You are asking, “Who am I?” and you are not going to get an answer, because the one who will get the answer is false. You may have an idea, a concept, and you will think you have found yourself, but it is only a concept; you can never see your Self.
What
Do Sad people have in
Common?
It seems
They have all built a shrine
To the past
And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.
What is the beginning of
Happiness?
It is to stop being
So religious
Like That.
Do Sad people have in
Common?
It seems
They have all built a shrine
To the past
And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.
What is the beginning of
Happiness?
It is to stop being
So religious
Like That.
Silence is something that comes from your heart, not from outside. Silence doesn’t mean not talking and not doing things; it means that you are not disturbed inside. If you’re truly silent, then no matter what situation you find yourself in, you can enjoy the silence.
Knowledge is of things that are some distance away from you. When there is no distance, there can be no knowledge. By not knowing, by not thinking, by not understanding, you find out something that is no distance away from you.
The greatest evil habit is worldly life. It is called the "Great Addiction". By force of this addiction to worldly life, Paramatman is made to believe that He is an individual, and is compelled to live a worldly life as if in prison. All bad habits can be dropped, but the addiction to mundane life is the most difficult to drop. The wife is dear to her husband so long as she obeys him. The mundane worldly life is called the blindingly dark life. The greatest inticement of Illusion is this mundane life. However great may be one's sorrow, this addiction cannot be dropped. One is greatly lucky if this addiction is dropped. There is only one person who condemns the worldly life, and he is a Saint. Nobody else does that. One does not even think of this earthly life, even if one suffers the utmost difficulties. People try to strengthen their ties with others by speaking to them respectfully and congratulating each other over small things. People compete with each other for earning more honors and status. In this way, they feel that they are happy in life. They act as if this is a respectable bad habit. The God of Death is happy to give you many kinds of bodies and various troubles. Give up the sense of "mine". Know that the body is your enemy. Very few are those who have truly understood. Only those who are lucky enough to receive the blessings of the Guru, who is the Self, can escape from this Illusion by right efforts. All others are bound to the treadmill of life in various incarnations and they make houses of bodies of various shapes and duration.
From "Master of Self-Realization, An Ultimate Understanding", ch. 41
From "Master of Self-Realization, An Ultimate Understanding", ch. 41
That which is not perceived is Reality.
I don’t know if anybody can swallow the Truth.
You can only be swallowed up by Truth.
You can only be swallowed up by Truth.
The light of consciousness has no mind to change or alter anything. There is no sense that anything needs to change, but it does change.
The unawakened mind tends to make war against the way things are. To follow a path with heart, we must understand the whole process of making war within ourselves and without, how it begins and how it ends. War’s roots are in ignorance. Without understanding we can easily become frightened by life’s fleeting changes, the inevitable losses, disappointments, the insecurity of our aging and death. Misunderstanding leads us to fight against life, running from pain or grasping at security and pleasures that by their nature can never be satisfying.
So far as I remember, there is not one word in the gospels in praise of intelligence.
Vichara (investigation) is the process and the goal also.
'I AM' is the goal and the final Reality.
To hold onto it with effort is vichara.
When spontaneous and natural it is Realization.
'I AM' is the goal and the final Reality.
To hold onto it with effort is vichara.
When spontaneous and natural it is Realization.
This Heart doesn't know the concept of enlightenment – it is simply free.
Sometimes you feel you know less and less, but being more and more. You are being more of yourself although you didn't become anything at all. These are paradoxes that cannot be easily explained. Trust. You are coming to the edge of your personal self. You are falling into the abyss of your own Self.
Say inside your Heart: I am up for this. I choose to be free forever.
Say inside your Heart: I am up for this. I choose to be free forever.
Don't be in front of the mind. Be behind the mind. Then you can observe the mind—if you even care to. As soon as it becomes clear to you that you are outside the bubble of the mind play, you are immediately in a different atmosphere. You are in the atmosphere of the Self and far too joyful to be bothered by as small a thing as the mind.
The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. All others merely show the way.
In the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I Am.
Unbound.
Unbound.
Through devotion, surrender and love you become eternal.
Through self-knowledge and wisdom you become timeless.
Contemplate this.
Through self-knowledge and wisdom you become timeless.
Contemplate this.
Love is boundless. What is limited to a few cannot be called love.
Belief and experience are quite different. A belief comes from what you have heard or read and accepted as fact, but experience is something you have actually perceived. The convictions of those who have experienced God cannot be shaken.
If you expect any benefits from your search, material, mental or spiritual, you have missed the point. Truth gives no advantage. It gives no higher status, no power over others; all you get is truth and freedom from the false.
The universe is made up of experiences that are designed to burn out your attachment, your clinging, to pleasure, to pain, to fear, to all of it. And as long as there is a place where you’re vulnerable, the universe will find a way to confront you with it.
In the end
It is very simple
Either
We give ourselves
To silence
Or
We don't.
It is very simple
Either
We give ourselves
To silence
Or
We don't.
If you choose the breath as your focal point, make yourself fully aware of each in-breath and each out-breath. Notice the sensation created by the breath’s movement and fix your attention on the point where that feeling is most prominent; where the sensation of the breath is felt most acutely: for example, the tip of the nose. Make sure you know when the breath comes in and when it goes out, but don’t follow its course—simply focus on the spot where it passes through. If you find it helpful, combine your breathing with a silent repetition of buddho, thinking 'bud' on the point of inhalation and 'dho' on the point of exhalation. Don’t allow errant thoughts to interfere with the work you are doing. This is an exercise in awareness of the present-moment; so remain alert and fully attentive.
As mindfulness gradually establishes itself, the mind will stop paying attention to harmful thoughts and emotions. It will lose interest in its usual preoccupations. Undistracted, it will settle further and further into calm and stillness. At the same time, the breath—which is coarse when you first begin focusing on it— gradually becomes more and more refined. It may even reach the stage where it completely disappears from your conscious awareness. It becomes so subtle and refined that it fades and disappears. There is no breath at that time—only the mind’s essential knowing nature remains.
As mindfulness gradually establishes itself, the mind will stop paying attention to harmful thoughts and emotions. It will lose interest in its usual preoccupations. Undistracted, it will settle further and further into calm and stillness. At the same time, the breath—which is coarse when you first begin focusing on it— gradually becomes more and more refined. It may even reach the stage where it completely disappears from your conscious awareness. It becomes so subtle and refined that it fades and disappears. There is no breath at that time—only the mind’s essential knowing nature remains.
The man of true religion when he is on the path, is mainly concerned with his own internal struggle for liberation and peace. A steady, persevering and concentrated effort and struggle alone can lead the aspirant to the realisation of God.