The Light of Ten Thousand Suns
is a gem of beauty, wisdom
and light. It brio us the truths of life and death, glory and insignificance,
defeat and tasy - all in light of the vast
divine presence surrounding and within us all.
In reading this book of mystical inspiration,
remembrance stirs within. Author and
holy man, Swami Veda Bharati widens
our vision from the tight concerns of daily
existenee into the vast illumination of
our own divine Self.
A FULL CIRCLE BOOK
THE LIGHT OF TEN THOUSAND SUNS Copyright 0 by Swam.i. Veda Bharati also known as Usharbudh Arya
fULL CIRCLE First Indian Paperback Edition, 2001 ISBN 81-7621-049-8
For sale in South Asia only.
• FULL OR CLE
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HOMAGE
Homage to the sages of humani ty, our teachers, the donors of our phi losophy, those travelers in t ime who were born centuries ago yet come to our day, making us also trav­ el in t ime by cal l ing us to thei r age. Homage to the adults of humanity who stand tall and look in compassion at us pray­ ing with the toys of our l i ttleness and to the saints of al l and no rel igions, our homage.
Homage to the God-incarnations, the Word become flesh , who come down speaking many languages to many lands in many centuries, whenever vi rtue is on the decl ine. They are master-ventri loquists who spoke elsewhere then , but we hear them here and now across the gulfs of t ime and civi l izations. They are the l i fe-force flowing through humani­ ty's col lect ive body, the true homes of our consciousness,
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the sh in ing suns whose intercession for us is our only l ight . To them our homage.
Thei r l ives are the only success stories to read , the only archetypes for our dreams. They alone make it worthy for us
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Swami Rama of the Himalayas
Homage
Preface
Part I
Mind and Breath
Brahman
Epi logue : The Si lence of the Sun
Footnotes
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99
149
PREFACE
From the words of the poet men take what meanings please them. but their last meaning points to T hee.
-Tagore
"Look at God's poem. It nei ther decays nor d ies, " says the Veda. 1 Men's thoughts touch only the fringes of God's poem, lacing together th is·ent i re un ive rse. The thread of th is lace, Sutrama, runs th rough al l souls. Every now and then a bead in the rosary recognizes the touch of the th read wi th in that joins i t to other beads. The process of th is recogn i t ion is called insp iration . The thought then looks for words and becomes a composi t ion .
The composi t ions presented here do not p retend to be
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from any specific literary genre. Many idioms are unfamil iar, many words express thoughts not normally ascribed to them in a lexicon . The metre is not always wel l measured . But the sense of these words is addressed to those who asp i re to transcend the senses. The thoughts here are from a prson­ al diary, as i t were, thoughts which have poured out uncon­ sciously and sometimes superconsciously. The teachings that comprise the fi rst part- of the book are those, by the grace of the guru, that sp,eak to all asp i rants wherever they are on the path to the sun . The second part of the book speaks of despairs and longings, to the dark n ight of the soul and of fulfi l lment at the oouch of l ight . Although these inspi­ rations and meditat ions are not chronologically ordered , they were written during three periods. The fi rst group was written from 1 954-1 965 at the end of which the composi­ tion, "I Have Turned My Back To You, Mother, " was com­ pleted . Nothing was written until 1 970 when Mother finally came where I had least expected her to find me. It was then that the second group of composit ions was written , among which were the "Songs of Fulfi l lment . " Other meditations included here were wri tten in 1985-86.
A few words about the sun . This body was seven years old when my father fi rst gave me a book of teachings of Swami Rama Ti rtha . 2 The most str iking stanza in this book was : " Lo, the sun rises in fear of me. " A year or two later I read , at my father 's instruction , an article " in the yoga issue of a wel l known H indi magazine, Kalyan . The article was by one of the most outstanding scholars and sages of this cen­ tury, Shr i Gopinath Kavi raj of the holy city of Varanas i , a man who had been in itiated into the mysteries of solar science and the tantra . He wrote of the whole un iverse being a solar fie ld, the energies of which form the various levels of tangi­ ble and intangible real i t ies. It seemed then that the soiar ancestry claimed by the great kings of India and other east­ ern countries must refer to the fact that the founders had been in it iated into this particular sp i ritual mystery.
A the age of eleven I memorized the hymns to sun and dawn from the Vedas, the texts which have been handed down orally in the Brahmin fami l ies of India for thi rty-five or forty centuries. Ten years later, Akhenaton·s hymn to Ra (from Egypt of the thi rteenth century B .C . ) seemed to echo in the same spiritual chamber in which the Ved ic r ishis were
singing of h im with golden hand , of h im who was t raversing the paths between earth and heaven , the single eye of God watching over all th ings movin·g and not moving. of h im who is the infant of dawn who rises after her s ister, n ight, has given way to l ight. I t is of h im that the B rahrnins of I ndia recite three t imeS- a day :
W e take unto ourselves and meditate upon
the beautiful splendour of the sun. May he inspire our wisdom.
It is the in itiation into the mean ing of this chant that gives them, with the status of the twice-born . the right and duty to study and pass on the sacred texts.
Th is golden wombJ alone is said to be the fi rst and fot all times the only teacher of Yoga. Light, coo, has been the pre occupat ion of the mystics and sa ints for al l the centuries s ince it was revealed to the vision of the poets who sang three hundred and seven hymns to l ight in the text of the Rig Veda alone. In the Bhagavadgica Lord Krishna shows his uni­ verse-encompassing form to the wonder-stricken Arjuna and his form is "br i ll iant l ike ten thousand suns risen s imultane­ ously in the sky. " No wonder that Krishna said, " I caught this Yoga to the sun (V ivasvat), " the father of Manu who is the archetypal man and personification of all prayers used for meditation .
Many obscre passages in the Yoga texts speak of the solar branch of Yoga. Little do the scholars suspect that the obscurity was intentional, and as a child l i tt le did I hope, though I wished much , that a ray of solar l ight in medita­ tional in i t iations would ever touch this asp ir ing but unworthy soul . The rt;st of the story muse be left, aga in , in tentionally
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obscure though I wish for you a speedy coming to the incar­ nation when your souls unravel this mystery.
It is my master from the H imalayas only whose thoughts have found words here. 4 All that the reader sees as lofty here comes from the sages and al l that i$ faulty is mine.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: A SURYA-NAMASKARA
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This love has reflected in them in the form of the i r intangible offer ings.
The offer ings they have made are the i r selfless labors in helping these Solar Words come to Lighc .
I , a ch ild and a humble attendant in the Sun's royal court, express my s incerest thanks for these labors to: Lal ita Arya, Michael Smith, Derk Amerman .
And any others. please accept my grati tude for shaping a crystal mirror in which the Sun 's rays may be caught and reflected to many.
Swami Veda Bharati
Editor's Note
The inspirations and meditations in this collection are unique. Swami Veda is not only one of the greatest l iv ing spir­ i tual guides in the Himalayan Yoga tradit ion, but he is a formi­ dable Sanskrit scholar. The combination of these accomplish­ ments made bringing some form of order to this collection a del ightful challenge. For, though , on the surface, the inspi ring compositions included here are beautiful and edifying, they also arise from a comprehensive knowledge of a plethora of Sanskit texts in the Hindu Tradit ion attested to in the footnotes. which demonstrate the spiritual and scholarly depth of the i r origination .
The leading image and concept of the compositions, as the preface indicates. is the sun as it functions in the mysteries of solar science and tantric yoga conjoint with vedanta philoso­ phy. Swami Veda's introductory composition , "Voices of the Sun . " tells us that the inspirations in this collect ion are l i terally from the sun . streaming l ike rays from the sun and only given word and form by Swami Veda. All Vedic paths. whether of solar science, tantra, or any other of the many schools and approaches which have sprung up over the centuries, have as their goal the attainment of transcendental consciousness. The method and means for this attainment are the Yogas.
Part I of this book presents. in ir;tsp iring prose poetry. t ime­ less teachings. made relevant for us. of the Vedic masters of the sankhya and yoga schools of phi losophy, primari ly through the five main yogas: karma. bhakci , jnana. kundal in i and raja. It is raja yoga, which itself includes aspects of the other yogas. as brought together in the Yoga Sucras of Patanjal i , wh ich forms the basis of the teachings in che fi rst section enti tled , "Ember Sparks from Sun Rays. " These inspiring meditations wi l l also make evident chat Swami Veda and che raja yoga trad it ion embrace all genuine paths to real izat ion be they Christian , Sufi or Buddhist . "Stories and Parables of Power" cont inue che teachings, while also giving a sense of how much a part of the
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ancient Sanskrit texts story tel l ing is. Because meditation. is the fundamental method in the tradit ion in general and in raja yoga in particular--often referred to as the yoga of meditation­ -some of Swami Veda's inspirations that specifically deal with developing the phi losophy and pract ice of meditation have been included unde_r the sect ions "Mind and Breath" and "Meditation. " The sect ion "Marriage of Shakti and Shiva" deals more specifically with the kundal in i teachings in tantric and raja yoga. The book is rnade accessible to the general reader through short footnote explanations where tradit ional or unfamil iar references ar made.
As Swami Veda writes in the preface, the composit ions which have been included in Part I I reflect many of his own experiences and insights as a traveler along the spiritual path to the l ight. Thus. they represent a more autobiographical col­ lection than does Part I . They are the teachings Jived ; l ived in longing, despair. quest ion ing. as well as through specific ini­ tiatory experiences and fulfi llment. The epilogue, "Si lence of the Sun " brings us back to the remembrance that this book of insp i rations belongs to a transcendent realm of l ight and qui­ escence.
Bridging Part I and Part I I , at the center of the book, is the composit ion "Brahman ; " Brahman , the supreme unmanifest center of real ity from which the man ifest is created and called back again i n ;;in infin i te circular play of l ight and energy. This beaut iful meditation on creation could just as wel l be called "Divine Mother" for she is also that divine real i ty from which al l of the insp irations in this book emerge ro reflect the ener­ gy play of the One, the l ight of ten thousand suns.
Tuken from the beginn ing of Part I through the end of Pan II the order of compositions presented offers an archetypical­ ly and yet uniquely personal (autobiographical) record of the p rogressive stages of a swami on the yoga path to real ization. The ent i re book provides an intimate and insoi rational teach­ ing guide for those interested in delving into the spiritual path of yoga, in addit ion to being a collection of unusually beauti­ ful and inspiring writ ings.
Claudia Crawford
VOICES OF THE SUN
I t was a dawn l ike no other, Earl ier than any ever. Women, men, chi ldren in the v i l lage
of Mih i ra who were fast asleep felt a sudden tremor of cbnsciousness,
•
Some sun rays became the strands of a rope around the i r being, and drew them out of doors into the streets.
2
on the mountain peak of the valley in which they stood, that beckoned them; the Light of a Sun never seen before.
P i lgrims, they walked, a silent throng, wi th wonder even in adults' eyes; up the twisted and narrow mountain paths, they cl imbed .
Those who had been th,e most feeble among them were the swiftest of foot at this hour.s
As they reached the forehead of the mountain6 an orange-robed figure of shimmering l ights was revealed to the i r eyes, and in that personage they beheld the fi rst dawn of the un iverse in which all the suns are born .
Behind His head rose now the golden disc of the planet ' s sun , an aura attendant upon the Galact ic Saint .
Words were s i lent , l imbs were st i l l , eyes fastened to Light . The very earth seemed l ike a head
bowing in homage to the one who eternally fulfi l ls her longing.
I n this Light now there was no east or west, no low or high and the Light was the same. as the peace of the In fin i te.
The throng moved close to couch
The throng moved close to touch the dust from the Sun 's holy feet to the i r forehead, but the immaculate feet were not upon the ground. nor could they be felt , for the fingers only passed through a configuration of Light . The personage cast no shadows. 1
Each spir it felt l i fted aloft as if it were wind, yet their wings were weighted with one heavy rock, one question: "Who? What? From where are you?"
No l ips moved , but the anser was a symphony on the strings of Spirit i n which the many had become one.
" Know me the Sun Incarnate, the Golden Womb,
in which your consdousness is conceived and becomes a fetus.
'
At this very moment I make an appearance to the inhabitants of al l the worlds, the worlds as many as ray-hairs on my body.
I come always to dwell among you when you so wish; make your hearts my hearths, and ask of me whatever you wi l l . "
He spoke o f many modes o f being, spoke in the ir minds. Often though , their minds gave vent
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yet He loved them for thei r imperfect ions, the i r sorrows.9
Often one knew not which ' I ' he spoke of-­ H is own perfectly joyful or of thei r crying, craving egos and the i r journeys--as His own .
Said He, " A m I not i ncarnate in you? In all your voices it is I who speak! "
Hear then , the gifts of the in tangible wrapped in the tangible; of Light wrapped in darkness; of words enwrapping si lence.
Hear the Si lence of the Sun that rises from beh ind the peak of the mind .
PART I
LIGHT
The earth is a l ight . The sky is a l ight . The beauty of your skin , the softness of your ch i ld ' s cheek, the love in your eyes is a l ight. The l ight has become a leaf. a twig, a tree. Light flows as a river from a mounta in of light. Whatever you do not experience is not l ight. All the rest is waves in a sea of l ight, the l ight that is the infin ite delight, the bl iss of God. The lake of Truth and mi rage of falsehood is al l l ight .
The song you hear is a l ight to your ear. The sweet taste is a l ight to your palate. Love is the l ight of your heart as meditat ion is the l ight of your soul . Light wears many gar­ ments, and of these your prayer is the brightest . The sound that is the wave of the universe, the word that is the soul of God , is your inner l ight wearing the body which is an outer layer of l ight.
Why would you worship darkness when your eyes are made to see only l ighc? Set aside your dark angers and deep depressions. Hold st i l l for a moment, fel low wave of l ight; be st i l l . Do you see how the winds of your agi tation calm down and the resolute l ight i l lumines your mind again? On the altar of the l ight of True Knowledge, then, burn the l ight of Love.
From this day may you walk as a being of l ight. Wher­ ever you tread, leave your footprints of l ight . Let l ight alone be your del ight . Light.
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I AM CALLING YOU
I am call ing you. May I speak with you, you h idden way over there, you concealed so deep inside? 0, how shall I cal l You? I f you had a name, I would shout i t ; or C} size, I would cal l , " short one, tal l one . . . . " "Young one, old one, " w?uld I call if you had an age.
O you, a fli cker of l ight , wait ing in layers of grey dust, h id ing between sheafs of clouds and the clear sky. I stand outside your cave ins ide a cave, i nside a cave, inside a cave. 1 0 You peek through a crevice from t ime to t ime ; the crevice is an eye. You hear me through the hole of th is ear; you step out for a brief moment and I l ightly brush against the magnet of your fingers .
"Come soul , meet my soul , and let al l magnets of l i fe join in medi tation , and know that this field is but One. " I n th is day's medi tation may your l ight find its Cosmic magnet, may the Un ion of Heavenly Light with the Light of your consciousness bring you peace.
WHY SUFFER HUMAN LONELINESS
Why suffer human lonel iness, when you can enjoy divine soli tude?
Why suffer the feel ings of confinement, when you can rejoice in the meditative cave of the heart?
Why look at the shadows under a tree, when you can see the l ight coming through the leaves?
Why make enemies, when you can make friends? Why hate, when you can love? Why weep, when you can smi le? Change your obstacles in to boons. Change your tears in to smiles
through love, fai th and understanding. If you meditate on the source of your soli tude
and your lonel iness, of your tears and your laughter, you wil l find a stream of divine l ight flowing through you and melt ing away the frozen darkness of l i fe.
Look up to the sun today. and take that l ight and splendour i nto your soul .
May the corona of your soul touch all the earth .
9
JO
CUT THE TREE OF CRAVINGS
The hungers you fi l led this morn ing returned at noon . 1 1
The cravings you sat isfied a t n ight came back at . dawn. There
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A year or two ago. you had a problem and you said , " I f on ly th i s problem could go away. I would be happy. " That problem went its way . . . but, are you happy? Each day you try to cut off one leaf. and a hundred new leaves sprout. Why not uproot the ent i re tree? The loss of your knowledge of your true Setf1 2 i s the darkness in which grows the poison tree of craving. Do you not see that all your search for things outside of you is in real i ty a search for the forgotten perfec­ t ion of your divine Self?
When you come to know the eternal perfection of the divine wi l l , divine knowledge and divine action of your divine Self, then you will cease to crave and suffer. You wil l cease to wish, and begin to wi l l .
This day I wish you the return of your d iv ine freedo m o f w i l l .
PACKAGES OF PLEASURE AND PAIN
Are you in pain? Do you seek pleasure? Do you wish a gain , and to avoid al l loss? Do you expect victQry, w i thout any defeat? Perhaps you do not know that l i fe comes · in packages of pleasure and pain .
These packages are presented t o you a t certa in junct ions along your journey, and the choice is al l yours. Whichever package you choose has a l i tt le of the bitter and a Htt le of the sweet . I f you wish to conquer a h igh peak, understand that a deep valley l ies in its shadow. I f you could go back and exchange your present package for another, your joy and your regret would st i l l be in the same proport ion as now.
In your mind you carry the sum total of all your thoughts and acts. These are the seeds from which today 's t rees of pain and pleasure have grown. From this day, plant the seed of a sweeter fruit in the so i l of your mind. and the contents of the package presented to you in your future journeys wi l l change for the better.
May you plant this day a seed of the sweeter fru i t .
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YOU ARE THE CENTER
" H ow are you? " is a ques t ion wh ich has beco m e s y n onymous with "How are things?" "Things are going well" has become a statement of one's own well being. Are you things?
Know then , that you are the center and the prime mover of your env i ronment . The wel l and the i l l of your spir i t radiate the waves and frequencies of your consciousness and re-order your surroundings. Your ill and your well order the i r i l l and the i r wel l , but they are powerless to alter your states, as i ron fi l ings sprinkled on a magnet are not capable of changing the pattern of magnetic waves.
Be the flowing water that smooths the furrows and evens the uneven terrain and , through t ime, reshapes even the hard rock. Be the spir i tual hand that changes cotton into cloth . Be also the warp and the woof and the very stretch of that velvet and s i lk you have made of your l i fe. Provide a per­ fectly woven cloak of well being for your spir i tual Self.
I
,.,. / ''-\ WALK IN LIGHT
When you wake in the morn ing, take your previous n ight 's fai lures, dreaded dreams and darkness; stand before the sun . and make them a burnt '3 offering into the sun' s flames. Then , walk in l ight.
When you take a cleansing shower, let al l the rivers of this earth and all the streams of solar l ights dwel l i n the flow­ ing waters. Make your mind so that all its impurit ies and . petty malices are washed off and you emerge a newborn , to look at all things afresh . Then , walk in l ight .
S i tt ing for your meditations, take a breach of fi re and burn your hidden, private, envious, ungenerous evi l person , who is made up of wrong thoughts, false words, poisoned foods and undirected deeds. Yes, burn him inside you and with an expelled breath scatter his ashes to the winds. Then rise, and walk in l ighr.
In the evening take your day's concerns and hurts, depressions and pleasures, and the shadows of falsehood; stand before the setting sun , and burn them kl the flames. Then find your inner sun, and repose in its l ight . Even at n ight rest in l ight.
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THE HUMAN NATION
Stand on a bridge and see the river flow. Not one of the waves that rise and fall remains the next moment, but the river continues. Through all the flux and phases of life the stream of your meditative Self weaves its way as through a changing terrain.
Why do you think that your view and your feeling of this moment alone is -the truth and. that others are not entitled to the enjoyment of their truths? A true temple of God has shrines to all deities. •4 A man of meditation enriches his mind with a love for the music, liturgy, ritual, religions and cultures of all lands. Are not your eyes a shrine to the sun­ god, your tongue an altar to Sophia and Sarasvati?•s
All the waves that have arisen or shall arise on all the surfaces of the river are included in that river's name. So to close yourself to any culture's beauty or to any religion's rit­ ual is to amputate the mind.
I wish your meditation of this day to lead you to a participation in the beauty of all cultures. May you open your soul to the divine truths that have been revealed to the cho- 5en nation, the human nation.
THE FACES OF TRUTH ARE MANY
When you reject something, do not reject it entirely, for what you reject today. you may accept another day. What you dislike do not dislike totally, for another day it may suit your liking. Aversion is another name for attraction. What one layer of you seems absolutely averse to, another !ayer is attracted co.
The quality named tolerance means that you do not regard the word "truth" to mean your views of this moment, for the faces of truth are many. though you have seen the profile of only one of them. Remember that your " this moment" is only a little of the truth. When you are enjoying the light of the day, do not condemn the night, for in a few hours the peace of the night will give you rest. When you are at peace in the night, remember chat in a few hours the sun's hand will touch you to awaken you. The night and the day are two faces of truth.
Someone who stands on the peak sees many trails com­ ing to the cop,· but one on the forest trail does not see the parallel path. In your temple, in your church, let all cultures flourish. Let each· person be guided on his trail by the one at the peak. Let the bee of your mind gather honey from all flowers.
I wish you this day a view of the paths of truth from the Peak.
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TRUTH AND LOVE
To reduce Truth to the level of an opinion is darkness. To present a mere opinion as Truth is greater darkness. To call changing emotions love is death, and to see that death as life is even greater death.
Truth and love are inseparable, and they are never changing. To attribute change to them is to live in ignorance. The underlying reality behind all realities is never altered, as the ocean remains the same though many waves arise and subside on the surface.
To separate Truth from love is to separate awareness from feeling. To pursue Truth is to love all.
Do not let your ·1ove be a service only to your desire, 16
but let it serve the harmony of Cosmic Truth. Grow together with those you love, and if the aim of your love is to help each other realize union with God,11 then your love will progress toward the changeless. In so reaching the realm of Permanence, your love will pass all its tests.
PLEASURE AND PEACE
When does pleasure become a vice?
When you depend upon i t for al l your joy and all your sustenance.
When you are no longer free from attachment as you enjoy pleasure, i t becomes your vice.
How can you change your pains into pleasures? When pain is accepted l ike the rubbing of a sandal on a p i lgrim 's foot , a stone on the pathway, and l ike the weariness that comes to all things lesser on the way to reach ing al l things h igher; then your pain becomes your pleasure.
A large b i rd snatches a wriggl ing worm from a l i tt le b ird 's mouth ; the l i tt le b i rd ' s helpless lack of freedom is i ts pain . The same b i rd pecks another worm, fl ies to its nest , and a t iny baby mouth snatches the worm; then it i s the mother's. pleasure. Hold fast to what is destined to be lost and you are in pain ; lose it of your own accord and your joy is abundant .
I wish you this day the true knowledge of dependence and freedom and the discernment of pain from pleasure. ts I wish you that true pleasure and peace.
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BE WHAT YOU CAN BE
Be·what you can be, and never any less. Do your utmost and you will become what you wish to become Your high­ est potential will be· reached and your actions will reflect per­ fection. when you act from what you are.
Being witnesses doing.19 Be a viewer, even a referee, and not a participant in the battle between your divided ego. Know, thus, the action 'in inaction, and master inaction through action. This skill will rejoin you with your deepest One.
Glory never attends upon one who has not wearied him­ self. Be an ascetic on this path. Pick up your burdens and walk , for he who sits sins. He who walks blossoms, and his soul picks the flower. The Sun walks with him, and never tires of ripening the fruit which is the product of his labours.
He who dwells in sleep dwells in the Dark Ages of Iron and Stone. As he yawns to wakefulness. he is yet in the Saturnian Copper Age. When he stands, he enters the Silver Age, lit with a full moon.20 Then walk toward your perfect being, where the Golden Age of Meditation dawns on· you with Solar Light.
I wish you this day a healing and a joining, a reaching of equilibrium through meditation in action.
DECLARE YOURSELF A FOOL
One may easily learn to appear reverent and pious, but for the reverent to become irreverent only for a day calls for greater self-control.
Purity may be white but beauty is colourful . H as not God Herself renounced her transcendental station to become this colourful universe? Just for a day, His day? Learn to throw a sprinkle of colour on the white surfaces of your piety. Rub rose petals on the faces of friends and dance with those who thought you their enemy. Their ridicule of you is an act of God's grace, and the chuckling clown inside you is also the Divine Incarnate.
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This day I wish you all the colours of the universe and the galactic guffaws of God's open spaces. Come to me today, any day, with a bundle of your choicest insults, and I will squirt coloured water on you.2'
1 9
DI VINE JOY
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Wi thdraw to a meditat ion where no thoughts i ntervene, no des i res ar ise. One minute of that meditation is a s ingle un i t of divine p leasure, divine joy. Mult iply your units of human p leasure by a b i l l ion ; they are not equal to that one moment of d ispassion, that one moment of des i relessness of a meditat ive wise man .
When you have become wise, a l l your ambit ions and passions, all your present pursuits of human fulfi l lments, wi l l become as p i t iable i n your eyes as the t iny grain of sugar in an ant ' s mouth is to the eyes of a human . The scale of the ant 's effort and your effort may be d ifferent , but the ratio is che same. Why, then , run after t iny grains of sugar wi th ant­ l i ke feet , grasping and grabbing? Even i f you have gathered a l l th ings you des i re, your desires w i l l not come to an end.
I wish you th is day not a bi l l ion uni ts of human pleasure, but one s ingle un i t of Divine joy.
WASH THE MIND
Cool the world when I am warm . Warm the world when I am cold . Cover the eyes of al l creatures because I am naked in shame--so plead those whose center of being is out in the world and not at the center of the golden triangle of th heart. Warm yourself when you are cold. Bathe yoursel f when you are hot . Cover your own body to conceal your shame and the world around you wi l l do l ikewise, so say the sages. The earth is ful l of thorns and pointed pebbles, but howwil l you cove'r its ent ire surface? When the soles of your own feet are shod with a square foot of leather, you t read a covered earth.24
Wash the m ind, and the world is clean . Calm the m ind, and the world is at peace. Swallow the honeyed p i l l of the sacred name and let i t dissolve into every channel of your being, and al l sickness will find its cure. Wash ing, calm ing, nourish ing and heal ing your own mind is the most selfless deed you can perform, because the current of m ind that flows through you is the same as the consciousness of a l l .
I wish you this day a purified, ca lm and nourished m ind so that you may fi nd a world ful l of peace.
2 1
"I AM"
When you say: "I am walking, I am seeing, I am. hearing," behind those diverse experiences and actions there is a com­ mon denominator: "I am. 11 Each action flowing from you to the surrounding persons and objects and each experience from them to you begins with the affirmation: " I am." All those actions and experiences are tangible and can be analysed, but " I am" is the feel of your being, the being of the force field chat you are.'
Every day. before launching the boat of your body, before rowing it with the oars of your mind across the flow­ ing rivers of actions and experiences, stand on the tranquil banks of your soul for a moment and know that: 111 am. " Close your eyes. Seal your lips. Still your tongue and say in your mind: 111 am. 11 Then ask yourself: "who is that declar­ ing this 1-ness, this being? Who whispered from which depths of the well of my existence: 'l am?"' This is truly your only question.
May your meditation give you the answer that answers it all.
ALL IS TRU TH
From your premises this would be the obvious conclu­ sion; this is what it looks like from where you are standing. From where I stand, however, the angle is narrower; it looks different . From my premises the conclusion drawn is just the opposite.
What does Chichen-itza or Borobudur or Thjmahal or Notre Dame look like from a supersonic jet? Does it look the same as from an adjacent park or hill?
Take a solid cone and turn it slowly in your hand; is it a triangle, it circle, or an ellipse?
Ports of call, customs, tariffs, passports, visas-each locus presents a new point of view. Whose country is truth?
None of these is truth-complete truth-and truth can­ not be incomplete. Incomplete cannot be truth. There is nothing opposite or contradictory. Day and night: one cycle. Summer and winter: one year. Not only are days and nights distinct, but also the dawns and twilights of merger. I and my enemy. the martyr and the assassin, Gandhi and Godse, Jesus and judas.2s
All is complementary. All is truth .26
'
This day may you see truth as a complete circle.
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YOUR PROBLEMS-WI LL BE VERY LITTLE
Every morning is a creation of God, the spring of the new year, your childho.od.
Every midday is the continuity of that creation, the summer of the year, and your youth.
Every evening is the dissolution of the Universe. It is the winter of your years, the evening of yo.ur lifetime.
The grass is akin to the tallest shoots of bamboo.
And to crush an ant with your feet, is to be crushed by the elephant' s foot yourself.
See this order in the Universe and how it affects you. your life, your problems.
Your realization will be the dawning of the Great Truth that everything is a part of the whole Cosmos.
Then your little problems will be very little; then the Truth will be very great.
WHO WATCHES WHILE YOU SLEEP?
At n ight do you ever say to someone, " Please turn on the l ights so that I may see my dreams more clearly"? In what l ight do you see your dreams? That l ight is no candle flame. I t is your own very Self. for you are a self-luminous being. the source of your body's v i ta l i ty, the origin of your mind 's awareness. Th is Self never sleeps.
Even though the weary shal low surfaces of the m i nd suc­ cumb to rest, there is someone other, ever-wakeful , ever­ watchful . There is someone other who governs your heart­ beat and your breath, who prevents you from fa l l ing from your bed during your worst n ightmares. and who wakes you to the distress cry of your chi ld in the next room . Someone other.
Ask yourself the quest ion "Who am I?" Who utters th is word, " I " ? Whose l ight gives you the awareness to say the word, " I " ? As you begin to answer this quest ion. you wi l l begin to d ive deeper than the shal low surfaces of your m irtd and go to the true home of consciousness, with its free vol i­ t ion. from where fl ickers the l ight of the word " I . "
I wish you today identificat ion with the s i lent watcher with in , your true Self .
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THE TRUE MIRACLE
Indeed, you have wrought many miracles. You have sent ships into space, machines to Mars, and men to the moon. Iron and all the alloyed metals have made such progress through your touch, for the power of the Infinite dwells with­ in you, flows through your mind, through your hand. Though material things have made much progress throh you. what progress have you made yourself?
Do you measure ydur inner development by the com­ plexity of your machines? Are you more advanced inwardly than the citizens of Egypt, Greece, or ancient Rome?
Can you calm your anger? Can you pull yourself out of a state of depression? Can you prevent ulce·rs from occur­ ring? If you were alone on an uncolonized planet, could you heal your body or assuage your loneliness? Can you slow down your heartbeat, lower your blood pressure, speed up your digestion, or slow down your breath? Can you observe the processes of your own mind and discover how the voice of intuition may speak through you? Can you mend the splits in your heart?
Until you can do these things, how can you say that you have made progress? Only when you have walked in the light of your inner Self will you have made the true progress that is of supreme importance.
Sit back, ponder a moment, and resolve to make such progress within.
I wish you this day a great leap forward. God bless you with strength.
WALK THROUGH THE DARKNESS
Do you fear the forms of formless worlds? Do you fear ghosts, satans, devils? Only a weak mind is affected by these thoughts. Only a weak mind is open to the influence of these non-beings.
You are a being of light, a being of illumination, dwelling in the clay house of the body with the five doors and win­ dows of the senses. You are a self-luminous flame that casts its light on its surroundings, but on which no shadow can be cast. Not even the shadow of the body can make your light dwindle even by a whit. You can see through your eyes how that light shines.
You, an immortal being, afraid of mortality? You, the spiritual being, afraid of losing the prison house of flesh?
However small a flame, have you ever heard it complain in the face of a room full, or a hall full, or a cave full of dark­ ness, saying •oh. I am so afraid because the darkness might smother me. I am so small, and the darkness is so vast.•
Have you ever walked with white clothing into a room filled with darkness? And has the darkness any power to leave a trace of blackness on your immaculate whiteness?
You are a being of light- ever pure, ever-wise, ever-free. Walk through the darkness and shine forth.
I wish you this day the recognition of your inner light.
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SONG OF SELF
Cut a p iece of empty sky21 a few yards squar with a pai r of scissors. Rol l i t up l ike a bolt o f cloth and use i t for a wrap to cover your body. Make a bow with the horns of a rabbi t . Adorn i t with flowers of the sky and give i t to the natural son of a barren woman .2s The day you can accompl ish these impossibles, that very day, you can hope to find peace any­ where, knowing your ow Self .
You cannot hope for freedom without the knowledge of your t rue Self. Look at your outer self. Place your hand on your heart and say, "Whatever is here is elsewhere. What is not here is nowhere else. " 29 I f a speck of dust looks l ike a star to you, there must fi rst have been a star within you. There can be no recogn it ion of what is wi thout unless i t is wi th in .
Know, then , that knowledge, from the smallest speck of dust to a star, comes fi rst from the knowledge of your t rue Self.
May you this day find knowledge of that D ivine Self who dwells both in the speck of dust and in the star.
GREATER THAN THE UN IVERSE IS THE SELF
Greater than the un iverse, and more minute than an atom's nucleus, is your Self .Jo If the l ight of al l the suns from all the galaxies were condensed into a d iamond head , that diamond head is your Self . Unchanged in the changing per­ sonal i ty, wi thout pain amidst suffer ing, untouched by temp­ tat ions of false pleasure, ' is your Self.
The sun in your eyes, the symphony in your ears, the roses in your nostr i ls, the winds on your skin , are of the Self . The Self that is the l i fe-force has given words to the tongue, drumbeat to the heart and fi re to your stomach .
Let your awareness go deeper than the form, sound , touch and taste and you wi l l know that you are not the eyes, ears, skin and the mouth . Nor are you the impressins received through them . Free of al l osci l lations, without form , a flowing current of l iving consciousness, is your t rue Self . That true Self is God . To know that Self is to worsh ip God .
This day I wish you an acquaintance with that God which is your own deeper Self.
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STORI ES AND PARABLES OF POWER
Do you seek power? Do you wish to conquer· your world? Is the whole world your opponent, your adversary? Do yo••. seek the power of wealth and control over others? Does the world seem full of unsympathetic, unjust people. always criticizing you, attacking you? Are your anxieties and worries of the past or of the future?
Once upon a time an ancient king had a hall of mirrors built in his palace to entertain his guests. One morning after a long night of celebration, after the banquet was over and all the guests had left, the king's pet dog wandered into this. hall of mirrors. He saw himself surrounded by a thousand other dogs, baring their fangs, snarling, barking. With each of his barks was the echo of a thousand others. The valiant dog defended himself all alone from those thousand oppo­ nents. In the morning the king's dog was found laying on the floor, totally exhausted and near death.
What would have.been the best way for the king's dog to make those thousand other dogs cease barking at him, to make those thousand other dogs cease attacking him? Only to sit back and stop baring his own fangs, stop barking , stop attacking. For with each attack he made, a thousand of his own reflections lunged back at him, robbing him of life.
To find· peace and true power in your life. sit back a moment and be still. Be quiet, be tranquil, and the world will cease to attack you.
Once a great woman saint was passing through a forest infested with robbers. With her was a noble woman bedecked with gold and jewels. When the robbers attacked, the saint to0k the jewelry of her companion, gave it to the leader of the robbers and said, "Here my son." When she said "my son." there was such a depth of love in her voice that the bandit chieftain wept. "From the time I was a child,
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no one has called me thus, son - and so lovingly. My mochei: died when I was SQ young " From chat time on the leader of the robbers becal'T)e her true son and followed her every­ where. Later he himself became a great saint. Such-was the power she had over him.
There is a power which is not the power of wealth and riches nor ego. Neither is it a power exercised to control oth­ ers. There is a power that is in loving eyes, the power to con­ vert an enemy into a friend . There is a power in a gentle touch of the hand, soothing injuries, bringing light to eyes that were blind, healing the unhappy, making che lonely rejoice.
Once upon a time an emperor posed this question to his advisors: " Here, I have drawn a line on this board. Without touching this line in any way, please make it shorter." After all his1counselors had pondered over the problem and had given up, his wisest minister approached the writing tablet. He drew a line parallel to the emperor's, but just a little longer, and said, " Your Majesty, your line is now shorter."
If you always "seek to shorten the lines drawn by others, you will not win your battles. Draw your line from your own genius. Thp your own resources. Apply your concentration with an inner relaxed mind. Center your mind. Your creative energy is waiting to burst forth. There is within you an eter­ nal genius, waiting to express itself. Sit back and listen to him. Draw your line with full concentration, ·without com­ paring it to the lines of your competitors. Then you will have drawn the longest line of all.
When the famous Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, he said to his retinue, " When you bury me, cover me with a shroud. Bue place both my hands out of the shroud with the palms up and put a pinch of ashes in each, so chat the world may see and know what the con­ queror of the world is able to take with him."
If you seek conquest, seek fi rst the power of self-con­ quest . Then seek that power which is service to others. Seek the power to benefit and comfort the many, for only such a power wi l l be remembered . And even i f you yourself do not gain from this power, many years hnce generations of peo­ ple will cont inue to benefit from it, and you wi l l be blessed .
Once upon a time there were three young men, two of whom were not yet born and one who was not yet con­ ceived. Suffering from the pain of m iserable poverty, they decided to migrate from the city named Empty. On the way, feeling weary, they rested under the shade of three trees, two -0f which had never been planted and the third which has not yet grown. Having rested there and eaten of the fruits thereof, they came to three rivers, two of which had no water and the third which had run dry. They quenched their thirsts from these rivers and then crossed over in three boats, two of which had never been built and the other which had no bottom. After a long arduous journey, the three youths came to a city called Future and settled down in three houses, two of which had never been built and the third which had no walls. They lived in Future city ever after.
Your present anxieties and worries are as baseless as the unreal cities in the parable. Although your anxieties and fears and sorrows are here presently, the bad events which you base them on are forever gone or have not yet arrived. Clear your mind and in the light of 'Your clear mind you will see that in this very moment there are solutions to the prob­ lems which have already gon
. e or not yet arisen.
Which power de you truly wish? That which involves you with the false reflections or the snarling dogs of the world? Or the power of peaceful tranquillity which draws people to you? Which love do you really wish for? The phan­ tom love of wealth and riches or ego and its control of oth­ ers? Or the infinite power of the heart? Do you wish to sue-
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ceed by compet ing against the l ines drawn by others? Or do you wish to blaze forth i n the creat ive expression of your own eternal genius? Do you wish to conquer the world and gain only ashes? Or the enduring powers of self-conquest and of one who has served? Do you wish to create and l ive i n fear of the ghosts of past and future? Or to dwell in the city of divine clarity of the moment?
I wish for you the t rue powers of tranqui l l i ty, love, inner gen ius, service and div ine clarity of each moment .
GO STILL
Amidst al l your cries and laughter let your m ind cake a moment off, and go sti l l . Look at this moment, this moment alone, and go sti l l .
Th is would not mean to s i lence a l l your thoughts, emo­ tions and words. just trace them to the si lence which p re­ cedes all speech , and go sti l l . There is a m inutely br ief moment of quiet from which a wave rises and into which i t merges. As you observe a wave, observe also i ts qu iet source and the s i lent end, and go sti l l .
Each breath that you take begins and ends wi th a moment 's pause. F i l l that gap when you breathe, fi l l it with the s i lence of meditation , and go st i l l .
Before you burst wi th anger, before you le t go of your passion , hold your mind, fix i t on a quiet with in you. Then even in the midst of your anger and passion you wi l l find a sti l lness that wi l l make your emotion into a well wielded tool , a tool to help you be sti l l . JI
At th i s moment , d ive w i th i n you , d ive to depths , and go st i l l .
3 7
A MAGNET
Some people are afraid to slow down . They want to remain perpetual ly active, for act ivity means to them win­ n i ng , success, conquest . But let me ask you: " Do you understand activ i ty and pass ivity? " Take a magnet . Let i t s i t . Around i t spr inkle some i ron p ins and needles. The pins and needles, i t is seen , rush towards the magnet whi le the magnet apparent ly s i ts st i l l doing noth ing. But which of these two, the magnet or the pins, i s actual ly act ive?
If you th ink that activi ty_ means much movement , then you also probably th ink that energy means great restless­ ness. Like the magnet , the deep part of your being conta ins restful energy. I t looks passive outwardly, but inwardly i t is dynam ic .
When you cultivate such inward energy, you no longer need to be perpetual ly active. You s i t l i ke a magnet and d raw to yourself the s i tuat ions, c i rcumstances, envi ron­ ments and re lat ionships that you require. These th ings come help lessly rush i ng to you l ike those p ins and needles towards the magnet .
I w ish you the magnet ism of inner dynamism--the energy that is creative and yet restfu l . God bless you with such magneti sm .
WATERS OF TRANQUILLITY
Sometimes be quiet . There are two kinds of pleasures in the world : the pleasures of excitation and the pleasures of tranqui l l i ty.
In the pleasures of excitation there is much outburst of energy. much rising. a feel ing of power; and then there is a great letdown .
In the pleasures of tranqui l l i ty there is a quiet dynamism l ike that of a magnet . It is an inward sat isfac-
, t ion . I t is even. not jarring, jerking. jagged . It is smooth, gentle. ever-flowing, l ike clear water in which you can see all that is h idden with in you.
S i t by the st i l l waters and be quiet . When you come out of your contemplation , you may not have found answers to your questions, but many quest ions afterwards wi l l have been resolved . When there is a vengeful des ire in you to get even, gee even-minded . And l ike water. that always returns to its own even leve l , your l i fe wi l l flow even and smooth .
I wish you such smoothness of haracter. God bless you. -
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SILENCE
The s i lence of speech is not si lence. S i lence of mind is true s i lence. S i lence is the infin ity of the Word that is God . I n the beginn ing was that s i lence; that s i lence was in God .
When words are spoken from a mind that is truly st i l l , s i l ent and t ranqui l , they are inspired words, sending their power echoing f@r centuries around the globe.
In the s i lence of your medi tation such words shall arise.
I n the pract ice of s i lence, only truth is spoken . Speak truth ; speak that which is pleasant . Do not speak unpleasant truth ; do not speak pleasant
untruth .32 This is the ancient law of s i lence, that a l l spoken words
come trueJJ when they arise from the depths of s i lence.
LIGHT AND LOVE
God is l ight and love.
The love that your heart longs for is the recogn it ion of your Self i n al l Selves, and the recognit ion of al l Selves in your Self . Th is l ight and this love is so subl ime that there are no words to express i t . Only the deepest state of meditat ion can show you the depth of that uniwrse of love which is in you.
Love without question ing. Love without analys ing. Love uncondit ionally. When you love ask, "What can I give?" Do not ask, "What can I receive?" Do not call your crav ing for reassurance or your selfish needs by the name of love. Let love flow unhindered from soul to soul . Give of yourself with­ out expectat ions. Give up a l i ttle of your freedom to the other, and allow your love to bind you fast together. The spir­ i t of your love should be the same as Christ 's love for Mary Magdalene.
Let your love for every person be a worship of God . There is only l ight. There is only love.
I wish you this day a shower of such love and an expand­ ed awareness which embraces al l others in a c i rcle of div ine l ight and love.
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GENTLENESS OF HEART
Why smoulder and smoke when you can burn bright even for a brief moment?l4 Do not play long in the shallows. D ive deep even for the duration of only a heartbeat . Do not meditate for long if you cannot, just go to utter st i l lness. even for the spa·ce of a s ingle breath.
I f someone excites you, hold yourself sti l l . Something entices you? Pause just moment before you rush head­ long. Do a kind deed to someone who constantly i rr itates you. Declare yourself in the wrong when you know you are i n the right, and face .. 1m angry opponent with a disarming smi le.
Even through your most host i le acts, let a basic friendl i­ ness show. Even in the m iddle of a violent quarre l , do some l i tt le gentle deed to signal that in a larger perspective all is love somewhere. Deal with l i fe fi rmly but gently as you would hold a baby.
And i f you can follow all this advice you wi l l become so attractive to the world that b i rds wil l al ight on your shoul­ ders, wolves wi l l cease to b ite, and opposing armies wi l l lay down the i r swords in your presence.ls
I wish you this day the gentleness of heart which is t rue love and peace. May your subconscious, receiving the love of the superconscious. invite the love of a l l .
BOW BEFORE ALL LIVING BEINGS
Bow before every man , for you do not know in what guise God will make an appearance.'6 Clasp you hands l ike two flower petals, bring them near your heart, bend your head and say, "All the love of my heart, all my head 's intu­ ition and intel l igence, al l my power of act ion, I offer you l ike a flower on the altar. I worship the God with in you. "'7
I f you cannot see God in a stone,Js you wi l l not see Her in the sun . If you do not see Her in the sun you can see Her neither in the Self nor in Christ . Know, then , that the heaven in a rock that l ies at the bottom of a streamJ9 is the same as the angels who sing every moment in your breath .
So you may know that leonine nature can be tamed, cats were given to you. Babies are granted so you may see the innocence and unblemished purity of your own soul . As horses are broken and bridled , so senses can be ruled . And a cow gives you mi lk al l your l i fe to remind you 'hat the maternal love you rece ived as a ch ild flows unceasing from the breast of all beings.4o
Share, then, this earth with the Deity that is in the cat and the l ion, the horse and the cow, the baby whale and the ant's egg. Remember that a dog, to'O, smel ls incense herbs in the grass and a t iger 's eyes are candles burn ing on God 's altar. Bow before a l l l iving beings, for in the i r guise God makes Her appearance.4 1
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SELF-CONQUEST
Yau wish to win your battles. If you real ly want to win , your fi rst victory must be over
yourse lf. The conquest of oneself is the only true conquest .
Can you calm down when you are agitated? Can you slow your breath when you are excited and are
breath ing fast? Can you si lence your chattering mind for a moment
so that yQu can l isten to the i ntui tive messages that are wait ing to break through the curtain of mental noise?
I f you can answer. "Yes" to these quest ions, you have al ready won your battles.
I wish you this day, with the conquest of yourself, a meditation on your innermost resources.
GIVE WITH A THOUSAN D HAN DS
Do you want to conquer? Do you want to win? Everything has a price. For every pleasure you must under­ go some pai n . What price are you wi l l ing to pay for .your conquests? Do you want a success that wil l leave you ulcerated , that breaks your fam ily apart , that leaves you all alone, that busies you so that you cannot sleep at n igpt? What kind of success is that?
True success is when you not only have what you requi re in the world , but also health in your body, relaxat ion in the nerves, happiness in the heart , gentleness in your voice, peacefulness of m ind, joyousness in the fami ly and the understanding of great truths.
So, when you seek outer success, do not lose sight of these inn·er successes. Do not barter them as a price for mere material comforts. Do not be a success in the world and a fai lure within your person .
Yes, go gather your material goods with a hundred hands i f you so chose, but give with a thousand!
Today I wish you such a complete success in which you prosper and also give richly of the' founta in of your most precious internal goods.
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WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE, GIVE
Give way to your human urges. Though you have been conditioned to hide them, do not repress them . . When the urge arises in you to give, give. When you have an urge to share, share. I f you would l ike to bel ieve, then bel ieve. I f there is an urge in you to seek and honor an elder, then seek and honor an elder. When you desire to worship , why hold back? Worship with your whole heart. When you would l ike to sacri fice, then sacrifice . w ith a smi le.
Give way to your urge to cherish others. Give way to your urge to make others happy. Yes, when you want to be loved, be loved . And when you have the urge to communicate, then drop your fears and commun icate. Un ite. Search for the intangibles, for that too is a hidden urge within you. And that urge to give softness and gentleness; give them . If you wish to be seen as beauti ful , then be seen as beaut iful . Be beauti­ ful . When you would rather be smaller. be smaller. What is this pressure to always be great .
Let there be mis pleasure in your l i fe that says, "Ah, I caused pleasure. I brought a smi le. " I f you see two person's fighting, catch the eyes of one and sm ile. You wi l l have dif­ fused the tension . Amidst frustrat ion , seek accord . Sow accord . Yes. give pleasure.
Yes, give way to your urges. Do not repress them by that negative which you have often been cond it ioned to respond to . When you wish to love, love. When you wish to sow accord amidst d iscord, smi le. When you have the urge to give, give.
I wish you the freedom to indulge your divine human urges.
WHAT IS HERE TO ENJOY?
In any situation, do not say to yourself: " Let me see what is here to suffer, " but rather: " Let me see what is here to enjoy. " The pleasures of mind you will thus receive will more than compensate for the discomfort you may encounter.
If you love the vast ocean and are at present standing only by a lake and miss and suffer the absence of the sea, then you neither have the enjoyment of the sea nor the plea­ sure of the lake. Enjoy this moment's enrichment whi le pro­ gressing toward the oceans of your future.
If you are not progressing towards the oceans of your ambit ions. if you are not seeing the way over your impedi­ ments, remember that there is perhaps a wal l blocking your intuition from streaming forth into your conscious mind. When the mind is fi l led with the cobwebs of discontent with the present and worries about the future, you cannot see your way out of the fog. Let the mind relax . Savor the riches of this moment, and in a while answers wi l l come streaming forth .
I wish you this day a meditat ion that wi l l relax your mind from present discontent and future worry.
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THE TREASURE OF YOUR MOMENTS
You have a treasure. Your earthly t reasures are counted in uni ts of money but the units of your treasures of l i fe are the moments. The money spent can be earned again but not so the moments spent. Use wisely the moments you have, just as you economise with your monetary resources. Your breaths are your n ickels and d imes. I f each · breath were equal to a n ickel , how m,any nickels have you spent si nce this morning and how many have you invested in higher awareness?
You want to be a perfect person, a great man , dependent on yourself alone? One not swayed eas ily by l i ttle gusts of wind, not thrown about l ike a leaf tumbling down , not l ike dust being plowed under? You wane to be a person who chooses his own desti ny, his own acts, his own thoughts fi rst? Only if you can choose your own thoughts can you choose your actions and your own future. You wi l l never again wish for anyth ing. You wi l l wi l l your thoughts and actions wi th your power to wi l l . Your wi l l power. But that coms only by using the resources of your moments wisely. Wi l l your meditative thought to flow on the current of brath and discover that this, your spare moment, is a treasure. Every moment, be, be aware, be aware of your breath of l i fe.
May you prosper ; may you be rich in time to meditate.
MIND AN D BREATH
THE UN IVERSAL MIND
Prophesies, proverbs, and psalms were precious stones mined by the prophets of the past . The golden ideas <;?f eter­ nal wisdom wil l enrich you also if you have charted wel l the mine that is your mind. Whether you find coal or diamonds depends on whether you know how to find the right vein and where to d ig the shafts.
The history of humankind is the h istory of human mind . A l l tools and a l l toys. a l l pains and al l joys are creations moulded from the matter that is the mind. Man and woman, you are mind. The an imal in you is the lesser mind and the Goe! in you the h igher mind . The higher m ind is conscious­ ness of the sun . in the l ight of each heart . I t is all of the mind-the growth in a blade of grass, the pol l inat ion of flowers, the jo in ing of pass ions and the in it iat ion of spir i ­ tual seekers. The mind of' God has become this world . 42 World-mindedness is your ego . The surrender of your ego to the h igher Self in meditat ion is the subs iding of a wave into the ocean .
May your mind be tuned to the songs of the Un iversal Mind. May you become a harmonious note in this cosmic music.
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MIND-READING
Many among us would l ike to become mi.hd-readers. Why would someone want to invade the privacy of others when he would not l ike his own privacy so invaded? There are many people who are palm-readers and fortune tel lers, and many more who seek them out . "What is in my stars?• they ask.
Do the stars control your l i fe? Do the stars d irect your actions or is it your own wi l l , the vol it ion of your deepest self- luminous Self?
If the stars control your movement, who controls the movement of the stars? Why not go directly to this same one? And if you cannot reach that same one who guides the desti ny of the stars, why not return your gaze to yourself, a nd there seek the one who creates your destiny?
If you want to become a mind-reader, then begin with your own mind . Can you read your own mind? What are the hoaghts you have had s ince you woke up this morning?
Why do you always run out of the castle of your personali ty, out of the palace of your own mind, stretching begging hands to others? I f you return your gaze to your own mind, deep with in your recesses, you wi l l come to a core, a p in­ point where you are l inked to a great Self: your own expand­ ed consciousness whose vol it ion ac this very moment may change . your l ife forever. Pull yourself out of your present dependencies and walk forth with assurance from yoursel f, with Self-assurance.
I wish your mind freedom, freedom arid independence.
THE LINK BETWEEN YOU AND GOD
It is dark underneath the lamp though it i l luminates the whole chamber. Your eyes see al l things but your eyes you cannot see. You observe changes in your environment but you are not aware of the constant flux that is your personal­ ity.
From moment to moment a series of uncounted acts and experiences leaves its imprint on your mind . The sum total of these gives to your mind its d isposit ions and to your personal i ty a momentum that draws to you your si tuat ions l ike needles to a magnet.
Choose today the person you want to be and you wil l be choosing the situations you wi l l attract . Learn. for this fi rst , to observe your thoughts. Learn , second, to create your thoughts. Learn . third , to create your ·
environment from these thoughts. Learn , fourth , to remain free of your sur­ roundings by finding the calm eye in the center of your men­ tal storms.
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This day I wish that your barriers of the lost and gone moments of mind become your l i nks with I nfin i ty.
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I N N ERMOST TREASURES
You have dug many mines, m ind, and melted many min­ erals in the crucible of your subconscious. You have criss­ crossed many oceans from shore to shore, trading in actions and experiences. You have begged at many kings' courts for favours and gathered much treasure and much trash . What you have thought of as treasure, though , was not always so. In al l the things you have. pursued and possessed in the past, do you find anyth ing worth more than the price of a broken seashel l?4'
When you sit alone, do you think all your pursuits have been worth the i r value in t ime? Why not look now for some­ thing truly precious? Why not seek the golden treasure of cosmic beams of l ight crystal l ized and gathered in the jar of your unborn and undying person? With al l sun rises and sun sets the moments of your l i fe are l i ttle by l i ttle dissipated ; your l i fe span d imin ishes. Every day, l ike the Buddha, you too see the cycle of b i rth , sickness, old age and death mov­ ing unceasingly, and yet the wine of delusion you have drunk does not let you wake to your own Self. How many of the intrests of your past days do you maintain even this day?
Why not look for a quest that has been with you from the beginrt ing of eternity and wi l l remain with you to the l imits of infin ity? Enter through the gate of concentration and you wi l l find in the many chambers of your inner palace absorb­ ing interests from which you wi l l never again turn away.
I wish you this day, m ind, the discovery of your inner­ most t reasures.
MY MIND, MY CH ILD
Mind, why do you act so l ike a ch i ld? Why do you grab at every toy and gleaming t insel? Why do you w ish to horde all these pebbles and lumps in your pouch and then also bur­ den me with thei r care? How many of my strings of moon­ l ight pearls, my quiet moments, you have unstrung. How many of my laces of sunl ight, my i l luminated thoughts, you have unraveled , mind.
Mind, why do you not gow to maturity? You know well that you are of human descent wi th a saintly destiny and yet you join these beasts of malice and petty violence in the i r pranks against me. You take a l l the colours and splash them on yourself, one colour now and another the next moment.
· What a baby's drawing you have made of yourself and you cal l that experience, mind.
Mind, choose your colours with care and draw your l ines. Here the prayer, there the breath, here the l ight between your eyebrows, there the celestial · sound in the right ear. 44 Mind, come let us sit together today--just me, brother breath and you, and let me give you both a beam of my luminosi­ ty. My mind, my ch i ld, let me make you beauti fu l .
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WATCH OVER YOUR MIND
You mind is your true personality. I t shows through all your movements, gestures and words. Your reactions and decis ions come from the mind. Every morn ing you wash your face before you present it to the world . Why not also wash your mind?
The min:::l is your servant and seeks to favour you who are its master. Watch over the mind and it wi l l cleanse itself; leave it free and it wi l l 5oil you. Watch ing the mind con­ stantly is the art of mediation in action . Follow. therefore. four rules of thought and resolve dai ly:
Wrong thoughts that have arisen I shal l e l iminate. Wrong thoughts that have not yet arisen I shall prevent
from arising. The right thoughts that have not yet arisen I shal l make
to arise. The right thoughts that have arisen I shall mainta in ,
nourish and help to grow. 45
With this observance of thought you wi l l become lovable if no one loved you before. You wi l l become attractive i f no one was attracted to you bdore. You will become a magnet if you were mere i ron before.
I w ish you this day a m ind you can watch over, a mind you have cleansed, a mind you magnetise with your spi ri tu­ al energy and 1 wish al l beauti ful thought to your mind.
YOUR BREATH
Your breath is a river that flows between the twin banks of your nostri ls . The physical tr ibutary of this river starts in the fi re-pool o f your solar p lexus. The vital spiritual tr ibutary begins in the cave behind your forehead . Through all your expirations and inspirations your vital energy declares : " I a m l i fe. I am awareness. I a m a being. I a m not o f depres­ sions and death . I am the very Self of eternal hope. "46
This, your breath, is a mere waft of breeze if it begins only in the navel and the lungs. When you know, however, i ts source is in your mind and in turn it generates mental power, it is a ray of sun , a winged soul in fl ight . Then it says : " I am. I am who I am. Before Abraham was, I am. "47 It s ings the hymn of al l here and now as a song of eterni ty.
Th is day I wish you, through your breath, the knowledge of the changeless in the changing, and of the eternity in this time. I wish you that st i l lness which comes when you hear for a long t ime the flow of the mental tributary of breath . May the doors between your eyebrows open to the mental chambers of h idden wisdom and inspiration .4s
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TRANSITIONS
Between two sounds there is si lence, between two breaths there is a breath less moment.49 Between two thoughts there is a mental quiet. That si lence, the breathless moment, the mental quiet, is a gate between two wal ls. You may open it only to friendly thoughts or you may let in a crowd of disheveled rowdies. Your own wil l is your gate· keeper.
Between two places, two moments, two acts, there is a transit ion . It is the Christmas between your years. It is the greeting between meeting and parting. You may enter a house with a sm i rk or a smi le. Whether you sow good wi l l or i l l wi l l you receive the fruit of your choice.
Then watch your transit ions from moment to moment. The length of your thought is the length of your breath. Whatever thoughts and feel ings are permitted to enter into your m ind through the gates between breaths wi l l sweeten or poison your inner reservoi r. Watch your breath , .then , and let not the tranqui l l ity and si lence of your inner chamber be d isturbed by the unwelcome gushes of poisoned thought .
As you wish others sweet dreams in the hours of sleep at n ight , I wish you sweet thoughts throughout the wakeful hours of your day. Have very bright , ful l of l ight, very gentle thoughts for the day. through the day's meditation .
Peace to you.
MAY THAT, MY MIND, BE FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL AND GODLY TH-OUGHTS
That which travels far while one is awake, That which also goes far while one is asleep, That far reaching one, l ight of al l l ights, May that , my mind, be fi l led with beautiful
and godly thoughts.
That with which all the wise men perform their actions, And the sacrificers perform their. priestly duties
and worship , That which is the unique, mysterious personality h idden
within al l beings, May that , my mind, be fi l led with beautiful
and godly thoughts.
That which is the absolute knowledge, that which is the reservoir of the mind-stuff,
That which is the l ight hidden in all beings, That without which no action is performed , May that , my mind, be fi l led with beautiful
and godly thoughts.
That Immortal One, by which all the past, p resent and future of this world is held ,
That by which , through which, the sacri fice of the seven priests is extended and performed.so
May that , my mind, be fi l led with beaut iful and godly thoughts.
That in which Knowledge, Act ion and Music, the three branches of wisdom,
Are held as spokes in the hub of a wheel , That which is the charioteer of my heart,
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May that, my mind, be fi l led with beautiful and godly thoughts.
That wh ich leads humans l ike a good charioteer his horses, With reins held fast, guided with supreme ski l l , That heart dwel l ing most agi le, speediest force of al l , May that, my mind. be fi l led with beauty
and godly thoughts. s 1
MIND AN D MEDITATION
An unguided mind is a chariot drawn by untra ined horses, s2 ready to th row you by the wayside. Only a m i nd wel l restrained wi l l keep to your charted path . A mind with­ out meditation is l ike a diffuse, scattered l ight i l luminating only a corner. But meditat ive consciousness is a sharp beam cutting through a chick grani te-black darkness.
Your d reams, fantasies , v is ions and wishes are the clutter from a subconscious co rner in wh ich sp iders of sense impressions have woven the i r cobwebs. A meditative mind is l ike an unclouded sky, sJ ful l of sunl ight , l ike a candle flame. steady. where there is no breeze. Only such a sky is fi e for wings. Only such a flame truly gives l ight. Only such a mind becomes an instrument of freedom .
Make your choice. then , between confus ion and clari ty, between clouds and sun , between the pleasant and the good . Say to yourse lf this day : "I have made my choice. in chis l i fe, enl ighten ment . In this very l i fe, a Christ l ike stature. The Buddhahood , within my al lotted number of breaths. "
Brother mi.nd, meditate and help me.
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Om-centered speech , Mantra-centered thought,
point-centered circle, soul-centered mind .
psalm-loved prophet, God-loved mind.
Peel and cast off body-r ind, al l the prana-twists unwind,
loosen breath-warp power-knots, th ink the gentle no-thought thoughts.
See by heart ' s eye un-name-numbered, un-space-measured , sun-throb-t imed ,
saintly, centered, unbound miRd . Sword-edged knowledge, ray-sharp wisdom,
two wheels t reading pathless paths, leaving mere mind behind :
japa-washed mind, guru-sheltered mind, soul-centered mind. God-loved mind .
Trained and tamed , abandoned mind on the royal road to God ,
by the souls of stain less kind, by the saints of mindless mind.
MEDITATION
MEDITATION MIRROR
My mind, mi rror that you are,55 you are so befogged I cannot see my face clearly. You open all the windows of senses and run about from one to the other, looking out , bringing in all manner of sight and sounds. You distort the i r truths to me. Why, mind?
Mind, I gave you this agi l i ty as I gave vital ity to these breath. and gleams of perception to the senses, and you lead us round and round from cycle to cycle of ignorance and pain , death and rebi rth. Can we not become friends, we who share this house of clay, this body, mind?
Mind, shut those windows and sit sti l l , just a while. Do not agi tate these breaths. Let them calm down too . Let me cleanse your face and i l luminate your eye of wisdom so I may see my own real face clearly. so together we may step off this whi rl ing wheel in to a world of eternal st i l lness. You have been giving care to al l else, out there. just for a moment now, turn around inward and do l isten to me. Can we not be friends, mind? Cal m down and be sti l l . brother mind . 56
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THE CALL OF YOUR INNER SELF
For whom are you lonely but for your inner. Self? Whose cal ls do you hear but of your inner Self? Your conscience, your gui l t , your love are garments your inner Self wears. I f you m istake the masks of personal ity for your inner Self,
/ you wi l l always be lonely, gui l ty, in ignorance. But i f you can throw away the masks you wi l l find your are the face, the m i rror and the image also. You are the one who cal ls and the voice you hear. The one who responds to that voice is also you .
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If for some t ime no inner cal l comes to you, why do you struggle for it? When the voice .calls you, also why do you struggle against it? Give up for a day all things you have gathered , al l your impressions, memories, experiences. Stand inn0cent and untouched before the l ight which is you on the altar that is you. Then that l ight wi l l cal l the Light, that flame wi l l mingle with the Flame.
A man of exper iences can not medi tate. On ly the i n n ocent med i tate .
Th is day I wish you the loss of al l experiences. I wish you the purity of innocence, wh ich is your true peace and Light .
KRISHNA
Your body is a tree upside down.51 Its roots screech above, in the head chat is the long-hai red divine form of the sky, and your branches hang below. H idden somewhere i n the th ick fol iage s i ts your Krishna,5e the handsome o n e who attracts and charms each and al l . He plays his flute, cal l ing in strange notes, and all your cows, the senses, leave their
pastures and gather around. That is your fi rst mediat ion .
This m ischievous Krishna plays yet more strange notes and the dancers and danseuses, your energy currents, come runn ing in a l l the i r beauty and gaze a t h im ins ide you .
That is your second meditat ion.
Beyond that is pure bl iss. Where can I find a phrase book of the language of that world from which the charming one hails and to which he kidnaps us all while we meditate?
I pray that you are kidnapped by Krishna this day and I wish you a happy voyage to the world of that flute p layer who wil l charm you and love you .
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DRAW YOURSELF TO YOURSELF
Draw yourself to yourself. Empty your mind of al l th ings from sources outside you and look into your mind for a force that may be ent irely yours. A body in meditation is totally relaxed . Al l muscles are l imp, there is no twitch ing, no movement . The mind has no memories and, therefore, no anxieties. When the mind has no anxieties the breath flows evenly and smoothly. All the hollows of the mind are fi l led and there are no sharp edges. The brain becomes dear. The thoughts do not arise at random .
That even ness of the m i nd br i ngs an evenness of e m ot ions , and a qual i ty of equ i l ibr ium develops in your personal i ty. That equi l ibr ium may last for a moment or two wh i le in meditat ion , and in i t ia l ly that is so . But as your
mc::d i tat ions p rosper they begin to permeate your person­ ality and through a l l your thoughts, words and phys ical deeds your natural equi l ib r ium begins to show.
Drain al l waters from the Pacific Ocean and fi l l them with l iquid l ight59--these are the unfathomable depths of your mind .
I wish you a dive in to the depths of an ocean called con­ sciousness, fi l led with l ight .
HEAR THE SONG OF YOUR BREATH
Hear the song of your breath , for i t s ings of. hope, l ight and l i fe for al l your days and n ights. In your mind, hear it sing so, as you inhale. Hear i t say ham, as you exhale.60
Through all your inspirations and expi rations hear your breath sing soham: "I am He. I am who I am. Before Abraham was, I am. 11 Soham : 11 1 am the eternal l i fe, the winged soul , the solar swan of purity and freedom . 11
Did you say you were lost? Then let your breath answer soham : " I am the one whom the God · of my heart has found . " Did you say you were ·despair ing? · Then remember your breath s inging of l i fe. In your laughter and. tears, through problems and solutions, you have a companion­ your vita l breath.
Hold your mind to your breathing. Feel its streams flow­ ing in your nostri ls, i ts ocean-l ike tides on the beaches of your brows. Hear i t s ing soham: " I am . " Yes. again , center your mind on the feel of your breath and let i ts inward cur­ rents taJ:t.e you to those depths of your l i fe-force from where your mind arises and into which it subsides.
May your breath take you to that or ig in of l i fe-currents where s i lence folds the words away and unfolds sheets of l ight .
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THE MANTRA GLIDES
The mantra gl ides,6 1 soaring through the skies of the breezes of breath in the rarefied atmosphere. In the stratos­ phere beyond the mind it streaks across the shin ing cosmic rays. l ike a fal l ing scar descending co our earthly mind. The bel ls r inging in your ears are not of the bronze of this earth .62
A p i l lar of l ight r ises from the fi rm ground of your pos­ ture and penetrates intb heaven . The fa ith here moves no mountains ; it makes steady the fragments of your l imbs.
While in subterranean caves, fi res burn unseen, volca­ noes explode, the underground lakes and streams churn unhindered, the body sits rock-l ike and the spir it moves. The breath of God gently st i rs the reservoi rs with in .
The waves chat str ike your shores. the t ides that swel l from head co toe. the Pacific depths that r ise in the voice of Soph ia, who makes your mouth her dwel l ing, s ings :
These are your friends from the lands of Etern i ty. The journey is not to0 long. only a few incarnat ions .63 The ocean is not coo w ide, only a few aeons.
Patience, brother soul , you wil l reach as others have in the past . When pranas become your fr iends and your mantra gl ides in the stratosphere beyond , the mind knows that the other shore is very near and that the ·boat of your body wi l l reach the land of lands. The land of real i ty and l ight.
PROBLEMS OF GREAT MAGN ITUDE
I f you suffe r from many l i tt le problems, look for a problem of larger magnitude, and the many l i tt le p roblems wi l l vanish from . your v iew. Answers to l i tt le quest ions are always to be found in large quest ions. If many minor thoughts battle in your mind , immerse them in to an al l ­ absorbing thought .
But where shall I find these problems of great magnitude, these large questions, al l-absorbing thoughts? just breathe gently onto the surface of your mind's reservoi r and your mediation will create the currents that wi l l float you to the islands where these magn ificent fruits grow. just blow gently on the surface of your mind.64
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RAYS OF THE SUPERCONSCIOUS
A strange impercept ib le poison i n you changes the conscious into subconscious. I t distorts your images, pollutes the streams of inspirat ion. holds court with shadows. Whenever an experience enters through the windows of your senses, the subconscious lurking beh ind the doors alters your
. percept ions and you find that the residue of your experience is deposi ted at the bottom of your mind's lake. It misinter­ p rets l ights as shadows and misguides your intuit ion .
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The Superconscious alone can cleanse you and make your waters serene and sti l l . When you meditate let the residue of past act ions and experiences lie undisturbed . Let the Superconscious cut th rough your ego l ike a razor's edge. Let it flash l ike l ightn ing6s on the forest trai l you are walking. Do not let the hoot of the subconscious disturb you . Let not its fears come to the surface.
I wish for you this day a total loss of your subconscious and of every murky thing that arises from its depths. I wish that the rays of the Superconscious make way into your c:;ave and l ight up your inner world forever.
INF IN ITE ANTIDOfE
You can exhale all your poison . You can cure yourself of its deadly effects-the poison of random thought, of random pulses in the nerves, of tensions uncal led for in the muscles, the poison left beh ind in the lungs by shal low breathing.
There is a physician inside who prescribes the internal antidotes. You yawn , and the lungs fi l l . You stretch , and the muscles relax . You sleep, and the brain takes shelter in the shade of the trees of negation . Your mind navigates a com­ plex network of streams, channels and tr ibutaries. Away from the toi ls of consciousness it views the fester ing swamps, the tropical woodlands, the fuming volcanoes of dreams. These are but imperfect antidotes, thei r effects last­ ing only a few, fleeting hours. Then you seek a deeper peace.
Your meditation is the herbal essence of Infin i ty. It is a serum that permeates your body, breath , bra in . I t is a drop of everlasting l ight. The l ight fal ls th rough a crevice. on a rock in the cave, and sets akindle the whole of your inner space.
Do take then . this day, an antidote for your daily doses of poison . Cheers to the immortal iz ing drink of eternal l i fe and a forever last ing peace.
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COME HOME TO YOUR SEAT OF MEDIATION
After wandering through the desert sands of the duties of the day, after bath ing in the mi rages of n ightmares at n ight , come back home to the comforts of you'r spir it and rest . After scattering your gems to the world come back to your c reasures to gather more. After searing your skin under scorching flames of passions, cravings, frustrations, return to your shelter for a heal ing balm . Once every twenty-four hours, do come home to your seat of meditation .66 Come back home to rest .
Al l those swamps you waded th rough today have taken a tol l on your mental body. The spirit is somewhat soi led , the splendour of the soul is somewhat dimmed . But here flows a sacred Jordan , the Mother Ganges.61 From the mountain of your forehead a clear stream runs into the secret cave. B reathe deeply. Thke a dip and bathe all the impurit ies away. Once more strengthened , venture out through the gates of your cognit ive senses to hunt the experiences in the woods of the world . Travel , indeed , far and wide. But once each day, do come back to your seat of meditat ion , to the true home of your mind.
DANCE TO THE COSMIC TUN E
Driftwood floats a t the mercy of every l i ttle r ipple. A sh ip , expertly navigated, withstands mountainous waves. Little i rri tations and small emotions are for dr iftwood , not for the ships that free wi l l navigates.
I f you must be of earth , be the whole planet and not a tiny speck of dust . Be not a spark, but a conflagration; not a pool , but an ocean . If your self is l i ttle, a thousand sorrows a day wi l l drown your specks of dust, a thousand l i ttle storms wi l l ext inguish your flame.
Let your meditat ion help you grow, help you know your vast, expansive Self, so that neither l i tt le sorrows make you weep nor small joys make you dance. Let your m ind dance, indeed , but to the Cosmic Tune. Why is your meditation troubled "by the small ripples of things of l imi ted conse­ quence when a st i l l mind in meditation wi l l br ing you the Infin i te?
If you must deal with problems this day, I wish you t ruly great problems, so you may find great solutions from the ocean of your expans ive Self. I wish you an undisturbed mind, balance and equan imity.
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LIFE FORCE
An ant ' s body is the s ize of a sesame seed , but per­ meated by l i fe-force it exhib its amazing strength for its s ize. I magine, then , the strength of the l