What is Enlightenment : A magazine that is redefining spirituality for an evolving world Pin It Now!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
To Reach God - Al Hallaj
For your sake, I hurry over land and water:
For your sake, I cross the desert
and split the mountain in two,
And turn my face from all things,
Until the time I reach the place
Where I am alone with You.
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Song of Ramakrishna
" Dive deep O mind, dive deep in the ocean of God's Beauty;
If you descend to the uttermost depths,
There you will find the gem of Love...."
Sri Ramakrishna was one of India's greatest Spiritual teachers. Sri Ramakrishna was unique in realizing God through practising different religious traditions and he was able to taste the bliss of samdhi through many different ways. However primarily Sri Ramakrishna was a great Bhakti saint - a devotee of the Divine Mother. The Gospel of Ramakrishna records how Sri Ramakrishna would often sing intoxicated with divine love. Many of the songs recorded in the Gospel were composed by Ramprasad the great poet and devotee of the Divine Mother.
Ref: www.ramakrishna.org
A Good poetry link:: http://www.poetseers.org
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Uninteresting
This is for all my beloved friends who have expressed their differences in opinion. I want to express my appreciations for their opinion and i never felt least offended.
There is a quote from Inayat Khan worth mentioning, "How uninteresting the world would be if all men were perfect (thinking in the same manner, doing the same thing everytime : i add) it would be like a piano in which all the tones were the same."
On that note, I believe it is God's purpose and part of the grand plan to allow poeple to seek Him in different manners in different paths. It is the precious freedom that He gave to human intellect.
If you have strong conviction about your faith, thats good. God knows your heart and I pray certainly He will give you the reward for that. If you fail to capture the universality of religious philosophy, its perfectly ok. There is no absolute time in this world (all Absolute and Perfection belongs to One and Only God ! glory unto Him !!), yet all people trying to claim that their watch has the most accurate time. It is something like that. If you feel your watch is accurate, go ahead.. do your work by following your watch. That is another way to attain harmony.
There is a quote from Inayat Khan worth mentioning, "How uninteresting the world would be if all men were perfect (thinking in the same manner, doing the same thing everytime : i add) it would be like a piano in which all the tones were the same."
On that note, I believe it is God's purpose and part of the grand plan to allow poeple to seek Him in different manners in different paths. It is the precious freedom that He gave to human intellect.
If you have strong conviction about your faith, thats good. God knows your heart and I pray certainly He will give you the reward for that. If you fail to capture the universality of religious philosophy, its perfectly ok. There is no absolute time in this world (all Absolute and Perfection belongs to One and Only God ! glory unto Him !!), yet all people trying to claim that their watch has the most accurate time. It is something like that. If you feel your watch is accurate, go ahead.. do your work by following your watch. That is another way to attain harmony.
Knowldge of Reality : The Magazine
Wow, i never realized such a wonderful magazine on Universal Culture and Spirituality really existed !! Check it out @ www.sol.com.au/korYou can read a number of free online articles there. If you know any other magazines of the same kind, pls do let us know by posting in the comment.
Knowledge of Reality (KOR) is a magazine that started out, as these things do, as a student organisation publication in March 1993, by "SETA" or the Society of Eastern Thought and Awareness, a student group at Sydney's, New South Wales University, Australia. KOR soon outgrew its student days and is now a regularly published magazine available in Newsagents around Australia. Knowledge of Reality Magazine is now available in the US and is available elsewhere in the world via subscription. For subscription go here.
Our Identity is a mystery
Our identity is a mystery, we don't know for sure what was our being and condition before we came into existence in our mother's womb. We are not even sure where we are going. We live and die in ignorance. Even then we argue about God, religion, faith and some even deny the Creator. Haa ignorance !!
God has created man from a sperm-drop; and behold this same (man) becomes an open disputer! (Quran, 16:04)
The Unity of Religious Ideals
A person may belong to the best religion in the world; he does not live it, perhaps, but merely belongs to it. He says that he is a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Jew. He is sure it is the best religion, but at the same time he does not care to live it; he just belongs to it and thinks that belonging to a certain accepted religion is all that is needed. And people of all the different religions have made this to appear to be so, owing to their enthusiasm and forced by their mission in life. For they have made facilities for those who belong to their particular religion, saying that by the very fact of their belonging to it they will be saved on the Day of judgment. While the others, with all their good actions, will not be saved because they do not belong to that particular faith.
This is a man-made idea, not God-made. God is not the Father of one sect; God is the Father of the whole world, and all are entitled to be called His children, whether worthy or unworthy. In fact it is man's attitude towards God and truth which can bring him closer to God, who is the ideal of every soul. And if this attitude is not developed, then whatever man's religion be he has failed to live it.
But one should always keep in mind that religion has both a body and a soul. Whatever body of religion one may touch, one touches the soul; and of one touches the soul, one touches all its bodies, which are like its organs. Therefore on the path of religion, the dispute about who is right and who is wrong is not necessary. We do not know what is in the heart of a man. If outwardly he seems to be a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, or a Buddhist, we cannot be the judge of his religion, for every soul has a religion peculiar to itself, and no one else is entitled to judge it. There may be a person in a very humble garb, without any appearance of belief in God, or of piety or orthodoxy, and he may have a religion hidden in his heart, which not everybody can understand. And there may be another person who is highly evolved, and yet his outward conduct, which alone manifests to people's view, may appear to be altogether contrary to their own way of looking at things. They may accuse him of being a materialist or an unbeliever, or someone who is far from God and truth. And yet we do not know; sometimes appearances are merely illusions; behind them there may be hidden the deepest religious devotion or the highest ideal, of which we know very little.
… therefore, the best thing is to respect a man's belief, his idea, his way of looking at life, whatever it may be, even if it is quite different from his own way of looking at it. It is this spirit of tolerance which, when developed, will bring about the brotherhood which is the essence of religion and the need of the present day.
To say, 'You are different and I am different, your religion is different and my religion is different, your belief is different and my belief is different,' will not unite, it will only divide humanity. Those who, with the excuse of their great faith in their own religion, hurt the feelings of another and divide humanity which has the same source and goal, abuse religion, whatever be their faith. The message, at whatever period it came to the world, did not come just to a certain section of humanity; it did not come to raise only some few people who perhaps accepted the faith, the message, or a particular organized Church. No, all these things came afterwards.
The rain does not fall in a certain land only; the sun does not shine only on a particular country. All that comes from God is for all souls. If they are worthy, they deserve it; it is their reward; if they are unworthy, they are the more entitled to it. Verily, blessing is for every soul; for every soul, whatever be his faith or belief, belongs to God.
Compiled from the Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan
www.wahiduddin.net/index.html
Pin It Now!Replying on "Bridging the Gap" issue
In one of the blog, I expressed my thought on bridging the gap between different religions. This is something which draws me very much from my earlier understanding of world religions and philosophies. At the end of the post i wrote, "Reading Upanishad is greatly inspiring me to research on it and write something in order to bridge the gap between Islamic monotheism, Sufi philosophy and Vedant Hindu philosophy."
This triggered two comment, one from Mark Walter, another from Hijabi Princess. Mark liked my thought and he said, This is a great gap that needs to be bridged: the gaps between religions. Hijabi Princess said, "Bridging gap"... I wonder what that means... If that means increasing the understanding, awareness and tolerance about other religions, then I am totally for it! (Infact I consider this century to be THE century of racism in the basis of religion). But IF "bridging gap" means trying to merge the ideas of religions and re-defining the central ideas of religions from your own perspective... I would step aside... True religions are of the people, for the people, but not by the people, it is by the Lord of the people!
What I really mean by bridging the gap::
I personally believe that in every single religion has a purpose (as everything on earth has purpose, including human life). There may be distortion of the teachings and idea (because of time or by materialistic controllers) of a particular religion, but the underlying philosophy is always for the good of mankind.
Thanks Hijabi for pointing out two paths how bridging the gap between religions can be done. First we should increase our understanding, awareness and tolerance about other religion. And every religion on earth asked its follower to respect other religion. How can you respect if you are not aware? How can respect come in practice if you are not tolerant?
Now in order to do that, first we should remove any preconceived negative notion about other religion. Most of the time, the follower of one faith gets a very negative, all bad, all condemning idea about other religion from their own religious community or church. Have we ever cared to learn that religion from that faithÂ’s perspective?
For example, how many Muslims asked or tried to learn by reading Hindu texts, why on earth, Vedantic (Hinduism) which is a very strong Monotheistic religion worship so many deity in the form of idols? What is their point to support idol worshiping? The answer is almost none.
Now one of my idea of ‘bridging the gap’ is to read and understand by being very neutral. And what I do is when I want to learn about Hinduism, I pick up one book or two by a Hindu writer, not from a Christian writer criticizing hHinduismism is so bad. Isn’t that reasonable.
Secondly, merging the idea of religions is some thing which is of higher order. Prematurely its hard to appreciate the underlying truth of all the religions. It requires opening of heart, opening of mind and a higher perspective. It will come only when we take ourselves one step higher than day to day conventional religious practices, rituals, dogmas; because these are only the outer appearance.
But the good news is human intellect is in evolution and we have matured enough now to grow and act like one global village. As publication, communication, exchange of ideas improved across humans, it will inevitably bring us to that point where all faiths will come to learn from each other, will share form each other. That has happened in the past. And it will happen in the future as well. And by the grace of God, and by the promise of His messenger, ultimately the whole world will realize the truth before the end of this world. There will come a time and most probably the Messiah will fulfill that mission, when the whole human race will submit to one common understanding (or you can call it religion).
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
A striking verse from The Quran
There is a striking verse in the Quran which negates all the speculation about the Soul. This is needed because there are a lot of room for speculation and that might lead to fabrication about the core and mysteries of the mechanism of creation.
The verse goes like this, (in translation, the original is in arabic)
They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration). Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)" Quran (Chapter 17, Verse 85).
The mechanicsm behind the soul is one of such mysteries (is there only one soul, distributed? is the soul created or is it without birth? is it endless?) that is kept secret from human knowledge, although many saints and sages have tried giving light on it (Upanishad talks a lot about it). But Quran, the last message from God tell us in bold language about the limitation of human mind and reminds us that God is the source of final knowledge, we are not.
It is not only the issue of soul, but other matters about which little revelation has been inspired to great prophets (not even to Jesus Christ(peace and blessings be upon him), he remain silent concerning the detail of after life as well). For example, the exact time of the end of this world and therefore the day of judgement. It is said, the knowledge is only with God and nobody know that.
For english translation of the Final Revelation, The Quran,
visit here, The verse goes like this, www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran Pin It Now!
The verse goes like this, (in translation, the original is in arabic)
They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration). Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)" Quran (Chapter 17, Verse 85).
The mechanicsm behind the soul is one of such mysteries (is there only one soul, distributed? is the soul created or is it without birth? is it endless?) that is kept secret from human knowledge, although many saints and sages have tried giving light on it (Upanishad talks a lot about it). But Quran, the last message from God tell us in bold language about the limitation of human mind and reminds us that God is the source of final knowledge, we are not.
It is not only the issue of soul, but other matters about which little revelation has been inspired to great prophets (not even to Jesus Christ(peace and blessings be upon him), he remain silent concerning the detail of after life as well). For example, the exact time of the end of this world and therefore the day of judgement. It is said, the knowledge is only with God and nobody know that.
For english translation of the Final Revelation, The Quran,
visit here, The verse goes like this, www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran Pin It Now!
I'm a Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Taoist ...
I'm a muslim because I submit myself to the Lord of the world. also because I testify that 'There is no god but One True God, and Mohammad is the last messenger of God.".
I'm a Hindu because a hindu is a person who seeks the Truth. And God is the Eternal Truth, the Reality behind everything.
I'm a Christian because I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in his second coming as the messiah. Jesus is the Spirit from God (Isa ruhullah).
I'm a Jew because I believe in Moses as great Prophet of God who spoke to God (Musa kalimullah).
I'm a Buddhist because I seek enlightenment (Nirvana) of my soul. I pay my respect to Gautama Buddha who is one of the most brilliant personality who walked on this earth.
I'm a Taoist who believe in Tao, the Ultimate Reality behind everything.
And I have no hesitation to say to all other religion that I belong to them as well. They are all my beloved brother and sisters as One God's creation. We belong to the same family. Our blood is the same, our feelings and emotions are same. We are all seeking the same goal only at different path. And all the atheist are my brothers and sisters as well. They also have a different path to seek the Knowledge.
We are all on a journey, knowingly or unknowingly we are trying to reach to the Ultimate goal.
Some will struggle more, some will less.
Some are on straight path, some are not.
But can we deny our aspirations to Love our Beloved God,
Can we condemn other just because they speak different language and have different culture?
Can we deny their faith just because they call the same God in different name, the same God who is beyond name and form ?
I'm a Hindu because a hindu is a person who seeks the Truth. And God is the Eternal Truth, the Reality behind everything.
I'm a Christian because I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in his second coming as the messiah. Jesus is the Spirit from God (Isa ruhullah).
I'm a Jew because I believe in Moses as great Prophet of God who spoke to God (Musa kalimullah).
I'm a Buddhist because I seek enlightenment (Nirvana) of my soul. I pay my respect to Gautama Buddha who is one of the most brilliant personality who walked on this earth.
I'm a Taoist who believe in Tao, the Ultimate Reality behind everything.
And I have no hesitation to say to all other religion that I belong to them as well. They are all my beloved brother and sisters as One God's creation. We belong to the same family. Our blood is the same, our feelings and emotions are same. We are all seeking the same goal only at different path. And all the atheist are my brothers and sisters as well. They also have a different path to seek the Knowledge.
We are all on a journey, knowingly or unknowingly we are trying to reach to the Ultimate goal.
Some will struggle more, some will less.
Some are on straight path, some are not.
But can we deny our aspirations to Love our Beloved God,
Can we condemn other just because they speak different language and have different culture?
Can we deny their faith just because they call the same God in different name, the same God who is beyond name and form ?
>> Related Posts:
:: Sharing from my side, my thoughts
:: God is not a Christian Pin It Now!
Current Reading
Currently I'm reading the book, 'Ar-Ruh', meaning, 'Secret of the Soul'. It is the bengali translation of the arabic book called, 'Sirruh Ruh' by Imam Shamsuddin Abu Abdullah Ibn Quiyyum Al Zaojiyah. Published by Ifaba Prokashona, 2003.
The book is about discussion on the nature of Soul in the light of Quran and Hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings, peace and blessing be upon him). The book is quite nice and thought provoking.
Also reading the hindu sacred scripture, The Gita. I love the philosophy of Gita, specialy on 'action without attachment'. There is a lot of thing to learn from Hindu philosophy about life.
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The book is about discussion on the nature of Soul in the light of Quran and Hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings, peace and blessing be upon him). The book is quite nice and thought provoking.
Also reading the hindu sacred scripture, The Gita. I love the philosophy of Gita, specialy on 'action without attachment'. There is a lot of thing to learn from Hindu philosophy about life.
Thanks to Greta and John the Atheist
Every time a visitor comes to blog and leave a comment, it feels my heart with joy to the brim. The reason behind that joy, is as if i could do my little part to reach out others and the ability to share something. I'm a seeker of Truth and this blog is also for that purpose. Anybody and everybody who comes here, take time to read one post or two, it gives me great joy. If you are a visitor, pls do post your comment. It means a lot to me.
This time, I would like to thank Greta and John the Atheist for visiting and commenting. ( i know saying thanks has become such a dry formality ... but what more can i say now ... it is actually more than thanks , my prayers r with you guys ).
Here are Greta's Blogs::
http://themilleniummouse.blogspot.com
http://jokasveins.blogspot.com
http://oskarthor.blogspot.com
http://mmouselinklog.blogspot.com
http://millie51.blogspot.com
http://mylife1951.blogspot.com
http://trollsonline.blogspot.com
http://theweescot.blogspot.com
John the Atheist's Blogs::
http://atheistangpinoy.blogspot.com
http://triviamatters.blogspot.com
http://pinoypetlover.blogspot.com
http://brainfoodpinoy.blogspot.com
http://pinoyatheist2000.blogspot.com
Pin It Now!
This time, I would like to thank Greta and John the Atheist for visiting and commenting. ( i know saying thanks has become such a dry formality ... but what more can i say now ... it is actually more than thanks , my prayers r with you guys ).
Here are Greta's Blogs::
http://themilleniummouse.blogspot.com
http://jokasveins.blogspot.com
http://oskarthor.blogspot.com
http://mmouselinklog.blogspot.com
http://millie51.blogspot.com
http://mylife1951.blogspot.com
http://trollsonline.blogspot.com
http://theweescot.blogspot.com
John the Atheist's Blogs::
http://atheistangpinoy.blogspot.com
http://triviamatters.blogspot.com
http://pinoypetlover.blogspot.com
http://brainfoodpinoy.blogspot.com
http://pinoyatheist2000.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Sincerity - Lao Tzu -
There is nothing more yielding than water,yet when acting on the solid and strong,
its gentleness and fluidity
have no equal in any thing.
The weak can overcome the strong,
and the supple overcome the hard.
Although this is known far and wide,
few put it into practice in their lives.
Although seemingly paradoxical,
the person who takes upon himself,
the people's humiliation,
is fit to rule;
and he is fit to lead,
who takes the country's disasters upon himself.
few put it into practice in their lives.
Although seemingly paradoxical,
the person who takes upon himself,
the people's humiliation,
is fit to rule;
and he is fit to lead,
who takes the country's disasters upon himself.
{ Photo credit: Masheed, location: Esplanade, Singapore)
About Lao Tzu
The specific date of birth of Lao Tzu is unknown. Legends vary, but scholars place his birth between 600 and 300 B.C.E. Lao Tzu is attributed with the writing of the "Tao-Te Ching," (tao-meaning the way of all life, te-meaning the fit use of life by men, and ching-meaning text or classic). Lao Tzu was not his real name, but an honorific given the sage, meaning "Old Master."Lao Tzu's wise counsel attracted followers, but he refused to set his ideas down in writing. He believed that written words might solidify into formal dogma. Lao Tzu wanted his philosophy to remain a natural way to live life with goodness, serenity and respect. Lao Tzu laid down no rigid code of behavior. He believed a person's conduct should be governed by instinct and conscience.
Lao Tzu believed that human life, like everything else in the universe, is constantly influenced by outside forces. He believed "simplicity" to be the key to truth and freedom. Lao Tzu encouraged his followers to observe, and seek to understand the laws of nature; to develop intuition and build up personal power; and to use that power to lead life with love, and without force.
Legend says that in the end Lao Tzu, saddened by the evil of men, set off into the desert on a water buffalo leaving civilization behind. When he arrived at the final gate at the great wall protecting the kingdom, the gatekeeper persuaded him to record the principles of his philosophy for posterity. The result was the eighty-one sayings of the "Tao-Te Ching." This ancient Chinese text is the world's most translated classic next to the Bible.
Here is that fascinated text in english translation, Stan Rosenthal's Tao Te Ching
Here is something from the opening text,
THE EMBODIMENT OF TAO
Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself.
Even the finest name is insufficient to define it.
Without words, the Tao can be experienced,
and without a name, it can be known.
To conduct one's life according to the Tao,
is to conduct one's life without regrets;
to realize that potential within oneself
which is of benefit to all.
Though words or names are not required
to live one's life this way,
to describe it, words and names are used,
that we might better clarifythe way of which we speak,
without confusing it with other ways
in which an individual might choose to live.
Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words,
the manifestations of the Tao are known,
but without such intellectual intent
we might experience the Tao itself.
Both knowledge and experience are real,
but reality has many forms,
which seem to cause complexity.
By using the means appropriate,
we extend ourselves beyond
the barriers of such complexity,
and so experience the Tao. Pin It Now!
Lao Tzu
I'm fascinated with Taoist Spirituality ( infact everything in this beautiful world fascinates me !! and it sometime bothers my friends as well. haha )... just discovered this beautiful site, on the teaching of Lao Tzu.
Look how beautiful is their ideas, what they call Tao is the Supreme Soul, is the God::
Origin of all things.
There is a thing, formless yet complete.
Before heaven and earth it existed.
Without sound, without substance,
it stands alone and unchanging.
It is all-pervading and unfailing.
One may think of it as the mother of all beneath Heaven.
We do not know its name, but we call it Tao.
Deep and still, it seems to have existed forever.
Sustainer of all things.
The Great Tao flows everywhere.
It may go left or right.
All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them.
It accomplishes its tasks, but does not claim credit for it.
It clothes and feeds all things, but does not claim to be master over them.
Always without desires, it may be called the Small.
All things come to it and it does not master them;
it may be called The Great.
Tao is incomprehensible to us by normal means or language.
We look at it and do not see it;
Its name is the invisible.
We listen to it and do not hear it;
Its name is the inaudible.
We touch it and do not find it;
Its name is the Subtle (formless).
These three cannot be further probed,
and hence merge into one . . .
Infinite and boundless, it cannot be given any name;
It reverts to nothingness.
This is called shape without shape, form without object.
It is the vague and elusive.
Meet it and you will not see its head.
Follow it and you will not see its back.
The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;
the name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Tao is both being and non-being.
Non-Being is the term given to that from which Heaven and Earth sprang.
Being is the term given to the mother that rears all things . . .
The two are the same,
But after they are produced , they have different names.
The two together we call the Mystery.
It is the Mystery of Mysteries. Pin It Now!
Look how beautiful is their ideas, what they call Tao is the Supreme Soul, is the God::
Origin of all things.
There is a thing, formless yet complete.
Before heaven and earth it existed.
Without sound, without substance,
it stands alone and unchanging.
It is all-pervading and unfailing.
One may think of it as the mother of all beneath Heaven.
We do not know its name, but we call it Tao.
Deep and still, it seems to have existed forever.
Sustainer of all things.
The Great Tao flows everywhere.
It may go left or right.
All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them.
It accomplishes its tasks, but does not claim credit for it.
It clothes and feeds all things, but does not claim to be master over them.
Always without desires, it may be called the Small.
All things come to it and it does not master them;
it may be called The Great.
Tao is incomprehensible to us by normal means or language.
We look at it and do not see it;
Its name is the invisible.
We listen to it and do not hear it;
Its name is the inaudible.
We touch it and do not find it;
Its name is the Subtle (formless).
These three cannot be further probed,
and hence merge into one . . .
Infinite and boundless, it cannot be given any name;
It reverts to nothingness.
This is called shape without shape, form without object.
It is the vague and elusive.
Meet it and you will not see its head.
Follow it and you will not see its back.
The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;
the name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Tao is both being and non-being.
Non-Being is the term given to that from which Heaven and Earth sprang.
Being is the term given to the mother that rears all things . . .
The two are the same,
But after they are produced , they have different names.
The two together we call the Mystery.
It is the Mystery of Mysteries. Pin It Now!
Learning from the Atheist
My Friend Mark sent me a beautiful blog link, an Pinoy Atheist. Thanks Mark for that.
I love to read Atheist ideas and when I know someone who is conscious Atheist, I love to hear from him as much as I would love to hear from a true Saint. I come from a society, where where u will not find atheist easily but u will find blind believers a lot.
When i was browsing that blog, i was thinking that, there is a lot of things one can learn from Atheist philosophy. An atheist deny to believe blindly, and that is a good starting lesson. You don't and shouldn't believe blindly. In Islam, the term Iman is not blind faith as one might think, it is "reasoned faith" or "conviction". In Islam, the last religion doesn't want people to believe blindly, rather wanted human being to question and seek the truth. In Quran one can find a lot of verses concerning the creation and asking man to ponder and meditate.
I believe on earth religion went through evolution and as human intellect progressed, so did the religion. That is why the last religion Islam fits a modern mind so well. The old ideas of blind faith is replaced with reasoned faith and conviction.
There are a lot of way to seek Truth and God, and to love creation is another way (because God is present in His creation as well). Forget God (how limited is our idea of dogmatic god, we can never comprehend His Greatness), love only the creation can also give you salvation, lead one to freedom.
An atheist don't believe in God, but they have humanism, love for mankind. A believer with full of hatred for another man or nation is surely not better than a non-believer with Love in his heart. I'm sure God loves the later one altought that person doesn't know the beauty of God. God doesn't need prayer or offerings.
Buddha is a wondeful example how one can leave conventional God idea aside and at the same time arrive at Truth (Liberation, Freedom, Nirvana) successfully by looking inside, knowing oneself (which is the part of the Supreme Being, the Eternal Soul) in the heart and be a nice person on earth.
Ref: www.wsu.edu/.../IMAN.HTM
Pin It Now!
I love to read Atheist ideas and when I know someone who is conscious Atheist, I love to hear from him as much as I would love to hear from a true Saint. I come from a society, where where u will not find atheist easily but u will find blind believers a lot.
When i was browsing that blog, i was thinking that, there is a lot of things one can learn from Atheist philosophy. An atheist deny to believe blindly, and that is a good starting lesson. You don't and shouldn't believe blindly. In Islam, the term Iman is not blind faith as one might think, it is "reasoned faith" or "conviction". In Islam, the last religion doesn't want people to believe blindly, rather wanted human being to question and seek the truth. In Quran one can find a lot of verses concerning the creation and asking man to ponder and meditate.
I believe on earth religion went through evolution and as human intellect progressed, so did the religion. That is why the last religion Islam fits a modern mind so well. The old ideas of blind faith is replaced with reasoned faith and conviction.
There are a lot of way to seek Truth and God, and to love creation is another way (because God is present in His creation as well). Forget God (how limited is our idea of dogmatic god, we can never comprehend His Greatness), love only the creation can also give you salvation, lead one to freedom.
An atheist don't believe in God, but they have humanism, love for mankind. A believer with full of hatred for another man or nation is surely not better than a non-believer with Love in his heart. I'm sure God loves the later one altought that person doesn't know the beauty of God. God doesn't need prayer or offerings.
Buddha is a wondeful example how one can leave conventional God idea aside and at the same time arrive at Truth (Liberation, Freedom, Nirvana) successfully by looking inside, knowing oneself (which is the part of the Supreme Being, the Eternal Soul) in the heart and be a nice person on earth.
Ref: www.wsu.edu/.../IMAN.HTM
Message of Patience
I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in a bark of a tree, just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited awhile, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life.The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it I tried to help it with my breath. In vain.It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of its wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand.The little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience, for I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm.
from:: Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis Pin It Now!
Enlightened Soul: Sister Nivedita
The great offering, giving her life for Mother India, was like a song of love, Love is blind for it sees no faults of the beloved, and Nivedita never found faults with India. Sister Niveditas childhood name was Margaret Elizabeth Noble.She was born in Ireland on October 20, 1867 to parents Mary Isabel and Samuel Richmond Noble Her father was a preacher to whom religion meant service to the poor. This had an imprint on Nivedita. She was very intelligent and hard worker, loved music, art, and the natural sciences. After her education, she spent ten years in teaching, from 1884 to 1894. She had a gift of being able to impart knowledge and inspire her students She was a proud, generous, impulsive and ardent woman. By the age eight~eil she came to understand that religion did not mean belief in the doctrines; it meant search of Divine Light and Eternal Truth. She began to doubt the truth of the Christian doctrines. She started reading about Buddhism but only with partial success.
This was the time when she met a Hindu Monk, Swami Vivekanand, visiting England in 1895. She attended all the lectures. In question-answer sessions, she was an active and enthusiastic participan!. The Swamiji's words that selfishness, ignorance, and greed were the evils which brought suffering to the world, pierced through her mind and heart and her life changed for ever. Swami Vivekanand was very much impressed and urged her to help the women of I,?dia in his plans. In response to the call of Swaini Vivekananda, Nivedita left England and arrived in Calcutta on January 28, 1898. Swamiji could envision her future role in the service of Mother India. He initiated her to be his disciple on March 25, 1898 and gave her name 'Nivedita', meaning one who is dedicated to God. She started to study Gita and practice meditation. This helped her to cast off her pride in English culture and became humble. Salvation for one self and the welfare of the world were two of the ideas she pledged herself to follow, For this, she lived a simpler pure, and holy life to realize God and humbly work for the welfare of the people.
By nature, she was optimist but there were times she felt disheartened in such situations. Swami Vivekananda's words 'Death for the cause is our goal, not success' inspired her She made India the object of love and worship When Swami Vivekananda passed away on July 4. 1902, she felt an added responsibility to India and its people. She realized that political independence of India is an essential first step towards equality, progress and justice
She inspired the people in all walks of life through her lectures and writings She always believed that India could not be great and powerful unless there was unity. She emphasized this in every possible way and was never tired of speaking about it. Her hard work and lack of rest was having an adverse effect on her health She passed away on October 13, 1911.
Pin It Now!Spiritual Aspirations
What does a spiritual aspirant want? What again is spirituality? One hears much glib about spirituality, but what exactly is it? Obviously, it is a word derived from 'spirit' which is something opposed to flesh and means, among other things, attitude, feeling, vigour, qalities associated with intellet, courage etc. .. it represents the essence of the human personality, the core of one's being.
But what spiritual aspiration is the best? Hinduism - perhaps all religions though not so expressly - regard liberation as the best and the highest aspiration, the supreme goal of life.
But liberation from what? Liberation from the state of bondage in which man finds himself today, the state of bondage which stems from attachment to flesh, running after sense-enjoyment.
... Self knowledge is the cause as well as the results of the liberation a spirtual aspirant seeks. To know the Self is to know that this Self is supreme, beyond all space and time, beyond the senses and thoughts, beyond all effects and cause.
From the book, Practical Spirituality by Swami Lokeswarananda. Pin It Now!
But what spiritual aspiration is the best? Hinduism - perhaps all religions though not so expressly - regard liberation as the best and the highest aspiration, the supreme goal of life.
But liberation from what? Liberation from the state of bondage in which man finds himself today, the state of bondage which stems from attachment to flesh, running after sense-enjoyment.
... Self knowledge is the cause as well as the results of the liberation a spirtual aspirant seeks. To know the Self is to know that this Self is supreme, beyond all space and time, beyond the senses and thoughts, beyond all effects and cause.
From the book, Practical Spirituality by Swami Lokeswarananda. Pin It Now!
Monday, June 27, 2005
Sympathy for Atheist
For some unknown reason, I have a deep sympathy for atheists. I don't know why, but I do love those who are consciously atheist, those who think about the idea of God and somehow ends up atheist. To be honest, is God idea so simple to undetand ? The answer is no. The Ultimate Reality (that is God in religious term) is beyond word, is un-thinkable, beyond any imagination. According to Quran, And there is none comparable unto Him (Quran, Chapter 112, 004) and human mind always understand by comparison. What is infinite, what is not comparable can not be comprehended by logic. So, why blame those atheist who say we don't believe in God? They are just honest to their reasoning .. but only thing is God is beyond that which they want to measure up.
I think atheist people are more truthful to their belief that many so called believer who only show up without any real inner spirituality.
In Islam, there is an unique statement of faith for believers (by declaring that, one becomes a Muslim, one who submits him or herself to God), it says, "There is no god but One True God" and interestingly an atheist actually believe in the first part which is negation of all falsewhood (There is no god or deity worthy of worshiping). It is at least halfway to the truth than those who think they believe into something blindly but their heart never open up to the truth, to the whole philosophy of the belief they believe in.
I think atheist people are more truthful to their belief that many so called believer who only show up without any real inner spirituality.
In Islam, there is an unique statement of faith for believers (by declaring that, one becomes a Muslim, one who submits him or herself to God), it says, "There is no god but One True God" and interestingly an atheist actually believe in the first part which is negation of all falsewhood (There is no god or deity worthy of worshiping). It is at least halfway to the truth than those who think they believe into something blindly but their heart never open up to the truth, to the whole philosophy of the belief they believe in.
I bought a new book title, "Why I don't believe in God" by an Indian writer, Probir Ghosh ( a prominent personality of Indian Freethinker movement ) and gonna read it. The idea that atheist holds fascinates me because the concept of God is so great, you can't blame them when they fail to realize. Because God and God-Cosciousness is something to realize and to uderstand by heart. Not something like 2+2=4.
May all the atheist in the world may reach the Truth which is only veiled by false self or ego. Let them realize the Truth and the ultimate Reality which is behind everything.
Pin It Now!Jesus the Mystic
John 10:1-42
In this chapter I love the way Jesus is portrayed as the mystic. Jesus states, “I am the door” and “I am the good shepherd,” This is so poetic, so beautiful.That Jesus identifies himself purely as an identity of divinity is clear in these statements, as well as suggesting that we are all souls made in the pure image of God: “Ye are Gods.”As a fully realized spiritual being Jesus did not speak of his human nature as God; he did not identify his human ego as “I am God.” But rather, “I and my father are one.” Jesus and his father are not the same person, but they are one in essence and nature. His divine works also testify to this: “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me…” and “I have shown you many good works from the Father.” In Jesus’ manner of presenting himself, he manifested the realization of his consciousness as having derived from God. This is also exemplified in this statement: “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” I take this line to mean that by knowing God our lives, our very Being-ness, becomes rich, deep, and abundant in the ultimate, spiritual, non-time oriented dimension, not necessarily so that we may live abundantly or richly or long in the historical dimension. Indeed, the truths that open from Jesus’ speaking with the consciousness of Christ seem to lead us deeper and deeper into God. This is truly abundant life!When Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me,” I recall that feeling of being roused by an internal voice, and at the same time seeing with a clarity I had never experienced previously. Hearing and seeing in this way left no doubt within me about the presence of spirit, of grace, of divinity surrounding me, and of a pure ”knowing.” Since that experience, I continue to feel compelled to listen for this voice, and to see with ‘pure eyes’.
From: http://kwakerskripturestudy.blogspot.com
Pin It Now!Tears in heaven
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.
Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.
Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.
- Eric Clapton Pin It Now!
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.
Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.
Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.
- Eric Clapton Pin It Now!
The Process of Theosis
The command Be ye perfect [Matt. 5:48] is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were "gods" and he is going to make good His words. If we let Him - for we can prevent Him, if we choose - He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what he said."
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Collier Books, MacMillan, New York, 1943; paperback edition, 1960, p. 160 - last paragraph of Chapter 9, "Counting the Cost," in Book IV.
Pin It Now!Cosmogony
"The Spirit of the Valley dies not; it may be called the Mysterious Feminine. The issuing-point of the Mysterious Feminine must be regarded as the Root of the Universe. Subsisting to all eternity, it uses its force without effort."- Lao Tzu, Book of the Yellow Emperor
Pin It Now!
The Nature of Mind
"I would like to point out that although very little research has been carried out in this area, and despite the fact that what little exists is still at a rudimentary stage, experiments done on meditators point to a phenomenon which may be difficult to account for within current scientific paradigm. These experiments have shown that without any voluntary physical change in the body, and without any physical movement on the part of the individual, a person can affect his or her physiological state simply by using the power of the mind through a focused, single-pointed state. The physiological changes that take place are difficult to explain according to current assumptions about human physiology.There is no doubt that our consciousness and all our experiences are contingent upon our body. so the human mind and the human body are in some sense inextricable. Yet at the same time, I feel that research seems to point to the possibility that the human mind also has a power of its own which can be enhanced through reflection and meditation, or training of the mind. Furthermore, it is well known that there is a growing recognition within modern medicine of the power of the will in the healing process. A person's willpower affects his physiology. How is willpower developed? It can be through thinking something through and discovering the reasonable grounds for one's understanding. It can also be through meditation. In whichever way it is developed, it is now acknowledged that the will can affect physical change." - The Dalai Lama, A Simple Path
Pin It Now!The Soul
"The soul of man is the Eternal. It is made of consciousness, it is made of feeling, it is made of life, it is made of vision, it is made of hearing; it is made of the earth, it is made of the waters, it is made of the air, it is made of the ether, it is made of the radiance and what is beyond the radiance; it is made of desire and what is beyond desire, it is made of wrath and what is beyond wrath, it is made of the law and what is beyond the law; it is made of the All. The soul is made of this world and of the other world."
- Drama of the Mysteries, Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad
Pin It Now!The Mystic Experience
Inability to accept the mystic experience is more than an intellectual handicap. Lack of awareness of the basic unity of organism and environment is a serious and dangerous hallucination. For in a civilization equipped with immense technological power, the sense of alienation between man and nature leads to the use of technology in a hostile spirit---to the "conquest" of nature instead of intelligent co-operation with nature.
- Alan Watts, Psychedelics and Religious Experience
from: http://soul-of-things.blogspot.com Pin It Now!
- Alan Watts, Psychedelics and Religious Experience
from: http://soul-of-things.blogspot.com Pin It Now!
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Through motion and change, life becomes intelligible; we live a life of change, but it is constancy we seek. It is this innate desire of the soul that leads man to God.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan Pin It Now!
All true praises belong to Almighty
My life has been full of blessings.
Without mentioning here any of the favours of Alimighty Lord (who knows all), let me recollect all the favours in my heart and let me thank Almightly for all His blessings.
Surely all true praises belong to Alimighty, Lord of the worlds. Pin It Now!
Without mentioning here any of the favours of Alimighty Lord (who knows all), let me recollect all the favours in my heart and let me thank Almightly for all His blessings.
Surely all true praises belong to Alimighty, Lord of the worlds. Pin It Now!
Tales from the Land of the Sufis
A Book worth reading:: Tales from the Land of the Sufisby, Mojdeh Bayat, Mohammad Ali Jamnia
ISBN 1-57062-891-2
Mojdeh Bayat and Mohammad Ali Jamnia were born in Tehran and are initiates of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order. They live in Chicago. In this handy paperback, the reader will find stories and poems from Persian Sufi masters. Many of these tales were told to train and educate those on a path of heart. One of the most interesting aspects of Sufi stories is that these tales of love, passion, and self-sacrifice are really referring to our relationship to the Divine Beloved.
It is said that Abu Sa'id memorized 30,000 lines of verse even before he became an initiate of the Sufi path in the tenth century. Bayat and Jamnia have found eight anecdotes of this spiritual master that reveal the subtlety of Sufi mysticism. Here are two:
The Mill : "Abu Sa'id was traveling with his companions when they came across a mill. He stopped his horse and listened to the sound of the mill. Then he asked. 'Do any of you know what the mill is saying?' They all shook their heads. He said, 'It is saying, "Sufism is what I have. I receive the coarse and give it back fine. I travel around myself and in myself so that I dispel what I do not need."
Elegance : "The shaykh's disciples asked him to identify the most elegant man of the city. His choice was Luqman. This surprised them, because Luqman was the town's madman: he had long, uncombed hair, rough clothing, and a harsh appearance. 'Remember that elegant means "cleansed," and cleansed means "not attached or tied to anything," ' said Abu Sa'id. 'There is no one in this city cleaner, and with fewer attachments and ties, than Luqman.' "
Tales from the Land of the Sufis also contains material on Hallaj, the legendary Sufi martyr; Attar, author of The Conference of the Birds, a classic about the stages of spiritual development; Nizami and Jami, whose traditional love stories carry in their undertow intimations of our relationship with God; and Rumi, the greatest of all Sufi mystics. Pin It Now!
'Only Breath'
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,
not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi or Zen.
Not any religion, or cultural system.
I am not from the East or the West,
nor out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal,
not composed of elements at all.
I do not exist, am not an entity in this world
or the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve
or any origin story.
My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.
Neither body nor soul.
I belong to the beloved
have seen the two worlds as one
and that one call to and know,
First, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human.
—Jalaluddin Rumi, 'Only Breath'
http://www.lifepositive.com/Spirit/world-religions/sufism/sufi.asp Pin It Now!
not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi or Zen.
Not any religion, or cultural system.
I am not from the East or the West,
nor out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal,
not composed of elements at all.
I do not exist, am not an entity in this world
or the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve
or any origin story.
My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.
Neither body nor soul.
I belong to the beloved
have seen the two worlds as one
and that one call to and know,
First, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human.
—Jalaluddin Rumi, 'Only Breath'
http://www.lifepositive.com/Spirit/world-religions/sufism/sufi.asp Pin It Now!
Food for thoughts : Few wonderful Hadiths
"I was a hidden treasure, and I desired to be known;
therefore I created the creation in order that I might
be known." [Immanance]
"My earth and My heaven contain Me not, but the heart of
the faithful servant contains Me." [Transcendence]
"Consult your heart and you will hear the secret
ordinance of Allah proclaimed by the heart's inward
knowledge, which is true faith and divinity."
"I am with My servant whenever he remembers Me and his
lips move [remembering]." Pin It Now!
therefore I created the creation in order that I might
be known." [Immanance]
"My earth and My heaven contain Me not, but the heart of
the faithful servant contains Me." [Transcendence]
"Consult your heart and you will hear the secret
ordinance of Allah proclaimed by the heart's inward
knowledge, which is true faith and divinity."
"I am with My servant whenever he remembers Me and his
lips move [remembering]." Pin It Now!
Articles on Sufism
The website of International Association of Sufism contains some useful resources and articles on Sufism. It may also be helpful to learn leading events organized on and about Sufism.
Article Link::
http://ias.org/articles.html Pin It Now!
Article Link::
http://ias.org/articles.html Pin It Now!
Beautiful Sufi Poems
For some beautiful and inspirational sufi poems, visit this link:
http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Traditions/SufiMuslim.htm
Also there are short orientation of the Mystic Poets of Sufi Tradition here. Pin It Now!
http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Traditions/SufiMuslim.htm
Also there are short orientation of the Mystic Poets of Sufi Tradition here. Pin It Now!
Farid ud-Din Attar
One of the finest Sufi Mystic and Poets in the history.
Farid ud-Din Attar was born in Nishapur, Persia (Iran). There is disagreement over the exact dates of his birth and death but several sources confirm that he lived about 100 years. He is traditionally said to have been killed by Mongol invaders. His tomb can be seen today in Nishapur.
The name Attar means herbalist or druggist, which was his profession. It is said that he saw as many as 500 patients a day in his shop, prescribing herbal remedies which he prepared himself, and he wrote his poetry while attending to his patients.
About thirty works by Attar survive, but his masterpiece is the Mantic at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds). In this collection, he describes a group of birds (individual human souls) under the leadership of a hoopoe (spiritual master) who determine to search for the legendary Simurgh bird (God). The birds must confront their own individual limitations and fears while journeying through seven valleys before they ultimately find the Simurgh and complete their quest.
Attar's poetry inspired Rumi and many other Sufi poets. It is said that Rumi actually met Attar when Attar was an old man and Rumi was a boy, though some scholars dispute this possibility.
A traditional story is told about Attar's death. He was taken prisoner by a Mongol during the invasion of Nishapur. Someone soon came and tried to ransom Attar with a thousand pieces of silver. Attar advised the Mongol not to sell him for that price. The Mongol, thinking to gain an even greater sum of money, refused the silver. Later, another person came, this time offering only a sack of straw to free Attar. Attar then told the Mongol to sell him for that was all he was worth. Outraged at being made a fool, the Mongol cut off Attar's head. Pin It Now!
Mysticism :: a poem by Farid ud-Din Attar
The sun can only be seen by the light
of the sun. The more a man or woman knows,
the greater the bewilderment, the closer
to the sun the more dazzled, until a point
is reached where one no longer is.
A mystic knows without knowledge, without
intuition or information, without contemplation
or description or revelation. Mystics
are not themselves. They do not exist
in selves. They move as they are moved,
talk as words come, see with sight
that enters their eyes. I met a woman
once and asked her where love had led her.
"Fool, there's no destination to arrive at.
Loved one and lover and love are infinite." Pin It Now!
of the sun. The more a man or woman knows,
the greater the bewilderment, the closer
to the sun the more dazzled, until a point
is reached where one no longer is.
A mystic knows without knowledge, without
intuition or information, without contemplation
or description or revelation. Mystics
are not themselves. They do not exist
in selves. They move as they are moved,
talk as words come, see with sight
that enters their eyes. I met a woman
once and asked her where love had led her.
"Fool, there's no destination to arrive at.
Loved one and lover and love are infinite." Pin It Now!
Heart's Wisdom by Frithjof Schuon
It was within yourself, what Heaven brought.
What comes from God is in your heart the wine
Of Bliss and Wisdom. It will ne'er be found
By those who do not stand on sacred ground.
The singing of the flute came from Above;
The flute was in my heart; the song was Love.
It was the Ocean's endless melody:
A song of God and of Eternity.
* Frithjof Schuon is German by birth and Swiss by nationality and has lived many years in France. He is a well-respected European mystic and philosopher of the perennialist movement.
Most of his major philosophical works have been written in French and translated into other languages, though he has written some poems directly in English. Source: www.poetry-chaikhana.com/S/SchuonFrithj/index.htm Pin It Now!
What comes from God is in your heart the wine
Of Bliss and Wisdom. It will ne'er be found
By those who do not stand on sacred ground.
The singing of the flute came from Above;
The flute was in my heart; the song was Love.
It was the Ocean's endless melody:
A song of God and of Eternity.
* Frithjof Schuon is German by birth and Swiss by nationality and has lived many years in France. He is a well-respected European mystic and philosopher of the perennialist movement.
Most of his major philosophical works have been written in French and translated into other languages, though he has written some poems directly in English. Source: www.poetry-chaikhana.com/S/SchuonFrithj/index.htm Pin It Now!
Reading now
Few days back I went to the dhaka Ramakrishna Mission. My intention was to buy the Gospel of Swami Ramakirshna (Katha-amrita). I'm lucky that I found that book as well as some other beautiful books such as Selected works of Sri Vivekananda, Swami Ramakrishna, Life of Vivekananda, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Vedantic Philosophy etc.
Right now I'm reading few of those books at the same time. I'm deeply impressed with Vedantic Philosophy. To me it is very rich in spirituality and very helpful in understanding the idea of God as Supreme Soul who is manifested in His creation.
I feel that if some one reads Sufi Literature (say for example philosophy of Sufi Inayat Khan or Rumi) and Vendantic literature like Upanishad, those by Vivekananda, he can easily understand that how the Reality underneath both are same. It is really enlightening. But with caution its worth mentioning that, it is dangerous to discuss with the matter straight to another person. It may be hard for other to appreciate and understand the fact so easily that all religion and philosophy try to reach the same goal.
Like wise to many good muslims it is hard to appreciate hindu philosophy and wisdom. I think it is partly because ot the way Islam and Religion is taught from childhood. The litertures and attitude of Islam has been very rigid which lacks the room to appreciate other religion which depresses me. And it seems that this tendency has gripped most of the space of muslims mind. It was the sufi who held this universality of religions from very long time, but that feelings of harmony is lacking to many with whom i have exchanged my views. Pin It Now!
Right now I'm reading few of those books at the same time. I'm deeply impressed with Vedantic Philosophy. To me it is very rich in spirituality and very helpful in understanding the idea of God as Supreme Soul who is manifested in His creation.
I feel that if some one reads Sufi Literature (say for example philosophy of Sufi Inayat Khan or Rumi) and Vendantic literature like Upanishad, those by Vivekananda, he can easily understand that how the Reality underneath both are same. It is really enlightening. But with caution its worth mentioning that, it is dangerous to discuss with the matter straight to another person. It may be hard for other to appreciate and understand the fact so easily that all religion and philosophy try to reach the same goal.
Like wise to many good muslims it is hard to appreciate hindu philosophy and wisdom. I think it is partly because ot the way Islam and Religion is taught from childhood. The litertures and attitude of Islam has been very rigid which lacks the room to appreciate other religion which depresses me. And it seems that this tendency has gripped most of the space of muslims mind. It was the sufi who held this universality of religions from very long time, but that feelings of harmony is lacking to many with whom i have exchanged my views. Pin It Now!
Bangla Unicode Fonts
Who can't see bangla unicode font in internet explorer, pls go to this link and can download true type fonts from here...Bengali Fonts
Pin It Now!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Bangladeshi Professors Abroad
My friend of mine, Suman (http://www.public.asu.edu/~smurshed/) from Arizona State University has gathered a useful list of Bangladeshi Professors (in Mechanical Engineering Discipline) in his website.
Point your browser to www.public.asu.edu/~smurshed
Click "Higher Study in Abroad"
Click "University Search" under it
Then click "Bangladeshi Professor"
Hope it might help others who dream to pursue degree abroad and want to know which professor to apply. Pin It Now!
Point your browser to www.public.asu.edu/~smurshed
Click "Higher Study in Abroad"
Click "University Search" under it
Then click "Bangladeshi Professor"
Hope it might help others who dream to pursue degree abroad and want to know which professor to apply. Pin It Now!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Where the Heart Fine Peace?
In this world of growing chaos, stress and void in spirituality, I observe that people more and more getting confused about Life. It is the Consciousness of God, the Beloved Almighty we can attain true peace and re-discover that we all have some sort of Life Goal. Here is a nice article on Finding Peace in Heart from the Rememberanc of Alimghty Lord.
Hearts Find Peace in the Remembrance of Lord Almighty
:: HARUN YAHYA
According to research by David B. Larson, of the American National Health Research Center, and his team, comparisons of devout and non-religious Americans have given very surprising results. For instance, religious people suffer 60% less heart disease than those with little or no religious belief, the suicide rate among them is 100% lower, they suffer far lower levels of high blood pressure, and this ratio is 7:1 among smokers. 1
It was reported in one study published in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, an important scientific source in the world of medicine, that people who describe themselves as having no religious beliefs become ill more frequently and have shorter life spans. According to the results of the research, those with no beliefs are twice as likely to suffer stomach-intestine diseases than believers, and their mortality rate from respiratory diseases is 66% times higher than that of believers.
Secular psychologists tend to refer to similar figures as “psychological effects.” This means that belief raises peoples’ spirits, and this contributes to health. This explanation may indeed be reasonable, but a more striking conclusion emerges when the subject is examined. Belief in Allah is much stronger than any other psychological influence. The wide-ranging research into the connection between religious belief and physical health carried out by Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical Faculty has produced surprising conclusions in this area. Despite not being a believer himself, Dr. Benson has concluded that worship and belief in Allah have a more positive effect on human health than that observed in anything else. Benson states that he has concluded that no belief provides as much mental peace as belief in Allah. 2
What is the reason for this connection between belief and the human soul and body? The conclusion reached by the secular researcher Benson is, in his own words, that the human body and mind are regulated to believe in Allah. 3
This fact, which the world of medicine has slowly begun to appreciate, is a secret revealed in the Qur’an in these words: “… Only in the remembrance of Allah can the heart find peace.” (Qur’an, 13:28) The reason why those who believe in Allah, who pray to and trust in Him, are psychologically and physically healthier is that they behave in accordance with the purpose of their creation. Philosophies and systems which contradict human creation always lead to pain and unhappiness.
Modern medicine is now tending towards the realization of this truth. As Patrick Glynn put it: “[S]cientific research in psychology over the past twenty-five years has demonstrated that,… religious belief is one of the most consistent correlates of overall mental health and happiness.” 4
Ref::
1- Patrick Glynn, God: The Evidence, The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (California: Prima Publishing: 1997), 80-81.
2- Herbert Benson, and Mark Stark, Timeless Healing (New York: Simon & Schuster: 1996), 203.
3- Ibid., 193.
4- Glynn, God: The Evidence, The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World, 60-61.
from www.harunyahya.com
Thanking the Blog Visitors and Commentors
My Beloved guests who cared to come to my blog and put their valuable comments, I appreciate all of their time. Here are their identity and their blogs as well::
My most constructive criticizer and blogging friend, Hijabi Princess >> http://hijabiprincess.blogspot.com
Shappir (http://www.blogger.com/profile/4353817) >> http://shappir.blogspot.com/
Mark Walter (http://www.blogger.com/profile/7550410) >> http://gribridges.blogspot.com/
Rizwan (http://www.blogger.com/profile/1379641) >> http://rezwanul.blogspot.com
Maryam (http://www.blogger.com/profile/4742536) >> http://maryam-blog.blogspot.com, http://al-hamra.blogspot.com
Striver (http://www.blogger.com/profile/5572543) >> http://xstriverx.blogspot.com/
Nazzina (http://www.blogger.com/profile/4476598) >> http://framedland.com/photoblog
Nasaht (http://www.blogger.com/profile/2116130) >> www.naseeb.com
Maqsoodul Haque (Mac) (http://www.blogger.com/profile/4985762) >> http://tpoi.blogspot.com
Cameo (http://www.blogger.com/profile/7060572) >> http://sinocameo.blogspot.com
Rysolag (http://www.blogger.com/profile/4093191) >> www.blogladder.com
Pin It Now!
The soul is all light; darkness is caused by the deadness of the heart; pain makes it alive.
:: Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan Pin It Now!
:: Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan Pin It Now!
Love lies in service; only that which is done not for fame or name, not for the appreciation or thanks of those for whom it is done, is love's service.
:: Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan Pin It Now!
I melt as sugar in water in boundless ocean of mystical devotion
Lo, I am with you always, means when you look for God,
God is in the look of your eyes,
In the thought of looking nearer to you than yourself,
Or things that have happened to you.
There's no need to go outside.
Be melting snow.
Wash yourself of yourself.
A white flower grows in the quietness.
Let your tongue become that flower. - Rumi Pin It Now!
Every experience on the physical, astral or mental plane is just a dream before the soul.
:: Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The soul in itself alone is not other than consciousness, which is all pervading. But when the same consciousness is caught in a limitation through being surrounded by elements, in that state of captivity, it is called soul...
Every experience on the physical or astral plane is just a dream before the soul. It is ignorance when it takes this experience to be real. It does so because it cannot see itself. As the eye sees all things, but not itself. Therefore, the soul identifies itself with all things that it sees, and changes its own identity with the change of its constantly changing vision.
The soul has no birth, no death, no beginning, and no end. Sin cannot touch it, nor can virtue exalt it. Wisdom cannot open it up, nor can ignorance darken it. It has been always and always it will be. This is the very being of man, and all else is its cover, like a globe on the light. The soul's unfoldment comes from its own power, which ends in its breaking through the ties of the lower planes. It is free by nature, and looks for freedom during its captivity. All the holy beings of the world have become so by freeing the soul, its freedom being the only object there is in life.
... from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_45.htm Pin It Now!
:: Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
The soul in itself alone is not other than consciousness, which is all pervading. But when the same consciousness is caught in a limitation through being surrounded by elements, in that state of captivity, it is called soul...
Every experience on the physical or astral plane is just a dream before the soul. It is ignorance when it takes this experience to be real. It does so because it cannot see itself. As the eye sees all things, but not itself. Therefore, the soul identifies itself with all things that it sees, and changes its own identity with the change of its constantly changing vision.
The soul has no birth, no death, no beginning, and no end. Sin cannot touch it, nor can virtue exalt it. Wisdom cannot open it up, nor can ignorance darken it. It has been always and always it will be. This is the very being of man, and all else is its cover, like a globe on the light. The soul's unfoldment comes from its own power, which ends in its breaking through the ties of the lower planes. It is free by nature, and looks for freedom during its captivity. All the holy beings of the world have become so by freeing the soul, its freedom being the only object there is in life.
... from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_45.htm Pin It Now!
- You know what drives me crazy?
- What?
- Its always people says How great technology is, how it saves all those times? But what good is saved time if nobody uses it? It just turns us into more busier in a way. You will never hear a person says, well the time I save by using the word processor, I'm gonna go to a gen monastry and hang in.
.. From the Movie, 'Before Sunrise'
In this movie, i really loved the two main character { Ethan Hawke (as Jesse) and Julie Delpy (as Celine)} I really liked Julie Delpy.. a very charming actress...
The plot is really nice. Two person meet in a train in Vienna going on their separate ways. The boy ask the girl to spend the night in Vienna walking around since he doesn't have enough money to buy hotel. The girl agreed and the whole cinema is about their chatting on life, themselves and their togetherness in Vienna. When they depart, they promise each other to meet @ the Vienna station exacly 6 month later. There the movie ends for 'Before Sunrise'.
But the story of the movie doesn't end here. It continues in the second one, 'Before Sunset'. Pin It Now!
- What?
- Its always people says How great technology is, how it saves all those times? But what good is saved time if nobody uses it? It just turns us into more busier in a way. You will never hear a person says, well the time I save by using the word processor, I'm gonna go to a gen monastry and hang in.
.. From the Movie, 'Before Sunrise'
In this movie, i really loved the two main character { Ethan Hawke (as Jesse) and Julie Delpy (as Celine)} I really liked Julie Delpy.. a very charming actress...
The plot is really nice. Two person meet in a train in Vienna going on their separate ways. The boy ask the girl to spend the night in Vienna walking around since he doesn't have enough money to buy hotel. The girl agreed and the whole cinema is about their chatting on life, themselves and their togetherness in Vienna. When they depart, they promise each other to meet @ the Vienna station exacly 6 month later. There the movie ends for 'Before Sunrise'.
But the story of the movie doesn't end here. It continues in the second one, 'Before Sunset'. Pin It Now!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Theosophy
A TEXTBOOK OF THEOSOPHY
by C. W. LEADBEATER, (1912),
http://www.sacred-texts.com/the/tot/index.htm Pin It Now!
by C. W. LEADBEATER, (1912),
http://www.sacred-texts.com/the/tot/index.htm Pin It Now!
The love of God is a duty
God says concerning the believers, "He loves them and they love Him," and the Prophet said, "Till a man loves God and His Prophet more than anything else he has not the right faith."
When the angel of death came to take the soul of Abraham the latter said, "Have you ever seen a friend take his friend's life?" God answered him, "Have you ever seen a friend unwilling to see his friend?" Then Abraham said, "O Azrael! take my soul!"
The following prayer was taught by the Prophet to his companions, "O God, grant me to love Thee and to love those who love Thee, and whatsoever brings me nearer to Thy love, and make Thy love more precious to me than cold water to the thirsty."
Hassan Basri used to say, "He who knows God loves Him, and he who knows the world hates it."
from Alchemy of Happiness, by Imam Al-Gazzali. Pin It Now!
When the angel of death came to take the soul of Abraham the latter said, "Have you ever seen a friend take his friend's life?" God answered him, "Have you ever seen a friend unwilling to see his friend?" Then Abraham said, "O Azrael! take my soul!"
The following prayer was taught by the Prophet to his companions, "O God, grant me to love Thee and to love those who love Thee, and whatsoever brings me nearer to Thy love, and make Thy love more precious to me than cold water to the thirsty."
Hassan Basri used to say, "He who knows God loves Him, and he who knows the world hates it."
from Alchemy of Happiness, by Imam Al-Gazzali. Pin It Now!
Divine Sayings:: 101 Hadith Qudsi
Recorded by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi
in his Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche of Lights)
Apart from the Quran, the most treasured sayings in the Islamic tradition are those of Muhammad himself, which form the Hadith, and none more so than the sayings of God transmitted by Muhammad, known as hadith qudsi ("sacred sayings").
Ibn 'Arabi�s Divine Sayings is one of the most important and influential early collections of hadith qudsi. It comprises 101 sayings, drawn from the oral tradition as well as written collections.
These Divine Sayings are universal in nature, expounding the divine root of all goodness and beauty, and can be appreciated by people from any background. Recurring themes include our utter dependence upon God, and His readiness to forgive and embrace those who truly turn to Him. This book is a most wonderful gift.
Divine Sayings is a critical edition and translation of the full Arabic text, with notes, compiled from the best early manuscripts.
About the translators::
Stephen Hirtenstein is a co-founder of Anqa Publishing, which published his biography of Ibn �Arabi: The Unlimited Mercifier. His numerous other publications include The Seven Days of the Heart, a translation with Pablo Beneito of Ibn �Arabi�s Awrad (prayers for the nights and days of the week). Stephen is editor of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn �Arabi Society.
Martin Notcutt came to the UK from South Africa in the 1970s. He was a student at the Beshara School in Scotland, where he was introduced to the works of Ibn �Arabi, and has been a member of the Muhyiddin Ibn �Arabi Society since it was founded in 1977.
Book details::
218 pages, 234 x 156 mm
ISBN: 0 9534513 5 6
Published October 2004 Pin It Now!
Time has always been a mystery for mandkind even in modern science. When I read this Hadith Qudsi, this just blows out my mind:: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (Radhi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu), who said that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) said:
Allah said: {{ Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time, in My hand is the night and the day.}}
{ It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim). }. The powerful and hidden message in it is really huge and mystical. It shows the limitations of our idea about the personalized God that we often create in our mind, a God who sits in the Heaven (as in Juadaio-Christian (and often Islamic, less understood)coventional concept). Pin It Now!
Allah said: {{ Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time, in My hand is the night and the day.}}
{ It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim). }. The powerful and hidden message in it is really huge and mystical. It shows the limitations of our idea about the personalized God that we often create in our mind, a God who sits in the Heaven (as in Juadaio-Christian (and often Islamic, less understood)coventional concept). Pin It Now!
Understanding of Tasawwuf
On the meaing and understanding of Tasawwuf... these sources give a lot of info for begineers like me ....
http://www.islamicacademy.org/.../Tasawwuf.htm,
www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/faridi.htm,
www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/tasawwuf.htm,
http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/....39.aspx Pin It Now!
http://www.islamicacademy.org/.../Tasawwuf.htm,
www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/faridi.htm,
www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/tasawwuf.htm,
http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/....39.aspx Pin It Now!
Another very wonderful link on Sufism with reference from Quran and Hadith... www.webcom.com/~gnosis/sufi.mystica.html
Pin It Now!
An introduction to Sufism by Zakir Hussain. Follow this link for enlightenment,
http://muslim-canada.org/sufi/... Pin It Now!
http://muslim-canada.org/sufi/... Pin It Now!
On Books, requested by Rizwan
One of the blog visitor, friend Rizwan (www.blogger.com/profile/1379641) wanted to know something about books.
Here are the answers,
-No. of books that you own?
I don't know the exact number. An approximation may be around, 1200 +/-.
-Last book you bought?
Upanishad (in bangla, complete)
-Five books that mean a lot to you?
Really hard to tell:: Quran, Sophie's World, The Da Vinci Code, Ignited Mind (i'm sure i missed something very important, if i remember i will comeback and add, excuse me for my bad memory)
-Last book(s) you've read?
'A Sufi Master Answers' by Dr. Elisabeth Keesing (still reading, 18 June, 05)
Rizwan's blog is: http://rezwanul.blogspot.com Pin It Now!
Here are the answers,
-No. of books that you own?
I don't know the exact number. An approximation may be around, 1200 +/-.
-Last book you bought?
Upanishad (in bangla, complete)
-Five books that mean a lot to you?
Really hard to tell:: Quran, Sophie's World, The Da Vinci Code, Ignited Mind (i'm sure i missed something very important, if i remember i will comeback and add, excuse me for my bad memory)
-Last book(s) you've read?
'A Sufi Master Answers' by Dr. Elisabeth Keesing (still reading, 18 June, 05)
Rizwan's blog is: http://rezwanul.blogspot.com Pin It Now!
A book to be read later. But wondering where can i get it? I found it in the favorite book list in a number of people's list who are interested in spirituality. Pin It Now!
The beauty in Taoism
Check this beautiful and inspiring website.... http://www.alchemylab.com/golden_flower.htm
.... It will help you realize that how Taoism teaches the consciousness of One, True God in another beautiful way. Surely God is beyond any definition and from the reading of Taoism, one can see how beautiful is their effort to make people realize God.
As Sufi Inayat Khan says, "It is impossible to define God in words. It is like trying to put the ocean in a bottle." also he says, "The limitless God can not be made intelligible to the limited self unless he is first made limited." .. in the same note, Heavenly consciousness of the heart says, "That which exists through itself is called Meaning. (Tao). Meaning has neither name nor force. It is the one essence, the one primordial spirit. Essence and life cannot be seen. It is contained in the Light of Heaven. The light of Heaven cannot be seen" Pin It Now!
All religion of the world has the underlying Unity and Truth in the core. From outward appearance they all look very different, but essentially they are same. It has to be the same. From outward behavior and dress we think they are so different. With a broad understanding and spiritual insight if we look at all the teachings of all world religion, be it God based or Without God, they speak the same Truth, the same Reality. I was reading from this link www.alchemylab.com/golden_flower.htm,
and found the inspiration again.
The same Reality is everywhere, even in Taoist teaching. Whenever I rediscover this unity of religion and philosophy, it gives me immense joy and peace. Hope the same is attained to whoever read this and surely God is Peace and from Him comes peace. Pin It Now!
and found the inspiration again.
The same Reality is everywhere, even in Taoist teaching. Whenever I rediscover this unity of religion and philosophy, it gives me immense joy and peace. Hope the same is attained to whoever read this and surely God is Peace and from Him comes peace. Pin It Now!
Beauty and Love - Body and Soul
Beauty and Love are as body and soul;
Beauty is the mine and Love is the precious stone.
They have always been together from the very first;
never have they traveled but in each other's company.
~ Jami, The Mystics of Islam, R. A. Nicholson Pin It Now!
Fear of Lord …? Shouldn’t it be an attitude of Awe?
The Creator Lord, who is the sustainer for His whole creation, who is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and who loves His creation 70 times more than any mother loves her child .. should that Lord be feared?
Personally I feel that God should be loved, rather than feared.
As for God Himself, Mercy is preferred over Wrath; so Love should be preferred over Fear.
It is true that there needs a place for fear, but love has much power to make us near to our Beloved Lord than fear. Instead of fear, it should be reverence, respect, devotion and attitude of awe. Truly, it is the marvel of the Creator, His Greatness deserves this attitude of awe, instead of fear.
In that same note, Wahiduddin also explained from the verses in Bible and Quran, that the translation used from Hebrew and Arabic can also be interpreted differently. This link http://www.wahiduddin.net/words/fear.htm, offers a wonderful explanation in this matter.
Pin It Now!The secret in "La' hawla wa la' quwwata illa' billah"
Many of the verses of Quran and sayings of Prophet we take for granted too simply without pondering deeply over it. Most of the cases, there are a lot of information hidden in them. The phrase, "la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah" is one such.
The magnificent phrase la' hawla wa la' quwwata illa' billah is mentioned numerous times in the hadith (sayings of Muhammad) as being highly regarded and highly recommended by the Prophet Muhammad.
It is not uncommon to find the phrase la' hawla wa la quwwata illa billah translated simply as there is no power or strength except through Alla'h. However that translation fails to capture the grandeur and deeper significance of this magnificent phrase.
Translating the word hawla simply as power is an over-simplification. The Arabic root h-w-l depicts all manner of change and transformation. The root h-w-l has led to a wide variety of words, but they all share this common thread of change and transformation. Certainly it is true that transformation and change require power, but power alone is not an adequate translation.... change and transformation are the keys to this magnificent phrase.
The phrase may be translated word-by-word as:
la = no, not, none, neither
hawla = change, alteration, transformation, movement, motion
wa = and
la = no, not, none, neither
quwwata = strength, power, potency, force, might, vigor
illa = but, except, if not
bi = with, to, for, in, through, by means of
llah = allah
Such change and transformation can only occur through the tahwil (transformation) of Alla'h. That is to say, true change and transformation can arise only through the awesome and glorious powers of Alla'h.
Here are some literal translations of the phrase la' hawla wa la' quwwata illa' billah that incorporate the idea of change and transformation:
There is neither change nor power except by means of Allah.
There is no transformation or strength except through Allah.
There is neither progress nor might except through Allah.
If we just remember the zikr of mystics, "Nothing exist but Allah" may be we can understand the deeper meaning of the phrase. Do you see the mysteries unfolding? .... inspired from the website: http://www.wahiduddin.net/words/tahwil.htm Pin It Now!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Revelation order
Shapps from http://shappir.blog.com, have this choronology of the Quranic Revelation... here is the exact link.. it gives the exact order by which Quran was revealed... http://shapps.8k.com/quran_chrono.htm
Pin It Now!
Friday, June 17, 2005
Om Asato maa sad-gamaya;
tamaso maa jyotir-ga-maya;
mrtyor-maa amrutam gamaya.
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih.
O Lord Lead me from the unreal to the real.
Lead me from the darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.
May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace.
- a Sanskrit invocation from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishads (1.3.28). Pin It Now!
tamaso maa jyotir-ga-maya;
mrtyor-maa amrutam gamaya.
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih.
O Lord Lead me from the unreal to the real.
Lead me from the darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.
May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace.
- a Sanskrit invocation from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishads (1.3.28). Pin It Now!
Sayings of Swami Vivekananda
Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.
You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.
When we really begin to live in the world, then we understand what is meant by brotherhood or mankind, and not before.
External nature is only internal nature writ large.
The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.
Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.
The will is not free - it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect - but there is something behind the will which is free.
The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.
There is nothing beyond God, and the sense enjoyments are simply something through which we are passing now in the hope of getting better things.
The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him -- that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.
That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
The goal of mankind is knowledge. . . . Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man "knows," should, in strict psychological language, be what he "discovers" or "unveils"; what man "learns" is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.
If money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.
All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.
To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion.
The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!
The spirit is the cause of all our thoughts and body-action, and everything, but it is untouched by good or evil, pleasure or pain, heat of cold, and all the dualism of nature, although it lends its light to everything.
It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thought make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light. First, believe in this world -- that there is meaning behind everything. Everything in the world is good, is holy and beautiful. If you see something evil, think that you are not understanding it in the right light. throw the burden on yourselves!
In one word, this ideal is that you are divine.
All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.
If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.
Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being.
The Vedanta teaches that Nirvana can be attained here and now, that we do not have to wait for death to reach it. Nirvana is the realization of the Self; and after having once known that, if only for an instant, never again can one be deluded by the mirage of personality.
The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.
Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin to say that you are weak, or others are weak.
Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true. Pin It Now!
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna ::
A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything.
It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.
Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God.
If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you
As a wet-nurse in a wealthy family brings up her master�s child, loving it as if it were her own, yet knowing well that she has no claim upon it, so you also think that you are but trustee and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord himself.
If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God.
Because of the screen of Maya (illusion) that shuts off God from human view, one cannot see Him playing in one�s heart.
Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached.
Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth.
One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.
If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled.
Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand alone.
After installing the Deity on the lotus of your heart, you must keep the lamp of remembering God ever burning. While engaged in the affairs of the world, you should constantly turn your gaze inwards and see whether the lamp is burning or not.
To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.
As long as you are a person with an ego of your own, cannot conceive, think of or perceive God other than as a person.
God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.
When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low.
Good and evil cannot bind him who has realized the oneness of Nature and his own self with Brahman. Pin It Now!
:: What Vedanta is ::
Vedanta is a philosophy taught by the Vedas, the most ancient scriptures of India. Its basic teaching is that our real nature is divine. God, or Brahman as it is called, exists in every living being.
Religion is therefore a search for self-knowledge, a search for the divine within ourselves. We should not think of ourselves as needing to be "saved." We are never lost. At worst, we are living in ignorance of our true nature.
Vedanta acknowledges that there are many different approaches to God, and all are valid. Any kind of spiritual practice will lead to the same state of self-realization. Thus Vedanta teaches respect for all religions.
The Main Ideas of Vedanta
Following are some of the main tenets of Vedanta:
God is one without a second, absolute and indivisible. Though impersonal, beyond name and form, God assumes various personal forms to reveal itself to us. God is our soul. We are primarily consciousness, part of the cosmic consciousness.
All of the incarnations (manifestations of God on Earth) are actual embodiments of Divinity. No one incarnation can be regarded as the only manifestation of that Divinity.
There is no accident in the cosmic universe. Human destiny is governed by the law of cause and effect.
We are born on earth repeatedly to finish the unfinished work of realizing our divinity. Although we suffer because of actions, we can control ourselves and hence our destiny.
There is a higher state of consciousness which can be achieved in this human birth.
There are many ways to achieve union with God, through the intellect, emotions, actions, and the will. A specific path or a combination should be followed to realize the aim and objectives of life.
:: Source: http://prosperityplace.com/vedanta.html Pin It Now!
A wonderful link of Hindu Scirptures and some very good book on Hindu Philosophy:: http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Hindu_Scriptures.htm Pin It Now!
Brahman: The All- Pervading Reality
In the entire history of human knowledge there has been no concept greater or deeper than the concept of Brahman evolved by ancient India. There is a unity underlying the entire creation. All parts are related to and interdependent on one another. Brahman is the ultimate and all-pervading reality: the inner essence of all things. Einstein worked for decades on the Unified Theory, an aspect of Brahman.
Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)A great biologist and the first Indian scientist to have been knighted by the British king for his contributions in Botany. He said at the opening of the Institute which bears his name, observed:
"I dedicate today this institute as not merely a laboratory but a temple...In time the leading scientific societies of the world accepted my theories and results, and recognized the importance of the Indian contribution to science. Can anything small or circumscribed ever satisfy the mind of India? By a continuous living tradition and a vital power of rejuvenescence, this land has readjusted itself through unnumbered transformations. Indians have always arisen who, discarding the immediate and absorbing prize of the honor, have sought for the realization of the highest ideals in life - not through passive renunciation but through active struggle."
Ralph Waldo Emerson was fascinate by the concept of Brahman:
"All science is transcedental or else passes away. Botany is now acquiring the right theory - the avatars of Brahman will presently be the text-books of natural history."
The basic oneness of the universe which was a part of the mystical experience of the Indian sages is one of the most important revelations of modern physics. Eminent scientists like John Wheeler point out that in modern science the distinction between observer and observed breaks down completely and instead of the "observer" we have to "put in its place the new word "participator". In some strange sense the universe is a participatory universe."
The Upanishads had taught the same lesson of the subject and the object fusing into a unified un-differentiated whole:
"Where there is duality, as it were, there one sees another; there one smells another; there one taste another...But where everything has become just one's own self, then whereby and whom would one see? then whereby and whom would one smell? then whereby and whom would one taste ?"
The intuition of Indian mystics led them to understand the multidimensional reality and of space-time continuum which is the basis of the modern theory of relativity.
Vedanta taught the technique of self-development. The ultimate destiny of man is to discover within himself the true Self as the changless behind the changing, the eternal behind the ephemeral, and the infinite behind the finite. Greater wisdom was never compressed into three words than by the Chandogya Upanishad which proclaimed the true Self of man as part of the Infinite Spirit - tat twam asi: "That Thou Art". Pin It Now!
Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)A great biologist and the first Indian scientist to have been knighted by the British king for his contributions in Botany. He said at the opening of the Institute which bears his name, observed:
"I dedicate today this institute as not merely a laboratory but a temple...In time the leading scientific societies of the world accepted my theories and results, and recognized the importance of the Indian contribution to science. Can anything small or circumscribed ever satisfy the mind of India? By a continuous living tradition and a vital power of rejuvenescence, this land has readjusted itself through unnumbered transformations. Indians have always arisen who, discarding the immediate and absorbing prize of the honor, have sought for the realization of the highest ideals in life - not through passive renunciation but through active struggle."
Ralph Waldo Emerson was fascinate by the concept of Brahman:
"All science is transcedental or else passes away. Botany is now acquiring the right theory - the avatars of Brahman will presently be the text-books of natural history."
The basic oneness of the universe which was a part of the mystical experience of the Indian sages is one of the most important revelations of modern physics. Eminent scientists like John Wheeler point out that in modern science the distinction between observer and observed breaks down completely and instead of the "observer" we have to "put in its place the new word "participator". In some strange sense the universe is a participatory universe."
The Upanishads had taught the same lesson of the subject and the object fusing into a unified un-differentiated whole:
"Where there is duality, as it were, there one sees another; there one smells another; there one taste another...But where everything has become just one's own self, then whereby and whom would one see? then whereby and whom would one smell? then whereby and whom would one taste ?"
The intuition of Indian mystics led them to understand the multidimensional reality and of space-time continuum which is the basis of the modern theory of relativity.
Vedanta taught the technique of self-development. The ultimate destiny of man is to discover within himself the true Self as the changless behind the changing, the eternal behind the ephemeral, and the infinite behind the finite. Greater wisdom was never compressed into three words than by the Chandogya Upanishad which proclaimed the true Self of man as part of the Infinite Spirit - tat twam asi: "That Thou Art". Pin It Now!
The Vedas are the quintessence of classical Hindu philosophy. Thinking with your heart; loving with your mind. All yoga and meditation aim to attain this goal. Anything else is delusion, or worse. And when the heart sees, it sees the unknowable, nameless, formless, limitless, supreme God. He is called the nonexistent because he is eternal, beyond existence. God manifest is the fabric of creation itself. They are one. The heart that learns to think realizes this truth and merges into the eternal oneness. As William Blake put it, � If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is, infinite.�
This merging with the Eternal, this inner transformation, this direct experience of Truth � these are the goals of which the Vedic sages speak. They explain the nature of the universe, of life, while admitting that Creation itself is the one unknowable mystery. To the Vedic sages, creation indicated that point before which there was no Creator, the line between indefinable nothingness and something delineated by attributes and function, at least. Like the moment before the Big Bang Theory. These concepts preoccupy high wisdom, the Truth far removed from mere religion. Recent research and scholarship make it increasingly possible to believe that the Vedic era was the lost civilization whose legacy the Egyptians and the Indians inherited. There must have been one. There are too many similarities between hieroglyphic texts and Vedic ones, these in turn echoed in a somewhat diluted form and a confused fashion by the authors of Babylonian texts and the Old Testament.
(source: Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys into India - By Paul Williams Robert - p. 312). Pin It Now!
This merging with the Eternal, this inner transformation, this direct experience of Truth � these are the goals of which the Vedic sages speak. They explain the nature of the universe, of life, while admitting that Creation itself is the one unknowable mystery. To the Vedic sages, creation indicated that point before which there was no Creator, the line between indefinable nothingness and something delineated by attributes and function, at least. Like the moment before the Big Bang Theory. These concepts preoccupy high wisdom, the Truth far removed from mere religion. Recent research and scholarship make it increasingly possible to believe that the Vedic era was the lost civilization whose legacy the Egyptians and the Indians inherited. There must have been one. There are too many similarities between hieroglyphic texts and Vedic ones, these in turn echoed in a somewhat diluted form and a confused fashion by the authors of Babylonian texts and the Old Testament.
(source: Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys into India - By Paul Williams Robert - p. 312). Pin It Now!
THE KNOWLEDGE:: from Lord Krishna:: -- "Blessed are the pure in heart, for to them is given the knowledge of God� Blessed is human birth; even the dwellers in heaven desire this birth; for true knowledge and pure love may be attained only by a human being."
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"Seek not for life on earth or in heaven. Thirst for life is delusion. Knowing life to be transitory, wake up from this dream of ignorance and strive to attain knowledge and freedom before death claims you." - Lord Krishna Pin It Now!
Guide Picks - Top 6 Qur'an Commentary & Companion Texts:: from About.com
Quran Commentary Pin It Now!
Quran Commentary Pin It Now!
The Bhagavad Gita is universally regarded as the single most influential philosophical text shaping spiritual thought and life. Spoken by Lord Krishna to his devotee Arjuna, the Gita's seven hundred verses provide an ultimate guide to self-realization. It reveals the essential nature of man, his environment and his relationship with the Almighty, like no other work. The teaching of the Bhagavad Gita is said to free you from all sense of limitation.
Of all editions of this immortal classic, this one by Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON, conveys Lord Krishna's profound message as it is - with the original Sanskrit text, Roman transliteration, English equivalents, translation and elaborate purports. A good introduction and a glossary make it even more handy! Pin It Now!
Lord Krishna Speaks, On Knowledge:
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa082402a.htm
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http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa082402a.htm
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Thursday, June 16, 2005
ফিরে আসবে কি কখনো?
পৌষের কাছাকাছি, রোদ মাখা সেই দিন
ফিরে আর আসবে কি কখনো?
ফিরে আসবে কি কখনো?
খুসি আর লজ্জার মাঝামাঝি সেই হাসি
তুমি আর হাসবে কি কখনো?
দেখা আর না দেখার কাছাকাছি কোনো রঙ
চোখে আর ভাসবে কি কখনো?
বোঝা আর না বোঝার কাছাকাছি কোনো গান
ভালো আর বাসবে কি কখনো?
... আমার অসম্ভব প্রিয় গানগুলোর ভিতরে একটি৷ যখনই এই গানটি শুনি মনে হয়, আহ্ কি দারুন একটা গান? অসাধারন লিরিক যা চিরন্তন নস্টালজিক একটা আমেজ নিয়ে হাজির হয়, যতবারই আমি গানটি শুনি না কেন৷ গানটির আবেদন যেন কখনোই শেষ হবার নয়৷
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ফিরে আর আসবে কি কখনো?
ফিরে আসবে কি কখনো?
খুসি আর লজ্জার মাঝামাঝি সেই হাসি
তুমি আর হাসবে কি কখনো?
দেখা আর না দেখার কাছাকাছি কোনো রঙ
চোখে আর ভাসবে কি কখনো?
বোঝা আর না বোঝার কাছাকাছি কোনো গান
ভালো আর বাসবে কি কখনো?
... আমার অসম্ভব প্রিয় গানগুলোর ভিতরে একটি৷ যখনই এই গানটি শুনি মনে হয়, আহ্ কি দারুন একটা গান? অসাধারন লিরিক যা চিরন্তন নস্টালজিক একটা আমেজ নিয়ে হাজির হয়, যতবারই আমি গানটি শুনি না কেন৷ গানটির আবেদন যেন কখনোই শেষ হবার নয়৷
Pin It Now!
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