Recommended Reading: Misquoting Jesus

My enlightened friend, Tiel suggested this fascinating book: Misquoting Jesus (a New York Times best seller) for all of us. May this book guide us to discover Jesus (peace be upon him), in his true teachings. Amen.

About the Book:

When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators.

In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible.

Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible.

Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible.

Credit: http://www.harpercollins.com/

From Barnes & Noble i also got a good reader's review (some excerpt):

This book is a huge benefit to the lay reader who is not inclined to go through other more scholarly works to find the same message. It is organized and informative. I would highly recommend it to other religious individuals who are curious about things as well as firmly grounded in their faith so as not be shaken up by some translation errors from the past, serious errors which still haunt our Bibles of today. You know you have a great book in your hands when you find at the end of the book you have many pages of underlined and highlighted references which you plan to return to in the future for further review and exploration. This is such a book. Enjoy reading it as I did.

The reviewer also recommends: Beyond Belief, Elaine Pagels, The Dark Side of Christian History, Helin Ellerbe, Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired, Benson Bobrick, The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible, Robin Lane Fox

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Thought on total amount of happiness and sufferings

This is a very old thought of mine. It just appeared once again tonight. i could be totally wrong in this issue. thats why i would like to get input from you as well.

I just had a feeling that the amount of happiness and the amount of sufferings in each person's life in the whole world is exactly the same ... just as in the laws of Physics the amount of energy in the universe is always the same or constant...

sometime one person is given very intense suffering for a short time, and another person is given long term suffering with less intensity. And the thought reappeared when i see how some people are so master of making themselves sufferer. They suffer in longer time, but their cause of suffering is for so little, unimportant things. You will see them go on suffering from chronic worries etc. over such mundane things.

Yet again u will find people who has immense suffering at one point of time, for short duration. and they live a very happy life, worries don't touch them much.

So from these observations, it just came to me; that perhaps (and only perhaps*) the amount of sufferings and happiness in each of our lives are same. They are just spread over different period of time with different intensity.

* God knows the best. He loves to keep many mysteries of the universe to Him only. Pin It Now!

Love and lover

Chile shower
Originally uploaded by Skip Hansen.

Love and lover have no rigid doctrine.
Whichever direction the lover takes,
he turns toward his Beloved.

Wherever he may be, he is with his Beloved.
Wherever he goes, he is with his Beloved.

He cannot do anything,
cannot survive for even a moment,
without his Beloved.

As his Beloved remembers him.
Lover and beloved,
rememberer and remembered,
are ever in each other's company,
always together.


- Sheikh Muzaffer


Appreciation to: Shelby
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Affection between faithfuls hearts

Beautiful Artwork on the mosque roof
Originally uploaded by manitoon.

"And He has put affection between the believers hearts; Not if you had spent all that is in the earth could you have produced that affection, but Allah has done it, for He is Exalted in might, and wise." (The Qur'an 8:63)

Also from the book, The Kashful Mahjub "Unveiling the Veiled", translation by Maulana Wahid, Bakhsh Rabbani;

The Holy Prophet (sws) has said, 'There are such servants of Allah who are envied even by the prophets and martrys'.

When the companions asked who they were so that they might love them, he replied that, "They love one another purely for God's sake and without any consideration for material gains ... they will be without fear and grief.'

Then he recited the verse,
"Beware the Friends of Allah are such that they need not fear nor grieve."
(The Qur'an 10:63)


:: With thanks to my friend Shelby Briggs, for sharing. I ask for God's blessings, ever. Pin It Now!

Gospel of Judas : Jesus Actually

Prophet Muhammad was sent to mankind as a Messenger of God about 600 years after Jesus Christ's rise to Heaven. And one of the prime missions of Prophet's coming was to make clear of the 'wrong concepts, inventions, fabrication and cutomizing' the teachings of Jesus. And in Quran, the Last Testament to Mankind, God makes clear of Jesus of such false teachings wrongly attributed to him. Most of which were by Paul's teaching not of Jesus himself (thats why in today's world the christianity we see is often referred as Pauline Christianity). Jesus never wanted to establish a new religion. His mission was to purify Judaism and speak against the monopoly with religion by the priests. The very word 'Christians' was derived may years after Jesus rose to heaven.

It was the politics and monopoly of the early church that played with the teachings of Jesus, by destroying or totally hiding very important Gospels about Jesus. Gospel of Mary Magdalene was one such. Mary Magdalene was one of the most closest and dearest companion of Jesus, history has it recorded. Yet so unfortunate that her Gospel was not accpted. Why? Because it reveals Jesus in his most true nature, which goes against the depiction of the church and how they wanted it to be potrayed.

Recently the Gospel of Judas is discovered and published. It has created a great motion in the west. New York Times has published this thought provoking article on the Gospel of Judas. Take a look and may you discover Jesus, Actually. But the search shouldn't stop there, cause still the church puts its influence to downplay all these Gospels which gives true account of Jesus than the 4 Canonical Gospels which were written much later. So from historical point of view Gospel of Mary Magdalene and Judas should be more authentic, contemporary of Jesus and from someone who was direct companion of Jesus.

:: Also excerpts from the Gospel can be found here. The entire englist text of the Gospel (recovered partly) can be found there.

:: National Geographic also has this feature. Also check Wikipedia's entry on Gospel of Judas.

:: If you are wondering who was Mary Magadalene, visit this site.

May God bless the pure of soul of Jesus Christ. May his true teachings and his true nature be realized by the whole world. Amen.

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First be empty ...

A person came to the Prophet Mohammed and said,“I don’t want this religion. By God, take it back. Ever since I entered your religion I’ve had no peace for a single day. My wealth is gone, my spouse has left, my child cannot be found, my respect is destroyed, my strength is sapped, even my lust has disappeared.”

Mohammed answered, “What did you expect? Wherever our religion goes it does not return without uprooting that person and sweeping clean their house.”

“None but the purified shall touch God.”

So long as there remains in you a single trace of self-love, God will not show His face to you. You will not be worthy of His presence. You must become wholly indifferent to yourself and the world, so that Friend can show His face. So, whenever our religion lodges in a heart, it will not withdraw its hand until it brings that heart to God and severs from it all that is untrue.

The Prophet went on to say to that person,“You have no peace because sorrow’s purpose is to empty you of previous joys. So long as food fills your stomach, you are not given new food to eat.

During fasting, we eat nothing. When we are empty and hungry, then we are given food. Be patient and grieve, for grieving is the emptying of yourself. After you are empty, then joy can enter—a joy with no sorrow, a rose without a thorn, a wine without crop - sickness.”

:: From Fihi Ma Fihi (Discourses) of Rumi. You can download the complete book from here.

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Listening

Make everything in you an ear,

each atom of your being,

and you will hear at every moment

what the Source is whispering to you,

just to you and for you,

without any need for my words

or anyone else's.

You are-we all are-the beloved of the Beloved,

and in every moment,

in every event of your life,

the Beloved is whispering to you

exactly what you need to hear and know.

Who can ever explain this miracle?

It simply is.

Listen and you will discover it every passing moment.

Listen, and your whole life will become

a conversation in thought and act

between you and Him,

directly, wordlessly, now and always.

: Rumi

I was listening to the lecture of Sufi Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee's Lecture on the quality of Listening. This beautiful poem was said inside the lecture which puts emphasis on listening to the inner ear. a very important quality for living life in full. You can download or listen the lectures from here,

• Listening part 1
• Listening part 2

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Food for thought : becoming liked by most

Is it worth 'trying' to become liked by most, if not all?

A friend of mine asked me this question. its a tricky question. at first i thought replying, 'just be yourself'. But on second thought it came to my mind that often our ownself as project by us is blurry. we most often don't know ourself, let alone being it. So may be that answer is not fair.

Also perhaps the reply depends on what we think 'worth'.

I just found one saying by Ali, the spiritual successor of Prophet Muhammad (blessings be with them) where he ways, "Live amongst people in such a manner that if you die they weep over you and if you are alive they crave for your company." Does it give any hints?

What is your thoughts, my friend? Pin It Now!

On the Recollection (Dhikr or Zikr) of God

Ghazali describes the method and effects of dhikr in a passage which Macdonald has summarized as follows:

"Let him reduce his heart to a state in which the existence of anything and its non-existence are the same to him. Then let him sit alone in some corner, limiting his religious duties to what is absolutely necessary, and not occupying himself either with reciting the Koran or considering its meaning or with books of religious traditions or with anything of the sort. And let him see to it that nothing save God most High enters his mind. Then, as he sits in solitude, let him not cease saying continuously with his tongue, 'Allah, Allah,' keeping his thought on it. At last he will reach a state when the motion of his tongue will cease, and it will seem as though the word flowed from it. Let him persevere in this until all trace of motion is removed from his tongue, and he finds his heart persevering in the thought. Let him still persevere until the form of the word, its letters and shape, is removed from his heart, and there remains the idea alone, as though clinging to his heart, inseparable from it.

So far, all is dependent on his will and choice; but to bring the mercy of God does not stand in his will or choice. He has now laid himself bare to the breathings of that mercy, and nothing remains but to await what God will open to him, as God has done after this manner to prophets and saints. If he fo11ows the above course, he may be sure that the light of the Real will shine out in his heart. At first unstable, like a flash of lightning, it turns and returns; though sometimes it hangs back. And if it returns, sometimes it abides and sometimes it is momentary. And if it abides, sometimes its abiding is long, and sometimes short."

Another Sufi puts the gist of the matter in a sentence, thus:

"The first stage of dhikr is to forget self, and the last stage is the effacement of the worshipper in the act of worship, without consciousness of worship, and such absorption in the object of worship as precludes return to the subject thereof."

Recollection can be aided in various ways. … The Indian practice of inhaling and exhaling the breath was known to the Sufis of the ninth century and was much used afterwards. Among the Dervish Orders music, singing, and dancing are favourite means of inducing the state of trance called 'passing-away' (fana), which, as appears from the definition quoted above, is the climax and raison d'être of the method.

In 'meditation' (muraqabat) sufis recognise a form of self-concentration similar to the Buddhistic dhyana and samadhi. This is what the Prophet meant when he said, "Worship God as though thou sawest Him, for if thou seest Him not, yet He sees thee." Anyone who feels sure that God is always watching over him will devote himself to meditating on God, and no evil thoughts or diabolic suggestions will find their way into his heart.

:: From the Book, The Mystics of Islam by Reynold A. Nicholson Pin It Now!

Abruptly

walk the ganga
Originally uploaded by mazzi1.

Abruptly we come to this world,
abruptly again we depart.

You didn't decide your coming here,
your soul was made ready to come
long before you had any consciousness,
sense or a face.

Your departure is already scheduled,
cause the Soul of the Universe knows
you future and past.
Know that:
The Soul of the Universe is beyond time.

So ask yourself if its ready for the abrupt call?
Ask if its ready to return back home?

Are you preparing for a light travel or already burdened yourself with all the junks along the way?

O my friend! shed, shed all that is unnecessary.

Throw away all, cause they don't belong to you.
Even your soul don't belong to you,
but to the Supreme Soul of the Cosmos.
It was a gift given to you to keep.
How sad, we all forgot that?

So, lets bring back that consciouness,
and prepare for the inevitable abrupt journey back home.



(c) MysticSaint
Singapore Pin It Now!

Yoga Blog

Here is a lovely blog on yoga. check it out. very resourceful.

http://blogs.yogajournal.com/ Pin It Now!

Meditation is ...

. Sachie at Ninna-Ji (redux) . さちえさん - 仁和寺 .
Originally uploaded by 3amfromkyoto.

Meditation is not concentration it is relaxation into oneself, awareness.

Accept thoughts, no denial, no tension, no rejection, o struggle, and no conflict.

Meditation is not introspection. Introspection is thinking about yourself.

Introspection is analysing, judging, and rationalising a situation (reaction) not the self.

Meditation is simply awareness of yourself (remembrance).

Awareness of a reaction (ex. anger) before it materialises will dissipate the reaction.

Meditation is not an experience, it is a realisation, it is a stopping of all experiences.

Experience is something outside of you. The experiencer is your being. False spirituality is concerned about the experience. Experiences continually change the experiencer is changeless (real).

Awareness cannot exist with duality, and mind cannot exist without duality.

The mind wants to be somewhere else, something else, to become. The mind does not allow being.

The mind is becoming and the soul is being.

Time exists only with becoming (desiring). Future exists because you desire.

Mind cannot stop out of effort. Mind stops out of understanding, awareness. Watch and understand the cause of these thoughts. Through looking deeply into those causes those causes disappear, then mind slows down.

Witnessing is the beginning of meditation, and no-mind is the completion. Witnessing is the method to reach no-mind.

Witnessing is in your hands, but no-mind is beyond your control.

No-mind means that the higher self is in control of the mind. Mind is a medium for external communication that is used when needed.

No-mind is enlightenment, is liberation, is freedom from all bondage, is the experience of immortality, is the Higher self.


Article Credit: http://tinyurl.com/qz3qp

http://www.nuradeen.com
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Music for soul : Sing with Sufis

Here is a lovely album containing some Sufi Musics from singers of Indian Subcontinent. This album features the biggest names in Sufi genre of Music. From Kawwali king and famous Pakistani Sufi Singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Sufiana queen Abida Parveen, Indian icons such as Hans Raj Hans, Wadali Brothers, Rekha Bhardwaj and Zila Khan ... the compilations bring them all together in one great album.

The spirit of the songs often transcend the distance and barrier of language. So enjoy the spiritual touch that is beyond, even if the language is foreign to you.

Here is the link of the album: Sing with the Sufis. Use Internet Explorer for listening the songs online.

Other Indian Ghazal Musics (a special genre) are here. Pin It Now!

Perfection in the transcending of duality ...

Duality
Originally uploaded by cricrich.

The universe is designed in a dual nature. One side urges the other, and works in harmony with the other.

Without day there would be no night. Without darkness, there is no light. Without ignorance there would be no appreciation for enlightenment.

The world presents these dichotomies in order to mature the human being and send him seeking true perfection.

That perfection can only be found in the transcending of duality. Duality is the path to oneness.



Credit: http://tinyurl.com/ozdvc
And to my friend SF for letting me know the beautiful sufi site.
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Looking at prayer again

Prayer comes from the Latin precarius, "obtained by begging" and precari, "to entreat" - to ask earnestly, beseech, implore.

Prayer means many different things to different people. At its most basic level, it is the manifestation of hope in human beings, our ability to say that we don't know everything, that there is something or someone larger and wiser than we are that can guide our lives.

Mahatma Gandhi, father of modern India, described prayer as:

"Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. There is no peace without the grace of God, and there is no grace of God without prayer.

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action. Undoubtedly, prayer requires a living faith in God.

Heartfelt prayer steadies one’s nerves, humbles one and clearly shows one the next step."

"Prayer is", according to theologian Ann Ulanov and Prof. Barry Ulanov, "the most fundamental, primordial, and important language humans speak. Prayer starts without words and often ends without them. It knows its own evasions, its own infinite variety of dodges. It works some of the time in signs and symbols, lurches when it must, leaps when it can, has several kinds of logic at its disposal."

To L. Crawford,

"Prayer is a cleansing process, washing our thoughts, feelings, motives, and will, purifying the entire being including the heart, thus enabling us to see God, for without purity no one can see God.

Prayer is the greatest spiritual asset in the world."

Prayer may be individual or communal, private or public. It may be offered in words, sigh, gestures or in silence. Prayer may flow from the subconscious. It may even emerge in dreams, completely bypassing waking awareness.

Prayer is probably the world's most widely practiced visualization technique. Those who pray often begin with a relaxation ritual such as attending a house of worship or kneeling by the bed. Then they conjure a personal image of a God or some Higher Power and ask that the requests in their prayers be granted.

Many people feel profoundly calm after praying. Prayer is deeply relaxing, and those who do it regularly are, in effect, meditating. But science cannot explain some remarkable studies showing that to a degree that goes way beyond coincidence, prayer works.

:: Credit
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Breathing Resources

Breathing exercises are a part of virtually every mystical society from the Sufis to the Yogis to the ancient Mystery Schools. Here are some spiritual links on breathing to explore:

:: Wahiduddin page on breathing.

:: The Sufi Message, Volume XIII, Pasi Anfas: Breath

:: The Sufi Message, Volume VII, the Mystery of Breath

:: Breathing for life. Sufi breathing techniques and more.

:: The Art of Yoga Breathing (Pranayama)

:: Hatha Yoga Breathing

:: Anatomy of breathing

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A prayer

Egypt Cairo Mohamed Ali Mosque
Originally uploaded by davidcharding.

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.

O Allah! I praise You for every bounty,

and on every goodness I thank You,

and for every sin I seek forgiveness from You,

I ask from You after every goodnes and

I seek refuge from You after every evil

and there is no might or power except Allah,

and He is the great, the exalted.


(this prayer was taught by Imam Ali, the spiritual successor of Prophet Muhammad; peace and blessings be upon them) // Credit: www.duas.org
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Let us be grateful

Lensbaby Fire
Originally uploaded by Aaronth.

I have learned silence from the talkative,
toleration from the intolerant,
and kindness from the unkind;

yet strange,
I am ungrateful to these teachers.

- Khalil Gibran


Gratefulness is a great virtue. A sense of gratefulness towards everyone around us, from whom we derive benefits knowingly or unknowingly ... ultimately make us grateful to Almighty God. It is towards God the gratefulness comes to fullcircle; because He showers us with infinite mercy every moment.

If we just think about our body, each moment there are so many tiny little things that if goes wrong slightly, can bring disaster. Yet on many of those mechanisms we have no control. For example even the muscles of our eyes are controlled by the brain impulse and those nerves if dysfunction, may make us blind or paralysed.
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Favorite lines from Baz Luhrmann

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;

You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.You're not as fat as you imagine.

Dont worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing

Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Dont waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind the race is long, and in the end, its only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Dont feel guilty if you dont know what you want to do with your life; the most interesting people I know didnt know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, youll miss them when theyre gone.

May be youll marry, may be you wont, may be youll have children, maybeyou won't, may be you'll divorce at 40, may be youll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

What ever you do, dont congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can.

Dont be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument youll everown..

Dance even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you dont follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when theyll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and thepeople most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; livein Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do youll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians werenoble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Dont expect anyone else to support you. May be you have a trust fund,maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either onemight run out.

Dont mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it willlook 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way offishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

From the song "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann. Click here to listen to this beautiful song.

Credit: http://www.nicamix.com/musica.html // Lyrics by Mary Schmich.

[ I'm grateful to these lines for motivating me time and time. They have magic i tell you. At times they lifted my heart to unknown heights and pulled me out from feeling really down. I hope they do the same magic for you as well. ]

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Spinoza's God

In one of his enlightening quoet, Albert Einstein said:

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."

That made me interested to learn about Spinoza and his philosophy. In wikipedia i found something interesting. I'm not a student of philosophy, so i didn't know much about his ideas. But i enjoyed his view points while reading it for the first time.

Quoting some of his grand ideas:

Spinoza contended that God and Nature were two names for the same reality, namely the single substance (meaning "to stand beneath" rather than "matter") that underlies the universe and of which all lesser "entities" are actually modes or modifications.

Spinoza contended that "Deus sive Natura" ("God or Nature") was a being of infinitely many attributes, of which extension and thought were two.

Some of his views and philosophiacl positions are very much inline with Sufism or Mysticism that make me wonder. His ideas are:

• God is the natural world and has no personality.
• The natural world is infinite.
• There is no real difference between good and evil.
• Everything must necessarily happen the way that it does. Therefore, there is no free will.
  Everything done by humans and other animals is excellent and divine.
• All rights are derived from the State.

i believe Spinoza reflected the same tought that is stated in the Vedanta (Hindu) Philosophy about the impersonal mode of God, which also is reflected in the Quran and Taoism. The impersonal form of God is truly something we all need to grasp cause in the western religions such as Christianity and Judaism, God is made too much into a personal deity, while forgeting the impersonal side of Him.

Some of his quotes:

:: Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived.

:: God and all attributes of God are eternal.

:: So long as a man imagines that he cannot do this or that, so long is he determined not to do it: and consequently, so long it is impossible to him that he should do it.

:: Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.

:: Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner.

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God speaks

the road was blocked by light
Originally uploaded by algo.

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don't let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.



:: Rainer Maria Rilke

Credit:
http://wahiduddin.net/sufi/sufi_poetry.htm
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Here and Now

Boat 2 : from my native country, Bangladesh
Originally uploaded by Mystic Lens.

There is a time the most perfect for you,

Know that,
the most perfect time is exactly now.

There is a place the most perfect for you.
In a space between two breath where you can find
the most intense blissfulness of heaven.

Know that place is here, where you are now.

There is a moment,
in a split second you can be touched by the Divine;
All your emotions can be shattered in a moment of Divine Embrace.

Realize the Divine within and rediscover in such a moment.

Know that moment is now.

So my friend, will you stop your vain searching for something else,
for some other place or some other time?

Embrace your here and your now.
And wait for the reciprocal embracing of the Divine
in a sweet surrender.

© MysticSaint.
Singapore. April, 2006
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Devotion

Devotion
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Esperanza.

It does not matter in what way a person offers his respect and his reverence to the deity he worships; it matters only how sincere he is in his offering.

:: Bowl of Saki, by Sufi Inayat Khan



Commentary by Inayat Khan:

The forms of worship of all the different religions are necessarily different. It depends upon what one is accustomed to, what is akin to one's nature. One cannot make a common rule and say that this form is wrong and that form is right. One person will perhaps feel more exaltation in a form of worship which includes some art. It stimulates his emotional nature. Music, pictures, perfumes, colors, and light, all these have an effect upon such a person. Another can concentrate better if there is nothing in the place of worship to catch his attention. It is all a matter of temperament. It is not wrong to prefer the one or the other. The Sufi sees the variety of forms as different ideals. He does not attach importance to the outer expression. If there is a sincere spirit behind it, if a person has a feeling for worship, it does not matter what form of worship it is.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_36.htm


In what manner prayer be offered matters little if only the sentiment be right. The orthodox world has fought with each other, each claiming that, "Our manner of prayer is the best. Our church is the best. Our temple is the best. Our sermon is the best. The others are astray;" not knowing that in the house of God it is not asked, "To which church do you belong? To which temple do you belong?" but it is asked, "How sincere were you in your prayer?"

~~~ "Supplementary Papers, Religion ", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


Nature teaches every soul to worship God in some way or other, and often provides that which is suitable for each. Those who want one law to govern all have lost sight of the spirit of their own religion. And it is in people who have not yet learned their own religion that such ideas are commonly found. Did they but know their own religion, how tolerant they would become, and how free from any grudge against the religion of others!

So it is too with the manner of worship. It does not matter in what way a person offers his respect and his reverence to the deity he worships. It only matters how sincere he is in his offering. In one house of God we find that people do not wear hats; in Hindustan, Persia, and Arabia they put on turbans to go to the mosque. That is their custom. It makes no difference whether one person prays standing, another sitting, another kneeling, another prostrating himself, another in company with other people and another alone. All that matters is that the heart of the worshipper is pure, that the mind is connected with God, that there is sincerity and earnestness.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_2.htm
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From Anulios

Anulios is one of my most favorite blog. After long gap i revisited it today and discovered some great posts.

Take a look at this post on Submission.

Also visit http://www.anulios.org/ directly for more beautiful posts.

Another notable site, Seeker after Truth. Have a lot of beautiful spiritual resources. http://seekeraftertruth.com/ Pin It Now!

What you are!

Self Study 2004
Originally uploaded by Mystic Lens.

Everyone sees what you seem to be,
but only few know who or what you are!
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Title: I haven't decided yet. You can suggest one in comment.
Singapore. 13th April, 06

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?? Questions for the Consciousness ??

Q: Where can you find eternal happiness? A: In your own Atman (soul) within.

Q: Which is the most troublesome organ? A: Tongue.

Q: Who is your terrible enemy? A: Mind.

Q: Who is your best friend? A: Satsanga or association with the wise.

Q: Which is the best language? A: Language of the heart.

Q: Which is the worst intoxicant? A: Lust.

Q: Which is the best Dharma? A: Selfless service.

Q: Which is the worst quality? A: Anger.

Q: Which is the best thing in this world? A: Pain (because it is the eye-opener, it goads you to seek liberation.)

Q: Who is the best man? A: A kind-hearted man.

Q: Who is the worst man? A: A selfish man.

Q: Where is the worst hell? A: In the mind filled with jealousy, crookedness and hatred.

Q: Where is the best heaven? A: In the heart filled with love, mercy and generosity.

Q: Which is the best science? A: Brahma-Vidya or the science of Atman or the Knowledge of God.

Q: Which is the most precious thing in this world? A: Vairagya or dispassion.

Q: Who is the strongest man? A: He who practises Ahimsa, he who can bear insults, injuries and persecutions with a smiling face.

Q: Who is a weak man? A: An irritable man.

Q: Who is the happiest man? A: A Tyagi or a man of renunciation.

Q: Who is the most miserable man? A: A rich man.

Q: Who is the ugliest man? A: A greedy man.

Q: Who is a beggar? A: He who has desires.

Q: Which is the biggest ocean? A: Ocean of Bliss (Brahman or Atman).

Q: Which is the most dangerous thing in this world? A: Company of a worldly man.

Q: Which is the greatest temptation? A: Woman for a man, man for a woman.

Q: Which is the most desirable thing? A: Brahma Jnana, Seeking the Face of God.

Q: Who is a real drunkard? A: He who is intoxicated with the pride of wealth and learning.

Q: Who is a real blind man? A: He who has no inner divine eye or the eye of intuition.

Q: What is your foremost duty? A: To find out this hidden driver of this body-engine to love Him, to live for Him, to serve Him, toknow Him, to realise Him, to live in Him and merge in Him.

Q: Why did the All-merciful God create pain in this world? A: Pain is the only blessing in this world. It is an eye-opener. Man would never attempt to attainsalvation if there had not been any pain in this world.

Q: How can I know whether I have purity of mind or not? A: If you have Vairagya (dispassion or indifference to sensual enjoyments), that is a sign of ChittaSuddhi or purity of mind. No sensual desires or Vasanas will arise in the mind.

Q: What is the purpose of God creating the world? A: This is a transcendental question or Atiprasna. You will know the purpose when you attain Self-realisation or Brahma Jnana. The finite mind that is conditioned in time, space and causation cannot get an answer to a question that relates to transcendental matters.

Q: What is the use of repeating the Mantra again and again? A: It gives force. It intensifies the spiritual Samskaras.

Q: When I concentrate, so many thoughts arise in my mind. How can I avoid them? Can I suppress them? A: Do not try to suppress them with force. The thoughts will manifest with redoubled force. They will rise up frequently also. You will tax your will and waste your energy. Be a silent witness of these thoughts. Say unto yourself: "I have no concern with these thoughts." Be indifferent. Al luseless worldly thoughts will die by themselves.

Q: What are the signs of a person who has no Ahamkara or egoism? A: He will not identify himself with his body. He will be free from pride, likes, dislikes, jealousy, anger and hypocrisy.

Q: Why does evil exist in the world? A: Change the angle of vision or Drishti. All evils will disappear. Evil is negative good. Evil exists to glorify good. It has a raison d’etre, reason for its existence. Evil and good are relative terms. What is good at one time is evil at another time. What is good for one is evil for another. Understand this and become wise. Behold the one Atman in all forms and beings. Evil and good are mental creations. Transmute evil into good by Atma-Drishti. There is good in evil also.

Q: How to lead the life of unity? A: This is attained by service, charity, sharing what you have with others, cultivating cosmic love and realising the one Atman seated in the hearts of all, through constant Brahmachintana or meditation on Atman or Soul of the Universe or God.


From Divine Life Society published book, Essence of Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda. Pin It Now!

... so it is with the truth

Smooth Sailing
Originally uploaded by AJ2005.

When a man looks at the ocean, he can only see that part of it which comes within his range of vision; so it is with the truth.

:: Bowl of Saki, by Sufi Inayat Khan



Commentary by Inayat Khan:

As there is water in the depths of the earth, so there is truth at the bottom of all things, false or true. In some places, one has to dig deep; in other places, only a short distance; that is the only difference. But there is no place where there is no water. One may have to dig very, very deep in order to get it; but in the depths of the earth, there is water, and in the depths of all this falsehood that is on the surface, there is truth. If we are really seeking for the truth, we shall always find it.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/X/X_2_1.htm


Man with his learning becomes so proud that he thinks there is nothing else worthy of attention. He does not know that there is a perfection of wisdom before which he is not even like a drop in the ocean. Man looks at the surface of the ocean, yet he is so small that he cannot even be compared with one of its drops, limited as he is in intellect and knowledge. He seeks to find out about the whole of creation, whereas those who have touched it have bowed before God, forgetting their limited selves. After that God remained with them and spoke through them. These are the only beings who have been able to give any truth to the world.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_7.htm


When we consider the mystics and thinkers who look at life from a spiritual point of view, they all agree, be they Yogis, Sufis, Buddhists, or Christians -- it does not matter which. When they arrive at a certain stage of understanding they all agree, they all have the same experiences, they all have the same realization to which they come in spite of all differences of form: those who look at the surface see variations, but those who look below the surface see one and the same truth hidden beneath all religions, which have been given at different times by different masters. Naturally, therefore, the method of expression is different, but when one comes to the essence it is all one and the same, and those who are spiritually evolved come to the conclusion that they do not differ one from the other in their belief.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XII/XII_I_1.htm


All beliefs are simply degrees of clearness of vision. All are part of one ocean of truth. The more this is realized the easier is it to see the true relationship between all beliefs, and the wider does the vision of the one great ocean become. Limitations and boundaries are inevitable in human life; forms and conventions are natural and necessary; but they none the less separate humanity. It is the wise who can meet one another beyond these boundaries.

from
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_I_3.htm
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Signs for men of understanding

The Final Testament: The Quran revealed to mankind from the Creator Lord encourages to inquire into the mysteries of the creation and to seek the Creator's splendor in the creation.

As we read in the Holy Book,

Unto God belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. God has power over all things.

Behold ! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are indeed Signs for men of understanding. (The Quran: 003: 189,190)

About the picture : Supernova Remnant and Shock Wave

Explanation: A massive star ends life as a supernova, blasting its outer layers back to interstellar space. The spectacular death explosion is initiated by the collapse of what has become an impossibly dense stellar core. Pictured is the expanding supernova remnant Puppis A - one of the brightest sources in the x-ray sky. Now seen to be about 10 light-years in diameter, light from the initial stellar explosion first reached Earth a few thousand years ago. Recorded by the Chandra Observatory's x-ray cameras, the inset view shows striking details of the strong shock wave disrupting an interstellar cloud as the shock sweeps through preexisting material. The larger field ROSAT image also captures a pinpoint source of x-rays near the remnant's center. The source is a young neutron star, the remnant of the collapsed stellar core kicked out by the explosion and moving away at about 1,000 kilometers per second.

Credit: Chandra: NASA / CXC / GSFC, U.Hwang et al.; ROSAT: NASA/GSFC/S.Snowden et al. Pin It Now!

Vision and Ideals: from 'As a Man Thinketh'

The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers.

Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them in the realities which it shall one day see and know.

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish.

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Columbus cherished a vision of another world, and he discovered it; Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed it; Buddha beheld the vision of a spiritual world of stainless beauty and perfect peace, and he entered into it.

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.

To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve. Shall man's basest desires receive the fullest measure of gratification, and his purest aspirations starve for lack of sustenance? Such is not the Law: such a condition of things can never obtain : "Ask and receive."

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.

The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.


:: As a Man Thinketh by James Allen Pin It Now!

Singing the song of Oneness

Almighty Lord, Father of Mankind, Blessed Lord! Grant us the grace of feeling Your presence at this moment here where you pervade as the invisible, the unmanifest Spirit Universal ever present within and without. Grant us also the grace of feeling our inner spiritual oneness in You, for though outwardly different in names and forms, in body and mind, yet in the Spirit we all find our oneness in You spiritually.

May all Thy children therefore be filled with this feeling of spiritual oneness in You who are the One God. Let our hearts and minds be lifted to Thee, at this moment.

Thou art the One God, when no universe existed, when no humanity had been created, when no religion or religions existed. Thou art the One, the non-dual, the infinite, the eternal Reality, Ekameva ’dvitiyam Brahma .

Our obeisance to Thee who art One and non-dual but addressed in varying terms by Thy children.

Thou art indeed the Brahman or the Bhagavan of the Vedic religion.

Thou art the Ahura Mazda of the followers of Zoroaster.

Thou art that ineffable state of Nirvana of the followers of the Great Sakhya Muni Gautama Buddha.

Thou art the Supreme Tao of the Taoist and the Satori of the Zen followers of the Taoist philosophies.

Thou art the Siddha,the Aryanthana, the Aryana of the followers of the ancient Jain faith.

Thou art Ek Omkar Satnaam of the followers of the Sikh brothers.

Thou art Allah of those who follow Islam.

Thou art Yahave or Jehovah of the brothers of the Judaic faith and Thou art verily the Almighty Father in Heaven who art addressed and prayed to in all the Christian world.

Thou art the One Supreme Reality glorified and hymned in all the great scriptures of humanity. Thou art adored and worshipped alike, in Buddhist Vihara, in Hindu Mandir, in Parsee Fire Temple, in Synagogue, Church, Mosque, Gurudwara —Thou art One.

All worship Thee alone and it is this fact that makes the institution of human religion. It is this one fact, the oneness of the Universal Reality, that makes the institution of human religion the most likely and effective basis of unity.

Unity based upon any other factor cannot be really effective and lasting because the factors are themselves changeful and temporary. But this factor which we call Religion is the aspiration of the human individual soul to attain its Divine Origin, its Divine Source, in which it is ever rooted spiritually.

Religion is the hunger of man for God, yearning of the finite for the Infinite, the attempt of the individual to once again find its wholeness in the Universal of which it is an inseparable part . This phenomenon is a universal phenomenon. It is as old as creation and it is the heart-throb of every human being in human society.

This phenomenon of the human being’s aspiration to know the greater Reality which is the source nd origin not only of himself or herself but of the universe as well, pervades the entire globe. Going to any nation, any section of humanity, the phenomenon of religion is to be found to be one of the all pervasive facts of human society. The emphasis on external non-essentials of religion which vary is due to the systems of faith, worship, prayer, etc., which have had their origin in different historical time and geographical set up. Geographical conditions vary, human environment varies and therefore suited to each environmental situation the external modes and forms of worshipping that One Universal Reality naturally takes diverse forms.


from Bliss within by Swami Chidananda

Credit : Divine Life Society

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Divine Love has no code or doctrine

7egr 2esma3eel
Originally uploaded by M Soli.

Inside the Kaaba,

It doesn’t matter which direction you point your prayer rug!

The love-religion has no code or doctrine.

Only God.


- Rumi



Note: All muslims of the world face to the direction of Kaba (or Kaaba), the sacred house in Mecca when they pray. Its a symbolic way to unite the mankind to One God. This house is the first house made by Adam and then rebuild by Abraham to celebrate and sing the praise of One God.

By pointing out the fact that inside Kaba there is no sense of direction, Rumi shows the universality of the Divine Love and Humanity. When it comes to the Divine love, all codes and religious doctrines vanishe.

As says Sufi Inyat Khan, "There is no difference in the destination,
the only difference is in the journey."
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Comment on Buddha's Emptiness

"Emptiness makes everything possible. If it were not for emptiness, nothing would be possible because everything would be fixed, solid. If everything is solid and fixed, then nothing can change, nothing will happen, nothing will improve, nothing will get worse.

Emptiness explains why everything is always changing, why everything happens to everyone, and why we can improve. It explains why those who don’t see things clearly and don’t relate to things appropriately sometimes develop tremendous ignorance and aggression. All possibilities are based upon emptiness. Emptiness provides space for everything."

taken from the teachings of a great Tibetan master, H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche.

more: http://www.sherabling.org/teachings/index.htm

see, buddhist concept of emptiness does not mean total voidness.

best wishes and many thanks!

:-) Ula, Poland
(thanks Ula for the beautiful comment)

Related post: Is Buddha's Emptiness the Brahmin's Brahman

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Purpose of Problem

In one of the interview, Sufi Master of current age Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee was asked about the purpose of problems in human life. He answered really beautifully. Let me quote it here,

The question: You mentioned that the path of the silent Sufis is a very psychological path. And on the audio series you give an interesting talk on "The Purpose of Problems." From the viewpoint of the Sufi, what is the purpose of our problems?

And then Llewellyn answers:
The Sufi says we are here in this world to learn something. We attract our problems to ourself in order to learn something from them. One difference, if you like, between the individual who is on a spiritual journey as opposed to the person who is not, is the willingness to encounter a problem and ask: Why did I attract this? What does it have to teach me?

Most human beings only learn through suffering. If you are having a good time you just enjoy yourself. But if you are suffering, then you engage with life in a different way, deeply and acutely. This can be an opportunity to go beneath the surface of your life and really learn something about yourself. So if you are suffering, and seek to discover the inner purpose of your problems, you are no longer the victim of misfortune. You realize that you are here to learn. And while many people see their life in the terms of success or failure, outer success or failure in particular , the mystic, the wayfarer, knows that much deeper issues are at stake than what is on the surface. And often failure can teach us more about ourself than success.

You can read the complete interview at golden sufi site.

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Do whatever You want

Jess
Originally uploaded by nicolai_g.

i have become exhausted of my prayers.
i am weary of all my wants in prayers.
i am dispirited by my mistakes time and time again.
i am ashamed of my sins.

So, inspirations descended to my heart.
and today all my prayers have turned into one.

"O my Most Benevolent Lord,
Do whatever You want.

I submit to Your will,
So Your Wish You fulfill."
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Rythm of Cloud and Rain

hare's-playground
Originally uploaded by lyrical.

Let the cloud lead the way,

The rain decides the destination.


(c) MysticWings.

31.03.06
Singapore
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Reading now: Soul Stories by Gary Zukav

I am reading now along with some other books, the author of the #1 New York Times BestSeller The Seat of the Soul: Gary Zukav's Soul Stories.

Its a lovely book. The chapters are brief and they cover interesting subjects. Gary Zukav is a gifted writer no doubt. He writes with profound psychological and spiritual insight. This book containts marvelous true stories that show how such concepts as intuition, trust, harmony, sharing ad forgiveness actually express themselves in people's lives. Its an inspirational book, no doubt. Pin It Now!