One
God Notes Archives
2011
#467. 2011/01/02.
What is a personal calling? It is
God’s blessing, it is the
path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills
us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. (…) When we first begin
fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The
secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times. (…)
once we have overcome the defeats (…) we are filled by a greater sense of
euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are
proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. (...)
More
on Paulo Coelho can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho
#468. 2011/01/09.
O Lord! Unite and bind together the hearts, join in accord all the souls, and exhilarate the spirits through the signs of Thy sanctity and oneness. O Lord! Make these faces radiant through the light of Thy oneness. Strengthen the loins of Thy servants in the service of Thy kingdom. O Lord, Thou possessor of infinite mercy! O Lord of forgiveness and pardon! Forgive our sins, pardon our shortcomings, and cause us to turn to the kingdom of Thy clemency, invoking the kingdom of might and power, humble at Thy shrine and submissive before the glory of Thine evidences. O Lord God! Make us as waves of the sea, as flowers of the garden, united, agreed through the bounties of Thy love. O Lord! Dilate the breasts through the signs of Thy oneness, and make all mankind as stars shining from the same height of glory, as perfect fruits growing upon Thy tree of life. Verily, Thou art the Almighty, the Self-Subsistent, the Giver, the Forgiving, the Pardoner, the Omniscient, the One Creator.
Ascribed to Abdu'l-Baha
(1844-1921).
More on Abdu'l-Baha can be
found at: http://www.bahai.org/dir/abdulbaha
#469. 2011/01/16.
Our religious traditions at their most authentic form, should free us to find traces of God in all things. God loves all manner of our being in the world and has made all things in harmony. (...) As in our inner work, so our communal work for justice and peace is futile if we insist on the primacy of one form of being human over another, of one religion over others, or by choosing a mono-cultural path toward Joy for all beings that share this planet. God loves our infinite diversity and has choreographed an ordered dance of different stars.
Jonathan Montaldo - "The Witness of Thomas Merton's Inner
Work." Address to the Parliament of the World Religions, Cape Town, South
Africa, December 1999.
More
on the Parliament of the World Religions can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_World%27s_Religions
#470. 2011/01/23.
The actual death of the zaddik is called a hilulla, a time of joyous festivity, because he goes from this vale of sorrow to the tranquility of the next world.
Rabii Yaakov Yosef, quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name. P.196.
More
on "zaddik" can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzadik
#471. 2011/01/30.
The General Assembly (of the United Nations)(...) Recognizing that the moral imperatives of all religions, convictions and beliefs call for peace, tolerance and mutual understanding,
1.
Reaffirms that mutual
understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a
culture of peace;
2.
Proclaims
the first week of February of every year the World Interfaith Harmony Week
between all religions, faiths and beliefs; (underlining by Pritam)
3.
Encourages all States to
support, on a voluntary basis, the spread of the message of interfaith harmony
and goodwill in the world's churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other
places of worship during that week, based on love of God and love of one's
neighbour or on love of the good and love of one's neighbour, each according to
their own religious traditions or convictions;
4.
Requests the
Secretary-General to keep the General Assembly informed of the implementation
of the present resolution.
More
on the World Interfaith Harmony Week can be found at: http://worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com/
#472. 2011/02/06.
Want
the best. The highest happiness, the greatest freedom.
Desirelessness is the highest bliss. (…) Only God’s energy is infinite – because he wants
nothing for Himself. Be like Him and all your desires will be fulfilled. The
higher your aims and vaster desires, the more energy you will have for their
fulfillment. Desire the good of all and the universe will work for you. But if
you want your own pleasure, you must earn it the hard way. Before desiring,
deserve.
Sri
Maharaj Nisargadatta
(1897-1981). (2005). I am
That. Durham, NC: The Acorn Press. ISBN
0-89386-022-0. P.49-50.
More
on Sri Nisargadatta can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#473. 2011/02/13.
Love gives naught but itself and takes
naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; for love
is sufficient unto love.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, P.13.
More
on Kahlil Gibran can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Gibran
#474. 2011/02/20.
(...)
we see that no person is without a sense of compassion, or a sense of shame, or
a sense of courtesy, or a sense of right and wrong. The sense of compassion is the
beginning of humanity; (...).
Mencius
(372-289 BCE), a Confucian philosopher, quoted after: Novak, Philip, The
World's Wisdom. P.136.
More
on Mencius can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mencius
#475. 2011/03/13.
Cistercian
asceticism, and indeed all the asceticism of the monastic Fathers, is simply
the recovery of our true self, man's true "nature," created for union
with God. It is the purification, and liberation of the divine image in man,
hidden under layers of "unlikeness." Our true self is the person we
are meant to be - the man who is free and upright, in the image and likeness of
God. The work of recovery of this lost likeness is effected
by stripping away all that is alien and foreign to our true selves - shedding
the "double garment" of hypocrisy and illusion by which we try to
conceal the truth of our misery from ourselves, our brethren and from God.
Merton,
Thomas (1915-1968). The Silent Life. P.22. Submitted
to L-Center Discussion Group by Gary Horn <ghorn@uswest.com>
More
on Thomas Merton can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
More
on Cistercians can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistercians
#476. 2011/03/20.
Haidakhan
Babaji was asked by a devotee: "How I can reconcile my love for my
girl-friend and my love for God?" He replied: "First focus on your
love for the girl and when you are satisfied come back to God."
Haidakhan
Babaji. Teachings
of Babaji. (14 September 1981).
More
on Haidakhan Babaji can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidakhan_Babaji
#477. 2011/03/27.
(…) There will be marriage, there
will be children, there will be earning money to maintain a family; all this
will happen in the natural course of events, for destiny must fulfill itself;
you will go through it without resistance, facing tasks as they come, attentive
and thorough, both in small things and big. But the general attitude will be of
affectionate detachment, enormous goodwill, without expectation of return,
constant giving without asking. In marriage you are neither the husband nor the
wife; you are the love between the two. You are the clarity and kindness that
makes everything orderly and happy. (…)
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj. (1973). I
Am That. P.319.
More
on Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#478. 2011/04/03.
It
is by The Guru’s grace that your mind is engaged
in search for truth and it is by his grace that you will find it. It works
unwearyingly towards your ultimate good. And it is for all. (…) The Guru
knows the Ultimate and relentlessly propels the disciple toward it. The disciple
is full of obstacles, which he himself must overcome. The Guru is not very much
concerned with the superficialities of the disciple’s
life. It is like gravitation. The fruit must fall – when no longer held
back.
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj. (1973). I
Am That. P.342.
More
on Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#479. 2011/04/10.
May
the sound of this bell
penetrate deep into the cosmos
even in the darkest spots
living being are able to hear it clearly
so that suffering in them cease
understanding comes to their hearts
and they transcend the path
of sorrow and death.
Thich Nhat
Hanh - The Great Bell Chant -
retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt7ZAGIlgsk
More
on Thich Nhat Hanh can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh
#480. 2011/04/17.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
John
15:9-10
More
on Gospel of John can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John
More
on Last Supper can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper
#481. 2011/04/24.
Eternal life is for God alone, He lives forever; and whoever merges himself in his source, that is, in God, praised be He, also enjoys eternal life (...).
Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav. Quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name.
P.25.
More
on Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachman_of_Breslov
#482. 2011/05/01.
Every marriage is a really big commitment to the people involved. It is a life time commitment. It is a commitment that says: "Actually I am prepared not only to spend the rest of my life with you, but to spend the rest of my life finding out about you." (...)
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan
Williams, about the Royal Wedding.
The
rest of Dr. Williams' statement can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8msHZ8wI7Y&feature=player_embedded#at=40 or http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
#483. 2011/05/08.
Any word, any action, any thought that produces an effect is called karma. Thus the law of karma means the law of causation, of inevitable cause and effect. Whatever we see or feel or do, whatever action there is anywhere in the universe, while being the effect of past work on the one hand, becomes, on the other, a cause in its turn and produces its own effect. Each one of us is the effect of an infinite past. (...) Each one of us is the maker of his own fate.
Swami
Vivekananda (1863-1902), quoted in: Nikhilananda,
Vivekananda, A Biography, P.200.
More
on Swami Vivekananda can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivekananda
More
on the Law of Karma can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma
#484. 2011/05/15.
(…)
it is in the nature of love to express itself, to affirm itself, to overcome
difficulties. Once you have understood that the world is love in action, you
will look at it quite differently. But first your attitude to suffering must
change. Suffering is primarily a call for attention, which itself is a movement
of love. More than happiness, love wants growth, the widening and deepening of
consciousness and being. Whatever prevents becomes a cause of pain and love
does not shrink from pain. (...)
Shri Maharaj Nisargadatta.
(1973). "I am that." P.420.
More
on Shri Nisargadatta can be
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#485. 2011/05/23.
Siyyid `Alí
Muḥammad Shírází (Persian: سيد علی محمد
شیرازی) (October 20, 1819 –
July 9, 1850), also known as the Bab. Selections from the Writings of the Báb,
pp. 77-8. Retrieved from: http://info.bahai.org/article-1-3-1-3.html#14
on 23 May 2011.
More
on Bab can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b
More
on Babism can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1bism
#486. 2011/05/29.
What is serious to men is often very
trivial in the sight of God. What in God might appear to us as "play"
is perhaps what He Himself takes most seriously. At any rate the Lord plays and
diverts Himself in the garden of His creation, and if we could let go of our own
obsession with what we think is the meaning of it all, we might be able to hear
His call and follow Him in His mysterious, cosmic dance. We do not have to go
very far to catch echoes of that game, and of that dancing. When we are alone
on a starlit night; when by change we see the migrating birds in autumn
descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a
moment when they are really children; when we know love in our own hearts; or
when, like the Japanese poet Basho we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond
with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of
all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision
that make themselves evident, provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.
Thomas
Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation. P.296. Submitted by Gary Horn.
More
on Thomas Merton can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
More
on World Environment Day can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Environment_Day
#487. 2011/06/05.
(...) As the wind, though one, takes new forms in whatever it enters, the Spirit,
though one, takes new forms in all things that live. He is within all, and is
also outside. As the sun that beholds the world is untouched by earthly
impurities, so the Spirit that is in all things is untouched by external
sufferings. There is one Ruler, the Spirit that is in all things, who
transforms his own form into many. (...) He is the Eternal among things that
pass away, pure Consciousness of conscious beings, the One who fulfills the
prayers of the many.
Katha
Upanishad, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World
Wisdom, P.14.
More
on Katha Upanishad can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katha_Upanishad
More
on Pentecost can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost
More
on Shavout can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot
#488. 2011/06/12.
Q:
What are the signs of progress in spiritual life?
M:
Freedom from all anxiety; a sense of ease and joy; deep peace within and
abundant energy without.
Shri
Nisargadatta Maharaj, quoted in: I am that,
P.461-2.
More
on Shri Nisargadatta
(1897-1981) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj
#489. 2011/06/19.
Human beings have three spiritual states.
In the first, a person pays no attention whatsoever to God and worships
anything - sex, money, rank - but God. When he starts to learn something
deeper, then he will serve no one and nothing but God. And when he progresses
in this state he grows silent; he doesn't claim: "I don't serve God,"
nor does he boast: "I do serve God;" he has gone beyond these two
positions. From such beings, no sound comes into the world.
Rumi, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.68.
More
on Rumi (1207-1273) can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
#490. 2011/06/26.
"O my people, this life is only
temporary; while the hereafter is the eternal abode."
Quran 40:39
More
on the Night of Journey can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra_and_Mi%27raj
#491. 2011/07/03.
We hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such
principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be
changed for light and transient causes; (...)
United
States Declaration of Independence, quoted after: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
#492. 2011/07/10.
In real love you want the other persons
good. In romantic love you want ... the other person.
Margaret
Anderson, quoted after the posting of Wayne Fergusson
to Facebook.
#493. 2011/07/17.
Out
of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
(...)
It
matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William
Ernest Henley (1849–1903). Invictus.
Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus
on 17 July 2011.
#506. 2011/11/13.
We ought to be always
awaiting his coming. I do think this necessarily refers to the last coming –
general or particular – but the daily visits of grace and Presence, many of
which we probably miss because we are not attentive, do not hear the knock (…).
Such constant attentiveness as the underlying attitude to all we do as we go
about the daily tasks or even as we sleep – “I sleep, but my heart watches” –
can only come from very real love and the desire it engenders to see the
beloved and not to miss his least visit. (…).
Pennington, Basil.
(1978). O Holy Mountain! Journal of a Retreat on Mount Athos.
P.255.
More on Advent can be found
at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent
More on Basil Pennington
can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Pennington
More on Mount Athos can
be found: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos
#507. 2011/11/20.
Love whispers in my ear,
"Better to be a prey than a hunter.
Make yourself my fool.
Stop trying to be the sun and become a speck!
Dwell at My door and be homeless.
Don't pretend to be a candle, be a moth,
so you taste the savor of Life
and know the power hidden in serving."
Rumi, Mathnawi V, 411-414,
quoted in: Helminski, Kabir
(2000). The Rumi Collection.
P.136.
More about Rumi can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
#508. 2011/11/27.
Mindfulness is the way to the deathless, inattentiveness the way
to death. Those who are diligently attentive do not die,
those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.
Dhammapada, a collection of sayings attributed to Buddha, quoted after:
Novak Philip, The World Wisdom, P.104.
More about Buddha can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha
More about Dhammapada can be found at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammapada
The Cloud of
Unknowing, P.117-118.
More about The Cloud of Unknowing can be found at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_of_Unknowing
Worldly fools search for exotic
masters, not realizing that their own mind is the only master.
More about Bodhidharma
can be found at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhidharma
Sutta Nipata, The Buddhist Tradition,
PP.37-38.
More about Sutta Nipata can be found at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutta_Nipata
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of
Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. PP. 27-28.
More about Thomas Keating can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Keating