Transcendence.
Transitional, Temporary Aspects of This World and Human
Life.
Lovers have nothing to do with existence;
lovers have the interest without the capital.
Without wings they fly around the world;
(...)
Rumi, Mathnawi III, 3021-3022, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.151.
Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life. John 12:25
If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19
Transient, all created things, and you as much as the rest of them; cling to them, and you will get caught up in them, and be lost. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, II.1.4
For what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Matthew, 16:26
Whatever you possess runs out, and what God possesses is eternal. Quran 16:96
Whatever you possess is the temporary material of this life. What God possesses is far better and everlasting, for those who believe and trust their Lord. Quran 42:36
Those who seek their joy in something abroad do easily become vain and are poured forth upon things which are seen and which are temporal, and they lick their images with hungry thoughts. St. Augustine, Confessions, IX.4
If the love of interest you have for anything, no matter how trivial, is lacking in restraint, it is holding you back from attaining your highest goal, and doing you harm. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.42.2
There is nothing to be gained, then, by acquiring and increasing outward possessions; what does do you good is to think nothing of such things, cut them right out of your heart, root and branch. I am speaking not only of amassing riches but also of going about in quest of honors and of the desire to receive vain praise. All these things pass away together with the world. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.27.3
...for there is nothing beneath the sun that lasts forever, and everything here is but frustration and lost labor, all of it. (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.27.4
And stay away from those who take their religion in vain and play, and were distracted by this life. Quran 6:70
One who is free from illusion, false prestige and false association, who understands the eternal, who is done with material lust, who is freed from duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person attains to that eternal kingdom. Gita 15:5
Let go of all things that pass away and seek those that last forever. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.1.2
"O my people, this life is only temporary; while the hereafter is the eternal abode." Quran 40:39
I had rather be poor for your sake than rich without you. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.59.1
No wordly possessions shall accompany you to the other world. Hence do not commit sins for acquiring these wordly goods, otherwise you will have to repent while rendering account of your deeds in the court of the Lord. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 84.
Yesterday this prestige, prowess and position belonged to someone: today another claims it and tomorrow it shall belong to someone else. But, be sure, the claim of each is untrue and unstable. They have been deluded by the false attainment. One's own eternal possession is only Lord's Pure Love. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 404.
Knowing well that all wordly objects are perishable, I still attach myself to them and do not abide the Lord in my heart. My mind instead of being attracted to life eternal, it is turned to path of death. Have mercy on me so that I get rid of bondage of mind and get bound to your love and instead of being lured by the wordly pleasures, I begin to embrace the sufferings on the path of devotion. May all my thoughts always be turned towards Thee, my Lord! Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 652.
Pity the person who believes in objects made by the Lord but not the Lord Himself. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 1349.
Do not be dismayed if you lose wordly objects because they are bound to come and go. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 1510.
Do not be proud of your wealth, possessions, status or family as all these are perishable. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 1536.
Wordly comforts, sensual pleasures and illusory objects have been described as worthless by the Saints. You are making a great mistake if you spend your priceless jewel of human life on attaining perishable wordly objects. Therefore, you must engage this precious life in the attainment of invaluable devotion. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 1702.
O Lord! I hear that your abode is eternal and ever radiant. Be gracious enough to take me from this perishable and dark world to yours. Shanti Vachan Bhandar, 2043.
The fact is "PHURO!" Everything in this world is "PHURO" - transient. It has no reality. True reality is to proceed on the path of truth, to keep the company of saintly people, and to render service to men. The fact is "PHURO!" - this world is transient. Teachings of Babaji, P.84.
The world is transitory. You will achieve stability only on the path of karma yoga. Only action can take a man to God and give him liberation. The law of karma is so deep that no words are great enough to describe it. The day karma stops on this earth will be the day of its dissolution (pralaya). Teachings of Babaji, P.91.
This world is transitory, The Name of God is the true reality. Everything in this world is destructible, transient, ephemeral. So you must all repeat God's Name (...) The thing is that this whole world is transitory - why do you entertain confusion in your minds? You must have only one aim, one goal, to serve every living being in the universe. Teachings of Babaji, P.108-109.
(...) This world is a place where people are always coming and going. It is definite that sooner or later everything will perish and crumble. Everyone knows that some day everyone has to leave this world. So you must make the best use of this holy day (Christmas) which comes only once a year. (...) Teachings of Babaji, P.113.
I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him (...). Philippians 3:8-9
A human being, however firm he stands, is but a puff of wind, his life but a passing shadow; the riches he piles up are no more than vapour, and there is no knowing who will enjoy them. Ps 39:5-6
I, Koheleth, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven ... I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 1:12-14. Quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name. P.61.
Man is like unto a breath; his days as a fleeting shadow. In the morning he flourishes, in the evening he fades and withers away (...). "Ethics of the Fathers." Quoted after: Miriam Bokser Caravella, The Holy Name. P.62.
Yes, the days of time are few and evil indeed, full of sorrow and trouble. Here man is befoulded by many sins, enmeshed in many passions, brushed close by many fears. He is tormented by many cares, dragged this way and that by many strange sights, entangled in many kinds of folly. Many an error surrounds him, many a hard task leaves him exhausted; he is burdened with temptations, enfeebled by pleasures, racked with want. Oh, when will these evils come to an end? Thomas A Kempis, III.48.2-3
You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, put clothes but do not feel warm. The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes. Haggai 1:6
This life is strange. Everything is subject to change. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.129.
The ignorant, oblivious of My transcendental nature as the Maker of all creatures, discount also My presence within the human form. Bhagavad Gita IX:11. Quoted after: Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.197.
To say that we are already united to God is one thing; the experiential realization of it is quite another. The whole symbolic structure of religion is meant to make this possible. The purpose of religious exercises and ceremonies is to make our faith grow to the point where, having followed all the pointing fingers to the end, it transcends the means and rests in God. McNamara, William. The Human Adventure. P. 27.
(...) this attempt to change it that makes you so profoundly a part of it, for then it (...) is a constant movement of transcendence in which the concrete present and the living future of the men who make it up are one and the same. The Writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vol.2. P.176.
We do not transcend in general and simply for the proud pleasure of transcending (...). Real transcendence requires that we want to change certain definite aspects of the world and transcendence is colored and characterized by the concrete situation it aims to change. The Writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vol.2. P.177.
Blessed is he who has attained boundless infinity, transcending all that is transitory. St. Thalassios the Libyan (VI-VII Century C.E.), quoted in: (1981). The Philokalia. Vol. II., P.310.
( ) All you need is to get rid of the tendency to define yourself. All definitions apply to your body only and its expressions. Once this obsession with the body goes, you will revert to your natural state, spontaneously and effortlessly. ( ) Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.5.
True happiness cannot be found in things that change and pass away. Pleasure and pain alternate inexorably. Happiness comes from the self and can be found in the self only. ( ) It is just like the reflection of the moon in the water stirred by the wind. The wind of desire stirs the mind and the me, which is but a reflection of the Self in the mind, appears changeful. But these ideas of movement, of restlessness, of pleasure and pain are all in the mind. The Self stands beyond the mind, aware, but unconcerned. Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.19.
Last modified: 2013/05/20
See the related subjects: Awakenings, Detachment, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Materialism, Maya, Reality, Renunciation
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