Non-Duality ...The Unity!

Friends, please reflect on this meaningful story .....

Once a disciple of a Zen Master had gone to see a polo game. When he returned the Master asked him, "I have a few questions for you. Were the riders on the horses tired?"

The disciple said, "Yes, at the end of the game they looked tired!"

Then the Master asked, "Were the horses also tired?"

The disciple said, "Yes, although not as much as the riders, but even the horses were tired!"

Finally the Master asked, "...And now the final question ....were the wooden posts used in the game, tired too?"

This was too much! The disciple hesitated a little. The Master said, "Go and meditate over it. Tomorrow morning I want the answer!"

For the whole night the disciple could not sleep. "The wooden posts ... how can they be tired? What a stupid question! But if the Master has asked, it can't be stupid ... there has to be something in it."

The entire night he tried hard and meditated on Master’s question. Finally, early next morning he rushed to the Master, fell at his feet and said, "Yes Master, the wooden posts were also tired!"

The Master smiled and said, "I am happy that, you watched the polo game, it has been useful. I have no more questions for you now!"

Others disciples could not understand what was going on. So, one of them asked the Master, "How can the wooden posts be tired? Please explain to us!"

...And the Master replied, "If the wooden posts cannot be tired then even the riders and the horses cannot be tired, because this whole existence is one....!"

Moral of the Story ....

Friends, this story is quite meaningful. If a man gets tired, if horses get tired, then wooden posts also get tired, because this whole existence is a manifestation of one energy.

Although duality is the way of life, non-duality is the way towards transcending the manifested form and going into the un-manifest, going to the original source from where we come and for which we long. Unless we reach the source, something always remains unfulfilled in life, because only in the source is the rest ….!

Please reflect over these words & enjoy the day Friends!

Desires and Peace

                                                       
It seems, when ‘Alexander The Great’ died and reached heaven, he was carrying all the psychological weight of his entire kingdom, wealth, gold, diamonds, etc. In fact, he was burdened too much by being ‘Alexander The Great’.

                                                     

The gatekeeper at heaven looked at him, started laughing and asked him, 'Why are you carrying so much of a burden?'

Alexander said, 'What burden?' because physically he was carrying nothing, but his psyche was very heavy.

To prove his point, the gatekeeper brought a weighing balance and put a human eye in one of the two pans of the balance. 
                                                              

Then he asked Alexander to put all the weight of his greatness, treasures, kingdom, victories, etc. in the other pan of the balance. 

Alexander did so. However, to his surprise, the pan containing the human eye still remained heavier than all his greatness, wealth and his kingdom. Finally, finding no other way, Alexander himself jumped onto the pan, but still the one human eye remained heavier.

Perplexed Alexander asked the gatekeeper, 'How can such a small eye be so heavy? Are you playing some trick or magic with me?'

The gatekeeper replied, 'This ‘human eye’ represents human desires, which cannot be balanced out or fulfilled with any of your great efforts!'
                                       

So, Alexander enquired, 'Then what is the way to fulfil it?'

The gatekeeper threw a tiny particle of dust into that human eye in the pan. 

The eye immediately blinked, became light and weightless....!

Moral of the Story ...

                                        

Friends, quite a meaningful story! Our desires are plenty, but our needs are few. Needs can be fulfilled, but not human desires. 

A desire is a need gone crazy. The more you try to fulfil, the more it goes on demanding. 

Desires are ugly and they turn most of us in to crazy monsters.

A little dust of understanding has to be thrown into the eye full of desires, so that, the desires disappear and only the needs remain, which are quite light.

Friends, one always needs to choose that which is more peaceful....!

Have a Great Day Friends!

The Holstee Manifesto. (Click on image to enlarge).

Facts are Facts!

Zen monk Bokuju was once passing through a village. A person came across and struck him with a stick. Bokuju fell down and with him,  the stick also fell on the ground. He got up, picked up the stick and ran after the man who was running away. Bokuju called the man saying, “Please wait, at least take your stick!”

Finally Bokuju reached the man and gave him the stick. A large crowd witnessed this happening, so someone asked Bokuju, ”That man hit you, hurt you, but why did you not say anything to him!”

Bokuju replied, “That man has hit me, that’s all.  It is a fact. He was the hitter and I was the hit. It is just as if I am  passing under a tree and a branch falls on me. What can I do about it?”

The surprised crowd said, “....A branch is a branch, but this is a man who hit you. We cannot punish a branch, it has no mind...!”

Bokuju said, “This man is also like a branch to me, so why should I bother to say anything to this man? I am not going to interpret what has happened. And since it has already happened, why get worried about it? It is finished and over.”

Moral of the Story ....

Friends, this is a spiritual mind ....not choosing and not asking for anything. Whatsoever happens, it accepts in its totality. This acceptance gives freedom and the capacity to see. Shoulds & should nots, division & judgment, condemnation & appreciation, etc. are the diseases, which make us see wrongly and thus we go on dividing and this division is our disease.

Friends, one must understand that, facts are just facts, there is no way to judge them....!

Have Great Day Friends!

The Dance of Mind and Spirit - By Jeff Keller

I've discovered that an essential part of our spiritual growth is the interplay between mind and spirit.  This relationship is shifting and evolving all the time.

Some spiritual traditions speak in very hostile terms about the mind, as if the mind must be annihilated so that spirit can blossom.  I don't see it that way.  As long as we are in   
human form, we need our mind to live and function in the world.  There is no point in trying to kill the mind or to treat it as an enemy.

On the other hand, we do need to keep the mind on a short leash - or else it can cause quite a bit of mischief.  In today's world, most people are overly enamored with the mind.   
It is the mind that judges, compares and criticizes. Spirit does none of those things.

When the mind is very active and full of judgment, spirit is pushed into the background.

How can we know the right mix for us between mind and spirit? I sense that the key is to let spirit lead the dance.  

How do we know whether mind or spirit is leading?  Here are a few of my observations, which may or may not resonate with you.

Mind is leading the dance when we are thinking of past and future.   
Spirit is leading the dance when we are present.

Mind is leading the dance when thoughts are raging.   
Spirit is leading the dance when mind is quiet (although not necessarily silent).

Mind is leading the dance whenever you feel troubled.   
Spirit is leading the dance when you feel calm...even in the midst of turmoil.

Mind is leading when we're judging and feeling any constriction in the body, emotionally and physically.   
Spirit is leading when we are open, non-judgmental and loving.

Mind is leading when we're searching and obsessing about something or someone.   
Spirit is leading when we are quiet enough to allow wisdom to speak to us and guide us.

Mind is leading when our prayers amount to begging for conditions WE want.   
Spirit is leading when our prayer is to surrender to God's Will and when we have gratitude for whatever unfolds.

Mind is leading when we resist.   
Spirit is leading when we allow.

Mind is leading when we are afraid of change.   
Spirit is leading when we are willing to flow with change and embrace whatever comes.

Mind is leading when we think we know what is best for the world and everyone in it.   
Spirit is leading when we put our arrogance aside and acknowledge that God is in control.

Mind is leading when we think we know all about God or how this mysterious universe operates.   
Spirit is leading when we realize how little we know and how limited our human understanding is.

Mind is leading when the majority of our focus is on the physical body and our material objectives.   
Spirit is leading when we are in touch with our eternal divine essence and see that essence in everything and everyone.

Mind is leading when we feel love for a reason - such as being in the presence of a person we find pleasing, or when  circumstances are to our liking.   
Spirit is leading when we feel love for no reason at all, when we need no stimulation to experience love because we ARE love.

Mind is leading when we want to be right.   
Spirit is leading when we are content to just BE.

I recognize that each of you may have a different idea of what Mind or Spirit means. Regardless of your definitions, I invite you to take a moment to observe how the dance of mind and spirit is operating in YOUR life.  Each person's experience of mind and spirit will vary, and I welcome your insights.

Story of Bhamati

Friends, there is a book in Sanskrit called,‘BHAMATI.

                             

This books is in fact, a commentary on one of the most philosophical treatises ever written, the ‘BRAHMASUTRAS’ of Badarayan, who was perhaps the greatest philosopher the world has ever seen. 

                                                       

Although there are many other commentaries on the BRAHMASUTRAS, it is said that one of the best commentaries is ‘BHAMATI’, which is the name of a certain woman.

                                                                 

This commentary was written by a great philosopher, Vachaspati Misra whose wife's name was BHAMATI. It took him almost fifteen years to write this commentary and he had decided that the day the commentary was complete; he would renounce the world and go to the Himalayas.

One fine night his book of commentaries was completed, so Vachaspati was about to get up from his seat and suddenly in the candle light, he found a woman quietly serving him his dinner plate.  He asked her, "Who are you and what are you doing here at this time?"

She replied, "My lord, you were so immersed in writing the commentaries that you have completely forgotten that many years ago you had married me. I am Bhamati, your wife!"

                       

Vachaspati said, "Yes, I remember now. Show me your hands and I will recognize them. These hands have been putting the candle by my side and serving me my dinner every day after sunset. I know these hands.... But now it is too late, as I have taken a vow that the day my commentaries are complete I will take 'sanyas' and leave the house!"

Bhamati said, "It would have been very unloving to disturb you, so I was waiting... but don't be worried. I will never come in your way. It is enough for me that, I got to serve you and I know that you love me. This is enough for my entire life".

Vachaspati was spell-bound, he said, "...The world can find many commentators like I, but it is difficult to find a woman of your quality, with such unconditional love, patience and such greatness of heart! I will name this book of commentaries ‘BHAMATI’, so that, whoever reads this book is bound to remember you"

                                

...Then Vachaspati left for the Himalayas, but he could not forget Bhamati and her qualities, her grace, and her divine beauty... something beyond human qualities. Vachaspati remains a great scholar, but Bhamati proves to be a far more divine being.

Friends, this story is unbelievable! Once in a while there have been such angels, although it is extremely rare, accidental and exceptional....

Have a Great Day Friends!

Mrs. Sangeeta Hegde