/14.
Rama (said): My brother, when we
set out on this expedition, I too was full of anger and bitterness. But on our
journey to Lanka, I have come to see that all of us have received the precious
gift of life from the Gods, and that it is more important to be a good human
being than to be just a good Kshatriya (warrior –
P.R.). Have we not, all of us, sprung from the same source? Rakshas, vanas,
man, beast, the birds of the air, the fish of the ocean? Yet some of us,
in ignorance, draw their bows and swords against their fellow creatures. Many
have fallen on this battlefield today, and many more shall die before the war
is done. And as a Kshatriya, I shall continue to
fight my battles. But when I burn the dead, I will pray for a world free from
all wars, where a man does not raise his hand in anger against his own brother.
Ramayana, retrieved from
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ramayana:_The_Legend_of_Prince_Rama
on 14 April 2013.
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
One
God Note #572. 2013/04/21.
He is sweet that way,
trying to coax the world to dance. Look how the wind holds the trees in its
hands helping them to sway. Look how the sky takes the fields and the oceans
and our bodies in its arms, and moves all beings toward His lips. God must get
hungry for us; why is he not also a lover who wants His lovers near? Beauty is
my teacher helping me to know He cares for me.
Rabia (c.717-801), quoted in: Ladinsky
Daniel (2002). Love Poems from God. Twelve Sacred Voices from
the East and West. P.26.
More on Rabia can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabia_al-Adawiyya
More on Earth Day can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
One
God Note #573. 2013/04/28.
Today I saw an unusual russet bird gliding effortlessly
for all the time I could see it. I thought of it as of myself in this time,
gliding effortlessly on the mercy and love of God, free from all care and
effort, just moving along with his grace. It seems almost too good to be true.
The trouble is with us that we don't accept and believe that wonderful bargain
that the good Jew, our Saviour, struck for us - a hundredfold in this life and
life eternal, too.
Pennington, Basil. (1978). O Holy Mountain! Journal of a Retreat on Mount Athos. P.25.
More on Basil Pennington
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Pennington
More on Mount Athos can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos
One
God Note #574. 2013/05/05.
(...) Inasmuch as the
same holy faith bids us love our neighbours, we owe to all persons, of whatever
persuasion, peace in their faith and the protection of the government, and
therefore we guarantee freedom to all rites and religions in the Polish lands,
in accordance with the laws of the land.
Polish May 3rd Constitution proclaimed in 1791. Retrieved from http://www.polishconstitution.org/index1.html on 5 May 2013.
More on May 3rd
Constitution can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791
One
God Note #575. 2013/05/012.
Without Goodness (jen)
a person cannot for long endure adversity, and cannot for long enjoy
prosperity.
Confucius, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom,
P.128.
More on Confucius can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius
One
God Note #576. 2013/05/19.
When we sit down to do Centering Prayer and form
our intention, we know the divine presence is already there. We do not
create it. All we have to do is consent. The divine energy flows
into us and through us. In its purest form it is available twenty-four
hours a day at maximum strength. By consenting, we open to God as God is,
without trying to figure who or what God is. We consent to the divine
presence without depending on a medium to express it, translate it, or
interpret it in terms of our personal history, cultural conditioning, and
temperamental bias. God communicates himself on only one condition.
Our consent. Visions, consolations, experiences,
psychological breakthroughs, all have value but only a limited value, pointing
us to the maximum value, which is the whole of God in pure faith. This
faith, once it is established as a conviction, changes our perspective of who
we are and who God is. It operates appropriately through the theological
virtues and the Seven Gifts of the Spirit, enabling us to respond to the
realities and routines of daily life and to perceive the divine presence in the
ordinary, the insignificant, and even in suffering.
Keating, Thomas. Intimacy With God. P. 103.
More on Thomas Keating
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Keating
More on Centering Prayer
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centering_Prayer
One
God Note #577. 2013/05/26.
When
you see the world you see God. There is no seeing God, apart from the world.
Beyond the world to see God is to be God. The light by which you see the world,
which is God, is the tiny little spark: ‘I am,’ apparently so small, yet the
first and the last in every act of knowing and loving.
Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.61-2.
More on Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
One
God Note #578. 2013/06/02.
Truly,
the God-fearing shall dwell amid gardens and fountains – “Enter therein in
peace and security!” We shall cleanse their hearts of all traces of ill-will;
they will be like brethen seated on couches facing
one another. They will not be affected by any weariness there, and they will
never be made to leave. Tell My servants that I alone
am the Forgiving, the Merciful One (...) But the chosen servants of God shall
have known provision – fruit of various kinds, and they shall be honoured, in the Garden of Bliss, seated on couches, facing
one another. A drink will be passed round among them from a flowing spring:
white and delicious to those who drink it, causing no headiness or
intoxication. With them will be spouses – modest of gaze and beautiful of eye –
like closely guarded pearls. (...) The righteous shall have a good place to
return to: the Gardens of eternity with gates thrown wide open to them. They
will be comfortably seated; reclining, they will call for abundant fruit and
drink; with them, they will have pure, modest women of equal age. (...)
The Prophet Muhammad's visions of heaven as
narrated in Quran: 15:45-49; 37:40-49; 38:49-52.
More on Mi-raj al-Nabiy can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lailat_al_Miraj
One
God Note #579. 2013/06/09.
On
this Father’s Day we affirm the fealty of the Heavenly Father. While the human
father’s love is not always unconditional, still his love is guided by wisdom,
regard for law, and the will to protect others. (...) A father should remember
he is not just a human parent; he is the representative of the Heavenly Father.
(...) Each father should therefore realize that he has a responsibility to behave
properly (...). He must keep himself pure, for it is through him and through
all the fathers that the Heavenly Father looks after the children of earth.
(...) To produce offspring is not a unique accomplishment; the animals do that
too. But to produce children on the plane of divine love and in a spiritual
consciousness is an important achievement. (...) Character building should be
taught in schools and colleges, but fathers should realize that the example is
more important than schooling. (...) If you want a child to be mild and noble
of speech, you should not talk to your wife impatiently (...). Let every father
remember, when tempted to speak to a child with dictatorial harshness, “(...) I
should always guide my children with the loving persuasiveness of truth. My
mind should be a transparent glass through which shines the Heavenly Father’s
light of wisdom.”
Paramahansa Yogananda’s speech on Father’s Day, 18 June
1944, quoted in: Paramahansa Yogananda
(1975, 1982, 2000). Man’s Eternal Quest. Los Angeles,
CA: Self-Realization Fellowship.
More on Paramahansa Yogananda can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogananda
One
God Note #580. 2013/06/16.
Beloved-of-the-Gods,
King Piyadasi, desires that all religions should
reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart. But
people have various desires and various passions, and they may practice all of
what they should or only a part of it. But one who receives great gifts yet is
lacking in self-control, purity of heart, gratitude and firm devotion, such a
person is mean.
King Piyadasi (Beloved of
the Gods) was one of the titles used by King Ashoka
(304-232 BCE). Edicts of Ashoka, retrieved from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ashoka on 16 June 2013.
More on King Ashoka can be found at: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ashoka
One
God Note #581. 2013/06/23.
It is not what you are nor
what you have been that God sees with His all-merciful eyes, but what you
desire to be.
The Cloud of Unknowing,
P.146.
More on The Cloud of
Unknowing can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloud_of_Unknowing
More on Bahai calendar can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahai_calendar
One
God Note #582. 2013/06/30.
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
(...)
Canadian Anthem.
More on Canadian Anthem
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada
More on Canada Day can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Day
One
God Note #583. 2013/07/07.
Fasting (sawm) carries a two-fold meaning - two seemingly
opposing definitions combined into a single word. (...) The primary meaning is
to hold back, to refrain from, to abstain - the
further meaning is to rise beyond, to move past former limits. The month of
Ramadan is a time in which we hold our bodily compulsions and instincts under
strict control, together with our thoughts and our mental states, our moods and
desires. (...) The body and it's appetites are held
back and through this holding back an elusive and subtle but profound awakening
begins. We are provided the means by which to alter our reality, to shape what
we ourselves are. (...) moments of stillness, of silence, are obtained -
moments in which self-perception sharpens and deepens and spirit awakens and
the (spiritual) form with which God created man begins to unfold itself.
Irshaad Hussain – “And fast
until the onset of night” – retrieved from: http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Articles/Fast%20until%20the%20night%20%28Ramadan%29.html on 7 July 2013.
More on Ramadan can be
found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan
One
God Note #584. 2013/07/14.
A country cannot
subsist well without liberty, nor liberty without
virtue.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June
28, 1712 – July
2, 1778) was a Franco-Swiss philosopher of
Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution. Retrieved from: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau on
14 July 2013.
More on French
Revolution can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
More on Bastille Day, or
La Fete Nationale of 14 July can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day
More on Nelson Mandela
International Day can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandela_Day
One
God Note #585. 2013/07/21.
Holy words, full of nectar, coming out of the
mouths of the true Gurus vibrate throughout the world. (...) From every pore of
their bodies blessings are pouring forth to all beings. Teachings of Babaji, P.23.
The spiritual influence
that a person of higher stature exerts on the environment, which comes about
through the constant encounter, purifies the environment. It lends the graces of holiness and freedom on
all who come in contact with him. And this nobility of a holy grace returns
after a while with stronger force and acts on the person himself who exerted
the influence and he becomes sociable, abounding in spirituality and holiness.
This is a higher attribute than the holiness in a state of withdrawal. Bokser, Ben Zion. (1978). Abraham
Isaac Kook. Paulist Press. P.232.
Chosen souls are, in My
hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and with which I
illuminate it. As
stars illumine the night, so chosen souls illumine the earth. And the more
perfect a soul is, the stronger and the far-reaching is the light shed by it.
It can be hidden and unknown, even to the closest to it, and yet its holiness
is reflected in souls even to the most distant extremities of the world. Faustina Kowalska, The Diary, 1601.
(...) there are truly moral people who
unconsciously live a life in entire harmony with the universal moral order and
who live unknown to the world and unnoticed by others without any concern. It
is only people of holy, divine natures who are capable of this (....). Confucius,
quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom, P.120.
(...) the master by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings. Because he doesn't
display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove,
people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize
themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds. Tao Te Ching 22, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World Wisdom,
P.153.
People find it difficult to understand why one
must travel to the master in order to hear the teaching from his lips (...).
There is a great difference between hearing the truth from the master directly,
and hearing it quoted by others (...) and reading it in a book. Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810), quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name. P.172-3.
The Hasid, the individual disciple, must seek to
be continually in touch with the rebbe. He spends
certain holy days in his court, within the radius of his direct influence
(...). The radiance of the rebbe's influence is
elicited especially by being within the range of his vision and the touch of
his hands (...). The rebbe is in sense a redeemer - a
redeemer of the holy sparks imprisoned in the world. He helps effect the
reunion between God and His creation. Ben Zion Bokser, The
Jewish Mystical Tradition, quoted after: Miriam Bokser
Caravella, The Holy Name. P.186.
The soul can only receive impulses from another
soul, and from nothing else. We may study books all our lives, we may become
very intellectual; but in the end we shall find that we have not developed at
all spiritually (...). This inadequacy of books to quicken spiritual growth is
the reason why, although almost every one of us can speak most wonderfully on
spiritual matters, when it comes to action and the living of a spiritual life,
we find ourselves awfully deficient. To quicken the spirit, the impulse must come
from another soul. The person from whose soul such an impulse comes is called
the guru, the teacher; and the
person to whose soul the impulse is conveyed is
called the sishya, the student. Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda,
Vivekananda, A Biography, P.189.
Of one hundred people who take up the spiritual
life, eighty turn out to be charlatans, fifteen insane, and only five, maybe,
get a glimpse of the real truth. Therefore, beware. Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, A Biography, P.30.
The world is full of half-enlightened masters.
Overly clever, too "sensitive" to live in the real world, they
surround themselves with selfish pleasures and bestow their grandiose teachings
upon the unwary. Prematurely publicizing themselves, intent upon reaching some
spiritual climax, they constantly sacrifice the truth and deviate from the Tao.
What they really offer the world is their own confusion. Hua Hu Ching 80, quoted after: Novak
Philip, The World's Wisdom. P.174.
Stay in the company of lovers.
Those other kinds of people, they each
want to show you something.
A crow will lead you to an empty barn,
A parrot to sugar.
Rumi, Furuzanfar #630,
quoted in: Helminski, Kabir
(2000). The Rumi Collection.
P.181.
Your own self is your
ultimate teacher (sadguru).
The outer teacher (Guru) is merely a milestone. It is only your inner teacher, that will walk with you to the goal, for he is the
goal. Sri Maharaj
Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.51.
More on Guru Purnima can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Purnima
One
God Note #586. 2013/07/28.
Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in
your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next
door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier.
Be the living expression of kindness; kindness
in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile; kindness in your
warm greeting.
Ascribed to Mother
Teresa of Calcutta. Submitted by: Barb.
More on Mother Teresa of
Calcutta can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa
More on International
Day of Friendship can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Friendship_Day
One
God Note #587. 2013/08/11.
"Nature has done
well and wisely, in not permitting a man to live forever and in bringing into
the world ever new generations. An old person is a used-up machine [... He] has
too many dogmas to [...] easily [...] believe in a new truth [...]; too many
sympathies and antipathies [...] for him to come to love something unfamiliar;
[...] too many habits to be able to settle on new ways. Let us add
suspiciousness — the fruit of bitter experiences; a pessimism
inseparable from all manner of disappointments; and finally, a general decline
of powers from exhaustion [...]."
Bolesław Prus, "Oda do
młodości" ("Ode to Youth"), 1905. Quoted after: Wikiquote.
More on Boleslaw Prus can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_Prus
More on International
Youth Day can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Youth_Day
One
God Note #588. 2013/08/18.
(…) Devotion to your
goal makes you live a clean and orderly life, given to search for truth and to
helping people, and realization makes noble virtue easy and spontaneous, by
removing for good the obstacles in the shape of desires and fears and wrong
ideas. (...) The entire purpose of a clean and well-ordered life is to
liberate man from the thralldom of chaos and the burden of sorrow. (…) What is
wrong with a life which is free from problems? Personality is merely a
reflection of the real. (…) Once you realize that the person is merely a shadow
of the reality, but not reality itself, you cease to fret and worry. You agree
to be guided from within and life becomes a journey into the unknown.
Sri Maharaj
Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.31,
33.
More on Sri Nisargadatta can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
One
God Note #589. 2013/08/25.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who
is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in
the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no
fire and performs no work.
Gita 6:1
More on Lord Krishna can
be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
More on Bhagavad-Gita
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
One
God Note #590. 2013/09/02.
"No work is low or bad in this world if it
is done in the right spirit. (…) That is why a man should never hesitate to do
any work. Whether it is high or low, big or small, no work is bad. Work is
work."
Haidakhan Babaji. The
Teachings of Babaji, 1 February 1984.
More on Haidakhan Babaji
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
One
God Note #591. 2013/09/08.
Q: (...). What is wrong
with suicide?
M: Nothing wrong, if it
solves the problem. What, if it does not? Suffering caused by extraneous
factors — some painful and incurable disease, or unbearable calamity — may
provide some justification, but where wisdom and compassion are lacking,
suicide can not help. A foolish death means
foolishness reborn. Besides there is the question of karma to
consider. Endurance is usually the wisest course.
Q: Must one endure
suffering, however acute and hopeless?
M: Endurance is one
thing and helpless agony is another. Endurance is meaningful and fruitful,
while agony is useless.
Q: Why worry about
karma? It takes care of itself, anyhow.
M: Most of our karma is
collective. We suffer for the sins of others, as others suffer for ours.
Humanity is one. Ignorance of this fact does not change it. We could have been
much happier people ourselves, but for our indifference to the sufferings of
others.
Maharaj: Yes, miracles often take place. But there must
be the will to live. Without it the miracle will not happen. (...)
Fundamentally, nobody can compel another to live. Besides, there were cultures
in which suicide had its acknowledged and respected place.
Q: Is it not obligatory
to live out one’s natural span of life?
M: Natural —
spontaneously — easy — yes. But disease and suffering are not natural. There is
noble virtue in unshakable endurance of whatever comes, but there is also
dignity in the refusal of meaningless torture and humiliation.
Nisargadatta Maharaj (on the
subject of suicide), quoted from: I Am That, PP. 485-6, 491
More on Nisargadatta Maharaj can be found
at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
One
God Note #592. 2013/09/15.
Many forms of Government
have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends
that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy
is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been
tried from time to time.
Winston
Churchill, speech in the House of
Commons (November 11, 1947); in Robert Rhodes James, ed., Winston S. Churchill:
His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963 (1974), vol. 7, p. 7566.
More on Winston
Churchill can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill
One
God Note #593. 2013/09/22.
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.
More on Simhat Torah can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simchat_Torah
One
God Note #594. 2013/09/29.
Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work,
pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without
morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.
A list closing an
article in Young India (22 October 1925); Collected Works of Mahatma
Gandhi Vol. 33 (PDF) p.
135
More on Mahatma Gandhi
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
One
God Note #595. 2013/10/06.
Gahambars / gahanbars are six
seasonal festivals or high feasts when Zoroastrians assemble to eat and share
food communally. They are joyous occasions at which rich and poor met together,
new friendships are formed and old disputes resolved. While each gahambar traditionally spans five days, nowadays it is the
last day that is usually observed. The Gahambars are
the only festivals mentioned in the Zoroastrian scriptures, the Avesta.
(...)
Gahambars are a demonstration of beliefs, principles and
values in action and are an expression of piety in thought, word and deed. Next
to Nowruz, gahambars are
festivals of special significance for Zoroastrians.
The food stuffs are contributed anonymously according to a person or family's
means. Many community members volunteer to prepare the food, prepare for the
occasion and serve the meals - without regard to status. During the meal,
everyone sits together and partakes of the same food. The customs are an
expression of egalitarian communal togetherness. The free and equal sharing of
food with everyone, the environment of togetherness, goodwill and sharing - all
serve to help build and strengthen the community.
Retrieved from http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/gahambar/ on 6 October 2013.
More on Gahambars can be found at: http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/gahambar/
One
God Note #596. 2013/10/14.
All men are created
equal, but nowhere more so than in a sauna.
Finnish
saying.
More on sauna can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna
One
God Note #597. 2013/10/20.
The 21st century is a
time of rapidly developing technology, increasing wealth and consumer driven
lifestyles. We are focusing tremendous energy and attention on acquiring and
consuming an endless variety of things. This pursuit is endless and
through focusing 100% of our energy on this our lives have become
overwhelmingly busy. Despite improving external conditions many people
are exhausted, overwhelmed, and unable to find peace.
Our demanding schedules
give us little time to rest our minds and analyze what is at the root of our
unhappiness. Our inability to pause and examine our lives increases our
anxiety, fear and stress and when we are mentally exhausted our physical health
also suffers. When our emotions overwhelm us then naturally we lose patience,
lack compassion, have no tolerance and are unable to forgive others. From the
power of these negative thoughts we lose our positive attitude, forget about
our potential for goodness, and our negative mental states increase.
Western medicine has
done a great deal of research and innovation to improve health outcomes but the
prevalence of diseases connected with stress continues to increase. Now doctors
are taking a new approach to health; they are investigating the roots of
wellbeing and have confirmed that one of the major sources of good health is
reducing stress through meditation. They are recognizing the benefits of
these practices and undertaking studies that are providing clear scientific
proof of the effectiveness of meditation practice in improving physical and
mental health. As a result, many doctors are now recommending that we include
meditation in our daily lives.
Kushok Lobsang Dhamchöe. From the introduction to his seminar: FREEDOM
FROM STRESS - WISDOM FROM THE ROOF OF THE WORLD. Wednesday, October 23, 2013,
7:00pm - 8:00pm. University of Alberta, Telus Centre
(111 Street & 87 Avenue), Room 150.
More on Buddhist
meditation can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_meditation
One
God Note #598. 2013/10/27.
Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and is known to have pre-Christian roots. (...). It was the time
when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock
were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective
and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Samhain (...) was seen as a liminal
time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí) could more easily come into our world. Most
scholars see the Aos Sí as
remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. It was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock
survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left for them. The souls
of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes. Feasts were had, at which
the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for
them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people
going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in
exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, or disguising
oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination rituals were also a big part of the festival
and often involved nuts and apples.
Retrieved
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain on 27 October 2013.
More on Samhain can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
One
God Note #599. 2013/11/03.
I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water
is thirsty: You do not see that the Real is in your home, and you wander from
forest to forest listlessly! Here is the truth! Go where you will, to Benares
or to Mathura; if you do not find your soul, the world is unreal to you.
Songs of Kabir, XLIII, P.91.
More on Kabir can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabir
One
God Note #600. 2013/11/11.
In the battle the cowardly, from fear of their
lives,
have chosen their means of escape.
But heroes are borne forward by their fear and pain.
From fear, too, the weak soul dies within itself.
Tribulations and fear for one's life are touchstones
to distinguish the cowardly from the brave.
Rumi, Mathnawi IV, 2881,
quoted in: Helminski, Kabir
(2000). The Rumi Collection.
P.77.
Don't be afraid of death, nor of the storm of
water and fire. This life itself is water and fire. Don't try to stop it, but
rather become like lions.
Haidakhan Babaji. Teachings of Babaji, P.9.
More on Rumi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
More on Haidakhan Babaji
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
One
God Note #601. 2013/11/17.
So live
your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one
about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they
respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify
all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the
service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over
the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or
passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all
people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the
food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the
fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing,
for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When
it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the
fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little
more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death
song and die like a hero going home.
Ascribed to Tecumseh. Quoted in: A Sourcebook for Earth's Community
of Religions (1995) by Joel Diederik Beversluis
More on Tecumseh can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh or http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tecumseh
One
God Note #602. 2013/11/24.
In parts of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Russia and Romania, superstitious belief exists that the night before St.
Andrew's Day is especially suitable for magic that reveals a young woman's
future husband or that binds a future husband to her. Many related customs
exist: for example, the pouring of hot lead into water (in Poland, one usually
pours hot wax from a candle through a key hole into cold water), divining the
future husband's profession from the shape of the resulting piece (...).
In some areas in Austria, young women
would drink wine and then perform a spell, called Andreasgebet
(Saint Andrew's prayer), while nude and kicking a straw bed. This was supposed
to magically attract the future husband. Yet another custom is to throw a clog
over one's shoulder: if it lands pointing to the door, the woman will get
married in the same year.
In some parts of the Czech Republic
and Slovakia, young women would write down the names of potential husbands on
little pieces of paper and stick these into little pieces of dough, called Halusky. When cooked, the first one to float to the surface of the
water would reveal the name of their future husband.
In Poland, the holiday is celebrated
on the night of the 29th through 30th of November. Traditionally, the holiday
was only observed by young single girls, though today both young men and women
join the party to see their futures. Some women put pieces of paper (on which
they have written potential husbands) under the pillow and first thing in the
morning they take one out, which allegedly reveals their future husband.
In Romania, it is customary for young women to
put 41 grains of wheat beneath their pillow before they go to sleep. If they
dream that someone is coming to steal their grains that means
that they are going to get married next year. Also in some other parts of the
country the young women light a candle from the Easter and bring it, at
midnight, to a fountain. They ask St. Andrew to let them glimpse their future
husband (...).
Retrieved
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Day on 24 November 2013. 
More on St. Andrew’s Day
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Day
One
God Note #603. 2013/12/01.
But truly, Ananda,
it is nothing strange that human beings should die. Digha Nikaya (DN) 16
This is deathless, the liberation of the mind through lack of clinging. Majjhima Nikaya (MN) 106
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. As quoted in Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of
Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing (2006) edited by Larry Chang, p. 193
All quotes attributed to
Buddha. Retrieved from: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buddha on 1 December 2013.
More on Buddha can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha
One
God Note #604. 2013/12/08.
There is no passion to
be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one
you are capable of living.
Attributed
to Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). Submitted by Julia Armat
on Facebook.
More on Nelson Mandela
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
One
God Note #605. 2013/12/22.
"The uniqueness and the
universality of Jesus Christ are neither absolute nor relative. We have called
them 'constitutive' insofar as the Christ-event has a universal impact: in it
God has brought universal salvation; Christ's risen humanity is the guarantee
of God's indissoluble union with humankind."
Dupuis, Jacquis (1997). "Toward
a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism." Orbis Books, Maryknoll,
NY. P.303.
More on Jacques Dupuis
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Dupuis_(priest)
One
God Note #606. 2013/12/29.
Men fear thought as they
fear nothing else on earth – more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is
subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to
privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is
anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom
of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. It sees man,
a feeble speck, surrounded by unfathomable depths of silence; yet it bears
itself proudly, as unmoved as if it were lord of the universe. Thought is great
and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.
Russell, Bertrand. (1917). Why
Men Fight: A Method of Abolishing the International Duel, pp. 178-179. Retrieved from: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell on 29 December
2013.
More on Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell