One God Notes Archives
2018


 

One God Note #775. 2018/01/14.

If there were no darkness, man would not feel their depravity; and were there no light, they would have no hope of a remedy. So that it is not only just, but advantageous to us, that God should conceal himself in part, and discover himself in part; since it is equally dangerous for men to know God without knowing their own misery, and to know their own misery, without any knowledge of God,

Blaise Pascal – Thoughts on Religion and Other Important Subjects. Quoted in: Kołakowski, Leszek (1987). Jeśli Boga nie ma ... [Religion. If there is no God …] Aneks Publications: London, UK.


More on Blaise Pascal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal

More on Leszek Kołakowski: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leszek_Ko%C5%82akowski


 

One God Note #776. 2018/01/21. 

Mental immunity,” the Dalai Lama explained, “is just learning how to avoid the destructive emotions and to develop the positive ones. First, we must understand the mind-there are so many different states of mind-the diverse thoughts and emotions we experience on a daily basis. Some of these emotions are harmful, even toxic, while others are healthy and healing. The former disturb our mind and cause much mental pain. The latter bring us true joyfulness.”

“When we understand this reality, it is much easier to deal with the mind and to take preventive measures. (…) And just as a healthy immune system (…) protects your body against potentially hazardous viruses and bacteria, mental immunity creates a healthy disposition of the mind so that it will be less susceptible to negative thoughts and feelings. (…) 

Like the ocean has many waves on the surface but deep down it is quite calm. This is possible if we know how to develop mental immunity.”

 

“Yes,” the Archbishop replied,”(…) the only thing is that people sometimes get quite annoyed with themselves unnecessarily, especially when they have thoughts and feelings that are really quite natural. (…) We are human, and sometimes it is a good thing that we recognize that we have human emotions. (…)

I think it takes time to learn how to be laid-back,” he continued. “(…) it’s not something that just comes ready-made for you. No one ought to feel annoyed with themselves. It just adds to the frustration. (…) Sometimes we get too angry with ourselves thinking that we ought to be perfect from the word go. But this being on earth is a time for us to learn to be good, to learn to be more loving, to learn to be more compassionate. (…)

You are made for perfection, but you are not yet perfect. You are a masterpiece in the making.”

Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Abrams (Ed). (2016). The Book of Joy. Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. Viking: Penguin Canada. PP83-92.


More on Dalai Lama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

More on Desmond Tutu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu


 

One God Note #777. 2018/01/28.

A genuinely fruitful dialogue cannot be content with a polite diplomatic interest in other religions and their beliefs. It seeks a deeper level, ..., a higher and more personal knowledge of God than that which is contained simply in exterior worship and formulated doctrine.  

Thomas Merton. Quoted in: Kilcourse George A. Jr. (1999). When the Heart is Right. Thomas Merton Contemplative Contribution to Interreligious Dialogue.


More on Thomas Merton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

More on World Interfaith Harmony Week: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Interfaith_Harmony_Week


 

One God Note #778. 2018/02/04.

 

 

In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers in the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat of fat is cut off and placed in his mouth to sustain his soul for its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like. I learned that from a program on the National Geographic Channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready. (…).

Garth Stein, in The Art of Racing in the Rain (2008)


More on Garth Stein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Stein

More on Ged, the Dog: @ged_the_gsd


 

One God Note #779. 2018/02/11.

 

Every moment, in each breath, while eating, sleeping, and working, you should remember the Lord's name.  

 

Haidakhan Babaji. The Teachings of Babaji. 17 August 1982.


More on Haidakhan Babaji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji


 

One God Note #780. 2018/02/18.

 

This morning He kept me sitting in silence with Him, for literally one hour and I experienced a state of profound ecstasy, engulfed and transfixed by a golden light at His feet. I hadn’t even noticed that an hour had passed, merged as I was in silence full of sound, absorbed in an inner music. I feel I have nothing to search for any more. God will Himself give me what I need and everything will come at the right moment, I only need to be empty.

 

Gaura Devi (2001). Fire of Transformation. My life with Babaji. Nymet Press, Devon, UK. P.184.


More on Haidakhan Babaji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji

Gaura Devi passed away on 16 Feb 2018. More on Fire of Transformation can be found here.


 

One God Note #781. 2018/02/25.

 

Why then be concerned about the conservation of wildlife when for all practical purposes we would be much better off if humans and their domestic animals and pets were the only living creatures on the face of the earth? There is no obvious and demolishing answer to this rather doubtful logic although in practice the destruction of all wild animals would certainly bring devastating changes to our existence on this planet as we know it today...The trouble is that everything in nature is completely interdependent. Tinker with one part of it and the repercussions ripple out in all directions... Wildlife — and that includes everything from microbes to blue whales and from a fungus to a redwood tree — has been so much part of life on the earth that we are inclined to take its continued existence for granted...Yet the wildlife of the world is disappearing, not because of a malicious and deliberate policy of slaughter and extermination, but simply because of a general and widespread ignorance and neglect. 

Prince Phillip, World Wildlife Fund Dinner, York, (1969). Retrieved from: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh on 25 Feb 2018.


More on Prince Phillip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh

More on World Wildlife Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wildlife_Day


 

Dear Friends,

It has been almost seventeen years to date since I started sending One God Notes. Some of you “travelled” with me from the very beginning. I hope that the Notes not only convinced you about the underlying unity of all diversity of spiritual forms, but allowed you to share some of these ideas with others. However, continuous eroding of the number of my subscribers, accompanied by ever increasing cost of the server provider, make sending Notes in the current form unsustainable, especially in the context of my upcoming retirement. Thus, with great regret, I inform you that this is the last Note you will receive by email.

 

However, I will continue publishing One God Notes through other media. If you are still interested in them, please, consider following me on Facebook, Google Plus or Twitter. It is also my intention, as soon as I retire, to reactivate One God Notes blog, where I hope to expand on the many ideas expressed through the Notes. Consider subscribing to it as well. If this is a farewell to you, please, accept my deep gratitude for your interest, faithfulness, all the comments, etc.

 

For all of you who may choose not to follow me any further, I would like to reach for a quote from Haidakhan Babaji, from whom I derived inspiration to start One God Notes. It seems to express the quintessence of all my efforts.


 

One God Note #782. 2018/03/03. 

All religions are incorporated in this principle of Truth, Simplicity and Love.

Haidakhan Babaji (1981-12-25)(The Teachings of Babaji. P.13)


More on Haidakhan Babaji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji


 

Dear Friends,

after I had announced my decision to discontinue sending OGN by email, I received many messages from you expressing appreciation, support and regret. Your kind and heart warming words ... changed my mind. I renewed my contract with the service provider for two more years. Perhaps, together, we will reach 1000 Notes. However, if you received my previous decision with relief, you may easily unsubscribe by sending email to ogn-unsubscribe@onegodsite.net. In Truth, Simplicity and Love, Pritam.


 

One God Note #783. 2018/03/18.

 

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

W. H. Auden, "First Things First" (1956). Retrieved from: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Water on 18 March 2018.


More on W.H.Auden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Auden

More on World Water Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Water_Day

See also: Our Thirsty Planet, Time Magazine, March 19, 2018.


 

One God Note #784. 2018/03/25.

Balthazar: "Listen: Christ will suffer in the flesh because he is man. But he is God too and in his divinity he is beyond that suffering. And we men made in the image of God are beyond all our own suffering to the extent that we are like God. Look: until tonight man had his eyes stopped by his suffering the way Tobias' eyes were stopped with bird droppings. All man saw was his suffering, and he looked himself for a wounded animal drunk with pain who went leaping through the woods to escape his wound and took his hurt with him wherever he went. And you, Bariona, you too were a man of the old dispensation. You looked upon your suffering with bitterness and said, I'm mortally wounded; and you wanted to lie down on your side and spend the rest of your life meditating the injustice that had been done to you. Now Christ came to redeem you; he came to suffer and to show you how to deal with suffering. Because you mustn't mull over it, or think our honor consists in suffering more that the others, or resign ourselves to it either.

Suffering is a common thing, a natural fact, that you ought to accept as if you had it coming to you, and it is unbecoming to talk about it too much, even for yourself. Come to terms with it as soon as possible, snuggle it down nice and warm in the middle of your heart like a dog stretched out by the fire. Don't think anything about it, unless it's that it's there, as that stone is there in the road, as the night is there all around us.

Bariona, or the Son of Thunder. [In]: The Writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vol.2. P.129-130.


More on Jean-Paul Sartre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre


 

One God Note #785. 2018/04/01.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

1 Cor 15:55


More on Easter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter


 

Dear Friends, a few of you offered to make donation in order to keep One God Notes going. This is now possible by clicking the following link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XXY4WBKF4FMMN

 

I thank you all in advance. With Love and Support, Pritam.


 

One God Note #786. 2018/04/08.

 

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra reads:

In Devanagari script:

त्र्यं॑बकं यजामहे सु॒गन्धिं॑ पुष्टि॒वर्ध॑नम्

उ॒र्वा॒रु॒कमि॑व॒ बन्ध॑नान् मृ॒त्योर् मु॑क्षीय॒ माऽमृता॑त्  

 

In IAST transliteration:

Om tryambakam yajāmahe sugandhim puṣṭivardhanam

urvā rukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt

 

Om Three-Eyed One, we worship you, the sweet fragrance of the fullness of life, who nourishes, strengthens and restores us to health, like a big peach.

Free me from death, but not from immortality.


More on Mahamrityunjaya_Mantra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahamrityunjaya_Mantra


 

One God Note #787. 2018/04/15.

The man who wants to deepen his existential awareness has to make a break with ordinary existence, and this break is costly.  It cannot be made without anguish and suffering.  It implies loneliness and the disorientation of one who has to recognize that the old signposts don't show him his way and that, in fact, he has to find the way by himself without a map.  True, the monastic life provides other signposts and other maps: but the trouble is that too often the signposts point merely to a dead end, and the maps are like those curious productions of fourteenth-century cartographers which inform us that "here are many dragons."  The real function of discipline is not to provide us with maps but to sharpen our own sense of direction so that when we really get going we can travel without maps.

Merton, Thomas. Contemplation in a World of Action. P. 108. Submitted to L-Center Discussion Group by Gary Horn ghorn@uswest.com


More on Thomas Merton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

More on Baha’u’llah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h


 

One God Note #788. 2018/04/22.

 

Think of the earth as a mother. This is one earth. Don't be divided by thinking of yourselves as belonging to different countries. We belong to one earth. Proceed with this in mind. Look to the future with a vision of good deeds for the whole world, not just one county. Have great courage and patience - be not afraid of water, fire or great storms – face them bravely.

 

Haidakhan Babaji – The Teachings of Babaji. 1983-04-07.


More on Haidakhan Babaji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji

More on Earth Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day


 

One God Note #789. 2018/04/29.

 

Death and taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them!

 

Margaret Mitchell, Scarlett O’Hara, in Gone With the Wind, vol. 2, pt. 4, ch. 38 (1936).


More on Taxation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax


 

One God Note #790. 2018/05/13.

My God! I have often regretted that I was born! I have often wished to fall back even into nothingness, rather than advance through so many falsehoods, so many sufferings, and so many successive losses, towards that loss of ourselves which we call death! Still, even in those moments of terrible faintheartedness, when despair overmasters reason, and when man forgets that life is a task imposed upon him to finish, I have always said to myself: "There are some things which I would regret not to have tasted — a mother's milk, a father's love, that relationship of heart and soul between brothers, household affections, joys, and even cares!" Our family is evidently our second self, more than self, existing before self, and surviving self with the better part of self. It is the image of the holy and loving unity of beings revealed by the small group of creatures who hold to one another, and made visible by feeling!

Alphonse de Lamartine, Les confidences (1849), trans. Eugène Plunkett, New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1857, Book I, Note II, p. 19. Retrieved from: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Family on 13 May 2018.


More on Alphonse de Lamartine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_de_Lamartine


 

One God Note #791. 2018/05/27.

 

Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to such unedifying conversation as about kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, wars, food, drink, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street- and well-gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, speculations about land and sea, talk about being and non-being, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such conversation.

 

Gautama Buddha M. Walshe, trans. (1987), Sutta 1 (Brahmajala Sutta (Theravada)), verse 1.17, p. 70


More on Gautama Buddha: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha


 

One God Note #792. 2018/06/03.

The ear of the faithful retains the inspiration, 
because such an ear is close to the caller, 
just as an infant's ear is filled with its mother's words 
until it learns to speak.

Rumi, Mathnawi IV, 3030..., quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.116.


More on Laylat al-Quadr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laylat_al-Qadr

More on Rumi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi


 

One God Note #793. 2018/06/10. 

It is difficult to be called a Muslim; if one is truly a Muslim, then he may be called one. First, let him savor the religion of the Prophet as sweet; then, let his pride of his possessions be scraped away. Becoming a true Muslim, a disciple of the faith of Mohammed, let him put aside the delusion of death and life. As he submits to God's Will, and surrenders to the Creator, he is rid of selfishness and conceit. And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim. 

Guru Nanak, 'Sri Granth Sahib,' page 141 line 11. Retrieved from: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muhammad on 10 June 2018.


More on Eid al-Fitr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Fitr

More on Guru Nanak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Nanak


 

One God Note #794. 2018/06/24. 

Mercy listens — really listens, with interest and concern — then smiles, and reaches out her hand. 

J. M. DeMatteis, Mercy (1993). Retrieved from: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mercy on 24 Jun 2018.


More on the concept of mercy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy

More interesting quotations on the subject of mercy: https://www.onegodsite.net/mercy.html


 

One God Note #795. 2018/07/14.

(…) the notion of continuity of consciousness can come to be seen to be in accord with both the nature of our environment and the nature of our mental experience.  (…) it gives us a more profound ability to understand and to explain the nature of our existence and of the universe. (…) this notion of continuity and causal interconnectedness reinforces a sense of consequences for our own actions, in terms of both the impact on ourselves and the impact on others and the environment. (xix)

It is through reflection on the above themes: the law of cause and effect, dependent origination, the dynamics of our physical environment, and, based on our analysis of the nature of mind, the mode of the arising and subsiding of thoughts, the shifts in the modalities of our consciousness between deep sleep, dreams and our waking state, etc., that the notion of continuity of consciousness may first be established as relevant to the understanding of our current condition. Once the notion of this continuity has been confirmed, through reflection and experience, then it becomes logical to prepare oneself for death and for future existences. (xix-xx).

(…) as to the nature of the actual preparation itself, this will depend on each individual’s depth of spiritual aspiration. For example, is an individual is simply seeking a favorable rebirth as a human being, there is no need to engage in a sophisticated meditative path related to the process of death and rebirth. Simply to live a virtuous life is seen as sufficient. (…) (xx)

(…) the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra present a spiritual path which enables the individual to attain complete Buddhahood within a single lifetime, prior to the moment of death. Yet, for those who are unable to achieve this, it becomes crucial to use the transformative opportunities offered by the naturally occurring processes of death, the intermediate state and rebirth. Hence, in Highest Yoga Tantra, it is not merely the preparation for a more developed future rebirth which is important, but of more fundamental significance is the personal preparation for using one’s own death and subsequent states as a means of achieving liberation. (xx-xxi)

(…) the rehearsal of the process of death, and those of the intermediate state, and the emergence into a future existence lies at the very heart of the path in Highest Yoga Tantra. (…) because of this I somehow feel a sense of excitement when I think about the experience of death. At the same time, though, sometimes I do wonder whether or not I will really be able to fully utilize my own preparatory practices when the actual moment of death comes! (xxviii)

His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Introduction to The Tibetan Book of the Dead. (2006). Penguin Books.


More on the Dalai Lama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

More on the Tibetan Book of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol


 

One God Note #796. 2018/07/22.

 

If good circumstances prevail [at the time of death], and if there is minimal impairment of the vital organs, and clear mindfulness, and if one’s spiritual leader and fellow practitioners gather together, with an inspired perspective, and if serum and other signs appear at the crown of the head, and consciousness is transferred from the crown of the head, then, it is said that one will achieve liberation, or take birth among the higher realms. Therefore, it is important [to create] the right circumstances at the time of death.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead. (2006). Penguin Books. P.178.


More on the Tibetan Book of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol

More on Vassa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassa


 

One God Note #797. 2018/08/06.

 

The world is full of contradictions, hence your search for harmony and peace. These you cannot find in the world, for the world is the child of chaos. To find order you must search within. (…).

Millions eat bread, but few know all about wheat. And only those who know can improve the bread. Similarly, only those who know the self, who have seen beyond the world, can improve the world. Their value to private persons is immense, for they are their only hope of salvation. What is in the world cannot save the world; if you really care to help the world, you must step out of it.

Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. Durham, NC: The Acorn Press. ISBN 0-89386-022-0. P.207.


More on Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj


 

One God Note #798. 2018/08/12.

We are cast like sunlight upon the earth. 
And our light, passing through the body 
as if it were an open window to our Source, 
returns, purified, to you. 
Whoever sees that sun says, 
"He is alive," 
and whoever sees only the window says, 
"He is dying."

Rumi, Furuzanfar #2399, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.121.


More on Rumi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi


 

One God Note #799. 2018/09/16.

 

Gurus are as numerous as lamps in every house. But, O-Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who lights up everything like a sun.
Gurus who are proficient in the Vedas, textbooks and so on are numerous. But, O Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who is proficient in the supreme Truth.
Gurus who rob their disciples of their wealth are numerous. But, O Goddess, difficult to find is a guru who removes the disciples' suffering.
Numerous here on earth are those who are intent on social class, stage of life and family. But he who is devoid of all concerns is a guru difficult to find.
An intelligent man should choose a guru by whom supreme Bliss is attained, and only such a guru and none other.

Kula-Arnava, 13.104 - 13.110, Translated by Georg Feuerstein. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru on 26 August 2018.


More on Guru Purnima: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Purnima

More on gurus, saints, prophets, spiritual fathers, etc.: http://onegosite.net/saints.html


 

One God Note #800. 2018/09/23.

Forgiveness is the renunciation or cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, disagreement, or mistake, especially those involving renunciations of demands for punishment or restitution. Forgiveness is often distinguished from condoning (failing to see an action as wrong or in need of forgiveness), excusing (not holding the offender as responsible for the action), pardoning from normal consequences of such actions (granted by a representative of society, such as a judge), forgetting (loss of awareness of the offense from consciousness), or reconciliation (restoration of a relationship, with or without forgiveness).

Retrieved from  https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Forgiveness   on 23 September 2018.


More on Ksamavani: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kshamavani

More on forgiveness: http://onegosite.net/forgiveness.html


 

One God Note #801. 2018/11/04.

In Ahmadiyya Islam, Jihad is a radical concept. It is primarily one's personal inner and outer struggle for self-purification. Armed struggle or military exertion is the only to be used in defense. However, even then it can only be carried out under the direct instruction of a Caliph, purely for the sake of God and the preservation of religion.[1] It is not permissible that jihad be used to spread Islam violently or for political motives, or that it be waged against a government that maintains religious freedom. Political conflicts (even from a defensive stand) over independence, land and resources or reasons other than religious belief cannot be termed jihad. There is a clear distinction, in Ahmadi theology, between Jihad (striving) and qitāl or jihad bil-saif (fighting). While Jihad may involve fighting, not all fighting can be called Jihad. Rather, according to Ahmadiyya belief, qitāl or military jihad is applicable, only as a defensive measure in very strictly defined circumstances and those circumstances do not exist at present.

Ahmadiyya claims its objective to be the revival and peaceful propagation of Islam with special emphasis on defending and extending Islam 'by the pen' and by argumentation. Ahmadis point out that as per prophecy, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (whom they believe to be the promised messiah) rendered Jihad in its military form as inapplicable in the present age since Islam, as a religion, is not being attacked militarily but through literature and other media, therefore the response should be likewise.

Retrieved on 4 Nov 2018 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadiyya_view_on_Jihad


More on Ahmadiyya Islam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadiyya

More on Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghulam_Ahmad


 

 

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