One God Notes Archives
2007
#292. 2007/01/07.

 

Abba Moses replied: 'To look upon God at all times and to be inseparable from Him, in the manner which you envisage, is impossible for a man still in the flesh and enslaved to weakness. In another way, however, it is possible to look upon God, for the manner of contemplating God may be conceived and understood in many ways. God is not only to be known in His blessed and incomprehensible being, (...). He is also to be known from the grandeur and beauty of His creatures, from His providence which governs the world day by day, from His righteousness and from the wonders which He shows to His saints in each generation. (...) There are many similar ways of seeing and apprehending God, which grow in us according to our labour and to the degree of our purification.'

 

St. John Cassian (360-435), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.96-7.

 

#293. 2007/01/14.
Be yourself and seek your own path. Know yourself before you attempt to get to know children. Become aware of what you yourself are capable of before you attempt to outline the rights and responsibilities of children. First and foremost you must realize that you too are a child, whom you must first get to know, to bring up and educate. Children are not the people of tomorrow, but are people of today. They have a right to be taken seriously, and to be treated with tenderness and respect, they should be allowed to grow into whoever they were meant to be. The unknown person inside each of them is our hope for the future.
Janusz Korczak (1879-1942), How to Love a Child, quoted in: Michael Shire, The Jewish Prophet, P.115.

More on Janusz Korczak can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Korczak

 

#294. 2007/01/21.
Lacking real knowledge, we still trust solely in the apparent righteousness of our way of life, and so lead ourselves astray, trying to please men, pursuing the glory, honour and praise which they offer. But the Judge who cannot be deceived will certainly come, and 'will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and reveal the purposes of hearts' (1Cor 4:5). He neither respects the wealthy nor pities the poor, but strips away the outward appearance and reveals the truth hidden within.
St. Mark the Ascetic (4th Century C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.150.

More on St. Mark the Ascetic can be found at: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Mark_the_Ascetic

 

#295. 2007/01/28.
Is not evident (...) that there is but one and the same divine light: that which the apostles saw on Tabor, which purifies souls behold even now, and which is the reality of the eternal blessings to come?
St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) quoted in: Speake, Graham (2002). Mount Athos. Renewal in Paradise. London, New Haven: Yale University Press, P.92.

More on St. Gregory Palamas can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Palamas

 

#296. 2007/02/04.
Dear Tom, I write it during the New Year's Eve, which we traditionally spend at home, without any company, since that New Year's Eve in 1944/45, when I got drunk under the most unfortunate circumstances. This is to perform penance and express our gratitude, that we were not immediately punished after my stupid acts. (...) I write less and less poetry, and I become a dreamer, which means that I measure a distance between what I would like to and could (as I feel) write - from one point, and this that I can write - from the second, and as a result I write nothing. My nights are filled with ecstatic prayers, joy - I know, that it simply can be a trap, but I can't fight with the obvious. (...) to my own surprise I return to my youth, to play with the possibilities. And this is also my pain; desire to be useful, combined with my personal literary ambition, pushes me to do something. In these times of widespread negation and mockery, shouldn't a man give expression to his rapture? (....) (Letter dated December 31, 1964).
Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) quoted in: Tarnowska, Maria (Trans.) (2003). Thomas Merton, Czesław Miłosz - Listy (Striving toward Being: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Czesław Miłosz). Kraków, Poland: Znak, P.147.

More on Czesław Miłosz, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980, can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz

 

#297. 2007/02/11.
On seeing his auspicious wife, Rati, Kama was pierced by his own arrows and was overpowered by the pleasure of alliance. His wife of fair completion, tremulous side-glances and fawn-eyes, admirably suited to his love of pleasure offered him ample sports. (...) Inhalling the naturally sweet fragrance of her steady breath Kama abandoned his faith in the Malaya breeze. Seeing her face resembling the full moon with all characteristic remarks, Kama was unable to find any difference between her face and the moon. Her pair of breasts resembled the buds of golden lotus with nipples shining like bees hovering round them. (...) His eyes covering the skin with their glances around her deep navel shone like red plums. That lovely woman of slender waist with a natural golden complexion appeared like a golden platform to Kama. Kama looked at her thighs lovely like the stump of a plantain as though they were his javelin. The heels, the tips and the sides of her feet were reddish in tinge. With them she looked as the comrade of the Cupid. Her red hands with nails like Kimsuka flowers and with well-rounded tapering fingers were very beautiful. Her arms were fine like the lotus-stalk. They were glossy and soft. They resembled corals putting forth the beam of splendour. Her glossy hair resembled the blue cloud and the fluffy tail of the Camari dear. Thus shone the wife of Kama.

Just as Lord Siva accepted Ganga oozing from the snowy mountains, Kama married her. (...) Great festivities heightening the pleasure of everyone ensued, O dear one. (...) Rati was highly delighted on getting Kama as her husband. The sweet-voiced Kama rejoiced with her like a cloud at sunset mingled with sparkling lightning. Thus Kama took Rati to his chest (...).

The marriage of Kama, Hindu God of Love, as narrated in: Shivapurana, Vol.I. New Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass. P.288-290. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

More on Kama can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamadeva

 

#298. 2007/02/19.
Fast before the Lord according to your strength, for to do this will purge you of your iniquities and sins; it exalts the soul, sanctifies the mind, drives away the demons, and prepares you for God's presence.
St. Evagrios the Solitary (345-399 C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.36

 

#299. 2007/02/25.
They asked Abba Marcarius:  How should we pray?  The old man answered: A long speech is not necessary, but instead stretch out your hands and say, Lord, as you wish and as you know, have mercy.  Yet if you feel a conflict is breaking out, you have to say, Lord, help!  He knows what is good for us and treats us mercifully.
Nomura, Yushi. Desert Wisdom:  Sayings from the Desert Fathers. P.104

 

#300. 2007/03/04.
 
May your labor is light
and your child grow healthy.
May she feels happy sometimes
and jumps over abysses.
May her heart has ability for perseverance,
and her mind is alert and far reaching. 
 
Pour que l'accuchement soit leger
et que l'enfant grandisse en bonne sante.
Pourvu qu'il soit heureux parfois
et traverse les abimes.
Que son coeur ne manque pas de perseverance,
que sa raison toujours en eveil, et voie loin.
 
Wisława Szymborska (1997). O śmierci bez przesady [De la mort sans exagerer]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. P.172

More on Wisława Szymborska, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1996) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szymborska

 

#301. 2007/03/11.
 
"(...) you should look to the areas of your countries where people are poverty-stricken and helpless and then do all you can to raise their standards of living, teaching them cleanliness and high morals. To serve the needy truly and from the heart is true service to God."
 
Haidakhan Babaji. The Teachings of Babaji. P.64. (1983-04-20).

More on Haidakhan Babaji can be found at: http://www.babajiashram.org/hua/About-baba.html

 

#302. 2007/03/18.
 
When your joy is sincere you are a smile-millionaire. A genuine smile distributes the cosmic current, prana, to every body cell. (...) Those smiles come from meditation.
The only thing that can last is the joy of God. When you have it you can smile all the time.

Find joy within and express it in your face. When you do that, wherever you go a little smile will surcharge everyone with your divine magnetism. Everybody will be happy!

Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, PP. 89, 173, 174.

More on Paramahansa Yogananda can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramahansa_Yogananda
 

#303. 2007/03/25.

By God, don't linger
in any spiritual benefit you have gained,
but yearn for more - like one suffering from illness
whose thirst for water is never quenched.
This Divine Court is the Plane of the Infinite.

Rumi, Mathnawi III, 1960, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.96.


More on Rumi (1207-1273) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
 

#304. 2007/04/01.

 
(...) those who have only recently escaped from the agitation of the world should be advised to practice stillness; otherwise, by frequently going out, they will reopen the wounds inflicted on their minds through the senses. They should take care not to add new images to their old fantasies. Those who have only just renounced the world find stillness hard to practice, for memory now has time to stir up all the filth that is within them, whereas previously it had no chance to do this because of their many preoccupations. But, though hard to practice, stillness will in time free the intellect from being disturbed by impure thoughts. Since the aim is to cleanse the soul and purify it from all defilement, such people should avoid everything that makes it unclean. They should keep their intelligence in a state of profound calm, far from all that irritates it, and should refrain from talking with men of frivolous character. (:-))They should embrace solitude, the mother of wisdom.
 
St. Neilos the Ascetic (died around the year 430 CE), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.230-1.

More on St. Neilos can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nilus

 

#305. 2007/04/08.
 
Since salvation comes to you as a free gift, give thanks to God your saviour. If you wish to present Him with gifts, gratefully offer from your widowed soul two tiny coins, humility and love, and God will accept these in the treasure of His salvation more gladly than the host of virtues deposited there by others (cf. Mark 12:41-43).
 
St. Theognostos (VIII Century of the C.E. ?), quoted in: (1981). The Philokalia. Vol. II., P.369.

More on the Philokalia can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philokalia

 

#306. 2007/04/15.
 
The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man.
 
Albert Einstein, quoted in: Isaacson, W. (2007). Einstein & Faith. Time Magazine, Canadian Edition, April 16, 2007, P.35.

More on Albert Einstein (1879-1955) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

 

#307. 2007/04/22.
 
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, (...) "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth! Tell me if you have understanding. (...) Have you ever in life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place (...)? Have you entered into the spring of the sea? Or have you walked in the recess of the deep? (...) Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. (...) Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail (...)? Where is the way that the light is divided, or the east wind scattered on the earth? Who has cleft a channel for the flood, or a way for the thunderbolt (...)? From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given birth? (...) Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? (...) Can you send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'? (...) Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, when its young cry to God, and wander without food? (...) Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? (...) Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, stretching his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
 
Job 38 & 39

Happy Earth Day!

 

#308. 2007/04/29.
 
There are many among you who have no knowledge of the inner work required of the man who would hold God in remembrance.  Nor do such people even understand what remembrance of God means, or know anything about spiritual
prayer, for they imagine that the only right way of praying is to use such prayers as are to be found in Church books.  As for secret communion with God in the heart, they know nothing of this, nor of the profit that comes from it, nor do they ever taste its spiritual sweetness.  Those who only hear about spiritual meditation and prayer and have no direct knowledge of it are like men blind from birth, who hear about the sunshine without ever knowing what it really is. (...)
 
St. Dimitri of Rostov, qouted in: The Art of Prayer:  An Orthodox Anthology. P. 43

More on St. Dimitri of Rostov (1651-1709) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitry_of_Rostov

 

#309. 2007/05/06.
 
Suddenly I heard the uproar of thousands of voices, (...). I turned around, too, toward the point commanding their gazes, and I could see the sun, like a very clear disc, with its sharp edge, which gleamed without hurting the sight … It could not be confused with the sun seen through a fog (there was no fog at that moment), for it was neither veiled, nor dim. At Fatima, it kept its light and heat, and stood out clearly in the sky, with a sharp edge, like a large gaming table. The most astonishing thing was to be able to stare at the solar disc for a long time, brilliant with light and heat, without hurting the eyes, or damaging the retina. (Dr. Almeida Garrett)
 
The sun began to dance and, at a certain moment, it appeared to detach itself from the firmament and to rush forward on us, like a fire wheel. (Alfredo da Silva Santos)
 
We suddenly heard a clamor, like a cry of anguish of that entire crowd. The sun, in fact, keeping its rapid movement of rotation, seemed to free itself from the firmament and, blood-red, to plunge towards the earth, threatening to crush us with its fiery mass. Those were some terrifying seconds. (Dr. Almeida Garrett)
 
From those thousands of mouths I heard shouts of joy and love to the Most Holy Virgin. And then I believed. I had the certainty of not having been the victim of a suggestion. I had seen the sun as I would never see it again. (Mario Godinho, an engineer)
 
Miracle of the Sun as described by some of the 70000 people who witnessed it in Fatima on October 13, 1917, qouted in: http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/1917appar.asp

More on Our Lady of Fatima can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Fatima

 

#310. 2007/05/13.
 
"Dr. Daniel Goleman, a Harvard psychologist who investigated meditation as a means of coping with stress, writes: People who meditate have long recognized in themselves and in fellow meditators marked improvement of their psychological state and psychosomatic disorders...Even someone who has just begun to meditate regularly can notice that immediately after each meditation he is not so likely to respond to people and situations in a tense way - he is relaxed, and can take things as they come.  With prolonged practice of meditation, this relaxed stance toward life's vicissitudes pervades the meditator's day.  He finds himself reacting with equanimity where once he would have gotten angry, paranoid, envious, greedy, titillated, or whatever reaction his particular personality makes him susceptible to."
 
Helleberg, Marilyn Morgan. A Guide to Christian Meditation. P.150.

 

#311. 2007/05/21.
When the Spirit has come to reside in someone, that person cannot stop praying; for the Spirit prays without ceasing in him. No matter if he is asleep or awake, prayer is going on in his heart all the time. He may be eating or drinking, he may be resting or working - the incense of prayer will ascend spontaneously from his heart. (…) His thoughts will be prompted by God. The slightest stirring of his heart is like a voice which sings in silence and in secret to the Invisible.
Isaac the Syrian, 6th Century.

More on Isaac the Syrian can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_of_Nineveh
 
#312. 2007/05/27.
 
"I saw that a light, beautiful and blissful beyond measure, was coming from heaven and it surrounded me and shone through me and illuminated me entirely, and my heart was transformed all of sudden and filled with an unspeakable and strange joy, so that I utterly and completely forgot all the misery and torment that I had ever known until this time. And in the light and in the joy, I saw and sensed that my God was taken up from the heart and out through my mouth and high into the air, and there it was given me to see my soul clearly (…) all its form and grace and beauty was shown to me fully. (…) It was a round, beautiful, and illuminating light, like the sun, and was of a gold-colored red, and this light was so immeasurably beautiful and blissful that I could not compare it with anything else. (…) And it seemed to me that a splendor went out from me that illuminated the whole world, and a blissful day dawned over the whole earth. And in this light which was my soul, I saw God blissfully shining, as a beautiful light shines out of a beautiful radiant lamp, and I saw that he nestled up my soul so lovingly and so kindly that he was wholly united with it and it with him. And in this union of love my soul acquired from God the certainty that all my sins had been wholly forgiven me (…). "
 

Elsbet Stagel (XIV Century), quoted in: Buber, Ecstatic Confessions, P.83-84.

 

#313. 2007/06/03.
 
There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to God’s Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness.
 
The Persian Bayan. II, 16. Quoted after: The Selections From the Writings of the Bab. (1982). Baha'i World Centre. Page 217.

More on Bab (1819-1850) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bab

 

 

#314. 2007/06/10.
 
When we are in trouble or despair or have lost hope, we should do what David did; pour out our hearts to God and tell Him of our needs and troubles, just as they are (cf. Ps. 142:2). It is because he can deal with us wisely that we confess to God: he can make our troubles easy to bear, if this is for our benefit, and can save us from the dejection which destroys and corrupts.
 
St. Hesyhios the Priest (8th or 9th Century), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.185

More on Philokalia can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philocalia

#315. 2007/06/17.
 
May the Lord of Love, who projects himself
into this universe of myriad forms,
from whom all beings come and to whom all
return, grant us the grace of wisdom.
 
He is fire and the sun, and the moon
and the stars. He is the air and the sea, (...).
He has no beginning, he has no end.
He is the source from which the worlds evolve.
 
From his divine power comes forth all this
magical show of name and form, of you
and me, which casts the spell of pain and pleasure.
Only when we pierce through this magic veil
do we see the One who appears as many. (...)
 
Forgetting our divine origin,
we become ensnared in the world of change
and bewail our helplessness. But when
we see the Lord of Love in all his glory,
adored by all, we go beyond sorrow.
 
What use are the scriptures to anyone
who knows not the one source from whom they come,
in whom all gods and worlds abide?
Only those who realize him as ever present
within the heart attain abiding joy.
 
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, quoted in: Harvey, Andrew (Ed). (2001). Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Boston, London: Shambala Publ., P.23-4

More on Shvetashvatara Upanishad can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shvetashvatara_Upanishad

#316. 2007/06/24.
 
I'm the one who has the body,
you're the one who holds the breath.
You know the secret of my body,
I know the secret of your breath.
That's why your body
is in mine.
You know
and I know, Ramanatha,
the miracle
of your breath
in my body.
 
Devara Dasimayya (10th Centrury), quoted in: Harvey, Andrew (Ed). (2001). Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Boston, London: Shambala Publ., P.73.

More on Devara Dasimayya can be found at: http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/D/DasimayyaDev/index.htm

 

#317. 2007/07/08.
 
My soul cries out,
snared by the beauty
of the formless one.
As I cry by myself,
night and day,
beauty amassed before my eyes
surpasses numberless moons and suns.
If I look at the clouds in the sky,
I see his beauty afloat;
and I see him walk on the stars
blazing my heart.
 
Fakirchand, quoted in: Harvey, Andrew (Ed). (2001). Teachings of the Hindu Mystics. Boston, London: Shambala Publ., P.95.

Fakirchand was a 19th century poet of the Baul tradition.

#318. 2007/07/15.
And the more intellect is stripped of the passions and purified through stillness, the greater the spiritual knowledge it is found worthy to receive. The intellect is perfect when it transcends knowledge of created things and is united with God: having then attained a royal dignity it no longer allows itself to be pauperized or aroused by lower desires, even if offered all the kingdoms of the world.
Abba Philimon (VI-VII Century C.E.), quoted in: (1981). The Philokalia. Vol. II., P.345.

More on Philokalia can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philocalia
#319. 2007/07/22.
 
As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for you, the living God; when can I go and worship in your presence?
Day and night I cry, and tears are my only food; (...)
Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?"
I am crushed by their insults, as they keep on asking me,
"Where is your God?" (...)
My heart breaks when I remember the past,
when I went with the crowds to the house of God,
and led them as they walked along,
a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God. (...)
Here in exile my heart is breaking,
and so I turn my thoughts to him. (...)
May the Lord show his constant love during the day,
so that I may have a song at night,
a prayer to the God of my life.
 
Psalm 42: 1-3, 9-10, 4, 6, 8. Today's English Version.

 

#320. 2007/07/29.
 
This is the nature of the unenlightened mind: the sense organs, which are limited in scope and ability, randomly gather information. This partial information is arranged into judgments, which are based on previous judgments, which are usually based on someone's else's foolish ideas. These false concepts and ideas are then stored in a highly selective memory system. Distortion upon distortion: the mental energy flows constantly through contorted and inappropriate channels, and the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes. (...) Simply avoid becoming attached to what you see and think. Relinquish the notion that you are separated from the knowing-all mind of the universe. Then you can recover your original pure insight and see through all illusions. Knowing nothing, you will be aware of everything. Remember: because clarity and enlightenment are within your own nature, they are regained without moving an inch.
 
Hua Hu Ching 44, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom. P.172.

 

#321. 2007/08/05.
 
If you wish to be granted a mental vision of the divine you must first embrace a peaceful and quiet way of life, and devote your efforts to acquiring a knowledge of both yourself and God. If you do this and achieve a pure state untroubled by any passion, there is nothing to prevent your intellect from perceiving, as it were in a light breeze (cf. 1 Kgs. 19:12. LXX), Him who is invisible to all; (...).
 
St. Theognostos (VIII Century of the C.E. ?), quoted in: (1981). The Philokalia. Vol. II., P.360.

More on the Philokalia can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philokalia

 

#322. 2007/08/12.
 
(…) Dear children, I beseech you, surrender to the Lord your entire past, all the evil accumulated in your hearts. I want each one of you to be happy, but in sin nobody can be happy. Therefore, dear children, pray, and in prayer you shall realize a new way of joy. (…). 
 
Our Lady of Medjugorie, February 25, 1987. Words from Heaven, P.243-4.

More on Our Lady of Medjugorie can be found at: http://www.medjugorie.org/
#324. 2007/09/02. 
 

"Gdziekolwiek patrzę, tam On jest obecny. On nigdy nie jest daleko.

On jest wszech-przenikający, wszędzie. O mój umyśle, medytuj o Nim ciągle.

Ten jeden jest nazwany twoim towarzyszem, który nie jest od ciebie oddalony, teraz i zawsze.

Ta przyjemność, która przemija w jednej chwili, jest trywialna.

On cieszy się nami i podtrzymuje nas. Niczego mu nie brakuje.

Z każdym oddechem, mój Bóg otacza opieką Swoje stworzenia.

Bóg jest niemożliwy do oszukania, nieprzenikniony i nieskończony. Jego forma jest wzniosła i budząca zachwyt.

Spiewając i medytując nad ucieleśnieniem cudu i piękna, Jego pokorni słudzy są w stanie ekstazy.

Pobłogosław mnie, O Miłościwy Panie Boże, takim zrozumieniem, żebym zawsze o Tobie pamiętał.

Nanak błaga Boga o dar kurzu ze stóp świętych Jego ludzi."

 

GURU ARJAN (1563-1606). Adi Guru Granth, strona: 677. Przysłane przez: dr Teja Singh.

GURU  ARJAN  zbudował Złotą Swiątynię w Amritsar i skompilował święte księgi Sikhów w Adi Guru Granth.

#325. 2007/09/09. 
 
Przychodzi mi na myśl Tomasz z Akwinu, który po mistycznym przeżyciu w kościele w Vosa Nova na krótko przed śmiercią miał powiedzieć: "Wszystko, co napisałem, wydaje mi się słomą w porównaniu z tym, co widziałem i co mi zostało objawione." Według Tomasza Bóg nie może być obecny tylko jakąś częścią siebie, ponieważ w Bogu nie ma części. On jest całą swoją istotą (esencją) we wszystkich rzeczach. Dlatego Eckhart może powiedzieć: "Gdyby mnie nie było, nie byłoby Boga."
 
Willigis Jager, OSB. (2007). Zycie nigdy sie nie konczy. O życiu, starości i śmierci.[W orginale niemieckim: Das Leben endet nie], s: 19-20. Warsaw: Jacek Santorski & Co.

 

#326. 2007/09/16.

 

Hashem" is one of the popular ways of calling God. It literally means "The Name." Rosh Hashonah is the celebration of the Jewish New Year, beginning this year at sundown on September 12. This new year is 5768. (...). Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, to ask for forgiveness for all the mistakes of the year. There is no Hebrew word for sin. The Hebrew word "chet" translates "to miss the mark," so that we may adjust ourselves within and without, the next time we act. Jews may only be forgiven for the ways we have offended God, what we have done to each other we must deal with directly. (...). L'Shanah Tovah is the way we say Happy New Year or Sweet New Year. (...). Hashem determines who walks into your life....It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go. Hashem, bless all my friends and special family in whatever it is that you know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with you. Amen. (...)

 

L' Shannah Tovah with Love. From Linda (?) to her non-Jewish friends. Forwarded by Jeff Solomon.


 

#327. 2007/09/23.
The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims His handiwork. Day to day makes utterance, night to night speaks out. There is no utterance, there are no words, (yet) their voice carries throughout the earth (...).
Psalms, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom, P.203.
 
"Those who see the great God in the sun, moon, stars, earth, air, fire, and water, and always meditate on Him only, get success in life and are the true devotees.(...)"
Haidakhan Babaji (1970-1984). Teachings of Babaji.(1982-03-25)(P.19)
#328. 2007/11/25.
You can see "dialectics" with your bare eyes, when Jasiek, Władek and Józek get drunk. When Jasiek gets drunk, booze drags him down. When Władek gets drunk, alcohol drags him sideways. And in Józek's case, booze pulls him backward. So when they all get drunk, they grab each other's shoulders and hold together. This is also how they walk. And when none of them would be able to walk by himself, together they can do it. They walk and sing to themselves. And this is what is called unity in contradiction."
Jędrek z Pyzówki (Heraclitus from Ephez)(...). Józef Tischner (2007). Historia filozofii po góralsku [History of philosophy for highlanders]. Kraków: Znak. P.16. (Translated from Polish

 

#329. 2007/12/02.
(...) the eyes of the soul were opened, and I saw love coming toward me. And I saw the beginning, but I did not see its end, only its continuation. And of its colors I can tell no comparison. (...) And forthwith I was filled with love and an inexpressible contentment which, though it contented me, yet created the greatest hunger in me (...). I am so filled with that love that I do not believe I could ever do without it again.
Angela Di Foligno (1248-1309). In: Buber, Ecstatic Confessions, P.99.

More on Angela of Foligno can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_of_Foligno

 

#330. 2007/12/09.
If there is a plant in your hand when they say to you: Behold the Messiah has come! Go plant the plant and afterwards go out to greet him.
Yohanan Ben Zakkai (1st Century CE, Judea), quoted in: Michael Shire, The Jewish Prophet, P.50.

More on Yohanan Ben Zakkai can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johanan_ben_Zakkai

 

#331. 2007/12/16.
 
The saints' "absorption" is such that God causes them to fear Him with a fear different from the fear humans have of lions, tigers, and tyrants. He reveals to them that fear is from God, security is from God, pleasure and ease are from God, and the necessities of day-to-day life are from God. (...) all serenity and beautiful things are from God. Now, although the saint's fear does not resemble ordinary fear, it can be glimpsed through ordinary fear. (...)
 
Rumi, Fihi ma Fihi, #11, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.132.

More on Rumi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi

 

#332. 2007/12/23.

Interspirituality is a term to describe the breaking down of the barriers that have separated the religions for millenia. It is also the crossing-over and sharing in the spiritual, aesthetic, moral and psychological treasures that exist in the spiritualities of the world religions. The deepest level of sharing is in and through one another’s mystical wisdom, whether teachings, insights, methods of spiritual practice and their fruits. The mystical life, in its maturity, is naturally interspiritual because of the inner freedom that is ignited in the depths of the person on the mystical journey. This path frees us from the obstacles within us that would hold us back from that generosity and willingness to partake from the mystical springs of other traditions. To drink this precious nectar requires openness and a capacity to assimilate the depth experience of these venerable traditions. More and more it is becoming common for individuals to cross over the frontiers of their own faith into the land of another or others. We can, indeed, speak of this new millenial period as the Interspiritual Age. (...)

Wayne Teasdale (1945-2004) - Mysticism as the Crossing of Ultimate Boundaries: A Theological Reflection. Retrieved from: http://www.bedegriffiths.com/golden/gs_10.htm

More on Wayne Teasdale can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Teasdale

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