[Drifter]

THOUGHTFULNESS – I

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Man is the sole being in the natural order who is not compelled to pursue the same road invariably

__________________________________________________ _________Claude de St. Martin

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__The Mundaka Upanishad provides the archetypal image of the spiritual archer. His is the unremitting quest for divine wisdom, seeking complete unison with Brahman, the ultimate Reality. In this quest there must be no thoughtlessness. Lack of thought is a serious impediment to the cultivation of skill in the art of creative action. At the same time, The Voice of the Silence enjoins disciples to free themselves from all particular thoughts and be attuned to All-Thought.
__Thou hast to reach that fixity of mind in which no breeze, however strong, can waft an earthly thought within. Thus purified, the shrine must of all action, sound, or earthly light be void; e'en as the butterfly, o'ertaken by the frost, falls lifeless at the threshold – so must all earthly thoughts fall dead before the fane.
__Wherein lies the difference between thoughtlessness and that state of transcendence which is rooted in a serene identification with the Divine Mind?
__There are myriad paradoxes in relation to the spiritual path, as everyone knows who makes a strenuous attempt to incarnate in daily life the immeasurable wisdom of Brahma Vach. These paradoxes are pertinent for anyone who is in earnest, who is not merely ready to plunge into the stream, but who has already entered the stream as a srotapatti and laved in its rushing waters. There are those who delay this crucial step for lifetimes, even after the privilege of contacting the presence of great Teachers from the Lodge of Mahatmas. They are afraid to take the first step into the stream. But those who have soaked in the struggle know that the recurring paradoxes are far from being instantly resolved, especially by the ratiocinative mind with its obsessive craving for certitude. Mystical paradoxes deepen as veil upon veil lifts and one finds veil upon veil behind. This must be so, for otherwise we would live in a static universe and Mahatmas would be but icons to be worshipped, like the discarded archangels of the past, periodically placated out of fear or the wish for favours. There is none of this in the vast philosophical cosmogony of the Secret Doctrine. It postulates one universal stream of consciousness which, at its source, is unconditioned and beyond all forms, qualities, colours and representations, beyond every finite locus in space-time. But equally, within this immense stream of encompassing and transcending consciousness, everything counts. Every being is significant and every single error has its consequence. It is difficult to accommodate so awesome a conception within one's mind and to insert one's own odyssey into the vaster odyssey of all. There is nothing in our upbringing, nothing in the limiting language of common conversation and trivial talk, that can sufficiently prepare one for the grandeur of the enterprise, so that one may feel the authentic joy of comradeship with the mightiest men of meditation. They are the immortal embodiments of universal Mahat who can, with a casual, relaxed and joyful sense of proportionality, hit the mark amidst the limitations of collective Karma. This means, paradoxically, that they cannot hit the mark every single time either, and this too is involved in hitting the mark.

[Drifter]

__The root of these paradoxes in relation to thoughtfulness and transcendence lies in the insuperable problem of formulating the aim. The aim cannot be anything less than Brahman. That is the eternal hope. Every single act can have that aim because each act focusses upon a specific target in time and space which is Brahman. That is, at one level, the joy and the absurdity of it. In every act of manifestation – bathing, walking, mailing a message – the Logos is present. There is a sense in which the aim – the transcendental Brahman – is present in each moment of time as well as in every act at each point of space and in every thought. What, then, obscures the aim of a manifold human being of becoming totally one and remaining constantly attuned to Brahman? Why does a person need the sacred OM as the bow and to be continually tuning all one's instruments? Can one ever receive in a world of shadowy knowledge any real teaching concerning the inward meaning of the Soundless Sound? Who will teach the true intonation of the OM and everything to which it corresponds in thought, motive, act and feeling? As the mystery deepens, one must come to recognize that even in the largest perspectives of life, one can discern something that is false and which obscures still greater realities.
__The correction that needs to be made in the lesser perspective is archetypally related to the correction needed in the larger perspective. Whenever one has a sense of self-encouraging exaggeration – not only verbally or in terms of external expression, but in the feeling-content and motivational coloration of particular thoughts – there is falsity and distortion. Brahman could not be in everything if each single thing does not appropriately mirror Brahman and, in an ever-changing universe, recede into non-being. There is an intrinsic illusoriness in the shadowy self that emerges like a smoky haze. In Platonic language, this temporary excess necessarily implies temporal deficiency and therefore imbalance. This may become obsessional – like infatuation – and all cognate thoughts are thereby tainted. The condition is even worse for a person lacking in mental steadiness. One discovers this speedily when one really wants to concentrate on something and even more painfully when one sits down to meditation. The moment one tries to meditate on that which is above and beyond and includes all, one confronts limitations in one's conception of selfhood. There is no way even to ponder the profoundest of vows, the holiest motive of the Bodhisattvas, in relation to the ceaseless quest for the sake of every sentient being. One will encounter a multitude of hindrances. Most thoughts are premature, feeble and abortive. One is not truly awake, but is rather in a dizzy phantasmagoria in which distorted shadows flit. Through an illusory sense of self, one is attached to a misshapen bundle of memories and identified with a form, an image and a name. Persisting thoughtlessness means that one has fallen into a state of fragmented consciousness, and this is not only owing to the imperfections shared with all other human beings, but also through an irreverent attitude to the vestures brought over from previous lives. Such are the scars of failures from former times of opportunity to strengthen and perfect the spiritual will for the sake of universal good. Myriad are the ways in which many souls have frequently failed over an immense period of evolution.
Hermes, June 1978

[Drifter]

O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart andIllumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being.O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety,Nor will I let trouble harass me.I will not dwell On the unpleasant things in Life.O God! Thou art more Friend to meThan I am to myself.I dedicate myself To Thee, O Lord.

http://info.bahai.org/article-1-3-2-10.html

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http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-0-1.html
God, Faith, and Immortality

In the Bahá'í view, the purpose of this life on earth is for each individual to develop the spiritual and moral qualities that lie at the core of his or her nature. Bahá'u'lláh referred to the human being as a "mine rich in gems of inestimable value." These "gems" or qualities can be "mined" or developed only when a person turns to God. But while this awesome task must remain the responsibility of the individual, humanity has received continual guidance from a loving Creator on how to accomplish it. The Bahá'í conceptions of human nature and the soul, then, are essentially positive, as are Bahá'í views on the purpose of life and life after death.

Bahá'ís believe that there is only one God, the Creator of the universe. Throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, each of Whom has founded a great religion. The Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. This succession of divine Teachers reflects a single historic "plan of God" for educating humanity about the Creator and for cultivating the spiritual, intellectual, and moral capacities of the race. The goal has been to develop the innate noble characteristics of every human being, and to prepare the way for an advancing global civilization. Knowledge of God's will for humanity in the modern age, Bahá'ís believe, was revealed just over one hundred years ago by Bahá'u'lláh, Who is the latest of these divine Messengers.
The Bahá'í Concept of God

[melanie]

The Great Invocation

From the point of Light, within the mind of God
let Light stream forth into the minds of men
let Light descend on earth.

From the point of Love within the heart of God
let Love stream forth into the hearts of men
may Christ return to earth.

From the centre where the will of God is known
let purpose guide the little wills of men
the purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men
let the plan of Love and Light work out
and may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light, Love and Power restore the plan on earth.

Sri Chinmoy

[melanie]

God:

In My Heart
there burns a Flame,
and it's a Holy Fire . . .
How I long to Be with Him . . .
and That's My One Desire,
Oft within That Holy Place
and kneeling at His Throne . . .
He Is Always There for me
and I Am not Alone.

"The secret of secrets is the divine spark within each of us.
Remembrance is remembering
that which we already know
It is to get in touch with that divine spark
that God has placed within each human being.
In the Koran it says that God breathed from
the divine soul into Adam.
another way of translating that would be
that God placed a divine spark into
every human being.
And that divine spark
is the secret of secrets.
My master put it this way.
That spark in us could set the whole universe on fire.
Its greater than the universe itself
because its a spark of what is infinite.
And its within every one of us.
Who we are is far more than who we think we are.
"To practice remembrance," you've said,
"is to unveil the knowledge and power
and beauty of this spark of God within us''

[r.p.bibra]

Originally Posted by Graybeard

Karma is a term for those who have no other explanation of whats going on. The Hindu's invented it in the 8th century. How did the world work before that ??

Do you really believe it ???

cool bananas ... greg

Dear Greg; your reply may be appropriate to the present context, but not correct! we usually relate this term with destiny and re-incarnation, but it is not so. Truth and righteousness in action is 'Karma. Its whole synthesis is, cause and effect theory. What we sow so do we reap. Otherwise we are the masters of own destiny. The authenticity of Indian thought is corroborated even by the Greek mythology. Socrates used many Indian terminology e.g. truth-beauty-bliss=sathyam-shivam-sundhram in his dialogs (through Plato) It (Karma) was first used in Vedas which are as old as the ‘history’ of ‘modern’ thinking man. These were compiled by Ved Vyasa 3500BC, before that their knowledge was passed on from one generation to another by the word of ‘mouth’ (Sruth=by memory. Even now there are many a Vedic scholars who recite these texts by memory only, an old tradition. Proof lies in old bhojpatras=leaves of birch tree used as paper in ancient times). We often use the term Hindu, which in fact is non-existent in our old scriptures. This term was invented by the British invaders, i.e., it is only 200 years old. More over there is no Religion in India bearing the name Hindu/Hinduism. In India there were schools of thought, not religions. Religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism etc. were founded by following one these ‘thought’. Love&regards.ls.

[r.p.bibra]

Drifter & Melanie, pl don think any body is passing judgement on your wisdom, least of all the ls. Just a thought, pl. give some some attention to it: spirituality, wisdom or the path we are engaged in (Reality/Truth) teaches us only practical lessons, which we shoud imbibe in our daily lives! Why our inner wisdom does not match our 'actions'(read 'reations')? love&regards.ls.

[melanie]

Originally Posted by G_burnett

it is a real world Mel ...

Graham what if 'we' are .....NO_THING. Just ''life'' arising as every_thing.

And where was the .. 'you' .. before the .. 'you' .. became conscious ? where were 'you' ?
It's only that you have been given a label/name that you identify yourself as something.

'We' are nothing but empty space/ pure awareness in which ''things''
appear for awhile and then ''disappear''
The idea of a separate 'you' is only an idea arising in your mind/imagination.
REAL_ly 'you' are no_thing, arising out of nothing returning to nothing.

People quite rightly are scared rigid of this nothingness.
Yet that is what we are in reality, and you can't have something without nothing. So we are SELF awareness of SELF.
So anything that ''apparently'' dies cannot be REAL
Nothing seems negative doesn't it? but the empty is exceedingly powerful in fact.
Image nothing but space, going on and on, with nothing in it forever.
But there you are imagining it, and you are something in it.
The whole idea of there being only space, and nothing else at all is not only inconceivable but perfectly meaningless,
because we always know what we mean by contrast.

Namaste
melanie.

G_burnett:
As long as there realists Mel you are in a world of your own denial choosing to turn a blind eye upon the need of change
and the better way to do it and add to carnage and body bags that come home.

Graham, not sure what you mean in the above statement.
Would you be willing to elaborate more on what it is you are stating. ?

mel.

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by r.p.bibra

Drifter & Melanie, pl don think any body is passing judgement on your wisdom, least of all the ls. Just a thought, pl. give some some attention to it: spirituality, wisdom or the path we are engaged in (Reality/Truth) teaches us only practical lessons, which we shoud imbibe in our daily lives! Why our inner wisdom does not match our 'actions'(read 'reations')? love&regards.ls.

More easily accomplished among like-mided souls, wouldn't you agree ls.?

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=QbYvIK...eature=related

Namaste`
D.

[melanie]

Originally Posted by Drifter

More easily accomplished among like-mided souls, wouldn't you agree ls.?

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=QbYvIK...eature=related

Namaste`
D.

WOW song.......

It's takes my tears away


''Blessed by that Rose
Where our waters meet''


M.