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#2977 - Monday, November 5, 2007 - Editor:
Gloria Lee
The play of
concepts is endless. Concepts about the body, the mind,
spirit, universe, cosmos, big bang, small bang, how the world
came into
being, shiva, shakti, etc.
And then there are concepts about concepts, and thoughts about
the
nature of thoughts!
What to do? The questions are thoughts and the answers are
thoughts.
And thinking about questions and answers requires thoughts.
What to do?
Nothing to do.
The quicksand of concepts entangles one more and more, the more
seriously one takes them. It is the stuff of religion,
philosophy,
spirituality, great writers, great thinkers, great
teachers, great
leaders, etc.
The presumption to understand, teach, and help others to improve
themselves reveals the unrelenting grip of the ego.
But the ego is not bad. It is something natural. It arises as a
natural
condition.
The wise say, that, "I am the doer" notion is bondage.
The real method to self knowledge is simple.
To go to the root of the ego or the mind, one needs to become
aware of
one's complete helplessness. That takes time. That takes
spiritual
maturity. To feel truly that 'not my will Lord, but thy
will be done'. In
doing so, the surrender can take place and one can
naturally do what
one is destined to do.
If by Grace, one can bring the awareness upon its own essence, to
see
and feel its own essential being, that is all that needs to be
done. That
is all that can be done!
In this awareness, one can stare at the originating point of
thoughts
and feelings and symbols and visions which rise in it, and see
itself as
the source, not as a thought but as a well of being that
perpetually
springs forth in itself and dissolves in itself never losing its
inherent quality of naturalness, sat-chit-ananda.
It is the essence of simplicity. Pure Being. That is what Sri
Ramana
taught. To be aware of the "I AM" as feeling/awareness.
That is the
direct practice. To be simply aware of yourself.
Spiritual practitioners seek complex and glamorous practices
leading to
rich experiences and knowledge. This is good as well. All
according to
one's inclinations.
But there are some who have consumed enough knowledge and enough
experiences and lose the desire for any of it. Spontaneously, the
directness of one's own awareness manifests as one's own self.
One's Own
Self is the Self of all. One Heart. Same Heart. All Heart.
Love to all
Harsha
originally posted to HarshaSatsangh on October 31, 2003
Alan Larus photos http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/4_duck_2.htm http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/Trees_and_field.htm
If I say "wind in pine"
Will you hear it?
Only waves of air
Washing around inside you
Through limbs of trees
You planted there long ago
Or yesterday
Will deliver my words to you alive
Will carry you into
The pure wonder of wildness
Like a dry needle swept into the sky.
— Garth Gilchrist
http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/Wind_in_pine.htm
I used to ask,
‘What forced me on this way,
What promise have I made?’
For so the story goes
Nights with tea and laughs about
Another time, other names
Another place
But ‘neti neti’ saves us from the maze
The goal’s ahead
This ship is sailing in a steady state
Till traces in the dust show clear.
Closer to the end,
What it takes to bring us here
How many times the narrow path
The river, row of horses
A room of stone with a view so blue
How many times
The painted letters on the cloth
Turning in the draft
Until the door is opening
with silence and your face
I used to ask,
Yet it was never mine the oath
In the middle of the field,
unnoticed, the centre moves
back into place
from dark green hills
and dirty towns
every echo
has come home
the mountain
the wind
the way of the white clouds
-- Alan Larus
http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/mountain.htm