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#1896 - Friday, August 20, 2004 - Editor: Gloria Lee
An excerpt:
Question.
Answer:
Waves are not
separate from the Ocean,
rays are not separate from the Sun,
You are not separate from
Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
This is a reflection of That.
posted on Million Paths by Viorica Weissman
http://www.1heart.us/gallery/album48/Turiya?full=1
posted on Adyashantisatsangh
The Mountain
November 4, 1995
I am sitting in the Cemetery, beneath the Mountain, San Bruno
Mountain.
All things have changed, and go on changing......in my
life......everyone's life.......except this mountain.
...........When
I gaze at this mountain.....I can be a child again. What does
that
mean to me......it doesn't mean 'carefree' or 'funloving' in any
ordinary sense, like the phrase 'like a child again' conjures up
to
the popular mind.
To me, it means the memory of gazing up at the mountain when I
was a
child and the feelings it evoked in me then, are evoked in me
now.
As a child, what I felt gazing at this mountain was a sense of
Eternity, a Constant, a Changelessness that became so Obvious -
and
more and more clear as moments passed.........it was as if the
mountain were calling my name, silently.............I would wake
up
for a few seconds. The juxtaposition of busy-ness, other people's
voices, sounds of cars driving by and the Still Majesty of the
Mountain became a Teaching. My first Transcendental Teaching and
Teacher.......
The Mountain was a silent, always constant Pure Presence. It felt
Conscious to me. Therefore I have had a relationship with the
Mountain - unlike any other relationship. We silently acknowledge
one
another and the fact that we both KNOW.
We know that the Fact of Existence is Eternal;...................
an
Always Event.
The Mountain has been more than a symbol to me.........people
might
say...(.or more precisely the psychiatric, psychological,
analytical
trend in Mind might say) the mountain 'represents' security,
serenity,
immovability'. No, it is not that. I do not relate to this
Mountain
as a Symbol. This mountain 'symbolizes' nothing......It
Communicates.
It is a Witness. It is always in perfect Observation of the
Eternal
Fact of Existence and that Fact is what it always Communicates to
me.
This Mountain is transparent to GOD. This Mountain pulled aside
the
veil of this dream of busy, busy life, and showed me as plain and
obvious as could be, the Reality of Eternal
Consciousness...........prior to any objects. As a child I gazed
upon
this mountain and it communicated thus. Now at this moment in
does so.
This Mountain, alive as Transcendental Consciousness is
constantly
Present, rising above headstones and the softly rolling green
hills.........always there for any grievers, mourners, or
momentary
sojourners in this yard of bones. I wonder how many have been
drawn
to look up? How many have felt the Presence and looked upon this
Great Communication in the midst of their 'doingness' here. I
wonder.
Sometimes, I think I am the only one. I hope not. I don't mean
the
only one to look at
the mountain, of course, but perhaps the only one who can 'see'
and
'hear' the Mountain to the point of Ecstasy........to the point
of
Relationship....to the point Beyond Relationship.....
When I feel this Mountain, I am moved by it. I am moved all the
way
to stillness. The knowingness of how it is , really Is, is a
pleasurable Blissfulness that I feel in my chest and in my whole
body.
This is the Bliss of Conscious Reality. Nothing needs to be
added..........
My Beloved Mountain, you have always been my Constant. My One
Changeless...sitting at the foot of You is my true home on
Earth.....no matter where I am geographically...I come home when
I
gaze at You.
To talk about this with others? What could be gained by sharing
this
with anyone, who does not already know it themselves? This
mountain
is self-evident....It is ACTUALLY, 'Self' Evident. People who are
called will hear it I guess and see it and KNOW. Otherwise it
will go
unnoticed, by those who only notice a landscape. How to speak
about
the Sublime Communication of Eternal Consciousness-Bliss to
people who
only see a huge mound of dirt; who only feel themselves......
After I have been with this Mountain awhile I feel a familiar
sense of
detachment. I feel detached in a way from the seriousness with
which
everyone takes their lives - their life stories, their little
dramas.
It is all sandcastles...........all sandcastles.....Everyone gets
so
into their particular version of reality, their specific patterns
of
work and play and relating and so on. When I sit here, it is all
a
funny Play! No more real or serious or meaningful than an
afternoon's
puppetshow entertainment, or a children's theatre act. Everyone
seems
absurd in their real attachment to their role and others'
supposed
roles. It IS the Divine Comedy.
Sometimes.............I feel like saying Wake up! Wake up you
stupids!!! Can't you feel the complete Mystery of Existence
ITSELF,................. with none of your saying, or doing or
thinking added to it at all?!! Doesn't the Fact of Conscious
Existence, blow your mind?
Wouldn't you like to Contemplate the Mystery of Existence to the
point
where we all become Ecstatic?
~Trudy posted on
Adyashantisatsangh
Mount Arunachala
more:http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/india/tiruvanamalai.html
Maalok: Ramana Maharshi was a prime example of living detachment. However, it is said, if there was one thing that he had slight attachment to, it was Arunachala. Perhaps you could explain why the Maharshi never moved from Arunachala after reaching there as a teenager.
David: Arunachala has been a spiritual magnet for as long as records have been kept. Various saints, yogis and spiritual seekers have felt its call for at least 1,500 years, probably much longer. Some inexplicable power draws people to this place and keeps them here. Seen in this context, Ramana Maharshi is just the latest and most famous saint to feel the pull of this place. When he was very young, he had an intuitive knowledge that the word Arunachala denoted God or a heavenly realm, but at the time he didn't realize it was a place he could actually visit. He didn't find this out until he was in his early teens. A few weeks after he realized the Self at the age of sixteen, he left home, traveled to Arunachala and spent the rest of his life there.
Why this place? For him it was his father, his Guru and his God, Siva. It may sound strange to say that a mountain can be all these things, but Sri Ramana was not alone in seeing Arunachala in this light. This is what a famous local saint, Guru Namasivaya, wrote a few hundred years ago:
Mountain who drives out the night of spiritual ignorance.
Mountain who is the lamp of true knowledge to devotees.
Mountain in the form of abundant knowledge.
Mountain who came to me, a mere dog,
As father, mother and Sadguru:
Annamalai.
Annamalai is the local Tamil name of the mountain. This is what the Tamil purana of Arunachala, also written centuries ago, has to say about the holiness of this place:
Beginning with these first ones and continuing up to the present day, many are those who have attained the deathless state of liberation through dwelling on Aruna[chala] in their thoughts, through lovingly speaking its praises, through hearing of it, and then coming to gaze upon it, through performing pradakshina of it on foot, through dwelling there in a state of righteousness, through walking in the path of truth there, through bathing in its broad tanks, and through carrying out good works, performing holy service in the temple and worshipping there at the feet of that Effulgent Light.
That is the tradition of this place. Throughout its history Arunachala has attracted ardent seekers and liberated them. Yet, surprisingly, it remains relatively unknown even within India.
Arunachala has always been regarded as a manifestation of Siva, not just a symbolic representation of Him, or a place where He lives. The mountain itself is a lingam that has the full power and authority of Siva Himself. This is what millions of South Indian believe, and their belief is backed up, authenticated by many great saints who have gone on record as saying that it was the power of this mountain that brought about their own spiritual liberation. Ramana Maharshi was one of them. He was quite categorical that Arunachala was his Guru, and that Arunachala had been the agent that brought about his own realization. Seen in this context, why should he not spend the rest of his physical life in its vicinity?
Sri Ramana loved this mountain passionately. He wrote devotional poetry about it that at times verged on the ecstatic, and in all the fifty-four years he lived here, he could never be persuaded to go more than a mile from the base of the mountain.
www.davidgodman.org posted on MillionPaths by Viorica
Weissman
Kindred Spirit
“The true significance of the act of going round Arunachala is said to be as effective as circuit round the world. That means that the whole world is condensed into this Hill.” Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 212.
A book jacket from Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi is propped by my computer just so I can look at it. Right now some file boxes are blocking the lower part of his face but I can see his eyes. The peace of Arunachala is everywhere, never mind our present confusion.
He always said that the hill was a holy place and he would circumnambulate it as often as he could. Web-surfing is not quite the same, although we may be connecting with the Self from Ojai to Alabama. Where is this peace but within? I tend to lose it with regularity, so obviously it is not emanating from me on a personal level. However, that is not to say that all of us are not carriers of peace, for we are.
It takes discernment to find a kindred spirit, of which Ramana Maharshi was one. His gift was that he could bestow grace on so many different people at the same time. Now that he is just a picture on a dust jacket he is even more powerful. At times I sit with the Talks in my lap while I am watching TV. Neither lost in the program or lost in a page of the book, I am resting in the Self.
Peace washes over us when we have but a small desire for it. Like lightning, which begins with a ground charge, peace must begin with a small intention to reconnect with it, to pick up the thread of it. Ramana says that geographical places are within the Self and that only the body travels while we remain still. Who hasn’t desired to traverse the holy hill of the Self? It can be done. We can likewise commune with kindred spirits just by having a sincere wish to do so. They may be in or out of the body, in or out of the phone book; it doesn’t matter. Resonance is what counts. The Maharshi showed us that.
Vicki Woodyard
http://www.bobwoodyard.com
"To experience this
noble birth, you must depart from all crowds and go
back to the starting point, the core out of which you came. The
crowds are
the agents of the soul and their activities; memory,
understanding, and
will, in all their diversifications. You must leave them all;
sense
perception, imagination, and all that you discover in self or
intend to do.
After that, you may experience this birth."
- Meister Eckhart
posted on Allspirit Inspiration Allspirit Website: http://www.allspirit.co.uk
If I ask you what is the taste of your mouth,
all you can do is to
say: it is neither sweet
nor bitter nor sour
nor astringent; it is what
remains when all these
tastes are not.
Similarly, when all
distinctions and reactions
are no more, what
remains is reality, simple
and solid.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj ~
If you are eager to be
nothing
before you know who you are,
you rob yourself of your true being.
Until you understand nothingness
you will never know true Faith.
- Rumi
~
Forget about your life situation and pay
attention to your
life.
Your life situation
exists in time.
Your life is now.
Your life situation is
mind-stuff.
Your life is real.
- Eckhart Tolle
posted on Along the Way
KEEP ON DIGGIN'
Sue called me today -
said she was wonderin' what was the use of
practicing - she is not gonna get enlightened in this life
anyway.
Reminded me of story someone sent awhile ago....
Two young brothers once decided to dig a deep hole behind their
house.
As they were working, a couple of other boys stopped by to watch.
"What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors.
"We're going to dig a hole all the way through the
earth!" one of the
brothers volunteered excitedly.
The other boys began to laugh, telling the brothers that digging
a hole
all the way through the earth was impossible.
After a long silence, one of the young diggers picked up a jar
full of
spiders and worms and insects and interesting stones. He removed
the lid
and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors. Then
he said
confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through
the earth, look
what we found along the way!"
Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig.
And that
is what a goal is for - to cause us to move in the direction we
have
chosen, in other words, to set us to digging!
But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job
will end
successfully.
Not every relationship will endure.
Not every hope will come to pass.
Not every love will last.
Not every endeavor will be completed.
Not every dream will be realized.
But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say,
"Yes, but look
at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which
have
come into my life because I began the journey!"
~Author Unknown
posted on Daily
Dharma by Dharma Grandmother