classes ::: archetype, concept, Sanskrit, person, Title,
children :::
branches ::: Guru, Guru Yoga

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object:Guru
class:archetype
class:concept
language class:Sanskrit
class:person
class:Title

--- QUOTES
The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, - these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel.

The example is more powerful than the instruction; but it is not the example of the outward acts nor that of the personal character which is of most importance. These have their place and their utility; but what will most stimulate aspiration in others is the central fact of the divine realisation within him governing his whole life and inner state and all his activities. This is the universal and essential element; the rest belongs to individual person and circumstance. It is this dynamic realisation that the sadhaka must feel and reproduce in himself according to his own nature; he need not strive after an imitation from outside which may well be sterilising rather than productive of right and natural fruits.

Influence is more important than example. Influence is not the outward authority of the Teacher over his disciple, but the power of his contact, of his presence, of the nearness of his soul to the soul of another, infusing into it, even though in silence, that which he himself is and possesses. This is the supreme sign of the Master. For the greatest Master is much less a Teacher than a Presence pouring the divine consciousness and its constituting light and power and purity and bliss into all who are receptive around him.

And it shall also be a sign of the teacher of the integral Yoga that he does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humanly vain and self-exalting spirit. His work, if he has one, is a trust from above, he himself a channel, a vessel or a representative. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened Soul awakening souls, at highest a Power or Presence of the Divine calling to him other powers of the Divine.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga


--- CHAPTERS
Swami Vivekananda, Bhakti-Yoga, 1.04 - The Need of Guru
Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga II, 1.4.03 - The Guru
The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, 2.11 - The Guru
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, 3.4.2 - Guru Yoga




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now begins generated list of local instances, definitions, quotes, instances in chapters, wordnet info if available and instances among weblinks


OBJECT INSTANCES [0] - TOPICS - AUTHORS - BOOKS - CHAPTERS - CLASSES - SEE ALSO - SIMILAR TITLES

TOPICS
SEE ALSO


AUTH
Sri_Aurobindo
Sri_Nisargadatta_Maharaj

BOOKS
Bhakti-Yoga
God_Exists
Guru_Bhakti_Yoga
Guru_Granth_Sahib
Guru_Yoga_(book)
Infinite_Library
Kosmic_Consciousness
Letters_On_Yoga
Letters_On_Yoga_II
Mind_-_Its_Mysteries_and_Control
My_Burning_Heart
Questions_And_Answers_1950-1951
Questions_And_Answers_1955
Savitri
Sayings_of_Sri_Ramakrishna_(toc)
Self_Knowledge
The_Diamond_Sutra
The_Essential_Songs_of_Milarepa
The_Heart_of_the_Path__Seeing_the_Guru_as_Buddha
The_Integral_Yoga
The_Mother_With_Letters_On_The_Mother
The_Tibetan_Yogas_of_Dream_and_Sleep
Words_Of_The_Mother_II

IN CHAPTERS TITLE
0.02_-_II_-_The_Home_of_the_Guru
1.04_-_The_Need_of_Guru
1.4.03_-_The_Guru
1951-02-19_-_Exteriorisation-_clairvoyance,_fainting,_etc_-_Somnambulism_-_Tartini_-_childrens_dreams_-_Nightmares_-_gurus_protection_-_Mind_and_vital_roam_during_sleep
1955-10-19_-_The_rhythms_of_time_-_The_lotus_of_knowledge_and_perfection_-_Potential_knowledge_-_The_teguments_of_the_soul_-_Shastra_and_the_Gurus_direct_teaching_-_He_who_chooses_the_Infinite...
1.gnk_-_Siri_ragu_9.3_-_The_guru_is_the_stepping_stone
1.lla_-_A_thousand_times_I_asked_my_guru
2.11_-_The_Guru
3.4.2_-_Guru_Yoga
Guru_Granth_Sahib_first_part
Jaap_Sahib_Text_(Guru_Gobind_Singh)

IN CHAPTERS CLASSNAME
1.gnk_-_Ek_Omkar
1.gnk_-_Japji_15_-_If_you_ponder_it
1.gnk_-_Japji_38_-_Discipline_is_the_workshop
1.gnk_-_Japji_8_-_From_listening
1.gnk_-_Siri_ragu_9.3_-_The_guru_is_the_stepping_stone
Guru_Granth_Sahib_first_part
Jaap_Sahib_Text_(Guru_Gobind_Singh)

IN CHAPTERS TEXT
00.01_-_The_Mother_on_Savitri
0.00_-_INTRODUCTION
0.00_-_The_Book_of_Lies_Text
0.00_-_THE_GOSPEL_PREFACE
0.02_-_II_-_The_Home_of_the_Guru
0.07_-_Letters_to_a_Sadhak
0.10_-_Letters_to_a_Young_Captain
0.11_-_Letters_to_a_Sadhak
0_1958-08-29
0_1958-10-04
0_1958-10-10
0_1958-10-25_-_to_go_out_of_your_body
0_1958-11-22
0_1958-11-27_-_Intermediaries_and_Immediacy
0_1959-01-14
0_1959-01-21
0_1959-05-25
0_1959-06-13a
0_1959-07-10
0_1960-05-16
0_1960-10-22
0_1960-10-25
0_1960-12-13
0_1960-12-23
0_1961-01-27
0_1961-03-04
0_1961-03-21
0_1961-03-27
0_1961-04-08
0_1961-04-29
0_1961-06-20
0_1961-09-10
0_1961-11-05
0_1961-12-20
0_1962-01-09
0_1962-02-03
0_1962-03-11
0_1962-05-22
0_1962-06-12
0_1962-07-21
0_1962-08-14
0_1962-11-30
0_1963-03-19
0_1963-05-11
0_1963-07-10
0_1963-08-31
0_1963-10-16
0_1963-12-14
0_1964-01-04
0_1964-08-11
0_1964-08-29
0_1964-09-23
0_1964-11-12
0_1965-07-10
0_1965-07-14
0_1965-08-07
0_1965-08-18
0_1965-09-25
0_1967-05-27
0_1967-06-07
0_1967-08-26
0_1967-09-23
0_1967-10-07
0_1968-02-14
0_1968-05-29
0_1968-06-08
0_1969-01-29
0_1969-07-12
0_1969-11-29
0_1969-12-13
0_1969-12-24
0_1970-07-18
0_1971-05-26
03.02_-_Yogic_Initiation_and_Aptitude
03.03_-_Arjuna_or_the_Ideal_Disciple
03.09_-_Sectarianism_or_Loyalty
05.12_-_The_Soul_and_its_Journey
05.33_-_Caesar_versus_the_Divine
09.06_-_How_Can_Time_Be_a_Friend?
1.009_-_Perception_and_Reality
1.00a_-_Introduction
1.00b_-_Introduction
1.010_-_Self-Control_-_The_Alpha_and_Omega_of_Yoga
1.012_-_Sublimation_-_A_Way_to_Reshuffle_Thought
1.01_-_Maitreya_inquires_of_his_teacher_(Parashara)
1.01_-_Prayer
1.01_-_SAMADHI_PADA
1.01_-_The_Four_Aids
1.01_-_The_Unexpected
1.024_-_Affiliation_With_Larger_Wholes
1.025_-_Sadhana_-_Intensifying_a_Lighted_Flame
10.26_-_A_True_Professor
1.02_-_IN_THE_COMPANY_OF_DEVOTEES
1.02_-_Karmayoga
1.02_-_The_Divine_Teacher
1.02_-_The_Recovery
1.031_-_Intense_Aspiration
1.037_-_Preventing_the_Fall_in_Yoga
1.03_-_Invocation_of_Tara
1.03_-_Meeting_the_Master_-_Meeting_with_others
1.03_-_Spiritual_Realisation,_The_aim_of_Bhakti-Yoga
1.03_-_The_House_Of_The_Lord
1.04_-_ADVICE_TO_HOUSEHOLDERS
1.04_-_Pratyahara
1.04_-_The_Divine_Mother_-_This_Is_She
1.04_-_The_Need_of_Guru
1.04_-_The_Sacrifice_the_Triune_Path_and_the_Lord_of_the_Sacrifice
1.04_-_What_Arjuna_Saw_-_the_Dark_Side_of_the_Force
1.053_-_A_Very_Important_Sadhana
1.05_-_The_Ascent_of_the_Sacrifice_-_The_Psychic_Being
1.05_-_THE_MASTER_AND_KESHAB
1.05_-_War_And_Politics
1.06_-_Incarnate_Teachers_and_Incarnation
1.06_-_The_Ascent_of_the_Sacrifice_2_The_Works_of_Love_-_The_Works_of_Life
1.06_-_THE_MASTER_WITH_THE_BRAHMO_DEVOTEES
1.078_-_Kumbhaka_and_Concentration_of_Mind
1.07_-_A_Song_of_Longing_for_Tara,_the_Infallible
1.07_-_Bridge_across_the_Afterlife
1.07_-_Raja-Yoga_in_Brief
1.07_-_The_Mantra_-_OM_-_Word_and_Wisdom
1.07_-_THE_MASTER_AND_VIJAY_GOSWAMI
1.083_-_Choosing_an_Object_for_Concentration
1.08_-_Adhyatma_Yoga
1.08_-_Attendants
1.08_-_Sri_Aurobindos_Descent_into_Death
1.08_-_The_Four_Austerities_and_the_Four_Liberations
1.08_-_THE_MASTERS_BIRTHDAY_CELEBRATION_AT_DAKSHINESWAR
1.096_-_Powers_that_Accrue_in_the_Practice
1.097_-_Sublimation_of_Object-Consciousness
1.098_-_The_Transformation_from_Human_to_Divine
1.09_-_ADVICE_TO_THE_BRAHMOS
1.09_-_Kundalini_Yoga
1.09_-_Talks
1.107_-_The_Bestowal_of_a_Divine_Gift
1.10_-_GRACE_AND_FREE_WILL
1.10_-_Laughter_Of_The_Gods
1.10_-_Mantra_Yoga
1.10_-_THE_MASTER_WITH_THE_BRAHMO_DEVOTEES_(II)
1.10_-_The_Methods_and_the_Means
1.10_-_The_Secret_of_the_Veda
1.1.1.06_-_Inspiration_and_Effort
1.11_-_The_Kalki_Avatar
1.11_-_WITH_THE_DEVOTEES_AT_DAKSHINEWAR
1.12_-_God_Departs
1.12_-_The_Divine_Work
1.12_-_THE_FESTIVAL_AT_PNIHTI
1.12_-_The_Superconscient
1.13_-_THE_MASTER_AND_M.
1.14_-_INSTRUCTION_TO_VAISHNAVS_AND_BRHMOS
1.16_-_WITH_THE_DEVOTEES_AT_DAKSHINESWAR
1.17_-_Legend_of_Prahlada
1.17_-_M._AT_DAKSHINEWAR
1.18_-_M._AT_DAKSHINESWAR
1.19_-_THE_MASTER_AND_HIS_INJURED_ARM
1.200-1.224_Talks
1.2.01_-_The_Call_and_the_Capacity
1.2.07_-_Surrender
1.2.08_-_Faith
1.20_-_RULES_FOR_HOUSEHOLDERS_AND_MONKS
1.21_-_A_DAY_AT_DAKSHINESWAR
1.22_-_ADVICE_TO_AN_ACTOR
1.23_-_FESTIVAL_AT_SURENDRAS_HOUSE
1.240_-_1.300_Talks
1.240_-_Talks_2
1.25_-_ADVICE_TO_PUNDIT_SHASHADHAR
1.27_-_AT_DAKSHINESWAR
1.300_-_1.400_Talks
1.3.02_-_Equality__The_Chief_Support
1.37_-_Death_-_Fear_-_Magical_Memory
1.3_-_Mundaka_Upanishads
1.400_-_1.450_Talks
1.4.02_-_The_Divine_Force
1.4.03_-_The_Guru
14.04_-_More_of_Yajnavalkya
14.06_-_Liberty,_Self-Control_and_Friendship
14.07_-_A_Review_of_Our_Ashram_Life
1.439
1.450_-_1.500_Talks
1.45_-_Unserious_Conduct_of_a_Pupil
1.49_-_Thelemic_Morality
1.550_-_1.600_Talks
1.63_-_Fear,_a_Bad_Astral_Vision
1.64_-_Magical_Power
17.11_-_A_Prayer
1929-04-14_-_Dangers_of_Yoga_-_Two_paths,_tapasya_and_surrender_-_Impulses,_desires_and_Yoga_-_Difficulties_-_Unification_around_the_psychic_being_-_Ambition,_undoing_of_many_Yogis_-_Powers,_misuse_and_right_use_of_-_How_to_recognise_the_Divine_Will_-_Accept_things_that_come_from_Divine_-_Vital_devotion_-_Need_of_strong_body_and_nerves_-_Inner_being,_invariable
1929-07-28_-_Art_and_Yoga_-_Art_and_life_-_Music,_dance_-_World_of_Harmony
1951-02-10_-_Liberty_and_license_-_surrender_makes_you_free_-_Men_in_authority_as_representatives_of_the_divine_Truth_-_Work_as_offering_-_total_surrender_needs_time_-_Effort_and_inspiration_-_will_and_patience
1951-02-19_-_Exteriorisation-_clairvoyance,_fainting,_etc_-_Somnambulism_-_Tartini_-_childrens_dreams_-_Nightmares_-_gurus_protection_-_Mind_and_vital_roam_during_sleep
1951-05-05_-_Needs_and_desires_-_Discernment_-_sincerity_and_true_perception_-_Mantra_and_its_effects_-_Object_in_action-_to_serve_-_relying_only_on_the_Divine
1953-07-15
1953-12-09
1955-10-19_-_The_rhythms_of_time_-_The_lotus_of_knowledge_and_perfection_-_Potential_knowledge_-_The_teguments_of_the_soul_-_Shastra_and_the_Gurus_direct_teaching_-_He_who_chooses_the_Infinite...
1955-10-26_-_The_Divine_and_the_universal_Teacher_-_The_power_of_the_Word_-_The_Creative_Word,_the_mantra_-_Sound,_music_in_other_worlds_-_The_domains_of_pure_form,_colour_and_ideas
1956-02-15_-_Nature_and_the_Master_of_Nature_-_Conscious_intelligence_-_Theory_of_the_Gita,_not_the_whole_truth_-_Surrender_to_the_Lord_-_Change_of_nature
1956-02-22_-_Strong_immobility_of_an_immortal_spirit_-_Equality_of_soul_-_Is_all_an_expression_of_the_divine_Will?_-_Loosening_the_knot_of_action_-_Using_experience_as_a_cloak_to_cover_excesses_-_Sincerity,_a_rare_virtue
1956-11-14_-_Conquering_the_desire_to_appear_good_-_Self-control_and_control_of_the_life_around_-_Power_of_mastery_-_Be_a_great_yogi_to_be_a_good_teacher_-_Organisation_of_the_Ashram_school_-_Elementary_discipline_of_regularity
1957-03-20_-_Never_sit_down,_true_repose
1957-03-22_-_A_story_of_initiation,_knowledge_and_practice
1958-09-10_-_Magic,_occultism,_physical_science
1970_04_10
1.bni_-_Raga_Ramkali
1.bsf_-_Raga_Asa
1.cllg_-_A_Dance_of_Unwavering_Devotion
1.dd_-_So_priceless_is_the_birth,_O_brother
1.dd_-_The_Creator_Plays_His_Cosmic_Instrument_In_Perfect_Harmony
1.gnk_-_Ek_Omkar
1.gnk_-_Japji_15_-_If_you_ponder_it
1.gnk_-_Japji_38_-_Discipline_is_the_workshop
1.gnk_-_Japji_8_-_From_listening
1.gnk_-_Siri_ragu_9.3_-_The_guru_is_the_stepping_stone
1.jm_-_I_Have_forgotten
1.jm_-_The_Song_of_Food_and_Dwelling
1.jm_-_The_Song_of_Perfect_Assurance_(to_the_Demons)
1.jm_-_The_Song_of_View,_Practice,_and_Action
1.jm_-_Upon_this_earth,_the_land_of_the_Victorious_Ones
1.kbr_-_Brother,_I've_Seen_Some
1.kbr_-_Dohas_II_(with_translation)
1.kbr_-_Hope_For_Him
1.kbr_-_I_Burst_Into_Laughter
1.kbr_-_I_burst_into_laughter
1.kbr_-_I_Have_Attained_The_Eternal_Bliss
1.kbr_-_I_have_attained_the_Eternal_Bliss
1.kbr_-_O_Friend
1.kbr_-_The_Swan_flies_away
1.kbr_-_The_Word
1.kbr_-_When_You_Were_Born_In_This_World_-_Dohas_Ii
1.kg_-_Little_Tiger
1.kt_-_A_Song_on_the_View_of_Voidness
1.lla_-_A_thousand_times_I_asked_my_guru
1.ml_-_Realisation_of_Dreams_and_Mind
1.nmdv_-_He_is_the_One_in_many
1.nmdv_-_Laughing_and_playing,_I_came_to_Your_Temple,_O_Lord
1.nmdv_-_The_drum_with_no_drumhead_beats
1.nmdv_-_When_I_see_His_ways,_I_sing
1.nrpa_-_Advice_to_Marpa_Lotsawa
1.pp_-_Raga_Dhanashri
1.rmd_-_Raga_Basant
1.rmpsd_-_I_drink_no_ordinary_wine
1.snk_-_Nirvana_Shatakam
1.srm_-_The_Marital_Garland_of_Letters
1.yt_-_The_Supreme_Being_is_the_Dakini_Queen_of_the_Lake_of_Awareness!
1.yt_-_This_self-sufficient_black_lady_has_shaken_things_up
20.01_-_Charyapada_-_Old_Bengali_Mystic_Poems
2.01_-_AT_THE_STAR_THEATRE
2.01_-_On_Books
2.01_-_The_Yoga_and_Its_Objects
2.02_-_On_Letters
2.02_-_The_Ishavasyopanishad_with_a_commentary_in_English
2.03_-_Karmayogin__A_Commentary_on_the_Isha_Upanishad
2.03_-_On_Medicine
2.04_-_ADVICE_TO_ISHAN
2.04_-_On_Art
2.05_-_VISIT_TO_THE_SINTHI_BRAMO_SAMAJ
2.06_-_The_Wand
2.06_-_WITH_VARIOUS_DEVOTEES
2.07_-_BANKIM_CHANDRA
2.07_-_The_Mother__Relations_with_Others
2.08_-_Victory_over_Falsehood
2.09_-_On_Sadhana
2.09_-_THE_MASTERS_BIRTHDAY
2.11_-_On_Education
2.11_-_The_Guru
2.12_-_THE_MASTERS_REMINISCENCES
2.13_-_On_Psychology
2.13_-_THE_MASTER_AT_THE_HOUSES_OF_BALARM_AND_GIRISH
2.14_-_AT_RAMS_HOUSE
2.15_-_CAR_FESTIVAL_AT_BALARMS_HOUSE
2.15_-_On_the_Gods_and_Asuras
2.17_-_December_1938
2.17_-_THE_MASTER_ON_HIMSELF_AND_HIS_EXPERIENCES
2.18_-_January_1939
2.18_-_SRI_RAMAKRISHNA_AT_SYAMPUKUR
2.2.02_-_Becoming_Conscious_in_Work
2.2.04_-_Practical_Concerns_in_Work
2.21_-_IN_THE_COMPANY_OF_DEVOTEES_AT_SYAMPUKUR
2.22_-_1941-1943
2.22_-_THE_MASTER_AT_COSSIPORE
2.2.3_-_Depression_and_Despondency
2.23_-_THE_MASTER_AND_BUDDHA
2.24_-_THE_MASTERS_LOVE_FOR_HIS_DEVOTEES
2.25_-_AFTER_THE_PASSING_AWAY
2.25_-_List_of_Topics_in_Each_Talk
2.2.7.01_-_Some_General_Remarks
2.3.01_-_Aspiration_and_Surrender_to_the_Mother
2.3.03_-_The_Mother's_Presence
2.3.04_-_The_Mother's_Force
2.3.1_-_Ego_and_Its_Forms
2.3.2_-_Desire
2.4.02.09_-_Contact_and_Union_with_the_Divine
2.4.02_-_Bhakti,_Devotion,_Worship
2.4.2_-_Interactions_with_Others_and_the_Practice_of_Yoga
25.03_-_Songs_of_Ramprasad
29.03_-_In_Her_Company
29.06_-_There_is_also_another,_similar_or_parallel_story_in_the_Veda_about_the_God_Agni,_about_the_disappearance_of_this
30.05_-_Rhythm_in_Poetry
3.02_-_The_Psychology_of_Rebirth
3.03_-_Faith_and_the_Divine_Grace
3.1.02_-_Asceticism_and_the_Integral_Yoga
3.18_-_Of_Clairvoyance_and_the_Body_of_Light
3.2.01_-_The_Newness_of_the_Integral_Yoga
3.2.04_-_Sankhya_and_Yoga
32.04_-_The_Human_Body
3.2.06_-_The_Adwaita_of_Shankaracharya
3.2.07_-_Tantra
3.2.08_-_Bhakti_Yoga_and_Vaishnavism
3.21_-_Of_Black_Magic
33.11_-_Pondicherry_II
33.13_-_My_Professors
33.17_-_Two_Great_Wars
3.4.2_-_Guru_Yoga
3.5.02_-_Thoughts_and_Glimpses
37.02_-_The_Story_of_Jabala-Satyakama
4.1.1.05_-_The_Central_Process_of_the_Yoga
4.12_-_The_Way_of_Equality
4.1.3_-_Imperfections_and_Periods_of_Arrest
4.2.1_-_The_Right_Attitude_towards_Difficulties
4.2.2_-_Steps_towards_Overcoming_Difficulties
4.3.4_-_Accidents,_Possession,_Madness
4.3_-_Bhakti
5.01_-_Message
5.01_-_The_Dakini,_Salgye_Du_Dalma
5.4.02_-_Occult_Powers_or_Siddhis
5_-_The_Phenomenology_of_the_Spirit_in_Fairytales
6.0_-_Conscious,_Unconscious,_and_Individuation
7.05_-_Patience_and_Perseverance
7.16_-_Sympathy
9.99_-_Glossary
Bhagavad_Gita
BOOK_II._--_PART_II._THE_ARCHAIC_SYMBOLISM_OF_THE_WORLD-RELIGIONS
BOOK_I._--_PART_I._COSMIC_EVOLUTION
BOOK_I._--_PART_II._THE_EVOLUTION_OF_SYMBOLISM_IN_ITS_APPROXIMATE_ORDER
Conversations_with_Sri_Aurobindo
Guru_Granth_Sahib_first_part
Jaap_Sahib_Text_(Guru_Gobind_Singh)
Liber_71_-_The_Voice_of_the_Silence_-_The_Two_Paths_-_The_Seven_Portals
LUX.01_-_GNOSIS
r1912_01_15
r1914_11_20
r1917_03_08
r1919_06_27
Sayings_of_Sri_Ramakrishna_(text)
Talks_001-025
Talks_026-050
Talks_051-075
Talks_076-099
Talks_100-125
Talks_125-150
Talks_151-175
Talks_176-200
Talks_500-550
Talks_600-652
Talks_With_Sri_Aurobindo_1
Talks_With_Sri_Aurobindo_2
the_Eternal_Wisdom
The_Riddle_of_this_World
Verses_of_Vemana

PRIMARY CLASS

archetype
concept
injunction
person
subject
Title
SIMILAR TITLES
Guru
Guru Bhakti Yoga
Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Nanak
Guru Rinpoche
Guru Yoga
Guru Yoga (book)
The Heart of the Path Seeing the Guru as Buddha

DEFINITIONS


TERMS STARTING WITH

Guru ::: A teacher in a spiritual tradition.

Guru Chokyi Wangchuk. See GU RU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG

Guru-deva (Sanskrit) Guru-deva [from guru teacher + deva divine being] Deva-teacher; a title of respect and reverence used by chelas for their instructors.

Guru (guru) (S) spiritual teacher (equivalent of Murshid)

Guru is the channel or the representative or the manifestation of the Divine, according to (be measure of his personality or his attainment ; but whatever he is, it is to the Divine that one opens in opening to him ; and if something is determined by the power of the channel, more is determined by the inherent and intrinsic attitude of the lecciving consciousness, an element that comes out in the surface mind as simple trust or direct uncondi- tional self-giving, and once that is there, the essential things can be gained even from one who seems to others than the disciple an inferior spiritual source, and the rest will grow up in the sadhaka of itself by the Grace of the Divine, even if the human being in the Guru cannot it.

Gurukripa: Preceptor's grace or blessings.

Gurumantra: Mantra in which one has been initiated by the Guru.

GurupaNcāsikā

GurupaNcāsikā. (T. Bla ma lnga bcu pa). In Sanskrit, "Fifty Verses on the GURU," a short work attributed to one AsVAGHOsA (a tenth-century figure not to be confused with the earlier poet) that details the proper conduct students observe in the presence of a tantric guru. Respect for one's tantric guru was the first point in the code of tantric morality (T. rig 'dzin gyi sdom pa) (see SDOM GSUM). The GurupaNcāsikā sets forth the proper physical behavior and deferential language that should be employed in the presence of one's guru in order to avoid incurring serious infractions.

Guruparampara applies in ordinary human life, for “a long chain of influence extends from the highest spiritual guide who may belong to any man, down through vast numbers of spiritual chiefs, ending at last even in the mere teacher of our youth. Or, to restate it in modern reversion of thought, a chain extends up from our teacher or preceptors to the highest spiritual chief in whose ray or descending line one may happen to be. And it makes no difference whatever, in this occult relation, that neither pupil nor final guide may be aware, or admit, that this is the case” (Letters That Have Helped Me).

Guruparampara (Sanskrit) Guruparamparā [from guru teacher + paramparā a row or uninterrupted series or succession] An uninterrupted series or succession of teachers. Every Mystery school or esoteric college of ancient times had its regular and uninterrupted series of teacher succeeding teacher, each one passing on to his successor the mystical authority and headship he himself had received from his predecessor. There are two kinds of guruparampara: first, those who rise one above the other in spiritual dignity and in progressively greater esoteric degree; and, second, those who succeed each other in time and in one line in the outer world. Yet these two kinds are but the same rule of series manifesting in two slightly differing manners. This process copies the hierarchical structure of nature itself.

Guru-parampara(Sanskrit) ::: This is a compound formed of guru, meaning "teacher," and a subordinate compoundparam-para, the latter compound meaning "a row or uninterrupted series or succession." Henceguru-parampara signifies an uninterrupted series or succession of teachers. Every Mystery school oresoteric college of ancient times had its regular and uninterrupted series or succession of teachersucceeding teacher, each one passing on to his successor the mystical authority and headship he himselfhad received from his predecessor.Like everything else of an esoteric character in the ancient world, the guru-parampara or succession ofteachers faithfully copied what actually exists or takes place in nature herself, where a hierarchy with itssummit or head is immediately linked on to a superior hierarchy as well as to an inferior one; and it is inthis manner that the mystical circulations of the kosmos, and the transmission of life or vital currentsthroughout the fabric or web of being is assured.From this ancient fact and teaching of the Mystery schools came the greatly distorted ApostolicSuccession of the Christian Church, a pale and feeble reflection in merely ecclesiastical government of afundamental spiritual and mystical reality. The great Brotherhood of the sages and seers of the world,which in fact is the association of the Masters of Wisdom and Compassion headed by the Maha-chohan,is the purest and most absolute form or example of the guru-parampara existing on our earth today. (Seealso Hermetic Chain)

Guru Rin po che. A devotional title for PADMASAMBHAVA. The name, mixing Sanskrit and Tibetan, literally means "precious teacher" and is the appellation of Padmasambhava most commonly used by Tibetans.

Guru Rin po che

Guru (Sanskrit) Guru Teacher, preceptor; applied not only to a chela’s spiritual teacher, but to spiritual and metaphysical teachers of many kinds. The spiritual fire within each person, the higher self or atma-buddhi, is also called a guru, a divine instructor; and this higher self within each individual is, when all is said, the supreme guru for that person. The Master outside of the disciple’s own spiritual guide is a very necessary element in genuine occult instruction; but the outer guru, the Master who teaches and leads the disciple, has always in view the evocation and development of the guru within the disciple — the bringing to birth of the chela’s own inner divine and intellectual energies and powers.

Guru(Sanskrit) ::: Sometimes gurudeva, "master divine." The word used in the old Sanskrit scriptures forteacher, preceptor. According to the beautiful teachings of the ancient wisdom, the guru acts as themidwife bringing to birth, helping to bring into the active life of the chela, the spiritual and intellectualparts of the disciple -- the soul of the man. Thus the relationship between teacher and disciple is anextremely sacred one, because it is a tie which binds closely heart to heart, mind to mind. The idea is,again, that the latent spiritual potencies in the mind and heart of the learner shall receive such assistancein their development as the teacher can karmically give; but it does not mean that the teacher shall do thework that the disciple himself or herself must do. The learner or disciple must tread his own path, and theteacher cannot tread it for him. The teacher points the way, guides and aids, and the disciple follows thepath.

Guru: (Skr.) Teacher.

Guru: Teacher; preceptor.

Guru ::: The relation of Guru and disciple is only one of many relations which one can have with the Divine, and in this Yoga which aims at a supramental realisation, it is not usual to give it this name; rather, the Divine is regarded as the Source, the living Sun of Light and Knowledge and Consciousness and spiritual realisation and all that one receives is felt as coming from there and the whole being remoulded by the Divine Hand. This is a greater and more intimate relation than that of the human Guru and disciple, which is more of a limited mental ideal. Nevertheless, if the mind still needs the more familiar mental conception, it can be kept so long as it is needed; only do not let the soul be bound by it and do not let it limit the inflow of other relations with the Divine and larger forms of experience.
   Ref: CWSA Vol. 35, Page: 395


Guru: The Sanskrit term for spiritual leader or teacher.

Guru U cho«cn. nothinj* mut| he con^caWd fro-n hi-n The

guru. ::: a true spiritual guide and teacher, who is one with Reality, the real Self &

guru bandhu :::or guru bhai. ::: co-disciple; having same Guru

gurudhamma. See GURUDHARMA

gurudharma. (P. gurudhamma/garudhamma; T. lci ba'i chos; C. jingfa; J. kyoho; K. kyongbop 敬法). In Sanskrit, "weighty" or "deferential" "rules," a list of eight special precepts the Buddha issued as a condition of admitting women to the Buddhist order, which explicitly subordinates the BHIKsUNĪ to the BHIKsU SAMGHA. According to traditional accounts, the Buddha was initially reluctant to admit women into the order, for fear that their presence would exacerbate the decline of the dharma (see SADDHARMAVIPRALOPA; MOFA). It was only after the earnest pleas of his aunt and stepmother, MAHĀPRAJĀPATĪ GAUTAMĪ, and the continued requests of his attendant, ĀNANDA, that the Buddha is said to have relented and ordained his aunt as the first BHIKsUNĪ. (Ānanda's support for the ordination of women would be one of the charges brought against him at at the first Buddhist council (see COUNCIL, FIRST), following the Buddha's PARINIRVĀnA.) As a condition of ordination, however, the Buddha required that women would have to accept the following list of eight "deferential rules" (the lists vary slightly by VINAYA tradition): (1) Although seniority within the order of monks was based on the length of time since ordination (see JIELA), a nun who had been ordained for even a hundred years must rise and pay respects to a monk ordained for a day; (2) a nun must not spend the annual rains retreat (VARsĀ) in a place where there are no monks; (3) nuns must ask the order of monks for instruction in the dharma and for the appropriate time to hold the fortnightly confession assembly (UPOsADHA) (an alternative rendering of this rule says, "Every half month the nuns must request a monk to give them the exhortation to keep the eight rules, and they should ask him when the confession rite should be performed"); (4) after the rains retreat, a nun should perform the rite of confessing any infractions (PRAVĀRAnĀ) that they have seen, heard, or suspected to both the order of monks and the order of nuns; (5) a nun who has committed an important infraction, or who fails to comply with any of the gurudharmas, must submit to the MĀNATVA discipline of probationary penance from both orders before she is reinstated before a quorum of twenty monks and twenty nuns; (6) women are required to receive ordination in both orders, in contrast to men, who need only be ordained in the bhiksusaMgha (other lists add that a woman must train for a period of two years as a probationary postulant, or sIKsAMĀnĀ, before seeking her dual ordination); (7) a nun should never abuse or revile a monk in any way; and (8) although a monk may point out a nun's transgressions, it is forbidden for a nun ever to admonish a monk. Some modern Buddhist reform movements have advocated the repeal of the eight deferential precepts for exemplifying an outmoded and sexist model of monasticism.

gurudharma

gurugiri [Hind.] ::: [guru-hood].

guru ::: heavy, weighty, large, great; important, serious; valuable, prized; venerable, honorable, respected; honorific appellation of a spiritual guide; a spiritual guide.

guru "job" An expert, especially in "{Unix} guru". Implies not only {wizard} skill but also a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in "VMS guru". See {source of all good bits}. [{Jargon File}] (1996-06-01)

guru ::: (job) An expert, especially in Unix guru. Implies not only wizard skill but also a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in VMS guru.See source of all good bits.[Jargon File] (1996-06-01)

guru kripa. ::: the Grace of the Guru; that Self-awareness that is one's own true nature

guru meditation ::: (operating system, exception) The Amiga equivalent of Unix's panic (sometimes just called a guru or guru event). When the system crashes, a indicating what the problem was. An Amiga guru can figure things out from the numbers.In the earliest days of the Amiga, there was a device called a Joyboard which was basically a plastic board built onto a joystick-like device; it was sold concentrate on a solution while sitting cross-legged, balanced on a Joyboard, resembling a meditating guru. Sadly, the joke was removed in AmigaOS 2.04.The Jargon File claimed that a guru event had to be followed by a Vulcan nerve pinch but, according to a correspondent, a mouse click was enough to start a reboot.(2002-06-25)

guru meditation "operating system" The {Amiga} equivalent of {Unix}'s {panic} (sometimes just called a "guru" or "guru event"). When the system crashes, a cryptic message of the form "GURU MEDITATION

guru mtshan brgyad. See PADMASAMBHAVA

guru ::: n. --> A spiritual teacher, guide, or confessor amoung the Hindoos.

GURU. ::: One who has realised the Truth and himself possesses and is able to communicate the light, the experience, a guide who is strong enough to take by the hand and carry over difficult passages as well as to instruct and point out the way.

guru purnima. ::: annual festival traditionally celebrated by hindus and buddhists &

guru-sakha ::: the isvara as teacher and friend, combining his guruguru-sakha sisya and sakhya relations with the jiva.

guru-sisya (guru-shishya) ::: the teacher-disciple relation (bhava), in guru-sisya which the isvara is perceived as "the teacher and guide" who "leads us to knowledge; at every step of the developing inner light and vision, we feel his touch like that of the artist moulding our clay of mind, his voice revealing the truth and its word", until there is "a transformation of our mentality into his and more and more he becomes the thinker and seer in us"H

guru

guru ::: spiritual guide; "the secret and universal Teacher who is seated in the hearts of all".

guru stuti. ::: praise of the Guru; verses in praise of the Guru

guru. (T. bla ma; C. shi; J. shi; K. sa 師). In Sanskrit, lit. "heavy," hence "venerable" and thus "religious guide or teacher." In mainstream Buddhism, the UPĀDHYĀYA (novice monk's preceptor) takes the role of the guru; the preceptor and disciple are said to be like father and son; the preceptor teaches the disciple and gives him his robes and alms bowl. In MAHĀYĀNA SuTRA literature, the increased importance of the guru is evident in the story of SADĀPRARUDITA and his teacher DHARMODGATA, from whom he seeks to learn the PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ, and in the GAndAVYuHA section of the AVATAMSAKASuTRA, which recounts SUDHANA's spiritual journey in search of enlightenment through a series of fifty-three spiritual mentors (KALYĀnAMITRA, a word often synonymous with guru). In tantric Buddhism, the guru is of greatest importance: the first of the SAMAYAs (tantric vows) is not to despise one's guru, who is considered to be the equal of all the TATHĀGATAs. The GURUPANCĀsIKĀ ("Fifty Verses on the Guru") explains the proper conduct students should observe in the presence of a tantric guru. In Tibetan Buddhism, the ritual worship of a guru is crucially important, supported by the doctrine that it is only through one's guru that one hears the Buddha's teaching; for only when the buddhas take the form of a personal guru can they convey the salvific doctrine to students. The ritual worship of the guru (see GAnACAKRA) in the form of the entire Buddhist pantheon (TSHOGS ZHING) is common to all Tibetan sects.

guru ::: teacher, spiritual teacher, guide.

guruvada ::: [the doctrine that stresses the indispensability of the guru to the spiritual seeker].

guruyoga

guruyoga. (T. bla ma'i rnal 'byor). The practice of GURU devotion, considered especially important in tantric practice, in which one's teacher is regarded as a buddha. In Tibetan Buddhism, guruyoga is included in a series of preliminary practices (SNGON 'GRO) to be undertaken before receiving a consecration. According to such works as DPAL SPRUL's KUN BZANG BLA MA'I ZHAL LUNG ("Words of My Perfect Teacher"), guruyoga includes reciting one hundred thousand repetitions of the name MANTRA of one's guru, visualized in the form of an enlightened being (in the case of that text, PADMASAMBHAVA). Guruyoga also includes the proper attitude toward a guru, as set forth in the GURUPANCĀsIKĀ and expanded on at length at the beginning of works of the LAM RIM-type genre. See also GAnACAKRA.


TERMS ANYWHERE

1. contradicting one's guru

1. teacher (S. guru; T. bla ma)

2. Guru Chos kyi dbang phyug

2. contradicting or denigrating the teachings of the Buddha or one's guru

2. GURU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG

Abhayadattasrī. (T. Mi 'jigs pa sbyin pa dpal). Indian author of the early twelfth century to whom the text of tantric hagiographies entitled *CATURAsĪTISIDDHAPRAVṚTTI ("Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas") is ascribed. According to the colophon of this work, the author is known as "the great guru from Campara in India."

According to the Nyaya philosophy, all existing things possess 24 gunas or characteristic qualities: rupa (shape or form); rasa (savor); gandha (odor); sparsa (tangibility); sankhya (number); parimana (dimension); prithaktva (severalty); samyoga (conjunction); vibhaga (disjunction); paratva (remoteness); aparatva (proximity); gurutva (weight); dravatva (fluidity); sneha (viscidity); sabda (sound); buddhi or jnana (understanding or knowledge); sukha (happiness); duhkha (pain); ichchha (desire); dvesha (aversion); prayatna (effort); dharma (merit or virtue); adharma (demerit); and samskara (the self-reproductive quality).

Acharya (Sanskrit) Ācārya [from ā towards + the verbal root car to proceed, practice, conduct oneself] One who proceeds or practices; a teacher, instructor, or guide. Usually applied to a spiritual teacher or guru, such as Sankaracharya.

Aksobhya. (T. Mi bskyod pa; C. Achu fo; J. Ashuku butsu; K. Ach'ok pul 阿閦佛). In Sanskrit, "Immovable" or "Imperturbable"; the name given to the buddha of the East because he is imperturbable in following his vow to proceed to buddhahood, particularly through mastering the practice of morality (sĪLA). Aksobhya is one of the PANCATATHAGATA (five tathAgatas), the buddha of the vajra family (VAJRAKULA). There are references to Aksobhya in the PRAJNAPARAMITA sutras and the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"), suggesting that his cult dates back to the first or second century of the Common Era, and that he was popular in India and Java as well as in the HimAlayan regions. The cult of Aksobhya may have been the first to emerge after the cult of sAKYAMUNI, and before that of AMITABHA. In the Saddharmapundarīkasutra, Aksobhya is listed as the first son of the buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu, and his bodhisattva name is given as JNAnAkara. His cult entered China during the Han dynasty, and an early text on his worship, the AKsOBHYATATHAGATASYAVYuHA, was translated into Chinese during the second half of the second century. Although his cult was subsequently introduced into Japan, he never became as popular in East Asia as the buddhas AMITABHA or VAIROCANA, and images of Aksobhya are largely confined to MAndALAs and other depictions of the paNcatathAgata. Furthermore, because Aksobhya's buddha-field (BUDDHAKsETRA) or PURE LAND of ABHIRATI is located in the East, he is sometimes replaced in mandalas by BHAIsAJYAGURU, who also resides in that same direction. Aksobhya's most common MUDRA is the BHuMISPARsAMUDRA, and he often holds a VAJRA. His consort is either MAmakī or LocanA.

alphabetic language "human language" A written human language in which symbols reflect the pronunciation of the words. Examples are English, Greek, Russian, Thai, Arabic and Hebrew. Alphabetic languages contrast with {ideographic languages}. {I18N Encyclopedia (http://i18ngurus.com/encyclopedia/alphabetic_language.html)}. (2004-08-29)

Also a great arhat Kshatriya (460?-534) who traveled to China, and was instrumental in disseminating Buddhist teachings there. His guru, Panyatara, is said to have given him the name Bodhidharma to mark his understanding (bodhi) of the Law (dharma) of the Buddha.

Amiga "computer" A range of home computers first released by {Commodore Business Machines} in early 1985 (though they did not design the original - see below). Amigas were popular for {games}, {video processing}, and {multimedia}. One notable feature is a hardware {blitter} for speeding up graphics operations on whole areas of the screen. The Amiga was originally called the Lorraine, and was developed by a company named "Amiga" or "Amiga, Inc.", funded by some doctors to produce a killer game machine. After the US game machine market collapsed, the Amiga company sold some {joysticks} but no Lorraines or any other computer. They eventually floundered and looked for a buyer. Commodore at that time bought the (mostly complete) Amiga machine, infused some money, and pushed it through the final stages of development in a hurry. Commodore released it sometime[?] in 1985. Most components within the machine were known by nicknames. The {coprocessor} commonly called the "Copper" is in fact the "{Video} Timing Coprocessor" and is split between two chips: the instruction fetch and execute units are in the "Agnus" chip, and the {pixel} timing circuits are in the "Denise" chip (A for address, D for data). "Agnus" and "Denise" were responsible for effects timed to the {real-time} position of the video scan, such as midscreen {palette} changes, {sprite multiplying}, and {resolution} changes. Different versions (in order) were: "Agnus" (could only address 512K of {video RAM}), "Fat Agnus" (in a {PLCC} package, could access 1MB of video RAM), "Super Agnus" (slightly upgraded "Fat Agnus"). "Agnus" and "Fat Agnus" came in {PAL} and {NTSC} versions, "Super Agnus" came in one version, jumper selectable for PAL or NTSC. "Agnus" was replaced by "Alice" in the A4000 and A1200, which allowed for more {DMA} channels and higher bus {bandwidth}. "Denise" outputs binary video data (3*4 bits) to the "Vidiot". The "Vidiot" is a hybrid that combines and amplifies the 12-bit video data from "Denise" into {RGB} to the {monitor}. Other chips were "Amber" (a "flicker fixer", used in the A3000 and Commodore display enhancer for the A2000), "Gary" ({I/O}, addressing, G for {glue logic}), "Buster" (the {bus controller}, which replaced "Gary" in the A2000), "Buster II" (for handling the Zorro II/III cards in the A3000, which meant that "Gary" was back again), "Ramsey" (The {RAM} controller), "DMAC" (The DMA controller chip for the WD33C93 {SCSI adaptor} used in the A3000 and on the A2091/A2092 SCSI adaptor card for the A2000; and to control the {CD-ROM} in the {CDTV}), and "Paula" ({Peripheral}, Audio, {UART}, {interrupt} Lines, and {bus Arbiter}). There were several Amiga chipsets: the "Old Chipset" (OCS), the "Enhanced Chipset" (ECS), and {AGA}. OCS included "Paula", "Gary", "Denise", and "Agnus". ECS had the same "Paula", "Gary", "Agnus" (could address 2MB of Chip RAM), "Super Denise" (upgraded to support "Agnus" so that a few new {screen modes} were available). With the introduction of the {Amiga A600} "Gary" was replaced with "Gayle" (though the chipset was still called ECS). "Gayle" provided a number of improvments but the main one was support for the A600's {PCMCIA} port. The AGA chipset had "Agnus" with twice the speed and a 24-bit palette, maximum displayable: 8 bits (256 colours), although the famous "{HAM}" (Hold And Modify) trick allows pictures of 256,000 colours to be displayed. AGA's "Paula" and "Gayle" were unchanged but AGA "Denise" supported AGA "Agnus"'s new screen modes. Unfortunately, even AGA "Paula" did not support High Density {floppy disk drives}. (The Amiga 4000, though, did support high density drives.) In order to use a high density disk drive Amiga HD floppy drives spin at half the rotational speed thus halving the data rate to "Paula". Commodore Business Machines went bankrupt on 1994-04-29, the German company {Escom AG} bought the rights to the Amiga on 1995-04-21 and the Commodore Amiga became the Escom Amiga. In April 1996 Escom were reported to be making the {Amiga} range again but they too fell on hard times and {Gateway 2000} (now called Gateway) bought the Amiga brand on 1997-05-15. Gateway licensed the Amiga operating system to a German hardware company called {Phase 5} on 1998-03-09. The following day, Phase 5 announced the introduction of a four-processor {PowerPC} based Amiga {clone} called the "{pre\box}". Since then, it has been announced that the new operating system will be a version of {QNX}. On 1998-06-25, a company called {Access Innovations Ltd} announced {plans (http://micktinker.co.uk/aaplus.html)} to build a new Amiga chip set, the {AA+}, based partly on the AGA chips but with new fully 32-bit functional core and 16-bit AGA {hardware register emulation} for {backward compatibility}. The new core promised improved memory access and video display DMA. By the end of 2000, Amiga development was under the control of a [new?] company called {Amiga, Inc.}. As well as continuing development of AmigaOS (version 3.9 released in December 2000), their "Digital Environment" is a {virtual machine} for multiple {platforms} conforming to the {ZICO} specification. As of 2000, it ran on {MIPS}, {ARM}, {PPC}, and {x86} processors. {(http://amiga.com/)}. {Amiga Web Directory (http://cucug.org/amiga.html)}. {amiCrawler (http://amicrawler.com/)}. Newsgroups: {news:comp.binaries.amiga}, {news:comp.sources.amiga}, {news:comp.sys.amiga}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.advocacy}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.announce}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.applications}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.audio}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.datacomm}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.emulations}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.games}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.graphics}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.hardware}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.introduction}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.marketplace}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.misc}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.multimedia}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.programmer}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.reviews}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.tech}, {news:comp.sys.amiga.telecomm}, {news:comp.Unix.amiga}. See {aminet}, {Amoeba}, {bomb}, {exec}, {gronk}, {guru meditation}, {Intuition}, {sidecar}, {slap on the side}, {Vulcan nerve pinch}. (2003-07-05)

Amiga ::: (computer) A range of home computers first released by Commodore Business Machines in early 1985 (though they did not design the original - see below). feature is a hardware blitter for speeding up graphics operations on whole areas of the screen.The Amiga was originally called the Lorraine, and was developed by a company named Amiga or Amiga, Inc., funded by some doctors to produce a killer game joysticks but no Lorraines or any other computer. They eventually floundered and looked for a buyer.Commodore at that time bought the (mostly complete) Amiga machine, infused some money, and pushed it through the final stages of development in a hurry. Commodore released it sometime[?] in 1985.Most components within the machine were known by nicknames. The coprocessor commonly called the Copper is in fact the Video Timing Coprocessor and is Agnus chip, and the pixel timing circuits are in the Denise chip (A for address, D for data).Agnus and Denise were responsible for effects timed to the real-time position of the video scan, such as midscreen palette changes, sprite the A4000 and A1200, which allowed for more DMA channels and higher bus bandwidth.Denise outputs binary video data (3*4 bits) to the Vidiot. The Vidiot is a hybrid that combines and amplifies the 12-bit video data from Denise into RGB to the monitor.Other chips were Amber (a flicker fixer, used in the A3000 and Commodore display enhancer for the A2000), Gary (I/O, addressing, G for glue logic), card for the A2000; and to control the CD-ROM in the CDTV), and Paula (Peripheral, Audio, UART, interrupt Lines, and bus Arbiter).There were several Amiga chipsets: the Old Chipset (OCS), the Enhanced Chipset (ECS), and AGA. OCS included Paula, Gary, Denise, and Agnus.ECS had the same Paula, Gary, Agnus (could address 2MB of Chip RAM), Super Denise (upgraded to support Agnus so that a few new screen modes were Gayle (though the chipset was still called ECS). Gayle provided a number of improvments but the main one was support for the A600's PCMCIA port.The AGA chipset had Agnus with twice the speed and a 24-bit palette, maximum displayable: 8 bits (256 colours), although the famous HAM (Hold And Modify) use a high density disk drive Amiga HD floppy drives spin at half the rotational speed thus halving the data rate to Paula.Commodore Business Machines went bankrupt on 1994-04-29, the German company Escom AG bought the rights to the Amiga on 1995-04-21 and the Commodore Amiga range again but they too fell on hard times and Gateway 2000 (now called Gateway) bought the Amiga brand on 1997-05-15.Gateway licensed the Amiga operating system to a German hardware company called Phase 5 on 1998-03-09. The following day, Phase 5 announced the introduction of a four-processor PowerPC based Amiga clone called the pre\box. Since then, it has been announced that the new operating system will be a version of QNX.On 1998-06-25, a company called Access Innovations Ltd announced to build a new Amiga chip set, the AA+, based partly on the AGA chips but with backward compatibility. The new core promised improved memory access and video display DMA.By the end of 2000, Amiga development was under the control of a [new?] company called Amiga, Inc.. As well as continuing development of AmigaOS (version 3.9 multiple platforms conforming to the ZICO specification. As of 2000, it ran on MIPS, ARM, PPC, and x86 processors. . . .Newsgroups: comp.binaries.amiga, comp.sources.amiga, comp.sys.amiga, comp.sys.amiga.advocacy, comp.sys.amiga.announce, comp.sys.amiga.applications, comp.sys.amiga.multimedia, comp.sys.amiga.programmer, comp.sys.amiga.reviews, comp.sys.amiga.tech, comp.sys.amiga.telecomm, comp.Unix.amiga.See aminet, Amoeba, bomb, exec, gronk, guru meditation, Intuition, sidecar, slap on the side, Vulcan nerve pinch.(2003-07-05)

and ihe working it is most important not to rely entirely on oneself, but to rely on the guidance of the Guru and to refer all that happens to his judgment and arbitration and decision.

Angirasas (Sanskrit) Aṅgirasa-s [from aṅg to go, move tortuously] The descendants of Angiras through his son, Agni; a name occurring in Vedic hymns addressed to luminous deities, and later extended to all phenomena connected with light. Specifically, the hymns of the Atharva-Veda are called Angirasa, as are those priests who recite them and perform the sacrifices according to the Atharva-vedic rules. “ ‘Angirases’ was one of the names of the Dhyanis, or Devas instructors (‘guru-deva’), of the late Third, the Fourth, and even of the Fifth Race Initiates” (SD 2:605n).

Anjali (Sanskrit) Añjali [from the verbal root añj to smear with, anoint, honor] Salutation; a gesture of respect when the hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed are raised to the forehead. This salutation of reverence and benediction has been universally used by Hindus since ancient times, not only as a sign of reverence to gurus or those to whom it is desired to show special respect, but also frequently as a gesture of prayer directed to divinities.

Anubhavi guru: Preceptor who has had personal spiritual realisation.

  “applied in days of old to the highest Gurus in India. There were many Vyasas in Aryavarta; one was the compiler and arranger of the Vedas; another, the author of the Mahabharata — the twenty-eighth Vyasa or revealer in the order of succession — and the last one of note was the author of Uttara Mimansa, the sixth school or system of Indian philosophy. He was also the founder of the Vedanta system. His date, as assigned by Orientalists . . . is 1,400 b.c., but this date is certainly too recent. The Puranas mention only twenty-eight Vyasas, who at various ages descended to the earth to promulgate Vedic truths — but there were many more” (TG 367).

Arasa-mara (Sanskrit) Arasa-mara [from arasa sapless, tasteless + mara dying, death] The banyan tree, considered in one of its aspects as the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Life. According to popular Hindu belief, under one of these trees Vishnu taught during one of his incarnations on earth, hence it is held sacred. “Under the protecting foliage of this king of the forests, the Gurus teach their pupils their first lessons on immortality and initiate them into the mysteries of life and death” (SD 2:215).

ARRESTS IN SADHANA. ::: A difficulty comes or an arrest in some movement which you have begun or have been carrying on for some time. Such arrests are inevitably frequent enough; one might almost say that every step forward is followed by an arrest. It is to be dealt with by becoming always more quiet, more firm in the will to go through, by opening oneself more and more so that any obstructing non-receptivity in the nature may diminish or disappear, by an affirmation of faith even in the midst of obscurity, faith in the presence of a Power that is working behind the cloud and the veil, in the guidance of the Guru, by an observation of oneself to find any cause of the arrest, not in a spirit of depression or discouragement but with the will to find out and remove it. This is the only right attitude and, if one is persistent in taking it, the periods of arrest are not abolished, - for that cannot be at this stage, - but greatly shortened and lightened in their incidence. Sometimes these arrests are periods, long or short, of assimilation or unseen preparation, their appearance of sterile immobility is deceptive ::: in that case, with the right attitude, one can after a time, by opening, by observation, by accumulated experience, begin to feel, to get some inkling of what is being prepared or done. Sometimes it is a period of true obstruction in which the Power at work has to deal with the obstacles in the way, obstacles in oneself, obstacles of the opposing cosmic forces or any other or of all together, and this kind of arrest may be long or short according to the magnitude or obstinacy or complexity of the impediments that are met. But here, too, the right attitude can alleviate or shorten and, if persistently taken, help to a more radical removal of the difficulties and greatly diminish the necessity of complete arrests hereafter.
On the contrary, an attitude of depression or unfaith in the help or the guidance or in the certitude of the victory of the guiding Power, a shutting up of yourself in the sense of the difficulties, helps the obstructions to recur with force instead of progressively diminishing in their incidence.


Ashram: The Hindu name of a settlement of disciples living with or around a guru (spiritual leader or teacher).

asramam. ::: the abode of a sage; the establishment or colony that grows up around a sage or Guru; the Tamil word for "ashram"

Asvaghosa. (T. Rta dbyangs; C. Maming; J. Memyo; K. Mamyong 馬鳴) (c. second century CE). An Indian Buddhist poet from sRAVASTĪ, renowned for his epic kAvya poem, the BUDDHACARITA, the first complete biography of the Buddha. According to traditional accounts, Asvaghosa was born into a brAhmana family in AyodhyA during the reign of the KUSHAN king KANIsKA and was converted to Buddhism by the VAIBHAsIKA teacher PARsVA. His poetic works are esteemed for their distinguished artistic merit, considered representative of the high Sanskritic literary tradition. While the Buddhacarita is Asvaghosa's most famous work, he authored numerous other epic poems including the Saundarananda ("The Handsome Nanda," an account of NANDA's conversion) and the sAriputraprakarana ("Story of sARIPUTRA"). East Asian tradition also attributes to Asvaghosa the DASHENG QIXIN LUN (Awakening of Faith), a treatise on TATHAGATAGARBHA thought that is now widely presumed to be an indigenous Chinese treatise (see APOCRYPHA). ¶ A second tantric Asvaghosa, author of the GURUPANCAsIKA (a brief text detailing the proper worship of a tantric guru), lived in about the tenth century.

Atisa DīpaMkarasrījNAna. (T. A ti sha Mar me mdzad dpal ye shes) (982-1054). Indian Buddhist monk and scholar revered by Tibetan Buddhists as a leading teacher in the later dissemination (PHYI DAR) of Buddhism in Tibet. His name, also written as Atisha, is an ApabhraMsa form of the Sanskrit term atisaya, meaning "surpassing kindness." Born into a royal family in what is today Bangladesh, Atisa studied MAHAYANA Buddhist philosophy and TANTRA as a married layman prior to being ordained at the age of twenty-nine, receiving the ordination name of DīpaMkarasrījNAna. After studying at the great monasteries of northern India, including NALANDA, ODANTAPURĪ, VIKRAMAsĪLA, and SOMAPURA, he is said to have journeyed to the island of Sumatra, where he studied under the CITTAMATRA teacher Dharmakīrtisrī (also known as guru Sauvarnadvīpa) for twelve years; he would later praise Dharmakīrtisrī as a great teacher of BODHICITTA. Returning to India, he taught at the Indian monastic university of VIKRAMAsĪLA. Atisa was invited to Tibet by the king of western Tibet YE SHES 'OD and his grandnephew BYANG CHUB 'OD, who were seeking to remove perceived corruption in the practice of Buddhism in Tibet. Atisa reached Tibet in 1042, where he initially worked together with the renowned translator RIN CHEN BZANG PO at THO LING monastery in the translation of PRAJNAPARAMITA texts. There, he composed his famous work, the BODHIPATHAPRADĪPA, or "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment," an overview of the MahAyAna Buddhist path that served as a basis for the genre of literature known as LAM RIM ("stages of the path"). He spent the remaining twelve years of his life in the central regions of Tibet, where he formed his principal seat in Snye thang (Nyetang) outside of LHA SA where he translated a number of MADHYAMAKA works into Tibetan. He died there and his relics were interred in the SGROL MA LHA KHANG. Atisa and his chief disciples 'BROM STON RGYAL BA'I 'BYUNG GNAS and RNGOG LEGS PA'I SHES RAB are considered the forefathers of the BKA' GDAMS PA sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, he is commonly known by the honorific title Jo bo rje (Jowoje), "the Superior Lord."

Baidurya sngon po. (Vaidurya Ngonpo). In Tibetan, "Blue Beryl"; a commentary composed by the regent of the fifth DALAI LAMA, SDE SRID SANGS RGYAS RGYA MTSHO on the "four tantras" (rgyud bzhi), the basic texts of the Tibetan medical system. Completed in 1688, the work's full title is Gso ba rig pa'i bstan bcos sman bla'i dgongs rgyan rgyud bzhi'i gsal byed baidurya sngon po; it is an important treatise on the practice of Tibetan medicine (gso rig). Its two volumes explain the Tibetan medical treatise Bdud rtsi snying po yan lag brgyad pa gsang ba man ngag gi rgyud, a text probably by G.yu thog yon tan mgon po (Yutok Yonten Gonpo) the younger, but accepted by Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho to be an authentic work of the "Medicine Buddha" BHAIsAJYAGURU. The Baidurya sngon po covers a wide range of medical topics approximating physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and cure; although based on the four tantras, the text is a synthesis of earlier medical traditions, particularly those of the Byang (Jang) and Zur schools. Its prestige was such that it became the major reference work of a science that it brought to classical maturity. Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho's original commentary on the four tantras was supplemented by a set of seventy-nine (originally perhaps eighty-five) THANG KA (paintings on cloth) that he commissioned to elucidate his commentary. Each painting represented in detail the contents of a chapter, making up in total 8,000 vignettes, each individually captioned. These famous paintings, a crowning achievement in medical iconography, adorned the walls of the Lcags po ri (Chakpori) medical center that Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho founded in LHA SA in 1696; they were destroyed in 1959. It is the commentary most widely studied in the Sman rtsis khang (Mentsikang), a college founded by the thirteenth DALAI LAMA for the study of traditional Tibetan medicine.

beidou qixing. (J. hokuto shichisho; K. puktu ch'ilsong 北斗七星). In Chinese, "seven stars of the Northern Dipper" (viz., the Big Dipper, or Ursa Major); Daoist divinities that are also prominent in Korean Buddhism, where they are typically known as the ch'ilsong. The cult of the seven stars of the Big Dipper developed within Chinese Buddhist circles through influence from indigenous Daoist schools, who worshipped these seven deities to guard against plague and other misfortunes. The apocryphal Beidou qixing yanming jing ("Book of the Prolongation of Life through Worshipping the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper"), suggests a correlation between the healing buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU and the Big Dipper cult by addressing the seven-star TATHAGATAs (qixing rulai) with names that are very similar to Bhaisajyaguru's seven emanations. This indigenous Chinese scripture (see APOCRYPHA), which derives from an early Daoist text on Big Dipper worship, is certainly dated no later than the late thirteenth or early fourteenth centuries but may have been composed as early as the middle of the eighth century; it later was translated into Uighur, Mongolian, and Tibetan, as part of the Mongol Yuan dynasty's extension of power throughout the Central Asian region. Thanks to this scripture, the seven-star cult became associated in Buddhism with the prolongation of life. We know that seven-star worship had already been introduced into esoteric Buddhist ritual by at least the eighth century because of two contemporary manuals that discuss HOMA fire offerings to the seven stars: VAJRABODHI's (671-741) Beidou qixing niansong yigui ("Ritual Procedures for Invoking the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper") and his disciple AMOGHAVAJRA's (705-774) Beidou qixing humo miyao yigui ("Esoteric Ritual Procedure for the Homa Offering to the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper"). Renderings of DHARAnĪ sutras dedicated to the tathAgata TEJAPRABHA (Qixingguang Rulai), who is said to be master of the planets and the twenty-eight asterisms, are also attributed to Amoghavajra's translation bureau. Worship of the seven stars within esoteric Buddhist circles was therefore certainly well established in China by the eighth century during the Tang dynasty and probably soon afterward in Korean Buddhism. ¶ The worship of the Big Dipper in Korea may date as far back as the Megalithic period, as evidenced by the engraving of the Big Dipper and other asterisms on dolmens or menhirs. In the fourth-century Ji'an tombs of the Koguryo kingdom (37 BCE-668 CE), one of the traditional Three Kingdoms of early Korea, a mural of the Big Dipper is found on the north wall of tomb no. 1, along with an accompanying asterism of the six stars of Sagittarius (sometimes called the Southern Dipper) on the south wall; this juxtaposition is presumed to reflect the influence of the Shangqing school of contemporary Chinese Daoism. Court rituals to the seven stars and the tathAgata Tejaprabha date from the twelfth century during the Koryo dynasty. By at least the thirteen century, the full range of texts and ritual practices associated with the seven-star deities were circulating in Korea. At the popular level in Korea, the divinities of the Big Dipper were thought to control longevity, especially for children, and the ch'ilsong cult gained widespread popularity during the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). This popularization is in turn reflected in the ubiquity in Korean monasteries of "seven-stars shrines" (ch'ilsonggak), which were typically located in less-conspicuous locations along the outer perimeter of the monasteries and were worshipped primarily by the nonelite. Inside these shrines were hung seven-star paintings (T'AENGHWA), which typically depict the tathAgatas of the seven stars, with the tathAgata Tejaprabha presiding at the center. There are also several comprehensive ritual and liturgical manuals compiled during the Choson dynasty and Japanese colonial period in Korea that include rituals and invocations to the seven stars and Tejaprabha, most dedicated to the prolongation of life. Along with the mountain god (sansin), who also often has his own shrine in the monasteries of Korea, the role of the ch'ilsong in Korean Buddhism is often raised in the scholarship as an example of Buddhism's penchant to adapt beliefs and practices from rival religions. Although ch'ilsong worship has declined markedly in contemporary Korea, the ch'ilsokche, a worship ceremony dedicated to the tathAgata Tejaprabha, is occasionally held at some Buddhist monasteries on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, with lay believers praying for good fortune and the prevention of calamity.

Guru ::: A teacher in a spiritual tradition.

Guru Chokyi Wangchuk. See GU RU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG

Guru-deva (Sanskrit) Guru-deva [from guru teacher + deva divine being] Deva-teacher; a title of respect and reverence used by chelas for their instructors.

Guru (guru) (S) spiritual teacher (equivalent of Murshid)

Guru is the channel or the representative or the manifestation of the Divine, according to (be measure of his personality or his attainment ; but whatever he is, it is to the Divine that one opens in opening to him ; and if something is determined by the power of the channel, more is determined by the inherent and intrinsic attitude of the lecciving consciousness, an element that comes out in the surface mind as simple trust or direct uncondi- tional self-giving, and once that is there, the essential things can be gained even from one who seems to others than the disciple an inferior spiritual source, and the rest will grow up in the sadhaka of itself by the Grace of the Divine, even if the human being in the Guru cannot it.

Gurukripa: Preceptor's grace or blessings.

Gurumantra: Mantra in which one has been initiated by the Guru.

GurupaNcāsikā

GurupaNcāsikā. (T. Bla ma lnga bcu pa). In Sanskrit, "Fifty Verses on the GURU," a short work attributed to one AsVAGHOsA (a tenth-century figure not to be confused with the earlier poet) that details the proper conduct students observe in the presence of a tantric guru. Respect for one's tantric guru was the first point in the code of tantric morality (T. rig 'dzin gyi sdom pa) (see SDOM GSUM). The GurupaNcāsikā sets forth the proper physical behavior and deferential language that should be employed in the presence of one's guru in order to avoid incurring serious infractions.

Guruparampara applies in ordinary human life, for “a long chain of influence extends from the highest spiritual guide who may belong to any man, down through vast numbers of spiritual chiefs, ending at last even in the mere teacher of our youth. Or, to restate it in modern reversion of thought, a chain extends up from our teacher or preceptors to the highest spiritual chief in whose ray or descending line one may happen to be. And it makes no difference whatever, in this occult relation, that neither pupil nor final guide may be aware, or admit, that this is the case” (Letters That Have Helped Me).

Guruparampara (Sanskrit) Guruparamparā [from guru teacher + paramparā a row or uninterrupted series or succession] An uninterrupted series or succession of teachers. Every Mystery school or esoteric college of ancient times had its regular and uninterrupted series of teacher succeeding teacher, each one passing on to his successor the mystical authority and headship he himself had received from his predecessor. There are two kinds of guruparampara: first, those who rise one above the other in spiritual dignity and in progressively greater esoteric degree; and, second, those who succeed each other in time and in one line in the outer world. Yet these two kinds are but the same rule of series manifesting in two slightly differing manners. This process copies the hierarchical structure of nature itself.

Guru-parampara(Sanskrit) ::: This is a compound formed of guru, meaning "teacher," and a subordinate compoundparam-para, the latter compound meaning "a row or uninterrupted series or succession." Henceguru-parampara signifies an uninterrupted series or succession of teachers. Every Mystery school oresoteric college of ancient times had its regular and uninterrupted series or succession of teachersucceeding teacher, each one passing on to his successor the mystical authority and headship he himselfhad received from his predecessor.Like everything else of an esoteric character in the ancient world, the guru-parampara or succession ofteachers faithfully copied what actually exists or takes place in nature herself, where a hierarchy with itssummit or head is immediately linked on to a superior hierarchy as well as to an inferior one; and it is inthis manner that the mystical circulations of the kosmos, and the transmission of life or vital currentsthroughout the fabric or web of being is assured.From this ancient fact and teaching of the Mystery schools came the greatly distorted ApostolicSuccession of the Christian Church, a pale and feeble reflection in merely ecclesiastical government of afundamental spiritual and mystical reality. The great Brotherhood of the sages and seers of the world,which in fact is the association of the Masters of Wisdom and Compassion headed by the Maha-chohan,is the purest and most absolute form or example of the guru-parampara existing on our earth today. (Seealso Hermetic Chain)

Guru Rin po che. A devotional title for PADMASAMBHAVA. The name, mixing Sanskrit and Tibetan, literally means "precious teacher" and is the appellation of Padmasambhava most commonly used by Tibetans.

Guru Rin po che

Guru (Sanskrit) Guru Teacher, preceptor; applied not only to a chela’s spiritual teacher, but to spiritual and metaphysical teachers of many kinds. The spiritual fire within each person, the higher self or atma-buddhi, is also called a guru, a divine instructor; and this higher self within each individual is, when all is said, the supreme guru for that person. The Master outside of the disciple’s own spiritual guide is a very necessary element in genuine occult instruction; but the outer guru, the Master who teaches and leads the disciple, has always in view the evocation and development of the guru within the disciple — the bringing to birth of the chela’s own inner divine and intellectual energies and powers.

Guru(Sanskrit) ::: Sometimes gurudeva, "master divine." The word used in the old Sanskrit scriptures forteacher, preceptor. According to the beautiful teachings of the ancient wisdom, the guru acts as themidwife bringing to birth, helping to bring into the active life of the chela, the spiritual and intellectualparts of the disciple -- the soul of the man. Thus the relationship between teacher and disciple is anextremely sacred one, because it is a tie which binds closely heart to heart, mind to mind. The idea is,again, that the latent spiritual potencies in the mind and heart of the learner shall receive such assistancein their development as the teacher can karmically give; but it does not mean that the teacher shall do thework that the disciple himself or herself must do. The learner or disciple must tread his own path, and theteacher cannot tread it for him. The teacher points the way, guides and aids, and the disciple follows thepath.

Guru: (Skr.) Teacher.

Guru: Teacher; preceptor.

Guru ::: The relation of Guru and disciple is only one of many relations which one can have with the Divine, and in this Yoga which aims at a supramental realisation, it is not usual to give it this name; rather, the Divine is regarded as the Source, the living Sun of Light and Knowledge and Consciousness and spiritual realisation and all that one receives is felt as coming from there and the whole being remoulded by the Divine Hand. This is a greater and more intimate relation than that of the human Guru and disciple, which is more of a limited mental ideal. Nevertheless, if the mind still needs the more familiar mental conception, it can be kept so long as it is needed; only do not let the soul be bound by it and do not let it limit the inflow of other relations with the Divine and larger forms of experience.
   Ref: CWSA Vol. 35, Page: 395


Guru: The Sanskrit term for spiritual leader or teacher.

Guru U cho«cn. nothinj* mut| he con^caWd fro-n hi-n The

Bhaisajyaguru

Bhaisajyagurusutra. [alt. BhaisajyaguruvaiduryaprabhArAjasutra] (T. Sman gyi bla bai durya'i 'od kyi rgyal po'i sngon gyi smon lam gyi khyad par rgyas pa'i mdo; C. Yaoshi benyuan jing; J. Yakushi hongangyo; K. Yaksa ponwon kyong 藥師本願經). An eponymous MAHAYANA SuTRA that recounts the qualities, vows, and PURE LAND (BUDDHAKsETRA) of the buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU-the Master of Healing, also known as the Medicine Buddha, or the TathAgata of Lapis-Lazuli Light. The scripture was most likely written in northern India during the early centuries of the Common Era. In this sutra, at the request of MANJUsRĪ-kumAra, sAKYAMUNI describes this buddha and his pure land. Bhaisajyaguru's pure land lies in the east, separated from our world system by innumerable buddhaksetras. Like other pure lands, Bhaisajyaguru's realm is free from the miseries that invariably plague existence and is ideal for the acquisition of the dharma as taught by Bhaisajyaguru himself and his retinue of BODHISATTVAs. The ground in this realm is made of lapis lazuli. Its roads, also made of precious stones, are marked with ropes of gold. Its houses are made of jewels. sAkyamuni also describes the bodhisattva vows taken by Bhaisajyaguru in his quest for awakening. Bhaisajyaguru vowed that his name, if merely uttered, would cure diseases, free prisoners, secure food and clothing for the impoverished, and produce other similar benefits. He also vowed that his body would be as resplendent as lapis lazuli itself so that it might illuminate the world. This sutra describes methods by which one may gain Bhaisajyaguru's favor; these methods include making an image of Bhaisajyaguru, reciting the text of the Bhaisajyagurusutra, or merely thinking of his name. Chinese translations of this sutra were made by Dharmagupta in 616 and by XUANZANG in 650 at DACI'ENSI in the Tang capital of Chang'an.

Bhaisajyagurusutra

Bhaisajyaguru. (T. Sman bla; C. Yaoshi rulai; J. Yakushi nyorai; K. Yaksa yorae 藥師如來). In Sanskrit, "Medicine Teacher"; the "Healing Buddha" or "Medicine Buddha," who was the focus of an important salvific cult in the early MAHAYANA tradition. According to his eponymous scripture, the BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA, he has a body more brilliant than the sun, which was the color of lapis lazuli (vaiduryamani) and possessed the power to heal illness and physical deformities; his pure land of VaiduryanirbhAsa is located in the east. The origin of Bhaisajyaguru and his healing cult is unclear, although his worship seems to have arisen contemporaneously with the rise of the MahAyAna. BHAIsAJYARAJA and Bhaisajyasamudgata, two bodhisattvas mentioned in the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"), are likely antecedents, and similarities with other "celestial" buddhas like AMITABHA and AKsOBHYA also suggest possible influence from those rival cults. The Bhaisajyagurusutra was translated into Chinese in the seventh century, during the Tang dynasty, when his worship finally achieved the wide recognition that it continues to enjoy within the Chinese tradition. The Bhaisajyagurusutra is also cited in the eighth-century tantric text, MANJUsRĪMuLAKALPA, indicating that his cult had by then achieved widespread acclaim throughout Asia. Bhaisajyaguru was one of the earliest buddhas to gain popularity in Japan, although initially he was familiar only within the imperial court, which constructed monasteries in his honor beginning in the sixth century. By the eighth century, his cult had spread throughout the country, with Bhaisajyaguru being invoked both to cure illness and to ward off dangers. The worship of Bhaisajyaguru seems to have entered Tibet during the eighth century, two versions of the Bhaisajyagurusutra having been translated into Tibetan by the prolific YE SHES SDE and others. Early in the development of his cult, Bhaisajyaguru was divided into a group of eight medicine buddhas (asta-bhaisajyaguru), made up of seven of his emanations plus the principal buddha. Their names vary according to source, and none save Bhaisajyaguru are worshipped individually. Two of these emanations-Suryaprabha and Candraprabha-are often depicted in a triad with Bhaisajyaguru. Further, Bhaisajyaguru is also said to command twelve warriors (YAKsA) related to various astrological categories and to wage war on illness in the name of their leader. Indic images of Bhaisajyaguru are rare, but his depictions are common across both the East Asian and Tibetan cultural spheres. East Asian images are almost uniform in depicting him seated, with his right hand in the gesture of fearlessness (ABHAYAMUDRA) or the gesture of generosity (VARADAMUDRA), his left in his lap, occasionally holding a medicine bowl. In Tibet, he is also shown holding the fruit of the medicinal myrobalan plant.

Bhaisajyaguruvaiduryaprabhārājasutra

BhaisajyaguruvaiduryaprabhArAjasutra. (S). See BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA.

BhaisajyarAja. (T. Sman gyi rgyal po; C. Yaowang pusa; J. Yakuo bosatsu; K. Yagwang posal 藥王菩薩). In Sanskrit, "Medicine King"; a BODHISATTVA brother and probable antecedent of the buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU. Like his younger brother Bhaisajyasamudgata (C. Yaoshang), BhaisajyarAja is mentioned in both the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra") as well as in the Foshuo Guan Yaowang Yaoshang er pusa jing ("Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on Visualizing the Two Bodhisattvas BhaisajyarAja and Bhaisajyasamudgata") translated into Chinese by KALAYAsAS between 424-442 CE. The appearance of the brothers in the Saddharmapundarīkasutra suggests that a cult of a medicine bodhisattva or buddha had developed in India by at least the third century CE. The Saddharmapundarīkasutra tells of the elder brother BhaisajyarAja offering his own body to a buddha by burning himself on a pyre, a fire that is said to have burned for twelve hundred years. As their own sutra (the Guan Yaowang Yaoshang er pusa jing) relates, the two brothers did not make their initial bodhisattva aspirations before a buddha, as would typically be the case, but in front of an as-yet unenlightened monk named Suryagarbha, though both have the buddhas of the ten directions in their headdresses. That sutra further describes the myriad benefits attained through visualization of the two, an indication that the bodhisattvas were evolving from models of behavior to emulate, as they are depicted in the Saddharmapundarīkasutra into objects of worship. With the rise of the cult of the buddha Bhaisajyaguru, however, the two bodhisattvas assumed subservient positions, becoming the two main figures in that buddha's group of seven acolytes. See also SHESHEN.

bhakta. ::: a devotee; a follower of the path of bhakti; one who wants to please the Guru

bhiksunī. (P. bhikkhunī; T. dge slong ma; C. biqiuni; J. bikuni; K. piguni 比丘尼) In Sanskrit, "beggar (female)," commonly translated as "nun." A bhiksunī holds full ordination in her VINAYA lineage and is distinguished from a novice nun (sRAMAnERIKA) or a probationary postulant (sIKsAMAnA) who both accept only the preliminary training rules. The bhiksunī is enjoined to observe the full set of rules of monastic discipline, or PRATIMOKsA, governing fully ordained nuns, which vary from 311 in the PAli vinaya to 364 in the MuLASARVASTIVADA vinaya followed in Tibet (although the order of bhiksunī was never established there). These rules mirror closely those also incumbent on monks (BHIKsU) (although there are substantially greater numbers of rules in all categories of the bhiksunī prAtimoksa); an important exception, however, is that nuns are also required to adhere to the eight "weighty" or "deferential" "rules" (GURUDHARMA), a set of special rules that nuns alone are enjoined to follow, which explicitly subordinate the bhiksunī to the bhiksu SAMGHA. Upon receiving higher ordination (UPASAMPADA), the new nun is required to remain under the guidance (NIsRAYA; P. nissaya) of her preceptor (UPADHYAYA; P. upajjhAyA) for at least two years until she becomes skilled in dharma and vinaya. After ten years, the nun becomes an elder (sthavirī; P. therī) in the bhiksunī saMgha and, after another two years, may act as a preceptor and ordain new nuns into the order. In South Asia, the formal upasaMpadA ordination of nuns is thought to have died out sometime during the medieval period, and there is little evidence that a formal bhiksunī saMgha was ever established in Southeast Asia. The only surviving bhiksunī ordination lineages are in China, Korea, and Taiwan. Apart from East Asia, most Buddhist women known as "nuns" are actually only ordained with the eight, nine, or ten extended lay precepts (as in Southeast Asia), as srAmanerikA (as in Tibet), or else take the East Asian bodhisattva precepts of the FANWANG JING (as in Japan). In recent years there has been a concerted effort to reintroduce the bhiksunī ordination to countries where it had died out or was never established.

bla ma'i rnal 'byor. See GURUYOGA

bla ma. (lama). A Tibetan term of uncertain derivation, used to translate the Sanskrit word GURU, or "teacher." According to traditional paranomastic glosses, it means "none higher" and "high mother." Outside of Tibet, it is sometimes assumed that any Tibetan monk is a lama, but this is not the case. This misconception is reflected in the Chinese term lama jiao, or "teachings of the lama," the source of the European misnomer for Tibetan Buddhism, "Lamaism." Within Tibetan Buddhism, the term may be applied to any religious teacher, especially one's own teacher, regardless of whether the teacher is a monk or a layperson. In common Tibetan parlance, bla ma usually denotes an incarnate lama (SPRUL SKU).

Blo sbyong tshig brgyad ma. (Lojong Tsikgyema). In Tibetan, "Eight Verses on Mind Training"; a text composed by the BKA' GDAMS scholar Glang ri thang pa (Langri Thangpa, 1054-1123), based upon the instructions for generating BODHICITTA transmitted to Tibet by the Bengali master ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA. The work became famous in Tibet for its penetrating advice for the practice of compassion (KARUnA). It formed the basis for future influential works, including the often-quoted BLO SBYONG DON BDUN MA ("Seven Points of Mind Training"), by the Bka' gdams scholar 'CHAD KA BA YE SHES RDO RJE, written several decades later. The first seven verses teach the practice of conventional (SAMVṚTI) bodhicitta, and the last verse ultimate (PARAMARTHA) bodhicitta. The first training is to view sentient beings as wish-granting gems because it is only by feeling compassion for beings that bodhisattvas reach enlightenment; the second is to cultivate an attitude similar to a person of low status whose natural place is serving others; and the third is to immediately confront and counteract afflictions (KLEsA) (here understood specifically as selfishness, attachment to one's own interests, and hatred for those who oppose them). The fourth training is to treat people who are actually cruel as extremely rare and precious because they present an opportunity to practice patience and compassion, without which enlightenment is impossible; the fifth is the famous advice to "give all victory to others; take all defeat for yourself;" the sixth is to treat ungrateful persons as special gurus, and the seventh is to practice GTONG LEN (giving and taking), a practice of breathing out love and compassion and breathing in the sufferings of others. The eighth training is in a mind free from all conceptions.

bomb 1. "software" General synonym for {crash} except that it is not used as a noun. Especially used of software or {OS} failures. "Don't run Empire with less than 32K stack, it'll bomb". 2. "operating system" {Atari ST} and {Macintosh} equivalents of a {Unix} "{panic}" or {Amiga} {guru}, in which {icons} of little black-powder bombs or mushroom clouds are displayed, indicating that the system has died. On the {Macintosh}, this may be accompanied by a decimal (or occasionally {hexadecimal}) number indicating what went wrong, similar to the {Amiga} {guru meditation} number. {MS-DOS} computers tend to {lock up} in this situation. 3. "software" A piece of code embedded in a program that remains dormant until it is triggered. Logic bombs are triggered by an event whereas time bombs are triggered either after a set amount of time has elapsed, or when a specific date is reached. [{Jargon File}] (1996-12-08)

bomb ::: 1. (software) General synonym for crash except that it is not used as a noun. Especially used of software or OS failures. Don't run Empire with less than 32K stack, it'll bomb.2. (operating system) Atari ST and Macintosh equivalents of a Unix panic or Amiga guru, in which icons of little black-powder bombs or mushroom indicating what went wrong, similar to the Amiga guru meditation number. MS-DOS computers tend to lock up in this situation.3. (software) A piece of code embedded in a program that remains dormant until it is triggered. Logic bombs are triggered by an event whereas time bombs are triggered either after a set amount of time has elapsed, or when a specific date is reached.[Jargon File] (1996-12-08)

Brahmacharya-asrama: Order of the students engaged in the study of the Vedas and the service of the Guru or the preceptor.

brahman. ::: the impersonal, non-dual, Final Reality; infinite consciousness; the eternal witness; the absolute Self of all beings; oneness; the supreme Reality that is one and indivisible, uncreated, infinite and eternal; witnessing awareness; all-pervading, all-embracing, changeless existence that is entirely complete within Itself; the Supreme state which is attained here in this life by clear Self-enquiry, which arises in the Heart when association with a Satguru is gained

'Brom ston Rgyal ba'i 'byung gnas. (Dromton Gyalwe Jungne) (1004-1064). The foremost Tibetan disciple of the Bengali scholar ATIsA, and central figure in the founding of the BKA' GDAMS sect of Tibetan Buddhism during the period known as the later dissemination (PHYI DAR) of Buddhism in Tibet. Born in central Tibet, he began his education at an early age. Toward the middle years of his life, news of Atisa's arrival in western Tibet reached him, and he set out on the arduous journey to meet the master. 'Brom ston pa became an early and close student of Atisa and made arrangements for his Indian guru's tour of central Tibet in 1045. After Atisa's death, 'Brom ston pa established RWA SGRENG monastery in 1056, consolidating his career as translator and teacher at this important religious institution. He is remembered especially for the firm austerity of his religious practice. 'Brom ston pa's instructions, as recorded in Bka' gdams pa works such as the Bka' gdams gtor bu ("Bka' gdams Miscellania"), perhaps wary of the potential abuses of tantric practice, instead emphasize meditation on impermanence and compassion coupled with adherence to strict ethical principles and monastic discipline.

Bsod nams rgya mtsho. (Sonam Gyatso) (1543-1588). A Tibetan Buddhist prelate officially identified as the third DALAI LAMA, although he was the first to actually hold the title. Recognized as an accomplished scholar and Buddhist master, he served as the abbot of 'BRAS SPUNGS Monastery. In 1578 he traveled to Mongolia at the invitation of the Tumed ruler Altan Khan, and served as religious instructor to the court. He convinced the Mongols to ban blood sacrifice and other indigenous rites in favor of Buddhist practice. In return, the Mongol Khan bestowed upon his guru the title "Dalai Lama," literally translating the Tibetan's name rgya mtsho ("ocean") into the Mongolian equivalent dalai. The name Dalai Lama was posthumously applied to Bsod nams rgya mtsho's two previous incarnations, DGE 'DUN GRUB and Dge 'dun rgya mtsho (Gendün Gyatso), who became respectively the first and second members of the lineage. Bsod nams rgya mtsho traveled widely throughout eastern Tibet and China, teaching and establishing monastic centers.

But with all the krpa is there working in one way or another and it can only abandon the disciple if the disciple himself abandons or rejects it — by decisive and deSnitive revolts, by rejection of the Guru, by cutting the painter and declaring his

caitya guru ::: the guide in the conscious being.

casting the runes "jargon" What a {guru} does when you ask him or her to run a particular program because it never works for anyone else; especially used when nobody can ever see what the guru is doing different from what J. Random Luser does. Compare {incantation}, {runes}, {examining the entrails}; also see the {AI koan} about Tom Knight. (1997-12-26)

casting the runes ::: (jargon) What a guru does when you ask him or her to run a particular program because it never works for anyone else; especially used when nobody can ever see what the guru is doing different from what J. Random Luser does.Compare incantation, runes, examining the entrails; also see the AI koan about Tom Knight. (1997-12-26)

chela. ::: disciple; one who wants to become the reflection of the Guru

Chikchisa. (直指寺). In Korean, "Direct Pointing Monastery"; the eighth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Mount Hwangak in North Kyongsang province. The monastery purports to have been founded in 418 CE by the Koguryo monk Ado (fl. c. 418). There are three different stories about how the monastery got its name. The first version states that the name originated when Ado pointed directly at Mount Hwangak and said, "At that place, a large monastery will be established." The second story says that a monk called Nŭngyo (fl. c. 936) laid out the monastery campus using only his hands and without using any other measuring devices; hence, the monastery was given the name "Direct Measuring" (chikchi). A third story connects the name to the famous line concerning the soteriological approach of the SoN or CHAN school: "direct pointing to the human mind" (K. chikchi insim; C. ZHIZHI RENXIN). With the support of the Koryo king Taejo (r. 918-943), Nŭngyo restored the monastery in 936; major renovations followed in the tenth century and again during the Choson dynasty. In 1595, during the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions, all its buildings except the Ch'onbul Chon (Thousand Buddhas Hall), Ch'onwang Mun (Heavenly Kings Gate), and Chaha Mun (Purple-Glow Gate) were burned to the ground. The monastery was rebuilt in a massive construction project that began in 1602 and lasted for seventy years. The monastery enshrines many treasures, including a seated figure of the healing buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU and a hanging picture of a Buddha triad (Samjonbul T'AENGHWA). Two three-story stone pagodas are located in front of the main shrine hall (TAEUNG CHoN) and other three-story pagodas are located in front of the Piro chon (VAIROCANA Hall).

coendoo ::: n. --> The Brazilian porcupine (Cercolades, / Sphingurus, prehensiles), remarkable for its prehensile tail.

CONFESSION. ::: Helps to purge the consciousness of ham- pering elements and clears the inner air and makes for a closer and more intimate relation between the Guru and the disciple.

Daitya Guru (Sanskrit) Daityaguru Preceptor of the daityas; a name of Sukra, regent of the planet Venus.

dAkinī. (T. mkha' 'gro ma; C. tuzhini; J. dakini; K. tojini 荼枳尼). In Sanskrit, a cannibalistic female demon, a witch; in sANTIDEVA's BODHICARYAVATARA, a female hell guardian (narakapAlA); in tantric Buddhism, dAkinīs, particularly the vajradAkinī, are guardians from whom tAntrikas obtain secret doctrines. For example, the VAJRABHAIRAVA adept LAlitavajra is said to have received the YAMANTAKA tantras from vajradAkinīs, who allowed him to bring back to the human world only as many of the texts as he could memorize in one night. The dAkinī first appears in Indian sources during the fourth century CE, and it has been suggested that they evolved from local female shamans. The term is of uncertain derivation, perhaps having something to do with "drumming" (a common feature of shamanic ritual). The Chinese, Japanese, and Korean give simply a phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit. In Tibetan, dAkinī is translated as "sky goer" (mkha' 'gro ma), probably related to the Sanskrit khecara, a term associated with the CAKRASAMVARATANTRA. Here, the dAkinī is a goddess, often depicted naked, in semi-wrathful pose (see VAJRAYOGINĪ); they retain their fearsome element but are synonymous with the highest female beauty and attractiveness and are enlightened beings. They form the third of what are known as the "inner" three jewels (RATNATRAYA): the guru, the YI DAM, and the dAkinīs and protectors (DHARMAPALA; T. chos skyong). The archetypical Tibetan wisdom or knowledge dAkinī (ye shes mkha' 'gro) is YE SHES MTSHO RGYAL, the consort of PADMASAMBHAVA. dAkinīs are classified in a variety of ways, the most common being mkha' 'gro sde lnga, the female buddhas equivalent to the PANCATATHAGATA or five buddha families (PANCAKULA): BuddhadAkinī [alt. AkAsadhAtvīsvarī; SparsavajrA] in the center of the mandala, with LocanA, MAmakī, PAndaravAsinī, and TARA in the cardinal directions. Another division is into three: outer, inner, and secret dAkinīs. The first is a YOGINĪ or a YOGIN's wife or a regional goddess, the second is a female buddha that practitioners visualize themselves to be in the course of tantric meditation, and the last is nondual wisdom (ADVAYAJNANA). This division is also connected with the three bodies (TRIKAYA) of MahAyAna Buddhism: the NIRMAnAKAYA (here referring to the outer dAkinīs), SAMBHOGAKAYA (meditative deity), and the DHARMAKAYA (the knowledge dAkinī). The word dAkinī is found in the title of the explanation (vAkhyA) tantras of the yoginī class or mother tantras included in the CakrasaMvaratantra group.

dakshina. ::: a monetary gift traditionally given to a Guru by a disciple

dakshinamurti. :::name for Lord Shiva as the silent teacher; the Vedas declare that in every cycle of creation Reality manifests as Dakshinamurti and becomes the Guru of the first human beings, those who were most spiritually evolved in the previous creation, teaching them the path to liberation

dana. ::: a giving; an offering that a disciple gives to his Guru &

darshan. ::: "sight of" or "seeing"; to see or be seen by a Guru or holy being as well as the blessing received by seeing such a one

Dharmagupta. (C. Damojiduo; J. Darumagyuta; K. Talmagŭpta 達摩笈多) (d. 619). A South Indian monktranslator who traveled to China during the Sui dynasty; sometimes known by his abbreviated name Jiduo. Arriving in the Chinese capital of Chang'an in 590, he set to translating several scriptures into Chinese, including sutras on the buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU, one of the later recensions of the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA, which he cotranslated with JNĀNAGUPTA, and Vasubandhu's commentary on the VAJRACCHEDIKĀPRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀSuTRA. Some ten different translations are attributed to him. He should be distinguished from the Dharmagupta (c. third century BCE) who was the eponymous founder of the DHARMAGUPTAKA school.

Dharmakīrtisrī. (T. Chos kyi grags pa dpal). Buddhist pandita better known by his Tibetan name Gser gling pa (Serlingpa), "The Man from Suvarnadvīpa"; also known as Kulānta (T. Rigs sbyin). He was a GURU of ATIsA, who traveled by sea to Suvarnadvīpa (generally regarded as referring to the region of lower Burma, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra) in order to study with him. Atisa is said to have praised him as his supreme teacher of BODHICITTA. His doctrinal affiliation was said to be YOGĀCĀRA. He is the author of the Durbodhāloka, a widely cited subcommentary on HARIBHADRA's ABHISAMAYĀLAMKĀRAVIVṚTI. The Durbodhāloka is only extant in Tibetan translation and was written later than the PRASPHUtAPADĀ of Dharmamitra. It is the only extant Buddhist scholastic text from that period by a writer from that region.

diksha &

Discipline ::: To act according to a standard of Truth or a rule or law of action (dharma) or in obedience to a superior authority or to the highest principles discovered by the reason and intelligent will and not according to one’s own fancy, vital impulses and desires. In Yoga obedience to the Guru or to the Divine and the law of the Truth as declared by the Guru is the foundation of discipline. To live and act under control or according to a standard of what is right—not to allow the vital or the physical to do whatever they like and not to let the mind run about according to its fancy without truth or order. Also to obey those who ought to be obeyed.
   Ref: CWSA Vol. 35, Page: 672


Dispeller of darkness: The name given by occultists to a teacher or guide toward enlightenment (guru).

Dohākosa. [alt. Dohākosagīti] (T. Do ha mdzod). In Sanskrit, "Treasury of Dohā Verses"; a collection of DOHĀ verses sung by SARAHA (perhaps fl. in the tenth century, one of the eighty-four MAHĀSIDDHAs); the verses express the immediacy of the ultimate spiritual experience and the inadequacy of language to convey it, often using sarcasm to mock social conventions. At the same time, the work is based on the traditional tantric premise that meditative practice, motivated by BODHICITTA, and undertaken with devotion to one's GURU, can bring about the bliss of enlightenment within the present lifetime. The order and number of the verses vary significantly among the different versions of the text, reflecting the interests and views of the Nepalese or Tibetan compilers and exegetes. The verses were transmitted sixteen times to Tibet and gave rise to a large and varied commentarial literature; Advayavajra's (1007-1085) DohākosapaNjikā is extant in Sanskrit. See also DO HA SKOR GSUM.

Dus gsum mkhyen pa. (Dusum Kyenpa) (1110-1193). A renowned Tibetan master recognized as the first in the lineage of KARMA PA incarnations and early founder of the KARMA BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the Tre shod region of eastern Tibet and at the age of sixteen was ordained by a monk of the BKA' GDAMS sect and received tantric instruction from a disciple of ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNĀNA. He went on to study MADHYAMAKA and the KĀLACAKRATANTRA with some of the leading scholars of the day. At the age of thirty, Dus gsum mkhyen pa met his principal GURU, SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN, from whom he received many teachings, including so-called "heat yoga" (gtum mo; see CAndĀLĪ). He also studied with MI LA RAS PA's renowned disciple RAS CHUNG PA. He devoted himself to the teachings that would become the hallmark of the Bka' brgyud, such as the six yogas of NĀROPA and MAHĀMUDRA, but he also received teachings from a number of Bka' gdams and SA SKYA masters. He went on to found three important Bka' brgyud monasteries: Kam po gnas nang in 1164, KARMA DGON in 1184, both in eastern Tibet, and MTSHUR PHU northwest of LHA SA in 1187. The latter became a powerful central-Tibetan institution as the primary seat of the Karma pas up to 1959. It is said that at the age of sixteen Dus gsum mkhyen pa received a hat woven from the hair of one hundred thousand dĀKINĪs. This hat has been passed down to subsequent Karma pas, and seen in the so-called "black hat ceremony" (zhwa nag).

eight manifestations of the Guru [Rin po che]. (T. guru mtshan brgyad)

er xieshi. (J. nikyoji; K. i hyopsa 二脇士). In Chinese, "the two flanking attendants." In Buddhist art and literature, sĀKYAMUNI and other buddhas are often depicted flanked by two companions, usually either BODHISATTVAs or disciples (sRĀVAKA). In the case of sākyamuni, typically sĀRIPUTRA and MAHĀMAUDGALYĀYANA, the bodhisattvas MANJUsRĪ and SAMANTABHADRA, or the disciples ĀNANDA and MAHĀKĀsYAPA are at his sides. In the case of the buddha AMITĀBHA, the bodhisattvas AVALOKITEsVARA and MAHĀSTHĀMAPRĀPTA are his "two flanking attendants." In the case of BHAIsAJYAGURU, the bodhisattvas Sunlight (C. Riguang; S. Suryaprabha) and Moonlight (C. Yueguang; S. Candraprabha) are his ancillary companions. See MCHOG ZUNG.

  “Every sin committed on Earth is felt by Usanas-Sukra [Venus]. The Guru of the Daityas is the Guardian Spirit of the Earth and Men. Every change on Sukra is felt on, and reflected by, the Earth” (SD 2:30-1).

"For it is only the few who can make the past Teacher and his teaching, the past Incarnation and his example and influence a living force in their lives. For this need also the Hindu discipline provides in the relation of the Guru and the disciple. The Guru may sometimes be the Incarnation or World-Teacher; but it is sufficient that he should represent to the disciple the divine wisdom, convey to him something of the divine ideal or make him feel the realised relation of the human soul with the Eternal.” The Synthesis of Yoga*

“For it is only the few who can make the past Teacher and his teaching, the past Incarnation and his example and influence a living force in their lives. For this need also the Hindu discipline provides in the relation of the Guru and the disciple. The Guru may sometimes be the Incarnation or World-Teacher; but it is sufficient that he should represent to the disciple the divine wisdom, convey to him something of the divine ideal or make him feel the realised relation of the human soul with the Eternal.” The Synthesis of Yoga

For the others, the “ baby monkey ” type or those who are still more independent, following their own ideas, doing their own sadhana, asking only for some instruction or help, the grace of the Guru is there, but it acts according to the nature of the sadhaka and counts upon his efforts to a greater or less degree ; it helps, succours in difficulty, saves in the time of danger ; the disciple is not always, is perhaps hardly at all aware of what is being done as he is absorbed in himself and his endeavour. In such cases the decisive psychological movement, the touch that makes all clear, may lake longer to come.

from Sanskrit shishya meaning disciple or student. A monotheistic religion that originated during the 15th century AD in the Punjab of India, founded by Guru Nanak Dev who taught a life of simplicity and honesty. The One God is called Ek Onkar, and is often referred to as Wahe Guru (wonderful lord). By tradition, a Sikh man takes the surname Singh (lion), and a Sikh woman takes the name Kaur (princess).

ganacakra. (T. tshogs kyi 'khor lo/tshogs). In Sanskrit, lit. "circle of assembly" or "feast"; originally, the term may have referred to an actual gathering of male and female tāntrikas engaging in antinomian behavior, including ingesting substances ordinarily deemed unclean, and sexual activities ordinarily deemed taboo. In Tibet, the ganacakra is typically a ritualized tantric liturgy, often performed by celibate monks, that involves visualizing impure substances and transforming them into a nectar (AMṚTA; PANCĀMṚTA), imagining the bliss of high tantric attainment, and mentally offering this to buddhas, bodhisattvas, and various deities (see T. TSHOGS ZHING) and to oneself visualized as a tantric deity. The ritual is regarded as a rapid means of accumulating the equipment (SAMBHĀRA) required for full enlightenment. In Tibet the word is inextricably linked with rituals for worshipping one's teacher (GURUYOGA) and in that context means an extended ritual performed on special days based on practices of highest yoga tantra (ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA). ¶ To start the ganacakra ritual, a large accumulation of food, including GTOR MA, bread, sweets, and fruit is placed near the altar, often supplemented by offerings from participants; a small plate with tiny portions of meat, a small container of an alcoholic beverage, and yogurt mixed with red jam is placed in a small container nearby. After visualizing one's teacher in the form of the entire pantheon of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and so on, the ganacakra consists of worship on the model of the BHADRACARĪPRAnIDHĀNA, i.e., the seven-branch worship (SAPTĀnGAVIDHI) of going for refuge, confessing transgressions, giving gifts, rejoicing, asking the teacher to turn the wheel of dharma, asking the buddhas not to pass into NIRVĀnA, and, finally, dedicating the merit to full enlightenment (see PARInĀMANĀ). Following this, the participants visualize the nectar (AMṚTA) and the bliss of high tantric attainment. Three participants then line up in front of the officiating master (VAJRĀCĀRYA) and ritually offer a plate with a gtor ma and other parts of the collected offerings, along with a tiny bit of meat, a slight taste of alcohol, and a drop of the mixed yogurt and jam. While singing tantric songs extolling the bliss of tantric attainment, the rest of the offerings are divided up equally among the other participants, who are also given a tiny bit of meat, a slight taste of alcohol, and a drop of the mixed yogurt and jam. The ganacakra forms the central part of the worship of the teacher (T. bla ma mchod pa) ritual and is a marker of religious identity in Tibetan Buddhism, because participants visualize their teacher in the form of the head of the particular sect, tradition, or monastery to which they are attached, with the historical buddha, and the tantric buddha telescoped into smaller and smaller figures in his heart; the entire pantheon of buddhas, bodhisattvas and so on are then arrayed around that form. A ganacakra is customarily performed at the end of a large ABHIsEKA (consecration) or teaching on TANTRA, where participants can number in the thousands.

Gaudapadacharya (Sanskrit) Gauḍapādācārya The teacher Gaudapada; Sankaracharya’s guru or teacher of philosophy.

gaudapada. ::: the Guru of Shankara's Guru, Govindapada

gooroo ::: n. --> Alt. of Guru

Gtsang smyon Heruka. (Tsangnyon Heruka) (1452-1507). Tibetan iconoclast, best known as Gtsang smyon, the "madman of Gtsang"; revered especially for his literary works, including the biography of eleventh-century master MI LA RAS PA. Gtsang smyon Heruka began his career as a monk, receiving Buddhist ordination at the age of seven. He studied various systems of tantra and meditation under his chief guru, the Bka' brgyud master Shes rab 'byams pa, and later under several Sa skya teachers. Discouraged by the limitations of life as a monk and scholar, he adopted the life of a wandering YOGIN, engaging in the unusual behavior for which he earned the appellation smyon pa, "madman." His actions have been interpreted as part of a fifteenth-century reaction and reform movement against the growing wealth and power of elite incarnation lineages and religious institutions of his day. He and other "mad yogins" affiliated with the Bka' brgyud sect, such as 'BRUG BA KUN LEGS, and the lesser known Dbu smyon Kun dga' bzang po (1458-1532), sought to reemphasize the importance of meditation and retreat over strict adherence to monastic discipline or intellectual study-a tradition reaching back to the renowned Bka' brgyud founder, Mi la ras pa. Gtsang smyon Heruka himself spent many years visiting the meditation caves and retreat sites associated with Mi la ras pa. He also attempted to preserve important Bka' brgyud instruction lineages that were in danger of being lost, and toward the end of his life compiled an enormous thirteen-volume synthesis of the aural instructions (snyan brgyud) stemming from three of Mi la ras pa's principal disciples, RAS CHUNG PA RDO RJE GRAGS, SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN, and Ngan rdzongs rdo rje rgyal po (late eleventh century). He visited Nepal on several occasions, directing the renovation of SVAYAMBHu STuPA, one of the Kathmandu Valley's principal Buddhist pilgrimage centers. He is perhaps best remembered as the author of the widely read MI LA RAS PA'I RNAM THAR ("Life of Milarepa") and MI LA RAS PA'I MGUR 'BUM ("Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa"), as well as a biography of Milarepa's guru MARPA CHOS KYI BLO GROS.

Guanding jing. (J. Kanjogyo; K. Kwanjong kyong 灌頂經). In Chinese, "Consecration Scripture." Although the Guanding jing claims to be a translation by srīmitra (d. 343), the scripture is almost certainly a indigenous Chinese scripture (see APOCRYPHA) composed in the mid-fifth century. The Guanding jing is largely a collection of twelve semi-independent scriptures on magical spells (DHĀRAnĪ). They are the (1) spells of the 72,000 spirit kings that protect BHIKsUs; (2) spells of the 120,000 spirit kings that protect BHIKsuNĪs; (3) protective spells of the three refuges and five precepts to be carried on one's person; (4) protective spells of the hundred-knotted spirit kings; (5) incantations of spirit kings who guard one's surroundings; (6) the circumstances of tombs and the spells of the four quarters; (7) devil-subduing seals and great spells; (8) great spells of Maniratna; (9) summoning the dragon kings of the five directions and treating pestilent infections; (10) the oracle of Brahmā; (11) rebirth in the ten pure lands of one's desire; and (12) eliminating faults and transcending life and death. The twelfth scripture is currently the oldest extant Chinese version of the BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA. The Guanding jing also contains one of the earliest extant Chinese descriptions of a full Buddhist consecration (ABHIsEKA) ritual, and serves as an important source for studying the influence of Daoism on early Buddhism.

Gum's cr.padfiet ::: One can lia*c a Guru •■'/crK'f n tpiD- lual capacity (to onc\clf or to other Gunn) carry trp in h'-n tnjf) human imperfectiona and >cl, if ymi hue the faitS. ihf«rj;h attain to ■.p'mtual cspcticricc^. to ipnituai irafnatlfm. enm Srfo'r tlic Guru himveU.

guru. ::: a true spiritual guide and teacher, who is one with Reality, the real Self &

guru bandhu :::or guru bhai. ::: co-disciple; having same Guru

Gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug. (Guru Chokyi Wangchuk) (1212-1270). Also known as Gu ru chos dbang (Guru Chowang); a Tibetan Buddhist master who was considered to be the second of the "five kingly treasure revealers" (GTER STON RGYAL PO LNGA) and the reincarnation of NYANG RAL NYI MA 'OD ZER. According to traditional accounts, at the time of his birth, his father was reading the MANJUsRĪNĀMASAMGĪTI ("Litany of the Names of MaNjusrī") and had just reached the words "lord of doctrine"; hence, the infant was given the name Chos kyi dbang phyug (lit. "lord of doctrine"). A gifted youth, he studied both the ancient (RNYING MA) and new (GSAR MA) traditions of SuTRA and TANTRA, including the doctrinal systems of pacification (ZHID BYED), severance (GCOD), MAHĀMUDRĀ, and RDZOGS CHEN. At twenty-two, he discovered a set of treasure texts (GTER MA), the first of thirteen great collections of treasures attributed to him. He established a seat in the southern Tibetan region of LHO BRAG, and was later renowned by masters of other religious sects such as BU STON RIN CHEN GRUB. His teachings also spread to Nepal through his Newar disciple Bharo Gtsug 'dzin.

gurudhamma. See GURUDHARMA

gurudharma. (P. gurudhamma/garudhamma; T. lci ba'i chos; C. jingfa; J. kyoho; K. kyongbop 敬法). In Sanskrit, "weighty" or "deferential" "rules," a list of eight special precepts the Buddha issued as a condition of admitting women to the Buddhist order, which explicitly subordinates the BHIKsUNĪ to the BHIKsU SAMGHA. According to traditional accounts, the Buddha was initially reluctant to admit women into the order, for fear that their presence would exacerbate the decline of the dharma (see SADDHARMAVIPRALOPA; MOFA). It was only after the earnest pleas of his aunt and stepmother, MAHĀPRAJĀPATĪ GAUTAMĪ, and the continued requests of his attendant, ĀNANDA, that the Buddha is said to have relented and ordained his aunt as the first BHIKsUNĪ. (Ānanda's support for the ordination of women would be one of the charges brought against him at at the first Buddhist council (see COUNCIL, FIRST), following the Buddha's PARINIRVĀnA.) As a condition of ordination, however, the Buddha required that women would have to accept the following list of eight "deferential rules" (the lists vary slightly by VINAYA tradition): (1) Although seniority within the order of monks was based on the length of time since ordination (see JIELA), a nun who had been ordained for even a hundred years must rise and pay respects to a monk ordained for a day; (2) a nun must not spend the annual rains retreat (VARsĀ) in a place where there are no monks; (3) nuns must ask the order of monks for instruction in the dharma and for the appropriate time to hold the fortnightly confession assembly (UPOsADHA) (an alternative rendering of this rule says, "Every half month the nuns must request a monk to give them the exhortation to keep the eight rules, and they should ask him when the confession rite should be performed"); (4) after the rains retreat, a nun should perform the rite of confessing any infractions (PRAVĀRAnĀ) that they have seen, heard, or suspected to both the order of monks and the order of nuns; (5) a nun who has committed an important infraction, or who fails to comply with any of the gurudharmas, must submit to the MĀNATVA discipline of probationary penance from both orders before she is reinstated before a quorum of twenty monks and twenty nuns; (6) women are required to receive ordination in both orders, in contrast to men, who need only be ordained in the bhiksusaMgha (other lists add that a woman must train for a period of two years as a probationary postulant, or sIKsAMĀnĀ, before seeking her dual ordination); (7) a nun should never abuse or revile a monk in any way; and (8) although a monk may point out a nun's transgressions, it is forbidden for a nun ever to admonish a monk. Some modern Buddhist reform movements have advocated the repeal of the eight deferential precepts for exemplifying an outmoded and sexist model of monasticism.

gurudharma

gurugiri [Hind.] ::: [guru-hood].

guru ::: heavy, weighty, large, great; important, serious; valuable, prized; venerable, honorable, respected; honorific appellation of a spiritual guide; a spiritual guide.

guru "job" An expert, especially in "{Unix} guru". Implies not only {wizard} skill but also a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in "VMS guru". See {source of all good bits}. [{Jargon File}] (1996-06-01)

guru ::: (job) An expert, especially in Unix guru. Implies not only wizard skill but also a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in VMS guru.See source of all good bits.[Jargon File] (1996-06-01)

guru kripa. ::: the Grace of the Guru; that Self-awareness that is one's own true nature

guru meditation ::: (operating system, exception) The Amiga equivalent of Unix's panic (sometimes just called a guru or guru event). When the system crashes, a indicating what the problem was. An Amiga guru can figure things out from the numbers.In the earliest days of the Amiga, there was a device called a Joyboard which was basically a plastic board built onto a joystick-like device; it was sold concentrate on a solution while sitting cross-legged, balanced on a Joyboard, resembling a meditating guru. Sadly, the joke was removed in AmigaOS 2.04.The Jargon File claimed that a guru event had to be followed by a Vulcan nerve pinch but, according to a correspondent, a mouse click was enough to start a reboot.(2002-06-25)

guru meditation "operating system" The {Amiga} equivalent of {Unix}'s {panic} (sometimes just called a "guru" or "guru event"). When the system crashes, a cryptic message of the form "GURU MEDITATION

guru mtshan brgyad. See PADMASAMBHAVA

guru ::: n. --> A spiritual teacher, guide, or confessor amoung the Hindoos.

GURU. ::: One who has realised the Truth and himself possesses and is able to communicate the light, the experience, a guide who is strong enough to take by the hand and carry over difficult passages as well as to instruct and point out the way.

guru purnima. ::: annual festival traditionally celebrated by hindus and buddhists &

guru-sakha ::: the isvara as teacher and friend, combining his guruguru-sakha sisya and sakhya relations with the jiva.

guru-sisya (guru-shishya) ::: the teacher-disciple relation (bhava), in guru-sisya which the isvara is perceived as "the teacher and guide" who "leads us to knowledge; at every step of the developing inner light and vision, we feel his touch like that of the artist moulding our clay of mind, his voice revealing the truth and its word", until there is "a transformation of our mentality into his and more and more he becomes the thinker and seer in us"H

guru

guru ::: spiritual guide; "the secret and universal Teacher who is seated in the hearts of all".

guru stuti. ::: praise of the Guru; verses in praise of the Guru

guru. (T. bla ma; C. shi; J. shi; K. sa 師). In Sanskrit, lit. "heavy," hence "venerable" and thus "religious guide or teacher." In mainstream Buddhism, the UPĀDHYĀYA (novice monk's preceptor) takes the role of the guru; the preceptor and disciple are said to be like father and son; the preceptor teaches the disciple and gives him his robes and alms bowl. In MAHĀYĀNA SuTRA literature, the increased importance of the guru is evident in the story of SADĀPRARUDITA and his teacher DHARMODGATA, from whom he seeks to learn the PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ, and in the GAndAVYuHA section of the AVATAMSAKASuTRA, which recounts SUDHANA's spiritual journey in search of enlightenment through a series of fifty-three spiritual mentors (KALYĀnAMITRA, a word often synonymous with guru). In tantric Buddhism, the guru is of greatest importance: the first of the SAMAYAs (tantric vows) is not to despise one's guru, who is considered to be the equal of all the TATHĀGATAs. The GURUPANCĀsIKĀ ("Fifty Verses on the Guru") explains the proper conduct students should observe in the presence of a tantric guru. In Tibetan Buddhism, the ritual worship of a guru is crucially important, supported by the doctrine that it is only through one's guru that one hears the Buddha's teaching; for only when the buddhas take the form of a personal guru can they convey the salvific doctrine to students. The ritual worship of the guru (see GAnACAKRA) in the form of the entire Buddhist pantheon (TSHOGS ZHING) is common to all Tibetan sects.

guru ::: teacher, spiritual teacher, guide.

guruvada ::: [the doctrine that stresses the indispensability of the guru to the spiritual seeker].

guruyoga

guruyoga. (T. bla ma'i rnal 'byor). The practice of GURU devotion, considered especially important in tantric practice, in which one's teacher is regarded as a buddha. In Tibetan Buddhism, guruyoga is included in a series of preliminary practices (SNGON 'GRO) to be undertaken before receiving a consecration. According to such works as DPAL SPRUL's KUN BZANG BLA MA'I ZHAL LUNG ("Words of My Perfect Teacher"), guruyoga includes reciting one hundred thousand repetitions of the name MANTRA of one's guru, visualized in the form of an enlightened being (in the case of that text, PADMASAMBHAVA). Guruyoga also includes the proper attitude toward a guru, as set forth in the GURUPANCĀsIKĀ and expanded on at length at the beginning of works of the LAM RIM-type genre. See also GAnACAKRA.

hasta diksha. ::: spiritual initiation in which the Guru places his hand on the head of the disciple

Hermetic Chain ::: Among the ancient Greeks there existed a mystical tradition of a chain of living beings, one end of whichincluded the divinities in their various grades or stages of divine authority and activities, and the otherend of which ran downwards through inferior gods and heroes and sages to ordinary men, and to thebeings below man. Each link of this living chain of beings inspired and instructed the chain below itself,thus transmitting and communicating from link to link to the end of the marvelous living chain, love andwisdom and knowledge concerning the secrets of the universe, eventuating in mankind as the arts and thesciences necessary for human life and civilization. This was mystically called the Hermetic Chain or theGolden Chain.In the ancient Mysteries the teaching of the existence and nature of the Hermetic Chain was fullyexplained; it is a true teaching because it represents distinctly and clearly and faithfully true and actualoperations of nature. More or less faint and distorted copies of the teaching of this Hermetic Chain orGolden Chain or succession of teachers were taken over by various later formal and exoteric sects, suchas the Christian Church, wherein the doctrine was called the Apostolic Succession. In all the greatMystery schools of antiquity there was this succession of teacher following teacher, each one passing onthe light to his successor as he himself had received it from his predecessor; and as long as thistransmission of light was a reality, it worked enormous spiritual benefit among men. Therefore all suchmovements lived, flourished, and did great good in the world. These teachers were the messengers tomen from the Great Lodge of the Masters of Wisdom and Compassion. (See also Guru-parampara)

Hermetic Chain or Great Chain of Being Greek expression found even in Homer, signifying the chain of beings from divinities reaching down to inferior gods, heroes, and sages, to ordinary human beings. Each link in this aggregate of hierarchies, of which each link is itself a hierarchy, transmitted its wisdom and power to the next below it; and it is thus that knowledge was originally communicated to early mankind. See GURUPARAMPARA

homa. (T. sbyin sreg; C. humo; J. goma; K. homa 護摩). In Sanskrit, "burnt offering," an esoteric Buddhist ritual in which various offerings are consigned to flames. In the older Brahmanical traditions of the Indian subcontinent, burnt offerings were made through the medium of the deity AGNI (the god of fire) to the Vedic gods, in exchange for the boon of cattle and other forms of wealth. These rituals were systematized first in the Brāhmanas, and subsequently in the Āranyaka literature, where the exoteric homa rituals were questioned and reconceptualized as inner worship. Buddhist TANTRA includes both an outer offering of grain and other materials into a fire, and an inner offering into the fire of transcendental wisdom. In the latter, the inner offering is done by visualizing a skull cup (KAPĀLA) atop a triangular fire in a hearth made of three skulls. Impure objects are visualized as melting into a bliss-producing nectar (AMṚTA) that is then offered to one's GURU and to oneself visualized as the meditation deity. In Tibetan Buddhism, a homa ritual is often performed at the end of a meditation retreat as a means of purification.

house wizard ::: (Probably from ad-agency tradetalk, house freak) A hacker occupying a technical-specialist, R&D, or systems position at a commercial shop. A really ostensible rank and still not have to wear a suit. Used especially of Unix wizards. The term house guru is equivalent.[Jargon File] (1995-02-16)

house wizard (Probably from ad-agency tradetalk, "house freak") A hacker occupying a technical-specialist, R&D, or systems position at a commercial shop. A really effective house wizard can have influence out of all proportion to his/her ostensible rank and still not have to wear a suit. Used especially of {Unix} {wizards}. The term "house guru" is equivalent. [{Jargon File}] (1995-02-16)



"Indian devotion has especially seized upon the most intimate human relations and made them stepping-stones to the supra-human. God the Guru, God the Master, God the Friend, God the Mother, God the Child, God the Self, each of these experiences — for to us they are more than merely ideas, — it has carried to its extreme possibilities.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga

“Indian devotion has especially seized upon the most intimate human relations and made them stepping-stones to the supra-human. God the Guru, God the Master, God the Friend, God the Mother, God the Child, God the Self, each of these experiences—for to us they are more than merely ideas,—it has carried to its extreme possibilities.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga

INNER GUIDE. ::: The supreme Guide and Teacher is the inner Guide, the World-Teacher, jagad-guru, secret within us. He dis- closes progressively in us his own nature of freedom, bliss, love, power, immortal being. He has no method and every method.

His system is a natural organisation of the highest processes and movements of which the nature is capable. In his yoga there is nothing too small to be used and nothing too great to be attempted. This inner Guide is often veiled at first by the very intensity of our personal effort and by the ego's preoccupation with itself and its aims.


  “It is under the direct, silent guidance of this Maha — (great) — Guru that all the other less divine Teachers and instructors of mankind became, from the first awakening of human consciousness, the guides of early Humanity. It is through these ‘Sons of God’ that infant humanity got its first notions of all the arts and sciences, as well as of spiritual knowledge; and it is they who have laid the first foundation-stone of those ancient civilizations that puzzle so sorely our modern generation of students and scholars” (SD 1:207-8).

jagadguru ( jagat-guru) ::: the World-Teacher.

jagadguru. ::: world Guru

Jagadguru: World preceptor.

jagat-guru ::: see jagadguru

jingfa 敬法. See GURUDHARMA

jingtu bian. (J. jodohen; K. chongt'o pyon 淨土變). In Chinese, "transformation tableaux of the PURE LAND"; pictorial representations of scenes of the various pure lands. Found throughout East Asia, and discovered also at DUNHUANG and other Central Asian locations, these paintings are the counterparts of what are known as "transformation paintings" (BIANXIANG). Often used as diagrams (MAndALA) and dramatic visual aids for disseminating pure land ideas, these paintings are termed "transformations" (bian) possibly because they were meant to portray "animated" scenes to supplement storytelling and preaching. The transformation pictures of AMITĀBHA's pure land SUKHĀVATĪ were by far the most popular theme, although examples of the pure lands and abodes of VAIROCANA, BHAIsAJYAGURU, AVALOKITEsVARA, and MAITREYA were also known. See also AMITUO JINGTU BIAN and DIYU BIAN.

jnana guru. ::: one who initiates a disciple into jnana; one who grants true knowledge; the supreme Self that reveals its own Truth in every Heart; one who has realised the Truth

Jnanayoga: The path of knowledge; meditation through wisdom; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the Guru.

kahuna "person" /k*-hoo'n*/ (From the Hawaiian title for a shaman) An {IBM} synonym for {wizard} or {guru}. [{Jargon File}] (1994-11-09)

kahuna ::: (person) /k*-hoo'n*/ (From the Hawaiian title for a shaman) An IBM synonym for wizard or guru.[Jargon File] (1994-11-09)

Kālayasas. (C. Jiangliangyeshe; J. Kyoryoyasha; K. Kangnyangyasa 畺良耶舍) (383-442). A Central Asian monk who was one of the early translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese. Kālayasas arrived at Jiankang, the capital of the Liu-Song dynasty, in 424, where he became an adviser to Emperor Wen. Two works of translation are attributed to him in the Buddhist catalogues. Perhaps the most influential work with which he is associated is the GUAN WULIANGSHOU JING, the "meditation-sutra" on AMITĀBHA Buddha, which is one of the three foundational texts of the East Asian PURE LAND traditions. Because no Sanskrit recension of this sutra is attested, this scripture is now considered to be either a Central Asian or a Chinese indigenous scripture (see APOCRYPHA), and its ascription to Kālayasas is problematic. The second text that he translated is the Guan Yaowang Yaoshang er pusa jing ("Sutra on Visualizing the Two Bodhisattvas Bhaisajyarāja and Bhaisajyasamudgata"), an early sutra on the Medicine Buddha/Bodhisattva cult associated with the bodhisattva BHAIsAJYARĀJA and the buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU.

Karma Pakshi. (1203-1283). A Tibetan Buddhist master recognized as the second KARMA PA, renowned for his virtuosity in meditation, thaumaturgy, and his activities at the Mongol court. The name "Pakshi" is derived from the Mongolian word for "teacher" or "master," and the second Karma pa is also frequently known by the epithet grub chen, or MAHĀSIDDHA. In his youth, Karma Pakshi was recognized as a child of great intellectual ability and skill in meditation. He conducted his early training under the BKA' BRGYUD teacher Spom brag pa Bsod rnams rdo rje (Pomdrakpa Sonam Dorje, 1170-1249) and spent a great period of his time in meditation retreat near the monastery of MTSHUR PHU in central Tibet. Traveling to eastern Tibet, he founded a monastery at Spungs ri (Pungri) and renovated the Bka' brgyud institution of KARMA DGON established by his predecessor DUS GSUM MKHYEN PA. Karma Pakshi's fame spread throughout the Tibetan border regions to the north and east. In about 1251, the Mongol prince Qubilai (later Khan, r. 1260-1294) sent an invitation to Karma Pakshi, who was residing at Mtshur phu. He arrived at the Mongol court several years later. Karma Pakshi was one of numerous religious figures present at court, including the SA SKYA hierarch 'PHAGS PA BLO GROS RGYAL MTSHAN. Karma Pakshi quickly impressed Qubilai with a display of magical powers, and the Mongol prince requested him to remain permanently at court. The relationship soured, however, when Karma Pakshi refused the offer. On his return to Tibet, he formed a relationship with Qubilai's elder brother and political rival Mongke (1209-1259) and consented to visit Mongke's palace in Liangzhou. He taught the Mongol ruler and his court Buddhist doctrine, especially TANTRA based on the CAKRASAMVARATANTRA. For ten years, Karma Pakshi traveled across China, Mongolia, and Tibet and is also said to have debated with numerous Daoist practitioners. Qubilai assumed the role of high Khan after Mongke's death in 1259. Angered at Karma Pakshi's support of his rival brother, and still smarting from his refusal to remain at court, Qubilai ordered Karma Pakshi's capture and exile. Qubilai eventually relented and allowed the Karma pa to return to Tibet. Upon his return to Mtshur phu, he constructed a massive statue of sĀKYAMUNI called the "ornament of the world" ('dzam gling rgyan). The completed statue, however, was slightly tilted. In a famous account, Karma Pakshi is said to have straightened the statue by first assuming the same tilted posture and then righting himself, simultaneously moving the statue. Among his principal disciples was O rgyan pa Rin chen dpal (Orgyenpa Rinchenpal), who would become the guru of the third Karma pa, RANG 'BYUNG RDO RJE.

Kazi Dawa Samdup. (Ka dzi Zla ba bsam 'grub) (1868-1922). An early translator from Tibetan to English, best known for his work with WALTER EVANS-WENTZ as translator of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He apparently had wished to pursue the religious life but, as the eldest son in his family, was unable to do so. He was a disciple of a Bhutanese lama, one Guru Norbu, who was affiliated with the 'BRUG PA BKA' BRGYUD sect. Kazi Dawa Samdup served as a translator for such figures as ALEXANDRA DAVID-NÉEL, Charles Bell, and John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) and also was a member of the political staff of the thirteenth DALAI LAMA during his sojourn in Sikkim and India. In 1919, he published a 20,000-word English-Tibetan dictionary. Also in 1919, he was serving as the English teacher at the Maharaja's Boys' School in Gangtok, when the local police chief introduced him to Evans-Wentz. He agreed to provide a translation of a Tibetan text that Evans-Wentz had acquired, the BAR DO THOS GROL CHEN MO. The translations that Kazi Dawa Samdup made for Evans-Wentz eventually appeared in three books: The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1927), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines (1935), and The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation (1954). He was subsequently appointed to the post of lecturer in Tibetan at the University of Calcutta. In 1924, after his death, Evans-Wentz visited Kazi Dawa Samdup's family in Kalimpong, from whom he received a manuscript translation of the MI LA RAS PA'I RNAM THAR, a famous biography of MI LA RAS PA, which Evans-Wentz subsequently edited and published as Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa (1928). Although Evans-Wentz's notes and prefaces to these works contain many fanciful elements, Kazi Dawa Samdup's translations are generally well regarded.

Kounsa. (孤雲寺). In Korean, "Solitary Cloud Monastery"; the sixteenth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Mount Tŭngun in North Kyongsang province. The monastery was founded in 681 by great Hwaom (C. HUAYAN) master ŬISANG (625-702), during the reign of the Silla king Sinmun (r. 681-692). The original Chinese characters for Kounsa meant "High Cloud Monastery," but during the Unified Silla period, the monastery adopted the homophonous name "Solitary Cloud," after the pen name of the famous literatus Ch'oe Ch'iwon (b. 857). During the reign of King Hon'gang (r. 875-886), a famous stone image of BHAIsAJYAGURU was enshrined at the monastery. During the Koryo dynasty, the monk Ch'onhae (fl. c. 1018) is said to have seen a Kwanŭm (AVALOKITEsVARA) statue in a dream; later, he found an identical image on Mount Taehŭng in Songdo and enshrined it in the Kŭngnak chon at Kounsa. The monastery was rebuilt and repaired several times during the Choson period. The large-scale rebuilding project that began in 1695 and continued through the eighteenth century helped raise the monastery's overall status within the ecclesia. Kounsa suffered severe damage from fires that broke out in 1803 and 1835, but the monastery was soon reconstructed. During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), Kounsa became one of thirty-one head monasteries (ponsa) and managed fifty-four branch monasteries (MALSA).

Kukkuta-pada-giri (Sanskrit) Kukkuṭa-pāda-giri [from kukkuṭa cock + pāda foot + giri mountain] Also called Guru-pada-giri, the teacher’s mountain; a mountain situated about seven miles from Gaya, famous owing to a persistent report that the Buddhist arhat Mahakasyapa even to this day dwells in its caves.

Kukkutapāda, Mount. (T. Ri bo bya rkang; C. Jizushan; J. Keisokusen; K. Kyejoksan 鶏足山). In Sanskrit, "Cock's Foot"; a mountain located in the ancient Indian state of MAGADHA; also known as Gurupādaka (Honored Foot); the present Kurkihar, sixteen miles northeast of BODHGAYĀ. The mountain is renowned as the site where the Buddha's senior disciple, MAHĀKĀsYAPA, is said to be waiting in trance for the advent of the future buddha MAITREYA. Once Maiteya appears, Mahākāsyapa will hand over to him the robe (CĪVARA) of sĀKYAMUNI, symbolizing that Maitreya is his legitimate successor in the lineage of the buddhas. The Chinese monk-pilgrim FAXIAN visited the mountain on his sojourn in India in the fifth century CE, describing the mountain as home to many dangerous predators, including tigers and wolves.

Kumano. (熊野). In Japanese, lit. "Ursine Wilderness"; a mountainous region in Wakayama prefecture on the Kii Peninsula; Kumano is an important site in the history and development of SHUGENDo, a syncretistic tradition of mountain asceticism in Japan. Artifacts from the seventh century provide the earliest traces of Kumano's sacred roots, although worship there likely predated this time. Throughout the medieval period, the area developed ties with the powerful institutions of Japanese Tendai (TIANTAI), SHINGON, the Hosso monastery KoFUKUJI, and the imperial family, with additional influences from PURE LAND Buddhism. By the eleventh century, its three major religious sites, collectively known as Kumano Sanzan (the three mountains of Kumano), were well established as centers of practice: the Hongu Shrine, home to Amida (AMITĀBHA); the Shingu Shrine, home to Yakushi (BHAIsAJYAGURU); and Nachi Falls and its shrine, the residence of the thousand-armed BODHISATTVA Kannon (AVALOKITEsVARA; see SĀHASRABHUJASĀHASRANETRĀVALOKITEsVARA). Following the principle of HONJI SUIJAKU (buddhas or bodhisattvas appearing in the world as spirits), Buddhist deities were readily adopted into the local community of gods (KAMI). Hence, Amida took the form of the god Ketsumiko no kami, Yakushi manifested as Hayatama no kami, and Kannon appeared as Fusubi no kami. Kumano developed close ties with the aristocratic elite in Kyoto from the tenth through the twelfth centuries. After the ex-Emperor Uda's pilgrimage to Kumano in 907, a long line of monarchs, often retired, made one or multiple journeys to the sacred destination. In the early twelfth century, ex-Emperor Shirakawa granted Shogoin-a Japanese Tendai (TIANTAI) monastery in Kyoto-to the monk Zoyo, whose appointment included responsibility for overseeing Kumano. Later in the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868), it was Shogoin that regulated Tendai-affiliated Shugen centers around the country, consequently making a large impact on their doctrine and practice. The nearby Yoshino mountains of Kinbu and omine, where Shugendo's semilegendary founder EN NO OZUNU regularly practiced, share much history with Kumano. A text known as the Shozan Engi (1180?) describes Kumano as the garbhadhātu (J. TAIZoKAI, or "womb realm") MAndALA and the northern Yoshino mountains as the vajradhātu (J. KONGoKAI, or "diamond realm") mandala. These two geographic mandalas, now superimposed over the physical landscape, became the basis of the well-known Yoshino-Kumano pilgrimage route, which is still followed today. As the prestige and patronage of the court began to wane in the late twelfth century, revenue from visitors to the area became an important source of income for the local economy. In the following centuries, increasing numbers of pilgrims, including aristocrats, warriors, and ordinary people, undertook the journey, accompanying Kumano Shugen guides (sendatsu).

kyoho 敬法. See GURUDHARMA

kyongpop 敬法. See GURUDHARMA

laghu-guru ::: [in Bengali prosody: a metrical system in which long and short vowels are given their full quantitative value; quantitative verse].

Lama ::: A guru in Tibetan Buddhism.

Lama (Tibetan) bla ma. Superior, excellent; equivalent to the Sanskrit guru. Correctly applied only to the ecclesiastical dignitaries of superior classes or grades, who really should be teachers or gurus in monasteries; also to such officials as the tulkus, the heads of the better class of large monasteries; also to the heads of the great monastic colleges, and likewise to monks who hold high scholastic degrees; other monks are usually called trapas (students).

lci ba'i chos. See GURUDHARMA

Lho brag. (Lhodrak). In Tibetan, lit. "the southern cliffs"; a region of alpine meadows and narrow gorges in southern Tibet on the border with Bhutan and location of numerous monasteries and retreat hermitages. The area was home to many translators and treasure revealers (GTER STON) of the RNYING MA and BKA' BRGYUD sects of Tibetan Buddhism during the early period of the later dissemination (PHYI DAR) of the DHARMA. Perhaps the most famous among them is the translator MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, who is often called Lho brag pa (Lhodrakpa), "The Man from Lhodrak," who established his seat at GRO BO LUNG. Other leading masters and their institutions include NYANG RAL NYI MA 'OD ZER who founded Smra bo rcog (Ma'ojok) monastery; Nam mkha'i snying po (Namke Nyingpo), Lo ras pa (Lorepa, 1187-1250), and PADMA DKAR PO, who established MKHAR CHU monastery; GURU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG, whose main seat was the Guru lha khang; and DPA' BO GTSUG LAG PHRENG BA, abbot of the monasteries at LHA LUNG and SRAS MKHAR DGU THOG.

Ma gcig lab sgron. (Machik Labdron) (c. 1055-1149). Female Tibetan Buddhist master who codified the important meditation tradition called "severance" (GCOD), classified as one of the so-called eight great conveyances that are lineages of achievement (SGRUB BRGYUD SHING RTA CHEN PO BRGYAD). Born in the southern Tibetan region of LA PHYI, Ma gcig lab sgron was recognized at a young age to be a prodigy. According to her traditional biographies, she had a natural propensity for the PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ literature, spending much of her youth reading and studying its root texts and commentaries. She continued her religious education under the monk known as Grwa pa mngon shes (Drapa Ngonshe) and Skyo ston Bsod nams bla ma (Kyoton Sonam Lama) in a monastic setting where she was eventually employed to use her skills in ritual recitation and exegesis. She then took up the lifestyle of a tantric YOGINĪ, living as the consort of the Indian adept Thod pa Bhadra and giving birth to perhaps five children. Reviled in one source as "a nun who had repudiated her religious vows," Ma gcig lab sgron left her family and eventually met the figure who would become her root guru, the famed Indian yogin PHA DAM PA SANGS RGYAS who transmitted to her the instructions of "pacification" (ZHI BYED) and MAHĀMUDRĀ. She combined these with her training in prajNāpāramitā and other indigenous practices, passing them on as the practice of severance, principally to the Nepalese yogin Pham thing pa and her own son Thod smyon bsam grub (Tonyon Samdrup). Ma gcig lab sgron is revered as a dĀKINĪ, an emanation of the Great Mother (Yum chen mo, as the goddess PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ is known in Tibetan), and the female bodhisattva TĀRĀ. Her reincarnations have also been recognized in contemporary individuals, including the former abbess of the important SHUG GSEB nunnery, Rje btsun Rig 'dzin chos nyid zang mo (Jetsun Rikdzin Chonyi Sangmo). Ma gcig lab sgron remains a source of visionary inspiration for new ritual cycles, as well as a primary Tibetan example of the ideal female practitioner. Her tradition of severance continues to be widely practiced by Tibetan Buddhists of all sectarian affiliations.

Magoksa. (麻谷寺). In Korean, "Hemp Valley Monastery"; the sixth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on T'aehwasan (Exalted Splendor Mountain) outside the city of Kongju in South Ch'ungch'ong province. The origins of the monastery and its name are obscure. One record claims that Magoksa was established by the Silla VINAYA master CHAJANG (fl. c. 590-658) in 643; because so many people attended Chajang's dharma lecture at the monastery's founding, the audience was said to have been "as dense as hemp stalks," so the Sinograph for "hemp" (ma) was given to the name of the monastery. This claim is, however, suspect since the monastery is located in what was then the territory of Silla's rival Paekche. A second theory is that the monastery was founded in 845 by Muju Muyom (799-888), founder of the Songjusan school of the Nine Mountains school of Son (KUSAN SoNMUN). When Muyom returned to Silla in 845 from his training in China, he is said to have named the monastery after his Chinese CHAN teacher Magu Baoche (K. Magok Poch'ol; b. 720?). Finally, it is also said that the monastery's name simply derives from the fact that hemp was grown in the valley before the monastery's establishment. In 1172, during the Koryo dynasty, Magoksa was significantly expanded in scope by POJO CHINUL (1158-1210) and his disciple Suu (d.u.), who turned it into a major monastery in the region. Following the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions of 1592-1598, the monastery sat destroyed for some sixty years until several of its shrine halls were reconstructed by Kakch'ong (d.u.) in 1651 and the monastery returned to prominence. The Taegwang pojon (Basilica of Great Brightness) is Magoksa's central sanctuary and enshrines an image of the buddha VAIROCANA; the building was reconstructed in 1172 by Pojo Chinul and again in 1651. In front of the basilica is a juniper tree planted by the independence fighter Kim Ku (1876-1949), who later lived at the monastery as a monk. Magoksa's main buddha hall (taeung pojon; see TAEUNG CHoN) enshrines a sĀKYAMUNI Buddha statue that is flanked by AMITĀBHA and BHAIsAJYAGURU, and the calligraphy hanging outside this hall is reported to be that of Kim Saeng (711-790/791), one of Silla's most famous calligraphers. One of Magoksa's unique structures is its five-story, Koryo-era stone pagoda, which is built upon a two-story-high stone base; its bronze cap suggests Tibetan influences that may have entered Korea via the Mongol Yuan dynasty. It is one of only three STuPAs of similar style known to exist worldwide. The Yongsan chon (Vulture Peak Hall) is decorated with paintings of the eight stereotypical episodes in the life of the Buddha (p'alsang; see C. BAXIANG); it is also called the Ch'onbul chon, or Thousand Buddhas Hall, for the many buddha statues enshrined around the inside perimeter of the hall. The building, which was reconstructed by Kakch'ong in 1651, is today's Magoksa's oldest extant building, with a plaque that may display the calligraphy of King Sejo (r. 1455-1468).

Mahaguru (Sanskrit) Mahāguru [from mahā great + guru teacher] The great teacher; a name of the great initiator or awakener of the spiritual nature in man, also called the Great Being or Great Sacrifice.

Mahāprajāpatī. (P. Mahāpajāpatī; T. Skye dgu'i bdag mo chen mo; C. Mohebosheboti; J. Makahajahadai; K. Mahabasabaje 摩訶波闍波提). An eminent ARHAT, the Buddha's stepmother and aunt, and the first woman to be ordained a Buddhist nun (S. BHIKsUNĪ; P. bhikkhunī). Mahāprajāpatī and the Buddha's mother, MĀYĀ, were sisters and both married to the bodhisattva's father, sUDDHODANA. When the bodhisattva's mother died seven days after his birth, Mahāprajāpatī raised him as her own son. According to the Pāli accounts, she became a lay disciple of the Buddha when he returned to the palace of his father and preached the Mahādhammapāla-Jātaka, becoming at that time a stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA). Upon the death of her husband, she resolved to renounce the world and follow the Buddha as a nun, but because there was no nuns' order, she had to request the Buddha to institute it. When, at the city of KAPILAVASTU, five hundred men of the sĀKYA clan entered the monastic order, Mahāprajāpatī together with the five hundred former wives of these men approached the Buddha and requested that they also be allowed to ordain and follow the religious life. The Buddha refused, warning that the presence of women in the order would speed the inevitable decline and demise of the dispensation. Despite his refusal, she and the five hundred sākyan women shaved their heads and donned the yellow robes of Buddhist mendicants and followed the Buddha to the city of VAIsĀLĪ. Again Mahāprajāpatī requested the Buddha to permit them to enter the order and again he refused. Finally, ĀNANDA, the Buddha's cousin and chief attendant, interceded on her behalf, asking the Buddha if women were capable of achieving enlightenment. He conceded that they were. Finally, the Buddha, acknowledging the debt he owed to his stepmother, granted ordination to her on the condition that she accept eight "heavy rules" (S. GURUDHARMA; P. garudhamma) that would guarantee the nuns' order's dependence on the monks' order and place it in an inferior rank. Her acceptance of these eight special rules served as her ordination. Mahāprajāpatī soon attained arhatship, as did her five hundred companions when they heard the Nandakovādasutta that the monk NANDAKA preached to them at the Buddha's request. (On the first hearing, the nuns attained stream-entry; when the Buddha had Nandaka repeat the same sermon the next day, they all achieved arahantship. Other sources say, however, that Mahāprajāpatī and her followers attained arahantship only moments before her death.) As the first bhiksunī, Mahāprajāpatī is regarded as the mother of the nuns' order, and she was declared by the Buddha to be foremost among nuns in experience. She lived to be 120 years old, and when she died, her five hundred disciples passed into PARINIRVĀnA with her. The miracles attending Mahāprajāpatī's cremation, including the duplication of the physical body (MAHĀPRĀTIHĀRYA) that the Buddha himself had performed, were said to have been second only to those of the Buddha himself.

Mar pa Chos kyi blo gros. (Marpa Chokyi Lodro) (1012-1097). A renowned Tibetan translator and lay Buddhist master who played an important role in the later transmission (PHYI DAR) of Buddhism from India to Tibet. He is regarded as the Tibetan founder of the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which traces its lineage to India and the MAHĀSIDDHAs TILOPA and NĀROPA. In his traditional biographies, Mar pa is generally regarded as a reincarnation of the Indian mahāsiddha DOMBĪ HERUKA. Mar pa was born to wealthy landowners in the southern Tibetan region of LHO BRAG and quickly proved to be a gifted child. As an adult, Mar pa was characterized as having a volatile temper, although ultimately compassionate. His parents sent their son to study Sanskrit and Indian vernacular languages with the translator 'BROG MI SHĀKYA YE SHES in western Tibet. Because resources for studying Buddhism in Tibet were limited as the so-called dark period between the earlier dissemination (SNGA DAR) and later dissemination (phyi dar) came to an end, Mar pa decided to make the harrowing journey to India to seek instruction from Buddhist masters. He would make three journeys there over the course of his life. He first spent three years in Nepal, acclimating to the new environment and continuing his study of local languages. There he met two Nepalese teachers, Chitherpa and Paindapa, who offered many religious instructions but also encouraged Mar pa to seek out the master who would become his chief guru, the great SIDDHA NĀROPA. According to tradition, Mar pa studied under Nāropa at the forest retreat of Pullahari, receiving initiations and teachings of several important tantric lineages, especially those of the BKA' 'BABS BZHI (four transmissions) that Nāropa had received from his principal teacher TILOPA. Despite the fame of this encounter, contemporary Tibetan sources indicate that Mar pa himself never claimed to have studied directly with Nāropa, who had already passed away prior to Mar pa's trip to India. Mar pa's other great master was the Indian siddha MAITRĪPA, from whom he received instruction in MAHĀMUDRĀ and the tradition of DOHĀ, or spiritual song. Mar pa received other tantric transmissions from Indian masters such as JNānagarbha and Kukkurīpā. Upon his return to Tibet, Mar pa married several women, the most well known being BDAG ME MA, who figures prominently in the life story of MI LA RAS PA. He began his career as teacher and translator, while also occupying himself as landowner and farmer. He had intended to pass his dharma lineage to his son DARMA MDO SDE, for whom Mi la ras pa's famous tower was built, but the child was killed in an equestrian accident. Mar pa's accumulated instructions were later passed to four principal disciples: Ngog Chos sku rdo rje (Ngok Choku Dorje), Mes tshon po (Me Tsonpo), 'Tshur dbang nge (Tsur Wangnge), and the renowned YOGIN and poet Mi la ras pa. At least sixteen works translated from Sanskrit by Mar pa are preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. He is also known as Mar pa LO TSĀ BA (Marpa the Translator) and Lho brag pa (Man from Lhodrak). Among the biographies of Mar pa, one of the most famous is that by GTSANG SMYON HERUKA.

master ::: n. 1. One who has the power, knowledge and ability to control, manage, direct; as a teacher, guru, etc. with the authority and qualifications to teach apprentices. 2. A person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science. 3. A person who has general authority over others. master"s, masters. *v. 4. To be or become completely proficient or skilled in; become an adept in. masters, mastered. adj. 5. Being master; exercising mastery; dominant. 6. Dominating or predominant. 7. Chief or principle. *master-clue, master-point.

Medicine Buddha. See BHAIsAJYAGURU.

Mi la ras pa. (Milarepa) (1028/40-1111/23). The most famous and beloved of Tibetan YOGINs. Although he is associated most closely with the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism, he is revered throughout the Tibetan cultural domain for his perseverance through hardship, his ultimate attainment of buddhahood in one lifetime, and for his beautiful songs. The most famous account of his life (the MI LA RAS PA'I RNAM THAR, or "The Life of Milarepa") and collection of spiritual songs (MI LA'I MGUR 'BUM, or "The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa") are extremely popular throughout the Tibetan world. The themes associated with his life story-purification of past misdeeds, faith and devotion to the GURU, ardor in meditation and yogic practice, and the possibility of attaining buddhahood despite the sins of his youth-have inspired developments in Buddhist teaching and practice in Tibet. Mi la was his clan name; ras pa is derived from the single cotton robe (ras) worn by Tibetan anchorites, an attire Milarepa retained for most of his life. The name is therefore an appellation, "The Cotton-clad Mi la." Although his dates are the subject of debate, biographies agree that Mi la ras pa was born to a wealthy family in the Gung thang region of southwestern Tibet. He was given the name Thos pa dga', literally "Delightful to Hear." At an early age, after the death of his father, the family estate and inheritance were taken away by Mi la ras pa's paternal aunt and uncle, leaving Mi la ras pa, his mother, and his sister to suffer poverty and disgrace. At the urging of his mother, Mi las ras pa studied sorcery and black magic in order to seek revenge. He was successful in his studies, causing a roof to collapse during a wedding party hosted by his relatives, with many killed. Eventually feeling remorse and recognizing the karmic consequences of his deeds, he sought salvation through the practice of Buddhism. After brief studies with several masters, he met MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, who would become his root guru. Mar pa was esteemed for having traveled to India, where he received valuable tantric instructions. However, Mar pa initially refused to teach Mi la ras pa, subjecting him to all forms of verbal and physical abuse. He made him undergo various ordeals, including constructing single-handedly several immense stone towers (including the final tower built for Mar pa's son called SRAS MKHAR DGU THOG, or the "nine-storied son's tower"). When Mi la ras pa was at the point of despair and about to abandon all hope of receiving the teachings, Mar pa then revealed that the trials were a means of purifying the negative KARMAN of his black magic that would have prevented him from successfully practicing the instructions. Mar pa bestowed numerous tantric initiations and instructions, especially those of MAHĀMUDRĀ and the practice of GTUM MO, or "inner heat," together with the command to persevere against all hardship while meditating in solitary caves and mountain retreats. He was given the initiation name Bzhad pa rdo rje (Shepa Dorje). Mi la ras pa spent the rest of his life practicing meditation in seclusion and teaching small groups of yogin disciples through poetry and songs of realization. He had little interest in philosophical discourse and no tolerance for intellectual pretension; indeed, several of his songs are rather sarcastically directed against the conceits of monastic scholars and logicians. He was active across southern Tibet, and dozens of locations associated with the saint have become important pilgrimage sites and retreat centers; their number increased in the centuries following his death. Foremost among these are the hermitages at LA PHYI, BRAG DKAR RTA SO, CHU DBAR, BRIN, and KAILĀSA. Bhutanese tradition asserts that he traveled as far as the STAG TSHANG sanctuary in western Bhutan. Foremost among Milarepa's disciples were SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN and RAS CHUNG PA RDO RJE GRAGS. According to his biography, Mi la ras pa was poisoned by a jealous monk. Although he had already achieved buddhahood and was unharmed by the poison, he allowed himself to die. His life story ends with his final instructions to his disciples, the account of his miraculous cremation, and of how he left no relics despite the pleas of his followers.

Mi pham 'Jam dbyangs rnam rgyal rgya mtsho. (Mipam Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso) (1846-1912). A prominent Tibetan Buddhist scholar of the RNYING MA sect and a leading figure in the RIS MED or so-called nonsectarian movement of eastern Tibet. He is often known as Mi pham rgya mtsho or 'Ju Mi pham in reference to his clan name. As a young child he excelled at study-it is said that he composed his first text at age seven-and quickly mastered a broad range of traditional Buddhist learning, from MAHĀYĀNA sutras to tantric rituals, as well as subjects such as logic, astrology, grammar, medicine, and the arts. His ease in learning a vast body of scriptures was ascribed to his devotion to the BODHISATTVA of wisdom MANJUsRĪ. He is said to have read the entire BKA' 'GYUR seven times. He studied with and received transmission from many of the leading scholars of the day, including DPAL SPRUL RIN PO CHE and 'JAM MGON KONG SPRUL. His principal guru was the luminary 'JAM DBYANGS MKHYEN BRTSE DBANG PO. Unlike many other prominent Rnying ma lamas of his time, he was not actively involved in the discovery and revelation of treasure (GTER MA). He is especially renowned for his strikingly original, and often controversial, commentaries on important Indian treatises-scriptural exegesis of Indian works being relatively rare among his contemporary Rnying ma scholars. These works include his commentary on the ninth chapter of sĀNTIDEVA's BODHICARYĀVATĀRA and his commentary on sĀNTARAKsITA's MADHYAMAKĀLAMKĀRA. In other works, he sought to reveal the philosophical profundity of the RDZOGS CHEN teachings.

Mkhar chu. (Karchu). An important monastic center associated with both the RNYING MA and BKA' BRGYUD sects of Tibetan Buddhism, located in the LHO BRAG region of southern Tibet. The original site was established by the 'Brug pa bka' brgyud master Lo ras pa (1187-1250), but was later renovated and enlarged by famed 'Brug pa scholar and historian PADMA DKAR PO. The monastery and surrounding environs were a wealthy and active center for Buddhist practice, visited by numerous important masters. His disciple Nam mkha'i snying po stayed in a meditation retreat nearby, where he is said to have attained realization of MAHĀMUDRĀ. Mkhar chu later became a seat for Nam mkha'i snying po's successive reincarnations. Other Rnying ma and Bka' brgud masters associated with Mkhar chu include NYANG RAL NYI MA 'OD ZER, RGOD TSHANG PA MGON PO RDO RJE, GURU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG, and Me long rdo rje (1234-1303).

Mkhas grub Dge legs dpal bzang. (Kedrup Gelek Palsang) (1385-1438). Also known as Mkhas grub rje, an early leader of the DGE LUGS sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who trained first under the influential scholar Red mda' ba Gzhon nu blo gros (Rendawa Shonu Lodro, 1349-1412). At the age of twenty-three he met TSONG KHA PA, who became his principal GURU. Mkhas grub rje excelled in his study of Buddhist logic and philosophy and his collected works contain numerous influential treatises on PRAMĀnA, MADHYAMAKA, and TANTRA (especially the KĀLACAKRA); among his most famous works is the Stong thun skal bzang mig 'byed. At the age of forty-seven, he ascended the golden throne of DGA' LDAN monastery as the institution's abbot, replacing Tsong kha pa's other illustrious student RGYAL TSHAB DAR MA RIN CHEN (see DGA' LDAN KHRI PA). Mkhas grub rje was recognized posthumously as being first in the line of PAn CHEN LAMA incarnations. Mkhas grub rje is commonly depicted in paintings and statues called rje yab sras gsum, "the triumvirate of the foremost father and his [two] sons," showing Tsong kha pa flanked by Rgyal tshab and Mkhas grub. Here Mkhas grub can often be distinguished from Rgyal tshab by his younger visage and darker hair, and by his wild eyes, said to have been a result of his tantric practice.

Murshid (P) (A) spiritual teacher (compare: guru)

Mysteries ::: The Mysteries were divided into two general parts, the Less Mysteries and the Greater.The Less Mysteries were very largely composed of dramatic rites or ceremonies, with some teaching; theGreater Mysteries were composed of, or conducted almost entirely on the ground of, study; and thedoctrines taught in them later were proved by personal experience in initiation. In the Greater Mysterieswas explained, among other things, the secret meaning of the mythologies of the old religions, as, forinstance, the Greek.The active and nimble mind of the Greeks produced a mythology which for grace and beauty is perhapswithout equal, but it nevertheless is very difficult to explain; the Mysteries of Samothrace and of Eleusis-- the greater ones -- explained among other things what these myths meant. These myths formed thebasis of the exoteric religions; but note well that exotericism does not mean that the thing which is taughtexoterically is in itself false, but merely that it is a teaching given without the key to it. Such teaching issymbolic, illusory, touching on the truth -- the truth is there, but without the key to it, which is theesoteric meaning, it yields no proper sense.We have the testimony of the Greek and Roman initiates and thinkers that the ancient Mysteries ofGreece taught men, above everything else, to live rightly and to have a noble hope for the life after death.The Romans derived their Mysteries from those of Greece.The mythological aspect comprises only a portion -- and a relatively small portion -- of what was taughtin the Mystery schools in Greece, principally at Samothrace and at Eleusis. At Samothrace was taught thesame mystery-teaching that was current elsewhere in Greece, but here it was more developed andrecondite, and the foundation of these mystery-teachings was morals. The noblest and greatest men ofancient times in Greece were initiates in the Mysteries of these two seats of esoteric knowledge.In other countries farther to the east, there were other Mystery schools or "colleges," and this wordcollege by no means necessarily meant a mere temple or building; it meant association, as in our modernword colleague, "associate." The Teutonic tribes of northern Europe, the Germanic tribes, whichincluded Scandinavia, had their Mystery colleges also; and teacher and neophytes stood on the bosom ofMother Earth, under Father Ether, the boundless sky, or in subterranean receptacles, and taught andlearned. The core, the heart, the center, of the teaching of the ancient Mysteries was the abstruseproblems dealing with death. (See also Guru-parampara)

Mystically Usanas-Sukra (Usanas being another name for Venus) is the earth’s and man’s spiritual guru and preceptor, just as in ancient Hindu mythology Usanas was the guru and preceptor of the daityas. Hence Venus is spoken of as the “older brother” of the earth, whose functions during its present evolutionary stage are those of kama-manas in the solar system and therefore in man (cf SD 2:31, 33).

na duhkhena gurunapi vicalyate ::: [not shaken even by great sorrow]. [Gita 6.22]

Namaste (honor, reverence, to thee!) is used in greeting gurus and spiritual sages.

Namsan. (南山). In Korean, "South Mountain," important Buddhist site located to the south of the ancient Silla-dynasty capital of KYoNGJU. Namsan had been worshipped as a Korean sacred mountain since prehistoric times and was strongly embedded in local shamanic cults. With the advent of Buddhism, Namsan became the center of Buddhist worship in Korea as the representation of Mt. SUMERU, the axis mundi of the world in Buddhist cosmology. As a result, the whole area of Namsan is dotted with rock-cut reliefs, engravings, and stone images, all fine examples of Korean Buddhist art from the seventh through the fourteenth centuries, depicting among many others the buddhas sĀKYAMUNI, BHAIsAJYAGURU, and AMITĀBHA. Most of these images date from the seventh and eighth centuries, when the political power of the Silla dynasty was at its height. Most noteworthy is the massive boulder in T'apkok (Pagoda Valley), which is carved with a rich tapestry of Buddhist images that depict the popular view of the Buddhist world during the Silla period. In the center of the boulder's northern face is a seated buddha image, which is flanked by two images of wooden pagodas. A mythical lion below the pagodas acts as a guardian to this scene. The eastern face expresses the belief in the PURE LAND. It depicts a narrative scene of Amitābha, flanked by two BODHISATTVAs, presumably AVALOKITEsVARA and MAHĀSTHĀMAPRĀPTA, with accompanying images of flying beings (S. APSARAS) and monks who came to venerate this central figure. On the boulder's southern face, a buddha triad and an individual image of a bodhisattva are carved. Finally, on its western face is depicted an image of sākyamuni at the moment of his awakening beneath two BODHI TREEs. Other noteworthy Buddhist images at Namsan include the rock-cut reliefs of seven buddhas at Ch'ilburam (Seven Buddhas Rock), which is uniquely composed of two boulders, one with a buddha triad, the other one with four bodhisattvas; the seated stone statue of sākyamuni at Mirŭkkok (Maitreya Valley), which is one of the best-preserved Buddhist stone statues from the eighth century; the seated image of a bodhisattva carved on the high cliff of Sinsonam (Fairy Rock); and the seated figure of sākyamuni in Samnŭnggok (Samnŭng Valley), which was carved on a colossal rock twenty-three feet high and sixteen feet in width.

Nā ro chos drug. (Naro chodruk). The Tibetan name for a series of tantric practices, often translated into English as "the six yogas (or dharmas) of Nāropa," which are attributed to the eleventh-century Indian adept NĀROPA. These practices spread widely throughout Tibet, where they were transmitted among various Tibetan Buddhist traditions, including those of the SA SKYA and DGE LUGS. However, the Nā ro chos drug became a fundamental component in the meditation training of BKA' BRGYUD practitioners and continue to be practiced especially in the context of the traditional three-year retreat. Nāropa received several streams of tantric instruction from his GURU, the Indian SIDDHA TILOPA, including the BKA' BABS BZHI (four transmissions). According to tradition, he later codified these instructions and transmitted them to his Tibetan disciple MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, although Nāropa had died before Mar pa's first journey to India. However, Mar pa received these teachings from Nāropa's disciples and taught them in Tibet as the Nā ro chos drug. There are several slight variations in their presentation, but the most common enumeration of the Nā ro chos drug are (1) GTUM MO (tummo), literally "fierce woman," referring to the inner heat produced as an effect of manipulating the body's subtle energies; (2) sgyu lus (gyulu), "illusory body" (see MĀYĀDEHA), in which the meditator realizes the illusory nature of ordinary experiences; (3) rmi lam (milam), "dreams," referring to the practice of developing conscious awareness during dream states; (4) 'od gsal (osel), "clear light" (see PRABHĀSVARA), referring to the luminous aspect of mind and its recognition; (5) BAR DO, "intermediate state," referring to the practice of mental control during the disorienting period between death in one lifetime and rebirth into another; (6) 'PHO BA (powa), "transference," which is the practice of ejecting the consciousness out of the body at the moment of death to take rebirth in a pure realm. The first four are generally believed to facilitate liberation in the present life, the last two at the time of death.

navadharma. In Sanskrit, the "nine dharmas," also known as the NAVAGRANTHA ("nine books"); nine MAHĀYĀNA SuTRAs that are the object of particular devotion in the Newar Buddhist tradition of Nepal. The notion of a collection of nine books seems to have originated in the Newar community, although the nine sutras are all of Indian origin. The nine are the AstASĀHASRIKĀPRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ, SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA, LALITAVISTARA, LAnKĀVATĀRASuTRA, SUVARnAPRABHĀSOTTAMASuTRA, GAndAVYuHA, Tathāgataguhyasutra, SAMĀDHIRĀJASuTRA, and DAsABHuMIKASuTRA. Of these nine, the AstasāhasrikāprajNāpāramitā is granted the highest esteem, having its own cult and its own deity, the goddess PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ. These texts serve an important ritual function in Newar Buddhism, where they are said to represent the entire Mahāyāna corpus of SuTRA, sĀSTRA, and TANTRA. These texts are often recited during the religious services of monasteries, and a recitation of all nine texts is considered to be particularly auspicious. Some Newar Buddhist rituals (vrata) include offerings to the three jewels (RATNATRAYA), in which a priest will make a MAndALA for the GURU, the Buddha, the DHARMA, and the SAMGHA. These sutras of the nine dharmas are used in the creation of the dharmamandala, a powerful ritual symbol in Newar Buddhism. In this MAndALA, the center space is occupied by the AstasāhasrikāprajNāpāramitā. The fact that there are nine of these texts may derive from the need to have nine elements in the mandala. Different renditions of the dharmamandala indicate that the texts included in the navadharma may have changed over time; this particular set of nine sutras seems to date from the fifteenth century. Although these texts are held in particularly high regard, they are not the only authoritative texts in Newar Buddhism.

Nyang ral nyi ma 'od zer. (Nyangral Nyima Öser) (1124-1196). A Tibetan Buddhist master considered the first of the "five kingly treasure revealers" (GTER STON RGYAL PO LNGA) and as a reincarnation of the Tibetan king KHRI SRONG LDE BTSAN. He is also sometimes counted as the first of the "three supreme emanations" (mchog gi sprul sku gsum); the others are GURU CHOS KYI DBANG PHYUG and RGOD LDEM CAN. Born in the southern Tibetan region of LHO BRAG, he received numerous visions of PADMASAMBHAVA, before commencing his illustrious career as a treasure revealer (GTER STON). His Chos 'byung me tog snying po sbrang rtsi'i bcud ("Nectar of the Honey in the Heart of the Flower: A History of the Dharma") is an important early history of the dharma, with special emphasis on the RNYING MA sect. Among his other well-known works are the Bka' brgyad bde gshegs 'dus pa'i rgyud ("Tantra of the Gathering of the Sugatas of the Eight Transmitted Precepts") and a biography of Padmasambhava entitled BKA' THANG ZANGS GLING MA ("Copper Island Chronicle").

One of the ideas which early Christianity took over from the esoteric teaching of the Mediterranean peoples, the apostolic succession was originally derived from the passing on of light from one adept to another at initiation, thus constituting what is called the guruparampara or the succession of teacher following teacher in regular serial order. A similar institution existed in the Eleusinian Mysteries, whose hierophants were drawn from one family, the Eumolpidae, as well as in many other parts of the world.

Ordinary life and yoga ::: In the ordinary life a personal, social or traditional constructed rule, standard or ideal is the guide ; once the spiritual journey has begun, this must be replac- ed by an inner and outer rule or way of living necessary for our self-discipline, liberation and perfection, a way of living proper to the path we follow or enjoined by the spiritual guide and master, the Guru or else dictated by a Guide within us.

Padmasambhava, called in Tibet Guru Rimpoche or Padma-jungne, is even today one of the patron saints of Tibet and the chief guru of the Red Caps — his image occupying the place of honor on all the altars of this sect, which he founded in 749.

Padmasambhava. (T. Padma 'byung gnas) (fl. eighth century). Indian Buddhist master and tantric adept widely revered in Tibet under the appellation Guru rin po che, "Precious Guru"; considered to be the "second buddha" by members of the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who view him as a founder of their tradition. In Tibetan, he is also known as Padma 'byung gnas (Pemajungne), "the Lotus Born," which translates his Sanskrit name. It is difficult to assess the many legends surrounding his life and deeds, although the scholarly consensus is that he was a historical figure and did visit Tibet. The earliest reference to him is in the SBA BZHED (a work that purports to be from the eighth century, but is likely later), where he is mentioned as a water diviner and magician, suggesting that he may have been an expert in irrigation, which would have required the ability to subdue local spirits. Two texts in the Tibetan canon are attributed to him. The first is the Man ngag lta ba'i phreng ba, which is a commentary on the thirteenth chapter of the GUHYAGARBHATANTRA. The second is a commentary on the Upāyapāsapadmamālā, a MAHĀYOGA TANTRA. Regardless of his historical status and the duration of his stay in Tibet, the figure of Padmasambhava has played a key role in the narrative of Buddhism's arrival in Tibet, its establishment in Tibet, and its subsequent transmission to later generations. He is also venerated throughout the Himalayan regions of India, Bhutan, and Nepal and by the Newar Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley. According to many of his traditional biographies, Padmasambhava was miraculously born in the center of a lotus blossom (PADMA) on Lake Danakosa in the land of OddIYĀNA, a region some scholars associate with the Swat Valley of modern Pakistan. Discovered and raised by King Indrabodhi, he abandoned his royal life to pursue various forms of Buddhist study and practice, culminating in his training as a tantric adept. He journeyed throughout the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal, meeting his first consort MANDĀRAVĀ at Mtsho padma in Himachal Pradesh, and later remaining in prolonged retreat in various locations around the Kathmandu Valley including MĀRATIKA, YANG LE SHOD and the ASURA CAVE. His reputation as an exorcist led to his invitation, at the behest of the Indian scholar sĀNTARAKsITA, to travel to Tibet in order to assist with the construction of BSAM YAS monastery. According to traditional accounts, Padmasambhava subdued and converted the indigenous deities inimical to the spread of Buddhism and, together with sāntaraksita and the Tibetan king KHRI SRONG LDE BTSAN, established the first Buddhist lineage and monastic center of Tibet. He remained in Tibet as a court priest, and, together with his Tibetan consort YE SHES MTSHO RGYAL, recorded and then concealed numerous teachings as hidden treasure texts (GTER MA), to be revealed by a later succession of masters spiritually linked to Padmasambhava. The Rnying ma sect preserves the corpus of instructions stemming from the master in two classes of materials: those revealed after his passing as treasure texts and those belonging to an unbroken oral tradition (BKA' MA). It is believed that Padmasambhava departed Tibet for his paradise known as the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain (ZANGS MDOG DPAL RI), where he continues to reside. From the time of the later dissemination of the doctrine (PHYI DAR) in the eleventh century onwards, numerous biographies of the Indian master have been revealed as treasure texts, including the PADMA BKA' THANG YIG, BKA' THANG GSER 'PHRENG, and the BKA' THANG ZANGS GLING MA. Padmasambhava is the focus of many kinds of ritual activities, including the widely recited "Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava" (Tshig 'dun gsol 'debs). The tenth day of each lunar month is dedicated to Padmasambhava, a time when many monasteries, especially those in Bhutan, perform religious dances reverencing the Indian master in his eight manifestations. In iconography, Padmasambhava is depicted in eight forms, known as the guru mtshan brgyad, who represent his eight great deeds. They are Padma rgyal po, Nyi ma 'od zer, Blo ldan mchog sred, Padmasambhava, Shākya seng ge, Padmakara (also known as Sororuhavajra, T. Mtsho skyes rdo rje), Seng ge sgra sgrogs, and RDO RJE GRO LOD.

pagurian ::: n. --> Any one of a tribe of anomuran crustaceans, of which Pagurus is a type; the hermit crab. See Hermit crab, under Hermit.

pamful, first, because it is obscure and docs not understand and, secondly, because there arc parts of it that want to be left to their crude notions and not to change. That is why the inter- vention of a psychic attitude is so heJpfuI. For the psychic has the happy confidence, the ready understanding and response, the spontaneous surrender ; it knows that the touch of the Guru is meant to help and not to hurt, or, like Radha in the poem, that whatever the Beloved does is meant to lead to the Divine

paramaguru. ::: the Guru's Guru

parampara ::: succession (of gurus or spiritual teachers).

Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po. (Pakmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo) (1110-1170). A Tibetan scholar and adept who is counted as one of the great disciples of the key BKA' BRGYUD founder SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN, and is venerated as the source for many subsequent Bka' brgyud lineages. Born in the 'Bri lung rme shod region of eastern Tibet, Phag mo gru pa's parents died while he was still young. Receiving ordination as a novice Buddhist monk at the age of eight, he studied under a variety of teachers during the early part of his life. At eighteen, he traveled to central Tibet, receiving full ordination at the age of twenty-five. There he trained under a number of BKA' GDAMS pa teachers, and later, under the great SA SKYA master SA CHEN KUN DGA SNYING PO, from whom he received extensive instruction in the tradition of the path and its result (LAM 'BRAS). At the age of forty, he traveled to DWAGS LHA SGAM PO in southern Tibet, where he met Sgam po pa, who became his principal guru. Sgam po pa famously held up a half-eaten ball of parched barley flour mixed with tea and said to Phag mo gru pa, "This is greater than the results of all your previous meditation." After he demonstrated his humility by carrying stones to build a STuPA, Sgam po pa gave Phag mo gru pa the transmission of instructions on MAHĀMUDRĀ meditation and, through their practice, is said to have attained great realization. In 1158, Phag mo gru pa established a simple meditation hut where he lived until his death in 1170; this location later served as the foundation for the influential monastery of GDAN SA MTHIL. Phag mo gru pa was renowned for his strict adherence to the VINAYA, even going on alms rounds, a rare practice in Tibet. Several individuals among his many followers established a number of important branch lineages, the so-called "eight minor Bka' brgyud subsects" (see BKA' BRGYUD CHE BZHI CHUNG BRGYAD) that collectively came to be known as the Phag gru Bka' brgyud.

Pir: A teacher or guide in the mystical pursuit of Islam. In India, the Moslem equivalent of a Hindu guru.

prasad&

Punhwangsa. (芬皇寺). In Korean, "Fragrant [viz. Virtuous] Sovereign Monastery"; one of the four major monasteries located in the Silla-dynasty capital of Kyongju. The monastery was built in 634 at the command of Queen Sondok (r. 632-647) and, at its peak, its campus covered several acres. Like its neighbor HWANGNYONGSA, Punhwangsa was established with the support of the Silla royal family and was a center of rituals performed for the protection of the state (K. hoguk Pulgyo; C. HUGUO FOJIAO). Punhwangsa is perhaps best known for its massive stone pagoda, the oldest extant example from the Silla kingdom. The pagoda was erected following Chinese Tang-dynasty models, but was constructed with black andesite stone, rather than the fired bricks used in China. About 9,700 stone bricks remain from the pagoda, twenty-five percent of which are damaged or significantly weathered. The pagoda was once seven to nine stories tall with a hollow center, but only three stories remain, and the collapse of its upper stories has filled the center with debris. A partial restoration of the pagoda in 1915 revealed a reliquary box (K. sarigu; C. SHELIJU) hidden between the second and third stories. Gold ornaments, coins, scissors, and a needle were also found in the pagoda; these are thought to have once been owned by Queen Sondok herself. The pagoda is presumed to have had doorways on each of its four sides; two guardian figures flanked each doorway. Lion statues are placed at the four corners of the pagoda's foundation platform, and lotus blossoms are carved into the granite. The famous Silla artist Sol Ko (d.u.), who lived during the reign of King Chinhŭng (r. 540-575), painted a famous fresco of the bodhisattva AVALOKITEsVARA at the monastery. In 755, King Kyongdok (r. 742-764) had a colossal standing image of BHAIsAJYAGURU, the medicine buddha, cast for Punhwangsa, which was said to have weighed some 36,000 catties (kŭn). Punhwangsa was the residence of many of the most famous Korean monks of the Silla dynasty. When the VINAYA teacher CHAJANG (d.u.; fl. c. 590-658) returned in 643 from a sojourn in Tang China with a set of the Buddhist canon, as well as Buddhist banners, streamers, and other ritual items, he resided at Punhwangsa at the queen's request. The renowned monk-scholiast WoNHYO (617-686) wrote many of his treatises and commentaries at Punhwangsa and was closely associated with the monastery. After he died, according to the SAMGUK YUSA ("Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms"), his famous literatus son, Sol Ch'ong (c. 660-730), took Wonhyo's ashes and cast them into a lifelike image, which he enshrined at the monastery. When Sol Ch'ong prostrated beside it, the image is said to have turned its head to look at the son, a posture it retained from that point on. Little of Punhwangsa remains today, but it is still a functioning monastery.

Purohita (Sanskrit) Purohita [from puras foremost, in front + hita from the verbal root dhā to place] One who has been placed foremost; a family priest or domestic chaplain. In Hindu myths the deity of the planet Jupiter, Brihaspati, was called the purohita of the Hindu Olympus and the spiritual guru of the gods.

Rabbi (Hebrew) Rabbī [from rab great, a chief, leader] My master, my teacher; the master was addressed by his pupils with the word rabbi or rabbenu (our teacher), Moses being customarily called Mosheh rabbenu (our teacher Moses). Equivalent to the Sanskrit guru, but during the closing decades of the Second Temple, the term became commonly associated with the scribes as merely an honorary title. Then during the time of the Mishnah period, all scholars were termed Rabs (or Chaldean plural Rabbin). Later the sect of the Qaraites, who rejected the Talmud, designated all believers in its by this term. Rabbi is likewise now applied to the modern Jewish clergy.

Rang 'byung rdo rje. (Rangjung Dorje) (1284-1339). A Tibetan Buddhist master recognized as the third KARMA PA, renowned for his erudition and his knowledge of practice traditions based on both new translation (GSAR MA) and old translation (RNYING MA) tantras. He was born either in the Skyid rong Valley or in the western Tibetan region of Ding ri and, according to traditional sources, as a child, was known for his exceptional perspicacity. The DEB THER SNGON PO ("Blue Annals") records that as a five-year-old boy, he met O RGYAN PA RIN CHEN DPAL, his principal guru, who recognized the young boy as the reincarnation of his teacher KARMA PAKSHI when the child climbed up on a high seat that had been prepared for O rgyan pa Rin chen dpal and declared himself to have been Karma Pakshi in his previous life (this was before the institution of incarnate lamas was established in Tibet). Rang 'byung rdo rje trained first at MTSHUR PHU monastery. He also studied with teachers from GSANG PHU and JO NANG. His collected works include explanations of the major YOGĀCĀRA and MADHYAMAKA treatises and commentaries and rituals based on the CAKRASAMVARA, HEVAJRA, GUHYASAMĀJA, and KĀLACAKRA tantras. According to his traditional biographies, while in retreat, he had a vision of VIMALAMITRA and PADMASAMBHAVA in which he received the complete transmission of the Rnying ma tantras. He received instructions on the RDZOGS CHEN doctrine from Rig 'dzin Gzhon nu rgyal po, and wrote short works on rdzogs chen. He also discovered a treasure text (GTER MA), known as the Karma snying thig. He was a renowned poet and wrote important works on GCOD practice. The third Karma pa was also a skilled physician and astrologer. He developed a new system of astrology known as Mtshur rtsi, or "Mtshur phu astrology," on the basis of which a new Tibetan calendar was formulated and promulgated at Mtshur phu monastery. In 1331, he was summoned to the court of the Yuan emperor Tugh Temür, but stopped enroute when he correctly interpreted portents that the emperor had died. He later traveled to the Mongol capital of Daidu (modern Beijing) during the reign of Togon Temür, for whom he procured an elixir of long life. After returning to Tibet, he was summoned once again to the Mongol capital, where he passed away while meditating in a three-dimensional CakrasaMvara MAndALA. Rang 'byung rdo rje's writings include the influential tantric work Zab mo nang don ("Profound Inner Meaning"). It is said that his image appeared in the full moon on the evening of his death, and illustrations of the third Karma pa often portray him seated amid a lunar disk.

Ras chung pa Rdo rje grags. (Rechungpa Dorje Drak) (1083/4-1161). A close disciple of the Tibetan sage MI LA RAS PA and an early master of the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the southwest Tibetan region of Gung thang and, while herding cattle at the age of eleven, met Mi la ras pa, who was meditating in a nearby cave. Much to the consternation of his family, Ras chung pa left his home to follow the YOGIN, subsequently spending many years serving and training under his GURU. As one of Milarepa's youngest disciples, he earned the name Ras chung pa, lit. "little cotton-clad one." He was later dispatched to India in order to retrieve several transmissions of the LUS MED MKHA' 'GRO SNYAN RGYUD CHOS SKOR DGU ("nine aural lineage cycles of the formless dĀKINĪs"); Mi la ras pa's teacher MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS had only received five of these nine cycles during his own studies in India. Ras chung pa acquired these teachings from the brāhmana-adept TI PHU PA in India and, returning to Tibet, spent many years in solitary meditation. He eventually taught numerous disciples of his own. Although Ras chung pa was not a central part of the Bka' brgyud sect's institutional development, a role played by Mi la ras pa's other well-known disciple SGAM PO PA BSOD NAMS RIN CHEN, he figures prominently in the MI LA'I MGUR 'BUM ("Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa"), the collected verse instructions of Mi la ras pa. He also transmitted an important tradition of tantric instructions that were redacted as the RAS CHUNG SNYAN BRGYUD (Aural Lineage of Ras chung). These teachings gained some importance over the next several centuries and were later revived during the fifteenth century by GTSANG SMYON HERUKA at a religious center founded at one of Ras chung pa's principal meditation caves, RAS CHUNG PHUG.

Ratna gling pa. (Ratna Lingpa) (1403-1478). An important treasure revealer (GTER STON) of the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism, credited with discovering twenty-five collections of treasure texts (GTER MA). As a youth, he was identified as the reincarnation of Lang gro Dkon mchog 'byung gnas, one of the twenty-five disciples of PADMASAMBHAVA. According to traditional sources, he is said to have uncovered in a single lifetime the treasures ordinarily discovered in three lifetimes, and therefore is known under three names: Zhig po gling pa (Shikpo Lingpa), 'Gro 'dul gling pa (Drodul Lingpa), and Ratna gling pa. The treasures included RDZOGS CHEN teachings, peaceful and wrathful guru SĀDHANAs, AVALOKITEsVARA practices, and MAHĀMUDRĀ texts. He also searched extensively for ancient tantras and oral traditions and compiled an extensive RNYING MA'I RGYUD 'BUM, a compendium of the tantras and tantric exegetical literature of the Rnying ma sect; that compendium is no longer extant, but it served as the basis of the rnying ma'i rgyud 'bum of 'JIGS MED GLING PA.

Rdo rje gling pa. (Dorje Lingpa) (1346-1405). A Tibetan Buddhist master, identified as the third of the five kingly treasure revealers (GTER STON RGYAL PO LNGA), and considered to be an emanation of the Tibetan king KHRI SRONG LDE BTSAN. As a youth, he took monastic ordination and studied both the ancient (RNYING MA) and new (GSAR MA) traditions of the sutras and tantras. At age thirteen he discovered his first treasure text (GTER MA) behind a miracle-performing image of TĀRĀ in the KHRA 'BRUG temple. He considered himself to be the incarnation of the translator VAIROCANA and was guided by visions of him. When doubts were raised about the authenticity of his treasures, he began discovering texts and sacred objects in public settings. In addition to his discoveries, he was famous for his eccentric behavior and spontaneous songs. Rdo rje gling pa is said to have unearthed forty-three sets of treasure, foremost of which was the Bla rdzogs thugs gsum ("Trio of the Guru, Great Perfection, and Great Compassionate One").

Rgod tshang pa Mgon po rdo rje. (Gotshangpa Gonpo Dorje) (1189-1258). A Tibetan Buddhist master revered as the founder of the upper (stod) branch of the 'BRUG PA BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the LHO BRAG region of southern Tibet, and as a child was known for his pleasing appearance and his beautiful singing voice. In his youth, he studied under a number of tutors and finally reached RWA LUNG monastery, where he met his principal guru, the 'Brug pa Bka' brgyud founder GTSANG PA RGYA RAS YE SHES RDO RJE, from whom he received monastic ordination and extensive instruction. In accordance with his master's advice, he spent much of his life as a wandering YOGIN, traveling across central, southern, and western Tibet and visiting numerous pilgrimage places including KAILĀSA, TSA RI, and Jālandhara (the modern Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh in northwest India). He also established several important retreat centers where he passed many years in meditation, including Rgod tshang near modern-day Rtsib ri in Gtsang, Steng gro, Bde chen stengs, and Bar 'brogs Rdo rje gling.

Ribhu (Sanskrit) Ṛbhu Clever, skillful, inventive; applied to Indra, Agni, and the adityas in the Rig-Veda. As a noun, an artist, smith, builder. Also the name of three semi-divine beings, Ribhu, Vaja, and Vibhvan, the name of the first being applied to the three; “thought by some to represent the three seasons of the year, and celebrated for their skill as artists; they are supposed to dwell in the solar sphere, and are the artists who formed the horses of Indra, the carriage of the Asvins, and the miraculous cow of Brihaspati; they made their parents young, and performed other wonderful works; they are supposed to take their ease and remain idle for twelve days (the twelve intercalary days of the winter solstice) every year in the house of the Sun. (Agohya); after which they recommence working; when the gods heard of their skill, they sent Agni to them with the one cup of their rival Tvashtri, the artificer of the gods, bidding the Ribhus construct four cups from it; when they had successfully executed this task, the gods received the Ribhus amongst themselves and allowed them to partake of their sacrifices; they appear generally as accompanying Indra, especially at the evening sacrifice” (M-Wms Dict). In the Puranas, Ribhu is a son of Brahman, while Sankaracharya’s guru enumerates him as one of the seven kumaras (SD 1:457).

RTFM ::: (jargon) /R T F M/ Read The Fucking Manual (always abbreviated, sometimes bowdlerised to Fine or Friendly) An (unhelpful) guru's traditional response when someone asks a question in a newsgroup or mailing list which he could have easily answered for himself had he bothered to RTFM.The term may also be used to indicate that you couldn't find the answer in the manual. E.g. How do I interface Unix to my toaster? And yes, I did RTFM but the FM didn't help and I can't RTFS.Other derived forms include RTFAQ, RTFB, RTM, and, more recently, STFW. Compare: UTSL.[Earliest use?][Jargon File](2003-06-07)

RTFM "jargon" /R T F M/ Read The Fucking Manual (always abbreviated, sometimes bowdlerised to "Fine" or "Friendly") An (unhelpful) {guru}'s traditional response when someone asks a question in a {newsgroup} or {mailing list} which he could have easily answered for himself had he bothered to RTFM. The term may also be used to indicate that you couldn't find the answer in the manual. E.g. "How do I interface Unix to my toaster? And yes, I did RTFM but the {FM} didn't help and I can't {RTFS}." Other derived forms include {RTFAQ}, {RTFB}, {RTM}, {RYFM} and, more recently, {STFW}. Compare: {UTSL}. A web site in the same vein is {(lmgtfy.com)}. [Earliest use?] [{Jargon File}] (2003-06-07)

sadguru ::: [a good or true guru].

sadguru &

sādhana. (T. sgrub thabs; C. chengjiu fa; J. jojuho; K. songch'wi pop 成就法). In Sanskrit, "method" or "technique," used especially in reference to a tantric ritual designed to receive attainments (SIDDHI) from a deity. Tantric sādhanas generally take one of two forms. In the first, the deity (which may be a buddha, BODHISATTVA, or another deity) is requested to appear before the meditator and is then worshipped in the expectation of receiving blessings. In the other type of tantric sādhana, the meditator imagines himself or herself to be the deity at this very moment, that is, to have the exalted body, speech, and mind of an enlightened being. Tantric sādhanas tend to follow a fairly set sequence, whether they are simple or detailed. More elaborate sādhanas may include the recitation of a lineage of GURUs; the creation of a protection wheel guarded by wrathful deities to subjugate enemies; the creation of a body MAndALA, in which a pantheon of deities take residence at various parts of the meditator's body, etc. Although there are a great many variations of content and sequence, in many sādhanas, the meditator is instructed to imagine light radiating from the body, thus beckoning buddhas and bodhisattvas from throughout the universe. Visualizing these deities arrayed in the space, the meditator then performs a series of standard preliminary practices called the sevenfold service (SAPTĀnGAVIDHI), a standard component of sādhanas. The seven elements are (1) obeisance, (2) offering (often concluding with a gift of the entire physical universe with all its marvels), (3) confession of misdeeds, (4) admiration of the virtuous deeds of others, (5) entreaty to the buddhas not to pass into NIRVĀnA, (6) supplication of the buddhas and bodhisattvas to teach the dharma, and (7) dedication of the merit of performing the preceding toward the enlightenment of all beings. The meditator then goes for refuge to the three jewels (RATNATRAYA), creates the aspiration for enlightenment (BODHICITTA; BODHICITTOTPĀDA), the promise to achieve buddhahood in order to liberate all beings in the universe from suffering, and dedicates the merit from the foregoing and subsequent practices toward that end. The meditator next cultivates the four "boundless" attitudes (APRAMĀnA) of loving-kindness (MAITRĪ), compassion (KARUnĀ), empathetic joy (MUDITĀ), and equanimity or impartiality (UPEKsĀ), before meditating on emptiness (suNYATĀ) and reciting the purificatory mantra, oM svabhāvasuddhāḥ sarvadharmāḥ svabhāvasuddho 'haM ("OM, naturally pure are all phenomena, naturally pure am I"), understanding that emptiness is the primordial nature of everything, the unmoving world and the beings who move upon it. Out of this emptiness, the meditator next creates the mandala. The next step in the sādhana is for the meditator to animate the residents of the mandala by causing the actual buddhas and bodhisattvas, referred to as "wisdom beings" (JNĀNASATTVA), to descend and merge with their imagined doubles, the "pledge beings" (SAMAYASATTVA). Light radiates from the meditator's heart, drawing the wisdom beings to the mandala where, through offerings and the recitation of mantra, they are prompted to enter the residents of the mandala. With the preliminary visualization now complete, the stage is set for the central meditation of the sādhana, which varies depending upon the purpose of the sādhana. Generally, offerings and prayers are made to a sequence of deities and boons are requested from them, each time accompanied with the recitation of appropriate MANTRA. At the end of the session, the meditator makes mental offerings to the assembly before inviting them to leave, at which point the entire visualization, the palace and its residents, dissolve into emptiness. The sādhana ends with a dedication of the merit accrued to the welfare of all beings.

Saidaiji. (西大寺). In Japanese, "Great Monastery to the West"; one of the seven major monasteries in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara (J. NANTO SHICHIDAIJI); the headquarters of the True Word Precepts (SHINGON-Ritsu) school in Japan. As its name implies, Saidaiji is located in the western part of Nara and was first constructed in 765 in accordance with a decree from SHoTOKU TAISHI (572-622). The monastery originally had two main halls, one dedicated to the buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU and the other to the bodhisattva MAITREYA. After conflagrations in 846 and 860, the monastery began to decline, but revived when Eison (Kosho bosatsu; 1201-1290) moved there in 1235 and made it the center of his movement to restore the VINAYA. After another major fire in 1502, the Tokugawa Shogunate supported a rebuilding project. The monastery enshrines four bronze statues of the four heavenly kings (CATURMAHĀRĀJA), dating to the Nara (710-794) period. The main hall is dominated by a statue of sĀKYAMUNI said to have been carved cooperatively by eleven sculptors in 1249. To its right is a statue of MANJUsRĪ riding a lion, to its left, a statue of Maitreya dating from 1322.

Sakti-sanchara: Transmission of power to the disciple by the Guru.

samadhana. ::: perfect concentration of the mind on the one Reality; concentration and contemplation upon the vedantic texts and the words of the Guru

sāstṛ. (P. satthar; T. ston pa; C. shi; J. shi; K. sa 師). In Sanskrit, "teacher"; referring to any teacher and a common epithet for the Buddha, who is often referred to as the "teacher of gods and men [or princes and people]" (sāstā devamanusyānām; see discussion in the conclusion to DEVA, s.v.). Among the various terms for a teacher in Buddhist literature, including GURU, ĀCĀRYA, and UPĀDHYĀYA, sāstṛ was a term of particular respect. In early Buddhist literature, it seems to have been reserved exclusively for the Buddha and past buddhas and not for disciples (sRĀVAKA) of the Buddha; thus, whenever the term "teacher" appears, it typically refers to the Buddha himself. To recognize the Buddha as the true teacher and to declare him as such is regarded as a central determinant of Buddhist identity. Outside the Buddhist community, the term was also used to refer to the so-called "six heterodox teachers," such as PuRAnA KĀsYAPA.

satguru &

sa 師. See GURU

sendmail.cf ::: (messaging) sendmail's configuration file, which it reads once when starting up, usually found in the /etc directory.Only real Unix Gurus can understand, let alone modify, this file since it consists moslty of header rewrite rules written as M4 macros, as well as various other one- or two-character commands. (1996-12-09)

sendmail.cf "messaging" {sendmail}'s configuration file, which it reads once when starting up, usually found in the /etc directory. Only real {Unix Gurus} can understand, let alone modify, this file since it consists moslty of {header} {rewrite rules} written as {M4} {macros}, as well as various other one- or two-character commands. (1996-12-09)

"shadows", and ru ::: means "He who disperses them"&

shatkasampatti &

sheshen. (S. ātmaparityāga/dehadāna; T. rang gi lus yongs su gtong ba / lus kyi sbyin pa; J. shashin; K. sasin 捨身). In Chinese, lit. "relinquishing the body," viz., "self-immolation"; a whole complex of religiously motivated types of suicide in the MAHĀYĀNA tradition, of which "autocremation" (shaoshen) is best known but which may also include suicide by drowning, starvation, feeding oneself to wild animals, etc. (The Sanskrit ātmabhāvaparityāga means "giving up one's self," as soldiers might for their country, and by extension an act of extreme charity.) This practice is associated with the perfection of giving (DĀNAPĀRAMITĀ) that occurs on the first BHuMI, PRAMUDITĀ (joyful), of the bodhisattva path, where the bodhisattva learns to abandon everything that is most precious to him, including his wealth, his wife and family, and even his own body. Self-immolation is a common trope in Indian Mahāyāna literature, where this "gift of the body" (DEHADĀNA) is performed as an ultimate act of self-sacrifice. One of best-known examples is BHAIsAJYAGURURĀJA (Medicine King) in the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA, who pays homage to the buddhas by burning himself alive. Self-immolation goes back to at least the late-fourth century in Chinese Buddhism but is perhaps best known today through the suicides of such Vietnamese monks as THÍCH QUẢNG ĐỨC (1897-1963), whose autocremation in 1963 at his residence of THIÊN MỤ TỰ drew attention to the persecution of Buddhists by the pro-Catholic Vietnamese government of Ngô Đình Diẹm. The legitimacy of the act of self-immolation was a matter of continued debate within the Buddhist tradition, since suicide could be viewed as a form of attachment or passion (RĀGA), viz., the attachment to "nonexistence" (S. abhavarāga; C. wuyou ai). But there were also vehement supporters of self-immolation, who saw it as the consummate expression of asceticism (see DHUTAnGA) and selflessness (ANĀTMAN). The Chinese term sheshen is used interchangeably with the synonyms wangshen (to lose the body) and yishen (to let go of the body); an analogous Sanskrit term is svadehaparityāga (abandoning the body). See also DEHADĀNA.

shi 師. See GURU

Sikhism ::: A monotheistic dharmic religion based on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev.

siksamānā. (P. sikkhamānā; T. dge slob ma; C. shichamona; J. shikishamana; K. sikch'amana 式叉摩那). In Sanskrit, female "postulant," or "probationer"; one of the categories of ordained women. Prior to receiving the full ordination (UPASAMPADĀ) of a nun (BHIKsUnĪ), a female novice (sRĀMAnERIKĀ) was required to undergo a concurrent two-year period of probationary postulancy. During this period, she was expected to observe six specific rules of training (sIKsĀPADA): (1) abstention from killing, (2) abstention from stealing, (3) abstention from sexual activity, (4) abstention from false speech, (5) abstention from intoxicants, and (6) abstention from eating after midday. (As a srāmanerikā, she would also be expected to follow the usual set of ten precepts, or DAsAsĪLA, for novices, which subsume these six rules.) Only after completing this period would a srāmanerikā be allowed to take full ordination. This postulancy requirement was the sixth of the eight "weighty rules" (GURUDHARMA) that the Buddha imposed on nuns as a condition of establishing the nun's SAMGHA. Male novices (sRĀMAnERA) were not required to undergo such a probationary period of training.

siksamānāsaMvara. (T. dge slob ma'i sdom pa; C. shichamona jie; J. shikishamanakai; K. sikch'amana kye 式叉摩那戒). In Sanskrit, "restraints for a probationer"; the VINAYA rules to be followed by a female postulant (sIKsAMĀnĀ) during the probationary period before a female novice (sRĀMAnERIKĀ) received full ordination (UPASAMPADĀ) as a nun (BHIKsUnĪ). In conjunction with the typical set of ten precepts (DAsAsĪLA) taken by novices (subdivided into thirty-six separate rules in the MuLASARVĀSTIVĀDA school), these are six specific rules of training (sIKsĀPADA): (1) abstention from killing, (2) abstention from stealing, (3) abstention from sexual activity, (4) abstention from false speech, (5) abstention from intoxicants, and (6) abstention from eating after midday. This additional set of rules, which had to be followed for two years before full ordination was allowed, constituted the sixth of the eight "weighty rules" (GURUDHARMA) that the Buddha imposed on nuns as a condition of establishing the nun's SAMGHA. Some commentators say their purpose was to ensure that a probationer was not pregnant at the time of full ordination.

&

Sman gyi bla baidurya'i 'od kyi sngon gyi smon lam gyi khyad par rgyas pa'i mdo. See BHAIsAJYAGURUVAIduRYAPRABHĀRĀJASuTRA

sngon 'gro. (ngondro). In Tibetan, lit "going before," viz., "preliminary practices"; referring generally to practices that are performed in order to establish proper motivation, to purify the mind of afflictions, and to remove obstacles before embarking upon tantric practice. Although present in all sects of Tibetan Buddhism, "preliminary practices" are especially associated with the RNYING MA and BKA' BRGYUD sects. One of the most famous presentations of the preliminary practices is found in the nineteenth-century Rnying ma pa work, the KUN BZANG BLA MA'I ZHAL LUNG ("Words of My Perfect Teacher") by DPAL SPRUL RIN PO CHE. The text first sets forth the "common preliminaries," reflections on central points of Buddhist doctrine, intended to turn one's interests away from SAMSĀRA and toward the wish for liberation from rebirth. These are: (1) the rarity of human birth, (2) the uncertainty of the time of death, (3) the causes and effect of actions, (4) and the sufferings incumbent in the six rebirth destinies (GATI) of SAMSĀRA. The "uncommon preliminary practice" entail the accumulation of a specific number (usually one hundred thousand) of specific practices. It is these practices that are intended to purify afflictions and remove obstacles. These are (1) recitation of the refuge formula while performing a hundred thousand prostrations; (2) cultivation of BODHICITTA (often in the form of a hundred thousand repetitions of a prayer); (3) recitation of the hundred-syllable MANTRA of the buddha VAJRASATTVA; (4) a hundred thousand offerings of a MAndALA; (5) the practice of GURU yoga through a hundred thousand repetitions of the name mantra of the guru. In each case, these practices are to be performed with the appropriate visualization. In order to complete the uncommon preliminary practices, disciples would often go on retreat, during which they would devote all their time to the practices.

sodasasthavira. (T. gnas brtan bcu drug; C. shiliu zunzhe; J. jurokusonja; K. simnyuk chonja 十六尊者). In Sanskrit, "the sixteen elders" (most commonly known in the East Asian tradition as the "sixteen ARHATs"); a group of sixteen venerated arhat (C. LUOHAN) disciples of the Buddha whom the Buddha orders to forgo NIRVĀnA and to continue to dwell in this world in order to preserve the Buddhist teachings until the coming of the future buddha, MAITREYA. Each of these arhats is assigned an (often mythical) residence and a retinue of disciples. With Maitreya's advent, they will gather the relics of the current buddha sĀKYAMUNI and erect one last STuPA to hold them, after which they will finally pass into PARINIRVĀnA. The sāriputraparipṛcchā ("Sutra on sāriputra's Questions"), which was translated at least by the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420 CE) but may date closer to the beginning of the millennium, mentions four great monks (mahā-BHIKsU) to whom the Buddha entrusted the propagation of the teachings after his death: MAHĀKĀsYAPA, PIndOLA, Kundovahan (C. Juntoupohan, "Holder of the Mongoose," apparently identical to BAKKULA), and RĀHULA. The MILE XIASHENG JING ("Sutra on the Advent of Maitreya"), translated in 303 CE by DHARMARAKsA, states instead that the Buddha instructed these same four monks to wait until after the buddhadharma of the current dispensation was completely extinct before entering PARINIRVĀnA. The sāriputraparipṛcchā's account is also found in the FAHUA WENJU by TIANTAI ZHIYI (538-597) of the Sui dynasty. The Mahāyānāvatāra (C. Ru dasheng lun; "Entry into the Mahāyāna"), a treatise written by Sāramati (C. Jianyi) and translated into Chinese c. 400 CE by Daotai of the Northern Liang dynasty (397-439) first mentions "sixteen" great disciples (mahā-sRĀVAKA) who disperse throughout the world to preserve the Buddha's teachings after his death, but does not name them. Indeed, it is not until the Tang dynasty that the full list of sixteen disciples who preserve the buddhadharma is first introduced into the Chinese tradition. This complete list first appears in the Nandimitrāvadāna (Da aluohan Nantimiduo luo suoshuo fazhu ji, abbr. Fazhu ji, "Record of the Duration of the Dharma Spoken by the Great Arhat NANDIMITRA"), which was translated by XUANZANG in 654 CE. (Nandimitra [C. Qingyou zunzhe] was born in the second century CE in Sri Lanka.) This text tells the story of the Buddha's special charge to this group of elders and offers each of their names, residences, and numbers of disciples. JINGQI ZHANRAN's (711-782) Fahua wenju ji, a commentary to TIANTAI ZHIYI's (538-597) FAHUA WENJU, also cites an account from the apocryphal Ratnameghasutra (Bao yun jing) that the Buddha charged sixteen "worthy ones" (S. arhat; C. luohan) with preserving the BUDDHADHARMA until the advent of Maitreya, after which they could then enter parinirvāna. Zhanran's citation of this sutra gives the names of each of the sixteen arhats, along with their residence and the number of their followers; but while Pindola's and Rāhula's names are included in the sixteen, Mahākāsyapa is not mentioned. According to the Xuanhe huapu ("The Xuanhe Chronology of Painting"), the earliest Chinese iconography showing a group of sixteen disciples probably dates to the Liang dynasty (502-557), when ZHANG SENGYAO (d.u.; fl c. 502-549) first painted a rendering of the sodasasthavira. After the Nandimitrāvadāna was translated into Chinese in the middle of the seventh century, the group of sixteen elders became so universally revered within China that many verses, paintings, and sculptures were dedicated to them. As a group, they appear frequently in East Asian monastic art, each arhat specifically identified by his unique (and often wildly exaggerated) physical characteristics. The most renowned such painting was made at the end of the ninth century by the monk CHANYUE GUANXIU (832-912); his work became the standard presentation of the sixteen. His vivid portrayal of the arhats offers an extreme, stylized rendition of how the Chinese envisioned "Indians" (fan) or "Westerners" (hu). He gives each of his subjects a distinctive bearing and deportment and unique phrenological features and physical characteristics; these features are subsequently repeated routinely in the Chinese artistic tradition. The standard roster of arhats now recognized in the East Asian tradition, in their typical order, are (1) PIndOLA BHĀRADVĀJA; (2) KANAKAVATSA; (3) KANAKA BHĀRADVĀJA; (4) SUBINDA [alt. Suvinda]; (5) BAKKULA [alt. Bākula, Nakula]; (6) BHADRA; (7) KĀLIKA [alt. Karīka]; (8) VAJRAPUTRA; (9) JĪVAKA; (10) PANTHAKA; (11) RĀHULA; (12) NĀGASENA; (13) AnGAJA; (14) VANAVĀSIN; (15) AJITA; (16) CudAPANTHAKA. Sometime before the Song dynasty, the Chinese occasionally added two extra arhats to the roster, possibly in response to Daoist configurations of teachers, giving a total of eighteen. The most common of these additional members were Nandimitra (the putative subject of the text in which the protectors are first mentioned by name) and Pindola Bhāradvāja (another transcription of the arhat who already appears on the list), although Mahākāsyapa also frequently appears. The Tibetan tradition adds still other figures. In a standard form of the Tibetan ritual, the sixteen elders are listed as Angaja, Ajita, Vanavāsin, Kālika, Vajraputra, Bhadra, Kanakavatsa, Kanaka Bhāradvāja, Bakkula, Rāhula, Cudapanthaka, Pindola Bhāradvāja, Panthaka, Nāgasena, GOPAKA (Sbed byed), and Abheda (Mi phyed pa). They are visualized together with sākyamuni Buddha whose teaching they have been entrusted to protect, their benefactor the layman (UPĀSAKA) Dharmatāla [alt. Dharmatāra, Dharmatrāta], and the four great kings (CATURMAHĀRĀJA) VAIsRAVAnA [alt. Kubera], DHṚTARĀstRA, VIRudHAKA, and VIRuPĀKsA. Each of the elders is described as having a particular scroll, begging bowl, staff, and so on, and in a particular posture with a set number of arhats. They come miraculously from their different sacred abodes, assemble, are praised, and worshipped with the recitation of the bodhisattva SAMANTABHADRA's ten vows in the BHADRACARĪPRAnIDHĀNA. Then, with solemn requests to protect the dispensation by watching over the lives of the gurus, they are requested to return to their respective homelands. In other rituals, one finds BUDAI heshang (Cloth-Bag Monk, viz., AnGAJA), the Buddha's mother, Queen MĀYĀ, and his successor, Maitreya; or the two ancient Indian Buddhist sages "Subduer of Dragons" (C. Xianglong) and "Subduer of Lions" (C. Fuhu). See also LUOHAN; and individual entries on each of the sixteen arhats/sthaviras.

  “Soma was never given in days of old to the non-initiated Brahman — the simple Grihasta, or priest of the exoteric ritual. Thus Brihaspati — ‘guru of the gods’ though he was — still represented the dead-letter form of worship. It is Tara his wife — the symbol of one who, though wedded to dogmatic worship, longs for true wisdom — who is shown as initiated into his mysteries by King Soma, the giver of that Wisdom. Soma is thus made in the allegory to carry her away. The result of this is the birth of Budha — esoteric Wisdom — (Mercury, or Hermes in Greece and Egypt). He is represented as ‘so beautiful,’ that even the husband, though well aware that Budha is not the progeny of his dead-letter worship — claims the ‘new-born’ as his Son, the fruit of his ritualistic and meaningless forms. Such is, in brief, one of the meanings of the allegory” (SD 2:498-9).

  “Soma was never given in days of old to the non-initiated Brahman — the simple Grihasta, or priest of the exoteric ritual. Thus Brihaspati — ‘guru of the gods’ though he was — still represented the dead-letter form of worship. It is Tara his wife — the symbol of one who, though wedded to dogmatic worship, longs for true wisdom — who is shown as initiated into his mysteries by King Soma, the giver of that Wisdom. Soma is thus made in the allegory to carry her away. The result of this is the birth of Budha — esoteric Wisdom — (Mercury, or Hermes in Greece and Egypt.) He is represented as ‘so beautiful,’ that even the husband, though well aware that Budha is not the progeny of his dead-letter worship — claims the ‘new-born’ as his Son, the fruit of this ritualistic and meaningless forms. Such is, in brief, one of the meanings of the allegory” (SD 2:498-9).

Sometimes it comes of itself with the deepening of the conscious- ness by bhakti or otherwise, sometimes it comes by practice — a sort of referring the matter and listening for the answer. It does not mean that the answer comes necessarily in the shape of words, spoken or unspoken, though it does sometimes or for some it can take any shape. The main difficulty for many is to be sure of the right answer. For that it is necessary to be able to contact the consciousness of the Guru inwardly — that comes best by bhakti. Otherwise, the attempt to get the feeling from within by practice may become a delicate and ticklish job.

source of all good bits "jargon, job" A person from whom (or a place from which) useful information may be obtained. If you need to know about a program, a {guru} might be the source of all good bits. The title is often applied to a particularly competent secretary. [{Jargon File}] (2001-01-27)

source of all good bits ::: (jargon, job) A person from whom (or a place from which) useful information may be obtained. If you need to know about a program, a guru might be the source of all good bits. The title is often applied to a particularly competent secretary.[Jargon File](2001-01-27)

sraddha. ::: earnestness; faith; faith in the scriptures and the Guru; confidence or assurance that arises from personal experience

Srastara (Sanskrit) Srastara A couch or sofa for reclining; “consisting of a mat or a tiger’s skin, strewn with darbha, kusa and other grasses, used by ascetics — gurus and chelas — and spread on the floor” (TG 307).

sravana &

Sri Aurobindo: "To act according to a standard of Truth or a rule or law of action (dharma) or in obedience to a superior authority or to the highest principles discovered by the reason and intelligent will and not according to one"s own fancy, vital impulses and desires. In yoga obedience to the Guru or to the Divine and the law of the Truth as declared by the Guru is the foundation of discipline.” *Letters on Yoga

Stag lung. (Taklung). The central Tibetan monastic seat of the STAG LUNG subsect of the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Originally founded north of LHA SA in 1180 by STAG LUNG THANG PA BKRA SHIS DPAL, the monastery flourished under the guidance of his successors Sku yal ba Rin chen mgon po (Kuyalwa Rinchen Gonpo, 1191-1236) and Sangs rgyas yar byon (Sangye Yarjon, 1203-1272; also known as PrajNāguru). Under the latter's stewardship, Stag lung attained considerable power within the SA SKYA-Mongol political structure at the Yuan court. Together with his disciple and eventual successor Mangalaguru (T. Bkra shis bla ma, 1231-1297), he forged close ties with the Sa skya hierarch 'PHAGS PA BLO GROS RGYAL MTSHAN and towards the end of his life entrusted the monastery's welfare and security to the Sa skya prelate. Stag lung was renowned for its strict adherence to monastic discipline as well as for its prodigious atelier, which produced some of central Tibet's finest paintings of the period. During its peak, the monastic population grew to some seven thousand monks. At that time, the saying originated that monks of other monasteries were "unable to rival even a dog of Stag lung." After Sangs rgyas yar byon's death, the throne fell briefly to his nephew Sangs rgyas dbon (Sangye Won, 1250/1-1296, better known as Dbon po bla ma). Sangs rgyas dbon was compelled to flee into exile after a single year, due to Mangalaguru's close ties with the politically powerful 'Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan. In 1276, Sangs rgyas dbon established a new seat for the Stag lung bka' brgyud tradition at RI BO CHE monastery in the eastern Tibetan region of Khams. This eventually came to eclipse the original monastery in importance. From the sixteenth century onwards, Stag lung was increasingly influenced by officials from SE RA and 'BRAS SPUNGS monasteries in LHA SA. Stag lung monastery was completely destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Sudoksa. (修德寺). In Korean, "Cultivating Merit Monastery"; the seventh district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on the slopes of Toksung (Virtue Exalted) mountain in South Ch'ungch'ong province. According to Sudoksa's monastic records, the monastery was first constructed at the end of the Paekche dynasty by Sungje (d.u.). During the reign of the Paekche king Mu (r. 600-641) the monk Hyehyon (d.u.) is said to have lectured there on the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"). Alternate records state, however, that the monastery was founded by Chimyong (d.u.) during the reign of the Paekche king Pop (r. 599-600). The monastery was subsequently repaired by the renowned Koryo-dynasty Son monk NAONG HYEGŬN (1320-1376), and since that time Sudoksa has been one of the major centers of SoN (C. CHAN) practice in Korea. Sudoksa is best known for its TAEUNG CHoN, the main shrine hall. The taeung chon was rebuilt in 1308 and is presumed to be the oldest wooden building in Korea, having been spared the conflagrations that struck many Korean monasteries during the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions (1592-1598). It was constructed in the Chusimp'o style, so that its support pillars are wider in the middle than they are at the bottom or top. The Tap'o-style bracketing, imported from Fujian during the Southern Song dynasty, is similar to other Koryo-era monasteries, such as Pongjongsa and PUSoKSA. Inside the hall are images of three buddhas, sĀKYAMUNI, AMITĀBHA and BHAIsAJYAGURU, and two bodhisattvas, MANJUsRĪ and SAMANTABHADRA. Paintings depict KsITIGARBHA, the ten kings of hell (see SHIWANG; YAMA), and some indigenous Korean divinities. Many of the oldest original wall paintings were damaged during the Korean War and have now been removed to the safety of the monastery's museum. The courtyard holds two STuPAs, a three-story stone pagoda probably from the Koryo dynasty, and an older seven-story granite pagoda from the late Paekche dynasty, with typical upward curving corners. There is a thirty-three foot high statue of Maitreya a short walk up the mountain; the statue is unusual in that it is wearing Korean clothes, including a double cylindrical hat. It was erected by the Son master MAN'GONG WoLMYoN (1872-1946), one of the renowned Son teachers of the modern era who taught at Sudoksa; other famous masters associated with the monastery include KYoNGHo SoNGU (1849-1912), the nun KIM IRYoP (1869-1971), and Hyeam Hyonmun (1884-1985). Sudoksa recently opened a museum near its entrance to hold the large number of important historical artistic and written works the monastery owns, such as the exquisite wall paintings that formerly were located in the taeung chon. In 1996, Sudoksa was elevated to the status of an ecumenical monastery (CH'ONGNIM), and is one of the five such centers in the contemporary Chogye order, which are all expected to provide training in the full range of practices that exemplify the major strands of the Korean Buddhist tradition; the monastery is thus also known as the Toksung Ch'ongnim.

Taehŭngsa. (大興寺). In Korean, "Monastery of Great Flourishing"; the twenty-second district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Turyun Mountain in near Haenam County in South Cholla province. According to memorial stele erected for early Koryo-dynasty monks, the monastery was founded some time before 900 CE, perhaps by either Chonggwan (fl. c. 426) or TOSoN (827-898). During the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions of the late sixteenth century, the monk CH'oNGHo HYUJoNG (1520-1604), also known as SoSAN TAESA, led a monastic militia based at the monastery in fighting the Japanese. After the fighting ended in 1598, Sosan proclaimed that Taehŭngsa would never be touched by the "three disasters" (samjae) of flood, fire, or wind, and it was in part due to his efforts that Taehŭngsa became an important Buddhist center. Sosan requested that his personal belongings be kept there even after his death, and today his calligraphy, portrait, robe, and bowls can be seen in the monastery's museum. A famous resident was the Son master CH'OŬI ŬISUN (1786-1866), the eighteenth-century reviver of the tea traditions of Korea, who developed the tea ceremony as a form of religious practice and is known for synthesizing the tea ceremony and Son practice, as exemplified in his slogan ta Son ilmi (tea and Son are a single taste). The monastery's main shrine hall (TAEŬNG CHoN) is approached by use of the Sinjin Bridge and enshrines images of sĀKYAMUNI, AMITĀBHA, and BHAIsAJYAGURU. Taehŭngsa is also known for its Ch'onbul chon, "Thousand-Buddha Hall," which enshrines a thousand miniature jade statues of the Buddha, all carved in Kyongju about 250 years ago. There is a story that the ship transporting the buddha images was hijacked by Japanese pirates, but the pirates later had a dream in which the Buddha severely admonished them and voluntarily returned the statues to Taehŭngsa. The grounds of the monastery also include a three-story stone pagoda from the Koryo dynasty, which is said to have held relics (K. sari; S. sARĪRA) of the Buddha brought to Korea by the VINAYA master CHAJANG (608-686). A five-inch (twelve-cm) high, seated bronze Buddha was found inside the base during repairs in 1967 to one of the other three-story pagodas, which appears to date back to the Silla dynasty. A seated MAITREYA Buddha is carved on a rock at Taehŭngsa, which is dated to the early Koryo dynasty. Taehŭngsa is also the home of a highly decorated bronze bell formerly owned by T'apsansa, which is held aloft by a hook shaped like a dragon.

Taehyon. [alt. T'aehyon] (C. Daxian/Taixian; J. Daiken/Taigen 大賢/太賢) (d.u.; fl. c. mid-eighth century). In Korean, "Great/Grand Sagacity"; Silla-dynasty monk during the reign of king Kyongdok (r. 742-765) and reputed founder of the Yuga (YOGĀCĀRA) tradition in Korea; also known as Ch'onggu Samun ("Green Hill [viz., Korea] sRAMAnA") and often referred to as Yuga cho, "Patriarch of Yogācāra," due to his mastery of that school's complex doctrine. As one of the three most productive scholars of the Silla Buddhist tradition, Taehyon is matched in his output only by WoNHYO (617-686) and Kyonghŭng (fl. c. eighth century). Although renowned for his mastery of Yogācāra doctrine, his fifty-two works, in over one hundred rolls, cover a broad range of Buddhist doctrinal material, including Yogācāra, MADHYAMAKA, Hwaom (C. HUAYAN ZONG), and bodhisattva-precept texts. It is presumed that Taehyon was a disciple of WoNCH'ŬK's (613-696) student Tojŭng (d.u.), and that his scholastic positions were therefore close to those of the Ximing school, a lineage of FAXIANG ZONG thought that derived from Wonch'ŭk; their connection remains, however, a matter of debate. Taehyon's Song yusik non hakki ("Study Notes to the CHENG WEISHI LUN [*VijNaptimātratāsiddhi-sāstra]") (six rolls), the only complete Korean commentary on the Cheng weishi lun that is still extant, is particularly important because of its copious citation of the works of contemporary Yogācāra exegetes, such as KUIJI (632-682) and Wonch'ŭk. Taehyon appears to have been influenced by the preeminent Silla scholiast Wonhyo, since Taehyon accepts in his Taesŭng kisin non naeŭi yak tamgi ("Brief Investigation of the Inner Meaning of the DASHENG QIXIN LUN") Wonhyo's ecumenical (HWAJAENG) perspective on the "Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna." Although Taehyon never traveled abroad, his works circulated throughout East Asia and were commented upon by both Chinese and Japanese exegetes. His Pommang kyong kojokki ("Record of Old Traces of the FANWANG JING"), for example, was widely consulted in Japan and more than twenty commentaries on Taehyon's text were composed by Japanese monks, including EISON (1201-1290) and GYoNEN (1240-1321). Unfortunately, only five of Taehyon's works are extant; in addition to the above three texts, these are his Yaksa ponwon kyong kojokki ("Record of Old Traces of the BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA") and Pommang kyong posalgyebon chongyo ("Doctrinal Essentials of the Bodhisattva's Code of Morality from the 'Sutra of Brahmā's Net'").

t'aenghwa. (幀). In Korean, lit. "painting"; referring to the large "hanging paintings" painted on cloth or paper, which are hung on the inside walls of Korean shrine halls or behind buddha images on the altars. The term t'aenghwa may have been in use since the Koryo dynasty (918-1392), since a painting from 1306 includes the Sinograph t'aeng in its title. Because of their vulnerability to fire, most extant t'aenghwa date from the seventeenth century onward, the period following the depredations caused by the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions (1592-1598) of the Korean peninsula. T'aenghwa tend to depict different arrangements of various buddhas, BODHISATTVAs, and ARHATs, with guardians illustrated around the perimeter of the painting. Although t'aenghwa are usually painted in full color, it is possible to find them in various restrained formats such as gold and white on a black or red background; in this type, the lines are generally drawn in gold, while the skin is painted in white. There are no examples of this restrained type of t'aenghwa before the late 1800s. In main shrine halls, t'aenghwa tend to come in sets of three, with a main painting behind the central image and accompanying paintings on the walls to the left and right of the altar. Popular themes for such central t'aenghwa include the Buddha lecturing at Vulture Peak (GṚDHRAKutAPARVATA), the PURE LAND of AMITĀBHA, the medicine buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU with the twelve zodiacal signs, and stories from Buddhist history. The t'aenghwa on the right is usually the "host of spirits" (SINJUNG) hanging painting, and shows the LOKAPĀLAs, with the dharma protector KUMĀRABHuTA (K. Tongjin) prominently featured. Kumārabhuta is typically portrayed wearing a grand, feathered headdress accompanied by over a dozen associates, who aid him in protecting the religion. The t'aenghwa on the left often commemorates the deceased and features the bodhisattva KsITIGARBHA, who has vowed to rescue all beings from the hells. Sometimes monasteries with restricted budgets or space will use t'aenghwa without accompanying statues, especially for the t'aenghwas to the left and right. T'aenghwa in smaller shrine halls may include paintings of the mountain spirit (K. sansin), the guardian kings, and the seven star (ch'ilsong; see BEIDOU QIXING) spirits of the Big Dipper. ¶ Large hanging t'aenghwa, which were traditionally displayed outdoors during Buddhist ceremonies, are known as KWAEBUL. Kwaebul are generally twenty-five to forty feet (eight to twelve m.) high, although one at SSANGGYESA is fifty feet (fifteen m.) in height. Kwaebul with a depiction of a standing MAITREYA are common. The kwaebul are displayed on the Buddha's birthday and during rites such as YoNGSANJAE, as well as for the funerals of important monks. Kwaebul are the equivalent of the Tibetan THANG KA and were especially popular in the seventeenth century.

Tai Si tu incarnations. An influential incarnation (SPRUL SKU) lineage in the KARMA BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Tai Si tu incarnations are traditionally venerated as emanations of the future buddha MAITREYA and, according to Tibetan sources, early members of the line include the Indian MAHĀSIDDHA dOMBĪ HERUKA and the Tibetans MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS and TĀRANĀTHA. As one of the leading incarnate lamas of the Karma bka' brgyud, the Si tu incarnations traditionally maintained a close relationship with the KARMA PAs, the sect's spiritual leader; indeed, the two often alternated as guru and disciple. The first of the line, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (Chokyi Gyaltsen, 1377-1448), trained under the fifth Karma pa and in 1407 received the honorary title from the Ming Emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1425). Perhaps most famous in the lineage is the eighth Si tu, CHOS KYI 'BYUNG GNAS, who is renowned for his erudition and literary accomplishments. The Tai Si tu lineage includes:

tantric vows. (T. rig 'dzin gyi sdom pa; *vidyādharasaMvara). Any of a number of vows taken as part of a tantric initiation and to be maintained as part of tantric practice. Many tantras list disparate sets of rules, the best known being that found in the Rgyud rdo rje rtse mo (the Tibetan version of the VAJRAsEKHARASuTRA, a SARVATATHĀGATATATTVASAMGRAHA explanatory tantra). Such texts enumerate "restraints" or "vows" (SAMVARA) and pledges (SAMAYA) connected with the five buddha families (BUDDHAKULA; PANCATATHĀGATA), and possibly an ordination and confession ceremony modeled on the PRĀTIMOKsA. These disparate rules were later codified more systematically in a number of tantric texts: the so-called root infractions in the Vajrayānamulāpatti attributed to AsVAGHOsA, and an even shorter list of secondary vows in the Vajrayānasthulāpatti attributed to NĀGĀRJUNA. In addition, rules of deportment toward the guru were set forth in works such as the GURUPANCĀsIKĀ ("Fifty Stanzas on the Guru"), also attributed to Asvaghosa. In Tibet, these rules were codified and commented on at length in the "three vow" (SDOM GSUM) literature. The "root infractions" are the following: (1) to disparage the guru, (2) to overstep the words of the buddhas, (3) to be cruel to one's VAJRA siblings (disciples of the same guru), (4) to abandon love for sentient beings, (5) to abandon the two types of BODHICITTA, (6) to disparage the doctrines of one's own and others' schools, (7) to proclaim secrets to the unripened, (8) to scorn the aggregates, (9) to have doubts about the essential purity of all phenomena, (10) to show affection to the wicked, (11) to have false views about emptiness, (12) to disillusion the faithful, (13) not to rely on the pledges, and (14) to disparage women. It is noteworthy that, unlike the prātimoksa, the infractions here involve attitudes and beliefs, in addition to transgressions of body and speech. It was generally said that receiving the bodhisattva vows was a prerequisite for receiving tantric vows; the prior receipt of prātimoksa precepts was optional. In expositions of the "three vows," tantric vows are the third, after the prātimoksa precepts and the bodhisattva precepts. Especially in Tibet there is extensive discussion of the compatibility of the three sets of vows. See also TRISAMVARA.

Teachers succeed one another and thus pass on the teachings from age to age; as in the succession of the buddhas and especially of the bodhisattvas in Buddhism; the guruparampara chain in Brahmanism; and even in exoteric life in ancient times, and in far less degree, there were the hierophants in the various Mystery schools, such as in the Eleusinia.

TELNET ::: /tel'net/ 1. The Internet standard protocol for remote login. Runs on top of TCP/IP. Defined in STD 8, RFC 854 and extended with options by many other RFCs. and acts as a terminal emulator for the remote login session. Sometimes abbreviated to TN. TOPS-10 had a similar program called IMPCOM.2. The US nationwide network into which one dials to access CompuServe. It was created by John Goltz, one of the founders and system guru of CompuServe. He later worked for Tymshare, one of CompuServe's big competitors.[Jargon File](2004-09-14)

TELNET /tel'net/ 1. The {Internet} {standard} {protocol} for remote login. Runs on top of {TCP/IP}. Defined in {STD} 8, {RFC 854} and extended with options by many other RFCs. {Unix} {BSD} networking software includes a program, telnet, which uses the protocol and acts as a {terminal emulator} for the remote login session. Sometimes abbreviated to TN. {TOPS-10} had a similar program called {IMPCOM}. 2. The US nationwide network into which one dials to access {CompuServe}. It was created by John Goltz, one of the founders and system {guru} of {CompuServe}. He later worked for {Tymshare}, one of CompuServe's big competitors. [{Jargon File}] (2004-09-14)

:::   "The Guru is the Guide in the yoga. When the Divine is accepted as the Guide, He is accepted as the Guru.” *Letters on Yoga

“The Guru is the Guide in the yoga. When the Divine is accepted as the Guide, He is accepted as the Guru.” Letters on Yoga

  “ ‘The Guru of the Daityas is the Guardian Spirit of the Earth and Men. Every change on Sukra is felt on, and reflected by, the Earth.’

The first incarnation, 'Jigs med phrin las 'od zer (Jikme Tinle Öser), was born in the Rdo valley of Mgo log, in eastern Tibet, and for this reason was later known as Rdo grub chen, the "great adept (grub chen) of Rdo." Despite the fact that he was not recognized as an incarnate lama (SPRUL SKU) at a young age, his youth is described as having been filled with visionary experiences of his past lives. He spent his early life studying under numerous masters throughout eastern, central, and southern Tibet, although it was only at the age of forty-one that he met his principal GURU, 'Jigs med gling pa, from whom he received the entire RNYING MA transmissions of BKA' MA and GTER MA and by whom he was certified as the principal lineage holder of the klong chen snying thig tradition. His fame as a spiritual luminary spread and traveled widely among the great monastic communities of eastern Tibet, teaching many of the great Rnying ma masters of his day and establishing the monastic center of Yar klungs Padma bkod in eastern Tibet. The second incarnation, 'Jigs med phun tshogs 'byung gnas (Jikme Puntsok Jungne), was known for his ability to perform miraculous feats, and he continued many of the traditions of his predecessor. He also laid the foundations for what would later become the famed Rdo grub chen monastery. The third incarnation, 'Jigs med bstan pa'i nyi ma (Jikme Tenpe Nyima), was born into a prominent family in the Mgo log region of eastern Tibet: his father was Bdud 'joms gling pa (1835-1903), a famed treasure revealer (GTER STON), and his seven younger brothers were all recognized as incarnate lamas. He studied under many great Rnying ma masters, including DPAL SPRUL RIN PO CHE and 'JAM DBYANGS MKHYEN BRTSE DBANG PO. Two individuals were recognized as the fourth incarnation and were enthroned simultaneously at Rdo grub chen monastery in about 1930. They continued their education together until the age of twenty. The first, Rig 'dzin bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, was imprisoned during the Chinese invasion of Tibet and died in a prison labor camp. In 1957, the second incarnation, Thub bstan phrin las dpal bzang, escaped into exile in Sikkim where he established a permanent residence. He later became a representative at the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology in Gangtok and traveled widely throughout Europe and the United States.

The most important thing for this purifiration of the heart is an absolute sincerity. No pretence with oneself, no conceal- ment from the Divine, or oneself, or the Guru, a straight look at one’s movements, a straight will to make them strai^t.

The name especially given to the sacred scriptures of the Sikhs. These were originally compiled in 1604 by the fifth Sikh guru, Arjan, and consisted of hymns of the first five gurus and of saints of different religions and castes. In 1705-6 Govindsingh, the tenth and last guru, added the hymns of the ninth guru and enjoined that after him the Grantha would take the place of the guru. The theme of the hymns is the union of the human soul with the divine through transcending of egoism.

The psychic being gives true bhakti for God or for the Guru.

There intervenes, third, uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience, the direct suggestion, example and influence of the Teacher — guru. Last comes the instru- mentality of Time — kala ; for in all things there is a cycle of thtit action and a period of the dWine movement.

The touch of grace, divine grace, coming directly or through the Guru is a special phenomenon having two sides to it, — the grace of the Guru or the Divine, in fact both together, on one side and a “ state of grace ” in the disciple on the other.

The usual rule is that one should not speak of one’s experience to others except of course the Guru while the sadhana is going on because it wastes the experience, there is what they call k4aya • of the tapasyS. It is only long past experiences that they speak of and even that not too freely.

This decisive touch comes most easily to the baby cat ” people, those who have at some point between the psychic and the emotional vital a quick and decisive movement of surrender to the Guru or the Divine. I have seen that when that is there and there is the conscious central dependence compelling the mind also and the rest of the vital, then the fundamental diffi- culty disappears. If others remain they are not felt as difficulties, but simply as things that have just to be done and need cause no worry. Sometimes no tapasya is necessary — one just refers things to the Power that one feels guiding or doing the sadhana and assents to its action, rejecting all that is contrary to it, and the Power removes what has to be removed or changes what

“To act according to a standard of Truth or a rule or law of action (dharma) or in obedience to a superior authority or to the highest principles discovered by the reason and intelligent will and not according to one’s own fancy, vital impulses and desires. In yoga obedience to the Guru or to the Divine and the law of the Truth as declared by the Guru is the foundation of discipline.” Letters on Yoga

Tonghwasa. (桐華寺). In Korean, "Paulownia Flower Monastery"; the ninth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Mount P'algong near the city of Taegu. The monastery was founded by the monk Kŭktal (d.u.) in 493, during of the reign of the Silla king Soji (r. 479-500), and was originally called Yugasa (Yoga monastery). When the royal preceptor (wangsa) Simji (d.u.) reconstructed the monastery in 832, Paulownia trees miraculously bloomed in the middle of the winter, so it was renamed Paulownia Flower monastery (Tonghwasa). The monastery was reconstructed several times: in 934, by a late-Silla monk; in 1190, by the mid-Koryo reformer POJO CHINUL (1158-1210); and in 1298 by the state preceptor (K. kuksa; C. GUOSHI) Hongjin (1228-1294). In 1606, following the depradations of the Japanese Hideyoshi invasions, the Son master SAMYoNG YUJoNG (1544-1610) again reconstructed the monastery. The monastery contains many hermitages, including Kŭmdangam, Piroam, Naewonam, Pudoam, Yangjinam, and Yomburam. During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), Tonghwasa was designated one of the thirty-one head monasteries (PONSA) and it managed fifty-five branch temples (malsa). The monastery contains many cultural treasures, including the three-story pagodas at Piroam, the seated image of MAHĀVAIROCANA, and the seated image of the buddha carved into the cliff face. A more recent addition to the monastery campus is a massive fifty-five foot (seventeen meter) standing image of the healing buddha BHAIsAJYAGURU.

Toshodaiji. (唐招提寺). In Japanese, "Monastery for a Tang Wanderer"; located in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara and the head monastery of the VINAYA school (J. Risshu). Toshodaiji was originally a residence for Prince Niitabe, who donated it to the Tang-Chinese monk GANJIN (C. Jianzhen; 688-763), the founder of the vinaya school (RISSHu) in Japan. Ganjin came to Japan in 759 at the invitation of two Japanese monks who had studied with him in China at his home monastery of Damingsi (J. Daimyoji) in present-day Yangzhou. Ganjin tried to reach Japan five times before finally succeeding; then sixty-six and blind, he established an ordination platform at ToDAIJI before moving to Toshodaiji, where he passed away in 763. The monastery's name thus refers to Ganjin, a "wandering monk from Tang." The kondo, the golden hall that is the monastery's main shrine, was erected after Ganjin's death and finished around 781, followed three decades later by the monastery's five-story pagoda, which was finished in 810. The kondo is one of the few Nara-period temple structures that has survived and is one of the reasons why the monastery is so prized. It was built in the Yosemune style, with a colonnade with eight pillars, and enshrines three main images: the cosmic buddha VAIROCANA at the center, flanked by BHAIsAJYAGURU, and a thousand-armed AVALOKITEsVARA (see SĀHASRABHUJASĀHASRANETRĀVALOKITEsVARA), only 953 of which remain today, with images of BRAHMĀ and INDRA at the sides and statues of the four heavenly king protectors of Buddhism standing in each corner. The kodo, or lecture hall, was moved to the monastery from Heijo Palace and is the only extant structure that captures the style of a Tenpyo palace; it houses a statue of the bodhisattva MAITREYA. A kyozo, or SuTRA repository, holds the old library. The monastery also includes a treasure repository, a bell tower, and an ordination platform in the lotus pond. In 763, as Ganjin's death neared, he had a memorial statue of himself made and installed in his quarters at Toshodaiji. This dry-lacquer statue of a meditating Ganjin is enshrined today in the mieido (image hall), but is brought out for display only on his memorial days of June 5-7 each year; it is the oldest example in Japan of such a memorial statue. Toshodaiji was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

Udara Ramaputra (Sanskrit) Udāra rāmaputra The illustrious Ramaputra or Rudraka, one of the gurus of Gautama Buddha.

upadesa. ::: "of this instruction"; the spiritual guidance or teaching given by a Guru; spiritual instruction; teaching; initiation

Upadhyaya (Sanskrit) Upādhyāya [from upa near, according to + adhi above + the verbal root i to go] He who makes go (i.e., learn) according to, a standard of truth or doctrine; a spiritual guide, preceptor, leader, or guru.

Usanas (Sanskrit) Uśanas [from the verbal root vaś to desire, wish] The regent of the planet Venus, or Sukra; also the planet itself. In Hindu myth Usanas is described as the guru of the daityas or asuras, and also as being possessed of vast wisdom and knowledge — the attribute of spiritualized intellectuality corresponding to occult characteristics ascribed to the regent of Venus.

vajrācārya. (T. rdo rje slob dpon; C. jingang asheli/jingangshi; J. kongoajari/kongoshi; K. kŭmgang asari/kŭmgangsa 金剛阿闍梨/金剛師). In Sanskrit, "VAJRA master"; referring to a tantric GURU (BLA MA) who has mastered the tantric arts, received the appropriate initiations, and is qualified to confer initiations and dispense tantric teachings. He is traditionally listed as having ten qualities. ¶ The title vajrācārya is also awarded to a person who has received a specific set of initiations (ABHIsEKA) in the ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA systems. Although numerous variations occur, the main sequence of initiations in KRIYĀTANTRA, CARYĀTANTRA, and YOGATANTRA are (1) the water initiation (udakābhiseka), (2) the crown initiation (mukutābhiseka), (3) the VAJRA initiation (vajrābhiseka), (4) the bell initiation (ghantābhiseka), and (5) the name initiation (nāmābhiseka). One who has received these initiations is regarded as a vajrācārya. In the yogatantras, an additional initiation, called the vajrācārya initiation (vajrācāryābhiseka), is bestowed. In the anuttarayoga systems, this set of five or six is often condensed into one, becoming the first of four initiations, called the vajrācārya initiation or the vase initiation (KALAsĀBHIsEKA). ¶ In the Newar Buddhism of Nepal, the name vajrācārya is also used by an endogamous caste of lay priests who perform a wide variety of rituals for the Buddhist community, including life-cycle rites, fire rituals, temple rituals, protective rites. They also perform tantric initiation for high-caste members of the Newar community. According to the anuttarayoga systems, one becomes a vajrācārya as a result of a series of initiations; in the Newar community, however, it is a hereditary category.

Vajrayoginī. (T. Rdo rje rnal 'byor ma). The most important of the dĀKInĪ in the VAJRAYĀNA, associated especially with the "mother tantras" (MĀTṚTANTRA) of the ANUTTARAYOGA class. She is also the most important of the female YI DAM. Her visualization is central to many tantric SĀDHANAs, especially in the practice of GURUYOGA, in which the meditator imagines himself or herself in the form of Vajrayoginī in order to receive the blessings of the GURU. She is also visualized in GCOD and GTUM MO practice. Her worship seems to originate with the CAKRASAMVARATANTRA and is popular in all sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrayoginī plays a special role in the "six yogas of NĀROPA" (NĀ RO CHOS DRUG), where she is known as Nā ro mkha' spyod ma (Kachoma). She is closely associated with VAJRAVĀRĀHĪ, the consort of CAKRASAMVARA. In her most common form, she stands in the ĀLĪdHA posture, holding a KAtVĀnGA and a skull cup.

vitarkamudrā. (C. anwei yin; J. anniin; K. anwi in 安慰印). In Sanskrit, "gesture of instruction" or "gesture of discussion." Vitarkamudrā is formed with a combination of gestures: the right palm faces outward, fingers up near the shoulder in the ABHAYAMUDRĀ, and the left palm faces out, fingers down by the knee in the VARADAMUDRĀ. Typically, the thumb and index finger of each hand also touch lightly, forming circles, while the rest of the fingers are splayed outward. This is a common gesture in Buddhist iconography, and the pose is often seen used with images of BHAIsAJYAGURU, VAIROCANA, AMITĀBHA, MANJUsRĪ, and even AVALOKITEsVARA. This gesture is also sometimes called the vyākhyānamudrā, "the gesture of explanation."

What I mean by surrender is this inner surrender of the mind and vital. There is, of course, the outer surrender also ::: the giving up of all that is found to conflict with the spirit or need of the sadhanS, the offering, the obedience to the guidance of the Divine, whether directly, if one has reached that stage, or through the psychic or to the guidance of the Guru.

wizard 1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software or hardware works (that is, who {groks} it); especially someone who can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency. Someone is a {hacker} if he or she has general hacking ability, but is a wizard with respect to something only if he or she has specific detailed knowledge of that thing. A good hacker could become a wizard for something given the time to study it. 2. A person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has {wheel} privileges on a system. 3. A Unix expert, especially a Unix systems programmer. This usage is well enough established that "Unix Wizard" is a recognised job title at some corporations and to most headhunters. See {guru}, {lord high fixer}. See also {deep magic}, {heavy wizardry}, {incantation}, {magic}, {mutter}, {rain dance}, {voodoo programming}, {wave a dead chicken}. 4. An interactive help utility that guides the user through a potentially complex task, such as configuring a {PPP} driver to work with a new {modem}. Wizards are often implemented as a sequence of {dialog boxes} which the user can move forward and backward through, filling in the details required. The implication is that the expertise of a human wizard in one of the above senses is encapsulated in the software wizard, allowing the average user to perform expertly. [{Jargon File}] (1998-09-07)

wizard ::: 1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software or hardware works (that is, who groks it); especially someone who can find and fix bugs quickly in an knowledge of that thing. A good hacker could become a wizard for something given the time to study it.2. A person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has wheel privileges on a system.3. A Unix expert, especially a Unix systems programmer. This usage is well enough established that Unix Wizard is a recognised job title at some corporations and to most headhunters.See guru, lord high fixer. See also deep magic, heavy wizardry, incantation, magic, mutter, rain dance, voodoo programming, wave a dead chicken.4. An interactive help utility that guides the user through a potentially complex task, such as configuring a PPP driver to work with a new modem. Wizards encapsulated in the software wizard, allowing the average user to perform expertly.[Jargon File] (1998-09-07)

Wolchongsa. (月精寺). In Korean, "Lunar Essence Monastery"; the fourth district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Odaesan (see WUTAISHAN) in Kangwon province. The monastery's history is closely linked to the VINAYA master CHAJANG (fl. c. 590-658). While Chajang was on pilgrimage at Wutaishan in China, he came across a mysterious old monk who interpreted a prophetic dream he had had and gave him relics (K. sari; S. sARĪRA) of the buddha to take back to Korea with him. Seven days later, a dragon told him to return to Odaesan in Korea to build a monastery; in 643, Chajang arrived at Odaesan, where he eventually constructed Wolchongsa. Wolchongsa's main shrine hall, Chokkwang chon (Calm Radiance Hall), enshrines an image of sĀKYAMUNI as well as a mysterious statue that was found in the diamond pond south of the monastery. This statue, delicately carved in a style common to the eleventh century, is believed to be of BHAIsAJYAGURU. In front of the main hall is a nine-story octagonal pagoda, fifty feet (15.2 meters) high, that was constructed in the tenth century. Skillfully carved and multiangled, it is representative of Koryo-era STuPAs. In front of the stupa is a seated BODHISATTVA, perhaps MANJUsRĪ, making an offering. The statue has been carved with detailed attention to ornamental accessories and clothing. The Chongmyol pogung (Precious Basilica of Calm Extinction) houses the relics of the Buddha that Chajang brought back to Korea and is one of four major shrine halls in Korea that does not enshrine a buddha image (the relics take the place of an image). One of Wolchongsa's most famous residents during the twentieth century was the monk HANAM CHUNGWoN (1876-1951), who helped save some of its buildings from soldiers who had been ordered to burn them down during the Korean War (seventeen buildings were unfortunately burned and had to be reconstructed). Sangwonsa, one of Wolchongsa's branch monasteries (MALSA), is famous among Korean monasteries for its spectacular scenery and is a popular tourist stop.

Yaksa ponwon kyong 藥師本願經. See BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA

Yaksa yorae 藥師如來. See BHAIsAJYAGURU

Yakushi hongangyo 藥師本願經. See BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA

Yakushiji. (藥師寺). In Japanese, "Medicine Buddha Monastery." One of the seven great monasteries of Nara, Japan. Yakushiji is currently the headquarters (daihonzan) of the Hosso (C. FAXIANG ZONG) tradition. In 680, Emperor Tenmu (r. 673-686) ordered the construction of a statue of the Medicine Buddha (BHAIsAJYAGURU) and a new monastery to pray for the recovery of his ill consort, who later succeeded him as Empress Jito (r. 687-697). Due to the emperor's death and the lack of sufficient funds, construction began under Empress Jito's reign in the old capital of Fujiwarakyo in present-day Kashihara city. Construction was completed in 697, but the monastery was physically relocated to the new capital Heijokyo in 718 after the transfer of the capital in 710. The monastery originally consisted of two pagodas to the east and the west flanking a central golden hall (kondo) and a lecture hall (kodo) behind it. After a great fire in 973, only the pagodas and the golden hall remained. The hall collapsed during a typhoon in 1445 and the west pagoda was lost to fire during a war in 1528. Reconstruction of the monastery took place during most of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The golden hall houses the famed Medicine Buddha triad from the Hakuho period (645-710), now designated a national treasure.

Yakushi nyorai 藥師如來. See BHAIsAJYAGURU

Yaoshi benyuan jing 藥師本願經. See BHAIsAJYAGURUSuTRA

Yaoshi rulai 藥師如來. See BHAIsAJYAGURU

yi dam. In Tibetan, a term often translated as "meditational deity" or "tutelary deity." In the practice of Buddhist tantra, it is the enlightened being, whether male or female, peaceful or wrathful, who serves as the focus of one's SĀDHANA practice. One is also to visualize one's tantric teacher (VAJRĀCĀRYA) as this deity. The term is of uncertain origin and does not seem to be a direct translation of a Sanskrit term, although istadevatā is sometimes identified with the term. The etymology that is often given sees the term as an abbreviation of yid kyi dam tshig, meaning "commitment of the mind." Traditionally, the yi dam is selected by throwing a flower onto a MAndALA, with the deity upon whom the flower lands becoming the "chosen deity." However, when one receives a tantric initiation, the central deity of that tantra typically becomes the yi dam, with daily practices of offering and meditation often required. Through the propitiation of the deity and recitation of MANTRA, it is said that the deity will bestow accomplishments (SIDDHI). In the practice of DEVATĀYOGA, one meditates upon oneself as that deity in order to achieve buddhahood in the form of that deity. The yi dam is considered one of the three roots (rtsa gsum) of tantric practice, together with the GURU and the dĀKINĪ: the guru is considered to be the source of blessings; the yi dam, the source of accomplishments; and the dākinī, the source of activities. These three roots are considered the inner refuge, with the Buddha, DHARMA, and SAMGHA being the outer refuge, and the channels (NĀdĪ), winds (PRĀnA), and drops (BINDU) being the secret refuge.

Yongjusa. (龍珠寺). In Korean, "Dragon Pearl Monastery"; the second district monastery (PONSA) of the contemporary CHOGYE CHONG of Korean Buddhism, located on Mt. Hwa in Kyonggi province. The temple was constructed in 854 and originally named Karyangsa. It was rebuilt in 1790 to serve as the royal tomb of Prince Sado (1735-1762), the father of King Chongjo (r. 1776-1800). During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), Yongjusa became one of thirty-one head monasteries (PONSA) and it managed forty-nine branch temples (malsa) in several regions. A monks' training school was established in 1955, followed by a meditation hall in 1969. Yongjusa's main shrine hall (TAEUNG CHoN) was constructed in 1790 and enshrines images of the buddhas sĀKYAMUNI, BHAIsAJYAGURU, and AMITĀBHA. Other cultural properties at the site include the main temple bell, bronze censers, and a hanging painting of the Buddha (KWAEBUL).

zen "jargon" To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash of enlightenment. Originally applied to {bugs}, but occasionally applied to problems of life in general. "How'd you figure out the buffer allocation problem?" "Oh, I zenned it." Contrast {grok}, which connotes a time-extended version of zenning a system. Compare {hack mode}. See also {guru}. (1996-09-17)

zen ::: (jargon) To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash of enlightenment. Originally applied to bugs, but occasionally applied to problems of life in general. How'd you figure out the buffer allocation problem? Oh, I zenned it.Contrast grok, which connotes a time-extended version of zenning a system. Compare hack mode. See also guru. (1996-09-17)

Zhwa dmar incarnations. (Shamar). An influential incarnation (SPRUL SKU) lineage in the KARMA BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism, regarded as a human incarnation of AMITĀBHA. The first incarnation, Grags pa seng ge (Drakpa Senge, 1283-1349), was a disciple of the third KARMA PA, who offered him a red crown (zhwa dmar), from which the name of the line of incarnations derives. Subsequent Zhwa dmar embodiments had close relationships with the Karma pa line, in many cases alternately serving as GURU and pupil to the BKA' BRGYUD hierarch. Grags pa seng ge founded a seat at GNAS NANG monastery in central Tibet, later moved to YANGS PA CAN monastery under the direction of the fourth incarnation, Chos grags ye shes (Chodrak Yeshe, 1453-1524). Several Zhwa dmar incarnations spent considerable time in Nepal, including the sixth, Gar dbang Chos kyi dbang phug (Garwang Chokyi Wangchuk, 1584-1630), who composed a detailed description of his travels. The lineage was interrupted for nearly a century when the tenth incarnation, Chos grub rgya mtsho (Chodrup Gyatso, 1741-1791), was accused of forging a treasonous alliance with the Gorkha army during a Tibetan conflict with Nepal, during which BKRA SHIS LHUN PO monastery was sacked. The tenth Zhwa dmar died in prison, by either suicide or murder. The Tibetan government seized Yangs pa can monastery and converted it into a DGE LUGS monastery. It also banned recognition of new Zhwa dmar embodiments, a proscription that lasted more than a century. In the interim, several incarnations were found but never officially installed. The incarnation lineage includes:

कालिदास kālidāsa: Kālidāsa is generally considered as India's finest poet and dramatist, and is often referred to as Kavikulaguru (Preceptor of All Poets). Many estimates of the date of his work place it in the 4th or 5th century AD.



QUOTES [164 / 164 - 736 / 736]


KEYS (10k)

   31 Sri Ramakrishna
   27 Sri Ramana Maharshi
   21 Sri Aurobindo
   8 Guru Nanak
   6 SWAMI BRAHMANANDA
   5 Guru Rinpoche
   5 Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
   4 SWAMI SUBODHANANDA
   4 MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI
   4 Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
   4 Swami Vivekananda
   3 Sri Sarada Devi
   3 Jetsun Milarepa
   2 Sri Ramana Maharshi
   2 Sri Aurobindo
   2 Hymns of Guru Nanak
   2 The Mother
   1 The Wrathful Compassion of Guru Dorje Drollo
   1 Swami Virajananda
   1 SWAMI VIRAJANANDA
   1 Swami Subodhananda
   1 Swami Saradananda
   1 SWAMI PREMANANDA
   1 Swami Brahmananda
   1 Swami Adbhutananda
   1 Sri Ramakrishna
   1 SRI NISARGATTA MAHARAJ
   1 Sri Chidananda
   1 SRI ANANDAMAYI MA
   1 Robert Adams
   1 Red Hawk
   1 Paramahansa Yogananda
   1 PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA
   1 Osho
   1 MATA AMRITANANDAMYI
   1 Manapurush Swami Shivananda
   1 Kaula Tantric Saying. Kaula Hinduism
   1 Judith Simmer-Brown
   1 Guru Vachaka Kovai [The Garland of Guru's Sayings] See: http://bit.ly/38LDceX
   1 Guru Gobind Singh
   1 Guru Angad
   1 Frederick Lenz
   1 Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
   1 Dzogchen Rinpoche III
   1 Bharon Guru
   1 Aleister Crowley
   1  Advayataraka Upanishad
   1 ?

NEW FULL DB (2.4M)

  235 Sadhguru
   85 Guru Nanak
   36 Sadguru
   34 Sri Ramana Maharshi
   23 Guru Gobind Singh
   21 Prabal Gurung
   15 Mehmet Murat ildan
   11 Anonymous
   10 Rajmohan Gandhi
   8 Swami Vivekananda
   8 Sri Ramakrishna
   7 Ram Dass
   6 Paramahansa Yogananda
   6 Octavian Paler
   5 Sri Aurobindo
   5 Guru Arjan
   4 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
   4 Krishna Das
   4 Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi
   4 Guru Rinpoche

1:In your heart, let there be truth. ~ Guru Nanak,
2:Without the Name, there is no peace. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
3:Guru's grace is always there. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
4:Guru is not the physical form. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
5:Everything in the world was my Guru. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
6:God, Guru and the Self are identical. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
7:The Guru is the mediator. He takes man to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
8:What is the use of a realization that fails to reduce your disturbing emotions? ~ Guru Rinpoche,
9:You never receive blessings just from asking. Blessings come when you have got devotion. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
10:With each and every breath, I dwell upon You; I shall never forget You.
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
11:There is no difference between God, Guru and Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
12:There is no Guru, no disciple. Realize who you are. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
13:For anyone, man or woman, who has faith in me, I have never departed. I sleep on their threshold. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
14:There is no other path but the mercy of the Sachchitananada Guru. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
15:Who is whose Guru? God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
16:God is the only guru and my Divine Mother is the sole doer of actions. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
17:There is no difference between God, Guru and Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 198,
18:There is no Guru, no disciple. Realize who you are.
   ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, [T5],
19:Guru's grace is always there. It is really inside you in your Heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
20:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you don't have already. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
21:So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 282,
22:God or Guru never forsakes the devotee who has surrendered him [her] self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
23:Guru's Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 398,
24:Love and devotion towards the Guru makes the disciple's life beautiful, filled with light and divinely fragrant. ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMYI,
25:They, who have no eyes in their face, are not called blind. They alone are blind, O Nanak, who stray away from their Lord. ~ Guru Angad,
26:We can rise only through humility. Obedience to the Guru elevates the disciple to a more expansive, higher plane. ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI,
27:If you can strictly follow what the Guru has prescribed for the realization of God, everything will be smooth at last. ~ Swami Saradananda,
28:The giver of the Mantra is the real Guru, for by the repetition of this Mantra one obtains dispassion, and renunciation. ~ Sri Sarada Devi,
29:God is within yourself. Dive within and realize. God, Guru and the Self are the same. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
30:Listen not if anyone criticizes or censures your Guru. Leave the presence of such a one at once. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
31:Those who accomplish me, accomplish all the buddhas; Those who see me, see all the buddhas. - Guru Rinpoche, Guru Yoga?
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
32:He who thinks one's spiritual guru is a mere person cannot make much progress in the spiritual life. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
33:Spoken words are of no use whatsoever if the eyes of the Guru meet the eyes of the disciple. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
34:So long as you have faith in your guru, nothing will be able to obstruct your way. ~ Swami Vivekananda, (C.W. V. 106),
35:The disciple should never complain about his own guru. One must obey implicitly whatever his guru says. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
36:If one learns all by oneself, the chances are that one will learn all wrong. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
37:Though a Guru may visit the unholy rendezvous of drunkenness, still the true Guru is pure and faultless. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
38:In trying to reach God one should follow implicitly the advice of a single Guru who knows the way to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
39:The true and earnest aspirant travels from place to place in search of that watchword from a perfect Guru. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
40:The human Guru whispers the sacred formula into the ear. The Divine Guru breathes the spirit into the soul. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
41:The guru is always ready to give what can be given, if the disciple can receive. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
42:God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
43:The teaching of the Guru is just the dwelling in the Heart, through the Experience of the One Reality. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
44:Surrender to the Feet of the Guru is the real mantra, in which there will be no fear of Maya's delusion. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
45:A disciple, having firm faith in the infinite power of his Guru, walked over a river by simply uttering his name. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
46:So long as the mind is unsteady, it avails nothing, even though a man has got a good Guru and company of the holy ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
47:Whatever boon the disciple asks, the Guru grants. The Guru even takes the disciple to the highest bliss, Nirvana. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
48:Attachment is bondage; yet again, attachment opens the door to liberation to one who becomes attached to God or the Guru or to illumined souls. ~ SWAMI PREMANANDA,
49:The Self alone is. Is not then the Self your Guru? Where else will Grace come from? It is from the Self alone. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
50:Surrender to the Feet of the Guru is the real mantra, in which there will be no fear of Maya's delusion.
   ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, [T5],
51:Maya, the mythical goddess, sprang from the One, and her womb brought forth three acceptable disciples of the One: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. ~ Hymns of Guru Nanak, eka mai,
52:The syllable gu means darkness, the syllable ru, he who dispels them, Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named. ~ Advayataraka Upanishad, Verse 16,
53:Whatever kind of seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, a plant of that same kind, marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed, springs up in it. ~ Guru Nanak,
54:Take the pearl and throw away the shell. Follow the teaching of your Guru and throw out of consideration his human frailties. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
55:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you have not already. We are always the Self. Only, we don't realize it. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
56:If you have faith and confidence, it is not the human form of the guru that you worship, but the Supreme Lord who manifests through him. ~ The Mother,
57:Master invisible filling all hearts and directing them from within, to whatever side I look, Thou dwellest there. ~ Bharon Guru, the Eternal Wisdom
58:To play the part of a Guru is like a courtesan's life, selling oneself for such paltry things as gold, status and bodily enjoyments. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
59:I am never far from those with faith, or even from those without it, though they do not see me. My children will always, always, be protected by my compassion. ~ Guru Rinpoche, [T5],
60:There are only three words which prick me to the core: Guru, Karta (doer of action), and Baba (father), because God is the only Guru. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
61:The Guru shows the disciple the path to life eternal, and protects him from all troubles. Putting great faith in the words of the Guru let the disciple live them. ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
62:Know it for certain that without steady devotion for the Guru and unflinching patience and perseverance, nothing is to be achieved. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
63:Guru is not the physical form. So the contact will remain even after the physical form of the Guru vanishes. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by Day, 9-3-46,
64:Those who start their practice by uniting with their Guru and chosen deity, fear no reverses or difficulties ... progress will be smooth. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
65:A Guru does not entrust to a worldly man valuable and exalting precepts, for he is sure to misuse them in pursuit of his own mean designs. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
66:Do not consider one's Guru to be merely human. Before you see the Deity, you will see the Guru in the first vision of Divine Illumination. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
67:One must have devotion towards one's own guru. Whatever may be the nature of the guru, the disciple gets salvation by dint of his unflinching devotion towards his guru. ~ Sri Sarada Devi,
68:Egotism is like a cloud that keeps God hidden from our sight. If by the mercy of the Guru, egotism vanishes, God is seen in His full glory. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
69:If you are in right earnest to be good and pure, God will send you the Sat Guru, the right teacher. Earnestness is the one thing necessary. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
70:Whoever can call on God with sincerity and intense earnestness needs no guru, but such earnestness is rare, hence the necessity for a Guru. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
71:India is the guru of the nations, the physician of the human soul in its profounder maladies. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - II, Swaraj and the Coming Anarchy,
72:If a man loves his Guru with his whole heart, obeys what the latter says, his mind being devoted to Him, will naturally shun other attractions and thus get concentrated. ~ SWAMI SUBODHANANDA,
73:If a man loves his Guru with his whole heart, obeys what the latter says, his mind being devoted to Him, will naturally shun other attractions and thus get concentrated. ~ Swami Subodhananda,
74:The guru is not as important as the disciple himself. If one worships with utmost devotion, even a stone would become the Supreme Lord. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
75:A Guru is a God-knowing person who has been divinely appointed by Him to take the seeker as a disciple and lead him from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom. ~ PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA,
76:A God who cannot smile could not have created this humorous universe." ~ Sri Aurobindo, (1872 - 1950) Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist, Wikipedia.,
77:In spiritual matters mental logic easily blunders; intuition, faith, a plastic spiritual reason are here the only guides. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
78:Make your entire life an expression of your faith and love for your teacher. This is real dwelling with the Guru. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, Ch 32,
79:The word is the Guru, The Guru is the Word, For all nectar is enshrined in the world Blessed is the word which reveal the Lord's name But more is the one who knows by the Guru's grace. ~ Guru Nanak,
80:At the Guru's death, either the Body awakens or His Work in the world is forsaken and His light grows dim. In every breath, remember Him." ~ Red Hawk, (b. 1943) "Mother Guru: Savitri Love Poems,", (2014),
81:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you have not already. Removal of the notion that we have not realized the Self is all that is required. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
82:Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, but goes straight to the Source from which they all rise. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Ramana,
83:Faith in the Guru's words. One attains God by following the Guru's instructions step by step. It is like reaching an object by following the trail of a thread. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
84:It would be very good if the disciple could live in a place close to his Guru's residence and spend some time daily in visiting his Guru, enjoying his company and receiving his instructions. ~ Sri Sarada Devi,
85:One can­not achieve everything merely by receiving the mantra; one must perform sadhana—severe sadhana. One should perform sadhana exactly as the Guru has instructed and with full faith. ~ Swami Adbhutananda,
86:The Guru's blessings help one in one's spiritual endeavor. By Mother's grace you have it already. Now dive deep into prayer, meditation, etc. Engage yourself in japa and meditation. ~ Manapurush Swami Shivananda,
87:If the disciple has sincere faith in the Guru, it is easy for him to attain Divine knowledge and devotion. The one thing needful is faith in the Guru. When this is gained, everything is gained. ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
88:GIRISH: "If a man is so strongly tied hand and foot, then what is his way?"
MASTER: "He has nothing to fear if God Himself, as the guru, cuts the chain of maya." ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
89:I am neither male nor female, nor am I sexless. I am the Peaceful One, whose form is self-effulgent, powerful radiance." ~ Guru Nanak, (1469 - 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus, Wikipedia.,
90:Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
91:Look into the nature of things but with no idea, with no prejudice, with no presuppositions." ~ Osho, (aka Acharya Rajneesh, 1931 - 1990) Indian spiritual guru, philosopher and the leader of the Rajneesh movement, Wikipedia.,
92:In reality, there is neither guru nor disciple, neither theory nor practice, neither ignorance nor realization. It all depends on what you take yourself to be. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
93:God is the only Guru. My Divine Mother is the sole doer of actions, I am only an instrument in Her hands. I feel myself always to be Her child. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, Sayings of Ramakrishna Paramahasma,
94:Faith in one's own Guru is necessary. If a man loves his Guru with his whole heart, obeys what the latter says, his mind being devoted to him, will naturally shun other attractions and thus get concentrated. ~ SWAMI SUBODHANANDA,
95:There are three main parts to the actual practice of Guru Yoga: first there is the visualization, next the fervent prayer to the guru, and lastly the receiving of the four empowerments.
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Guru Yoga, [T2],
96:All the power that is within you must be utilized for the realization of God. You yourself have to do this, nobody else can do it for you. You must yourself attend to your own work. Obey the commands of your Guru. ~ SRI ANANDAMAYI MA,
97:When our sense of 'I' and 'mine' are about to destroy us, we are saved by following the Satguru's advice. He gives us the training needed to avoid such circumstances later. The very proximity of the Guru gives us strength. ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI,
98:One should learn the essence of the scriptures from the guru and then practice sadhana. If one rightly follows spiritual discipline, then one directly sees God. The discipline is said to be rightly followed only when one plunges in. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
99:The greatest Guru is your inner self. But you must have the strong desire to find him and do nothing that will create obstacles and delays. And do not waste energy and time on regrets. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
100:If a person possesses sincere yearning for the Lord and is eager to follow the spiritual path, he is sure to find a real Guru through the grace of the Lord. Therefore a spiritual aspirant need not feel anxious about finding a Guru. ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
101:Is it not true that even most of the seekers after God cannot call it down? And yet they can receive it if someone, a guru or avatar, has once called it down within him. Is it so?

   Yes.
   ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,
102:If we wanted to lift our mind up towards God, we must have to bring it back from all external things and concentrate it at one point. But how to concentrate the scattered mind? This can be effected by faith in God or in one's own Guru. ~ SWAMI SUBODHANANDA,
103:If you want to ask your Guru anything regarding your Sadhana, you must do so in private. I have seen in the case of Sri Ramakrishna how He would take each disciple alone and give him in private the special instructions necessary for him. ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
104:Everybody will surely be liberated. But one should follow the instructions of the Guru; if one follows a devious path, one will suffer in trying to retrace one's steps. It takes a long time to achieve Liberation. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
105:Such is the Guru, "Who has himself crossed this terrible ocean of life, and without any idea of gain to himself, helps others also to cross the ocean." This is the Guru, and mark that none else can be a Guru. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
106:The greatest Guru is your inner self. Truly, he is the supreme teacher. He alone can take you to your goal and he alone meets you at the end of the road. Confide in him and you need no outer Guru. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
107:Another etymological theory considers the term guru to be based on the syllables gu (गु) and ru(रु), which it claims stands for darkness and light that dispels it, respectively.[Note 2] The guru is seen as the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. ~ ?,
108:How to concentrate the scattered mind? the mind which has been distributed to wife and children, to the attainment of name and fame and to the pursuit of all sorts of sensual pleasures? This can be effected by faith in God or in one's own Guru. ~ SWAMI SUBODHANANDA,
109:The experience of Self, which is nothing but the form of [supreme] love, is that in which the eyes see only love, the tongue tastes only love and the touch feels only love, which is bliss." [655] ~ Guru Vachaka Kovai [The Garland of Guru's Sayings] See: http://bit.ly/38LDceX,
110:There is one God, eternal truth is his name,
Creator of all things, and the all-pervading
spirit.
Fearless and without hatred, timeless and
formless.
Beyond birth and death, self-enlightened.
He is known by the grace of the Guru. ~ Guru Nanak, Mul Mantra,
111:It is very good to dream of the Guru, the Chosen Ideal and of Gods and Goddesses. It encourages and delights the mind greatly. If you experience them, do not go about talking about them to anybody and everybody, you can tell them to your Guru, if you like. ~ SWAMI VIRAJANANDA,
112:The inner teacher is in you & with you. Look within, and you will find him. Your own self is your ultimate teacher. The outer teacher (Guru) is merely a milestone. It is only your inner teacher, that will walk with you to the goal, for he is the goal. ~ SRI NISARGATTA MAHARAJ,
113:The Guru should not be looked upon as an ordinary human being. His physical body is the temple, in which resides the Lord. If the Guru is served with this idea in mind, one comes to acquire love and devotion for him, which can then be directed toward the Lord. ~ Swami Brahmananda,
114:The ocean is full of precious pearls,but you may not get them at the first dive. My boys, once again I enjoin you, have firm faith in the words of your Guru, & try to get absorbed in deep meditation. Be sure, sooner or later you will have a vision of the Lord. ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
115:Sadhana never enlightens you. It makes you one-pointed in your quest for realization. It makes you compassionate. It develops humility, power. It transcends all fear. And when you get to that point, the inner guru grabs a hold of your mind & yanks it into the heart. ~ Robert Adams,
116:Satsang and spiritual books have the power to turn our minds towards good thoughts. That alone, however, will not enable us to go forward with steady steps. To rid our minds of all the dirt, and to progress towards the ultimate goal, we have to take refuge in a Guru ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI,
117:In all this it will have been seen that the most powerful weapon in the hand of the student is the Vow of Holy Obedience; and many will wish that they had the opportunity of putting themselves under a holy guru.
   ~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Magick, The Wand,
118:We shall merge into the One from whom we came. The True One is pervading each and every heart. He Himself unites us in Union with Himself; the True Mansion of His Presence is close at hand. With each and every breath, I dwell upon You; I shall never forget You.
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
119:Those who come under the guidance of a Guru need have no anxiety about their spiritual progress. They have been put on the right way. Their only task is to follow it. If they meet with any trouble or make any mistake, the Lord is sure to protect them & show them the right course ~ SWAMI BRAHMANANDA,
120:The Guru must deal with each disciple according to his separate nature and accordingly guide his sadhana; even if it is the same line of sadhana for all, yet at every point for each it differs. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Himself and the Ashram, General Rules and Individual Natures,
121:Better than reading is hearing, & better than hearing is seeing. One understands the scriptures better by hearing them from the lips of the Guru. Then one doesn't have to think about their non-essential part. But seeing is far better than hearing. Then all doubts disappear ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
122:Better than reading is hearing, & better than hearing is seeing. One understands the scriptures better by hearing them from the lips of the Guru. Then one doesn't have to think about their non-essential part. But seeing is far better than hearing. Then all doubts disappear. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
123:This maya, that is to say, the ego, is like a cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the guru one's ego vanishes, then one sees God. The jiva is nothing but the embodiment of Satchidananda ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
124:Within the sky-like empty mind, habitual tendencies and disturbing emotions are just like clouds and mist. When they appear, they appear within the expanse of empty mind. When they remain, they remain within the expanse of empty mind. And when they dissolve, they dissolve in that same expanse of empty mind. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
125:How many are the Krishnas and Shivas,
How many are the Brahmas fashioning the worlds,
Of many kinds and shapes and colours...
How many adepts, Buddhas and Yogis are there,
How many goddesses and how many images of goddesses,
How many gods and demons and how many sages.
~ Hymns of Guru Nanak, Dharam khand,
126:So many Siddhas and Buddhas, so many Yogic masters. So many goddesses of various kinds. So many demi-gods and demons, so many silent sages. So many oceans of jewels. So many ways of life, so many languages. So many dynasties of rulers. So many intuitive people, so many selfless servants. O Nanak, His limit has no limit!
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
127:One must learn to hear and follow the voice of the inmost soul, the direction of the Guru, the command of the Master, the working of the Divine Mother. Whoever clings to the desires and weaknesses of the flesh, the cravings and passions of the vital in it ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Ascent of the Sacrifice - II,
128:If concentration is made with the brain, sensations of heat and even headache ensue.
Concentration has to be made in the heart, which is cool and refreshing.
Relax and your meditation will be easy.
Keep your mind steady by gently warding off all intruding thoughts, but without strain - soon you will succeed. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Ramana II. XI,
129:The Guru cannot make you realize the Truth unless you try hard for it yourself. The Guru can show you the way; can remove your doubts and difficulties, and correct your mistakes; can warn you if you go astray; can put you back on the right track; and can even take you some distance along it, holding you by the hand. But the walking you have to do yourself - he cannot carry you to the goal on his shoulders. ~ Swami Virajananda
130:The guru is the equal of all the buddhas. To make any connection with him, whether through seeing him, hearing his voice, remembering him or being touched by his hand, will lead us toward liberation. To have full confidence in him is the sure way to progress toward enlightenment. The warmth of his wisdom and compassion will melt the ore of our being and release the gold of the buddha-nature within. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
131:The ground is composed of gold, the trees are wish-fulfilling trees, and the rain is the rainfall of nectar. All beings are dakas and dakinis; the calls of the birds are the sounds of Dharma; the sounds of nature, wind, water, and fire reverberate as the Vajra Guru mantra; and all thoughts are expressions of wisdom and bliss. So here the perception of purity is much vaster and more omnipresent than in the sutras.
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Guru Yoga,
132:All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
133:Someone told me that Ramana Maharshi lives on the overmental plane or that his realisation is on the same level as Shankara's. How is it then that he is not aware of the arrival of the Divine, while others, for instance X's Guru, had this awareness?

I can't say on what plane the Maharshi is, but his method is that of Adwaita Knowledge and Moksha - so there is no necessity for him to recognise the arrival of the Divine. X's Guru was a bhakta of the Divine Mother and believed in the dynamic side of existence, so it was quite natural for him to have the revelation of the coming of the Mother. 23 January 1936 ~ Sri Aurobindo,
134:[the third aid, the inner guide, guru :::
   It is he who destroys our darkness by the resplendent light of his knowledge; that light becomes within us the increasing glory of his own self-revelation. He discloses progressively in us his own nature of freedom, bliss, love, power, immortal being. He sets above us his divine example as our ideal and transforms the lower existence into a reflection of that which it contemplates. By the inpouring of his own influence and presence into us he enables the individual being to attain to identity with the universal and transcendent.~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 61 [T1],
135:The guru demands one thing only: clarity and intensity of purpose, a sense of responsibility for oneself. The very reality of the world must be questioned. Who is the guru, after all? He who knows the state in which there is neither the world nor the thought of it, he is the Supreme Teacher. To find him means to reach the state in which imagination is no longer taken for reality. Please understand that the guru stands for reality, for truth, for what is. He is a realist in the highest sense of the term. He cannot and shall not come to terms with the mind and it's delusions. He comes to take you to the real; don't expect him to do anything else. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
136:But while it is difficult for man to believe in something unseen within himself, it is easy for him to believe in something which he can image as extraneous to himself. The spiritual progress of most human beings demands an extraneous support, an object of faith outside us. It needs an external image of God; or it needs a human representative, - Incarnation, Prophet or Guru; or it demands both and receives them. For according to the need of the human soul the Divine manifests himself as deity, as human divine or in simple humanity - using that thick disguise, which so successfully conceals the Godhead, for a means of transmission of his guidance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
137:[the four aids ::: YOGA-SIDDHI, the perfection that comes from the practice of Yoga, can be best attained by the combined working of four great instruments. There is, first, the knowledge of the truths, principles, powers and processes that govern the realisation - sastra. Next comes a patient and persistent action on the lines laid down by this knowledge, the force of our personal effort - utsaha. There intervenes, third, uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience, the direct suggestion, example and influence of the Teacher - guru. Last comes the instrumentality of Time - kala; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Yoga of Divine Works, The Four Aids, 53 [T0],
138:Ordinarily, the Word from without, representative of the Divine, is needed as an aid in the work of self-unfolding; andit may be either a word from the past or the more powerful word of the living Guru. In some cases this representative wordis only taken as a sort of excuse for the inner power to awakenand manifest; it is, as it were, a concession of the omnipotent andomniscient Divine to the generality of a law that governs Nature The usual agency of this revealing is the Word, the thing heard (sruta ´ ). The Word may come to us from within; it may come to us from without. But in either case, it is only an agency for setting the hidden knowledge to work. The word within maybe the utterance of the inmost soul in us which is always opento the Divine; or it may be the word of the secret and universal Teacher who is seated in the hearts of all.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids,
139:A disciple asked his teacher, 'Sir, please tell me how I can see God.' Come with me,' said the guru, 'and I shall show you.' He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, 'How did you feel?' The disciple said, 'Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.' The teacher said, 'When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His vision.'

Let me tell you something. What will you gain by floating on the surface? Dive a little under the water. The gems lie deep under the water; so what is the good of throwing your arms and legs about on the surface? A real gem is heavy. It doesn't float; it sinks to the bottom. To get the real gem you must dive deep. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
140:Turn your thoughts now, and lift up your thoughts to a devout and joyous contemplation on sage Vyasa and Vasishtha, on Narda and Valmiki. Contemplate on the glorious Lord Buddha, Jesus the Christ, prophet Mohammed, the noble Zoroaster (Zarathushtra), Lord Mahavira, the holy Guru Nanak. Think of the great saints and sages of all ages, like Yajnavalkya, Dattatreya, Sulabha and Gargi, Anasooya and Sabari, Lord Gauranga, Mirabai, Saint Theresa and Francis of Assisi. Remember St. Augustine, Jallaludin Rumi, Kabir, Tukaram, Ramdas, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Vivekananda and Rama Tirtha. Adore in thy heart the sacred memory of Mahatma Gandhi, sage Ramana Maharishi, Aurobindo Ghosh, Gurudev Sivananda and Swami Ramdas. They verily are the inspirers of humanity towards a life of purity, goodness and godliness. Their lives, their lofty examples, their great teachings constitute the real wealth and greatest treasure of mankind today.
   ~ Sri Chidananda, Advices On Spiritual Living,
141:The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, - these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
142:I accept, will not give up, and will practice each of the Three Jewels,
   And will not let go of my guru or my yidam deity.
   As the samaya of the Buddha, first among the Three Jewels,
   I will apply myself to the true, essential reality.
   As the samaya of sacred Dharma, second among the Three Jewels,
   I will distill the very essence of all the vehicles' teachings.
   As the samaya of the Sangha, the third and final Jewel,
   I will look upon reality; I will behold pure awareness.
   And as the samaya of the guru and the yidam deity,
   I will take my very own mind, my pure mind, as a witness.
  
   Generally speaking, the Three Jewels should be regarded as the ultimate place to take refuge. As was taught in the section on taking refuge, your mind should be focused one-pointedly, with all your hopes and trust placed in their care. The gurus are a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.
   As the guides who lead you along the path to liberation, they are your sole source of refuge and protection, from now until you attain enlightenment.
   For these reasons, you should act with unwavering faith, pure view and devotion, and engage in the approach and accomplishment of the divine yidam deity. ~ Dzogchen Rinpoche III, Great Perfection Outer and Inner Preliminaries,
143:The sadhaka of the integral Yoga will make use of all these aids according to his nature; but it is necessary that he should shun their limitations and cast from himself that exclusive tendency of egoistic mind which cries, "My God, my Incarnation, my Prophet, my Guru," and opposes it to all other realisation in a sectarian or a fanatical spirit. All sectarianism, all fanaticism must be shunned; for it is inconsistent with the integrity of the divine realisation.
   On the contrary, the sadhaka of the integral Yoga will not be satisfied until he has included all other names and forms of Deity in his own conception, seen his own Ishta Devata in all others, unified all Avatars in the unity of Him who descends in the Avatar, welded the truth in all teachings into the harmony of the Eternal Wisdom.
   Nor should he forget the aim of these external aids which is to awaken his soul to the Divine within him. Nothing has been finally accomplished if that has not been accomplished. It is not sufficient to worship Krishna, Christ or Buddha without, if there is not the revealing and the formation of the Buddha, the Christ or Krishna in ourselves. And all other aids equally have no other purpose; each is a bridge between man's unconverted state and the revelation of the Divine within him. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
144:The Nirmanakaya manifestation of Amitabha, I,
the Indian Scholar, the Lotus Born,
From the self-blossoming center of a lotus,
Came to this realm of existence through miraculous powers
To be the prince of the king of Oddiyana.
Then, I sustained the kingdom in accordance with Dharma.
Wandering throughout all directions of India,
I severed all spiritual doubts without exception.
Engaging in fearless activity in the eight burial grounds,
I achieved all supreme and common siddhis.
Then, according to the wishes of King Trisong Detsen
And by the power of previous prayers, I journeyed to Tibet.
By subduing the cruel gods, nagas, yakshas, rakshas,
and all spirits who harm beings,
The light of the teachings of secret mantra has been illuminated.
Then, when the time came to depart for the continent of Lanka,
I did so to provide refuge from the fear of rakshas
For all the inhabitants of this world, including Tibet.
I blessed Nirmanakaya emanations to be representatives of my body.
I made sacred treasures as representatives of my holy speech.
I poured enlightened wisdom into the hearts of those with fortunate karma.
Until samsara is emptied, for the benefit of sentient beings,
I will manifest unceasingly in whatever ways are necessary.
Through profound kindness, I have brought great benefit for all.
If you who are fortunate have the mind of aspiration,
May you pray so that blessings will be received.
All followers, believe in me with determination.
Samaya. ~ The Wrathful Compassion of Guru Dorje Drollo, Vajra Master Dudjom Yeshe Dorje, translated by Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche,
145:The Song Of View, Practice, And Action :::
Oh, my Guru! The Exemplar of the View, Practice, and Action,
Pray vouchsafe me your grace, and enable me
To be absorbed in the realm of Self-nature!

For the View, Practice, Action, and Accomplishment
There are three Key-points you should know:

All the manifestation, the Universe itself, is contained in the mind;
The nature of Mind is the realm of illumination
Which can neither be conceived nor touched.
These are the Key-points of the View.

Errant thoughts are liberated in the Dharmakaya;
The awareness, the illumination, is always blissful;
Meditate in a manner of non-doing and non-effort.
These are the Key-points of Practice.

In the action of naturalness
The Ten Virtues spontaneously grow;
All the Ten Vices are thus purified.
By corrections or remedies
The Illuminating Void is ne'er disturbed.
These are the Key-points of Action.

There is no Nivana to attain beyond;
There is no Samsara here to renounce;
Truly to know the Self-mind
It is to be the Buddha Himself.
These are the Key-points of Accomplishment.

Reduce inwardly the Three Key-points to One.
This One is the Void Nature of Being,
Which only a wondrous Guru
Can clearly illustrate.

Much activity is of no avail;
If one sees the Simultaneously Born Wisdom,
He reaches the goal.

For all practioners of Dharma
The preaching is a precious gem;
It is my direct experience from yogic meditation.
Think carefully and bear it in your minds,
Oh, my children and disciples. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
146:[God is] The Hindu discipline of spirituality provides for this need of the soul by the conceptions of the Ishta Devata, the Avatar and the Guru. By the Ishta Devata, the chosen deity, is meant, - not some inferior Power, but a name and form of the transcendent and universal Godhead. Almost all religions either have as their base or make use of some such name and form of the Divine. Its necessity for the human soul is evident. God is the All and more than the All. But that which is more than the All, how shall man conceive? And even the All is at first too hard for him; for he himself in his active consciousness is a limited and selective formation and can open himself only to that which is in harmony with his limited nature. There are things in the All which are too hard for his comprehension or seem too terrible to his sensitive emotions and cowering sensations. Or, simply, he cannot conceive as the Divine, cannot approach or cannot recognise something that is too much out of the circle of his ignorant or partial conceptions. It is necessary for him to conceive God in his own image or in some form that is beyond himself but consonant with his highest tendencies and seizable by his feelings or his intelligence. Otherwise it would be difficult for him to come into contact and communion with the Divine.
   Even then his nature calls for a human intermediary so that he may feel the Divine in something entirely close to his own humanity and sensible in a human influence and example. This call is satisfied by the Divine manifest in a human appearance, the Incarnation, the Avatar - Krishna, Christ, Buddha.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 65 [T9],
147:Contact and Union with the Divine;
Seeing is of many kinds. There is a superficial seeing which only erects or receives momentarily or for some time an image of the Being seen; that brings no change, unless the inner bhakti makes it a means for change. There is also the reception of the living image of the Divine in one of his forms into oneself, - say, in the heart, - that can have an immediate effect or initiate a period of spiritual growth. There is also the seeing outside oneself in a more or less objective and subtle physical or physical way. As for milana, the abiding union is within and that can be there at all times; the outer milana or contact is not usually abiding. There are some who often or almost invariably have the contact whenever they worship, the Deity may become living to them in the picture or other image they worship, may move and act through it; others may feel him always present, outwardly, subtle-physically, abiding with them where they live or in the very room, but sometimes this is only for a period. Or they may feel the Presence with them, see it frequently in a body (but not materially except sometimes), feel its touch or embrace, converse with it constantly - that is also a kind of milana. The greatest milana is one in which one is constantly aware of the Deity abiding in oneself, in everything in the world, holding all the world in him, identical with existence and yet supremely beyond the world - but in the world too one sees, hears, feels nothing but him, so that the very senses bear witness to him alone - and this does not exclude such specific personal manifestations as those vouchsafed to Krishnaprem and his guru. The more ways there are of the union, the better. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - II, [T4],
148:This inner Guide is often veiled at first by the very intensity of our personal effort and by the ego's preoccupation with itself and its aims. As we gain in clarity and the turmoil of egoistic effort gives place to a calmer self-knowledge, we recognise the source of the growing light within us. We recognise it retrospectively as we realise how all our obscure and conflicting movements have been determined towards an end that we only now begin to perceive, how even before our entrance into the path of the Yoga the evolution of our life has been designedly led towards its turning point. For now we begin to understand the sense of our struggles and efforts, successes and failures. At last we are able to seize the meaning of our ordeals and sufferings and can appreciate the help that was given us by all that hurt and resisted and the utility of our very falls and stumblings. We recognise this divine leading afterwards, not retrospectively but immediately, in the moulding of our thoughts by a transcendent Seer, of our will and actions by an all-embracing Power, of our emotional life by an all-attracting and all-assimilating Bliss and Love. We recognise it too in a more personal relation that from the first touched us or at the last seizes us; we feel the eternal presence of a supreme Master, Friend, Lover, Teacher. We recognise it in the essence of our being as that develops into likeness and oneness with a greater and wider existence; for we perceive that this miraculous development is not the result of our own efforts; an eternal Perfection is moulding us into its own image. One who is the Lord or Ishwara of the Yogic philosophies, the Guide in the conscious being ( caitya guru or antaryamin ), the Absolute of the thinker, the Unknowable of the Agnostic, the universal Force of the materialist, the supreme Soul and the supreme Shakti, the One who is differently named and imaged by the religions, is the Master of our Yoga.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 62 [T1],
149:WHEN THE GREAT YOGIN Padmasambhava, called by Tibetans Guru Rinpoche, "the precious teacher," embarks on his spiritual journey, he travels from place to place requesting teachings from yogins and yoginls. Guided by visions and dreams, his journey takes him to desolate forests populated with ferocious wild animals, to poison lakes with fortified islands, and to cremation grounds. Wherever he goes he performs miracles, receives empowerments, and ripens his own abilities to benefit others.

   When he hears of the supreme queen of all dakinls, the greatly accomplished yogini called Secret Wisdom, he travels to the Sandal Grove cremation ground to the gates of her abode, the Palace of Skulls. He attempts to send a request to the queen with her maidservant Kumari. But the girl ignores him and continues to carry huge brass jugs of water suspended from a heavy yoke across her shoulders. When he presses his request, Kumari continues her labors, remaining silent. The great yogin becomes impatient and, through his yogic powers, magically nails the heavy jugs to the floor. No matter how hard Kumari struggles, she cannot lift them.

   Removing the yoke and ropes from her shoulders, she steps before Padmasambhava, exclaiming, "You have developed great yogic powers. What of my powers, great one?" And so saying, she draws a sparkling crystal knife from the girdle at her waist and slices open her heart center, revealing the vivid and vast interior space of her body. Inside she displays to Guru Rinpoche the mandala of deities from the inner tantras: forty-two peaceful deities manifested in her upper torso and head and fifty-eight wrathful deities resting in her lower torso. Abashed that he did not realize with whom he was dealing, Guru Rinpoche bows before her and humbly renews his request for teachings. In response, she offers him her respect as well, adding, "I am only a maidservant," and ushers him in to meet the queen Secret Wisdom. ~ Judith Simmer-Brown, Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism, Introduction: Encountering the Dakini,
150:Accumulating Prostrations

Why Prostrate at All?

Why fling yourself full-length on an often filthy floor, then get up and do it again hundreds of thousands of times?

Prostrations are a very immediate method for taking refuge and one of the best available for destroying pride. They are an outer gesture of surrender to the truth of dharma, and an expression of our intention to give up and expose our pride.

So, as we take refuge, we prostrate to demonstrate our complete surrender by throwing ourselves at the feet of our guru and pressing the five points of our body — forehead, hands and knees — to the floor as many times as we can.

(In the Tibetan tradition there are two ways of doing prostrations: one is the full-length and the other the half-length prostration, and we usually accumulate the full-length version.)

Prostrations are said to bring a number of benefits, such as being reborn with an attractive appearance, or our words carry weight and are valued, or our influence over friends and colleagues is positive, or that we are able to manage those who work for us.

It is said that practitioners who accumulate prostrations will one day keep company with sublime beings and as a result become majestic, wealthy, attain a higher rebirth and eventually attain liberation.

For worldly beings, though, to contemplate all the spiritual benefits of prostrations and the amount of merit they accumulate is not necessarily the most effective way of motivating ourselves. The fact that prostrations are good for our health, on the other hand, is often just the incentive we need to get started.

It's true, doing prostrations for the sake of taking healthy exercise is a worldly motivation, but not one I would ever discourage.

In these degenerate times, absolutely anything that will inspire you to practise dharma has some value, so please go ahead and start your prostrations for the sake of the exercise. If you do, not only will you save money on your gym membership, you will build up muscle and a great deal of merit.
~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, Not for Happiness - A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practises, Shambhala Publications,
151:But usually the representative influence occupies a much larger place in the life of the sadhaka. If the Yoga is guided by a received written Shastra, - some Word from the past which embodies the experience of former Yogins, - it may be practised either by personal effort alone or with the aid of a Guru. The spiritual knowledge is then gained through meditation on the truths that are taught and it is made living and conscious by their realisation in the personal experience; the Yoga proceeds by the results of prescribed methods taught in a Scripture or a tradition and reinforced and illumined by the instructions of the Master. This is a narrower practice, but safe and effective within its limits, because it follows a well-beaten track to a long familiar goal.

For the sadhaka of the integral Yoga it is necessary to remember that no written Shastra, however great its authority or however large its spirit, can be more than a partial expression of the eternal Knowledge. He will use, but never bind himself even by the greatest Scripture. Where the Scripture is profound, wide, catholic, it may exercise upon him an influence for the highest good and of incalculable importance. It may be associated in his experience with his awakening to crowning verities and his realisation of the highest experiences. His Yoga may be governed for a long time by one Scripture or by several successively, - if it is in the line of the great Hindu tradition, by the Gita, for example, the Upanishads, the Veda. Or it may be a good part of his development to include in its material a richly varied experience of the truths of many Scriptures and make the future opulent with all that is best in the past. But in the end he must take his station, or better still, if he can, always and from the beginning he must live in his own soul beyond the limitations of the word that he uses. The Gita itself thus declares that the Yogin in his progress must pass beyond the written Truth, - sabdabrahmativartate - beyond all that he has heard and all that he has yet to hear, - srotavyasya srutasya ca. For he is not the sadhaka of a book or of many books; he is a sadhaka of the Infinite. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids,
152:An old man of sixty began practising Yoga by reading your books. Eventually he developed signs of insanity. His son describes his condition and asks for advice. I am sending his letter.

As for the letter, I suppose you will have to tell the writer that his father committed a mistake when he took up Yoga without a Guru—for the mental idea about a Guru cannot take the place of the actual living influence. This Yoga especially, as I have written in my books, needs the help of the Guru and cannot be done without it. The condition into which his father got was a breakdown, not a state of siddhi. He passed out of the normal mental consciousness into a contact with some intermediate zone of consciousness (not the spiritual) where one can be subjected to all sorts of voices, suggestions, ideas, so-called aspirations which are not genuine. I have warned against the dangers of this intermediate zone in one of my books. The sadhak can avoid entering into this zone—if he enters, he has to look with indifference on all these things and observe them without lending any credence, by so doing he can safely pass into the true spiritual light. If he takes them all as true or real without discrimination, he is likely to land himself in a great mental confusion and, if there is in addition a lesion or weakness of the brain—the latter is quite possible in one who has been subject to apoplexy—it may have serious consequences and even lead to a disturbance of the reason. If there is ambition, or other motive of the kind mixed up in the spiritual seeking, it may lead to a fall in the Yoga and the growth of an exaggerated egoism or megalomania—of this there are several symptoms in the utterances of his father during the crisis. In fact one cannot or ought not to plunge into the experiences of this sadhana without a fairly long period of preparation and purification (unless one has already a great spiritual strength and elevation). Sri Aurobindo himself does not care to accept many into his path and rejects many more than he accepts. It would be well if he can get his father to pursue the sadhana no farther—for what he is doing is not really Sri Aurobindo's Yoga but something he has constructed in his own mind and once there has been an upset of this kind the wisest course is discontinuance.
21 April 1937

~ Sri Aurobindo, LOHATA, The Guru,
153:Satya Sattva - "Sri Yukteswar's intuition was penetrating; heedless of remarks, he often replied to one's unexpressed thoughts. The words a person uses, and the actual thoughts behind them, may be poles apart. 'By calmness,' my guru said, 'try to feel the thoughts behind the confusion of men's verbiage.' [...]

Many teachers talked of miracles but could manifest nothing. Sri Yukteswar seldom mentioned the subtle laws but secretly operated them at will. 'A man of realization doesn't perform any miracle until he receives an inward sanction', master explained. 'God does not wish the secrets of His creation revealed promiscuously. Also, every individual in the world has an inalienable right to his free will. A saint will not encroach on that independence.'

The silence habitual to Sri Yukteswar was caused by his deep perceptions of the Infinite. [...] Because of my guru's unspectacular guise, only a few of his contemporaries recognized him as a superman. The adage: 'He is a fool that cannot conceal his wisdom,' could never be applied to my profound and quiet master. Though born a mortal like all others, Sri Yukteswar achieved identity with the Ruler of time and space. Master found no insuperable obstacles to the mergence of human and Divine. No such barrier exists, I came to understand. [...]

Though my guru's undissembling speech prevented a large following during his years on Earth, nevertheless, through an ever-growing number of sincere students of his teachings, his spirit lives on in the world today. [...]

The disclosures of the Divine insight are often painful to worldly ears. Master was not popular with superficial students. The wise, always few in number, deeply revered him. I daresay Sri Yukteswar would have been the most sought-after guru in India had his speech not been so candid and so censorious. [...]

He added, 'You will go to foreign lands, where blunt assaults on the ego are not appreciated. A teacher could not spread India's message in the West without an ample fund of accommodative patience and forbearance.' [...]

I am immeasurably grateful for the humbling blows he dealt my vanity. I sometimes felt that, metaphorically, he was discovering and uprooting every diseased tooth in my jaw. The hard core of egotism is difficult to dislodge except rudely. With its departure, the Divine finds at last un unobstructed channel. In vain It seeks to percolate through flinty hearts of selfishness. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi,
154:A difficulty comes or an arrest in some movement which you have begun or have been carrying on for some time. How is it to be dealt with?—for such arrests are inevitably frequent enough, not only for you, but for everyone who is a seeker; one might almost say that every step forward is followed by an arrest—at least, that is a very common, if not a universal experience. It is to be dealt with by becoming always more quiet, more firm in the will to go through, by opening oneself more and more so that any obstructing non-receptivity in the nature may diminish or disappear, by an affirmation of faith even in the midst of the obscurity, faith in the presence of a Power that is working behind the cloud and the veil, in the guidance of the Guru, by an observation of oneself to find any cause of the arrest, not in a spirit of depression or discouragement but with the will to find out and remove it. This is the only right attitude and, if one is persistent in taking it, the periods of arrest are not abolished,—for that cannot be at this stage,—but greatly shortened and lightened in their incidence. Sometimes these arrests are periods, long or short, of assimilation or unseen preparation, their appearance of sterile immobility is deceptive: in that case, with the right attitude, one can after a time, by opening, by observation, by accumulated experience, begin to feel, to get some inkling of what is being prepared or done. Sometimes it is a period of true obstruction in which the Power at work has to deal with the obstacles in the way, obstacles in oneself, obstacles of the opposing cosmic forces or any other or of all together, and this kind of arrest may be long or short according to the magnitude or obstinacy or complexity of the impediments that are met. But here too the right attitude can alleviate or shorten and, if persistently taken, help to a more radical removal of the difficulties and greatly diminish the necessity of complete arrests hereafter.

On the contrary, an attitude of depression or unfaith in the help or the guidance or in the certitude of the victory of the guiding Power, a shutting up of yourself in the sense of the difficulties impedes the recovery, prolongs the difficulties, helps the obstructions to recur with force instead of progressively diminishing in their incidence. It is an attitude whose persistence or recurrence you must resolutely throw aside if you want to get over the obstruction which you feel so much—which the depressed attitude only makes, while it lasts, more acute. ~ Sri Aurobindo, LOY4, Imperfections and Periods of Arrest,
155:The Song Of Food And Dwelling :::
I bow down at the feet of the wish-fulfilling Guru.
Pray vouchsafe me your grace in bestowing beneficial food,
Pray make me realize my own body as the house of Buddha,
Pray grant me this knowledge.

I built the house through fear,
The house of Sunyata, the void nature of being;
Now I have no fear of its collapsing.
I, the Yogi with the wish-fulfilling gem,
Feel happiness and joy where'er I stay.

Because of the fear of cold, I sought for clothes;
The clothing I found is the Ah Shea Vital Heat.
Now I have no fear of coldness.

Because of the fear of poverty, I sought for riches;
The riches I found are the inexhaustible Seven Holy Jewels.
Now I have no fear of poverty.

Because of the fear of hunger, I sought for food;
The food I found is the Samadhi of Suchness.
Now I have no fear of hunger.

Because of the fear of thirst, I sought for drink;
The heavenly drink I found is the wine of mindfulness.
Now I have no fear of thirst.

Because of the fear of loneliness, I searched for a friend;
The friend I found is the bliss of perpetual Sunyata.
Now I have no fear of loneliness.

Because of the fear of going astray,
I sought for the right path to follow.
The wide path I found is the Path of Two-in-One.
Now I do not fear to lose my way.

I am a yogi with all desirable possessions,
A man always happy where'er he stays.

Here at Yolmo Tagpu Senge Tson,
The tigress howling with a pathetic, trembling cry,
Reminds me that her helpless cubs are innocently playing.
I cannot help but feel a great compassion for them,
I cannot help but practice more diligently,
I cannot help but augment thus my Bodhi-Mind.

The touching cry of the monkey,
So impressive and so moving,
Cannot help but raise in me deep pity.
The little monkey's chattering is amusing and pathetic;
As I hear it, I cannot but think of it with compassion.

The voice of the cuckoo is so moving,
And so tuneful is the lark's sweet singing,
That when I hear them I cannot help but listen
When I listen to them,
I cannot help but shed tears.

The varied cries and cawings of the crow,
Are a good and helpful friend unto the yogi.
Even without a single friend,
To remain here is a pleasure.
With joy flowing from my heart, I sing this happy song;
May the dark shadow of all men's sorrows
Be dispelled by my joyful singing. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
156:The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, - these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel.

The example is more powerful than the instruction; but it is not the example of the outward acts nor that of the personal character which is of most importance. These have their place and their utility; but what will most stimulate aspiration in others is the central fact of the divine realisation within him governing his whole life and inner state and all his activities. This is the universal and essential element; the rest belongs to individual person and circumstance. It is this dynamic realisation that the sadhaka must feel and reproduce in himself according to his own nature; he need not strive after an imitation from outside which may well be sterilising rather than productive of right and natural fruits.

Influence is more important than example. Influence is not the outward authority of the Teacher over his disciple, but the power of his contact, of his presence, of the nearness of his soul to the soul of another, infusing into it, even though in silence, that which he himself is and possesses. This is the supreme sign of the Master. For the greatest Master is much less a Teacher than a Presence pouring the divine consciousness and its constituting light and power and purity and bliss into all who are receptive around him.

And it shall also be a sign of the teacher of the integral Yoga that he does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humanly vain and self-exalting spirit. His work, if he has one, is a trust from above, he himself a channel, a vessel or a representative. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened Soul awakening souls, at highest a Power or Presence of the Divine calling to him other powers of the Divine. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga,
157:Talk 26

...

D.: Taking the first part first, how is the mind to be eliminated or relative consciousness transcended?

M.: The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its restlessness; give it peace; make it free from distractions; train it to look inward; make this a habit. This is done by ignoring the external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind.

D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?

M.: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is the first step. Then the habits of introspection and concentration follow. They are characterised by control of external senses, internal faculties, etc. (sama, dama, etc.) ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).

Talk 27.

D.: How are they practised?

M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena leads to vairagya. Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and foremost step to be taken. When vichara continues automatically, it results in a contempt for wealth, fame, ease, pleasure, etc. The 'I' thought becomes clearer for inspection. The source of 'I' is the Heart - the final goal. If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analytical method), he must develop bhakti (devotion) to an ideal - may be God, Guru, humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea of beauty. When one of these takes possession of the individual, other attachments grow weaker, i.e., dispassion (vairagya) develops. Attachment for the ideal simultaneously grows and finally holds the field. Thus ekagrata (concentration) grows simultaneously and imperceptibly - with or without visions and direct aids.

In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative pranayama (breath regulation) may be tried. This is known as Yoga Marga. If life is imperilled the whole interest centres round the one point, the saving of life. If the breath is held the mind cannot afford to (and does not) jump at its pets - external objects. Thus there is rest for the mind so long as the breath is held. All attention being turned on breath or its regulation, other interests are lost. Again, passions are attended with irregular breathing, whereas calm and happiness are attended with slow and regular breathing. Paroxysm of joy is in fact as painful as one of pain, and both are accompanied by ruffled breaths. Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do not form happiness. The mind improves by practice and becomes finer just as the razor's edge is sharpened by stropping. The mind is then better able to tackle internal or external problems. If an aspirant be unsuited temperamentally for the first two methods and circumstantially (on account of age) for the third method, he must try the Karma Marga (doing good deeds, for example, social service). His nobler instincts become more evident and he derives impersonal pleasure. His smaller self is less assertive and has a chance of expanding its good side. The man becomes duly equipped for one of the three aforesaid paths. His intuition may also develop directly by this single method. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramanasramam,
158:At it's narrowest (although this is a common and perhaps the official position; need to find ref in What is Enlightenment) "integral", "turquois" (Spiral Dynamics), and "second tier" (ditto) are all synonms, and in turn are equivalent to Wilber IV / AQAL/Wilber V "Post-metaphysical" AQAL. This is the position that "Integral = Ken Wilber". It constitutes a new philosophical school or meme-set, in the tradition of charismatic spiritual teachers of all ages, in which an articulate, brilliant, and popular figure would arise, and gather a following around him- or her-self. After the teacher passes on, their teaching remains through books and organisations dedicated to perpetuating that teaching; although without the brilliant light of the Founder, things generally become pretty stultifying, and there is often little or no original development. Even so, the books themselves continue to inspire, and many people benefit greatly from these tecahings, and can contact the original Light of the founders to be inspired by them on the subtle planes. Some late 19th, 20th, and early 21st century examples of such teachers, known and less well-known, are Blavatsky, Theon, Steiner, Aurobindo, Gurdjieff, Crowley, Alice Bailey, Carl Jung, Ann Ree Colton, and now Ken Wilber. Also, many popular gurus belong in this category. It could plausibly be suggested that the founders of the great world religions started out no different, but their teaching really caught on n a big way.

...

At its broadest then, the Integral Community includes not only Wilber but those he cites as his influences and hold universal and evolutionary views or teachings, as well as those who, while influenced by him also differ somewhat, and even those like Arthur M Young that Wilber has apparently never heard of. Nevertheless, all share a common, evolutionary, "theory of everything" position, and, whilst they may differ on many details and even on many major points, taken together they could be considered a wave front for a new paradigm, a memetic revolution. I use the term Daimon of the Integral Movement to refer to the spiritual being or personality of light that is behind and working through this broader movement.

Now, this doesn't mean that this daimon is necessarily a negative entity. I see a lot of promise, a lot of potential, in the Integral Approach. From what I feel at the moment, the Integral Deva is a force and power of good.

But, as with any new spiritual or evolutionary development, there is duality, in that there are forces that hinder and oppose and distort, as well as forces that help and aid in the evolution and ultimate divinisation of the Earth and the cosmos. Thus even where a guru does give in the dark side (as very often happens with many gurus today) there still remains an element of Mixed Light that remains (one finds this ambiguity with Sai Baba, with Da Free John, and with Rajneesh); and we find this same ambiguity with the Integral Community regarding what seems to me a certain offputting devotional attitude towards Wilber himself. The light will find its way, regardless. However, an Intregral Movement that is caught up in worship of and obedience to an authority figure, will not be able to achieve what a movement unfettered by such shackles could. ~ M Alan Kazlev, Kheper, Wilber, Integral,
159:In the process of this change there must be by the very necessity of the effort two stages of its working. First, there will be the personal endeavour of the human being, as soon as he becomes aware by his soul, mind, heart of this divine possibility and turns towards it as the true object of life, to prepare himself for it and to get rid of all in him that belongs to a lower working, of all that stands in the way of his opening to the spiritual truth and its power, so as to possess by this liberation his spiritual being and turn all his natural movements into free means of its self-expression. It is by this turn that the self-conscious Yoga aware of its aim begins: there is a new awakening and an upward change of the life motive. So long as there is only an intellectual, ethical and other self-training for the now normal purposes of life which does not travel beyond the ordinary circle of working of mind, life and body, we are still only in the obscure and yet unillumined preparatory Yoga of Nature; we are still in pursuit of only an ordinary human perfection. A spiritual desire of the Divine and of the divine perfection, of a unity with him in all our being and a spiritual perfection in all our nature, is the effective sign of this change, the precursory power of a great integral conversion of our being and living. By personal effort a precursory change, a preliminary conversion can be effected; it amounts to a greater or less spiritualising of our mental motives, our character and temperament, and a mastery, stilling or changed action of the vital and physical life. This converted subjectivity can be made the base of some communion or unity of the soul in mind with the Divine and some partial reflection of the divine nature in the mentality of the human being. That is as far as man can go by his unaided or indirectly aided effort, because that is an effort of mind and mind cannot climb beyond itself permanently: at most it arises to a spiritualised and idealised mentality. If it shoots up beyond that border, it loses hold of itself, loses hold of life, and arrives either at a trance of absorption or a passivity. A greater perfection can only be arrived at by a higher power entering in and taking up the whole action of the being. The second stage of this Yoga will therefore be a persistent giving up of all the action of the nature into the hands of this greater Power, a substitution of its influence, possession and working for the personal effort, until the Divine to whom we aspire becomes the direct master of the Yoga and effects the entire spiritual and ideal conversion of the being. Two rules there are that will diminish the difficulty and obviate the danger. One must reject all that comes from the ego, from vital desire, from the mere mind and its presumptuous reasoning incompetence, all that ministers to these agents of the Ignorance. One must learn to hear and follow the voice of the inmost soul, the direction of the Guru, the command of the Master, the working of the Divine Mother. Whoever clings to the desires and weaknesses of the flesh, the cravings and passions of the vital in its turbulent ignorance, the dictates of his personal mind unsilenced and unillumined by a greater knowledge, cannot find the true inner law and is heaping obstacles in the way of the divine fulfilment. Whoever is able to detect and renounce those obscuring agencies and to discern and follow the true Guide within and without will discover the spiritual law and reach the goal of the Yoga. A radical and total change of consciousness is not only the whole meaning but, in an increasing force and by progressive stages, the whole method of the integral Yoga.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Yoga of Self-Perfection, The Integral Perfection [618],
160:The true Mantra must come from within OR it must be given by a Guru

Nobody can give you the true mantra. It's not something that is given; it's something that wells up from within. It must spring from within all of a sudden, spontaneously, like a profound, intense need of your being - then it has power, because it's not something that comes from outside, it's your very own cry.

I saw, in my case, that my mantra has the power of immortality; whatever happens, if it is uttered, it's the Supreme that has the upper hand, it's no longer the lower law. And the words are irrelevant, they may not have any meaning - to someone else, my mantra is meaningless, but to me it's full, packed with meaning. And effective, because it's my cry, the intense aspiration of my whole being.

A mantra given by a guru is only the power to realize the experience of the discoverer of the mantra. The power is automatically there, because the sound contains the experience. I saw that once in Paris, at a time when I knew nothing of India, absolutely nothing, only the usual nonsense. I didn't even know what a mantra was. I had gone to a lecture given by some fellow who was supposed to have practiced "yoga" for a year in the Himalayas and recounted his experience (none too interesting, either). All at once, in the course of his lecture, he uttered the sound OM. And I saw the entire room suddenly fill with light, a golden, vibrating light.... I was probably the only one to notice it. I said to myself, "Well!" Then I didn't give it any more thought, I forgot about the story. But as it happened, the experience recurred in two or three different countries, with different people, and every time there was the sound OM, I would suddenly see the place fill with that same light. So I understood. That sound contains the vibration of thousands and thousands of years of spiritual aspiration - there is in it the entire aspiration of men towards the Supreme. And the power is automatically there, because the experience is there.

It's the same with my mantra. When I wanted to translate the end of my mantra, "Glory to You, O Lord," into Sanskrit, I asked for Nolini's help. He brought his Sanskrit translation, and when he read it to me, I immediately saw that the power was there - not because Nolini put his power into it (!), God knows he had no intention of "giving" me a mantra! But the power was there because my experience was there. We made a few adjustments and modifications, and that's the japa I do now - I do it all the time, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working, all the time.[[Mother later clarified: "'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't MY mantra, it's something I ADDED to it - my mantra is something else altogether, that's not it. When I say that my mantra has the power of immortality, I mean the other, the one I don't speak of! I have never given the words.... You see, at the end of my walk, a kind of enthusiasm rises, and with that enthusiasm, the 'Glory to You' came to me, but it's part of the prayer I had written in Prayers and Meditations: 'Glory to You, O Lord, all-triumphant Supreme' etc. (it's a long prayer). It came back suddenly, and as it came back spontaneously, I kept it. Moreover, when Sri Aurobindo read this prayer in Prayers and Meditations, he told me it was very strong. So I added this phrase as a kind of tail to my japa. But 'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't my spontaneous mantra - it came spontaneously, but it was something written very long ago. The two things are different."

And that's how a mantra has life: when it wells up all the time, spontaneously, like the cry of your being - there is no need of effort or concentration: it's your natural cry. Then it has full power, it is alive. It must well up from within.... No guru can give you that. ~ The Mother, Agenda, May 11 1963,
161:PRATYAHARA

PRATYAHARA is the first process in the mental part of our task. The previous practices, Asana, Pranayama, Yama, and Niyama, are all acts of the body, while mantra is connected with speech: Pratyahara is purely mental.

   And what is Pratyahara? This word is used by different authors in different senses. The same word is employed to designate both the practice and the result. It means for our present purpose a process rather strategical than practical; it is introspection, a sort of general examination of the contents of the mind which we wish to control: Asana having been mastered, all immediate exciting causes have been removed, and we are free to think what we are thinking about.

   A very similar experience to that of Asana is in store for us. At first we shall very likely flatter ourselves that our minds are pretty calm; this is a defect of observation. Just as the European standing for the first time on the edge of the desert will see nothing there, while his Arab can tell him the family history of each of the fifty persons in view, because he has learnt how to look, so with practice the thoughts will become more numerous and more insistent.

   As soon as the body was accurately observed it was found to be terribly restless and painful; now that we observe the mind it is seen to be more restless and painful still. (See diagram opposite.)

   A similar curve might be plotted for the real and apparent painfulness of Asana. Conscious of this fact, we begin to try to control it: "Not quite so many thoughts, please!" "Don't think quite so fast, please!" "No more of that kind of thought, please!" It is only then that we discover that what we thought was a school of playful porpoises is really the convolutions of the sea-serpent. The attempt to repress has the effect of exciting.

   When the unsuspecting pupil first approaches his holy but wily Guru, and demands magical powers, that Wise One replies that he will confer them, points out with much caution and secrecy some particular spot on the pupil's body which has never previously attracted his attention, and says: "In order to obtain this magical power which you seek, all that is necessary is to wash seven times in the Ganges during seven days, being particularly careful to avoid thinking of that one spot." Of course the unhappy youth spends a disgusted week in thinking of little else.

   It is positively amazing with what persistence a thought, even a whole train of thoughts, returns again and again to the charge. It becomes a positive nightmare. It is intensely annoying, too, to find that one does not become conscious that one has got on to the forbidden subject until one has gone right through with it. However, one continues day after day investigating thoughts and trying to check them; and sooner or later one proceeds to the next stage, Dharana, the attempt to restrain the mind to a single object.

   Before we go on to this, however, we must consider what is meant by success in Pratyahara. This is a very extensive subject, and different authors take widely divergent views. One writer means an analysis so acute that every thought is resolved into a number of elements (see "The Psychology of Hashish," Section V, in Equinox II).

   Others take the view that success in the practice is something like the experience which Sir Humphrey Davy had as a result of taking nitrous oxide, in which he exclaimed: "The universe is composed exclusively of ideas."

   Others say that it gives Hamlet's feeling: "There's nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so," interpreted as literally as was done by Mrs. Eddy.

   However, the main point is to acquire some sort of inhibitory power over the thoughts. Fortunately there is an unfailing method of acquiring this power. It is given in Liber III. If Sections 1 and 2 are practised (if necessary with the assistance of another person to aid your vigilance) you will soon be able to master the final section. ~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA,
162:I have never been able to share your constantly recurring doubts about your capacity or the despair that arises in you so violently when there are these attacks, nor is their persistent recurrence a valid ground for believing that they can never be overcome. Such a persistent recurrence has been a feature in the sadhana of many who have finally emerged and reached the goal; even the sadhana of very great Yogis has not been exempt from such violent and constant recurrences; they have sometimes been special objects of such persistent assaults, as I have indeed indicated in Savitri in more places than one - and that was indeed founded on my own experience. In the nature of these recurrences there is usually a constant return of the same adverse experiences, the same adverse resistance, thoughts destructive of all belief and faith and confidence in the future of the sadhana, frustrating doubts of what one has known as the truth, voices of despondency and despair, urgings to abandonment of the Yoga or to suicide or else other disastrous counsels of déchéance. The course taken by the attacks is not indeed the same for all, but still they have strong family resemblance. One can eventually overcome if one begins to realise the nature and source of these assaults and acquires the faculty of observing them, bearing, without being involved or absorbed into their gulf, finally becoming the witness of their phenomena and understanding them and refusing the mind's sanction even when the vital is still tossed in the whirl or the most outward physical mind still reflects the adverse suggestions. In the end these attacks lose their power and fall away from the nature; the recurrence becomes feeble or has no power to last: even, if the detachment is strong enough, they can be cut out very soon or at once. The strongest attitude to take is to regard these things as what they really are, incursions of dark forces from outside taking advantage of certain openings in the physical mind or the vital part, but not a real part of oneself or spontaneous creation in one's own nature. To create a confusion and darkness in the physical mind and throw into it or awake in it mistaken ideas, dark thoughts, false impressions is a favourite method of these assailants, and if they can get the support of this mind from over-confidence in its own correctness or the natural rightness of its impressions and inferences, then they can have a field day until the true mind reasserts itself and blows the clouds away. Another device of theirs is to awake some hurt or rankling sense of grievance in the lower vital parts and keep them hurt or rankling as long as possible. In that case one has to discover these openings in one's nature and learn to close them permanently to such attacks or else to throw out intruders at once or as soon as possible. The recurrence is no proof of a fundamental incapacity; if one takes the right inner attitude, it can and will be overcome. The idea of suicide ought never to be accepted; there is no real ground for it and in any case it cannot be a remedy or a real escape: at most it can only be postponement of difficulties and the necessity for their solution under no better circumstances in another life. One must have faith in the Master of our life and works, even if for a long time he conceals himself, and then in his own right time he will reveal his Presence.
   I have tried to dispel all the misconceptions, explain things as they are and meet all the points at issue. It is not that you really cannot make progress or have not made any progress; on the contrary, you yourself have admitted that you have made a good advance in many directions and there is no reason why, if you persevere, the rest should not come. You have always believed in the Guruvada: I would ask you then to put your faith in the Guru and the guidance and rely on the Ishwara for the fulfilment, to have faith in my abiding love and affection, in the affection and divine goodwill and loving kindness of the Mother, stand firm against all attacks and go forward perseveringly towards the spiritual goal and the all-fulfilling and all-satisfying touch of the All-Blissful, the Ishwara.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - IV,
163:GURU YOGA
   Guru yoga is an essential practice in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. This is true in sutra, tantra, and Dzogchen. It develops the heart connection with the masteR By continually strengthening our devotion, we come to the place of pure devotion in ourselves, which is the unshakeable, powerful base of the practice. The essence of guru yoga is to merge the practitioner's mind with the mind of the master.
   What is the true master? It is the formless, fundamental nature of mind, the primordial awareness of the base of everything, but because we exist in dualism, it is helpful for us to visualize this in a form. Doing so makes skillful use of the dualisms of the conceptual mind, to further strengthen devotion and help us stay directed toward practice and the generation of positive qualities.
   In the Bon tradition, we often visualize either Tapihritsa* as the master, or the Buddha ShenlaOdker*, who represents the union of all the masters. If you are already a practitioner, you may have another deity to visualize, like Guru Rinpoche or a yidam or dakini. While it is important to work with a lineage with which you have a connection, you should understand that the master you visualize is the embodiment of all the masters with whom you are connected, all the teachers with whom you have studied, all the deities to whom you have commitments. The master in guru yoga is not just one individual, but the essence of enlightenment, the primordial awareness that is your true nature.
   The master is also the teacher from whom you receive the teachings. In the Tibetan tradition, we say the master is more important than the Buddha. Why? Because the master is the immediate messenger of the teachings, the one who brings the Buddha's wisdom to the student. Without the master we could not find our way to the Buddha. So we should feel as much devotion to the master as we would to the Buddha if the Buddha suddenly appeared in front of us.
   Guru yoga is not just about generating some feeling toward a visualized image. It is done to find the fundamental mind in yourself that is the same as the fundamental mind of all your teachers, and of all the Buddhas and realized beings that have ever lived. When you merge with the guru, you merge with your pristine true nature, which is the real guide and masteR But this should not be an abstract practice. When you do guru yoga, try to feel such intense devotion that the hair stands upon your neck, tears start down your face, and your heart opens and fills with great love. Let yourself merge in union with the guru's mind, which is your enlightened Buddha-nature. This is the way to practice guru yoga.
  
The Practice
   After the nine breaths, still seated in meditation posture, visualize the master above and in front of you. This should not be a flat, two dimensional picture-let a real being exist there, in three dimensions, made of light, pure, and with a strong presence that affects the feeling in your body,your energy, and your mind. Generate strong devotion and reflect on the great gift of the teachings and the tremendous good fortune you enjoy in having made a connection to them. Offer a sincere prayer, asking that your negativities and obscurations be removed, that your positive qualities develop, and that you accomplish dream yoga.
   Then imagine receiving blessings from the master in the form of three colored lights that stream from his or her three wisdom doors- of body, speech, and mind-into yours. The lights should be transmitted in the following sequence: White light streams from the master's brow chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your entire body and physical dimension. Then red light streams from the master's throat chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your energetic dimension. Finally, blue light streams from the master's heart chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your mind.
   When the lights enter your body, feel them. Let your body, energy, and mind relax, suffused inwisdom light. Use your imagination to make the blessing real in your full experience, in your body and energy as well as in the images in your mind.
   After receiving the blessing, imagine the master dissolving into light that enters your heart and resides there as your innermost essence. Imagine that you dissolve into that light, and remain inpure awareness, rigpa.
   There are more elaborate instructions for guru yoga that can involve prostrations, offerings, gestures, mantras, and more complicated visualizations, but the essence of the practice is mingling your mind with the mind of the master, which is pure, non-dual awareness. Guru yoga can be done any time during the day; the more often the better. Many masters say that of all the practices it is guru yoga that is the most important. It confers the blessings of the lineage and can open and soften the heart and quiet the unruly mind. To completely accomplish guru yoga is to accomplish the path.
   ~ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Yogas Of Dream And Sleep, [T3],
164:It does not matter if you do not understand it - Savitri, read it always. You will see that every time you read it, something new will be revealed to you. Each time you will get a new glimpse, each time a new experience; things which were not there, things you did not understand arise and suddenly become clear. Always an unexpected vision comes up through the words and lines. Every time you try to read and understand, you will see that something is added, something which was hidden behind is revealed clearly and vividly. I tell you the very verses you have read once before, will appear to you in a different light each time you re-read them. This is what happens invariably. Always your experience is enriched, it is a revelation at each step.

But you must not read it as you read other books or newspapers. You must read with an empty head, a blank and vacant mind, without there being any other thought; you must concentrate much, remain empty, calm and open; then the words, rhythms, vibrations will penetrate directly to this white page, will put their stamp upon the brain, will explain themselves without your making any effort.

Savitri alone is sufficient to make you climb to the highest peaks. If truly one knows how to meditate on Savitri, one will receive all the help one needs. For him who wishes to follow this path, it is a concrete help as though the Lord himself were taking you by the hand and leading you to the destined goal. And then, every question, however personal it may be, has its answer here, every difficulty finds its solution herein; indeed there is everything that is necessary for doing the Yoga.

*He has crammed the whole universe in a single book.* It is a marvellous work, magnificent and of an incomparable perfection.

You know, before writing Savitri Sri Aurobindo said to me, *I am impelled to launch on a new adventure; I was hesitant in the beginning, but now I am decided. Still, I do not know how far I shall succeed. I pray for help.* And you know what it was? It was - before beginning, I warn you in advance - it was His way of speaking, so full of divine humility and modesty. He never... *asserted Himself*. And the day He actually began it, He told me: *I have launched myself in a rudderless boat upon the vastness of the Infinite.* And once having started, He wrote page after page without intermission, as though it were a thing already complete up there and He had only to transcribe it in ink down here on these pages.

In truth, the entire form of Savitri has descended "en masse" from the highest region and Sri Aurobindo with His genius only arranged the lines - in a superb and magnificent style. Sometimes entire lines were revealed and He has left them intact; He worked hard, untiringly, so that the inspiration could come from the highest possible summit. And what a work He has created! Yes, it is a true creation in itself. It is an unequalled work. Everything is there, and it is put in such a simple, such a clear form; verses perfectly harmonious, limpid and eternally true. My child, I have read so many things, but I have never come across anything which could be compared with Savitri. I have studied the best works in Greek, Latin, English and of course French literature, also in German and all the great creations of the West and the East, including the great epics; but I repeat it, I have not found anywhere anything comparable with Savitri. All these literary works seems to me empty, flat, hollow, without any deep reality - apart from a few rare exceptions, and these too represent only a small fraction of what Savitri is. What grandeur, what amplitude, what reality: it is something immortal and eternal He has created. I tell you once again there is nothing like in it the whole world. Even if one puts aside the vision of the reality, that is, the essential substance which is the heart of the inspiration, and considers only the lines in themselves, one will find them unique, of the highest classical kind. What He has created is something man cannot imagine. For, everything is there, everything.

It may then be said that Savitri is a revelation, it is a meditation, it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal. If it is read with this aspiration for Immortality, the reading itself will serve as a guide to Immortality. To read Savitri is indeed to practice Yoga, spiritual concentration; one can find there all that is needed to realise the Divine. Each step of Yoga is noted here, including the secret of all other Yogas. Surely, if one sincerely follows what is revealed here in each line one will reach finally the transformation of the Supramental Yoga. It is truly the infallible guide who never abandons you; its support is always there for him who wants to follow the path. Each verse of Savitri is like a revealed Mantra which surpasses all that man possessed by way of knowledge, and I repeat this, the words are expressed and arranged in such a way that the sonority of the rhythm leads you to the origin of sound, which is OM.

My child, yes, everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, the history of man, of the gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for what purpose, what destiny - all is there. You can find all the answers to all your questions there. Everything is explained, even the future of man and of the evolution, all that nobody yet knows. He has described it all in beautiful and clear words so that spiritual adventurers who wish to solve the mysteries of the world may understand it more easily. But this mystery is well hidden behind the words and lines and one must rise to the required level of true consciousness to discover it. All prophesies, all that is going to come is presented with the precise and wonderful clarity. Sri Aurobindo gives you here the key to find the Truth, to discover the Consciousness, to solve the problem of what the universe is. He has also indicated how to open the door of the Inconscience so that the light may penetrate there and transform it. He has shown the path, the way to liberate oneself from the ignorance and climb up to the superconscience; each stage, each plane of consciousness, how they can be scaled, how one can cross even the barrier of death and attain immortality. You will find the whole journey in detail, and as you go forward you can discover things altogether unknown to man. That is Savitri and much more yet. It is a real experience - reading Savitri. All the secrets that man possessed, He has revealed, - as well as all that awaits him in the future; all this is found in the depth of Savitri. But one must have the knowledge to discover it all, the experience of the planes of consciousness, the experience of the Supermind, even the experience of the conquest of Death. He has noted all the stages, marked each step in order to advance integrally in the integral Yoga.

All this is His own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is my sadhana which He has worked out. Each object, each event, each realisation, all the descriptions, even the colours are exactly what I saw and the words, phrases are also exactly what I heard. And all this before having read the book. I read Savitri many times afterwards, but earlier, when He was writing He used to read it to me. Every morning I used to hear Him read Savitri. During the night He would write and in the morning read it to me. And I observed something curious, that day after day the experiences He read out to me in the morning were those I had had the previous night, word by word. Yes, all the descriptions, the colours, the pictures I had seen, the words I had heard, all, all, I heard it all, put by Him into poetry, into miraculous poetry. Yes, they were exactly my experiences of the previous night which He read out to me the following morning. And it was not just one day by chance, but for days and days together. And every time I used to compare what He said with my previous experiences and they were always the same. I repeat, it was not that I had told Him my experiences and that He had noted them down afterwards, no, He knew already what I had seen. It is my experiences He has presented at length and they were His experiences also. It is, moreover, the picture of Our joint adventure into the unknown or rather into the Supermind.

These are experiences lived by Him, realities, supracosmic truths. He experienced all these as one experiences joy or sorrow, physically. He walked in the darkness of inconscience, even in the neighborhood of death, endured the sufferings of perdition, and emerged from the mud, the world-misery to breathe the sovereign plenitude and enter the supreme Ananda. He crossed all these realms, went through the consequences, suffered and endured physically what one cannot imagine. Nobody till today has suffered like Him. He accepted suffering to transform suffering into the joy of union with the Supreme. It is something unique and incomparable in the history of the world. It is something that has never happened before, He is the first to have traced the path in the Unknown, so that we may be able to walk with certitude towards the Supermind. He has made the work easy for us. Savitri is His whole Yoga of transformation, and this Yoga appears now for the first time in the earth-consciousness.

And I think that man is not yet ready to receive it. It is too high and too vast for him. He cannot understand it, grasp it, for it is not by the mind that one can understand Savitri. One needs spiritual experiences in order to understand and assimilate it. The farther one advances on the path of Yoga, the more does one assimilate and the better. No, it is something which will be appreciated only in the future, it is the poetry of tomorrow of which He has spoken in The Future Poetry. It is too subtle, too refined, - it is not in the mind or through the mind, it is in meditation that Savitri is revealed.

And men have the audacity to compare it with the work of Virgil or Homer and to find it inferior. They do not understand, they cannot understand. What do they know? Nothing at all. And it is useless to try to make them understand. Men will know what it is, but in a distant future. It is only the new race with a new consciousness which will be able to understand. I assure you there is nothing under the blue sky to compare with Savitri. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is a *super-epic,* it is super-literature, super-poetry, super-vision, it is a super-work even if one considers the number of lines He has written. No, these human words are not adequate to describe Savitri. Yes, one needs superlatives, hyperboles to describe it. It is a hyper-epic. No, words express nothing of what Savitri is, at least I do not find them. It is of immense value - spiritual value and all other values; it is eternal in its subject, and infinite in its appeal, miraculous in its mode and power of execution; it is a unique thing, the more you come into contact with it, the higher will you be uplifted. Ah, truly it is something! It is the most beautiful thing He has left for man, the highest possible. What is it? When will man know it? When is he going to lead a life of truth? When is he going to accept this in his life? This yet remains to be seen.

My child, every day you are going to read Savitri; read properly, with the right attitude, concentrating a little before opening the pages and trying to keep the mind as empty as possible, absolutely without a thought. The direct road is through the heart. I tell you, if you try to really concentrate with this aspiration you can light the flame, the psychic flame, the flame of purification in a very short time, perhaps in a few days. What you cannot do normally, you can do with the help of Savitri. Try and you will see how very different it is, how new, if you read with this attitude, with this something at the back of your consciousness; as though it were an offering to Sri Aurobindo. You know it is charged, fully charged with consciousness; as if Savitri were a being, a real guide. I tell you, whoever, wanting to practice Yoga, tries sincerely and feels the necessity for it, will be able to climb with the help of Savitri to the highest rung of the ladder of Yoga, will be able to find the secret that Savitri represents. And this without the help of a Guru. And he will be able to practice it anywhere. For him Savitri alone will be the guide, for all that he needs he will find Savitri. If he remains very quiet when before a difficulty, or when he does not know where to turn to go forward and how to overcome obstacles, for all these hesitations and incertitudes which overwhelm us at every moment, he will have the necessary indications, and the necessary concrete help. If he remains very calm, open, if he aspires sincerely, always he will be as if lead by the hand. If he has faith, the will to give himself and essential sincerity he will reach the final goal.

Indeed, Savitri is something concrete, living, it is all replete, packed with consciousness, it is the supreme knowledge above all human philosophies and religions. It is the spiritual path, it is Yoga, Tapasya, Sadhana, in its single body. Savitri has an extraordinary power, it gives out vibrations for him who can receive them, the true vibrations of each stage of consciousness. It is incomparable, it is truth in its plenitude, the Truth Sri Aurobindo brought down on the earth. My child, one must try to find the secret that Savitri represents, the prophetic message Sri Aurobindo reveals there for us. This is the work before you, it is hard but it is worth the trouble. - 5 November 1967

~ The Mother, Sweet Mother, The Mother to Mona Sarkar, [T0],

*** WISDOM TROVE ***

1:My guru is in my imagination anywhere. Anywhere. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
2:When you know how to listen everyone is the guru ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
3:Who is whose Guru? God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. ~ sri-ramakrishna, @wisdomtrove
4:The guru cannot awaken you; all that he can do is to point out what is. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove
5:My guru said that when he suffers, it brings him closer to God. I have found this, too. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
6:The role of the Guru is to show the person that he already has what he is looking for. ~ alan-watts, @wisdomtrove
7:So long as you have faith in your Guru, nothing will be able to obstruct your way. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
8:When your guru gives you a command, you better listen to it. I love everybody. Even George Bush. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
9:I hang out with my guru in my heart. And I love everything in the universe. That's all I do all day. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
10:The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
11:Just beneath the surface of all experiences in life is God's, or the Guru's, compassionate face. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
12:The guide, the guru, the leader, the teacher, has passed away; the boy, the student, the servant, is left behind. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
13:Let each man take the path according to his capacity, understanding and temperament. His true guru will meet him along that path. ~ sivananda, @wisdomtrove
14:Man needs a guru. But a man must have faith in the guru's words. He succeeds in spiritual life by looking on his guru as God Himself. ~ sri-ramakrishna, @wisdomtrove
15:I have been saying for many years that we are using the word &
16:Too much faith in personality has a tendency to produce weakness and idolatry, but intense love for the Guru makes rapid growth possible. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
17:People go  to India to find a guru, but you don't have to: you're  living with one. Your partner will give you everything  you need for your own freedom. ~ byron-katie, @wisdomtrove
18:Know it for certain that without steady devotion for the Guru and unflinching patience and perseverance, nothing is to be achieved. You must have strict morality. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
19:I don't think of myself as a guru but as a teacher. If one means &
20:You yourself are the Teacher, and the Pupil, you're the Master, you're the Guru, you are the Leader, you are Everything! And, to understand, is to transform what Is. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove
21:Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
22:A man said to me, "You talk to your dead guru?" And I said, "Yeah." He said, "That's in your imagination." And I said, "Yeah!" Because my guru is in my imagination anywhere. Anywhere. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
23:The Grace of the Guru always pours down on you, but you must have mercy upon yourself so that you may realize this. If your cup is turned upside down, how can anything catch it? ~ anandamayi-ma, @wisdomtrove
24:The purpose of the guru is not to weaken your will. It is to teach you secrets of developing your inner power, until you can stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds. ~ paramahansa-yogananda, @wisdomtrove
25:Today in the west the word &
26:The Guru is there forgiving you courage because of his experience and success. But only what you discover through your own awareness, your own effort, will be of permanent use to you. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
27:The greatest Guru is your inner self. Truly, he is the supreme teacher. He alone can take you to your goal and he alone meets you at the end of the road. Confide in him and you need no outer Guru. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
28:While eating, our attention should not be focused just on the taste. Imagine our chosen deity or guru is present within us and that we are feeding Him. This will turn eating into a spiritual practice. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
29:The word "Guru", as it is used in the contemporary American scene, is someone who takes all your money and tells you what to do with your life. You assume no responsibility. A lot of people want that free ride. ~ frederick-lenz, @wisdomtrove
30:Ashrams and gurukulas (spiritual schools) are the pillars of spiritual culture. If we perform sadhana according to the guru's advice, we need not go anywhere else. We will get whatever we need from the guru. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
31:If you have fear, you are bound by tradition, you follow some leader or guru. When you are bound by tradition, when you are afraid of your husband or your wife, you lose your dignity as an individual human being. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove
32:Death has such great importance in this society that it affects everything. I learned from my guru that death is not the enemy, I see it as another moment. Yet it's the end of an incarnation and means going on to other incarnations. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
33:King Janaka once dreamt that he was a beggar. On waking up he asked his Guru - Vasishta: Am I a king dreaming of being a beggar, or a beggar dreaming of being a king? The Guru answered: You are neither, you are both. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
34:One may have many teachers, but only one guru, who remains as one's guru even in many different lives, until the disciple reaches the final goal of emancipation in God. You must remember this, once that relationship is formed. ~ paramahansa-yogananda, @wisdomtrove
35:There is a theory that if you yearn sincerely enough for a Guru, you will find one. The universe will shift, destiny's molecules will get themselves organized and your path will soon intersect with the path of the master you need. ~ elizabeth-gilbert, @wisdomtrove
36:The test of ahimsa is the absence of jealousy. The man whose heart never cherishes even the thought of injury to anyone, who rejoices at the prosperity of even his greatest enemy, that man is the bhakta, he is the yogi, he is the guru of all. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
37:In reality, the disciple is not different from the Guru. He is the same dimensionless centre of perception and love in action. It is only his imagination and self-identification with the imagined, that encloses him and converts him into a person. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
38:If I ask you to plunge into the Ganga or to jump from the roof of a house, meaning it all for your good, could you do even that without any hesitations Just think of it even now; otherwise don't rush forward on the spur of the moment to accept me as your Guru. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
39:Let not the dirt of the sanskaras of your thoughts and deeds touch you, by surrendering every thought and act at the feet of your Guru. As a laundryman washes and cleans clothes, in the same way, I remove all the dirt which has stuck to you through your thoughts and actions. ~ meher-baba, @wisdomtrove
40:The guru is not someone who is confined to the body. When there is selfless love for the guru, we will be able to see him not only in his body but in every living and nonliving thing in this world. Learn to see everything as the guru's body and to serve them accordingly. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
41:I remember my first visit with my guru. He had shown that he read my mind. So I looked at the grass and I thought, My god, hes going to know all the things I dont want people to know. I was really embarrassed. Then I looked up and he was looking directly at me with unconditional love. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove
42:We [people] have a teacher! The teacher is ourselves! We already know everything we need to know - our challenge is to discover that we know it. Turning to gurus, I think, we become guru-dependent, no different from drug-dependent, alcohol-dependent - needing an outside force to control our lives. ~ richard-bach, @wisdomtrove
43:Even to the sage who's doing Sahaja Samadhi, the great guru, I'd say: "Hey buddy, you know, I like the robes and everything, but remember, you're only touching infinity. And if you claim to be doing more, I think you're pretty much in the senses and the body and the mind because infinity is endless." ~ frederick-lenz, @wisdomtrove
44:Winston Churchill said that appetite was the most important thing about education. Leadership guru Warren Bennis says he wants to be remembered as &
45:Mistrust all, until you are convinced. The true Guru will never humiliate you, nor will he estrange you from yourself. He will constantly bring you back to the fact of your inherent perfection and encourage you to seek within. He knows you need nothing, not even him, and is never tired of reminding you. ~ sri-nisargadatta-maharaj, @wisdomtrove
46:Truth is not over there, wherever over there is. Truth is neither housed in religious rituals nor secret doctrines, nor in a guru's touch or beatific smile, nor in exotic locations or ancient temples. Truth is quite literally the only thing that does exist. It is not hidden but in plain view, not lacking but abundantly present. ~ adyashanti, @wisdomtrove
47:I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to, remembering something my Guru once said - that you should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead. ~ elizabeth-gilbert, @wisdomtrove
48:Deciding to chant the mantra a certain number of times daily will help foster the japa habit. We should always keep a rosary with us for doing japa. A rosary can be made of 108, 54, 27 or 18 beads of rudraksha, tulsi, crystal, sandalwood, gems, etc, with one &
49:It takes a long time-many incarnations of right action, good company, help of the guru, self-awakening, wisdom, and meditation-for man to regain his soul consciousness of immortality. To reach this state of Self-realization, each man must practice meditation to transfer his consciousness from the limited body to the unlimited sphere of joy felt in meditation. ~ paramahansa-yogananda, @wisdomtrove
50:Children, we can grow spiritually only if we see the guru as the manifestation of God. We should not accept anyone as guru before we are fully convinced personally that he is authentic and truthful. Once we choose someone as guru, we should surrender completely to him. Only then will spiritual development be possible. Devotion to the guru means total surrender to him. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
51:Each contact is an opportunity for your own unique satsang with your Self, not in some strained or contrived way, but by keeping your mind inside your Heart, by trusting the inner guru and by recognizing each moment as perfect in itself and by simply being your Self. This is the true and natural responsibility or rather &
52:Although he reputedly hated the label of &
53:How can one be compassionate if you belong to any religion, follow any guru, believe in something, believe in your scriptures, and so on, attached to a conclusion? When you accept your guru, you have come to a conclusion, or when you strongly believe in god or in a saviour, this or that, can there be compassion? You may do social work, help the poor out of pity, out of sympathy, out of charity, but is all that love and compassion? ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove
54:To Amma, all are Her children. In Amma's eyes no defect of Her children is serious. But when She is considered as the guru, it is essential for the growth of the disciples that they conduct themselves according to the tradition. Amma will pardon all the mistakes of Her children, but nature has certain laws. That is what brings punishment for our sins. Children, we should be able to take any sorrow or suffering as conducive for our growth. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
55:With the exception of very few who have gained higher spiritual tendencies in prior lives, Self-realization is not possible for anyone without the blessings of a guru. Think of the guru as the manifestation of God in this world. Take even the most insignificant word of the guru as an order and obey it. That is the real service to the guru. There is no greater austerity. The guru's blessings flow automatically to any obedient disciple. That is the real service to the guru. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
56:How will you get God's grace? When you discipline yourself. How will you know how to discipline? By observing others that had walked the path successfully to the goal of perfection. Who are these men who had walked to the goal? It is these that are known as Gurus. So you need their help, their personal example, their encouragement and their grace. Thus, we have come round to the answer that a Guru is necessary as well as his grace. Everything is necessary&
57:You can lead a truly spiritual life while remaining a householder. You will be able to enjoy the bliss of the Self, but your mind has to be on God all the time. Then you can easily attain bliss. A mother bird will be thinking of the young ones in the nest, even when she is out looking for food. Similarly, you have to keep your mind on God, while engaged in all worldly actions. The important thing is to be completely dedicated to God or the Guru. Once you have that dedication, the goal will not be far away. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
58:The notion is that human beings are born, (as my Guru has explained many times,) with equivalent potential for both contraction and expansion. The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us, and then it's up to the individual (or the family, or the society) to decide what will be brought forth - the virtues or the malevolence. The madness of this planet is largely a result of human being's difficulty in coming into virtuous balance with himself. Lunacy (both collective and individual) results. ~ elizabeth-gilbert, @wisdomtrove
59:Children, we are told to make an offering at the temple or at the feet of the guru, not because the Lord or guru is in need of wealth or anything else. Real offering is the act of surrendering the mind and the intellect. How can it be done? We cannot offer our minds as they are, but only the things to which our minds are attached. Today our minds are greatly attached to money and other worldly things. By placing such thoughts at the feet of the Lord, we are offering Him our heart. This is the principle behind giving charities. ~ mata-amritanandamayi, @wisdomtrove
60:If religion and life depend upon books or upon the existence of any prophet whatsoever, then perish all religion and books! Religion is in us. No books or teachers can do more than help us to find it, and even without them we can get all truth within. You have gratitude for books and teachers without bondage to them; and worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly; love him all you will, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out your own salvation. Have only one idea of God - that He is an eternal help. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove
61:So I stood up and did a handstand on my Guru's roof, to celebrate the notion of liberation. I felt the dusty tiles under my hands. I felt my own strength and balance. I felt the easy night breeze on the palms of my bare feet. This kind of thing - a spontaneous handstand&
62:It is for the Guru to point out the method; he will show you the way to understanding and instruct you in your sadhana. It is for you to keep on practiCing it faithfully. But the fruit comes spontaneously in the form of Self-revelation. The power to make you grasp the Ungraspable duly manifests itself through the Guru. Where the question "How am I to proceed?" arises, fulfillment has obviously not yet been reached. Therefore, never relax your efforts until there is Enlightenment. Let no gaps interrupt your attempt, for a gap will produce an eddy, whereas your striving must be continuous like the flowing of oil, it must be sustained, constant, an unbroken stream. ~ anandamayi-ma, @wisdomtrove

*** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***

1:guru in the Ukraine, ~ Jim Butcher,
2:I am the rich man's guru. ~ Rajneesh,
3:Guru is the Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
4:I never say I am a guru. ~ Paulo Coelho,
5:Your Mercy is my social status. ~ Guru Nanak,
6:As fragrance abides in the flower ~ Guru Nanak,
7:Guru, God and Self are One ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
8:He’s our chief science guru.” Dr. ~ Robert J Crane,
9:Guru’s grace is always there. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
10:Guru is not the physical form. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
11:The world is a drama, staged in a dream ~ Guru Nanak,
12:Conquer your mind and conquer the world. ~ Guru Nanak,
13:One does not become a guru by accident. ~ James Fenton,
14:A guru is not a crutch, he is a bridge. ~ Jaggi Vasudev,
15:Guru is none other than the Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
16:OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM ~ Sogyal Rinpoche,
17:Speak only that which will bring you honor. ~ Guru Nanak,
18:Without the Name, there is no peace. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
19:With your hands carve out your own destiny. ~ Guru Nanak,
20:Without the Name, there is no peace. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
21:Everything in the world was my Guru. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
22:The True One was there from time immemorial. ~ Guru Nanak,
23:Even the faults of a Guru must be told. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
24:God, Guru and the Self are identical. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
25:He who regards all men as equals is religious. ~ Guru Nanak,
26:My guru is in my imagination anywhere. Anywhere. ~ Ram Dass,
27:When you know how to listen everyone is the guru ~ Ram Dass,
28:All that a guru can tell you is: ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
29:Don't wait for a Guru. Your life is your Guru. ~ Krishna Das,
30:My soul is my guru; my experience is my guru. ~ Kumar Pallana,
31:Those who have loved are those that have found God ~ Guru Nanak,
32:those who have loved are those that have found God ~ Guru Nanak,
33:Day and night, meditate forever on the Lord. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
34:A guru is needed not to worship, but to direct you. ~ Alan Finger,
35:O Lord, You bless all with Your bountiful blessings. ~ Guru Nanak,
36:Buku adalah guru yang paling sabar dan tidak pernah marah ~ Various,
37:Wherever the Protector of all keeps me, there is heaven. ~ Guru Nanak,
38:Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone. ~ Guru Arjan,
39:False is the body, false are the clothes; false is beauty. ~ Guru Nanak,
40:He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God. ~ Guru Nanak,
41:There is no difference between God, Guru and Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
42:There is no Guru, no disciple. Realize who you are. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
43:Every man should be his own guru; every woman her own gurette. ~ Edward Abbey,
44:I am not the born; how can there be either birth or death for me? ~ Guru Nanak,
45:In this world
when you ask of happiness
Pain steps forward ~ Guru Nanak,
46:Truth is the highest virtue, but higher still is truthful living. ~ Guru Nanak,
47:In this world
when you ask for happiness
Pain steps forward ~ Guru Nanak,
48:I don't die... He who is merged with the omnipresent is never gone. ~ Guru Nanak,
49:A Guru is not someone who holds a torch for you. He is the torch. ~ Jaggi Vasudev,
50:Blessed, blessed is that body horse which meditates on the Lord God. ~ Guru Nanak,
51:Guru mati, kitab pun hilang. Tersesat entah ke siapa akan bertanya. ~ Ahmad Fuadi,
52:The soul bride shall never be a widow, she shall never suffer sorrow. ~ Guru Nanak,
53:Death would not be called bad, o people, if one knew how to truly die. ~ Guru Nanak,
54:Death would not be called bad, O people, if one knew how to truely die. ~ Guru Nanak,
55:Emotional attachment to Maya is totally painful, this is a bad bargain. ~ Guru Nanak,
56:God and the Guru are not really different; they are identical. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
57:I am a song bird, I am a meek song bird, I offer my prayer to the Lord. ~ Guru Nanak,
58:There are disciples who seek a guru made in their own image. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
59:Namun guru yang paling baik adalah yang mengajar tanpa bicara apa-apa ~ Deepak Chopra,
60:One cannot comprehend Him through reason, even if one reasoned for ages. ~ Guru Nanak,
61:There is no difference between God, Guru and Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 198,
62:Who is whose Guru? God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
63:I am neither a child, a young man, nor an ancient; nor am I of any caste. ~ Guru Nanak,
64:We are, every one of us, like a wise guru in charge of a mental patient. ~ Jamie Catto,
65:Who is whose Guru? God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
66:You cannot choose a Guru. Deepen your longing and the Guru will choose you, ~ Sadhguru,
67:I fall at the feet of those who meditate on the Truest of the True. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
68:The Lord Himself reveals the Path, He Himself is the Doer of deeds. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
69:Guru's grace is always there. It is really inside you in your Heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
70:In life you can either have a guru or misery, you cannot have both. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,
71:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you don't have already. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
72:There is no Guru, no disciple. Realize who you are.
   ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, [T5], #index,
73:Realization of Truth is higher than all else. Higher still is truthful living. ~ Guru Nanak,
74:So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 282,
75:The guru cannot awaken you; all that he can do is to point out what is. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
76:Try everything; listen to everyone. Follow no one. You are your own story guru! ~ Jeff Lyons,
77:I am in constant bliss, day and night, egotism has been dispelled from within me. ~ Guru Nanak,
78:God or Guru never forsakes the devotee who has surrendered him [her] self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
79:What is the use of a realization that fails to reduce your disturbing emotions? ~ Guru Rinpoche,
80:Guru's Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 398,
81:A guru trains his disciples to become Krishna dasa, a menial servant of Krishna. ~ Lokanatha Swami,
82:My guru said that when he suffers, it brings him closer to God. I have found this, too. ~ Ram Dass,
83:The biggest guru-mantra is: never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you. ~ Chanakya,
84:Karta (The Creator) and Karim (The beneficient) are the names of the same God. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
85:The role of the Guru is to show the person that he already has what he is looking for. ~ Alan Watts,
86:Ultimately when I am with you all, what I see is my Guru. And what is he? He is love. ~ Krishna Das,
87:Egotism is such a terrible disease, in the love of duality, they do their deeds. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
88:But as management guru Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast. ~ Satya Nadella,
89:In egotism, one is assailed by fear, he passes his life totally troubled by fear. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
90:Nanak, the whole world is in distress. He, who believes in the Name, becomes victorious. ~ Guru Nanak,
91:It' easy to find information on Google guru but that's not equal to gaining knowledge. ~ Narendra Modi,
92:So long as you have faith in your Guru, nothing will be able to obstruct your way. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
93:So long as you have faith in your guru, nothing will be able to obstruct your way. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
94:The ignorant person is totally blind he does not appreciate the value of the jewel ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
95:Blessed, blessed is their Guru, whose mouth tastes the Ambrosial Fruit of the Lord. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
96:I tell the truth; listen everyone. Only those who have Loved, will realise the Lord ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
97:My mind and body, my mind and body I cut my body into pieces, and I dedicate these to Him. ~ Guru Nanak,
98:No guru, no method, no teacher, just you and I and nature, and the father in the garden. ~ Van Morrison,
99:It is nearly impossible to be here now when you think there is somewhere else to be. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
100:By the Grace of God, I am cured of the disease of egotism, and Death no longer terrifies me. ~ Guru Arjan,
101:Do not wish evil for others. Do not speak ill of others. Do not obstruct anyones activities. ~ Guru Nanak,
102:It is not necessary to meet your guru on the physical plane. The guru is not external. ~ Neem Karoli Baba,
103:You never receive blessings just from asking. Blessings come when you have got devotion. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
104:Guru Angad named Guru Amar Das, also a Khatri but of the Bhalla clan, as the third Guru. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
105:I bow at His Feet constantly, and pray to Him, the Guru, the True Guru, has shown me the Way. ~ Guru Nanak,
106:I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru. ~ Mahatma Gandhi,
107:Like the juggler, deceiving by his tricks, one is deluded by egotism, falsehood and illusion. ~ Guru Nanak,
108:God is within yourself. Dive within and realize. God, Guru and the Self are the same. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
109:Thou has a thousand eyes and yet not one eye; Thou host a thousand forms and yet not one form. ~ Guru Nanak,
110:When your guru gives you a command, you better listen to it. I love everybody. Even George Bush. ~ Ram Dass,
111:With each and every breath, I dwell upon You; I shall never forget You.
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
112:No matter what the disciple’s problem, the guru advised Kriya Yoga for its solution. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
113:The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why - Warren Bennis, Leadership Guru ~ Ernest Becker,
114:Let no man in the world live in delusion. Without a Guru none can cross over to the other shore. ~ Guru Nanak,
115:Blessed, blessed is the True Guru, who has given the supreme gift of the Name of the Lord. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
116:Through shallow intellect, the mind becomes shallow, and one eats the fly, along with the sweets. ~ Guru Nanak,
117:You are always your own best guru, your own best teacher, the answers are always inside you. ~ Sathya Sai Baba,
118:Die before the one whom you love; to live after he dies is to live a worthless life in this world. ~ Guru Angad,
119:[Donald Trump] guru Steve Bannon is worse, he's much scarier. He probably knows what he's doing. ~ Noam Chomsky,
120:I hang out with my guru in my heart. And I love everything in the universe. That's all I do all day. ~ Ram Dass,
121:The reason that 'guru' is such a popular word is because 'charlatan' is so hard to spell. ~ William J Bernstein,
122:What should the yogi have to fear? Trees, plants, and all that is inside and outside, is He Himself ~ Guru Nanak,
123:He who lowers his mind to the dust of all men’s feet, Sees the Name of God enshrined in every heart. ~ Guru Arjan,
124:Thou O Lord, art my Father and Thou my Mother. Thou art the Giver of peace to my soul and very life. ~ Guru Arjan,
125:Egotism is such a terrible disease, he dies, to be reincarnated he continues coming and going. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
126:For anyone, man or woman, who has faith in me, I have never departed. I sleep on their threshold. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
127:Fruitful is the entire life of those, who feel hunger for the Name of the Lord in their minds. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
128:Look for God, suggests my Guru. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
129:Spoken words are of no use whatsoever if the eyes of the Guru meet the eyes of the disciple. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
130:The highest religion is to rise to universal brother hood; aye to consider all creatures your equals. ~ Guru Nanak,
131:Dwell in peace in the home of your own being, and the Messenger of Death will not be able to touch you ~ Guru Nanak,
132:Meeting the True Guru, hunger departs, hunger does not depart by wearing the robes of a beggar. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
133:Sing the songs of joy to the Lord, serve the Name of the Lord, and become the servant of His servants. ~ Guru Nanak,
134:Dwell in peace in the home of your own being, and the Messenger of Death will not be able to touch you. ~ Guru Nanak,
135:God is one, but he has innumerable forms. He is the creator of all and He himself takes the human form. ~ Guru Nanak,
136:I'm not a guru. I wish you wouldn't pose these things at me, man. Ask me about women or something. ~ Charles Bukowski,
137:Those who worship and adore the Lord through the Guru's Word forget all their pain and suffering. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
138:Who's your soul's mate? Consciousness. Soul is your conscious mate. Guru keeps you conscious. ~ Harbhajan Singh Yogi,
139:My guru, awake in God, knew this world to be nothing but an objectivized dream of the Creator. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
140:The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained, when one eradicates selfishness from within. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
141:Just beneath the surface of all experiences in life is God's, or the Guru's, compassionate face. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
142:The genuine Guru is God's representative and he speaks about God and nothing else. ~ A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
143:I grew up watching Mickey Mouse and going to Disney World, like, 2,000 times. Mickey Mouse is like my guru. ~ Greg Cipes,
144:If you are a guru or an expert, people will know it. If you aren’t one, no one is going to believe you. In ~ Guy Kawasaki,
145:Our psychological birth takes place when we accept a guru who reveals to us the secrets of the Vedas. ~ Devdutt Pattanaik,
146:Make of the Silence your to-do tasks, of the compassion your wealth and of the meditation your beggar's bowl. ~ Guru Nanak,
147:Sri Gurubhyo Namah.’ Anyone who chants that with attention and humility is immediately blessed by Sri Guru Babaji. ~ Sri M,
148:God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
149:If you observe awareness steadily, this awareness itself becomes the Guru that will reveal the Truth. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
150:(Nishan Sahib), which was raised at every gurdwara from the 1620s, when Guru Hargobind led the community. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
151:You can never really know what a guru is as long as you are imprisoned by your own thoughts and circular ego. ~ Krishna Das,
152:You must call on God with great yearning. You can hear from the lips of the Guru how God can be realized. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
153:I have always wanted to branch off and become a fashion guru. I want to share my artistic views with the world. ~ A J McLean,
154:Ramu's faith was the devotionally ploughed soil in which the guru's powerful seed of permanent healing sprouted. ~ Anonymous,
155:See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world. ~ Guru Nanak,
156:The teaching of the Guru is just the dwelling in the Heart, through the Experience of the One Reality. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
157:Unless you are actually a ninja, a guru, or a rock star, don't ever use any of those terms in your bio. Ever. ~ Austin Kleon,
158:Unless you are actually a ninja, a guru, or a rock star, don’t ever use any of those terms in your bio. Ever. ~ Austin Kleon,
159:Bedis, Sodhis, Trehans and Bhallas coming down from Guru Nanak, Guru Ram Das, Guru Angad and Guru Amar Das, ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
160:God and the Guru are identical. He [She] that has earned the Grace of the Guru shall never be forsaken. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
161:God, the world Guru, is wiser than thy mind; trust Him and not that eternal self-seeker and arrogant sceptic. ~ Sri Aurobindo,
162:If one learns all by oneself, the chances are that one will learn all wrong. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
163:The real guru is the pure intellect within; and the purified, deeply aspiring mind is the disciple. ~ Chinmayananda Saraswati,
164:You can learn more from watching the animals than you can from a guru or a minister — or from reading my book. ~ Jane Roberts,
165:Surrender to the Feet of the Guru is the real mantra, in which there will be no fear of Maya’s delusion. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
166:The Lord of man and beast is working in all; His presence is scattered everywhere; There is none else to be seen. ~ Guru Arjan,
167:Be the wisdom your support. Be the compassion your guide and listen to the Divine Music that beats in every heart. ~ Guru Nanak,
168:Master invisible filling all hearts and directing them from within, to whatever side I look, Thou dwellest there. ~ Bharon Guru,
169:There, where neither your children nor your spouse shall accompany you, the Name of the Lord shall emancipate you. ~ Guru Nanak,
170:I met Leo Fender, who is the guru of all amplifiers, and he gave me a Stratocaster. He became a second father to me. ~ Dick Dale,
171:I take the dust from the lotus feet of the guru to cleanse the mirror of my mind.” So begins a sacred ode to Hanuman. ~ Ram Dass,
172:Blessed, blessed is the Knower of the Lord, my True Guru, He has taught me to look upon friend and foe alike. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
173:The guru is always ready to give what can be given, if the disciple can receive. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
174:Saya yakin bahwa rasa cinta adalah guru yang lebih baik ketimbang kewajiban, paling tidak bagi saya." -Einstein- ~ Walter Isaacson,
175:You need many teachers, not one teacher; you need many gurus, not one guru; you need many books not one book! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan,
176:Blessed, blessed is the True Guru, the Immaculate, Almighty Lord God, meeting Him, I meditate on the Name of the Lord. ~ Guru Nanak,
177:Even Kings and emperors with heaps of wealth and vast dominion cannot compare with an ant filled with the love of God. ~ Guru Nanak,
178:Guru Nanak named as his successor a disciple, Lehna, a Khatri of the Trehan clan, who became known as Guru Angad. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
179:A Guru is there to show you what you are. You are not different from Me. Whatever I am, that is what you are. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,
180:I am neither male nor female, nor am I sexless. I am the Peaceful One, whose form is self-effulgent, powerful radiance. ~ Guru Nanak,
181:The Self alone is. Is not then the Self your Guru? Where else will Grace come from? It is from the Self alone. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
182:The whole art of being a Guru is just this: to constantly puncture people’s egos and still manage to remain their friend. ~ Sadhguru,
183:All of the religions are looking after the poor. At least leave me alone to look after the rich. I am the rich man's guru. ~ Rajneesh,
184:"Don't follow the past.Don't anticipate the future.Remain in the present moment.Leave your mind alone." ~ Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava,
185:The guide, the guru, the leader, the teacher, has passed away; the boy, the student, the servant, is left behind. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
186:I don't know if it's the economy, but finding work as a spiritual guru is really hard. Maybe I should grow my hair out. ~ Dov Davidoff,
187:Whatever may be guru - he may be a lunatic or a common person. Once you have accepted him, he is the lord of lords. ~ Neem Karoli Baba,
188:If anyone steps on your ego, instantly, he becomes your enemy. But a Guru is a friend who constantly tramples your ego. ~ Jaggi Vasudev,
189:Surrender to the Feet of the Guru is the real mantra, in which there will be no fear of Maya's delusion.
   ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, [T5],
190:They, who have no eyes in their face, are not called blind. They alone are blind, O Nanak, who stray away from their Lord. ~ Guru Angad,
191:It [the Grace of the Guru] is the sweet Fruit whose juice is the supremely pure Bliss that leads one to the Heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
192:They, who have no eyes in their face, are not called blind. They alone are blind, O Nanak, who stray away from their Lord. ~ Guru Angad,
193:Fearing this false world which appears to exist, is like fearing the false snake which appears in a rope. ~ Muruganar, Guru Vachaka Kovai,
194:The Guru is the formless Self within each of us. He may appear as a body to guide us, but that is only his disguise. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
195:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you have not already. We are always the Self. Only, we don’t realize it. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
196:The production of children, the nurture of those born, and the daily life of men, of these matters woman is visibly the cause. ~ Guru Nanak,
197:There can be no fear, if the Guru's grace descends on one. He will let you know who you are and what your real nature is. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
198:One more thing: Unless you are actually a ninja, a guru, or a rock star, don’t ever use any of those terms in your bio. Ever. ~ Austin Kleon,
199:Suatu Bangsa Tidak Akan Maju Sebelum Ada Diantara Bangsa itu Segologan Guru yang Suka Berkorban Untuk Keperluan Bangsanya. ~ Mohammad Natsir,
200:Be kind to all beings, this is more meritorious than bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage and donating money. ~ Guru Nanak,
201:Let each man take the path according to his capacity, understanding and temperament. His true guru will meet him along that path. ~ Sivananda,
202:I am proud to be a Sikh and am a true disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, who sacrificed his entire family for the Sikh religion. ~ Harbhajan Singh,
203:Islam adalah guru serta pembimbing ilmu pengetahuan, dan pemimpin serta bapak dari segala pengetahuan. (Said Nursi) ~ Habiburrahman El Shirazy,
204:As the Primal Being, Lord Shiva has neither ancestors, nor caste, neither guru, nor education, for he is the origin of all. ~ Wolf Dieter Storl,
205:That one plant should be sown and another be produced cannot happen; whatever seed is sown, a plant of that kind even comes forth. ~ Guru Nanak,
206:Far from wife and son am 1, far from land and wealth and other notions of that kind. I am the Witness, the Eternal, the Inner Self. ~ Guru Nanak,
207:I have been saying for many years that we are using the word 'guru' only because 'charlatan' is too long to fit into a headline. ~ Peter Drucker,
208:The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. All others merely show the way. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
209:He who, having lost his parents or being abandoned, by them without ,just cause, gives himself to a ,man , is called a son self given. ~ Guru Nanak,
210:So the guru goes up to the hot dog guy. Hot dog guy says, ‘What can I get you?’
“And the guru says, ‘Make me one. With everything.’  ~ Sara Gran,
211:Even kings and emperors, with mountains of property and oceans of wealth - these are not even equal to an ant, who does not forget God. ~ Guru Nanak,
212:Mengapa hanya kekerasan, kemarahan, dan kejudesan yang pantas diungkapkan oleh seorang guru? Karena semua itu yang dapat menegakkan wibawa? ~ Mira W,
213:Those who accomplish me, accomplish all the buddhas; Those who see me, see all the buddhas. - Guru Rinpoche, Guru Yoga?
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
214:Guru Amar Das, who died in 1574, also rejected his sons’ claims, he named his son-in-law, Guru Ram Das, a Khatri of the Sodhi clan, ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
215:QBert is pretty much the Jimi Hendrix of DJing. He is so far advanced. So far ahead of everybody else. He's like Yoda! Like the guru. ~ DJ Jazzy Jeff,
216:The giver of the Mantra is the real Guru, for by the repetition of this Mantra one obtains dispassion and renunciation. ~ Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,
217:As soon as the devotee is willing to go even to the ends of the earth for spiritual enlightenment, his guru appears nearby.” I ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
218:If you have faith and confidence, it is not the human form of the guru that you worship, but the Supreme Lord who manifests through him. ~ The Mother,
219:Guru is not the physical form. So the contact will remain even after the physical form of the Guru vanishes. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by Day, 9-3-46,
220:If one has the grace of the Guru, there is no fear. The Guru will open your eyes and tell you who you are and what your real self is. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
221:Let each man take the path according to his capacity, understanding and temperament. His true guru will meet him along that path. ~ Sivananda Saraswati,
222:Man needs a guru. But a man must have faith in the guru's words. He succeeds in spiritual life by looking on his guru as God Himself. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
223:Muddy Waters he play in the river Joan Rivers she play in the mud Swami guru play in a big salad bowl Counting lettuce and chewing his cud ~ Tom Robbins,
224:It’s ego – the false self – that exalts the guru and declares the teaching sacred, but nothing is exalted or sacred, only true or not true. ~ Jed McKenna,
225:Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul, for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss. ~ Guru Nanak,
226:Do you share my belief in Swami Vivekananda's dream that India will be a Jagad Guru once again? I see no reason for India to be left behind. ~ Narendra Modi,
227:Evelyn’s New Age daughter will discover that a good shag beats hugging a guru any day.”
— Helen Falconer, book reviewer for The Guardian ~ Deborah Moggach,
228:Too much faith in personality has a tendency to produce weakness and idolatry, but intense love for the Guru makes rapid growth possible. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
229:The guru is not as important as the disciple himself. If one worships with utmost devotion, even a stone would become the Supreme Lord. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
230:A lot of people pass through the thinking I'm a guru and take enough trips to understand that no, I was just a witness. I was just a witness. ~ Terence McKenna,
231:If an appointed daughter by accident dies without ,leaving a son, the husband of the appointed daughter may, without hesitation, take that estate. ~ Guru Nanak,
232:Make your entire life an expression of your faith and love for your teacher. This is real dwelling with the Guru. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, Ch 32,
233:India is the guru of the nations, the physician of the human soul in its profounder maladies. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - II, Swaraj and the Coming Anarchy,
234:For a spiritual journey, you don’t have to meditate or visit a temple or listen to a guru! Just live a misty morning while the sun is rising! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan,
235:ŒÊ„UÊ üÊ˪ÈL o⁄UŸ ‚⁄UÙ¡ ⁄¡ ÁŸ¡ ◊ŸÈ ◊È∑ÈL ‚ÈœÊÁ⁄– ’⁄UŸ©° ⁄UÉÊÈ’⁄ Á’◊‹ ¡‚È ¡Ù ŒÊÿ∑È »‹ oÊÁ⁄UH Dohå ›r∂guru carana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhåri, ~ Anonymous,
236:The purpose of initiation is to try to realize God through sincere spiritual effort. Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta. ~ Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,
237:Through True Love, she merges with Him. She who does not know her Husband Lord, the Architect of karma, is deluded by falsehood she herself is false. ~ Guru Nanak,
238:I now understand why my guru told me not to read other commentaries onthe Bhagavad Gita. He didn't want my mind influenced by human opinions. ~ Paramhansa Yogananda,
239:Like Guru Nanak after him, Baba Farid suggested that at a basic level a Muslim and a Hindu were the same, sharing the joy and pain of being human. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
240:Membaca adalah guru terbaik dalam hidup ku, karena dengan membaca aq mengerti banyak hal dan dengan membaca aq mampu melihat sisi lain dari dunia ini. ~ Dee Lestari,
241:The mentor-mentee relationship is ideally like that of the guru and disciple: motivated by the desire of the guru to impart knowledge to the disciple. ~ Vivek Wadhwa,
242:May liberal men abound with us! May our knowledge of the Vedas and our progeny increase! May faith not forsake us! May we have much to give to the needy. ~ Guru Nanak,
243:I was the New Age guru who had attained a perfect state of Enough Already, and if the world wanted any more from me they could damn well come and get it. ~ Jeff Lindsay,
244:Burn worldly love,
rub the ashes and make ink of it,
make the heart the pen,
the intellect the writer,
write that which has no end or limit. ~ Guru Nanak,
245:Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a woman is united according to the law, such qualities even she assumes, like a river, united with the ocean. ~ Guru Nanak,
246:In spiritual matters mental logic easily blunders; intuition, faith, a plastic spiritual reason are here the only guides. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Guru,
247:Non-Muslims were asked—in 1679, four years after Guru Tegh Bahadur’s death—to pay the jizya, a practice Akbar had abolished more than a century earlier. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
248:The Guru cannot give you anything new, which you have not already. Removal of the notion that we have not realized the Self is all that is required. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
249:The syllable gu means darkness, the syllable ru, he who dispels them, Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named. ~ Advayataraka Upanishad, Verse 16,
250:I don't think of myself as a guru but as a teacher. If one means 'guru' in the original sense a 'dispeller of darkness' then that certainly is my purpose. ~ Frederick Lenz,
251:If a woman abandoned by her husband, or a widow, of her own accord contracts a second marriage and bears ,a son , he is called the son of a re married woman . ~ Guru Nanak,
252:In all places, the sangats, a majority of them composed of Khatri settlers, honoured Guru Tegh Bahadur, celebrated his son’s arrival, and gave offerings. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
253:Whatever kind of seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, a plant of that same kind, marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed, springs up in it. ~ Guru Nanak,
254:Food sacred to the manes or to the gods must be given to a man distinguished by sacred knowledge, for hands, smeared with blood, cannot be cleansed with blood. ~ Guru Nanak,
255:When management guru Peter Drucker was asked for one thing that would make a person better in business, he responded, “Learn to play the violin.” Different ~ Keith Ferrazzi,
256:Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, but goes straight to the Source from which they all rise. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Ramana,
257:Guru Nanak was born in 1469 into the Bedi clan of the Khatri caste of Hindus in a Punjab which had seen Timur’s brutal invasion only seventy years earlier. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
258:In the City of Death, there is pitch darkness and huge clouds of dust, neither sister nor brother is there. This body is frail, old age is overtaking it. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
259:He ,who is appointed to ,cohabit with the widow shall ,approach her at night anointed with clarified butter and silent, ,and beget one son, by no means a second. ~ Guru Nanak,
260:The word of the Mantra is living. Can anyone, who has received it, give it back? Can he, once having felt attraction for the Guru, get rid of him? ~ Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,
261:Whenever someone introduces themselves as a Master or a Guru, I immediately wonder…
If those are the lies they tell themselves, what lies will they tell me? ~ Steve Maraboli,
262:Actually there's a very bad trend in some cults about how Guru's are supposed to be mean to their students, and there are some who revel in this and are abusive. ~ Robert Thurman,
263:Do not grieve for me, as I shall have been ushered by my great guru into the arms of the Infinite. Farewell, my child; the Cosmic Mother will protect you. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
264:In our own present world age, one thousand Buddhas will appear. Each one will be accompanied by an emanation of Guru Rinpoche to carry out the Buddha’s activities. ~ Padmasambhava,
265:Nan satitiak jadikan lawuik, nan sakapa jadikan gunuang, alam takambang jadi guru. Yang setetes jadikan laut, yang sekepal jadikan gunung, alam terkembang jadi guru. ~ Ahmad Fuadi,
266:Look within,
There is no difference between yourself, Self and Guru.
You are always Free.
There is no teacher, there is no student, there is no teaching. ~ H W L Poonja,
267:Neither Mantra nor scripture is of any avail; Bhakti, love, accomplishes everything. The Master is everything - both Guru and Ishta. He is all in all. ~ Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,
268:On my first trip to India, my guru took me to an ashram in Allahabad. I felt like I was walking into a place I had been before. It felt like it was my spiritual home. ~ Trevor Hall,
269:By twice born men a widow must not be appointed to ,cohabit with any other ,than her husband , for they who appoint ,her to another ,man , will violate the eternal law. ~ Guru Nanak,
270:O my heart! Love God as the chatrik loves the rain drops, Who even when fountains are full and the land green, Is not satisfied as long as it cannot get a drop of rain. ~ Guru Nanak,
271:We are in the midst of a momentous event in the evolution of human consciousness, but they won’t be talking about it in the news tonight. —Eckhart Tolle, self-help guru ~ Dan Harris,
272:I am never far from those with faith, or even from those without it, though they do not see me. My children will always, always, be protected by my compassion. ~ Guru Rinpoche, [T5],
273:In varying degrees, the authority of the dharma was replaced by the authority of the guru, who came, in some traditions, to assume the role of the Buddha himself. ~ Stephen Batchelor,
274:Know it for certain that without steady devotion for the Guru and unflinching patience and perseverance, nothing is to be achieved. You must have strict morality. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
275:Business guru John Kotter says that the place most leaders fail in effecting change is in assuming their people understand the need for change more than they actually do. ~ J D Greear,
276:Guru-ji, I am the winner of the Super Sleuth World Federation of Detectives award for 1999. Also, I was on the cover of India Today magazine. It’s a distinction no other ~ Tarquin Hall,
277:We cannot learn real patience and tolerance from a guru or a friend. They can be practiced only when we come in contact with someone who creates unpleasant experiences. ~ Dalai Lama XIV,
278:You yourself are the teacher, and the pupil, you're the master, you're the guru, you are the leader, you are everything! And, to understand is to transform what is. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
279:GIRISH: "If a man is so strongly tied hand and foot, then what is his way?"
MASTER: "He has nothing to fear if God Himself, as the guru, cuts the chain of maya." ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
280:Offspring, the due performance on religious rites, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and oneself, depend on one's wife alone. ~ Guru Nanak,
281:Sometimes I have a beard, sometimes I don't, and I'm not very good at maintaining it. I've got an agreement with my life coach and guru that I don't touch it from now on. ~ Justin Hawkins,
282:But for disloyalty to her husband a wife is censured among men, and ,in her next life she is born in the womb of a jackal and tormented by diseases, the punishment of her sin. ~ Guru Nanak,
283:Without knowing how to calculate the odds on such matters, it seems improbably to me that God would have whispered the meaning of my life into the ear of some guru or authority. ~ Sam Keen,
284:We have no family to worry about, we have no society to worry about, we have no occupation to worry about, and we simply have one thing and only one thing in our life, Guru seva ~ Anonymous,
285:As a father ,supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger brothers, and let them also in accordance with the law behave towards their eldest brother as sons ,behave. ~ Guru Nanak,
286:When I was in India I met and conversed briefly with Shri Atmananda Guru of Trivandrum, and the question he gave me to ponder was this: 'Where are you between two thoughts? ~ Joseph Campbell,
287:For this purpose was I born, let all virtuous people understand. I was born to advance righteousness, to emancipate the good, and to destroy all evil-doers root and branch. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
288:Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
289:Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
290:Never let them see you sweat. Nicole Grant, former dating guru and A-list matchmaker, knew it was a bad sign when the philosophy you were living by came from a deodorant commercial. ~ Wendy Wax,
291:Whatever his reasons, and despite his reputation as an intelligence guru, by 1943 von Roenne was deliberately passing information he knew to be false, directly to Hitler’s desk. ~ Ben Macintyre,
292:A man said to me, "You talk to your dead guru?" And I said, "Yeah." He said, "That's in your imagination." And I said, "Yeah!" Because my guru is in my imagination anywhere. Anywhere. ~ Ram Dass,
293:Build the raft of meditation and self-discipline, to carry you across the river. There will be no ocean, and no rising tides to stop you; this is how comfortable your path shall be. ~ Guru Nanak,
294:I know it sounds ridiculous, like something you’d hear from a mountaintop guru or a little green swamp alien who can lift a spaceship with his mind. But doesn’t it kinda make sense? ~ Max Brooks,
295:Giving no pain to any creature, let him slowly accumulate spiritual merit, for the sake ,of acquiring a companion to the next world, just as the white ant ,gradually raises its hill. ~ Guru Nanak,
296:There is but one God. True is His Name, creative His personality and immortal His form. He is without fear sans enmity, unborn and self-illumined. By the Guru's grace He is obtained. ~ Guru Nanak,
297:Today in the west the word 'guru' has come to mean someone who leads a cult, someone who deprives others of their intellectual or spiritual freedom and rips them off financially. ~ Frederick Lenz,
298:Owing to ignorance of the rope the rope appears to be a snake; owing to ignorance of the Self the transient state arises of the individualized, limited, phenomenal aspect of the Self. ~ Guru Nanak,
299:Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement ~ Carol S Dweck,
300:We are able to hear only what we're ready to take in. As productivity guru David Alan points out - information is always available, but WE are not always available to the information. ~ Rolf Gates,
301:My master's visualizations were so powerful their condensation into matter was mere signature. Donald Walters, formerly Kriyananda, author of The Path about his guru Yogananda. ~ Goswami Kriyananda,
302:The word is the Guru, The Guru is the Word, For all nectar is enshrined in the world Blessed is the word which reveal the Lord's name But more is the one who knows by the Guru's grace. ~ Guru Nanak,
303:God is the only Guru. My Divine Mother is the sole doer of actions, I am only an instrument in Her hands. I feel myself always to be Her child. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, Sayings of Ramakrishna Paramahasma,
304:Tell me what you value and I might believe you,” management guru Peter Drucker once said, “but show me your calendar and your bank statement, and I’ll show you what you really value. ~ Steven Kotler,
305:The word is the Guru, The Guru is the Word, For all nectar is enshrined in the world Blessed is the word which reveal the Lord's name But more is the one who knows by the Guru's grace. ~ Guru Nanak,
306:The purpose of the guru is not to weaken your will. It is to teach you secrets of developing your inner power, until you can stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
307:When the purpose of the appointment to ,cohabit with the widow bas been attained in accordance with the law, those two shall behave towards each other like a father and a daughter in law. ~ Guru Nanak,
308:If the widow of a man who died without leaving issue, raises up to him a son by a member of the family , she shall deliver to that ,son the whole property which belonged to the ,deceased . ~ Guru Nanak,
309:Those who have not obtained the Blessed Vision, the Blessed Vision of the Darshan of the True Guru, the Almighty Lord God they have fruitlessly, uselessly wasted their whole lives in vain. ~ Guru Nanak,
310:Change is not in the hands of government, not in the hands of a leader or guru, and not in the hands of the powerful or wealthy. It is in our hands: the hands of each and every one of us. ~ Shari Arison,
311:Tell me what you value and I might believe you,” management guru Peter Drucker once said, “but show me your calendar and your bank statement, and I’ll show you what you really value.” So ~ Steven Kotler,
312:A number of Guru's feel that there is something wrong or sick about being gay. I think it really doesn't matter what your sexual preference is; what matters is the quality of your love. ~ Frederick Lenz,
313:As with cows, mares, female camels, slave girls, buffalo cows, she goats, and ewes, it is not the begetter ,or his owner who obtains the offspring, even thus ,it is with the wives of others. ~ Guru Nanak,
314:Blessed, blessed is that Sikh of the Guru, who goes and falls at the Feet of the True Guru. Blessed, blessed is that Sikh of the Guru, who with his mouth, utters the Name of the Lord. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
315:Ilmu itu tumpang menumpang, murid menumpang ilmu guru, guru juga turut menumpang kebijaksanaan muridnya. Itulah dia 'taawun' iaitu saling mengambil manfaat antara satu sama lain. ~ Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat,
316:The guru is a tremendous tradition because is a guide, it's a guide to life, and we can guide energetically, we can guide in our thought, we can have a prayer that travels wonderful things. ~ Maya Tiwari,
317:We have chosen words like teacher, master, and guru as titles for the people to whom we go for spiritual training and counsel. But the original Buddhist term is spiritual friend. ~ Shambhala Publications,
318:I believe in the Hindu theory of Guru and his importance in spiritual realisation. I think there is a great deal of truth in the doctrine that true knowledge is impossible without a Guru. ~ Mahatma Gandhi,
319:The widow cries out at the door, The light of my mind has gone out, O my mother, with his death. So cry out, O soul brides of the Husband Lord, and dwell on the Glorious Praises of the True Lord. ~ Guru Nanak,
320:Deepak Chopra, look at him. He's probably the most successful self-help guru in the world. I don't think he's struggling for any marketing or exposure. You've just got to know where your audience is. ~ KRS One,
321:I am a sacrifice to the Guru, who has totally cured me of the fatal disease of egotism. Glorious and great are the virtues of the Guru, who has eradicated evil, and instructed me in virtue. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
322:the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun that his actions, not his beliefs, will set him free. Or, as Guru-ji put it, “When you’re in the bathtub, you need to move a little to feel the warmth. ~ Eric Weiner,
323:If you have a guru, leave him; if you don’t have, get one. In other words, keep changing your gurus! Ocean’s wisdom comes from knowing many ships and many fishes, many storms and many waves! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan,
324:Let him avoid ,the acquisition of wealth and ,the gratification of his desires, if they are opposed to the sacred law, and even lawful acts which may cause pain in the future or are offensive to men. ~ Guru Nanak,
325:The practice of the Name turns us in the direction of the light. The practice of the Name removes the dust from our eyes so that we can see the world as it really is: lit up by the light of the guru. ~ Krishna Das,
326:Those who conquer their minds are beings of renunciation and detachment. They are beings of renunciation and detachment they are lovingly focused on the True One, they realize and understand themselves. ~ Guru Nanak,
327:But if the guru and sādhus behave hypocritically, then their teaching cannot be accepted as a transparent via medium, and the whole epistemological system of receiving the truth breaks down. ~ Satsvar pa d sa Goswami,
328:No calamity happens to those who eagerly follow auspicious customs and the rule of good conduct, to those who are always careful of purity, and to those who mutter ,sacred texts and offer burnt oblations. ~ Guru Nanak,
329:Alam semesta ini penuh kejutan. Coba kau amati dan renungkan. Ambil pelajaran dari semuanya. Itulah yang disebut oleh orang-orang tua kita di Minang, alam takambang jadi guru. Alam terkembang jadikan guru. ~ Ahmad Fuadi,
330:Guru Bushi selalu bilang, "Ingat, Bujang. Jika kau tidak membunuh mereka lebih dulu, maka mereka akan membunuhmu lebih awal. Pertempuran adalah pertempuran. Tidak ada ampun. Jangan ragu walau sehelai benang. ~ Tere Liye,
331:SADHAKA: "Sir, what is the way?"MASTER: "Faith in the guru's words. One attains God by following the guru's instructions step by step. It is like reaching an object by following the trail of a thread." ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
332:Excluded from all fellowship at meals, excluded from all sacrifices, excluded from instruction and from matrimonial alliances, abject and excluded from all religious duties, let them wander over ,this earth. ~ Guru Nanak,
333:Parents give birth; the Guru gives life. These life-givers are the soul of the magnificent building. The school building which the government can construct is like the body, but the teachers are the soul. ~ Narendra Modi,
334:After months of speculation, the sitcom star Ellen DeGeneres admitted that yes, she's gay. Inspired by her courage, today, diet-guru Richard Simmons admitted that he is really, really, really, really gay. ~ Norm MacDonald,
335:the bar was the best place to hide in. time came under your control, time to wade in, time to do nothing in. no guru was needed, no god. nothing expected but yourself and nothing lost to the unexpected. ~ Charles Bukowski,
336:While eating, our attention should not be focused just on the taste. Imagine our chosen deity or guru is present within us and that we are feeding Him. This will turn eating into a spiritual practice. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
337:They verbally attacked each other with Mao's quotations, making cynical use of his guru-like elusiveness––it was easy to select a quotation of Mao's to suit any situation, or even both sides of the same argument. ~ Jung Chang,
338:He was the editor of our paper. He created the publishing house in Hebrew. He was - I wouldn't say the "guru" - but really he was our teacher and a most respected man. I wrote for the paper of the youth movement. ~ Shimon Peres,
339:In certain tantric rituals the candidate is first beaten by his guru, hashish forced down him, and he is taken at midnight to a dark cemetery for sacred sexual intercourse. Thus he achieves union with his god. ~ Peter J Carroll,
340:The word "Guru", as it is used in the contemporary American scene, is someone who takes all your money and tells you what to do with your life. You assume no responsibility. A lot of people want that free ride. ~ Frederick Lenz,
341:Everybody will surely be liberated. But one should follow the instructions of the guru; if one follows a devious path, one will suffer in trying to retrace one's steps. It takes long time to achieve liberation. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
342:Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is meat and what is plant Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non vegetarian ~ Guru Nanak,
343:A guru is one who tells you to throw away all the crutches that we have been made to believe are essential for our survival. He would ask you to walk, and he would say that if you fall, you will arise and walk. ~ U G Krishnamurti,
344:If one of the brothers, being able ,to maintain himself by his own occupation, does not desire ,a share of the family property, he may be made separate ,by the others receiving a trifle out of his share to live upon. ~ Guru Nanak,
345:Ashrams and gurukulas (spiritual schools) are the pillars of spiritual culture. If we perform sadhana according to the guru's advice, we need not go anywhere else. We will get whatever we need from the guru. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
346:Is it not true that even most of the seekers after God cannot call it down? And yet they can receive it if someone, a guru or avatar, has once called it down within him. Is it so?

   Yes.
   ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,
347:This is like the joke where the guy climbs the mountain and asks the guru, 'What is the secret of life?,' and the guru says, 'All is One,' and the guys says, 'Are you kidding?,' and the guru says, 'You mean it isn't? ~ Rudy Rucker,
348:If the devotee practices spiritual discipline a little, the Guru explains everything to him. Then the disciple understands for himself what is real and what is unreal. God alone is real, and the world is illusory. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
349:In 1574, when the third Guru’s daughter was getting married to one who would become the fourth Guru, the Mughal emperor gave, as a wedding gift, an area of land in a place in the Bari doab not yet called Amritsar. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
350:That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection. ~ Chanakya,
351:There are three main parts to the actual practice of Guru Yoga: first there is the visualization, next the fervent prayer to the guru, and lastly the receiving of the four empowerments.
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Guru Yoga, [T2],
352:Do not waste time in calculating and worrying over whether or not you are progressing in the path of spirituality. It is vanity to judge progress for oneself. Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta. ~ Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,
353:The ignorant soul bride wanders in delusion, in the love of duality, she sits like a widow. She sits like a widow, in the love of duality, infatuated with Maya, she suffers in pain. She grows old, and her body withers away. ~ Guru Nanak,
354:Those who call me God, will fall into the deep pit of hell. Regard me as one of his slaves and have no doubt whatever about it. I am a servant of the Supreme Being; and have come to behold the wonderful drama of life. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
355:The guru is just trying to help you, to bring you to a point where you can at least surrender the ego. Then a deep ecstasy will happen between you and your master. Wherever there is a `let-go', ecstasy happens - that is the law. ~ Rajneesh,
356:You know how some people are unlucky in love? I was always unlucky in exercise. I'd get into a relationship with a workout program or guru, we'd go steady for a few intense months, and then we'd have a really ugly breakup. ~ Alissa Nutting,
357:In spiritual life, one must conduct one's whole life under the guidance of the guru. Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual master can achieve the mercy of Krishna. ~ A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
358:The only exercise guru then was Richard Simmons—a flamboyant fuzzy-haired creature who vaguely resembled a gay Bozo the Clown, unless that’s redundant, which I, thank God, have no way of knowing, having no, thank God, direct ~ Carrie Fisher,
359:Death has such great importance in this society that it affects everything. I learned from my guru that death is not the enemy, I see it as another moment. Yet it's the end of an incarnation and means going on to other incarnations. ~ Ram Dass,
360:I do Pilates and yoga to stay in front of the curve. I feel like it's helping me. Does it work for everybody? I don't know. I'm not a guru on how to be in the best condition. Let me sit here and tell you that. But it works for me. ~ LeBron James,
361:Seeking a teacher is just ego seeking a reprieve. Giving oneself over to a teacher or a teaching or the Beloved Guru or whatever is all about staying asleep, not waking up. First rule in this business; you are completely on your own. ~ Anonymous,
362:People come to a teacher to learn self-discovery. A teacher who just wants to keep you on a string forever, the god-guru concept, a teacher like that is very abusive. Those people are actually usually taking their students energy. ~ Frederick Lenz,
363:Yet in a kingdom containing seven constituent parts, which is upheld like the triple staff ,of an ascetic , there is no ,single part more important ,than the others , by reason of the importance of the qualities of each for the others. ~ Guru Nanak,
364:Actually I did not invent the seven habits, they are universal principles and most of what I wrote about is just common sense. I am embarrassed when people talk about the Covey Habits, and dislike the idea of being some sort of guru. ~ Stephen Covey,
365:You who seek God, apart, apart The thing you seek, thou art, thou art. If you want to seek the Beloved’s face. Polish the mirror, gaze into that space. These words were written by Rumi as a tribute for his master guru Shams of Tabriz. ~ Wayne W Dyer,
366:One may have many teachers, but only one guru, who remains as one's guru even in many different lives, until the disciple reaches the final goal of emancipation in God. You must remember this, once that relationship is formed. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
367:There is a theory that if you yearn sincerely enough for a Guru, you will find one. The universe will shift, destiny's molecules will get themselves organized and your path will soon intersect with the path of the master you need. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
368:It could manifest and grow like seeds planted throughout your life, so that life itself becomes the guru. The idea is that life becomes the teacher all the time. This seems to be one of the very important messages of Milarepa’s life. ~ Ch gyam Trungpa,
369:For me, being a good creative writing teacher is actually kind of being a good therapist. The line is very porous - you can also be a creepy guru/abusive therapist, too, so you have to be very careful. But it feels really important to me. ~ Annie Baker,
370:With his hair tied back and about three days worth of beard Win looked more like a vagrant than a comm guru. Except for those keen, blue eyes. Eyes currently alive with that uncomfortable piercing quality, as if he were reading his mind. ~ Marcha A Fox,
371:It feels like she's having some very sophisticated sleepover with her spiritual sensei or guru. She has always avoided the term LIFE COACH, finding it utterly pathetic. You need a coach to live? To help you live? Get up in the morning? ~ Nickolas Butler,
372:Dalam urusan apapun, penting sekali memiliki ilmunya. Maka, tuntutlah ilmu setinggi mungkin, rengkuh dia dari tempat-tempat jauh, kumpulkan dia dari sumber-sumber terbaik, guru-guru yang tulus, agar terang cahaya kalian, terang oleh ilmu itu. ~ Tere Liye,
373:It's funny, I see Wendy Kaminer herself as a kind of guru - a guru of the fashionably cynical set. Yet she uses the term "guru" to minimize my career, to marginalize my thoughts and to trivialize my work, as well as those of others. ~ Marianne Williamson,
374:Sudah tentu seorang pengarang atau penulis manapun juga dan berapapun juga adalah murid dari pemikir lain dari dalam masyarakatnya sendiri atau masyarakat lain. Sedikitnya ia dipengaruhi oleh guru, kawan sepaham, bahkan oleh musuhnya sendiri. ~ Tan Malaka,
375:To put your full belief in your Guru, because it's for your own good, because you've decided that... It's just having a lot of respect for the person and it's like that with music as well...You should love your instrument and respect it. ~ George Harrison,
376:The grace of the Guru is like an ocean. If one comes with a cup he will only get a cupful. It is no use complaining of the niggardliness of the ocean. The bigger the vessel the more one will be able to carry. It is entirely up to him. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
377:An adopted son shall never take the family, name and the estate of his natural father, the funeral cake follows the family, name and the estate, the funeral offerings of him who gives ,his son in adoption cease, as far as that son is concerned. ~ Guru Nanak,
378:Another etymological theory considers the term guru to be based on the syllables gu (गु) and ru(रु), which it claims stands for darkness and light that dispels it, respectively.[Note 2] The guru is seen as the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. ~ ?,
379:The Master never claims that he is god and others are not; on the contrary the master gives us hope that we are similar to him, very much like him with this little difference - we are not aware of who we are and the Guru knows who he is. ~ Anandmurti Gurumaa,
380:To develop patience, you need someone who willfully hurts you. Such people give us real opportunities to practice tolerance. They test our inner strength in a way that even our guru cannot. Basically, patience protects us from being discouraged. ~ Dalai Lama,
381:When I was born, God existed. But I never knew Him. I just never knew Him until Guru Maharaj Ji came into my life, till Guru Maharaj Ji came in my way, and showed me and revealed me that secret. And the day he did that, there it was, I knew God. ~ Prem Rawat,
382:I came into the world charged with the duty to uphold the right in every place, to destroy sin and evil... the only reason I took birth was to see that righteousness may flourish, that good may live, and tyrants be torn out by their roots. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
383:Marketing guru Jay Levinson figures you have to run an ad twenty-seven times against one individual before it has its desired impact. Why? Because only one out of nine ads is seen, and you’ve got to see it at least three times before it sinks in. ~ Seth Godin,
384:I have students that I tell, "If your book doesn't sell or you can't publish it, write another book. Quit sitting around." The publishing world is a business, but it's not any big deal. An editor is not your guru. Your agent is not your guru. ~ Natalie Goldberg,
385:I have spiritual beliefs that I could literally go out and make an entire comedy routine about, and tour as some sort of spiritual guru, but it kind of goes against that [as] I actually believe the things, so I'm always kind of caught in the middle. ~ Jim Carrey,
386:In all this it will have been seen that the most powerful weapon in the hand of the student is the Vow of Holy Obedience; and many will wish that they had the opportunity of putting themselves under a holy guru.
   ~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Magick, The Wand,
387:The late W. Edwards Deming, guru of Quality management, once declared, 'The most important things we need to manage can't be measured.' If that’s true of what we need to manage, it should be even more obvious that it’s true of what we need to teach. ~ Alfie Kohn,
388:The test of ahimsa is the absence of jealousy. The man whose heart never cherishes even the thought of injury to anyone, who rejoices at the prosperity of even his greatest enemy, that man is the bhakta, he is the yogi, he is the guru of all. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
389:O Nanak, the worldly achievements and glory is worthy of being burnt in the fire if it causes one to forget God. Usually these worldly things has caused mortals to forget the the Name of the Lord. Not even one of them will go along with you in the end. ~ Guru Angad,
390:For a seeker, Guru Purnima is a day of significance, is a day of New Year. It is the day to review one’s progress on the spiritual path and renew one’s determination and focus on the goal, and to resolve what one wants to do in the coming year ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,
391:Author Steve Denning has highlighted the weakness of Porter’s assumption that the purpose of strategy is to avoid competition. Denning pointed instead to management guru Peter Drucker’s dictum that the purpose of business is “to create a customer. ~ Geoffrey G Parker,
392:The great management guru Charles Handy says that, as far as money goes, you have to look after yourself. He reckons you may need to do something else as well as your “passion project” to earn money, particularly in the early stages of a new business ~ Tom Hodgkinson,
393:The saint’s censorious attitude vanished; his eyes became compassionately soft. He patted my shoulder. “Young yogi, I see you are running away from your master. He has everything you need; you must return to him. Mountains cannot be your guru. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
394:Mortals are known by their actions; this is the way it has to be. They should show goodness, and not be deformed by their actions; this is how they are called beautiful. Whatever they desire, they shall receive; O Nanak, they become the very image of God. ~ Guru Angad,
395:Our thoughts and desires are based in hope, but our behaviors are based in fear. This misalignment often causes a feeling of hopelessness and continues the cycle of feeding outdated ideologies and Guru genres offering gimmicks to anesthetize the pain. ~ Steve Maraboli,
396:So freedom lies, not in trying to become something different, nor in doing whatever you happen to feel like doing, nor in following the authority of tradition, of your parents, of your guru, but in understanding what you are from moment to moment. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
397:A real Guru's initiation is beyond the divisions of sects and creeds: it is the awakening to our own inner reality which, once glimpsed, determines our further course of development and our actions in life without the enforcement of outer rules. ~ Lama Anagarika Govinda,
398:He Himself creates, O Nanak; He establishes the various creatures. How can anyone be called bad?. There is One Lord and Master of all; He watches over all, and assigns all to their tasks. Some have less, and some have more; no one is allowed to leave empty. ~ Guru Angad,
399:I like the idea of seeing Krishna as a baby, the way He's often depicted in India. And also Govinda, the cowherd boy. I like the idea that you can have Krishna as a baby and feel protective to Him, or as your friend, or as the guru or master - type figure. ~ George Harrison,
400:Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our antimaterialist, otherworldly, New Age, spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu, and seaweed slime. ~ Edward Abbey,
401:When you meet your guru or a being who knows, who is no longer loving, but has become love, a being who is sitting in truth, and in compassion and kindness for all beings - you know. When I met my guru, I knew. And it was before I met him physically, actually. ~ Krishna Das,
402:The Guru and Disciple relationship is where the person has a 100% belief in the Guru and that way you put your trust in the Guru, that he's going to get you out of this mess. If you are a Christian, then Christ is your Guru, and they're all disciples of Christ. ~ George Harrison,
403:If I ask you to plunge into the Ganga or to jump from the roof of a house, meaning it all for your good, could you do even that without any hesitations Just think of it even now; otherwise don't rush forward on the spur of the moment to accept me as your Guru. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
404:For each and every person, our Lord and Master provides sustenance. Why are you so afraid, O mind? The flamingos fly hundreds of miles, leaving their young ones behind. Who feeds them, and who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind? ~ Guru Nanak,
405:How long do we have to deal with conservative failure? How long? Thirty years is not enough? So I would say enough with that, and I would say check out the Center for American Progress, and the writings by Patrick Garofalo, economic guru. That's what I would say. ~ Janeane Garofalo,
406:The Guru must deal with each disciple according to his separate nature and accordingly guide his sadhana; even if it is the same line of sadhana for all, yet at every point for each it differs. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Himself and the Ashram, General Rules and Individual Natures,
407:Let not the dirt of the sanskaras of your thoughts and deeds touch you, by surrendering every thought and act at the feet of your Guru. As a laundryman washes and cleans clothes, in the same way, I remove all the dirt which has stuck to you through your thoughts and actions. ~ Meher Baba,
408:He would read up on parenting, if he thought it would help, but his errors always seemed too basic for the manuals. "Always tell your kids they have siblings..." He couldn't imagine any child-raising guru taking the trouble to write that down. Maybe there was a gap in the market. ~ Nick Hornby,
409:I dream of a society that is continuously creating knowledge, where each individual is a part of this creation, where youngsters can pursue courses with freedom of choice, where technology is used for universal access of education and yet the importance of the Guru is retained. ~ Narendra Modi,
410:The guru is not someone who is confined to the body. When there is selfless love for the guru, we will be able to see him not only in his body but in every living and nonliving thing in this world. Learn to see everything as the guru's body and to serve them accordingly. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
411:When I first moved to L.A., I discovered Roy London. I didn't know anything about the arts, the profession; I had no technique, I knew nothing, I'm fresh from Missouri. I sat in on a few classes, and they just felt a little guru-ish and just didn't feel right to me. Until I met Roy. ~ Brad Pitt,
412:Zig Ziglar may be the master motivator, Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the master story tellers; Anthony Robbins may be the guru of personal development, but Bob Proctor is a master thinker. When it comes to systemizing life, no one can touch him. ~ Doug Wead,
413:I remember my first visit with my guru. He had shown that he read my mind. So I looked at the grass and I thought, My god, hes going to know all the things I dont want people to know. I was really embarrassed. Then I looked up and he was looking directly at me with unconditional love. ~ Ram Dass,
414:This is what I do to keep my head screwed on semi-straight and keep my heart open. Whenever I sing, that's why I sing. Whether it's at the Grammys, whether it's in the bathroom, whether it's in front of 10,000 people or three people, by my guru's grace, my head stays in that place. ~ Krishna Das,
415:We shall merge into the One from whom we came. The True One is pervading each and every heart. He Himself unites us in Union with Himself; the True Mansion of His Presence is close at hand. With each and every breath, I dwell upon You; I shall never forget You.
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
416:Neither ancients nor moderns who were good men have done such ,a deed that, after promising ,a daughter to one man, they have her to another, Nor, indeed, have we heard, even in former creations, of such ,a thing as the covert sale of a daughter for a fixed price, called a nuptial fee. ~ Guru Nanak,
417:We cannot learn real patience and tolerance from a guru or a friend. They can be practiced only when we come in contact with someone who creates unpleasant experiences. According to Shantideva, enemies are really good for us as we can learn a lot from them and build our inner strength. ~ Dalai Lama,
418:This sense of perfection has a built-in contradiction, one that Ram Dass once captured very succinctly by a statement he had heard from his Himalayan guru: "The world is absolutely perfect, including your own dissatisfaction with it, and everything you are trying to do to change it. ~ Stanislav Grof,
419:The elimination of force at all costs is Utopian and the new movement which has arisen in the country and of whose dawn we have given a warning is inspired by the ideals which Guru Gobind Singh and Shivaji, Kamal Pasha and Reza Khan, Washington and Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin preached. ~ Bhagat Singh,
420:I am a traditionalist, I'm not a conventional person, but I am a traditionalist in the true form of the word, in that your heart is opening, you're absolutely there for everyone, the face of pain has no tradition, by the way, and in my tradition, a guru simply means the removal of darkness. ~ Maya Tiwari,
421:Guru Gobind Singh taught the Khalsa: ‘If you must be a monk Be like this Let your own home be the forest And your own heart, the monastic recluse Eat less, sleep less Teach yourself to love, have mercy and forbearance Be mild, be patient Bear no lust, or wrath Nor be greedy or obstinate. ~ Hindol Sengupta,
422:They had talked about how to lose weight. One was telling another that she ought to eat nothing but protein— meats, tofu, eggs—and salads. And for it to work, she needed to have a nutrition guru. They were equally overweight, and this was clearly theoretical rather than practical knowledge. ~ Josip Novakovich,
423:Winston Churchill said that appetite was the most important thing about education. Leadership guru Warren Bennis says he wants to be remembered as 'curious to the end.' David Ogilvy contends that the greatest ad copywriters are marked by an insatiable curiosity 'about every subject under the sun.' ~ Tom Peters,
424:It is dangerous for a spiritual master to accept almost any aspirant. Although it is an aspect of mercy, it is dangerous. The danger also depends on the spiritual potency of the particular guru. Without sufficient potency, a few offensive or faithless disciples can lead to the guru's fall. ~ Bhakti Tirtha Swami,
425:We [people] have a teacher! The teacher is ourselves! We already know everything we need to know - our challenge is to discover that we know it. Turning to gurus, I think, we become guru-dependent, no different from drug-dependent, alcohol-dependent - needing an outside force to control our lives. ~ Richard Bach,
426:According to tech guru Tim O’Reilly, “data scientist” is the hottest job title in Silicon Valley. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2018 the United States alone will need 140,000 to 190,000 more machine-learning experts than will be available, and 1.5 million more data-savvy managers. ~ Pedro Domingos,
427:Nic dziwnego, że takie dziecko, gdy trochę podrośnie, chce mieszkać samo, poszukuje macierzyńskich kobiet, guru, systemów, nie chce się angażować. W starszym wieku, po trzydziestce, nadal będzie czuć swą bezbronność i nie potrafi się bronić przed innymi ludźmi rozwścieczonymi swoją własną bezbronnością. ~ Anonymous,
428:Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement.” Or, as his forerunner Binet recognized, it’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest. ~ Carol S Dweck,
429:Even to the sage who's doing Sahaja Samadhi, the great guru, I'd say: "Hey buddy, you know, I like the robes and everything, but remember, you're only touching infinity. And if you claim to be doing more, I think you're pretty much in the senses and the body and the mind because infinity is endless." ~ Frederick Lenz,
430:Renowned management guru Peter F.Drucker looked back at his 65-year consulting career shortly before he died. He concluded that great leaders could either be 'charismatic or dull' or 'visionary or numbers-orientated,' but the most inspiring and effective managers he knew all had said we rather than I. ~ Robert I Sutton,
431:But we should ask the question: Why should a writer be more than a writer? Why should a writer be a guru? Why are we supposed to be psychiatrists? Isn't it enough to write and tell the truth? It's not like telling the truth is common. Writers are the earthworms of society. We aerate the soil. That's enough. ~ Erica Jong,
432:The situation was clear: They were two astronauts on a cold planet. He was, for his part, a gentle dissembler, a dodgy investment guru with his hands in too many pockets. She was a terrorist who drove tent stakes into the ground, who cradled mewing stray cats in her arms, not to mention the poor Tomas. ~ Gary Shteyngart,
433:described my tomatoes and growing process to Alan (the tomato guru). He thought I might be watering my plants too much. When I wailed, “How can anyone tell what the right amount is?” He said, “You let them suffer. Hold off on the water until they just start to wilt—and then you save them. Suffer and save. ~ Spring Warren,
434:I spoke on a panel once with a famous new age author/guru in leather pants and she said that the problem with women is that we don't "speak from our power," but from a place of victimization. As if the traumas forced upon us could be shaken off with a steady voice- as if we had actual power to speak from. ~ Jessica Valenti,
435:Within the sky-like empty mind, habitual tendencies and disturbing emotions are just like clouds and mist. When they appear, they appear within the expanse of empty mind. When they remain, they remain within the expanse of empty mind. And when they dissolve, they dissolve in that same expanse of empty mind. ~ Guru Rinpoche,
436:Although my father was raised in the church, he wouldn't have prayed to God to spare him. He wouldn't have looked for alternative treatments or a guru or some faulty gene to blame. In my family, we have a long-standing habit of blocking out bad news, of trying to forget about it almost the moment it arrives. ~ Michelle Obama,
437:Let God's grace be the mosque, and devotion the prayer mat. Let the Quran be the good conduct. Let modesty be compassion, good manners fasting, you should be a Muslim the like of this. Let good deeds be your Kaaba and truth be your mentor. Your Kalma be your creed and prayer, God would then vindicate your honour. ~ Guru Nanak,
438:The Wayshower is a compelling, multi-layered and complex spiritual journey about a guilt-ridden man searching to understand his connection to his guru J-R. Followers of the real-life guru, John-Roger, as well as a segment of new-thought seekers, will resonate with the messages and life lessons shared throughout. ~ Arielle Ford,
439:One must learn to hear and follow the voice of the inmost soul, the direction of the Guru, the command of the Master, the working of the Divine Mother. Whoever clings to the desires and weaknesses of the flesh, the cravings and passions of the vital in it ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Ascent of the Sacrifice - II,
440:The great guru taught his disciples to avoid theoretical discussion of the scriptures. “He only is wise who devotes himself to realizing, not reading only, the ancient revelations,” he said. “Solve all your problems through meditation. 14 Exchange unprofitable speculations for actual God-communion. “Clear ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
441:Martial law! Rule by decree from the White House! Barry Soetoro, emperor of the United States. People had been whispering for years about the possibility, but like most folks, I dismissed the whisperers as alarmist crackpots. Now, according to Sal Molina, the president’s longtime guru, the crackpots were oracles. ~ Stephen Coonts,
442:There are also other reasons, well known to occultists, why this knowledge should not be spread broadcast at this time. Rest assured, dear student, that when the time comes for you to take the next step, the way will be opened out before you. “When the chela (student) is ready, the guru (master) appears. ~ William Walker Atkinson,
443:Revolusi, dia adalah guru. Dia adalah penderitaan. Tetapi dia pun adalah harapan. Jangan khianati revolusi! Kembali ia pandangi dua orang tua itu, yang mungkin beberapa tahun lagi tewas digulung maut. Namun mereka meletakkan harapannya pada revolusi. Betapa mereka mengagumi lembaran uang, perwujudan revolusi. ~ Pramoedya Ananta Toer,
444:...The words Dalai Lama mean different things to different people, that for me they refer only to the office I hold. Actually, Dalai is a Mongolian word meaning 'ocean' and Lama is a Tibetan term corresponding to the Indian word guru, which denotes a teacher. From Freedom in Exile, the Autobiography of the Dalai Lama ~ Dalai Lama XIV,
445:Lawrence dented a practice among some in the Bedi clan of killing baby girls. The justification for the practice was this. The clan that produced Guru Nanak would lose prestige if its girls married into inferior clans; if they married within the clan, it would be like incest. The only solution was to kill the girl-child. ~ Rajmohan Gandhi,
446:Truth is not over there, wherever over there is. Truth is neither housed in religious rituals nor secret doctrines, nor in a guru's touch or beatific smile, nor in exotic locations or ancient temples. Truth is quite literally the only thing that does exist. It is not hidden but in plain view, not lacking but abundantly present. ~ Adyashanti,
447:Ek Onkar One God, One Song, One Creation-- The true name, creator of the universe, beyond fear and conflict, omnipresent, unborn, undying, self-existent, grace of the guru. Chant this again and again! From the beginning, truth, throughout the ages, truth, in this moment, now, truth! Says Nanak, ever true!

~ Guru Nanak, Ek Omkar
,
448:You really can't follow a guru. You can't ask somebody to give The Reason, but you can find one for yourself; you decide what the meaning of your life is to be. People talk about the meaning of life; there is no meaning of life--there are lots of meanings of different lives, and you must decide what you want your own to be. ~ Joseph Campbell,
449:Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment. This includes every mosquito, every misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath. Every moment is the guru. ~ Joko Beck,
450:The thing is that the ego cannot cure itself of its own malady of egoism; it's already infected by the disease itself. And that is why it is necessary to go to a guru who knows God and by absorbing his consciousness into yourself, you discover that you aren't this ego. You cross that abyss and you find that you are infinite. ~ Goswami Kriyananda,
451:Hail Guru Ram Das and heal the world. It is His problem to heal. Your problem is to insert Him into it. You have nothing to worry about. If he doesn't heal, His Name will be spoiled-what's it to you? Most of the time you do not know what to do, true? There are so many times I don't know what to do. So, I insert Him into it. ~ Harbhajan Singh Yogi,
452:When we start talking about gurus, first of all we're starting to talk about something that can't be talked about, in the sense that you can never really know what a guru is as long as you are imprisoned by your own thoughts and circular ego. The true guru is someone who's transcended all that. And we don't know anything about that. ~ Krishna Das,
453:There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now. ~ Guru Nanak,
454:As we discard a limited mind and a life of limitation to step into the grandness of vastness, we realize infinity itself to be the Guru and all that we do as grace. As we traverse through consciousness that is the Guru, we become the Guru and each thought of ours is perfect in the now, as scriptures. Consciousness is the Guru, the wisdom. ~ Nandhiji,
455:The Formless Supreme Being abides in the Realm of Eternity. Over His creation He casts His glance of grace. In that Realm are contained all the continents and the universes, Exceeding in number all count. Of creation worlds upon worlds abide therein; All obedient to His will; He watches over them in bliss, And has each constantly in mind. ~ Guru Nanak,
456:Probably the single most reliable sign of a cult guru is that the guru claims expertise, not in one area, not even in a cluster of related areas, but in everything. The guru knows what cult members should eat, wear, do for a living; who they should have sex with; which art they should look at; which music they should listen to . . . ~ Eliezer Yudkowsky,
457:Salah satu hal ajaib mengenai kehidupan.

Saat muridnya siap, sang guru muncul.
Saat pertanyaan diajukan, jawabannya datang.
Saat kita benar-benar siap menerima, apa yang kita butuhkan akan tersedia.

Ketika penduduk Venus siap menerima, orang-orang Mars siap memberi." (dikutip dari buku: Pria dari Mars, Wanita dari Venus) ~ John Gray,
458:I was woken early and had breakfast with the guru. We had some spicy Rice Krispies and a spicy biscuit with some really sweet, milky tea. Not the way I normally like it, but I drank it anyway as I didn’t want to offend him. I suppose that is my heart telling me how to act instead of my head again. My arse may get involved later though. ~ Karl Pilkington,
459:Mengatakan bahwa sebuah teks bermakna 'tunggal' - oleh ibu guru - merupakan suatu perkosaan terhadap prinsip pluralitas makna yang dimungkinkan prinsip pluralitas makna yang dimungkinkan di dalam semiotika. Mengatakan bahwa makna sebuah teks atau gambar harus mengikuti pemaknaan golongan tertentu merupakan satu bentuk represi tekstual. ~ Y B Mangunwijaya,
460:So many Siddhas and Buddhas, so many Yogic masters. So many goddesses of various kinds. So many demi-gods and demons, so many silent sages. So many oceans of jewels. So many ways of life, so many languages. So many dynasties of rulers. So many intuitive people, so many selfless servants. O Nanak, His limit has no limit!
   ~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,
461:A thousand times I asked my guru, 'The name of the One who is known by No-thing', Tired and exhausted was I, asking time and again; Out of Nothing emerged Something, bewildering and great! [bk1sm.gif] -- from The Ascent of Self: A Reinterpretation of the Mystical Poetry of Lalla-Ded, by B. N. Paramoo

~ Lalla, A thousand times I asked my guru
,
462:I once interviewed a New Age guru who spoke about how unfinished business from ancestors can trickle down to generations twice, even three times, removed. Actions in the present can help to correct the mistakes made in the past. And even if there is no absolution to be had, an understanding may help keep the same mistake from being repeated. ~ Sejal Badani,
463:not having problems in the first place. To be happy we need something to solve. Happiness is therefore a form of action; it’s an activity, not something that is passively bestowed upon you, not something that you magically discover in a top-ten article on the Huffington Post or from any specific guru or teacher. It doesn’t magically appear when ~ Mark Manson,
464:From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. ~ Guru Nanak,
465:I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to, remembering something my Guru once said -- that you should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
466:My guru was reluctant to discuss the superphysical realms. His only ‘marvellous’ aura was one of perfect simplicity. In conversation he avoided startling references; in action he was freely expressive. Others talked of miracles but could manifest nothing; Sri Yukteswar seldom mentioned the subtle laws but secretly operated them at will. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
467:If concentration is made with the brain, sensations of heat and even headache ensue.
Concentration has to be made in the heart, which is cool and refreshing.
Relax and your meditation will be easy.
Keep your mind steady by gently warding off all intruding thoughts, but without strain - soon you will succeed. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Ramana II. XI,
468:dans la tradition hindoue, le mantra qui a été appris autrement que de la bouche d’un guru autorisé est sans aucun effet, parce qu’il n’est pas « vivifié » par la présence de l’influence spirituelle dont il est uniquement destiné à être le véhicule. Ceci s’étend d’ailleurs, à un degré ou à un autre, à tout ce à quoi attachée une influence spirituelle. ~ Ren Gu non,
469:Deciding to chant the mantra a certain number of times daily will help foster the japa habit. We should always keep a rosary with us for doing japa. A rosary can be made of 108, 54, 27 or 18 beads of rudraksha, tulsi, crystal, sandalwood, gems, etc, with one 'guru bead'. We should resolve to chant a certain number of rosaries (rounds) daily. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
470:Inheritance adds complexity to a program, and, as such, it's a dangerous technique. As Java guru Joshua Bloch says, "Design and document for inheritance, or prohibit it." If a class isn't designed to be inherited from, make its members non-virtual in C++, final in Java, or non-overridable in Microsoft Visual Basic so that you can't inherit from it. ~ Steve McConnell,
471:Twenty-four hours a day one looks for contentment in eight different directions but one must also explore the ninth place, which is to their own body and contemplate within. Within the body are the nine treasures of the Name of the Lord—seek the depths of these virtues. Those blessed with the karma of good actions praise the Lord and become true devotees ~ Guru Angad,
472:We live in a Jesus haunted culture that is Biblically illiterate, and so unfortunately at this point in time, almost anything can pass for knowledge of the historical Jesus from notions that he was a a Cynic sage to ideas that he was a Gnostic guru to fantasies that he didn't exist, to Dan Browne's Jesus of hysterical (rather than historical) fiction. ~ Ben Witherington III,
473:A friend of mine urged me to see my pain as an opportunity. And since the same psychic that contacted Dion Fortune had told me that I was a "teacher" - she didn't mean at Columbia, she meant in the spiritual sense - I decided my affliction was the universe telling me that it was time to stop writing fiction and become the spiritual guru I was clearly meant to be. ~ Heidi Julavits,
474:Technology guru Jacques Attali has announced the end of the era of the working class. “Machines are the new proletariat,” he says. “The working class is being given its walking papers.” But we all know there’s no room for nonworkers within the structure known as civilization. So where on earth are their walking papers supposed to take them—except beyond that structure? ~ Anonymous,
475:It takes a long time-many incarnations of right action, good company, help of the guru, self-awakening, wisdom, and meditation-for man to regain his soul consciousness of immortality. To reach this state of Self-realization, each man must practice meditation to transfer his consciousness from the limited body to the unlimited sphere of joy felt in meditation. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
476:There`s a guy named Richard Spencer, who is the intellectual guru of the movement, according to Breitbart and he says, basically - this is the benign version - that he wants to convince non-whites to leave America because the races can`t get along and it`s better if they`re separate. This is a guy who is of the alt-right movement that Steve Bannon made common cause with. ~ David Corn,
477:A few years ago we said, 'Hail Guru Ram Das and heal the world.' It looked like a joke at that time. Heal with what? Now the Age has come when your own psyche can be in flow and beam on the other personality, and in the cross-exchange you can heal a person just by walking by his side. For this we have to have a mental clarity, and we have to have a mental projection. ~ Harbhajan Singh Yogi,
478:Baik, kalau begitu pinjami aku Blue Velvet?
Blue Velvet?
Iya, masa kamu tidak tahu, sutradaranya David Lynch
Oh, Black Velvet maksudnya Tuan?
Blue Velvet
Apa sih Blue?
Wah, guru SD-mu siapa? Blue ya biru dong!
Apa sih biru itu, Tuan?
Din, kamu mabuk?
Saya kira Tuan yang mabuk, dari dulu juga Tuan tahu judul karya David Lynch itu Black Velvet ~ Seno Gumira Ajidarma,
479:Children, we can grow spiritually only if we see the guru as the manifestation of God. We should not accept anyone as guru before we are fully convinced personally that he is authentic and truthful. Once we choose someone as guru, we should surrender completely to him. Only then will spiritual development be possible. Devotion to the guru means total surrender to him. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
480:The commercialism of yoga, the commercialism of Ayurveda, the commercialism of guru-ism, is difficult. It's difficult because it confuses, it confuses the general populations as to what this is all about, but yet those of us who are trained within a certain tradition, who trained from the ancestral gene bank, so to speak, it is fine, it's not bothersome at all because we must live. ~ Maya Tiwari,
481:There's no man alive who has any answers. We all know that. It's like the guru trip. All a guru can do is direct you to something that you probably already know about yourself, something you might want to followup on. Apply the same thing to music and records. You might get something from a particular record that hits a nerve and something inside you. But that's your vision of it. ~ Van Morrison,
482:I think one of the beauties so far of the so-called Spirit of Seattle is there aren't any leaders, pop stars, or guru figures that everyone else is falling in line with and following. No [Nelson] Mandela, Havel, or Subcomandante Ski Mask riding in on a white horse and everybody else just wanting to follow them to the promised land. We're stitching it together and doing it ourselves. ~ Jello Biafra,
483:Guru” literally means “dispeller of darkness.” The function of the guru, contrary to popular belief, is not to teach, indoctrinate, or convert. The guru is here to throw light on dimensions beyond your sensory perceptions and your psychological drama, dimensions that you are currently unable to perceive. The guru is here, fundamentally, to throw light on the very nature of your existence. ~ Sadhguru,
484:Life always gives us
exactly the teacher we need
at every moment.
This includes every mosquito,
every misfortune,
every red light,
every traffic jam,
every obnoxious supervisor (or employee),
every illness, every loss,
every moment of joy or depression,
every addiction,
every piece of garbage,
every breath.

Every moment is the guru. ~ Charlotte Joko Beck,
485:Each contact is an opportunity for your own unique satsang with your Self, not in some strained or contrived way, but by keeping your mind inside your Heart, by trusting the inner guru and by recognizing each moment as perfect in itself and by simply being your Self. This is the true and natural responsibility or rather 'response-ability', the ability to respond effortlessly to the needs of the moment. ~ Mooji,
486:Seperti bangsa lain, kita juga cenderung egosentris. Kita juga mengira bahwa jadi bangsa tua adalah suatu kelebihan. Apalagi dulu guru-guru kolonial suka membisikkan "kelebihan" itu - seraya mengelus hati kita yang terluka oleh penjajahan. Kita tak curiga bahwa di balik elusan itu mungkin terselip anjuran: kalian jangan ikut-ikut memasuki zaman kini. Teruslah dengan kebanggaan masa silamnya! ~ Goenawan Mohamad,
487:I simply followed (my teacher's) instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am', and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared -- myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
488:....Kalau di antara lima puluh orang cuma tiga orang yang ingin jadi guru, siapakah yang akan mengajar anak-anakmu nanti?....

....Kalau engkau tidak yakin betul, lepaskan cita-citamu untuk jadi guru itu....

....seorang guru adalah kurban -- kurban untuk selama-lamanya. Dan kewajibannya terlampau berat -- membuka sumber kebajikan yang tersembunyi dalam tubuh anak-anak bangsa. ~ Pramoedya Ananta Toer,
489:The artists catch what's in the air. It's not because the artist "felt like it" or is a guru who channels the truth of the universe in some opaque, abstract way, or even in a realistic painting. The comics artist is someone who has the humility to set himself up in public culture and to communicate with the reader. If your image doesn't make sense, it's your problem, and I shouldn't publish it. ~ Francoise Mouly,
490:Although he reputedly hated the label of 'guru', Peter Drucker was, by any standards, the greatest management guru the world has yet seen. In 1996, the McKinsey Quarterly journal described him as the 'the one guru to whom other gurus kowtow' and Robert Heller described him as 'the greatest man in the history of management', praise indeed for a man who described himself as 'just an old journalist'. ~ Peter Drucker,
491:Mother Meera: It is not necessary to devote or believe in me. If you are sincere to your guru, master, God, Absolute or to the Divine, it is enough and I will strengthen your faith. Finally, if you believe in God, that is enough for meIf you need me or my help I will help you, whatever path you may follow. For me there is no difference. All paths lead to the same goal, that is, to realize the Divine. ~ Mother Meera,
492:I hate when instruction books, blogs or well-meaning friends tell you “just get over it!” or “just write!”   Like that didn’t occur to you. Like all it would take is someone pointing out that say, you should just stop doing that thing you’ve been doing all your life.   “You mean I should just sit down and write? My God, that’s brilliant! Why have I not thought of this before? Thank you, oh sage guru! ~ Cathy Yardley,
493:There's never a mistake in the universe. So if your partner is angry, good. If there are things about him that you consider flaws, good, because these flaws are your own, you're projecting them, and you can write them down, inquire, and set yourself free. People go to India to find a guru, but you don't have to: you're living with one. Your partner will give you everything you need for your own freedom. ~ Byron Katie,
494:Here, in this book, I will try to show that the guru is actually like the horizon. A horizon is apparent—a line where earth and sky appear to meet. But in reality, they never meet. There is only an illusion of an ending point, a point of reference where we can stand and measure and assess. In this way, the guru is like a horizon between wisdom and method, myth and truth, science and faith. D ~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse,
495:We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman ~ Guru Nanak,
496:First of all, accept that something is wrong with you. It’s a good start. Something has always been wrong with me, too. We’re in a club of sorts, the lunatic fringe who are proud to band together. There’s a joyous road to ruin out there, and if you let me be your garbage guru, I’ll teach you how to succeed in insanity and take control of your low self-esteem. Personality disorders are a terrible thing to waste. ~ John Waters,
497:I have attained the Eternal Bliss. There is no time for sorrow or pain, for now I enjoy singing His glory. The tree of His pleasure has neither root, nor seed, as revealed by the grace of the true Guru. Now there is effulgence of a million suns, my swan has dipped in the lake of His knowledge. Says Kabir, listen, O wise brother, Now comings and goings have come to an end.

~ Kabir, I have attained the Eternal Bliss
,
498:I never really wanted to have a Guru, I was more interested in Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and had a psychological background in college, but he had so much love. To be with him, there was nowhere else to be and nothing else to do. Nothing he taught, philosophy or meditation, are the things I went to India to look for, or was interested in, but he sort of jumped into my heart and then pulled, he pried it open. ~ Surya Das,
499:All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances. ~ Milarepa,
500:Each time we come to savasana, we practice dying—we surrender the body to the earth and prepare for our destiny in this life. Facing death and embracing mortality is the key to living. We may fear it, resist it, and spend untold hours dreading it, But our mortality is the place where our human nature comes face to face with our divine nature. In a very real sense, death is
our greatest teacher and the one true guru. ~ Darren Main,
501:The guru is the equal of all the buddhas. To make any connection with him, whether through seeing him, hearing his voice, remembering him or being touched by his hand, will lead us toward liberation. To have full confidence in him is the sure way to progress toward enlightenment. The warmth of his wisdom and compassion will melt the ore of our being and release the gold of the buddha-nature within. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, #index,
502:The law of demand and supply reaches into subtler realms than I had supposed.” Ananta spoke with a spiritual enthusiasm never before noticeable. “I understand for the first time your indifference to the vaults and vulgar accumulations of the world.” Late as it was, my brother insisted that he receive diksha into kriya yoga. The ‘guru’ Mukunda had to shoulder the responsibility of two unsought disciples in one day. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
503:All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
504:A conversation between Gandhiji and Narayana Guru is significant. Gandhiji, in an obvious reference to Chaturvarna and the inherent differences in quality between man and man, observed that all leaves of the same tree are not identical in shape and texture. To this Narayana Guru pointed out that the difference is only superficial, but not in essence: the juice of all leaves of a particular tree would be the same in content.8 ~ Bipan Chandra,
505:Happiness is therefore a form of action; it’s an activity, not something that is passively bestowed upon you, not something that you magically discover in a top-ten article on the Huffington Post or from any specific guru or teacher. It doesn’t magically appear when you finally make enough money to add on that extra room to the house. You don’t find it waiting for you in a place, an idea, a job—or even a book, for that matter. ~ Mark Manson,
506:I do not need to understand words to know he is disappointed I am not a boy. Some things need no translation. And I know, because my body remembers without benefit of words, that men who do not welcome girl-babies will not treasure me as I grow to woman - though he call me princess just because the Guru told him to.

I have come so far, I have borne so much pain and emptiness!

But men have not yet changed. ~ Shauna Singh Baldwin,
507:O Master Of The Order Of The Seli!
O master of the order
of the Seli!
O dweller of heaven!
O great giver!
My Guru Nanak!
Come to me to day!
O light of lights!
Thy seats are the sun
and the moon!
My beloved!
return to me to day!
It is the season
of the cooling dew!
The dew is falling
everywhere,
And wet is every rose.
The gentle breath
of heaven blows.
~ Bhai Vir Singh,
508:I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
509:How can one be compassionate if you belong to any religion, follow any guru, believe in something, believe in your scriptures, and so on, attached to a conclusion? When you accept your guru, you have come to a conclusion, or when you strongly believe in god or in a saviour, this or that, can there be compassion? You may do social work, help the poor out of pity, out of sympathy, out of charity, but is all that love and compassion? ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
510:The ground is composed of gold, the trees are wish-fulfilling trees, and the rain is the rainfall of nectar. All beings are dakas and dakinis; the calls of the birds are the sounds of Dharma; the sounds of nature, wind, water, and fire reverberate as the Vajra Guru mantra; and all thoughts are expressions of wisdom and bliss. So here the perception of purity is much vaster and more omnipresent than in the sutras.
   ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Guru Yoga,
511:it has been your thoughts that have made you feel alternately weak and strong.’ My guru looked at me affectionately. ‘You have seen how your health has exactly followed your subconscious expectations. Thought is a force, even as electricity or gravitation. The human mind is a spark of the almighty consciousness of God. I could show you that whatever your powerful mind believes very intensely would instantly come to pass.’ “Knowing ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
512:He is the real Guru Who can reveal the form of the formless before your eyes; who teaches the simple path, without rites or ceremonies; Who does not make you close your doors, and hold your breath, and renounce the world; Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit whenever the mind attaches itself; Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities. Fearless, always immersed in bliss, he keeps the spirit of yoga in the midst of enjoyments. ~ Kabir,
513:I have attained the Eternal Bliss.
There is no time for sorrow or pain,
for now I enjoy singing His glory.

The tree of His pleasure has neither root, nor seed,
as revealed by the grace of the true Guru.

Now there is effulgence of a million suns,
my swan has dipped in the lake of His knowledge.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise brother,
Now comings and goings have come to an end.

~ Kabir, I Have Attained The Eternal Bliss
,
514:To Amma, all are Her children. In Amma's eyes no defect of Her children is serious. But when She is considered as the guru, it is essential for the growth of the disciples that they conduct themselves according to the tradition. Amma will pardon all the mistakes of Her children, but nature has certain laws. That is what brings punishment for our sins. Children, we should be able to take any sorrow or suffering as conducive for our growth. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
515:Pandit, you've got it wrong.
There's no creator or creation there,
no gross or fine, no wind or fire,
no sun, moon, earth or water,
no radiant form, no time there,
no word, no flesh, no faith,
no cause and effect, nor any thought
of the Veda. No Hari or Brahma,
no Shiva or Shakti, no pilgrimage
and no rituals. No mother, father
or guru there. Is it two or one?
Kabir says, if you understand now,
you're guru, I'm disciple. ~ Kabir,
516:From listening, Siddhas, Pirs, Gods, Naths-- the spiritually adept; From listening, the earth, its white foundation, and the sky; From listening, continents, worlds, hells; From listening, death cannot approach. Nanak says, those who hear flower forever. From listening, sin and sorrow disappear. [2326.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer

~ Guru Nanak, Japji 8 - From listening
,
517:Guru is not the goal. Anyone who establishes himself as a guru to be worshipped is not a guru. Guru is like a boat for crossing the river. It is important to have a good boat and it is very dangerous to have a boat that is leaking. The boat brings you across the river. When the river is crossed the boat is no longer necessary. You don't hang onto the boat after completing the journey, and you certainly don't worship the boat. ~ Swami Rama of the Himalayas Dec 31 1969,
518:If you ponder it, there is mindfulness, wisdom of mind; If you ponder it, the whole of the universe is known; If you ponder it, you will never face harm; If you ponder it, you will never walk the way of death. That name-- so immaculately clear-- only the mind that ponders it can truly be aware. [2326.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer

~ Guru Nanak, Japji 15 - If you ponder it
,
519:Ray Kurzweil—the eccentric inventor, futurist, and guru-in-residence at Google—envisions a radical future in which humans and machines have fully merged. We will upload our minds to the cloud, he predicts, and constantly renew our bodies through intelligent nanobots released into our bloodstream. Kurzweil predicts that by 2029 we will have computers with intelligence comparable to that of humans (i.e., AGI), and that we will reach the singularity by 2045. ~ Kai Fu Lee,
520:The guru is the stepping stone, The guru is the boat, the guru is the raft of Hari's name. The guru is the lake, the sea, The guru is the ship, the guru is the place to ford the stream. Would you like to glisten in the lake that's made of truth? Go then and bathe in that name. [2326.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer

~ Guru Nanak, Siri ragu 9.3 - The guru is the stepping stone
,
521:100% of a Guru’s marketing plan depends on you holding the belief that you are not enough; that you were created less equipped than necessary to fulfill your purpose. What if you let go of that belief and connected with the truth of your innate power to change and shape your life? You ARE enough. You CAN change and shape your own life. Anyone who tells you different is simply lying. Your life has immeasurable potentiality for greatness; act accordingly. ~ Steve Maraboli,
522:It is my greatest joy to share with students this knowledge that I have acquired in the past 50 years of practice and study. Dharma Yoga practice will give one’s body the power and strength to have resistance to common illnesses and diseases. With proper encouragement and increased faith in the Guru, as one can improve his physical body and mental attitude rapidly, thereby igniting the higher motives of making one's self useful to himself and all mankind. ~ Dharma Mittra,
523:People like the leaders; they like to follow them; they let the leaders to think on behalf of them; they like shepherds; they like to behave like sheep! For god’s sake, follow your own path, be an individual, be independent! Stop being a coach in the train, a duck in the row! Get some personality! Use your own mind to determine your own path! Forget the leader, forget the shepherd, forget the guru, and forget the protagonist! Be the leader of yourself! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan,
524:When you use me as a guru and I use you as disciples, there is mutual exploitation. Similarly, when you use your wife and children for your furtherance, there is exploitation. Surely, that is not love. When there is use, there must be possession; possession invariably breeds fear, and with fear come jealousy, envy, suspicion. When there is usage, there cannot be love, for love is not something of the mind. To think about a person is not to love that person. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
525:Whosoever assumes a religious garb pleases not God even a bit. O ye men, understand this clearly in your minds, that God is attained not through showmanship. They who practice deceit, attain not Deliverance in the Hereafter. They do so only to accomplish the affairs of the world and even the kings worship them for their appearance! But through showmanship, God is attained not, howsoever one searches. He who subdues his mind alone recognizes the Transcendent God. ~ Guru Gobind Singh,
526:It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of perspective. Sweet F.A. will never be more than a bunch of thugs and vandals, high in nuisance value, but politically irrelevant. I’ve seen them on TV, marching around their “training camps” in designer camouflage, or sitting in lecture theaters, watching recorded speeches by their guru, Jack Kelly, or (oblivious to the irony) messages of “international solidarity” from similar organizations in Europe and North America. ~ Greg Egan,
527:The line attributed to the management guru Peter Drucker is that culture eats strategy. It’s a truism that applies as much to conspiracies as it does to businesses. It doesn’t matter how great your plan is, it doesn’t matter who your people are, if what binds them all together is weak or toxic, so, too, will be the outcome—if you even get that far. But if the ties that bind you together are strong, if you have a sense of purpose and mission, you can withstand great trials. ~ Ryan Holiday,
528:The traditional paradigm of parenting has been very hierarchical, the parent knows best and very top down. Conscious parenting topples [this paradigm] on its head and creates this mutuality, this circularity where both parent and child serve each other and where in fact, perhaps, the child could be even more of a guru for the parent .... teaching the parent how the parent needs to grow, teaching the parent how to enter the present moment like only children know how to do. ~ Shefali Tsabary,
529:Un discepolo va dal suo guru e gli dice che vuole la verità più di ogni altra cosa. Il maestro non risponde. Lo prende per il collo, lo trascina al vicino torrente e gli tiene la testa sott’acqua finché il poveretto sta per soffocare. All’ultimo momento lo tira fuori. «Allora, che cos’è che volevi più di ogni altra cosa quand’eri sott’acqua?» «L’aria», dice quello con un fil di voce. «Bene. Quando vorrai la verità come un momento fa volevi l’aria sarai pronto a imparare.» ~ Tiziano Terzani,
530:I am a jack-of-all-trades. I edit and teach and at times desire to be a clothing designer or an artist (one who doesn't draw or paint or sew) and I write everything but poetry and I am a mother and a social maniac and a misanthrope and a burgeoning self-help guru and a girl who wants to look pretty and a girl who wants to look sexy and a girl who wants to look girly and a woman in her middle forties who wishes not to look like anything at all, who wishes sometimes to vanish. ~ Heidi Julavits,
531:With the exception of very few who have gained higher spiritual tendencies in prior lives, Self-realization is not possible for anyone without the blessings of a guru. Think of the guru as the manifestation of God in this world. Take even the most insignificant word of the guru as an order and obey it. That is the real service to the guru. There is no greater austerity. The guru's blessings flow automatically to any obedient disciple. That is the real service to the guru. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
532:One of his fourteen governors, Iftikhar Khan, who ruled for four years from 1671, was particularly brutal towards the community. It was during his rule that a group of Pandits approached the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, in Punjab and begged him to save their faith. He told them to return to Kashmir and tell the Mughal rulers that if they could convert him (Tegh Bahadur), all Kashmiri Pandits would accept Islam. This later led to the Guru’s martyrdom, but the Pandits were saved. ~ Rahul Pandita,
533:Management guru Stephen Covey tells this old Japanese tale about a samurai warrior and his three sons: The samurai wanted to teach his sons about the power of teamwork. So he gave each of them an arrow and asked them to break it. No problem. Each son did it easily. Then the samurai gave them a bundle of three arrows bound together and asked them to repeat the process. But none of them could. “That’s your lesson,” the samurai said. “If you three stick together, you will never be defeated. ~ Phil Jackson,
534:How will you get God's grace? When you discipline yourself. How will you know how to discipline? By observing others that had walked the path successfully to the goal of perfection. Who are these men who had walked to the goal? It is these that are known as Gurus. So you need their help, their personal example, their encouragement and their grace. Thus, we have come round to the answer that a Guru is necessary as well as his grace. Everything is necessary-\-\ Atma Kripa, Guru Kripa and Isvara Kripa. ~ Sivananda,
535:Faced with unmeasurables, people steer their way by magic. Before the invention of navigational instruments, a beautiful lady was carved on the prow of the boat to help sailors cross the ocean; and architects, grappling with the intangibles of design, select a guru whose work gives them personal help in areas where there are few rules to follow. The guru, as architectural father-figure, is subject to intense hate and love; either way, the relationship is personal, and necessarily one-to-one. ~ Denise Scott Brown,
536:there are many remarkable parallels between the (revised) metaphysical vision of Plotinus and that of the Bhagavad Gita. These parallels arise from the fact that both Vyasa and Plotinus had directly experienced these truths in their visionary revelations, as have innumerable other souls. We must not forget, however, that Plotinus must certainly have had some introduction to the Indian metaphysics through his guru, Ammonius, who was said to be conversant with both the Persian and Indian metaphysics. ~ Swami Abhayananda,
537:Him Who Illumines
I have seen Him in His divine form,
Him with the matted locks,
Him with the jewelled crown,
Him with the gleaming teeth,
Him with the smiling face,
Him who illumines the fourteen worlds with
the light of His eyes.
I have Him and the thirst of my eyes is
quenched.
I have seen the great Lord whom the men
among men serve but as wives.
I have seen the Supreme Guru Chenna Mallikarjuna
sporting with the Primeval Sakti,
And saved am I.
~ Akka Mahadevi,
538:Discipline is the workshop; patience, the goldsmith; the anvil, one's thinking; wisdom, the hammer; Fear, the bellows; austerities, the fire; and feeling, the vessel where the deathless liquid is poured. In such a true mint is forged the Word, and those on whom He looks do their rightful deeds. Nanak says: the One who sees, sees. He observes. [2326.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer

~ Guru Nanak, Japji 38 - Discipline is the workshop
,
539:You can lead a truly spiritual life while remaining a householder. You will be able to enjoy the bliss of the Self, but your mind has to be on God all the time. Then you can easily attain bliss. A mother bird will be thinking of the young ones in the nest, even when she is out looking for food. Similarly, you have to keep your mind on God, while engaged in all worldly actions. The important thing is to be completely dedicated to God or the Guru. Once you have that dedication, the goal will not be far away. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
540:I can only give you my love and blessings for today. For me, Guru Purnima is thinking about my Guru.
It is an auspicious day for me to think of the Guru and all the Gurus world-wide, in different spheres and planets.
About my Guru, I can only say that without his help I would have been nothing and that today I exist because of him.
What more can I say?
I invoke the blessings of Sri Guru and my Maheshwarnath Babaji and all the parampara, on all of you.Quote by Sri M, author of "Apprenticed To A Himalayan Master ~ Sri M,
541:I want to know, sir-when shall I find God?” “You have found Him.” “O no, sir, I don’t think so!” My guru was smiling. “I am sure you aren’t expecting a venerable Personage, adorning a throne in some antiseptic corner of the cosmos! I see, however, that you are imagining that the possession of miraculous powers is knowledge of God. One might have the whole universe, and find the Lord elusive still! Spiritual advancement is not measured by one’s outward powers, but only by the depth of his bliss in meditation. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
542:Here's why famous experts who write books never go back to regular jobs: regular jobs are hard. Regular jobs mean you answer to others. Regular jobs mean you do regular, and often repetitive, things. Regular jobs mean you are not the center of attention and have to follow rules made by other people. Anyone who's an expert, guru, executive, or coach has likely lost any real sense of what real work is. We assume that because we can give advice on something, we are superior to those who take the advice, but that's not true. ~ Scott Berkun,
543:Shah Fakir, Hindu Da Guru, Musalman Da Pir.” It means Guru Nanak Dev was a saintly person whom both, the Hindus and the Muslims, claimed as their own religious leader.   Teachings: Guru Nanak Dev taught us that there is only one God, free from the bondage of birth and death. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. We should always remember God. Repetition of His Name is cure for all ailments. God is not to be degraded by making images of Him and worshipping them. To be one with God is the aim of life and to attain ~ Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh,
544:The notion is that human beings are born, (as my Guru has explained many times,) with equivalent potential for both contraction and expansion. The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us, and then it's up to the individual (or the family, or the society) to decide what will be brought forth - the virtues or the malevolence. The madness of this planet is largely a result of human being's difficulty in coming into virtuous balance with himself. Lunacy (both collective and individual) results. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
545:Women come to me and would never tell a male guru the things that they tell me. to me and would never besiege the male guru with some of the things that I hear. And that is because mother is mother and that is the phenomenal thing, it's the most irreplaceable thing in the world because whether we're an earthly mother or a spiritual mother, a divine mother, and everyone is divine by the way, we all have the power of divinity, the power of full consciousness, whether we are awakened to the potential of it all is a different matter. ~ Maya Tiwari,
546:From the vantage point of the brain, doing well in school and at work involves one and the same state, the brain’s sweet spot for performance. The biology of anxiety casts us out of that zone for excellence. “Banish fear” was a slogan of the late quality-control guru W. Edwards Deming. He saw that fear froze a workplace: workers were reluctant to speak up, to share new ideas, or to coordinate well, let alone to improve the quality of their output. The same slogan applies to the classroom—fear frazzles the mind, disrupting learning. ~ Daniel Goleman,
547:Children, we are told to make an offering at the temple or at the feet of the guru, not because the Lord or guru is in need of wealth or anything else. Real offering is the act of surrendering the mind and the intellect. How can it be done? We cannot offer our minds as they are, but only the things to which our minds are attached. Today our minds are greatly attached to money and other worldly things. By placing such thoughts at the feet of the Lord, we are offering Him our heart. This is the principle behind giving charities. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi,
548:If religion and life depend upon books or upon the existence of any prophet whatsoever, then perish all religion and books! Religion is in us. No books or teachers can do more than help us to find it, and even without them we can get all truth within. You have gratitude for books and teachers without bondage to them; and worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly; love him all you will, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out your own salvation. Have only one idea of God - that He is an eternal help. ~ Swami Vivekananda,
549:So I stood up and did a handstand on my Guru's roof, to celebrate the notion of liberation. I felt the dusty tiles under my hands. I felt my own strength and balance. I felt the easy night breeze on the palms of my bare feet. This kind of thing -- a spontaneous handstand--isn't something a disembodied cool blue soul can do, but a human being can do it. We have hands; we can stand on them if we want to. That's our privilege. That's the joy of a mortal body. And that's why God needs us. Because God loves to feel things through our hands. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
550:Thy Guru's Feet
Thy body may be beautiful and glow with flawless health,
Thy fame colossal and thou mayest have won to fabulous wealth,
But if to the Guru's feet thy heart untethered still remain.
Then all thou hast achieved on earth is vain, is vain, is vain.
Thou mayest be deep-versed in all that scripture have to tell
A beacon of light, a master of prose and verse delectable,
But if to the Guru's feet thy heart untethered still remain.
Then all thou hast achieved on earth is vain, is vain, is vain.
~ Adi Shankaracharya,
551:suffering. I paid attention to my deepest desires and passions. I sought to cast off my fictitious self, and be an authentic and fully-expressed me. I explored the connection between spirituality and sexuality. I expanded my relational world beyond religious sub-culture. I resisted creating a new religion out of my latest discovery. I operated with the assumption that every human being knew something I needed to know. I resisted latching onto the latest guru, and began seeing all people as my teachers. I explored new fields and areas of interest ~ Jim Palmer,
552:So I think the Guru can be a delusion. But everything can be deluding. The thing central about the Guru in the West is that he represents an alien principle of the spirit, namely, that you don't follow your own path; you follow a given path. And that's totaly contrary to the Western Spirit! Our spirituality is of the individual quest, individual realization- authenticity in your life out of your own center. So you must take the message of the East, assimilate it to your own dimension and to your own thrust of life, and not get pulled off track. ~ Joseph Campbell,
553:Always remember, wherever you are, whether near or far, you had a mother who really, really loved you. The original mother. Once you've found your true inner guru you can never again be divided. Perfect union with the divine, through the grace of your real teacher, transcends time, space, death and all worldly limitations. Your real teacher is the original mother - regardless in which manifest or non-manifest form, or gender, she appears. The one who nurtures you and the one who also, out of wisdom and compassion, corrects you if you are misguided. ~ Zeena Schreck,
554:I had a massive heart attack, and in my belief that I was close to dying, I took the opportunity to teach my son about death. That lesson increased his faith in such a way that he completely accepted all the changes that life brings us. He learned that only the present exists. From that moment on, he began living in the present time, knowing that the future is just a possibility, and without believing all the opinions from the past. He understood that there are no guides, or masters. Each one of us is our own guru, and we can only save ourselves. ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz,
555:Moving into an ashram, moving onto a spiritual path, is not to settle down into another cocoon. It’s about learning to live without cocoons. It is about being vulnerable, continuously, by choice. It is like you take off your armor and bare your chest, only by choice. Let whatever may happen, happen, not because somebody peels it off, but by your choice. When you refuse to peel it off, maybe somebody or something or even your Guru will try to slowly peel it off once in a while, but somebody peeling it off always hurts. It is better to peel it off yourself. ~ Sadhguru,
556:I hated motivators - never been a motivator. Motivation is like a warm bath, and you should take a bath probably, but you need more than that; you need strategy. I was a strategist, but nobody responded to that, so I was, like, "OK, what am I? I'm a coach. I'm not a guru." As an athlete, I had great coaches, and I was a better athlete than many of them, but they still were better than I was as a coach because they could see when I couldn't see. I thought, that's great, because I'm not better than anybody, but I do have the skills that I can help people. ~ Tony Robbins,
557:Ford hired the quality management guru Edward Deming to train his people on quality principles. In the kick-off meeting, he introduced Deming, spoke briefly about the critical need for quality management and then, leaving Deming to do the rest, left the room. As he was walking out, he realized Deming was following him. Surprised, he asked what had happened. In answer, Deming famously quipped that he was simply following the leader. Ford immediately realized his mistake and turned back to sit down with his team to learn about Total Quality Management (TQM). ~ Subroto Bagchi,
558:I think in college they give you a chance to really mature, form yourself and build relationships. I think that’s what a team is all about, and when you build relationships, it shows on the court and that brings out success. I love the whole attitude of staying in college to take advantage of a free education. I just felt like Kentucky wasn’t a fit for me. The whole attitude and approach of the one-and-dones, that’s good for them, that’s their decision. But I think [Duke] Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] is a guru of basketball. I want to learn from one of the best. ~ Jabari Parker,
559:Jnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. It can be realised by each and everyone in his own Heart. The jnana Guru of everyone is only the Supreme Self that is always revealing its own truth in every Heart through the being-conciousness 'I am, I am.' The granting of true knowledge by him is initiation into jnana. The grace of the Guru is only that Self-awareness that is one's own true nature. It is the inner conciousness by which he is unceasingly revealing his existence. This divine upadesa is always going on naturally in everyone. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi,
560:One of the problems with the first date is that you know very little about a person, so you overweight those few things that you do know,’ the anthropologist and dating guru Helen Fisher told me. ‘And suddenly you see they’ve got brown shoes, and you don’t like brown shoes, so they’re out. Or they don’t like your haircut, so they’re out. But if you were to get to know each other more, those particular characteristics might begin to recede in importance, as you also found that they had a great sense of humor or they’d love to go fishing in the Caribbean with you. ~ Aziz Ansari,
561:Brother, I've seen some
Astonishing sights:
A lion keeping watch
Over pasturing cows;
A mother delivered
After her son was;
A guru prostrated
Before his disciple;
Fish spawning
On treetops;
A cat carrying away
A dog;
A gunny-sack
Driving a bullock-cart;
A buffalo going out to graze,
Sitting on a horse;
A tree with its branches in the earth,
Its roots in the sky;
A tree with flowering roots.

This verse, says Kabir,
Is your key to the universe.
If you can figure it out.

~ Kabir, Brother, I've Seen Some
,
562:Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It is irritating to be woken up. That's the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I'm going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!" My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. If you profit from it fine; if you don't, too bad! As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens." ~ Anthony de Mello,
563:By the respectable terms of the modern literary profession, novelists do not preach. And, in fact, there has probably not been a less respectable novelist among the irrefutably enduring writers of our time than Ayn Rand: philosopher queen of the best-seller lists in the forties and fifties, cult phenomenon and nationally declared threat to public morality in the sixties, guru to the Libertarians and to White House economic policy in the seventies, and a continuing exemplar or Wilde's tragic observation that more than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read. ~ Claudia Roth,
564:I think people are always looking for gurus. It's the easiest thing in the world to become a guru. It's quite terrifying. I once saw something fascinating here in New York. It must have been in the early seventies--guru time. A man used to go and sit in Central Park, wearing elaborate golden robes. He never once opened his mouth, he just sat. He'd appear at lunchtime. People appeared from everywhere, because he was obviously a holy man, and this went on for months. They just sat around him in reverent silence. Eventually he got fed up with it and left. Yes. It's as easy as that. ~ Doris Lessing,
565:Devotion is the essence of the path, and if we have in mind nothing but the guru and feel nothing but fervent devotion, whatever occurs is perceived as his blessing. If we simply practice with this constantly present devotion, this is prayer itself. When all thoughts are imbued with devotion to the guru, there is a natural confidence that this will take care of whatever may happen. All forms are the guru, all sounds are prayer, and all gross and subtle thoughts arise as devotion. Everything is spontaneously liberated in the absolute nature, like knots untied in the sky. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
566:I met with Friedland in New York City to discuss his background and relationship with Jobs, but he did not want to be quoted on the record. McNish, 11–17; Jennifer Wells, “Canada’s Next Billionaire,” Maclean’s, June 3, 1996; Richard Read, “Financier’s Saga of Risk,” Mines and Communities magazine, Oct. 16, 2005; Jennifer Hunter, “But What Would His Guru Say?” (Toronto) Globe and Mail, Mar. 18, 1988; Moritz, 96, 109; Young, 56. . . . Drop Out: Interviews with Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak; Jobs, Stanford commencement address; Moritz, 97. CHAPTER 4: ATARI AND INDIA Atari: Interviews with Steve ~ Walter Isaacson,
567:significant feature of Lahiri Mahasaya’s life was his gift of Kriya initiation to those of every faith. Not Hindus only, but Moslems and Christians were among his foremost disciples. Monists and dualists, those of various faiths or of no established faith, were impartially received and instructed by the universal guru. One of his highly advanced chelas was Abdul Gufoor Khan, a Moslem. Lahiri Mahasaya, belonging himself to the highest or Brahmin caste, made courageous efforts to dissolve the rigid caste bigotry of his time. Those from every walk of life found shelter under the master’s ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
568:L’orgueil, c’est se prendre pour ce qu’on n’est pas et rabaisser les autres; la fierté, c’est savoir ce qu’on est et ne pas se laisser abaisser. La fierté n’empêche pas l’homme de s’abaisser devant ce qui le dépasse; elle est loin d’être contraire à l’humilité vraie, quoi qu’en disent les moralistes les plus superficiels.

A la question : « Croyez-vous en Dieu? » Jeanne d’Arc répondit : « Mieux que vous! » —
Un autre exemple d’humble fierté est cette réponse d’un guru hindou à un voyageur mondain : « Je ne suis pas digne d’être votre maître, et vous n’êtes pas digne d’être mon disciple. » ~ Frithjof Schuon,
569:As Robert Rabbin stated: Here it is, my opinion: existence, creation, the cosmos, whatever the hell you want to call this incomprehensible mystery in which we live and of which we are a part, this thing is so huge, so vast, so complex and multi-dimensional that no one, no one, not even the latest guru du jour, not any scientist, saint, or sage, not any writer or artist, not any one who ever lived at any time in any place — no one knows nor can say the whole truth of the whole thing. They can only say, Hey, I’ve got my hand on one cell of this enormo-gigan-tic beast of being and it feels like such and so.9 ~ Sera Beak,
570:In our pursuit of happiness, we heed the timeless words of management guru Peter Drucker who told us “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” We define key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives and key results (OKRs) for business. And we use wearable sensors to track steps, calories, insulin levels, and the heart rates of individuals. The numbers keep us so busy, we fail to realize Drucker would never have said those words. The quote is also attributed to W. Edwards Deming, but what he really said is “it is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it –a costly myth.”[ ~ Peter Morville,
571:The body is God, the body is the temple, the body is the worshiper, the body is the sacred shrine. The body is the incense, the lamp, the sacred offerings; it is the body I worship with broken petals. After searching all the world, it was in the body I found all the treasure of the world. Nothing is born, nothing dies -- such is Ram's light. What is contained in the universe is also contained in the body: whatever you seek, you shall find. Pipa says, He is Primal Matter; the true guru will show this. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Pipa, Raga Dhanashri
,
572:I drink no ordinary wine, but Wine of Everlasting Bliss, As I repeat my Mother Kali's name; It so intoxicates my mind that people take me to be drunk! First my guru gives molasses for the making of the Wine; My longing is the ferment to transform it. Knowledge, the maker of the Wine, prepares it for me then; And when it is done, my mind imbibes it from the bottle of the mantra, Taking the Mother's name to make it pure. Drink of this Wine, says Ramprasad, and the four fruits of life are yours. [1008.jpg] -- from Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, by Elizabeth U. Harding

~ Ramprasad, I drink no ordinary wine
,
573:Someone told me that Ramana Maharshi lives on the overmental plane or that his realisation is on the same level as Shankara's. How is it then that he is not aware of the arrival of the Divine, while others, for instance X's Guru, had this awareness?

I can't say on what plane the Maharshi is, but his method is that of Adwaita Knowledge and Moksha - so there is no necessity for him to recognise the arrival of the Divine. X's Guru was a bhakta of the Divine Mother and believed in the dynamic side of existence, so it was quite natural for him to have the revelation of the coming of the Mother. 23 January 1936 ~ Sri Aurobindo,
574:During Aurangzeb’s rule, which lasted for forty-nine years from 1658 onwards, there were many phases during which Pandits were persecuted. One of his fourteen governors, Iftikhar Khan, who ruled for four years from 1671, was particularly brutal towards the community. It was during his rule that a group of Pandits approached the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, in Punjab and begged him to save their faith. He told them to return to Kashmir and tell the Mughal rulers that if they could convert him (Tegh Bahadur), all Kashmiri Pandits would accept Islam. This later led to the Guru’s martyrdom, but the Pandits were saved. ~ Rahul Pandita,
575:Leon's life was all about discipline. He'd heard a weight-loss guru once explain that the key to maintaining a slim figure was to really "listen to your body" and only eat until it signaled that it was full. Leon had listened to his body. It wanted three entire pepperoni and mushroom pizzas every single day, plus a rather large cake. And malted milkshakes, the old fashioned kind you could make in your kitchen with an antique Hamilton Beech machine in avocado-colored plastic, served up in a tall red anodized aluminum cup. Leon's body was extremely verbose on what it wanted him to shovel into it. So Leon ignored his body. ~ Cory Doctorow,
576:Sure, there is Ovid, the Roman poet who wrote The Art of Love; Don Juan, the mythical womanizer based on the exploits of various Spanish noblemen; the Duke de Lauzun, the legendary French rake who died on the guillotine; and Casanova, who detailed his hundred-plus conquests in four thousand pages of memoirs. But the undisputed father of modern seduction is Ross Jeffries, a tall, skinny, porous-faced self-proclaimed nerd from Marina Del Rey, California. Guru, cult leader, and social gadfly, he commands an army sixty thousand horny men strong, including top government officials, intelligence officers, and cryptographers. His ~ Neil Strauss,
577:[the third aid, the inner guide, guru :::
   It is he who destroys our darkness by the resplendent light of his knowledge; that light becomes within us the increasing glory of his own self-revelation. He discloses progressively in us his own nature of freedom, bliss, love, power, immortal being. He sets above us his divine example as our ideal and transforms the lower existence into a reflection of that which it contemplates. By the inpouring of his own influence and presence into us he enables the individual being to attain to identity with the universal and transcendent.~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 61 [T1],
578:When I see His ways, I sing. Thus I find peace, O brothers. O brothers, lose yourself in the Word; the true guru shall lead you to Deva. Where light shimmers, there resounds the unsounded Word. Light blends with light: this I perceived by the guru's grace. There were rubies bright as lightning in my own lotus-room. He is near, not far. He fills my very breath. Where shines the eternal Sun, there a lamp also dimly burns. I finally understood by the guru's grace. Now the slave Namdeva is blended with the Eternal. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Namdev, When I see His ways, I sing
,
579:This book is not the memoir of a contented man. It's not the poignant reflections of a white-haired guru who has finally figured out the secret to contentment. It's more like sweaty, bloody, hastily scribbled notes from a battlefield. I'm still struggling to escape the sinister fingers on this conspiracy. I'm still waging war against the discontentment that rages in my life. I can see contentment in the distance, like a hazy oasis, but I have to pick my way through a minefield to get there. I'm not the contented man God wants me to be, but I'm fighting to get there. I'm writing this book the hope that you'll join me in the fight. ~ Stephen Altrogge,
580:The Master, addressing a new disciple: "What keeps the earth from shooting out into space, away from the sun?"
"The sun's gravitational pull, Sir," replied the disciple.
"Then what keeps the earth from being drawn back into the sun?"
"The earth's centrifugal force, which pulls it constantly outward, away from that center."
The Master, with an inward smile, dropped the subject. Months later, the disciple realized that his guru had been speaking metaphorically of God as the sun, Who draws all things back to Himself, and of man as the earth, ever trying to escape the pull of God's love while chasing after worldly desires. ~ Swami Kriyananda,
581:When I say “trust,” I am not asking for your loyalty. There has always been a tremendous amount of stress in the tradition on the Guru-shishya relationship; the Master-disciple relationship has been stressed upon in so many ways. This stress, when used by the wrong person, becomes a means of exploitation. This stress could be laid by a certain person because he wants to secure things for himself. This stress could be laid by a person out of his own insecurity, because he needs the support, he wants the loyalty. If somebody is asking for loyalty, there is nothing spiritual about that place or that person, because a spiritual person doesn’t need loyalty. ~ Sadhguru,
582:Addressing people who were similarly confused as to what path in life to follow, the Buddha once suggested to the Kālāma people: “Do not be satisfied with hearsay or with tradition or with legendary lore or with what has come down in scriptures or with conjecture or with logical inference or with weighing evidence or with liking for a view after pondering over it or with someone else’s ability or with the thought: ‘the monk is our guru.’ When you know in yourselves: ‘these things are wholesome, blameless, commended by the wise, and being adopted and put into effect they lead to welfare and happiness,’ then you should practice and abide in them. ~ Stephen Batchelor,
583:writing it down on paper or on a computer where you can see it is because the brain, unlikely as it may sound, is no place for serious thinking. Any time you have serious thinking to do, the first step is to get the whole shootin’ match out of your head and set it up someplace where you can walk around it and see it from all sides. Attack, switch sides and counter-attack. You can’t do that while it’s still in your head. Writing it out allows you to act as your own teacher, your own critic, your own opponent. By externalizing your thoughts, you can become your own guru; judging yourself, giving feedback, providing a more objective and elevated perspective. ~ Jed McKenna,
584:O friend! hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live,
understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides.
If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of
deliverance in death?
It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him
because it has passed from the body:
If He is found now, He is found then,
If not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death.
If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.
Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true
Name!
Kabr says: 'It is the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest.

~ Kabir, Hope For Him
,
585:The guru demands one thing only: clarity and intensity of purpose, a sense of responsibility for oneself. The very reality of the world must be questioned. Who is the guru, after all? He who knows the state in which there is neither the world nor the thought of it, he is the Supreme Teacher. To find him means to reach the state in which imagination is no longer taken for reality. Please understand that the guru stands for reality, for truth, for what is. He is a realist in the highest sense of the term. He cannot and shall not come to terms with the mind and it's delusions. He comes to take you to the real; don't expect him to do anything else. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,
586:We do not feel that ordinarily, do we? What we feel, instead, is an identification of ourselves with our ideas of ourselves — I would rather say, with our image of ourselves. That is the person, or the ego. You play a role; you identify with that role. I play a role called Alan Watts. And I know very well that it is a big act. I can play some other roles besides Alan Watts if necessary, but I find this one is best for making a living. But I assure you that is a mask and I do not take it seriously. The idea of my being a kind of guru, or savior of the world just breaks me up, because I know me. Besides, it is very difficult to be holy, in the ordinary sense. ~ Alan W Watts,
587:But since death is inevitable we don’t have to deal with it (it’ll deal with us when it decides to). What we do have to deal with is the psychic, physical, and fusion diseases wrought during our so-called lives as byproducts of the elemental clash. In other words we’re all terminally psychotic and no doctor, hospital, pill, needle, book or guru holds the cure. Because the disease is called life and there is no cure for that but death and death’s just part of the set-up designed to keep you terrified and thus in bondage from the cradle to the crypt so ha ha the joke’s on you except there’s no punchline and the comedian forgot you ever existed as even a comma. ~ Lester Bangs,
588:Let me end this chapter with an encouraging story. A young man found his way up to the small apartment of Nisargadatta, my old Hindu guru in Bombay, asked him a spiritual question and then left after this one question. One of the regular students then asked, “What will happen to this man? Will he ever become enlightened or will he fall off the path and go back to sleep?” Nisargadatta said, “It’s too late for him! He has already begun. Just the fact that he came up here and asked one question about what is his true nature means that that place in him that knows who he really is has started to wake up. Even if it takes a long, long time, there’s no turning back. ~ Jack Kornfield,
589:The drum with no drumhead beats; clouds thunder without the monsoon; rain falls without clouds. Can anyone guess this riddle? I have met Ram the beautiful, and I too have become beautiful. The philosopher's stone turns lead into gold; costly rubies I string with my words and thoughts. I discovered real love; doubts, fears have left me. I found comfort in what my guru taught me. A pitcher will fill when plunged in water, so Ram is the One in all. The guru's heart and the disciple's heart are one. Thus has the slave Namdeva perceived Truth. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Namdev, The drum with no drumhead beats
,
590:But while it is difficult for man to believe in something unseen within himself, it is easy for him to believe in something which he can image as extraneous to himself. The spiritual progress of most human beings demands an extraneous support, an object of faith outside us. It needs an external image of God; or it needs a human representative, - Incarnation, Prophet or Guru; or it demands both and receives them. For according to the need of the human soul the Divine manifests himself as deity, as human divine or in simple humanity - using that thick disguise, which so successfully conceals the Godhead, for a means of transmission of his guidance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
591:Students often ask if they should only invoke the guru in the context of a formal daily practice, or if it can be done anywhere. The answer is that it depends on the student. Dharma bums who roam the streets of Kathmandu smoking hashish and sitting in cafés nursing a half-empty cup of cappuccino for most of the day should probably sit formally and recite ten million or one hundred million mantras. Whereas those who have demanding jobs in London, New York or Paris might benefit more from reciting the mantra on their way to work, or as they wait for a bus. The method each student is given will depend entirely on their personal situation and how disciplined they are. ~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse,
592:But then the subject turned to the spiritual life and Meg talked about her many visits to ashrams in India and her admiration for Swami Muktananda and Gurumayi. That got in the way, especially because he told her of his skepticism regarding the guru industry, and suggested she might profitably read Gita Mehta’s book Karma Cola. “Why are you so cynical?” she asked him, as if she genuinely wanted to know the answer, and he said that if you grew up in India it was easy to conclude that these people were fakes. “Yes, of course there are lots of charlatans,” she said, reasonably, “but can’t you discriminate?” He shook his head sadly. “No,” he said. “No, I can’t.” That was the end of their chat. ~ Salman Rushdie,
593:The basis of my own addiction, I know, is my simple human need for Darcy to get off with Elizabeth. Tom says football guru Nick Hornby says in his book that men's obsession with football is not vicarious. The testosterone-crazed fans do not wish themselves on the pitch, claims Hornby, instead seeing their team as their chosen representatives, rather like parliament. That is precisely my feeling about Darcy and Elizabeth. They are my chosen representatives in the field of shagging, or, rather, courtship. I do not, however, wish to see any actual goals. I would hate to see Darcy and Elizabeth in bed, smoking a cigarette afterwards. That would be unnatural and wrong and I would quickly lose interest. ~ Helen Fielding,
594:You Marpa, the translator from Tibet!
Do not make the eight worldly dharmas the goal of your life.
Do not create the bias of self and other, grasping and fixation.
Do not slander friends or enemies.
Do not distort the ways of others.
Learning and contemplation are the torch that illumines the darkness.
Do not be ambushed on the supreme path of liberation.
Previously, we have been guru and disciple;
Keep this with you in the future; do not give this up.
This precious jewel of your mind,
Do not throw it in the river like an idiot.
Guard it carefully with undistracted attention,
And you will accomplish all needs, desires, and intentions.

~ Naropa, Advice to Marpa Lotsawa
,
595:Jangan percaya hal apapun hanya karena kamu telah mendengarnya. Jangan percaya hal apapun hanya karena hal itu telah dibicarakan dan digunjingkan oleh banyak orang.
Jangan percaya hal apapun hanya karena hal itu tertulis dalam kitab-kitab keagamaanmu. Jangan percaya hal apapun hanya karena hal itu dikatakan berdasarkan otoritas guru-guru dan sesepuh-sesepuhmu.
Jangan percaya tradisi apapun hanya karena tradisi itu telah diwariskan dari satu generasi ke generasi lainnya.
Tetapi setelah kamu observasi dan analisis, maka ketika kamu mendapati hal apapun sejalan dengan akal-budimu dan menolongmu untuk mendatangkan kebaikan dan manfaat bagi satu dan semua orang, maka terimalah itu dan jalankanlah. ~ Gautama Buddha,
596:Management guru Jim Collins has some good words here. He and Morten T. Hansen studied leadership in turbulent times. They looked at more than twenty thousand companies, sifting through data in search of an answer to this question: Why in uncertain times do some companies thrive while others do not? They concluded, “[Successful leaders] are not more creative. They’re not more visionary. They’re not more charismatic. They’re not more ambitious. They’re not more blessed by luck. They’re not more risk-seeking. They’re not more heroic. And they’re not more prone to making big, bold moves.” Then what sets them apart? “They all led their teams with a surprising method of self-control in an out-of-control world.”2 ~ Max Lucado,
597:Find the word, understand the word, Depend on the word; The word is heaven and space, the word the earth, The word the universe. The word is in our ears, the word is on our tongues, The word the idol. The word is the holy book, the word is harmony, The word is music. The word is magic, the word the Guru. The word is the body, the word is the spirit, the word is being, The word Not-being. The word is man, the word is woman, The Worshipped Great. The word is the seen and unseen, the word is the existent And the non-existent. Know the word, says Kabir, The word is All-powerful. [2469.jpg] -- from Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal

~ Kabir, The Word
,
598:I heard business guru and best-selling author Seth Godin address this in a conference. Someone asked him how many subscribers he had to his blog. He told them he didn’t know. Because if he knew, he’d be tempted to make that number grow and he’d start to create content just to make the number grow. Then he said something that I think is so applicable to closing the gap between a day job and a dream job. “You can’t use analytics to figure out the message.” In other words, you can’t allow your results or the measurement of your progress to control your dream. What you do, the message, so to speak, has to be true and honest and come from the core of what you care about, not be a whim in the whirling winds of analytics. You ~ Jon Acuff,
599:Ada radar," jawabnya dengan senyum simpul.
Ibu Sati pernah berkata, seorang guru spiritual bagi muridnya adalah bapak-ibu-saudara-sahabat dijadikan satu. Ia yang membangunkan kundalini adalah ia yang menuntun jiwa mencapai brahman, demikian istilahnya. Guru merupakan perwujudan kasih sayang yang mampu menembus dimensi waktu dan ruang. Atau bisa juga dipandang sesederhana berikut: Ibu Sati pulang dari Solo, ingin tahu kabarku lalu meneleponi rumah, tetapi tidak ada yang mengangkat, dan karena kebetulan ia punya janji dekat-dekat sini, Ibu Sati lalu memutuskan mampir ke rumahku, mengetuk-ngetuk pintu, tetapi tidak ada yang membukakan, sampai akhirnya ia coba membuka sendiri dan... ta-da! Manusia Milenium tergeletak di lantai! ~ Dee Lestari,
600:O friend! hope for Him whilst you live
O friend! hope for Him whilst you live,
know whilst you live, understand whilst you live:
for in life deliverance abides.

If your bonds be not broken whilst living,
what hope of deliverance in death ?

It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him
because it has passed from the body:

If He is found now, He is found then,
If not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death.

If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.

Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru,
have faith in the true Name!

Kabir says : 'It is the spirit of the quest which helps;
I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest.'

~ Kabir, O Friend
,
601:These are touchy times. National sensitivities are on permanent alert and it's getting harder by the moment to say boo to a goose, lest the goose in question belong to the paranoid majority (goosism under threat), the thin-skinned minority (victims of goosophobia), the militant fringe (Goose Sena), the separatists (Goosistan Liberation Front), the increasingly well organised cohorts of society's historical outcasts (the ungoosables, or Scheduled Geese), or the the devout followers of of that ultimate guru duck, the sainted Mother Goose. Why, after all, would any sensible person wish to say boo in the first place? By constantly throwing dirt, such boxers disqualify themselves from serious consideration (they cook their own goose). ~ Graham Greene,
602:Why are you stupefied at all this? The subtle unity of the phenomenal world is not hidden from true yogis. I instantly see and converse with my disciples in distant Calcutta. They can similarly transcend at will every obstacle of gross matter.” It was probably in an effort to stir spiritual ardour in my young breast that the swami had condescended to tell me of his powers of astral radio and television. But instead of enthusiasm, I experienced only an awe-stricken fear. Inasmuch as I was destined to undertake my divine search through one particular guru—Sri Yukteswar, whom I had not yet met—I felt no inclination to accept Pranabananda as my teacher. I glanced at him doubtfully, wondering if it were he or his counterpart before me. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
603:Following your own star means isolation, not knowing where to go, having to find out a completely new way for yourself instead of just going on the trodden path everybody else runs along. That's why there's always been a tendency in humans to project the uniqueness and the greatness of their own inner self onto outer personalities and become the servants, the devoted servants, admirers, and imitators of outer personalities. It is much easier to admire a great personality and become a pupil or follower of a guru or a religious prophet, or an admirer of a big, official personality - a President of the United States - or live your life for some military general whom you admire. That is much easier than following your own star. (p. 71) ~ Marie Louise von Franz,
604:Deep caring about each other's fate does seem to be on the decline, but I do not believe that New Age narcissism is much to blame. The external causes of our moral indifference are a fragmented mass society that leaves us isolated and afraid, an economic system that puts the rights of capital before the rights of people, and a political process that makes citizens into ciphers.

These are the forces that allow, even encourage, unbridled competition, social irresponsibility, and the survival of the financially fittest. The executives who brought down the major corporations by taking indecent sums off the top while wage earners of modest means lost their retirement accounts were clearly more influenced by capitalist amorality than by some New Age guru. ~ Parker J Palmer,
605:For all the talk about the need to be a likable "team player," many people work in a fairly cutthroat environment that would seem to be especially challenging to those who possess the recommended traits. Cheerfulness, upbeatness, and compliance: these are the qualities of subordinates -- of servants rather than masters, women (traditionally, anyway) rather than men. After advising his readers to overcome the bitterness and negativity engendered by frequent job loss and to achieve a perpetually sunny outlook, management guru Harvey Mackay notes cryptically that "the nicest, most loyal, and most submissive employees are often the easiest people to fire." Given the turmoil in the corporate world, the prescriptions of niceness ring of lambs-to-the-slaughter. ~ Barbara Ehrenreich,
606:I used to think that happiness, like God, was an idea weaker people were sold on, to manage the grief of a world with so much suffering. It is just easier, I thought, to decide that you are doing something wrong and you just need to buy the right thing, read the right book, find the right guru, or pray more to be happy than to accept that life is a great long heartbreak. Happiness is not what I imagined that mirage to be: an unending ecstasy or state of perpetual excitement. Not a high or a mirage, it is just being okay. My happiness is the absence of fear that there won't be enough -- enough money, enough power, enough security, enough of a cushion of these things to protect me from the everyday heartbreaks of being human. Heartbreak doesn't kill you. It changes you. ~ Melissa Febos,
607:So I did some research,” she went on. “The good thing about being a famous model is that you can call anyone and they’ll talk to you. So I called this illusionist I’d seen on Broadway a couple of years ago. He heard the story and then he laughed. I said what’s so funny. He asked me a question: Did this guru do this after dinner? I was surprised. What the hell could that have to do with it? But I said yes, how did you know? He asked if we had coffee. Again I said yes. Did he take his black? One more time I said yes.” Shauna was smiling now. “Do you know how he did it, Beck?” I shook my head. “No clue.” “When he passed the card to Wendy, it went over his coffee cup. Black coffee, Beck. It reflects like a mirror. That’s how he saw what I’d written. It was just a dumb parlor trick. ~ Harlan Coben,
608:I burst into laughter whenever I hear that the fish is thirsty in water. Without the knowledge of Self people just wander to Mathura or to Kashi like the musk-deer unaware of the scent in his navel, goes on running forest to forest. In water is the lotus plant and the plant bears flowers and on the flowers are the bees buzzing. Likewise all yogis and mendicants and all those who have renounced comforts, are on here and hereafter and the nether world -- contemplating. Friend, the Supreme Indestructible Being, on whom thousands of sages meditate and even Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, really resides within one's self. Though He is near, He appears far away -- and that is what makes one disturbed; says Kabir, listen, O wise one, by Guru alone is the confusion curbed.

~ Kabir, I burst into laughter
,
609:omnipresent wings. Like all other God-inspired prophets, Lahiri Mahasaya gave new hope to the outcasts and the downtrodden of society. “Remember that you belong to no one and that no one belongs to you. Reflect that some day you will suddenly have to leave everything in this world—so make the acquaintance of God now,” the great guru told his disciples. “Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by riding daily in a balloon of divine perception. Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles. 12 Meditate unceasingly, that you quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. Cease being a prisoner of the body; using the secret key of Kriya, learn to escape into Spirit.” The ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
610:[the four aids ::: YOGA-SIDDHI, the perfection that comes from the practice of Yoga, can be best attained by the combined working of four great instruments. There is, first, the knowledge of the truths, principles, powers and processes that govern the realisation - sastra. Next comes a patient and persistent action on the lines laid down by this knowledge, the force of our personal effort - utsaha. There intervenes, third, uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience, the direct suggestion, example and influence of the Teacher - guru. Last comes the instrumentality of Time - kala; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Yoga of Divine Works, The Four Aids, 53 [T0],
611:English version by K. N. Upadhyaya Destroy delusion, O mind, by means of the Name of God and the Word bestowed by the Guru. The mind is then united with the One untouched by karmas. Liquidate thereby thy karmas, O Dadu. If the mind stays with the Name of the Supreme Lord even for a moment, O Dadu, All its karmas will be destroyed then and there, within the twinkling of an eye. The aspirant who fills his pot with drops of Celestial Melody, alone survives. How can he die, O Dadu? He drinks the divine Nectar. The artistic Creator is playing the instrument in perfect harmony. Melody is the essence of the five elements, and through the self is the Melody expressed, O Dadu. [bk1sm.gif] -- from Dadu: The Compassionate Mystic, Translated by K. N. Upadhyaya

~ Dadu Dayal, The Creator Plays His Cosmic Instrument In Perfect Harmony
,
612:We need a new direction, and we need it soon. Instead of death by food pyramid, we can have life by educated freedom—a freedom in which we’re released from the rules of the federal government, the dogma of the fad diet du jour, the smooth words of a health guru, the marionetting of powerful industries, the misinterpretation of science, and the mass confusion that keeps us incapacitated. As we demolish the walls of the pyramids, plates, and other shapes that ultimately lock us inside a dietary dictatorship, we’re left with a horizon-wide landscape to explore—and with it, the opportunity to pursue what works for us and guiltlessly leave behind what doesn’t. But there’s just one catch. In order to reach that point of liberation, we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing—or else we’ll keep getting what we’ve been getting. ~ Denise Minger,
613:Looking back, I ask myself whether WikiLeaks itself during my last months there had developed into a kind of religious cult. It had become a system that admitted little internal criticism. Anything that went wrong had to be the fault of something on the outside. The guru was untouchable and beyond question. Any external danger encouraged internal cohesion. Anyone who offered too much criticism was punished by being withdrawn from communication or by being threatened with possible consequences. Moreover, WL participants were only allowed to know as much as was absolutely necessary for them to carry out their appointed tasks. In any case, this much can be said: From reading the Scientology documents, and the philosophy and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, Julian learned only too well how a cult of personality functions. ~ Daniel Domscheit Berg,
614:And it is a strange fact that in all these churches there is never a moment of quietness, except when it is empty. Because if you are quiet, you might inquire. If you are quiet, you might begin to doubt. But if you are occupied all the time, you never have time to look around, to question, to doubt, to ask. That may be one of the great tricks of the human mind. What is meditation and why should one meditate? Is it natural? Like breathing, like seeing, like hearing, is it natural? And why have we made it so unnatural? Taking postures, following systems of Buddhist meditation, Tibetan meditation, Christian meditation, Tantric meditations, and the meditations set by your favorite guru. Aren’t all those really abnormal? Why should I take a certain position to meditate? Why should I practice, practice, practice? To arrive where? ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
615:They’re pretty quiet in there.” I nod toward the family room.

“They’re both champion watchers,” David says. “It’s their superpower.”

“Too bad they can’t make a career out of that.”

He leans toward me and whispers, “Ethan’s planning to make a move tonight.”

“What kind of move?”

“First holding hands and then, if that goes well, a kiss on the mouth. We discussed it. Made a plan of action.”

“With diagrams?”

“I considered it. But I’m pretty sure he knows where the hands and lips are, and I warned him to stay away from all other areas.”

“Did you tell him to stop holding hands if there’s a sweat situation? That’s important.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“What kind of love guru are you?”

“Believe me,” he says, “I’m well aware it’s the blind leading the blind here. ~ Claire LaZebnik,
616:Entering the spiritual path means you have become conscious of your suffering. You were suffering unconsciously; now you have become conscious of it. Conscious suffering is always deeper than unconscious suffering, but it is good; at least you’re conscious about it. As long as you haven’t become conscious, the suffering will always remain. Once you have become conscious, it need not remain forever. There’s a possibility, isn’t it? Entering the spiritual path is a possibility, being with a Guru is a possibility, that’s all it is. If the possibility has to become a reality, the first thing is that you’re willing to see everything the way it is. You’re at least willing to recognize your limitations. If you want to hide your limitations, where’s the question of liberation? Where is the possibility? You have destroyed it completely, isn’t it? ~ Sadhguru,
617:The function of education, then, is to help you from childhood not to imitate anybody, but to be yourself all the time. And this is a most difficult thing to do: whether you are ugly or beautiful, whether you are envious or jealous, always to be what you are, but understand it. To be yourself is very difficult, because you think that what you are is ignoble, and that if you could only change what you are into something noble it would be marvellous; but that never happens. Whereas, if you look at what you actually are and understand it, then in that very understanding there is a transformation. So freedom lies, not in trying to become something different, nor in doing whatever you happen to feel like doing, nor in following the authority of tradition, of your parents, of your guru, but in understanding what you are from moment to moment. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
618:When artificial-intelligence guru Andrew Ng joined Chinese Internet pioneer Baidu Baidu last May as chief scientist, he was a little cagey about what he and his team might work on at a newly opened lab in Sunnyvale, Calif. But he couldn’t help revealing better speech recognition as a key area of interest in the age of the smartphone. Today, Baidu, often called China’s Google Google, unveiled the first results of what the former Google researcher, Stanford professor and Coursera cofounder had in mind. In a paper published today on Cornell University Library’s arXiv.org site, Ng and 10 members of his Baidu Research team led by research scientist Awni Hannun said they’ve come up with a new method of more accurately recognizing speech, an increasingly important feature used in Apple's Apple's Siri and Dictation services as well as Google’s voice search. ~ Anonymous,
619:You begin to notice what it is that makes this person a teacher, beyond the limits of his individuality and personality. Thus the principle of the “universality of the guru” comes into the picture as well. Every problem you face in life is a part of your marriage. Whenever you experience difficulties, you hear the words of the guru. This is the point at which one begins to gain one’s independence from the guru as lover, because every situation becomes an expression of the teachings. First you surrendered to your spiritual friend. Then you communicated and played games with him. And now you have come to the state of complete openness. As a result of this openness you begin to see the guru-quality in every life-situation, that all situations in life offer you the opportunity to be as open as you are with the guru, and so all things can become the guru. ~ Ch gyam Trungpa,
620:One of the dictums that defines our culture is that we can be anything we want to be – to win the neoliberal game we just have to dream, to put our minds to it, to want it badly enough. This message leaks out to us from seemingly everywhere in our environment: at the cinema, in heart-warming and inspiring stories we read in the news and social media, in advertising, in self-help books, in the classroom, on television. We internalize it, incorporating it into our sense of self. But it’s not true. It is, in fact, the dark lie at the heart of the age of perfectionism. It’s the cause, I believe, of an incalculable quotient of misery. Here’s the truth that no million-selling self-help book, famous motivational speaker, happiness guru or blockbusting Hollywood screenwriter seems to want you to know. You’re limited. Imperfect. And there’s nothing you can do about it. ~ Will Storr,
621:In the words of leadership guru Marshall Goldsmith, “What got you here won’t get you there.” Market share and revenue growth earn headlines, but you can’t achieve customer and revenue scale without scaling up your organization, in terms of the size and scope of your staff, as well as your financial, product, and technology strategy. If the organization doesn’t grow in lockstep with its revenues and customer base, things can quickly spiral out of control. For example, during a period of blitzscaling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Oracle Corporation focused so single-mindedly on sales growth that its organization lagged badly on both technology (where it fell behind archrival Sybase’s) and finance and nearly went bankrupt as a result. It took the turnaround efforts of Ray Lane and Jeff Henley to stave off disaster and reposition Oracle for its later success. ~ Reid Hoffman,
622:tahiya hote pavan nahin pani, tahiya srishti kown utpati;
tahiya hote kali nahin phula, tahiya hote garbh nahi mula;
tahiya hote vidya nahin Veda, tahiya hote shabd nahin swada;
tahiya hote pind nahin basu,
nahin dhar dharni na pavan akasu;
tahiya hote guru nahin chela, gamya agamya na panth duhela.

Sakhi: avigati ki gati ka kahown, jake gawn na thawn
gun bihuna pekhana, ka kahi lijai nawn

In that state there is no air or water, and no creation or creator; There is no bud or flower, and no fetus or semen; There is no education or Vedas, and no word or taste; There is no body or settlement, and no earth, air or space; There is no guru or disciple, and no easy or difficult path.

Sakhi: That state is very strange. I cannot explain it. It has no village or resting place. That state is without gunas (qualities). What name can on give it? ~ Kabir,
623:tahiya hote pavan nahin pani, tahiya srishti kown utpati;
tahiya hote kali nahin phula, tahiya hote garbh nahi mula;
tahiya hote vidya nahin Veda, tahiya hote shabd nahin swada;
tahiya hote pind nahin basu,
nahin dhar dharni na pavan akasu;
tahiya hote guru nahin chela, gamya agamya na panth duhela.

Sakhi: avigati ki gati ka kahown, jake gawn na thawn
gun bihuna pekhana, ka kahi lijai nawn

In that state there is no air or water, and no creation or creator; There is no bud or flower, and no fetus or semen; There is no education or Vedas, and no word or taste; There is no body or settlement, and no earth, air or space; There is no guru or disciple, and no easy or difficult path.

Sakhi: That state is very strange. I cannot explain it. It has no village or resting place. That state is without gunas (qualities). What name can on give it? ~ Kabir,
624:I burst into laughter
whenever I hear
that the fish is thirsty in water.

Without the knowledge of Self
people just wander to Mathura or to Kashi
like the musk-deer unaware
of the scent in his navel,
goes on running forest to forest.

In water is the lotus plant
and the plant bears flowers
and on the flowers are the bees buzzing.
Likewise all yogis and mendicants
and all those who have renounced comforts,
are on here and hereafter and the nether world -
contemplating.

Friend, the Supreme Indestructible Being,
on whom thousands of sages meditate
and even Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh,
really resides within one's self.

Though He is near, He appears far away -
and that is what makes one disturbed;
says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
by Guru alone is the confusion curbed.

~ Kabir, I Burst Into Laughter
,
625:O my brother, where shall I go, why should I wander? The pleasure I seek is in my very own home. My mind will not stray, for my heart is now steadfast. One day, a yearning arose in my heart, and I went with sandal shavings and essence and so many perfumes, so I could worship Brahma in the temple. But then the guru told me that the Brahma I sought dwelt in my very own heart. Wherever I went I met only water and stone -- but You remain all-pervasive and forever unchanging. I read and searched all the Vedas and the Puranas; I go to them if I do not find Him here. O my true guru, I am your handmaid, your living sacrifice, for you have cut away all my hardened doubts, all my great fears. Ramananda's lord is the all-pervasive Brahma -- a guru's word can destroy a million sins. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Ramananda, Raga Basant
,
626:We do not need to be rational and scientific when it comes to the details of our daily life—only in those that can harm us and threaten our survival. Modern life seems to invite us to do the exact opposite; become extremely realistic and intellectual when it comes to such matters as religion and personal behavior, yet as irrational as possible when it comes to matters ruled by randomness (say, portfolio or real estate investments). I have encountered colleagues, “rational,” no-nonsense people, who do not understand why I cherish the poetry of Baudelaire and Saint-John Perse or obscure (and often impenetrable) writers like Elias Canetti, J. L. Borges, or Walter Benjamin. Yet they get sucked into listening to the “analyses” of a television “guru,” or into buying the stock of a company they know absolutely nothing about, based on tips by neighbors who drive expensive cars. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb,
627:Ordinarily, the Word from without, representative of the Divine, is needed as an aid in the work of self-unfolding; andit may be either a word from the past or the more powerful word of the living Guru. In some cases this representative wordis only taken as a sort of excuse for the inner power to awakenand manifest; it is, as it were, a concession of the omnipotent andomniscient Divine to the generality of a law that governs Nature The usual agency of this revealing is the Word, the thing heard (sruta ´ ). The Word may come to us from within; it may come to us from without. But in either case, it is only an agency for setting the hidden knowledge to work. The word within maybe the utterance of the inmost soul in us which is always opento the Divine; or it may be the word of the secret and universal Teacher who is seated in the hearts of all.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids,
628:A disciple asked his teacher, 'Sir, please tell me how I can see God.' Come with me,' said the guru, 'and I shall show you.' He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, 'How did you feel?' The disciple said, 'Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.' The teacher said, 'When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His vision.'

Let me tell you something. What will you gain by floating on the surface? Dive a little under the water. The gems lie deep under the water; so what is the good of throwing your arms and legs about on the surface? A real gem is heavy. It doesn't float; it sinks to the bottom. To get the real gem you must dive deep. ~ Sri Ramakrishna,
629:There are always those in this world who, in Browning’s words, “endure no light, being themselves obscure.” An outsider occasionally berated Sri Yukteswar for an imaginary grievance. My imperturbable guru listened politely, analysing himself to see if any shred of truth lay within the denunciation. These scenes would bring to my mind one of Master’s inimitable observations: “Some people try to be tall by cutting off the heads of others!” The unfailing composure of a saint is impressive beyond any sermon. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” I often reflected that my majestic Master could easily have been an emperor or world-shaking warrior had his mind been centered on fame or worldly achievement. He had chosen instead to storm those inner citadels of wrath and egotism whose fall is the height of a man. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
630:I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't you will eat away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert,
631:Turn your thoughts now, and lift up your thoughts to a devout and joyous contemplation on sage Vyasa and Vasishtha, on Narda and Valmiki. Contemplate on the glorious Lord Buddha, Jesus the Christ, prophet Mohammed, the noble Zoroaster (Zarathushtra), Lord Mahavira, the holy Guru Nanak. Think of the great saints and sages of all ages, like Yajnavalkya, Dattatreya, Sulabha and Gargi, Anasooya and Sabari, Lord Gauranga, Mirabai, Saint Theresa and Francis of Assisi. Remember St. Augustine, Jallaludin Rumi, Kabir, Tukaram, Ramdas, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Vivekananda and Rama Tirtha. Adore in thy heart the sacred memory of Mahatma Gandhi, sage Ramana Maharishi, Aurobindo Ghosh, Gurudev Sivananda and Swami Ramdas. They verily are the inspirers of humanity towards a life of purity, goodness and godliness. Their lives, their lofty examples, their great teachings constitute the real wealth and greatest treasure of mankind today.
   ~ Sri Chidananda, Advices On Spiritual Living,
632:Most people think the Lego corporation assembled a crack team of world-class experts to engineer Mini-Florida on a computer, but I’m not buying it.” “You aren’t?” asked Coleman. “It’s way too good.” Serge pointed at a two-story building in Key West. “Examine the meticulous green shutters on Hemingway’s house. No, my money is on a lone-wolf manic type like the famous Latvian Edward Leedskalnin, who single-handedly built the Coral Castle back in the twenties. He operated in secret, moving multi-ton hewn boulders south of Miami, and nobody knows how he did it. Probably happened here as well: The Lego people conducting an exhaustive nationwide search among the obsessive-compulsive community. But they had to be selective and stay away from the ones whose entire houses are filled to the ceiling with garbage bags of their own hair. Then they most likely found some cult guru living in a remote Lego ashram south of Pueblo with nineteen wives, offered him unlimited plastic blocks and said, ‘Knock yourself out. ~ Tim Dorsey,
633:The Yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path.9 The first steps are (1) yama (moral conduct), and (2) niyama (religious observances). Yama is fulfilled by noninjury to others, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and noncovetousness. The niyama prescripts are purity of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, self-discipline, self-study (contemplation), and devotion to God and guru. The next steps are (3) asana (right posture); the spinal column must be held straight, and the body firm in a comfortable position for meditation; (4) pranayama (control of prana, subtle life currents); and (5) pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses from external objects). The last steps are forms of yoga proper: (6) dharana (concentration), holding the mind to one thought; (7) dhyana (meditation); and (8) samadhi (superconscious experience). This Eightfold Path of Yoga leads to the final goal of Kaivalya (Absoluteness), in which the yogi realizes the Truth beyond all intellectual apprehension. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
634:The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, - these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
635:Father Death Blues
Hey Father Death, I'm flying home
Hey poor man, you're all alone
Hey old daddy, I know where I'm going
Father Death, Don't cry any more
Mama's there, underneath the floor
Brother Death, please mind the store
Old Aunty Death Don't hide your bones
Old Uncle Death I hear your groans
O Sister Death how sweet your moans
O Children Deaths go breathe your breaths
Sobbing breasts'll ease your Deaths
Pain is gone, tears take the rest
Genius Death your art is done
Lover Death your body's gone
Father Death I'm coming home
Guru Death your words are true
Teacher Death I do thank you
For inspiring me to sing this Blues
Buddha Death, I wake with you
Dharma Death, your mind is new
Sangha Death, we'll work it through
Suffering is what was born
Ignorance made me forlorn
Tearful truths I cannot scorn
Father Breath once more farewell
Birth you gave was no thing ill
My heart is still, as time will tell.
~ Allen Ginsberg,
636:KEYS TO WARFARE The world is full of people looking for a secret formula for success and power. They do not want to think on their own; they just want a recipe to follow. They are attracted to the idea of strategy for that very reason. In their minds strategy is a series of steps to be followed toward a goal. They want these steps spelled out for them by an expert or a guru. Believing in the power of imitation, they want to know exactly what some great person has done before. Their maneuvers in life are as mechanical as their thinking. To separate yourself from such a crowd, you need to get rid of a common misconception: the essence of strategy is not to carry out a brilliant plan that proceeds in steps; it is to put yourself in situations where you have more options than the enemy does. Instead of grasping at Option A as the single right answer, true strategy is positioning yourself to be able to do A, B, or C depending on the circumstances. That is strategic depth of thinking, as opposed to formulaic thinking. ~ Robert Greene,
637:He is the One in many, countless are His shapes and forms. He pervades all that exists; wherever I look, He is there. But very few perceive this reality, for Maya ever enchants us with her multiple reflections of color and alluring beauty. Everything is Gobind, Gobind is everything. Nothing that exists is without Gobind: the one thread strings innumerable beads -- Prabhu Himself is the thread, the threader, the threaded. River and waves, foam and bubbles have all their being within water itself. This play of things is the sport of Parbhama. The One cannot be thought different from the other. Hope is a lie and desire a mere dream -- yet both are construed as actual reality. But when my guru gave me his holy wisdom, I awoke from my dream and my heart yielded. Namdeva says, Behold Hari's creation; ponder upon it with all your heart, and you will see that in every pore, in every living thing, there is only the one Murari. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Namdev, He is the One in many
,
638:The predisposition to religious belief is an ineradicable part of human behavior. Mankind has produced 100,000 religions. It is an illusion to think that scientific humanism and learning will dispel religious belief. Men would rather believe than know... A kind of Darwinistic survival of the fittest has occurred with religions... The ecological principle called Gause's law holds that competition is maximal between species with identical needs... Even submission to secular religions such as Communism and guru cults involve willing subordination of the individual to the group. Religious practices confer biological advantage. The mechanisms of religion include (1) objectification (the reduction of reality to images and definitions that are easily understood and cannot be refuted), (2) commitment through faith (a kind of tribalism enacted through self-surrender), (3) and myth (the narratives that explain the tribe's favored position on the earth, often incorporating supernatural forces struggling for control, apocalypse, and millennium). ~ Edward O Wilson,
639:It is the perennial problem of the teacher to be able to judge where the student currently is in his or her understanding and lead them onwards from there. This is why a living 'guru' is really needed, so that questions may be asked and answered face to face.

When we read a book, or even listen to a tape recording of a lecture or dialogue, we are receiving only a particular viewpoint, aimed at a student of a particular level. It may resonate or it may not. Even the method of expression is crucial. Whilst one person may appreciate logic and intellectual analysis, another may need sympathetic reassurance and practical guidance.
(...)
Ultimately, the truth is one and everything else that might be said is only at the level of appearance, using a language that is necessarily objective and dualistic. What is needed is a teacher whose words and style 'click' with our particular mental conditioning. This book aims to present excerpts from traditional and modern teaching in a wide variety of styles, in the hope that something will click. ~ Dennis Waite,
640:Hinduism’ is thus the name that foreigners first applied to what they saw as the indigenous religion of India. It embraces an eclectic range of doctrines and practices, from pantheism to agnosticism and from faith in reincarnation to belief in the caste system. But none of these constitutes an obligatory credo for a Hindu: there are none. We have no compulsory dogmas. This is, of course, rather unusual. A Catholic is a Catholic because he believes Jesus was the Son of God who sacrificed himself for Man; a Catholic believes in the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth, offers confession, genuflects in church and is guided by the Pope and a celibate priesthood. A Muslim must believe that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet. A Jew cherishes his Torah or Pentateuch and his Talmud; a Parsi worships at a Fire Temple; a Sikh honours the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib above all else. There is no Hindu equivalent to any of these beliefs. There are simply no binding requirements to being a Hindu. Not even a belief in God. ~ Shashi Tharoor,
641:Stegner’s could sometimes be a grumpy goodness. In a fascinating exchange of letters with the beat poet and environmental guru Gary Snyder, Stegner argues for the less exotic virtues of the cultivated western mind versus the enlightened eastern one. This included the importance of doing what one should and not what one felt like. In a letter dated January 27, 1968, he wrote: “I have spent a lot of days and weeks at the desks and in the meetings that ultimately save redwoods, and I have to say that I never saw on the firing line any of the mystical drop-outs or meditators.” He went to those meetings because it was the right thing to do. An obligation, yes, but one he valued. “The highest thing I can think of doing is literary,” he wrote a friend. “But literature does not exist in a vacuum, or even in a partial vacuum. We are neither detached nor semi-detached, but linked to the world by a million interdependencies. To deny the interdependencies, while living on the comforts and services they make possible, is adolescent when it isn’t downright dishonest. ~ David Gessner,
642:Immigration, exile, being uprooted and made a pariah may be the most effective way yet devised to impress on an individual the arbitrary nature of his or her own existence. Who needed a shrink of a guru when everyone we met asked us who we were the moment we opned our mouths and they heard the accent?

The truth is, we had no simple answers. Being rattled around in freight trains, open trucks, and ratty ocean-liners, we ended up being a puzzle even to ourselves. At first, that was hard to take; then we got used to the idea. We began to savor it, to enjoy it. Being nobody struck me personally as being far more interesting than being somebody. The streets were full of these "somebodys" putting on confident airs. Half the time I envied them; half the time I looked down on them with pity. I knew something they didn't, something hard to come by unless history gives you a good kick in the ass: how superfluous and insignificant in any grand scheme mere individuals are. And how pitiless are those who have no understanding that this could be their fate too. ~ Charles Simic,
643:Laughing and playing, I came to Your Temple, O Lord. While Naam Dayv was worshipping, he was grabbed and driven out. I am of a low social class, O Lord; why was I born into a family of fabric dyers? I picked up my blanket and went back, to sit behind the temple. As Naam Dayv uttered the Glorious Praises of the Lord, the temple turned around to face the Lord's humble devotee. Shabad by Bhagat Nam Dev in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib on how he had the darshan of the Lord. Nam Dev milked the brown cow, and brought a cup of milk and a jug of water to his family god. Please drink this milk, O my Sovereign Lord God. Drink this milk and my mind will be happy. Otherwise, my father will be angry with me. Taking the golden cup, Nam Dev filled it with the ambrosial milk, and placed it before the Lord. The Lord looked upon Nam Dev and smiled. This one devotee abides within my heart. The Lord drank the milk, and the devotee returned home. Thus did Nam Dev come to receive the Blessed Vision of the Lord's Darshan.

~ Namdev, Laughing and playing, I came to Your Temple, O Lord
,
644:English version by Tarthang Tulku Listen, faithful Tibetans! I am merging with the fundamental, the ground of all that is--- physical pain and suffering are disappearing.... The son, the inner elements of my body, is reuniting with the mother, the outer elements. Her physical remains will disappear into earth and stone. The compassion of the Guru has never left me; his manifestations fill all the world and call out to welcome me. This wild lady has done everything; Many times have I come and gone, but now, no longer. I am a Tibetan wife sent back to her family. I shall now appear as the Queen, the All-good, the Dharmakaya. This self-sufficient black lady has shaken things up far and wide; now the shaking will carry me away into the southwest. I have finished with intrigues, with the fervent cascades of schemes and deceptions; I am winding my way into the expanse of the Dharma. I have mourned many men of Tibet who have left me behind--- but now I am the one who will go to the land of the Buddhas.

~ Yeshe Tsogyal, This self-sufficient black lady has shaken things up
,
645:Manson’s arrival in the Haight directly coincided with the Summer of Love; the streets were alive with impressionable young people, looking for someone to give them answers. Manson developed a strategy for attracting an audience by sitting alone in a park somewhere and playing his guitar and singing. Once he had a few interested women sitting around him, he’d launch into his guru act, proselytizing that the answer these women were looking for lay within him. Manson promised to lead these women to true enlightenment but told them that was only possible if they renounced their possessions and their individuality and submitted entirely to his will. Next Manson took his guru act to Venice Beach where he met his first true follower (not counting Mary Brunner who was still supporting Manson financially). Eighteen-year-old Lynette Fromme, who Manson gave the nickname “Squeaky,” was charmed by Manson, who told her he was known as “The Gardener” for his work taking care of flower children. Lynette returned to Berkeley with Manson, and with Mary the new threesome moved into an apartment in San Francisco. ~ Hourly History,
646:Happiness comes from solving problems. The keyword here is “solving.” If you’re avoiding your problems or feel like you don’t have any problems, then you’re going to make yourself miserable. If you feel like you have problems that you can’t solve, you will likewise make yourself miserable. The secret sauce is in the solving of the problems, not in not having problems in the first place. To be happy we need something to solve. Happiness is therefore a form of action; it’s an activity, not something that is passively bestowed upon you, not something that you magically discover in a top-ten article on the Huffington Post or from any specific guru or teacher. It doesn’t magically appear when you finally make enough money to add on that extra room to the house. You don’t find it waiting for you in a place, an idea, a job—or even a book, for that matter. Happiness is a constant work-in-progress, because solving problems is a constant work-in-progress—the solutions to today’s problems will lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems, and so on. True happiness occurs only when you find the problems you enjoy having and enjoy solving. ~ Mark Manson,
647:southern star or constellation which once temporarily gained prominence in the sky, or may stand for some recurrent phenomenon, he most likely represented different ‘things’ on different occasions. Bali was guided by Venus, the guru of the asuras who, as we saw in “The Greatness of Saturn,” possesses the Sanjivani Vidya, which can revive the dead. Indeed, Venus is always dying (disappearing from view when it goes too close to the sun) and being reborn (reappearing after a predictable period of residence in the ‘underworld’). Asuras are known to be stronger at night, which they rule, but each dawn the potential chaos that night represents is dispelled by the sun, who reappears to separate the earth from the sky and to measure the world by rising in the east, appearing overhead at noon, and setting in the west. These may be the three great strides that the dwarf Vamana uses in The Begging of the Universe incident from the “The Greatness of Saturn” to subdue Bali and return him to the celestial underworld. Or perhaps the three steps are measured at the vernal equinox, when Vamana’s left foot reaches to the North (celestial) ~ Robert E Svoboda,
648:Once upon a time, [the guru] said, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind Him for man a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this Godhead because, he explained, what man could find too easily would never be valued by him.
"Then you must hide the Godhead on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of His councilors.
God shook His head. "No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks."
"Hide it then, O Great One, in the depths of the earth!"
"I think not," said God, "for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth."
"In the middle of the ocean then, Master?"
God shook His head. "I've given man a brain, you see, and one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans."
"Where then, Master?" cried His councilors.
God smiled. "I'll hide it in the most inaccessible place of all, and the one place that man will never think to look for it. I'll hide it deep inside of man himself. ~ Dorothy Gilman,
649:Oh, but it is!" said Dot. "You see, I've taken many, many writing workshops. You'd be surprised how many."

No I wouldn't, thought Amy, although she would be surprised if any of the other classes had actually encouraged critical reading. Dot was ideal prey for the sort of writing guru who praised everybody's use of metaphor whenever a metaphor, however exhausted, was actually used. No doubt Dot had been told more than once that her work was publishable, and Dot, hearing identical assurances given to others, had believed in her heart of hearts that she was the only one not being patronized. There was a local industry devoted to Dots: weekend writing conferences, during which the Dots could pay extra to have a real-live literary agent actually read one of their paragraphs; expensive weeklong retreats in Anza-Borrego or Julian or Ensenada, where the Dots could locate their inner voices; and at least three annual fiction-writing contests which the Dots could enter at will, for a hefty fee. Amy was willing to bet that in Dot's living room an entire wall was devoted to framed literary awards, including Third Runner-Up Best Unpublished Romance Manuscript. ~ Jincy Willett,
650:English version by Keith Dowman The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness! I have vanished into fields of lotus-light, the plenum of dynamic space, To be born in the inner sanctum of an immaculate lotus; Do not despair, have faith! When you have withdrawn attachment to this rocky defile, This barbaric Tibet, full of war and strife, Abandon unnecessary activity and rely on solitude. Practice energy control, purify your psychic nerves and seed-essence, And cultivate mahamudra and Dsokchen. The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness! Attaining humility, through Guru Pema Jungne's compassion I followed him, And now I have finally gone into his presence; Do not despair, but pray! When you see your karmic body as vulnerable as a bubble, Realising the truth of impermanence, and that in death you are helpless, Disabuse yourself of fantasies of eternity, Make your life a practice of sadhana, And cultivate the experience that takes you to the place where Ati ends. [1484.jpg] -- from The Shambhala Anthology of Women's Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone

~ Yeshe Tsogyal, The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness!
,
651:The interpenetration of man’s three bodies is expressed in many ways through his threefold nature,” my great guru went on. “In the wakeful state on earth a human being is conscious more or less of his three vehicles. When he is sensuously intent on tasting, smelling, touching, listening, or seeing, he is working principally through his physical body. Visualizing or willing, he is working mainly through his astral body. His causal being finds expression when man is thinking or diving deep in introspection or meditation; the cosmical thoughts of genius come to the man who habitually contacts his causal body. In this sense an individual may be classified broadly as ‘a material man,’ ‘an energetic man,’ or ‘an intellectual man.’ “A man identifies himself about sixteen hours daily with his physical vehicle. Then he sleeps; if he dreams, he remains in his astral body, effortlessly creating any object even as do the astral beings. If man’s sleep be deep and dreamless, for several hours he is able to transfer his consciousness, or sense of I-ness, to the causal body; such sleep is revivifying. A dreamer is contacting his astral and not his causal body; his sleep is not fully refreshing. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
652:Once upon a time, a woman moved to a cave in the mountains to study with a guru. She wanted, she said, to learn everything there was to know. The guru supplied her with stacks of books and left her alone so she could study. Every morning, the guru returned to the cave to monitor the woman’s progress. In his hand, he carried a heavy wooden cane. Each morning, he asked her the same question: “Have you learned everything there is to know yet?” Each morning, her answer was the same. “No,” she said, “I haven’t.” The guru would then strike her over the head with his cane. This scenario repeated itself for months. One day the guru entered the cave, asked the same question, heard the same answer, and raised his cane to hit her in the same way, but the woman grabbed the cane from the guru, stopping his assault in midair. Relieved to end the daily batterings but fearing reprisal, the woman looked up at the guru. To her surprise, the guru smiled. “Congratulations,” he said, “you have graduated. You now know everything you need to know.” “How’s that?” the woman asked. “You have learned that you will never learn everything there is to know,” he replied. “And you have learned how to stop the pain.” That ~ Melody Beattie,
653:We want a purpose so that we can guide our everyday life towards an end. That is obviously what we mean by purpose. But if I understand how to live, then the very living is in itself sufficient, is it not? Do we then want a purpose? If I love you, if I love another, is that not sufficient in itself? Do I then want a purpose? Surely, we want a purpose only when we do not understand or when we want a mode of conduct with an end in view. After all, most of us are seeking a way of life, a way of conduct, and we either look to others, to the past, or we try to find a mode of behavior through our own experience. When we look to our own experience for a pattern of behavior, our experience is always conditioned, is it not? However wide the experiences one may have had, unless these experiences dissolve the past conditioning, any new experiences only further strengthen the past conditioning. That is a fact which we can discuss. And if we look to another, to the past, to a guru, to an ideal, to an example for a pattern of behavior, we are merely forcing the extraordinary vitality of life into a mold, into a particular shape, and thereby we lose the swiftness, the intensity, the richness of life. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
654:Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which
dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a
restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life
are ringing through my open ears
exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which
shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva ~ The Beatles,
655:Jesus walked a path of "suffering servanthood." We Christians say glibly that we are "saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus" but seem to understand this as some kind of heavenly transaction on his part, instead of an earthly transformation on his and our part. We need to deeply trust and allow both our own dyings and our own certain resurrections, just as Jesus did! This is the full pattern of transformation. If we trust both, we are indestructible. That is how Jesus "saves" us from meaninglessness, cynicism, hatred, and violence--which is indeed death.

God is Light, yet this full light is hidden in darkness so only the sincere seeker finds it. It seems we all must go into darkness to see the light, which is counter-intuitive for the ego. Our age and culture resists this language of "descent." We made Christianity, instead, into a religion of "ascent," where Jesus became a self-help guru instead of a profound wisdom-guide who really transformed our mind and heart. Reason, medicine, wealth, technology, and speed (all good in themselves) have allowed us to avoid the quite normal and ordinary "path of the fall" as the way to transform the separate and superior self into a much larger identity that we call God. ~ Richard Rohr,
656:Oh, maybe Leonard Cohen. Leonard Cohen is my hero. He’s like Zorba the Buddha. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the Indian guru who I think was murdered by American government and who later changed his name to Osho, he had this notion of a character called Zorba the Buddha who — we’ll say a man, but it could be a woman too — who was contemplative, led a serene spiritual life, meditated a lot, was a nonviolent, placid person who lived in the spirit but who also knew how to work and make money, knew how to utilize the Internet, knew how much to tip a maître d’ in a Paris nightclub, who was of the world and enjoyed the world and all of its sensual pleasures in terms of food, sex, drink, color, art, but also at the same time was deeply spiritual. And I’ve kind of superimposed that Zorba the Buddha figure onto Leonard Cohen, perhaps unfairly, but he strikes me as someone who is close to that figure. I like the fact that he meditates, that he has spent time alone — a lot of it in anguish in a Buddhist monastery — that he is so adept with language and loves women and wears beautiful Armani suits and will sit and sip wine at a sidewalk café with beautiful girls and yet be able to have this rich inner life, not just creatively but also spiritually. ~ Mara Altman,
657:I accept, will not give up, and will practice each of the Three Jewels,
   And will not let go of my guru or my yidam deity.
   As the samaya of the Buddha, first among the Three Jewels,
   I will apply myself to the true, essential reality.
   As the samaya of sacred Dharma, second among the Three Jewels,
   I will distill the very essence of all the vehicles' teachings.
   As the samaya of the Sangha, the third and final Jewel,
   I will look upon reality; I will behold pure awareness.
   And as the samaya of the guru and the yidam deity,
   I will take my very own mind, my pure mind, as a witness.
  
   Generally speaking, the Three Jewels should be regarded as the ultimate place to take refuge. As was taught in the section on taking refuge, your mind should be focused one-pointedly, with all your hopes and trust placed in their care. The gurus are a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.
   As the guides who lead you along the path to liberation, they are your sole source of refuge and protection, from now until you attain enlightenment.
   For these reasons, you should act with unwavering faith, pure view and devotion, and engage in the approach and accomplishment of the divine yidam deity. ~ Dzogchen Rinpoche III, Great Perfection Outer and Inner Preliminaries,
658:Men who were pridefully conscious of high worldly position were likely, in Master’s presence, to add humility to their other possessions. A local magistrate once arrived for an interview at the seaside hermitage in Puri. The man, who held a reputation for ruthlessness, had it well within his power to oust us from the ashram. I cautioned my guru about the despotic possibilities. But he seated himself with an uncompromising air and did not rise to greet the visitor. Slightly nervous, I squatted near the door. The man had to content himself with a wooden box; my guru did not request me to fetch a chair. There was no fulfilment of the magistrate’s obvious expectation that his importance would be ceremoniously acknowledged. A metaphysical discussion ensued. The guest blundered through misinterpretations of the scriptures. As his accuracy sank, his ire rose. “Do you know that I stood first in the M.A. examination?” Reason had forsaken him, but he could still shout. “Mr Magistrate, you forget that this is not your courtroom,” Master replied evenly. “From your childish remarks I would have surmised that your college career was unremarkable. A university degree, in any case, is not remotely related to Vedic realisation. Saints are not produced in batches every semester like accountants. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
659:There is no method of self-knowledge. Seeking a method invariably implies the desire to attain some result – and that is what we all want. We follow authority – if not that of a person, then of a system, of an ideology – because we want a result that will be satisfactory, which will give us security. We really do not want to understand ourselves, our impulses and reactions, the whole process of our thinking, the conscious as well as the unconscious; we would rather pursue a system that assures us of a result. But the pursuit of a system is invariably the outcome of our desire for security, for certainty, and the result is obviously not the understand of oneself., When we follow a method, we must have authorities – the teacher, the guru, the savior, the Master – who will guarantee us what we desire, and surely that is not the way of self-knowledge. Authority prevents the understanding of oneself, does it not? Under the shelter of an authority, a guide, you may have temporarily a sense of security, a sense of well-being, but that is not the understanding of the total process of oneself. Authority in its very nature prevents the full awareness of oneself and therefore ultimately destroys freedom; in freedom alone can there be creativeness. There can be creativeness only through self-knowledge. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
660:The sadhaka of the integral Yoga will make use of all these aids according to his nature; but it is necessary that he should shun their limitations and cast from himself that exclusive tendency of egoistic mind which cries, "My God, my Incarnation, my Prophet, my Guru," and opposes it to all other realisation in a sectarian or a fanatical spirit. All sectarianism, all fanaticism must be shunned; for it is inconsistent with the integrity of the divine realisation.
   On the contrary, the sadhaka of the integral Yoga will not be satisfied until he has included all other names and forms of Deity in his own conception, seen his own Ishta Devata in all others, unified all Avatars in the unity of Him who descends in the Avatar, welded the truth in all teachings into the harmony of the Eternal Wisdom.
   Nor should he forget the aim of these external aids which is to awaken his soul to the Divine within him. Nothing has been finally accomplished if that has not been accomplished. It is not sufficient to worship Krishna, Christ or Buddha without, if there is not the revealing and the formation of the Buddha, the Christ or Krishna in ourselves. And all other aids equally have no other purpose; each is a bridge between man's unconverted state and the revelation of the Divine within him. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,
661:You know, if we understand one question rightly, all questions are answered. But we don't know how to ask the right question. To ask the right question demands a great deal of intelligence and sensitivity. Here is a question, a fundamental question: is life a torture? It is, as it is; and man has lived in this torture centuries upon centuries, from ancient history to the present day, in agony, in despair, in sorrow; and he doesn't find a way out of it. Therefore he invents gods, churches, all the rituals, and all that nonsense, or he escapes in different ways. What we are trying to do, during all these discussions and talks here, is to see if we cannot radically bring about a transformation of the mind, not accept things as they are, nor revolt against them. Revolt doesn't answer a thing. You must understand it, go into it, examine it, give your heart and your mind, with everything that you have, to find out a way of living differently. That depends on you, and not on someone else, because in this there is no teacher, no pupil; there is no leader; there is no guru; there is no Master, no Saviour. You yourself are the teacher and the pupil; you are the Master; you are the guru; you are the leader; you are everything. And to understand is to transform what is.

I think that will be enough, won't it? ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
662:Dealing with Fear One is afraid of public opinion, afraid of not achieving, not fulfilling, afraid of not having the opportunity; and through it all there is this extraordinary sense of guilt—one has done a thing that one should not have done; the sense of guilt in the very act of doing; one is healthy and others are poor and unhealthy; one has food and others have no food. The more the mind is inquiring, penetrating, asking, the greater the sense of guilt, anxiety…. Fear is the urge that seeks a Master, a guru; fear is this coating of respectability, which everyone loves so dearly—to be respectable. Do you determine to be courageous to face events in life, or merely rationalize fear away, or find explanations that will give satisfaction to the mind that is caught in fear? How do you deal with it? Turn on the radio, read a book, go to a temple, cling to some form of dogma, belief? Fear is the destructive energy in man. It withers the mind, it distorts thought, it leads to all kinds of extraordinarily clever and subtle theories, absurd superstitions, dogmas, and beliefs. If you see that fear is destructive, then how do you proceed to wipe the mind clean? You say that by probing into the cause of fear you would be free of fear. Is that so? Trying to uncover the cause and knowing the cause of fear does not eliminate fear. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
663:I’m okay, honest.” I sighed heavily. “Well, as okay as I can be after that.” I squinted up at him. “Exactly how many jobs do you have, anyway? Barista, self-defense guru, fixit guy, parking enforcement officer—and by the way, does that mean you gave me the ticket I got last spring for two measly minutes of double parking when I ran into the library to return a book?”

His shoulders relaxed with my teasing tone, and I was rewarded with the ghost smile. “I plead the fifth on that. I write a lot of parking tickets. The, um, fixit thing is rare. And I volunteer time for the self-defense gig.”

What I’d left off this list, and what he didn’t add: economics tutor.

“I guess we should add one more, huh?” I said, watching him closely. He had a superb poker face. No reaction at all. “Personal defender of Jacqueline Wallace?”

The faint smile appeared again.

“Another volunteer position, Lucas?” I asked coyly, brows rising. “How will you have time for studying? Or anything fun?”

His hands reached for me, gripping my hipbones and pulling me forward. He stared down at me, his voice low. “There are some things I will make time for, Jacqueline.” Leaning, he kissed the spot just in front of my ear, the spot that made my breath go shallow. And then, he turned and jogged out to his motorcycle, leaving me standing in the entryway ~ Tammara Webber,
664:A friend, Scott Egleston, who is a professional in the mental health field, told me a therapy fable. He heard it from someone, who heard it from someone else. It goes:
Once upon a time, a woman moved to a cave in the mountains to study with a guru. She wanted, she said, to learn everything there was to know. The guru supplied her with stacks of books and left her alone so she could study. Every morning, the guru returned to the cave to monitor the woman's progress. In his hand, he carried a heavy wooden cane. Each morning, he asked her the same question: " Have you learned everything there is to know yet?" Each morning, her answer was the same. "No." she said, " I haven't." The guru would then strike her over the head with its cane.
This scenario repeated itself for months. One day the guru entered the cave, asked the same question, heard the same answer, and raised his cane to hit her in the same way, but the woman grabbed the cane from the guru, stopping his assault in midair.
Relieved to end the daily batterings but fearing reprisal, the woman looked up at the guru. To her surprise, the guru smiled. " Congragulations." he said, " you have graduated ". You know now everything you need to know."
" How's that"? the woman asked.
" You have learned that you will never learn everything there is to know," he replied. " And you have learned how to stop the pain". ~ Melody Beattie,
665:What do we mean by thought? When do you think? Obviously, thought is the result of a response, neurological or psychological, is it not? It is the immediate response of the senses to a sensation, or it is psychological, the response of stored-up memory. There is the immediate response of the nerves to a sensation, and there is the psychological response of stored-up memory, the influence of race, group, guru, family, tradition, and so on—all of which you call thought. So, the thought process is the response of memory, is it not? You would have no thoughts if you had no memory, and the response of memory to a certain experience brings the thought process into action. What, then, is memory? If you observe your own memory and how you gather memory, you will notice that it is either factual, technical, having to do with information, with engineering, mathematics, physics, and all the rest of it—or, it is the residue of an unfinished, uncompleted experience, is it not? Watch your own memory and you will see. When you finish an experience, complete it, there is no memory of that experience in the sense of a psychological residue. There is a residue only when an experience is not fully understood, and there is no understanding of experience because we look at each experience through past memories, and therefore we never meet the new as the new, but always through the screen of the old. Therefore, it is clear that our response to experience is conditioned, always limited. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
666:Sri Yukteswar discovered the mathematical application of a 24,000-year equinoctial cycle to our present age. 4 The cycle is divided into an Ascending Arc and a Descending Arc, each of 12,000 years. Within each Arc fall four Yugas or Ages, called Kali, Dwapara, Treta, and Satya, corresponding to the Greek ideas of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages. My guru determined by various calculations that the last Kali Yuga or Iron Age, of the Ascending Arc, started about a.d. 500. The Iron Age, 1200 years in duration, is a span of materialism; it ended about a.d. 1700. That year ushered in Dwapara Yuga, a 2400-year period of electrical and atomic-energy developments: the age of telegraphy, radio, airplanes, and other space-annihilators. The 3600-year period of Treta Yuga will start in a.d. 4100; the age will be marked by common knowledge of telepathic communications and other time-annihilators. During the 4800 years of Satya Yuga, final age in an Ascending Arc, the intelligence of man will be highly developed; he will work in harmony with the divine plan. A Descending Arc of 12,000 years, starting with a Descending Golden Age of 4800 years, then begins for the world (in a.d. 12,500); man gradually sinks into ignorance. These cycles are the eternal rounds of maya, the contrasts and relativities of the phenomenal universe. 5 Men, one by one, escape from creation’s prison of duality as they awaken to consciousness of their inseverable divine unity with the Creator. Master ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
667:English version by Ivan M. Granger I am not mind, not intellect, not ego, not thought. I am not the ears, the tongue, the nose or the eyes, or what they witness, I am neither earth nor sky, not air nor light. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I am not the breath of prana, nor its five currents. I am not the seven elements, nor the five organs, Nor am I the voice or hands or anything that acts. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I have no hatred or preference, neither greed nor desire nor delusion. Pride, conflict, jealousy -- these have no part of me. Nothing do I own, nothing do I seek, not even liberation itself. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I know neither virtue nor vice, neither pleasure nor pain. I know no sacred chants, no holy places, no scriptures, no rituals. I know neither the taste nor the taster. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I fear not death. I doubt neither my being nor my place. I have no father or mother; I am unborn. I have no relatives, no friends. I have no guru and no devotees. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! Free from doubt, I am formless. With knowledge, in knowledge, I am everywhere, beyond perception. I am always the same. Not free, not trapped -- I am. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! Truly, I am Shiva, pure awareness. Shivo Ham! Shivo Ham! [2652.jpg] -- from The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology), Edited by Ivan M. Granger

~ Shankara, Nirvana Shatakam
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668:The Yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path. 9 The first steps are (1) yama (moral conduct), and (2) niyama (religious observances). Yama is fulfilled by noninjury to others, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and noncovetousness. The niyama prescripts are purity of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, self-discipline, self-study (contemplation), and devotion to God and guru. The next steps are (3) asana (right posture); the spinal column must be held straight, and the body firm in a comfortable position for meditation; (4) pranayama (control of prana, subtle life currents); and (5) pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses from external objects). The last steps are forms of yoga proper: (6) dharana (concentration), holding the mind to one thought; (7) dhyana (meditation); and (8) samadhi (superconscious experience). This Eightfold Path of Yoga leads to the final goal of Kaivalya (Absoluteness), in which the yogi realizes the Truth beyond all intellectual apprehension. “Which is greater,” one may ask, “a swami or a yogi?” If and when oneness with God is achieved, the distinctions of the various paths disappear. The Bhagavad Gita, however, has pointed out that the methods of yoga are all-embracing. Its techniques are not meant only for certain types and temperaments, such as those few persons who incline toward the monastic life; yoga requires no formal allegiance. Because the yogic science satisfies a universal need, it has a natural universal appeal. A true yogi may remain dutifully in the world; ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
669:Tad Niskala 'That I Am Not'
Om. I am neither the mind,
Intelligence, ego, nor ’chitta’,
Neither the ears, nor the tongue,
Nor the senses of smell and sight,
Neither ether, nor air,
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
I am neither the ’prana’,
Nor the five vital breaths,
Neither the seven elements of the body,
Nor its five sheaths,
Nor hands, nor feet,
Nor other organs of action.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Neither fear, greed, nor delusion,
Loathing, nor liking have I,
Nothing of pride, of ego,
Of ’dharma’ or Liberation,
Neither desire of the mind,
Nor object for its desiring.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Nothing of pleasure and pain,
Of virtue and vice, do I know,
Of mantra, of sacred place,
Of Vedas or Sacrifice,
Neither I am the eater,
The food or the act of eating,
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Death or fear, I have none,
Nor any distinction of ’caste’,
Neither Father, nor Mother,
Nor even a birth, have I,
20
Neither friend, nor comrade,
Neither disciple, nor Guru.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
I have no form or fancy,
the All-pervading am I,
Everywhere I exist,
And yet I am beyond the senses,
Neither salvation am I,
Nor anything to be known.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
~ Adi Shankaracharya,
670:When you were born in this world
Everyone laughed while you cried
Conduct NOT yourself in manner such
That they laugh when you are gone

Kabir's mind got cleansed like the holy Ganges water
Now everyone follows, saying Kabir Kabir

Guru the washer man, disciple is the cloth
The name of God liken to the soap
Wash the mind on foundation firm
To realize the glow of Truth

Alive one sees, alive one knows
Thus crave for salvation when full of life
Alive you did not cut the noose of binding actions
Hoping liberation with death!

Inexpressible is the story of Love
It cannot be revealed by words
Like the dumb eating sweet-meat
Only smiles, the sweetness he cannot tell

Worry is the bandit that eats into one's heart
What the doctor can do, what remedy to impart?

Says Kabir
Don't be so proud and vain
Looking at your high mansion
Death makes one lie on bare land
And grass will grow thereon

Says Kabir
Don't be so proud and vain
The clutches of Time are dark
Who knows where shall it kill
Whether at home or abroad

Says Kabir
By my doing nothing happens
What I don't does come to pass
If anything happens as if my doing
Then truly it is done by someone else

Like the pupil in the eyes
The Lord resides inside
Ignorant do not know this fact
They search Him outside

First the pangs of separation
Next grows the thirst for Love
Says Kabir then only hope
The union to materialize

~ Kabir, When You Were Born In This World - Dohas Ii
,
671:In 1906, the year after Einstein’s annus mirabilis, Kurt Gödel was born in the city of Brno (now in the Czech Republic). Kurt was both an inquisitive child—his parents and brother gave him the nickname der Herr Warum, “Mr. Why?”—and a nervous one. At the age of five, he seems to have suffered a mild anxiety neurosis. At eight, he had a terrifying bout of rheumatic fever, which left him with the lifelong conviction that his heart had been fatally damaged. Gödel entered the University of Vienna in 1924. He had intended to study physics, but he was soon seduced by the beauties of mathematics, and especially by the notion that abstractions like numbers and circles had a perfect, timeless existence independent of the human mind. This doctrine, which is called Platonism, because it descends from Plato’s theory of ideas, has always been popular among mathematicians. In the philosophical world of 1920s Vienna, however, it was considered distinctly old-fashioned. Among the many intellectual movements that flourished in the city’s rich café culture, one of the most prominent was the Vienna Circle, a group of thinkers united in their belief that philosophy must be cleansed of metaphysics and made over in the image of science. Under the influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein, their reluctant guru, the members of the Vienna Circle regarded mathematics as a game played with symbols, a more intricate version of chess. What made a proposition like “2 + 2 = 4” true, they held, was not that it correctly described some abstract world of numbers but that it could be derived in a logical system according to certain rules. ~ Jim Holt,
672:The Song Of View, Practice, And Action :::
Oh, my Guru! The Exemplar of the View, Practice, and Action,
Pray vouchsafe me your grace, and enable me
To be absorbed in the realm of Self-nature!

For the View, Practice, Action, and Accomplishment
There are three Key-points you should know:

All the manifestation, the Universe itself, is contained in the mind;
The nature of Mind is the realm of illumination
Which can neither be conceived nor touched.
These are the Key-points of the View.

Errant thoughts are liberated in the Dharmakaya;
The awareness, the illumination, is always blissful;
Meditate in a manner of non-doing and non-effort.
These are the Key-points of Practice.

In the action of naturalness
The Ten Virtues spontaneously grow;
All the Ten Vices are thus purified.
By corrections or remedies
The Illuminating Void is ne'er disturbed.
These are the Key-points of Action.

There is no Nivana to attain beyond;
There is no Samsara here to renounce;
Truly to know the Self-mind
It is to be the Buddha Himself.
These are the Key-points of Accomplishment.

Reduce inwardly the Three Key-points to One.
This One is the Void Nature of Being,
Which only a wondrous Guru
Can clearly illustrate.

Much activity is of no avail;
If one sees the Simultaneously Born Wisdom,
He reaches the goal.

For all practioners of Dharma
The preaching is a precious gem;
It is my direct experience from yogic meditation.
Think carefully and bear it in your minds,
Oh, my children and disciples. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
673:But she was barely listening. “There’s this newish thing from Amazon? Called an AMI—an Amazon Machine Image. Basically it runs a snapshot of an operating system. There are hundreds of them, loaded up and ready to run.” Evan said, “Um.” “Virtual machines,” she explained, with a not-insubstantial trace of irritation. “Okay.” “But the good thing with virtual machines? You hit a button and you have two of them. Or ten thousand. In data centers all over the world. Here—look—I’m replicating them now, requesting that they’re geographically dispersed with guaranteed availability.” He looked but could not keep up with the speed at which things were happening on the screen. Despite his well-above-average hacking skills, he felt like a beginning skier atop a black-diamond run. She was still talking. “We upload all the encrypted data from the laptop to the cloud first, right? Like you were explaining poorly and condescendingly to me back at the motel.” “In hindsight—” “And we spread the job out among all of them. Get Hashkiller whaling away, throwing all these password combinations at it. Then who cares if we get locked out after three wrong password attempts? We just go to the next virtual machine. And the one after that.” “How do you have the hardware to handle all that?” She finally paused, blowing a glossy curl out of her eyes. “That’s what I’m telling you, X. You don’t buy hardware anymore. You rent cycles in the cloud. And the second we’re done, we kill the virtual machines and there’s not a single trace of what we did.” She lifted her hands like a low-rent spiritual guru. “It’s all around and nowhere at the same time.” A sly grin. “Like you. ~ Gregg Hurwitz,
674:I Am Not Your Guru Inspirational Quotes
1. “Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and they underestimate what they can do in two or three decades.”

2. “Every day, work harder on yourself than anything else. ‘Cause if you become more intelligent, more valuable, more skilled, you can add more value to other people.”

3. “If I could uncover what beliefs and values control me, I can literally redesign me.”

4. “Our entire life changes in a moment.”

5. “Your biggest problem is you think you shouldn’t have them. ‘Cause problems are what make us grow. Problems are what sculpt our soul. Problems are what make us become more.”

6. “If we can realize that life is always happening for us, not to us… game over, all the pain and suffering disappears.”

7. “Push will wear you out. When you’re pushing to do something, you only got so much willpower. But when you’re pulled, when there’s something larger than yourself that you’re here to serve and that you believe you’re made for, that brings energy.”

8. “Heal the boy and the man will appear.”

9. “You get what you tolerate.”

10. “Questions control what you focus on. What you focus on is what you feel. What you feel is your experience of life.”

11. “If you sit at the table of success too long, you’re going to get bored. Progress equals happiness. If you’re growing in anything, financially, spiritually, emotionally, in your relationship, in your body, you’re going to feel better in your life. That’s what we’re made for.”

12. “We’re meant to grow so we have something to give. You can’t give something you really don’t have. ~ Tony Robbins,
675:English version by Garma C. C. Chang
Oh, my Guru! The Exemplar of the View, Practice, and Action,
Pray vouchsafe me your grace, and enable me
To be absorbed in the realm of Self-nature!

For the View, Practice, Action, and Accomplishment
There are three Key-points you should know:

All the manifestation, the Universe itself, is contained in the mind;
The nature of Mind is the realm of illumination
Which can neither be conceived nor touched.
These are the Key-points of the View.

Errant thoughts are liberated in the Dharmakaya;
The awareness, the illumination, is always blissful;
Meditate in a manner of non-doing and non-effort.
These are the Key-points of Practice.

In the action of naturalness
The Ten Virtues spontaneously grow;
All the Ten Vices are thus purified.
By corrections or remedies
The Illuminating Void is ne'er disturbed.
These are the Key-points of Action.

There is no Nirvana to attain beyond;
There is no Samsara here to renounce;
Truly to know the Self-mind
It is to be the Buddha Himself.
These are the Key-points of Accomplishment.

Reduce inwardly the Three Key-points to One.
This One is the Void Nature of Being,
Which only a wondrous Guru
Can clearly illustrate.

Much activity is of no avail;
If one sees the Simultaneously Born Wisdom,
He reaches the goal.

For all practitioners of Dharma
The preaching is a precious gem;
It is my direct experience from yogic meditation.
Think carefully and bear it in your minds,
Oh, my children and disciples.

~ Jetsun Milarepa, The Song of View, Practice, and Action
,
676:This may be at once the curse and the blessing of the modern age, that the ready availability of printed books—and now, electronic versions easily downloadable from virtually anywhere on earth—has enabled teachings to be preserved and passed down, passed around, and disseminated to anyone with even a glimmer of interest. It's a curse, because this ready availability cheapens the teaching by making it that much easier to obtain without all the psychological preparation of periods of intense study, fasting, purification, and other conditioning techniques. The effect of this is noticeable on social media and websites in which serious studies of various forms of esoteric tradition are airily dismissed by casual readers who have difficulty understanding their specialized terminology due to a lack of years of preparatory instruction or even a basic classical education, but still feel competent enough to pass judgment. Yet books are what we have in lieu of the secret society, the midnight initiations, the training by an experienced guru. Books also have preserved essential information from being lost due to persecution by enemies or opponents, or to execution or death by natural causes of lineage holders in sacred traditions (the Chinese invasion of Tibet comes to mind, and the decimation of various sects in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Taliban, the Islamic State, and others beginning with the oppression of the Kurds under Saddam Hussein). A deeper question than we can address adequately in this place is what happens to a tradition if its human teachers are all dead, unable to pass on the oral instruction or the psycho-spiritual techniques of initiation? ~ Peter Levenda,
677:The Nirmanakaya manifestation of Amitabha, I,
the Indian Scholar, the Lotus Born,
From the self-blossoming center of a lotus,
Came to this realm of existence through miraculous powers
To be the prince of the king of Oddiyana.
Then, I sustained the kingdom in accordance with Dharma.
Wandering throughout all directions of India,
I severed all spiritual doubts without exception.
Engaging in fearless activity in the eight burial grounds,
I achieved all supreme and common siddhis.
Then, according to the wishes of King Trisong Detsen
And by the power of previous prayers, I journeyed to Tibet.
By subduing the cruel gods, nagas, yakshas, rakshas,
and all spirits who harm beings,
The light of the teachings of secret mantra has been illuminated.
Then, when the time came to depart for the continent of Lanka,
I did so to provide refuge from the fear of rakshas
For all the inhabitants of this world, including Tibet.
I blessed Nirmanakaya emanations to be representatives of my body.
I made sacred treasures as representatives of my holy speech.
I poured enlightened wisdom into the hearts of those with fortunate karma.
Until samsara is emptied, for the benefit of sentient beings,
I will manifest unceasingly in whatever ways are necessary.
Through profound kindness, I have brought great benefit for all.
If you who are fortunate have the mind of aspiration,
May you pray so that blessings will be received.
All followers, believe in me with determination.
Samaya. ~ The Wrathful Compassion of Guru Dorje Drollo, Vajra Master Dudjom Yeshe Dorje, translated by Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche,
678:[God is] The Hindu discipline of spirituality provides for this need of the soul by the conceptions of the Ishta Devata, the Avatar and the Guru. By the Ishta Devata, the chosen deity, is meant, - not some inferior Power, but a name and form of the transcendent and universal Godhead. Almost all religions either have as their base or make use of some such name and form of the Divine. Its necessity for the human soul is evident. God is the All and more than the All. But that which is more than the All, how shall man conceive? And even the All is at first too hard for him; for he himself in his active consciousness is a limited and selective formation and can open himself only to that which is in harmony with his limited nature. There are things in the All which are too hard for his comprehension or seem too terrible to his sensitive emotions and cowering sensations. Or, simply, he cannot conceive as the Divine, cannot approach or cannot recognise something that is too much out of the circle of his ignorant or partial conceptions. It is necessary for him to conceive God in his own image or in some form that is beyond himself but consonant with his highest tendencies and seizable by his feelings or his intelligence. Otherwise it would be difficult for him to come into contact and communion with the Divine.
   Even then his nature calls for a human intermediary so that he may feel the Divine in something entirely close to his own humanity and sensible in a human influence and example. This call is satisfied by the Divine manifest in a human appearance, the Incarnation, the Avatar - Krishna, Christ, Buddha.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 65 [T9],
679:There is a passage in the Old French Queste del Saint Graal that epitomizes the true spirit of Western man. It tells of a day when the knights of Arthur’s court gathered in the banquet hall waiting for dinner to be served. It was a custom of that court that no meal should be served until an adventure had come to pass. Adventures came to pass in those days frequently so there was no danger of Arthur’s people going hungry. On the present occasion the Grail appeared, covered with a samite cloth, hung in the air a moment, and withdrew. Everyone was exalted, and Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, rose and suggested a vow. “I propose,” he said, “that we all now set forth in quest to behold that Grail unveiled.” And so it was that they agreed. There then comes a line that, when I read it, burned itself into my mind. “They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group. Each entered the forest at the point that he himself had chosen, where it was darkest, and there was no way or path.” No way or path! Because where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. And that is what marks the Western spirit distinctly from the Eastern. Oriental gurus accept responsibility for their disciples’ lives. They have an interesting term, “delegated free will.” The guru tells you where you are on the path, who you are, what to do now, and what to do next. The romantic quality of the West, on the other hand, derives from an unprecedented yearning, a yearning for something that has never yet been seen in this world. What can it be that has never yet been seen? What has never yet been seen is your own unprecedented life fulfilled. Your life is what has yet to be brought into being. ~ Joseph Campbell,
680:Sadhguru: Fundamentally, the very karmic walls are always like this. They are like sheets of glass. If they were like walls of brick, you could see them and you could break them, but they’re sheets of glass. Everything is open, but when you try to reach out, you are locked in; that’s how it is. Now, what can I do to break that? Why sadhana is always set up – apart from any teaching – is just because of this: any teaching, after a certain period of time, becomes a block by itself, in a certain sense. You will twist it to your convenience. You can twist all teachings in the world. Initially, a teaching has an impact on you because it’s new and you have no clue as to how it works, so it works; but over a period of time, as you begin to understand, then you will start twisting it to your convenience. You will see how the teaching supports you. The teaching is not about supporting you; the teaching is about demolishing you, but you will start using the teaching as a support for yourself. Once that happens, the teaching is no good anymore. That is why a Guru is constantly talking from different dimensions. It is Truth, but they are so contradictory that he does not allow you to settle anywhere, because the moment you settle, you start using it to your advantage. Apart from this process, the sadhana is always there – just the simple things. A kriya – in the morning you sit and breathe in a certain way – it can slowly decimate these blocks. If you don’t understand any teaching, it doesn’t matter. You just keep doing the practice; after some time, suddenly there is a new sense of openness and freedom in you. That’s always the bedrock that you can rely on, because you can always twist teachings. ~ Sadhguru,
681:The man who had abused him would ask, ”I abused you yesterday, why did you not reply yesterday? You are very strange.” No one waits for a second when you abuse him. He retorts immediately.”
Junnaid answered, ”My master taught me not to hurry in anything. Take some time. I must wait a little when someone insults me. If I were to give an immediate answer, the heat of the happening would catch hold of me; the smoke would blind my eyes. So I have to wait and let the cloud pass. When twenty-four hours have passed and the skies are clear again, then I can give my reply in full consciousness. Now I realize how tricky my guru was. Because I have never been able to answer my opponents since then.”
Is it possible to hold on to anger for twenty-four hours? It is impossible to maintain it for twenty-four minutes or even twenty-four seconds. The truth is that, even if you hold back and watch for a single second, the anger vanishes.
But you do not wait even for a moment. A person abuses you – as if someone switches the button, and the fan starts whirring. There is not the slightest gap between the two, no distance! And you pride yourself in your alertness! You have no control of yourself. How can an unconscious person be master of himself? Anybody can push the button and goad him into action. Someone comes and flatters you, and you are filled with joy; you are happy. Someone insults you, you are full of tears. Are you your own master or anyone can manipulate you? You are the slave of slaves. And those who are manipulating are not their own masters either! And the irony is that everyone is expert in manipulating others and none of them is conscious. What greater insult can there be for your soul than the fact that anyone can affect you? ~ Osho,
682:Contact and Union with the Divine;
Seeing is of many kinds. There is a superficial seeing which only erects or receives momentarily or for some time an image of the Being seen; that brings no change, unless the inner bhakti makes it a means for change. There is also the reception of the living image of the Divine in one of his forms into oneself, - say, in the heart, - that can have an immediate effect or initiate a period of spiritual growth. There is also the seeing outside oneself in a more or less objective and subtle physical or physical way. As for milana, the abiding union is within and that can be there at all times; the outer milana or contact is not usually abiding. There are some who often or almost invariably have the contact whenever they worship, the Deity may become living to them in the picture or other image they worship, may move and act through it; others may feel him always present, outwardly, subtle-physically, abiding with them where they live or in the very room, but sometimes this is only for a period. Or they may feel the Presence with them, see it frequently in a body (but not materially except sometimes), feel its touch or embrace, converse with it constantly - that is also a kind of milana. The greatest milana is one in which one is constantly aware of the Deity abiding in oneself, in everything in the world, holding all the world in him, identical with existence and yet supremely beyond the world - but in the world too one sees, hears, feels nothing but him, so that the very senses bear witness to him alone - and this does not exclude such specific personal manifestations as those vouchsafed to Krishnaprem and his guru. The more ways there are of the union, the better. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - II, [T4],
683:Krishna told Arjuna that Veda’s (holy rules) can guide a person to reach the demigods (Sun, moon, other forms of gods) and to get a good life, however the one who has attained the Yogic state is not pleased with them  nor impressed by the power it gives. He who is in Yogic state can control the senses and still be living a normal life. When he meets the supreme power, he also loses the worldly interests and reaches the god without any obstacles. For that yogic person, Veda’s serve no purpose. "Our Life: We have seen, most of us don’t understand Veda’s clearly and their purpose. There are few, who has learnt Veda’s, but I am not including them here... Most of us do lots of ceremonies/rituals in our house/temple without knowing the purpose, but with the belief it’s god's language or ceremony and he will be pleased with that. We always forget, that solely thinking about him in our mind/heart and perform our duty, will please him more than anything! But the truth is, we believe rituals alone will bring peace and harmony to us and our kin. How untrue this is! We also see, there are some VIP's/rich people who enter in to temple/church/mosque and get high priority for them and get some recommendations from the priests and they think that god has blessed them. God is equal of every living being here and no need of any mediator here (the concept of Guru is different) and the importance given to them is a manual happening and it’s not from god. The first thing, believe your god is knowledgeable. Don’t think he can be fooled! Similarly we see some temples/churches/mosques getting high donations; I am sure more the money comes from Sin and as part of the share for the Sin. We believe God will reduce our punishment, if we give him some share :) ~ Vishnuvarthanan Moorthy,
684:1. True lovers are those who love with all their hearts. Those who think of another, speak of another are called false lovers. Those steeped in the color of God's love abide in His care. Those who forget His name are a burden upon earth. Those whom He gathers become dervishes at His door. Exalted are the mothers of such men who gave them birth, blessed is their coming into the world. You are caring, infinite, boundless, endless. Those who have discerned this truth, their feet, their mouths I kiss. You are my protection O Lord, my salvation. Grant to Sheikh Farid the blessing of Your adoration. 2. Sheikh Farid speaks: dear friend, turn to Allah. This body shall become dust in the miserable, dark house of the grave. Today is the day of union, O Sheikh Farid, so tame these wild cranes of desire that inflame and incite the heart. We all know that we shall die and never again return. Then why do we love this false world and sell ourselves? We must ever speak of the true path; let us not speak lies. Let us walk the guru's course like humble disciples. Seeing strong, handsome youths swim across to the other side, a weak woman takes heart. Those who pursue only gold should be sawn in half. O Sheikh, no one in this world can stay alive forever. The place upon which I now sit, many have sat before and gone on their way. Cranes come to Katak, forest fires in Chet, lightning in Savan. In winter, fair arms of women adorn lovers' necks. All ephemeral things pass on. Think of this, O heart. That which takes six months to form is destroyed in an instant. The earth asks the sky, O Farid: how many boatmen have come and gone? The body merely rots in the grave, but it is the soul that must suffer the consequences. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Baba Sheikh Farid, Raga Asa
,
685:The ancient rishi Patanjali6 defines yoga as “neutralization of the alternating waves in consciousness.”7 His short and masterly work, Yoga Sutras, forms one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy. In contradistinction to Western philosophies, all six Hindu systems8 embody not only theoretical teachings but practical ones also. After pursuing every conceivable ontological inquiry, the Hindu systems formulate six definite disciplines aimed at the permanent removal of suffering and the attainment of timeless bliss. The later Upanishads uphold the Yoga Sutras, among the six systems, as containing the most efficacious methods for achieving direct perception of truth. Through the practical techniques of yoga, man leaves behind forever the barren realms of speculation and cognizes in experience the veritable Essence. The Yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path.9 The first steps are (1) yama (moral conduct), and (2) niyama (religious observances). Yama is fulfilled by noninjury to others, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and noncovetousness. The niyama prescripts are purity of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, self-discipline, self-study (contemplation), and devotion to God and guru. The next steps are (3) asana (right posture); the spinal column must be held straight, and the body firm in a comfortable position for meditation; (4) pranayama (control of prana, subtle life currents); and (5) pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses from external objects). The last steps are forms of yoga proper: (6) dharana (concentration), holding the mind to one thought; (7) dhyana (meditation); and (8) samadhi (superconscious experience). This Eightfold Path of Yoga leads to the final goal of Kaivalya (Absoluteness), in which the yogi realizes the Truth beyond all intellectual apprehension. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
686:So even if prasādam is very spicy to others, it is very palatable to the devotee. What is the question of spicy? Kṛṣṇa was offered poison, real poison, by Pūtanā Rākṣasī. But He is so nice that He thought, “She came to Me as My mother.” So He took the poison and delivered her. Kṛṣṇa does not take the bad side. A good man does not take the bad side – he takes only the good side. Just like one of my Godbrothers: he wanted to make business with my Guru Mahārāja [spiritual master]. But my Guru Mahārāja did not take the bad side. He took the good side. He thought, “He has come forward to give me some service.” Bob: Let us say some devotee has some medical trouble and cannot eat a certain type of food. For instance, some devotees do not eat ghee because of liver trouble. So should these devotees also take all kinds of prasādam? Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, no. Those who are not perfect devotees may discriminate. But a perfect devotee does not discriminate. Why should you imitate a perfect devotee? So long as you have discrimination, you are not a perfect devotee. So why should you artificially imitate a perfect devotee and eat everything? The point is, a perfect devotee does not make any discrimination. Whatever is offered to Kṛṣṇa is nectar. That’s all. Kṛṣṇa accepts anything from a devotee. “Whatever is offered to Me by My devotee, I accept.” The same thing is true for a pure devotee. Don’t you see the point? A perfect devotee does not make any discrimination. But if I am not a perfect devotee and I discriminate, why should I imitate the perfect devotee? It may not be possible for me to digest everything because I am not a perfect devotee. A devotee should not be a foolish man. It is said: kṛṣṇa ye bhaje se baḍa catura. So a devotee knows his position, and he is intelligent enough to deal with others accordingly. ~ A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhup da,
687:Ud Jayega Huns Akela,
Jug Darshan Ka Mela
Jaise Paat Gire Taruvar Se,
Milna Bahut Duhela
Naa Jane Kidhar Girega,
Lageya Pawan Ka Rela
Jub Howe Umur Puri,
Jab Chute Ga Hukum Huzuri
Jum Ke Doot Bade Mazboot,
Jum Se Pada Jhamela
Das Kabir Har Ke Gun Gawe,
Wah Har Ko Paran Pawe
Guru Ki Karni Guru Jayega,
Chele Ki Karni Chela
*English Translation*

The Swan Will Fly Away All Alone,
Spectacle of the World Will Be a Mere Fair
As the Leaf Falls from the Tree
Is Difficult to Find
Who Knows Where it Will Fall
Once it is Struck with a Gust Of Wind
When Life Span is Complete
Then Listening to Orders, Following Others, Will Be Over
The Messengers of Yama are Very Strong
It's an Entanglement with the Yama
Servant Kabir Praises the Attributes of the Lord
He Finds the Lord Soon
Guru Will Go According to His Doings
The Disciple According to His!
Kabir reminds us that we are much like a leaf if when severed from the universal spirit (the tree) is liable to be blown away by the gust of unfulfilled desires. In such a state it is difficult to predict where the leaf (spirit) will finally land on getting dismembered from the tree of universal oneness.
All through our physical life we are listening to either orders of others or are ordered by our own desires. When death comes nobody is really with us and we finally realize that the obeying and following others is not as meaningful as following our inner voice. "Kala" (Yama) or time, is relentless even in the wake of our last-minute realizations and feeling unfulfilled.
Finally Kabir reinforces that a continuous dedication to God yields instantaneous results. But warns that its our own effort that bear fruits and everybody (both Guru and Disciple) progresses according to their own actions.
~ Kabir, The Swan flies away
,
688:If spirituality means seeking ['Self'-Realization], why do I need a Guru?' Let's say, all that you're seeking is to go to Kedarnath right now. Somebody is driving; the roads are laid out. If you came alone and there were no proper directions, definitely you would have wished, "I wish there was a map to tell me how to get there." On one level, a Guru is just a map. He's a live map. If you can read the map, you know the way, you can go. A Guru can also be your bus driver. You sit here and doze and he will take you to Kedarnath; but to sit in this bus and doze off, or to sit in this bus joyfully, you need to trust the bus driver. If every moment, with every curve in this road, you go on thinking, "Will this man kill me? Will this man go off the road? What intention does he have for my life?" then you will only go mad sitting here. We're talking about trust, not because a Guru needs your trust, it's just that if there's no trust you will drive yourself mad.

This is not just for sitting on a bus or going on a spiritual journey. To live on this planet, you need trust. Right now, you trust unconsciously. You're sitting on this bus, which is just a bundle of nuts and bolts and pieces of metal. Look at the way you're going through the mountains. Unknowingly, you trust this vehicle so much. Isn't it so? You have placed your life in the hands of this mechanical mess, which is just nuts and bolts, rubbers and wires, this and that. You have placed your life in it, but you trust the bus consciously. The same trust, if it arises consciously, would do miracles to you. When we say trust, we're not talking about anything new to life. To be here, to take every breath in and out, you need trust, isn't it? Your trust is unconscious. I am only asking you to bring a little consciousness to your trust. It's not something new. Life is trust, otherwise nobody can exist here. ~ Sadhguru,
689:My vocation in life is to wonder about at the nature of the universe. This leads me into philosophy, psychology, religion, and mysticism, not only as subjects to be discussed but also as things to be experienced, and thus I make an at least tacit claim to be a philosopher and a mystic. Some people, therefore, expect me to be their guru or messiah or exemplar, and are extremely disconcerted when they discover my “wayward spirit” or element of irreducible rascality, and say to their friends, “How could he possibly be a genuine mystic and be so addicted to nicotine and alcohol?” Or have occasional shudders of anxiety? Or be sexually interested in women? Or lack enthusiasm for physical exercise? Or have any need for money? Such people have in mind an idealized vision of the mystic as a person wholly free from fear and attachment, who sees within and without, and on all sides, only the translucent forms of a single divine energy which is everlasting love and delight, as which and from which he effortlessly radiates peace, charity, and joy. What an enviable situation! We, too, would like to be one of those, but as we start to meditate and look into ourselves we find mostly a quaking and palpitating mess of anxiety which lusts and loathes, needs love and attention, and lives in terror of death putting an end to its misery. So we despise that mess, and look for ways of controlling it and putting “how the true mystic feels” in its place, not realizing that this ambition is simply one of the lusts of the quaking mess, and that this, in turn, is a natural form of the universe like rain and frost, slugs and snails, flies and disease. When the “true mystic” sees flies and disease as translucent forms of the divine, that does not abolish them. I—making no hard-and-fast distinction between inner and outer experience—see my quaking mess as a form of the divine, and that doesn’t abolish it either. But at least I can live with it. ~ Alan W Watts,
690:Man as an individualised soul is essentially causal-bodied,” my guru explained. “That body is a matrix of the thirty-five ideas required by God as the basic or causal thought forces from which He later formed the subtle astral body of nineteen elements and the gross physical body of sixteen elements. “The nineteen elements of the astral body are mental, emotional, and lifetronic. The nineteen components are intelligence; ego; feeling; mind (sense-consciousness); five instruments of knowledge, the subtle counterparts of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch; five instruments of action, the mental correspondence for the executive abilities to procreate, excrete, talk, walk, and exercise manual skill; and five instruments of life force, those empowered to perform the crystallising, assimilating, eliminating, metabolising, and circulating functions of the body. This subtle astral encasement of nineteen elements survives the death of the physical body, which is made of sixteen gross chemical elements. “God thought out different ideas within Himself and projected them into dreams. Lady Cosmic Dream thus sprang out decorated in all her colossal endless ornaments of relativity. “In thirty-five thought categories of the causal body, God elaborated all the complexities of man’s nineteen astral and sixteen physical counterparts. By condensation of vibratory forces, first subtle, then gross, He produced man’s astral body and finally his physical form. According to the law of relativity, by which the Prime Simplicity has become the bewildering manifold, the causal cosmos and causal body are different from the astral cosmos and astral body; the physical cosmos and physical body are likewise characteristically at variance with the other forms of creation. “The fleshly body is made of the fixed, objectified dreams of the Creator. The dualities are ever present on earth: disease and health, pain and pleasure, loss and gain. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
691:Raja Rao
Raja, I wish I knew
the cause of that malady.
For years I could not accept
the place I was in.
I felt I should be somewhere else.
A city, trees, human voices
lacked the quality of presence.
I would live by the hope of moving on.
Somewhere else there was a city of real presence,
of real trees and voices and friendship and love.
Link, if you wish, my peculiar case
(on the border of schizophrenia)
to the messianic hope
of my civilization.
Ill at ease in the tyranny, ill at ease in the republic,
in the one I longed for freedom, in the other for the end of corruption.
Building in my mind a permanent polis
forever deprived of aimless bustle.
I learned at last to say: this is my home,
here, before the glowing coal of ocean sunsets,
on the shore which faces the shores of your Asia,
in a great republic, moderately corrupt.
Raja, this did not cure me
of my guilt and shame.
A shame of failing to be
what I should have been.
The image of myself
grows gigantic on the wall
and against it
my miserable shadow.
That's how I came to believe
77
in Original Sin
which is nothing but the first
victory of the ego.
Tormented by my ego, deluded by it
I give you, as you see, a ready argument.
I hear you saying that liberation is possible
and that Socratic wisdom
is identical with your guru's.
No, Raja, I must start from what I am.
I am those monsters which visit my dreams
and reveal to me my hidden essence.
If I am sick, there is no proof whatsoever
that man is a healthy creature.
Greece had to lose, her pure consciousness
had to make our agony only more acute.
We needed God loving us in our weakness
and not in the glory of beatitude.
No help, Raja, my part is agony,
struggle, abjection, self-love, and self-hate,
prayer for the Kingdom
and reading Pascal.
~ Czeslaw Milosz,
692:The aim of both little books, if you're interested," he said, " is supposedly to wake everybody up to the need and benefits of saying the Jesus Prayer incessantly. First under supervision of a qualified teacher - a sort of Christian guru - and then, after the person's mastered it to some extent, he's supposed to go on with it on his own. And the main idea is that it's not suppose to be just for pious bastards and breast-beaters. You can be busy robbing the goddam poor box, but you're to say the prayer while you rob it. Enlightenment's supposed to come with the prayer, not before it." Zooey frowned, but academically." The idea, really, is that sooner or later, completely on its own, the prayer moves from the lips and the head down to a center in the heart and becomes an automatic function in the person, right along with the heartbeat. And then, after a time, once the prayer is automatic in the heart, the person is supposed to enter into the so-called reality of things. The subject doesn't really come up in either of the books, but, in Eastern terms, there are seven subtle centers in the body, called chakras, and the one most closely connected with the heart is called anahata, which is supposed to be sensitive and powerful as hell, and when it's activated, it, in turn, activates another of these centers, between the eyebrows, called ajna - it's the pineal gland, really, or, rather, an aura around the pineal gland - and then, bingo, there's an opening of what mystics call the 'third eye'. It's nothing new, for God's sake. It didn't just start with the little pilgrim's crowd, I mean. In India, for God knows how many centuries, it's been known as japam. Japam is just the repetition of any of the human names of God. Or the names of his incarnations his avatars, if you want to get technical. The idea being that if you call out the name long enough and regularly enough and literally from the heart, sooner or later you'll get an answer. Not exactly an answer. A response. ~ J D Salinger,
693:This inner Guide is often veiled at first by the very intensity of our personal effort and by the ego's preoccupation with itself and its aims. As we gain in clarity and the turmoil of egoistic effort gives place to a calmer self-knowledge, we recognise the source of the growing light within us. We recognise it retrospectively as we realise how all our obscure and conflicting movements have been determined towards an end that we only now begin to perceive, how even before our entrance into the path of the Yoga the evolution of our life has been designedly led towards its turning point. For now we begin to understand the sense of our struggles and efforts, successes and failures. At last we are able to seize the meaning of our ordeals and sufferings and can appreciate the help that was given us by all that hurt and resisted and the utility of our very falls and stumblings. We recognise this divine leading afterwards, not retrospectively but immediately, in the moulding of our thoughts by a transcendent Seer, of our will and actions by an all-embracing Power, of our emotional life by an all-attracting and all-assimilating Bliss and Love. We recognise it too in a more personal relation that from the first touched us or at the last seizes us; we feel the eternal presence of a supreme Master, Friend, Lover, Teacher. We recognise it in the essence of our being as that develops into likeness and oneness with a greater and wider existence; for we perceive that this miraculous development is not the result of our own efforts; an eternal Perfection is moulding us into its own image. One who is the Lord or Ishwara of the Yogic philosophies, the Guide in the conscious being ( caitya guru or antaryamin ), the Absolute of the thinker, the Unknowable of the Agnostic, the universal Force of the materialist, the supreme Soul and the supreme Shakti, the One who is differently named and imaged by the religions, is the Master of our Yoga.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids, 62 [T1],
694:In meditation which is a continuous flow of staying in the state at all times and in every circumstance there is neither suppression nor production of dwelling and proliferation; if there is dwelling, that is the dharmakaya’s own face and if there is proliferation, that is preserved as the self-liveliness of wisdom, so,

“Then, whether there is proliferation or dwelling,”

Whatever comes from mind’s liveliness as discursive thoughts, be it the truth of the source—afflictions of anger, attachment, and so on—or the truth of unsatisfactoriness—the flavours of experience which are the feelings of happiness, sadness, and so on—if the nature of the discursive thoughts is known as dharmata, they become the shifting events of the dharmakaya, so,

“Anger, attachment, happiness, or sadness,”

That does not finish it though; generally speaking if they are met with through the view but not finished with by bringing them to the state with meditation, they fall into ordinary wandering in confusion and if that happens, you are bound into cyclic existence by the discursive thoughts of your own mindstream and, dharma and your own mindstream having remained separate, you become an ordinary person who has nothing special about them. Not to be separated from a great non-meditated self-resting is what is needed . . .

Additionally, whatever discursive thought or affliction arises, it is not something apart from dharmakaya wisdom, rather, the nature of those discursive thoughts is actual dharmakaya, the ground’s luminosity. If that, which is called ‘the mother luminosity resident in the ground’, is recognized, there is self-recognition of the view of self-knowing luminosity previously introduced by the guru and that is called ‘the luminosity of the practice path’. Abiding in one’s own face of the two luminosities of ground and path become inseparable is called ‘the
meeting of mother and son luminosities’ so,

“The previously-known mother luminosity joins with the son. ~ Patrul Rinpoche,
695:We were in Julie’s room one night, my eldest daughter and I, maybe a decade ago now. I wanted to show her how the canvas painting she had carefully labored over for her little sister's Christmas gift was framed and hung on the wall.

I said, gazing at her masterpiece with no small amount of motherly pride, “Now it looks like a real work of art”.

Bella looked at me quizzically, wondering yet again how her mother could possibly understand so little about the world.

“Mama, every time you make something, or draw something, or paint something, it is already real art. There is no such thing as art that is not real”

And so I said that she was right, and didn’t it look nice, and once again, daughter became guru and mother became willing student.

Which is, I sometimes think, the way it was meant to be.
~ Jeanette LeBlanc~ Jeanette LeBlanc~ Jeanette LeBlanc~ Jeanette LeBlanc~ Jeanette LeBlanc

art is always real.
all of it.
even the stuff you don’t understand.
even the stuff you don’t like.
even the stuff that you made that you would be embarrassed to show your best friend

that photo that you took when you first got your DSLR, when you captured her spirit perfectly but the focus landed on her shoulder?

still art.

the painting you did last year the first time you picked up a brush, the one your mentor critiqued to death?

it’s art.

the story you are holding in your heart and so desperately want to tell the world?

definitely art.

the scarf you knit for your son with the funky messed up rows?

art. art. art.

the poem scrawled on your dry cleaning receipt at the red light.

the dress you want to sew.

the song you want to sing.

the clay you’ve not yet molded.

everything you have made

or will one day make

or imagine making in your wildest dreams.

it’s all real, every last bit.
because there is no such thing
as art that is not real. ~ Jeanette LeBlanc,
696:WHEN THE GREAT YOGIN Padmasambhava, called by Tibetans Guru Rinpoche, "the precious teacher," embarks on his spiritual journey, he travels from place to place requesting teachings from yogins and yoginls. Guided by visions and dreams, his journey takes him to desolate forests populated with ferocious wild animals, to poison lakes with fortified islands, and to cremation grounds. Wherever he goes he performs miracles, receives empowerments, and ripens his own abilities to benefit others.

   When he hears of the supreme queen of all dakinls, the greatly accomplished yogini called Secret Wisdom, he travels to the Sandal Grove cremation ground to the gates of her abode, the Palace of Skulls. He attempts to send a request to the queen with her maidservant Kumari. But the girl ignores him and continues to carry huge brass jugs of water suspended from a heavy yoke across her shoulders. When he presses his request, Kumari continues her labors, remaining silent. The great yogin becomes impatient and, through his yogic powers, magically nails the heavy jugs to the floor. No matter how hard Kumari struggles, she cannot lift them.

   Removing the yoke and ropes from her shoulders, she steps before Padmasambhava, exclaiming, "You have developed great yogic powers. What of my powers, great one?" And so saying, she draws a sparkling crystal knife from the girdle at her waist and slices open her heart center, revealing the vivid and vast interior space of her body. Inside she displays to Guru Rinpoche the mandala of deities from the inner tantras: forty-two peaceful deities manifested in her upper torso and head and fifty-eight wrathful deities resting in her lower torso. Abashed that he did not realize with whom he was dealing, Guru Rinpoche bows before her and humbly renews his request for teachings. In response, she offers him her respect as well, adding, "I am only a maidservant," and ushers him in to meet the queen Secret Wisdom. ~ Judith Simmer-Brown, Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism, Introduction: Encountering the Dakini,
697:Dar de ce este atât de dificil să ne imaginăm că suntem ocrotiți, că există o forță care urmărește cu interes ceea ce facem, că suntem, poate, sub protecția cuiva ori chiar că ceea ce ne ține în viață nu este doar propria voință și propriile acțiuni? De ce avem nevoie de asigurări atunci când vine vorba de garanții invizibili ai existenței noastre? Să mori nu e complicat, asta știm sigur. O fracțiune de secundă de neatenție și planurile meticuloasa ale celui mai fortificat eu se duc pe apa sâmbetei. Ceva mă salvează zilnic de la a mă duce de-a dura pe scări, a mă răsturna la curbe sau a orbi. Cum e posibil să gonim pe autostrăzi cu bolizii noștri în timp ce cântăm melodia ce se aude la radio și suntem cu gândurile departe și totuși să supraviețuim? Celeste acest "sistem imunitar" ce veghează asupra zilelor noastre și asupra meselor noastre stropite din belșug cu viruși, bacterii și toxine? Până și sprâncenele noastre sunt pline de organisme minuscule ce stau pe oi asemenea păsărilor pe spinarea rinocerilor din savană. Numim această forță care ne ține în viață instinct, autoconservare, al șaselea simț, atenție subliminală (lucruri, de asemenea, invizibile, dar prezente). Pe timpuri, protectorul nostru se numea înger păzitor, iar noi știam prea bine cum să ne purtăm cu el.
Ei bine, în ciuda faptului că suntem ocrotiți de către această forță invizibilă, noi preferăm să ne imaginăm că suntem aruncați despuiați în lume, complet vulnerabili și singuri. Preferăm povestea în care suntem eroii propriei realizări umane și nu povestea în care poate că suntem iubiți de această Providență, care ne ghidează, în care suntem necesari pentru ceea ce aducem și în care suntem uneori ajutați... Fortuit de ea în momente de cumpănă. Am voie să fac astfel de afirmații fără să citez vreun guru, fără să mă declar martorul lui Hristos și fără să trâmbițez mai știu eu ce convertire miraculoasă? De ce să nu păstrăm în limitele discursului psihologic ceea ce mai demult oamenii numeau Providență — și anume credința casuntem vegheați de către o forță invizibilă? ~ James Hillman,
698:English version by Garma C. C. Chang
Obeisance to the perfect Marpa.

I am the Yogi who perceives the Ultimate Truth.
In the Origin of the Unborn, I first gain assurance;
On the Path of Non-extinction, slowly
   I perfect my power;
With meaningful symbols and words
Flowing from my great compassion,
I now sing this song
From the absolute realm of Dharma Essence.

Because your sinful Karma has created
Dense blindness and impenetrable obstruction,
You cannot understand the meaning
Of Ultimate Truth.
Listen, therefore, to the Expedient Truth.

In their spotless, ancient Sutras,
All the Buddhas in the past, repeatedly
Admonished with the eternal Truth of Karma --
That every sentient being is one's kinsman.
This is eternal Truth which never fails.
Listen closely to the teaching of Compassion.

I, the Yogi who developed by his practices,
Know that outer hindrances are but a shadow-show,
And the phantasmal world
A magic play of mind unborn.

By looking inward into the mind is seen
Mind-nature -- without substance, intrinsically void.
Through meditation in solitude, the grace
Of the Succession Gurus and the teaching
Of the great Naropa are attained.
The inner truth of the Buddha
Should be the object of meditation.

By the gracious instruction of my Guru,
Is the abstruse inner meaning of Tantra understood.
Through the practice of Arising and
   Perfecting Yoga,
Is the Vital Power engendered
And the inner reason for the microcosm realized.
Thus in the outer world I do not fear
The illusory obstacles.

To the Great Divine Lineage I belong,
With innumerable yogis great as all Space.

When in one's own mind one ponders
On the original state of Mind,
Illusory thoughts of themselves dissolve
Into the Realm of Dharmadhatu.
Neither afflicter nor afflicted can be seen.
Exhaustive study of the Sutras
Teaches us no more than this.

~ Jetsun Milarepa, The Song of Perfect Assurance (to the Demons)
,
699:We must become what we wish to teach.

As an aside to parents, teachers, psychotherapists, and managers who may be reading this book to gain insight on how to support the self-esteem of others, I want to say that the place to begin is still with oneself. If one does not understand how the dynamics of self-esteem work internally—if one does not know by direct experience what lowers or raises one’s own self-esteem—one will not have that intimate understanding of the subject necessary to make an optimal contribution to others. Also, the unresolved issues within oneself set the limits of one’s effectiveness in helping others. It may be tempting, but it is self-deceiving to believe that what one says can communicate more powerfully than what one manifests in one’s person. We must become what we wish to teach.

There is a story I like to tell psychotherapy students. In India, when a family encounters a problem, they are not likely to consult a psychotherapist (hardly any are available); they consult the local guru. In one village there was a wise man who had helped this family more than once. One day the father and mother came to him, bringing their nine-year-old son, and the father said, “Master, our son is a wonderful boy and we love him very much. But he has a terrible problem, a weakness for sweets that is ruining his teeth and health. We have reasoned with him, argued with him, pleaded with him, chastised him—nothing works. He goes on consuming ungodly quantities of sweets. Can you help us?” To the father’s surprise, the guru answered, “Go away and come back in two weeks.” One does not argue with a guru, so the family obeyed. Two weeks later they faced him again, and the guru said, “Good. Now we can proceed.” The father asked, “Won’t you tell us, please, why you sent us away for two weeks. You have never done that before.” And the guru answered, “I needed the two weeks because I, too, have had a lifelong weakness for sweets. Until I had confronted and resolved that issue within myself, I was not ready to deal with your son.”

Not all psychotherapists like this story. ~ Nathaniel Branden,
700:The ira-vein, the pingala-vein, the sukhmana-vein -- these three converge at one spot. Where the three rivers meet, there is found holy Prayag -- and it is there that the heart bathes and becomes clean. O you saints, it is there that you find the faultless Ram. Only the fortunate few who follow the guru's path understand this truth: the eternal Ram is forever blended therein. What are the manifestations of Deva's abode? There, resounds the Word unspoken. There, neither moon nor sun, air nor water exist. Those who follow the guru's words know all this already. Divine wisdom awakens and hard-heartedness melts away; sweet ambrosia soaks and wets the inner sky. Those who know the secret of this discipline will surely meet the primal Gurudeva. Beyond the Tenth Door is the abode of the inaccessible, the unfathomable Primal Being. Above the body, upon the body is an alcove. Within this alcove is His abode. Be vigilant; do not fall asleep. Attain that stage wherein the three qualities and the three worlds count for nothing. Place the seed-mantra within your heart. Turn back your mind and fix it upon Silence. Be vigilant; do not dwell in falsehood. Restrain and hold back the five senses. Place the guru's teaching in your thoughts, and lay your body and your soul as an offering to Krishna's love. Deem your hands and fingers as branches of a tree: do not lose your life as in a gambling match. Well up the spring that feeds the stream of evil deeds; drive the sun away from the west. Restrain what cannot be restrained, and let the spring gush forth: thus converse with Jaganath. A lamp with four wicks illumines the Tenth Door: countless petals surround the flower's cup. Therein dwells the Lord Himself, holding all His power: a ruby hidden by another precious ruby. In the brain is the lotus encircled by diamonds. Therein is Niranjan, the Holder of the three worlds. All the five types of instruments play sweetly on; the fan sways; the conch forever resounds. The guru's enlightenment tramples all demons underfoot: Beni begs for Your name. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

~ Beni, Raga Ramkali
,
701:Masters are under no cosmic compulsion to limit their residence.” My companion glanced at me quizzically. “The Himalayas in India and Tibet have no monopoly on saints. What one does not trouble to find within will not be discovered by transporting the body hither and yon. As soon as the devotee is willing to go even to the ends of the earth for spiritual enlightenment, his guru appears nearby.” I silently agreed, recalling my prayer in the Benares hermitage, followed by the meeting with Sri Yukteswar in a crowded lane. “Are you able to have a little room where you can close the door and be alone?” “Yes.” I reflected that this saint descended from the general to the particular with disconcerting speed. “That is your cave.” The yogi bestowed on me a gaze of illumination which I have never forgotten. “That is your sacred mountain. That is where you will find the kingdom of God.” His simple words instantaneously banished my life-long obsession for the Himalayas. In a burning paddy field I awoke from the monticolous dreams of eternal snows. “Young sir, your divine thirst is laudable. I feel great love for you.” Ram Gopal took my hand and led me to a quaint hamlet. The adobe houses were covered with coconut leaves and adorned with rustic entrances. The saint seated me on the umbrageous bamboo platform of his small cottage. After giving me sweetened lime juice and a piece of rock candy, he entered his patio and assumed the lotus posture. In about four hours, I opened my meditative eyes and saw that the moonlit figure of the yogi was still motionless. As I was sternly reminding my stomach that man does not live by bread alone, Ram Gopal approached me. “I see you are famished; food will be ready soon.” A fire was kindled under a clay oven on the patio; rice and dal were quickly served on large banana leaves. My host courteously refused my aid in all cooking chores. ‘The guest is God,’ a Hindu proverb, has commanded devout observance from time immemorial. In my later world travels, I was charmed to see that a similar respect for visitors is manifested in rural sections of many countries. The city dweller finds the keen edge of hospitality blunted by superabundance of strange faces. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda,
702:But usually the representative influence occupies a much larger place in the life of the sadhaka. If the Yoga is guided by a received written Shastra, - some Word from the past which embodies the experience of former Yogins, - it may be practised either by personal effort alone or with the aid of a Guru. The spiritual knowledge is then gained through meditation on the truths that are taught and it is made living and conscious by their realisation in the personal experience; the Yoga proceeds by the results of prescribed methods taught in a Scripture or a tradition and reinforced and illumined by the instructions of the Master. This is a narrower practice, but safe and effective within its limits, because it follows a well-beaten track to a long familiar goal.

For the sadhaka of the integral Yoga it is necessary to remember that no written Shastra, however great its authority or however large its spirit, can be more than a partial expression of the eternal Knowledge. He will use, but never bind himself even by the greatest Scripture. Where the Scripture is profound, wide, catholic, it may exercise upon him an influence for the highest good and of incalculable importance. It may be associated in his experience with his awakening to crowning verities and his realisation of the highest experiences. His Yoga may be governed for a long time by one Scripture or by several successively, - if it is in the line of the great Hindu tradition, by the Gita, for example, the Upanishads, the Veda. Or it may be a good part of his development to include in its material a richly varied experience of the truths of many Scriptures and make the future opulent with all that is best in the past. But in the end he must take his station, or better still, if he can, always and from the beginning he must live in his own soul beyond the limitations of the word that he uses. The Gita itself thus declares that the Yogin in his progress must pass beyond the written Truth, - sabdabrahmativartate - beyond all that he has heard and all that he has yet to hear, - srotavyasya srutasya ca. For he is not the sadhaka of a book or of many books; he is a sadhaka of the Infinite. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Four Aids,
703:There was a young man who, you know,
He wanted to make a lot of money
And so he went to this Guru, right.

And he told the Guru,
“You know I wanna be on the same level you’re on.”

And so The Guru said,
“If you wanna be on the same level I’m on,
I’ll meet tomorrow,
At the beach, at 4 AM.”

He’s like,
“The beach?
I said I wanna make money. I don’t wanna swim.”

Guru said,
“If you wanna make money,
I’ll meet you tomorrow. 4 AM.”

So the young man got there 4 AM.
He all ready to rock n’ roll.
Got on a suit.
Should have worn shorts.

The old man grabs his hand and said,
“How bad do you wanna be successful?”

He said, “Real bad”.
[The Guru] He said, “Walk on out in the water.”
So he walks out into the water.

Watch this.
When he walks out into the water it goes waist deep.

So he’s like,
“This guy crazy.
I wanna make money and he got me out here swimming.
I didn’t ask to be a lifeguard.
I wanna make money.”

So he [The Guru] said, “Come out a little further.”
[He] walked out a little further.

Then he had it right around this area,
The shoulder area.

“So this old man crazy.
He making money,
But he crazy.”

So he [The Guru] said,
“Come on out a little further.”

He came out a little further,
It was right at his mouth,
My man like,
“I’m not about to go back in.
This guy out of his mind.”

So the old man said,
“I thought you said you wanted to be successful?”

He said, “I do.”
He [The Guru] said, “Walk a little further.”

He came,
Dropped his head in,
Held him down,
Hold him down,
My man getting scratchy,
Holding him down,
He [The Guru] had him held down,
Just before my man was about to pass out,
He [The Guru] raised him up.

He [The Guru] said, “I got a question for you.”
He [The Guru] said, “When you were underwater, what did you want to do?”

He said, “I wanted to breathe.”

He [The Guru] told the guy; He [The Guru] said,
“When you want to succeed,
As bad as you want to breathe,
Then you’ll be successful. ~ Eric Thomas,
704:May I be far removed from contending creeds and dogmas.
Ever since my Lords grace entered my mind,
My mind has never strayed to seek such distractions.
Accustomed long to contemplating love and compassion,
I have forgotten all difference between myself and others.

Accustomed long to meditating on my Guru as enhaloed over my head,
I have forgotten all those who rule by power and prestige.
Accustomed long to meditating on my guardian deities as inseparable from myself,
I have forgotten the lowly fleshly form.
Accustomed long to meditating on the secret whispered truths,
I have forgotten all that is said in written or printed books.
Accustomed, as I have been, to the study of the eternal Truth,
Ive lost all knowledge of ignorance.

Accustomed, as Ive been, to contemplating both nirvana and samsara as inherent in myself,
I have forgotten to think of hope and fear.
Accustomed, as Ive been, to meditating on this life and the next as one,
I have forgotten the dread of birth and death.
Accustomed long to studying, by myself, my own experiences,
I have forgotten the need to seek the opinions of friends and brethren.
Accustomed long to applying each new experience to my own spiritual growth,
I have forgotten all creeds and dogmas.

Accustomed long to meditating on the Unborn, the Indestructible, the Unchanging,
I have forgotten all definitions of this or that particular goal.
Accustomed long to meditating on all visible phenomena as the Dharmakaya,
I have forgotten all meditations on what is produced by the mind.
Accustomed long to keeping my mind in the uncreated state of freedom,
I have forgotten all conventions and artificialities.

Accustomed long to humbleness, of body and mind,
I have forgotten the pride and haughty manner of the mighty.
Accustomed long to regarding my fleshly body as my hermitage,
I have forgotten the ease and comfort of retreats and monasteries.
Accustomed long to knowing the meaning of the Wordless,
I have forgotten the way to trace the roots of verbs, and the
sources of words and phrases.
You, 0 learned one, may trace out these things in your books

Milarepa

~ Jetsun Milarepa, I Have forgotten
,
705:Verbal Whips
1.
Still applying tilak1 have turned fifty-three
and worn out are the holes of the rosary.
Exhausted are feet from pilgrimage
but not seen yet the Lord's visage.
Hearing religious discourses ears burst
Akha, received no enlightenment yet.
2.
Such was the habit of a dunce
worshipped as many gods as stones.
Would start bathing at water's sight
pluck leaves on seeing tulsi plant2.
This talk of countless gods from whence?
That Akha, is the chief menace.
3.
A fire has erupted in the city what danger to those that fly?
Rats poor things make such noise
since no power to fly have those.
What birth's fear Akha have the wise
whose experience-wing spans the skies?
4.
Trust not the talk of a big-wig
its like drum-beat in a desolate place.
Like sesame seed mingled with kodara grain
the blind congregate in darkness.
Can't cook gruel nor cook dhani3
says Akha I now fully realize this.
5.
Blind man and his veiled daughter-in-law
such set out for a religious discourse.
Hearing was disconnected from preaching
like eyeliner for eyes rubbed on cheek.
Like a deep well and leaking pail
learning-listening was all worthless.
6.
Body's vanity weighed a quarter seer4
on getting education it quadrupled to a seer.
During scholarly dispute turned heavier
on becoming a preceptor, weighed much greater.
Akha, if from chaff weight is thus got
then one loses all self-insight.
7.
Wherever one looks one sees deceivers
like owls squatting opposite one another.
If one raises the sun's topic
the others oppose raising their beak:
‘In darkness we spent a thousand years
how did you turn so wise O youngster? '
Akha, the big people are of such sort
they discard diamond and pick up rock.
8.
As the hunter hides behind foliage
to seize beasts that are unwary
so sheltering behind the Lord are cheats
for gold and women they play their tricks.
Akha, how can a guru ferry you across
whose mentor is a potter and pupils are asses?
[Note:
1 An auspicious mark made on the forehead by the religiously inclined.
2 Basil
3 Roasted grain
4 A seer is about a kilo]
~ Akha Bhagat,
706:A Morte Devagar

Morre lentamente quem não troca de idéias, não troca de discurso, evita as próprias Morre lentamente quem não troca de idéias, não troca de discurso, evita as próprias contradições.

Morre lentamente quem vira escravo do hábito, repetindo todos os dias o mesmo trajeto e as mesmas compras no supermercado. Quem não troca de marca, não arrisca vestir uma cor nova, não dá papo para quem não conhece.

Morre lentamente quem faz da televisão o seu guru e seu parceiro diário. Muitos não podem comprar um livro ou uma entrada de cinema, mas muitos podem, e ainda assim alienam-se diante de um tubo de imagens que traz informação e entretenimento, mas que não deveria, mesmo com apenas 14 polegadas, ocupar tanto espaço em uma vida.

Morre lentamente quem evita uma paixão, quem prefere o preto no branco e os pingos nos is a um turbilhão de emoções indomáveis, justamente as que resgatam brilho nos olhos, sorrisos e soluços, coração aos tropeços, sentimentos.

Morre lentamente quem não vira a mesa quando está infeliz no trabalho, quem não arrisca o certo pelo incerto atrás de um sonho, quem não se permite, uma vez na vida, fugir dos conselhos sensatos.

Morre lentamente quem não viaja, quem não lê, quem não ouve música, quem não acha graça de si mesmo.

Morre lentamente quem destrói seu amor-próprio. Pode ser depressão, que é doença séria e requer ajuda profissional. Então fenece a cada dia quem não se deixa ajudar.

Morre lentamente quem não trabalha e quem não estuda, e na maioria das vezes isso não é opção e, sim, destino: então um governo omisso pode matar lentamente uma boa parcela da população.

Morre lentamente quem passa os dias queixando-se da má sorte ou da chuva incessante, desistindo de um projeto antes de iniciá-lo, não perguntando sobre um assunto que desconhece e não respondendo quando lhe indagam o que sabe.

Morre muita gente lentamente, e esta é a morte mais ingrata e traiçoeira, pois quando ela se aproxima de verdade, aí já estamos muito destreinados para percorrer o pouco tempo restante. Que amanhã, portanto, demore muito para ser o nosso dia. Já que não podemos evitar um final repentino, que ao menos evitemos a morte em suaves prestações, lembrando sempre que estar vivo exige um esforço bem maior do que simplesmente respirar. ~ Martha Medeiros,
707:The honey bee, a little tiger, is not addicted to the taste of sugar; his nature is to extract the juice from the sweet lotus flower! Dakinis, above, below, and on earth, unimpeded by closeness and distance, will surely extract the blissful essence when the yogins bound by pledges gather. The sun, the king of illumination, is not inflated by self-importance; by the karma of sentient beings, it shines resplendent in the sky. When the sun perfect in skill and wisdom dawns in the sky of the illuminated mind, without conceit, you beautify and crown the beings of all three realms. The smiling faces of the radiant moon are not addicted to hide and seek; by its relations with the sun, the moon takes waning and waxing forms. Though my gurus, embodiment of all refuge, are free of all fluctuation and of faults, through their flux-ridden karma the disciples perceive that the guru's three secrets display all kinds of effulgence. Constellations of stars adorning the sky are not competing in a race of speed; due to the force of energy's pull, the twelve planets move clockwise with ease. Guru, deity, and dakini -- my refuge -- though not partial toward the faithful, unfailingly you appear to guard those with fortunate karma blessed. The white clouds hovering above on high are not so light that they arise from nowhere; it is the meeting of moisture and heat that makes the patches of mist in the sky. Those striving for good karma are not greedy in self-interest; by the meeting of good conditions they become unrivaled as they rise higher. The clear expanse of the autumn sky is not engaged in the act of cleansing; yet being devoid of all obscuration, its pure vision bejewels the eyes. The groundless sphere of all phenomena is not created fresh by a discursive mind; yet when the face of ever-presence is known, all concreteness spontaneously fades away. Rainbows radiating colors freely are not obsessed by attractive costumes; by the force of dependent conditions, they appear distinct and clearly. This vivid appearance of the external world, though not a self-projected image, through the play of fluctuating thought and mind, appears as paintings of real things. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

~ Kelsang Gyatso, Little Tiger
,
708:Nirvana Shatakam
1)
I am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego,
nor the reflections of inner self (chitta).
I am not the five senses.
I am beyond that.
I am not the ether, nor the earth,
nor the fire, nor the wind (the five elements).
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
2)
Neither can I be termed as energy (prana),
nor five types of breath (vayus),
nor the seven material essences,
nor the five coverings (pancha-kosha).
Neither am I the five instruments of elimination,
procreation, motion, grasping, or speaking.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
3)
I have no hatred or dislike,
nor affiliation or liking,
nor greed,
nor delusion,
nor pride or haughtiness,
nor feelings of envy or jealousy.
I have no duty (dharma),
nor any money,
nor any desire (kama),
nor even liberation (moksha).
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
4)
I have neither merit (virtue),
16
I
nor demerit (vice).
do not commit sins or good deeds,
nor have happiness or sorrow,
pain or pleasure.
do not need mantras, holy places,
scriptures (Vedas), rituals or sacrifices (yagnas).
am none of the triad of
the observer or one who experiences,
the process of observing or experiencing,
or any object being observed or experienced.
am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
5)
I do not have fear of death,
as I do not have death.
I have no separation from my true self,
no doubt about my existence,
nor have I discrimination on the basis of birth.
I have no father or mother,
nor did I have a birth.
I am not the relative,
nor the friend,
nor the guru,
nor the disciple.
I am indeed,
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
6)
I am all pervasive.
I am without any attributes,
and without any form.
I have neither attachment to the world,
nor to liberation (mukti).
I have no wishes for anything
because I am everything,
everywhere,
every time,
always in equilibrium.
I am indeed,
17
That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,
love and pure consciousness.
~ Adi Shankaracharya,
709:Mandana Misra was a great scholar and authority on the Vedas and Mimasa. He led a householder’s life (grihastha), with his scholar-philosopher wife, Ubhaya Bharati, in the town of Mahishi, in what is present-day northern Bihar. Husband and wife would have great debates on the veracity of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita and other philosophical works. Scholars from all over Bharatavarsha came to debate and understand the Shastras with them. It is said that even the parrots in Mandana’s home debated the divinity, or its lack, in the Vedas and Upanishads. Mandana was a staunch believer in rituals. One day, while he was performing Pitru Karma (rituals for deceased ancestors), Adi Shankaracharya arrived at his home and demanded a debate on Advaita. Mandana was angry at the rude intrusion and asked the Acharya whether he was not aware, as a Brahmin, that it was inauspicious to come to another Brahmin’s home uninvited when Pitru Karma was being done? In reply, Adi Shankara asked Mandana whether he was sure of the value of such rituals. This enraged Mandana and the other Brahmins present. Thus began one of the most celebrated debates in Hindu thought. It raged for weeks between the two great scholars. As the only other person of equal intellect to Shankara and Mandana was Mandana’s wife, Ubhaya Bharati, she was appointed the adjudicator. Among other things, Shankara convinced Mandana that the rituals for the dead had little value to the dead. Mandana became Adi Shankara’s disciple (and later the first Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Math in Karnataka). When the priest related this story to me, I was shocked. He was not giving me the answer I had expected. Annoyed, I asked him what he meant by the story if Adi Shankara himself said such rituals were of no use to the dead. The priest replied, “Son, the story has not ended.” And he continued... A few years later, Adi Shankara was compiling the rituals for the dead, to standardize them for people across Bharatavarsha. Mandana, upset with his Guru’s action, asked Adi Shankara why he was involved with such a useless thing. After all, the Guru had convinced him of the uselessness of such rituals (Lord Krishna also mentions the inferiority of Vedic sacrifice to other paths, in the Gita. Pitru karma has no vedic base either). Why then was the Jagad Guru taking such a retrograde step? Adi Shankaracharya smiled at his disciple and answered, “The rituals are not for the dead but for the loved ones left behind. ~ Anand Neelakantan,
710:English version by Garma C. C. Chang
I bow down at the feet of the wish-fulfilling Guru.
Pray vouchsafe me your grace in bestowing beneficial food,
Pray make me realize my own body as the house of Buddha,
Pray grant me this knowledge.

I built the house through fear,
The house of Sunyata, the void nature of being;
Now I have no fear of its collapsing.
I, the Yogi with the wish-fulfilling gem,
Feel happiness and joy where'er I stay.

Because of the fear of cold, I sought for clothes;
The clothing I found is the Ah Shea Vital Heat.
Now I have no fear of coldness.

Because of the fear of poverty, I sought for riches;
The riches I found are the inexhaustible Seven Holy Jewels.
Now I have no fear of poverty.

Because of the fear of hunger, I sought for food;
The food I found is the Samadhi of Suchness.
Now I have no fear of hunger.

Because of the fear of thirst, I sought for drink;
The heavenly drink I found is the wine of mindfulness.
Now I have no fear of thirst.

Because of the fear of loneliness, I searched for a friend;
The friend I found is the bliss of perpetual Sunyata.
Now I have no fear of loneliness.

Because of the fear of going astray,
I sought for the right path to follow.
The wide path I found is the Path of Two-in-One.
Now I do not fear to lose my way.

I am a yogi with all desirable possessions,
A man always happy where'er he stays.

Here at Yolmo Tagpu Senge Tson,
The tigress howling with a pathetic, trembling cry,
Reminds me that her helpless cubs are innocently playing.
I cannot help but feel a great compassion for them,
I cannot help but practice more diligently,
I cannot help but augment thus my Bodhi-Mind.

The touching cry of the monkey,
So impressive and so moving,
Cannot help but raise in me deep pity.
The little monkey's chattering is amusing and pathetic;
As I hear it, I cannot but think of it with compassion.

The voice of the cuckoo is so moving,
And so tuneful is the lark's sweet singing,
That when I hear them I cannot help but listen --
When I listen to them,
I cannot help but shed tears.

The varied cries and cawings of the crow,
Are a good and helpful friend unto the yogi.
Even without a single friend,
To remain here is a pleasure.
With joy flowing from my heart, I sing this happy song;
May the dark shadow of all men's sorrows
Be dispelled by my joyful singing.
~ Jetsun Milarepa, The Song of Food and Dwelling
,
711:The Song Of Food And Dwelling :::
I bow down at the feet of the wish-fulfilling Guru.
Pray vouchsafe me your grace in bestowing beneficial food,
Pray make me realize my own body as the house of Buddha,
Pray grant me this knowledge.

I built the house through fear,
The house of Sunyata, the void nature of being;
Now I have no fear of its collapsing.
I, the Yogi with the wish-fulfilling gem,
Feel happiness and joy where'er I stay.

Because of the fear of cold, I sought for clothes;
The clothing I found is the Ah Shea Vital Heat.
Now I have no fear of coldness.

Because of the fear of poverty, I sought for riches;
The riches I found are the inexhaustible Seven Holy Jewels.
Now I have no fear of poverty.

Because of the fear of hunger, I sought for food;
The food I found is the Samadhi of Suchness.
Now I have no fear of hunger.

Because of the fear of thirst, I sought for drink;
The heavenly drink I found is the wine of mindfulness.
Now I have no fear of thirst.

Because of the fear of loneliness, I searched for a friend;
The friend I found is the bliss of perpetual Sunyata.
Now I have no fear of loneliness.

Because of the fear of going astray,
I sought for the right path to follow.
The wide path I found is the Path of Two-in-One.
Now I do not fear to lose my way.

I am a yogi with all desirable possessions,
A man always happy where'er he stays.

Here at Yolmo Tagpu Senge Tson,
The tigress howling with a pathetic, trembling cry,
Reminds me that her helpless cubs are innocently playing.
I cannot help but feel a great compassion for them,
I cannot help but practice more diligently,
I cannot help but augment thus my Bodhi-Mind.

The touching cry of the monkey,
So impressive and so moving,
Cannot help but raise in me deep pity.
The little monkey's chattering is amusing and pathetic;
As I hear it, I cannot but think of it with compassion.

The voice of the cuckoo is so moving,
And so tuneful is the lark's sweet singing,
That when I hear them I cannot help but listen
When I listen to them,
I cannot help but shed tears.

The varied cries and cawings of the crow,
Are a good and helpful friend unto the yogi.
Even without a single friend,
To remain here is a pleasure.
With joy flowing from my heart, I sing this happy song;
May the dark shadow of all men's sorrows
Be dispelled by my joyful singing. ~ Jetsun Milarepa,
712:The world is broken up by tribalism—the British, the German, the Swiss, the Hindu, the Buddhist, are tribes. See the fact that they are tribes, glorified as nations, and that this tribalism is creating havoc in the world, bringing wars in the world. Each tribe thinks in its own culture opposed to other cultures. But tribalism is the root, not the culture. Observing the fact of that is the action that frees the brain from the condition of tribalism. You see actually, not theoretically or ideationally, the fact that tribalism glorified as nations is one of the causes of war. That is a fact. There are other causes of war, economics and so on, but one of the causes is tribalism. When you see that, perceive that, and see that cannot bring about peace, the very perception frees the brain from its conditioning of tribalism.

One of the factors of contention throughout the world is religion. You are a Catholic, I am a Muslim, based on ideas, propaganda of hundreds or thousands of years; the Hindu and the Buddhist ideas are of thousands of years. We have been programmed like a computer. That programming has brought about great architecture, great paintings, great music, but it has not brought peace to mankind. When you see the fact of that, you do not belong to any religion. When there are half a dozen gurus in the same place, they bring about misery, contradiction, conflict: “My guru is better than yours; my group is more sanctified than yours; I have been initiated, you have not.” You know all the nonsense that goes on. So when you see all this around you as an actual fact, then you do not belong to any group, to any guru, to any religion, to any political commitment of ideas.

In the serious urgency to live peacefully there must be freedom from all this because they are the causes of dissension, division. Truth is not yours or mine. It does not belong to any church, to any group, to any religion. The brain must be free to discover it. And peace can exist only when there is freedom from fallacy. You know, for most of us, to be so drastic about things is very difficult, because we have taken security in things of illusion, in things that are not facts, and it is very difficult to let them go. It is not a matter of exercising will, or taking a decision: “I will not belong to anything” is another fallacy. We commit ourselves to some group, to an idea, to religious quackery, because we think it is some kind of security for us. In all these things there is no security, and therefore there is no peace. The brain must be secure; but the brain, with its thought, has sought security in things that are illusory. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti,
713:Lord Paindapa, you who practice yogic discipline! Your name has been prophesied by the devas; what a great wonder! Under the hand of glorious Advayalalita Are the vajra brothers and sisters whose minds do not differ. Headed by Sri Gunamati, Dakas who are sitting in the right hand row, listen to me! After them, the secret yoginis, Headed by the consort Sukhavajri, Dakinis who are sitting in the left hand row, listen to me! Generally, all Dharmas are illusion. Dreams are exalted as special illusion. Early in the night, dreams arise born from habitual patterns. There is nothing whatsoever to rely on there. At midnight, the deceptions of Mara appear. One should not trust in these. At dawn, there are prophecies by the devas. How wondrous, how great indeed! At the break of dawn this morning, The great lord master appeared And taught the Dharma which revealed the ultimate. This is the unforgettable memory of what Maitripa said: "In general, all Dharmas are mind. The Guru arises from mind. The Guru is nothing other than mind. Everything that appears is the nature of mind. This mind itself is primordially non-existent. In the natural state, unborn and innate, There is nothing to abandon by discursive effort. Rest at ease, naturally, without restriction. This can be shown by signs: A human corpse, an outcast, a dog, a pig, An infant, a madman, an elephant, A precious jewel, a blue lotus, Quicksilver, a deer, a lion, A Brahman, and a black antelope; did you see them?" Maitripa asked. The realization of the truth was shown by these signs: Not fixated on either samsara or Nirvana, Not holding acceptance or rejection in one's being, Not hoping for fruition from others, Mind free from occupation and complexity, Not falling into the four extremes, Nonmeditation and nonwandering, Free from thought and speech, Beyond any analogy whatsoever. Through the kindness of the Guru, I realised these. Since the experience of these realisations has dawned, Mind and mental events have ceased, And space and insight are inseparable. Faults and virtues neither increase nor decrease. Bliss, emptiness, and luminosity are unceasing. Therefore, luminosity dawns beyond coming or going. This transmission of the innate, the pith of the view Through the sign meanings which reveal the unborn, I heard from the great lord master. The reason why I sing these words Is the insistent request of the honourable lords. I could not refuse the Dharma brothers and sisters. Dakinis, do not be jealous! Thus, this song was sung for the Dharma brothers and sisters headed by Paindapa at the Rinchen Tsul monastery in Nepal to show the meaning of the signs of mahamudra as revealed by Maitripa's appearance in a dream.

~ Marpa Lotsawa, Realisation of Dreams and Mind
,
714:You who absorb into sublime, immutable bliss all phenomena, moving and unmoving, infinite as space, O glorious Heruka and Varahi, your consort, I wear the jewel light of your feet as my crown. Great bliss, the union of method and wisdom, engaged in the play of the unmoving with movement, this young coral maiden with beautiful eyes, diamond queen, embrace me with your arts of love. Adorning the highest part of my body, my crown, with the jewel of your feet, I recite these words of aspiration and prayer with my palms folded at my heart. When shall I ever achieve this state: seeing all forms as mandala deities, all sounds as vajra songs of tantra, all thoughts as fuel to enflame the spontaneous wisdom of emptiness and bliss? When will I experience perfect purity? By purging in profound absorption all phenomena born of imaginative concepts, fully aware that they open the way to self-arisen rikpa. When will I run in a joyful step-dance, the play of supreme illusion, the bliss-void wisdom, in the dakin town, the emanation of pure realms -- where a hundred dharma doors are opened wide? Outer dakinis hover above the twenty-four mystic places; inner dakinis dwell in the sphere of radiant bliss. When will I immerse in the glory of sexual play through the secret act of conjoining space and vajra? When can I arise as the great magical net -- the union of body and mind, instantly burning all grossness of dualism with the great bliss fire flaming the expanse? When will I accomplish the natural feat of absorbing the imperfections of illusion into immutable bliss, this wheel of becoming, engaged in the blissful play of union? On the clear mirror of the luminous mind my guru, my deity, and my mind reflect as one; may I soon attain the good fortune of practicing night and day this perfect meditation. May my mind be always intoxicated by drinking insatiably the nectar -- the delicious taste of sexual play between the hero in his utter ecstasy and his lover, the lady emptiness. By entering deep into the sphere of voidness, may I be endowed with the power of cleansing this foul odor, grasping body, speech, and mind as ordinary, through the yoga of perceiving all as divine. May I come to see with naked eyes the form of the fully emergent mandala of perfect deities, the sport of the ever-present mind inside the courtyard of the heart's dharma chakra. O yoginis, heroines of the twenty-four places, and the hosts of mantra-born and field-born dakinis who possess powers swift as thought, assist me in friendship of every kind. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

~ Chone Lama Lodro Gyatso, A Dance of Unwavering Devotion
,
715:The secret—to being you, to being Happy?” “Just keep on smiling. Even when you’re sad. Keep on smiling.” Not the most profound advice, admittedly. But Happy is wise, for only a fool or a philosopher would make sweeping generalizations about the nature of happiness. I am no philosopher, so here goes: Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude. To venture any further, though, is to enter treacherous waters. A slippery seal, happiness is. On the road, I encountered bushels of inconsistencies. The Swiss are uptight and happy. The Thais are laid-back and happy. Icelanders find joy in their binge drinking, Moldovans only misery. Maybe an Indian mind can digest these contradictions, but mine can’t. Exasperated, I call one of the leading happiness researchers, John Helliwell. Perhaps he has some answers. “It’s simple,” he says. “There’s more than one path to happiness.” Of course. How could I have missed it? Tolstoy turned on his head. All miserable countries are alike; happy ones are happy in their own ways. It’s worth considering carbon. We wouldn’t be here without it. Carbon is the basis of all life, happy and otherwise. Carbon is also a chameleon atom. Assemble it one way—in tight, interlocking rows—and you have a diamond. Assemble it another way—a disorganized jumble—and you have a handful of soot. The arranging makes all the difference. Places are the same. It’s not the elements that matter so much as how they’re arranged and in which proportions. Arrange them one way, and you have Switzerland. Arrange them another way, and you have Moldova. Getting the balance right is important. Qatar has too much money and not enough culture. It has no way of absorbing all that cash. And then there is Iceland: a country that has no right to be happy yet is. Iceland gets the balance right. A small country but a cosmopolitan one. Dark and light. Efficient and laid-back. American gumption married to European social responsibility. A perfect, happy arrangement. The glue that holds the entire enterprise together is culture. It makes all the difference. I have some nagging doubts about my journey. I didn’t make it everywhere. Yet my doubts extend beyond matters of itinerary. I wonder if happiness is really the highest good, as Aristotle believed. Maybe Guru-ji, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is right. Maybe love is more important than happiness. Certainly, there are times when happiness seems beside the point. Ask a single, working mother if she is happy, and she’s likely to reply, “You’re not asking the right question.” Yes, we want to be happy but for the right reasons, and, ~ Eric Weiner,
716:The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, - these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel.

The example is more powerful than the instruction; but it is not the example of the outward acts nor that of the personal character which is of most importance. These have their place and their utility; but what will most stimulate aspiration in others is the central fact of the divine realisation within him governing his whole life and inner state and all his activities. This is the universal and essential element; the rest belongs to individual person and circumstance. It is this dynamic realisation that the sadhaka must feel and reproduce in himself according to his own nature; he need not strive after an imitation from outside which may well be sterilising rather than productive of right and natural fruits.

Influence is more important than example. Influence is not the outward authority of the Teacher over his disciple, but the power of his contact, of his presence, of the nearness of his soul to the soul of another, infusing into it, even though in silence, that which he himself is and possesses. This is the supreme sign of the Master. For the greatest Master is much less a Teacher than a Presence pouring the divine consciousness and its constituting light and power and purity and bliss into all who are receptive around him.

And it shall also be a sign of the teacher of the integral Yoga that he does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humanly vain and self-exalting spirit. His work, if he has one, is a trust from above, he himself a channel, a vessel or a representative. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened Soul awakening souls, at highest a Power or Presence of the Divine calling to him other powers of the Divine. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga,
717:Let me tell you a joke, Rora said.
Mujo wakes up one day, after a long night of drinking, and asks himself what the meaning of life is. He goes to work, but realizes that is not what life is or should be. He decides to read some philosophy and for years studies everything from the old Greeks onward, but can't find the meaning of life. Maybe it's the family, he thinks, so he spends time with his wife, Fata, and the kids, but finds no meaning in that and so he leaves them. He thinks, Maybe helping others is the meaning of life, so he goes to medical school, graduates with flying colors, goes to Africa to cure malaria and transplants hearts, but cannot discover the meaning of life. He thinks, maybe it's the wealth, so he becomes a businessman, starts making money hand over fist, millions of dollars, buys everything there is to buy, but that is not what life is about. Then he turns to poverty and humility and such, so he gives everything away and begs on the streets, but still he cannot see what life is. He thinks maybe it is literature: he writes novel upon novel, but the more he writes the more obscure the meaning of life becomes. He turns to God, lives the life of a dervish, reads and contemplates the Holy Book of Islam - still, nothing. He studies Christianity, then Judaism, then Buddhism, then everything else - no meaning of life there. Finally, he hears about a guru living high up in the mountains somewhere in the East. The guru, they say, knows what the meaning of life is. So Mujo goes east, travels for years, walks roads, climbs the mountain, finds the stairs that lead up to the guru. He ascends the stairs, tens of thousands of them, nearly dies getting up there. At the top, there are millions of pilgrims, he has to wait for months to get to the guru. Eventually it is his turn, he goes to a place under a big tree, and there sits the naked guru, his legs crossed, his eyes closed, meditating, perfectly peaceful - he surely knows the meaning of life, Mujo says: I have dedicated my life to discovering the meaning of life and I have failed, so I have come to ask you humbly, O Master, to divulge the secret to me. The guru opens his eyes, looks at Mujo, and calmly says, My friend, life is a river. Mujo stares at him for a long time, cannot believe what he heard. What's life again? Mujo asks. Life is a river, the guru says. Mujo nods and says, You turd of turds, you goddamn stupid piece of shit, you motherfucking cocksucking asshole. I have wasted my life and come all this way for you to tell me that life is a fucking river. A river? Are you kidding me? That is the stupidest, emptiest fucking thing I have ever heard. Is that what you spent your life figuring out? And the guru says, What? It is not a river? Are you saying it is not a river? ~ Aleksandar Hemon,
718:Jab Tun Aaya Jagat Mein, Log Hanse Tu Roye
Aise Karni Na Kari, Pache Hanse Sab Koye
[When you were born in this world
Everyone laughed while you cried
Conduct NOT yourself in manner such
That they laugh when you are gone]
**
Kabir Man Nirmal Bhaya, Jaise Ganga Neer
Pache Pache Har Phire, Kahat Kabir Kabir
[Kabir's mind got cleansed like the holy Ganges water
Now everyone follows, saying Kabir Kabir]
**
Gur Dhobi Sikh Kapda, Saboo Sirjan Har
Surti Sila Pur Dhoiye, Nikse Jyoti Apaar
[Guru the washer man, disciple is the cloth
The name of God liken to the soap
Wash the mind on foundation firm
To realize the glow of Truth]
**
Jeevat Samjhe Jeevat Bujhe, Jeevat He Karo Aas
Jeevat Karam Ki Fansi Na Kaati, Mue Mukti Ki Aas
[Alive one sees, alive one knows
Thus crave for salvation when full of life
Alive you did not cut the noose of binding actions
Hoping liberation with death!]
**
Akath Kahani Prem Ki, Kutch Kahi Na Jaye
Goonge Keri Sarkara, Baithe Muskae
[Inexpressible is the story of Love
It cannot be revealed by words
Like the dumb eating sweet-meat
Only smiles, the sweetness he cannot tell]
**
Chinta Aisee Dakini, Kat Kaleja Khaye
Vaid Bichara Kya Kare, Kahan Tak Dawa Lagaye
[Worry is the bandit that eats into one's heart
What the doctor can do, what remedy to impart?]
**
Kabira Garv Na Keejiye, Uncha Dekh Aavaas
Kaal Paron Bhuin Letna, Ooper Jamsi Ghaas
[Says Kabir
Don't be so proud and vain
Looking at your high mansion
Death makes one lie on bare land
And grass will grow thereon]
**
{2}Kabira Garv Na Keejiye, Kaal Gahe Kar Kes
Na Jaane Kit Mare Hai, Kya Des Kya Pardesh
[Says Kabir
Don't be so proud and vain
The clutches of Time are dark
Who knows where shall it kill
Whether at home or abroad]
**
Kabira Kiya Kutch Na Hote Hai, Ankiya Sab Hoye
Jo Kiya Kutch Hote Hai, Karta Aur Koye
[Says Kabir
By my doing nothing happens
What I don't does come to pass
If anything happens as if my doing
Then truly it is done by someone else]
**
Jyon Naino Mein Putli, Tyon Maalik Ghat Mahin
Moorakh Log Na Janhin, Baahar Dhudhan Jahin
[Like the pupil in the eyes
The Lord resides inside
Ignorant do not know this fact
They search Him outside]
**
Pehle Agan Birha Ki, Pachhe Prem Ki Pyas
Kahe Kabir Tub Janiye, Naam Milan Ki Aaas
[First the pangs of separation
Next grows the thirst for Love
Says Kabir then only hope
The union to materialize]
**
Jo toko kaata boien tahi boin tu phool,
tooko phool ke phool hain, vaako hain tirshul
[Lay flowers in the path of those who lay thorns in yours,
For you those flowers are flowers, but for them the flowers are tridents]
**
Bada hua to kya hua jaise ped khajoor,
Panthi ko chaya nahi, fal lage ati door.
[What is the use of being big and rich like a palm tree,
it doesn't provide shade to travellers and it's fruit is too far to eat]

~ Kabir, Dohas II (with translation)
,
719:Talk 26

...

D.: Taking the first part first, how is the mind to be eliminated or relative consciousness transcended?

M.: The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its restlessness; give it peace; make it free from distractions; train it to look inward; make this a habit. This is done by ignoring the external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind.

D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?

M.: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is the first step. Then the habits of introspection and concentration follow. They are characterised by control of external senses, internal faculties, etc. (sama, dama, etc.) ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).

Talk 27.

D.: How are they practised?

M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena leads to vairagya. Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and foremost step to be taken. When vichara continues automatically, it results in a contempt for wealth, fame, ease, pleasure, etc. The 'I' thought becomes clearer for inspection. The source of 'I' is the Heart - the final goal. If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analytical method), he must develop bhakti (devotion) to an ideal - may be God, Guru, humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea of beauty. When one of these takes possession of the individual, other attachments grow weaker, i.e., dispassion (vairagya) develops. Attachment for the ideal simultaneously grows and finally holds the field. Thus ekagrata (concentration) grows simultaneously and imperceptibly - with or without visions and direct aids.

In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative pranayama (breath regulation) may be tried. This is known as Yoga Marga. If life is imperilled the whole interest centres round the one point, the saving of life. If the breath is held the mind cannot afford to (and does not) jump at its pets - external objects. Thus there is rest for the mind so long as the breath is held. All attention being turned on breath or its regulation, other interests are lost. Again, passions are attended with irregular breathing, whereas calm and happiness are attended with slow and regular breathing. Paroxysm of joy is in fact as painful as one of pain, and both are accompanied by ruffled breaths. Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do not form happiness. The mind improves by practice and becomes finer just as the razor's edge is sharpened by stropping. The mind is then better able to tackle internal or external problems. If an aspirant be unsuited temperamentally for the first two methods and circumstantially (on account of age) for the third method, he must try the Karma Marga (doing good deeds, for example, social service). His nobler instincts become more evident and he derives impersonal pleasure. His smaller self is less assertive and has a chance of expanding its good side. The man becomes duly equipped for one of the three aforesaid paths. His intuition may also develop directly by this single method. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramanasramam,
720:At it's narrowest (although this is a common and perhaps the official position; need to find ref in What is Enlightenment) "integral", "turquois" (Spiral Dynamics), and "second tier" (ditto) are all synonms, and in turn are equivalent to Wilber IV / AQAL/Wilber V "Post-metaphysical" AQAL. This is the position that "Integral = Ken Wilber". It constitutes a new philosophical school or meme-set, in the tradition of charismatic spiritual teachers of all ages, in which an articulate, brilliant, and popular figure would arise, and gather a following around him- or her-self. After the teacher passes on, their teaching remains through books and organisations dedicated to perpetuating that teaching; although without the brilliant light of the Founder, things generally become pretty stultifying, and there is often little or no original development. Even so, the books themselves continue to inspire, and many people benefit greatly from these tecahings, and can contact the original Light of the founders to be inspired by them on the subtle planes. Some late 19th, 20th, and early 21st century examples of such teachers, known and less well-known, are Blavatsky, Theon, Steiner, Aurobindo, Gurdjieff, Crowley, Alice Bailey, Carl Jung, Ann Ree Colton, and now Ken Wilber. Also, many popular gurus belong in this category. It could plausibly be suggested that the founders of the great world religions started out no different, but their teaching really caught on n a big way.

...

At its broadest then, the Integral Community includes not only Wilber but those he cites as his influences and hold universal and evolutionary views or teachings, as well as those who, while influenced by him also differ somewhat, and even those like Arthur M Young that Wilber has apparently never heard of. Nevertheless, all share a common, evolutionary, "theory of everything" position, and, whilst they may differ on many details and even on many major points, taken together they could be considered a wave front for a new paradigm, a memetic revolution. I use the term Daimon of the Integral Movement to refer to the spiritual being or personality of light that is behind and working through this broader movement.

Now, this doesn't mean that this daimon is necessarily a negative entity. I see a lot of promise, a lot of potential, in the Integral Approach. From what I feel at the moment, the Integral Deva is a force and power of good.

But, as with any new spiritual or evolutionary development, there is duality, in that there are forces that hinder and oppose and distort, as well as forces that help and aid in the evolution and ultimate divinisation of the Earth and the cosmos. Thus even where a guru does give in the dark side (as very often happens with many gurus today) there still remains an element of Mixed Light that remains (one finds this ambiguity with Sai Baba, with Da Free John, and with Rajneesh); and we find this same ambiguity with the Integral Community regarding what seems to me a certain offputting devotional attitude towards Wilber himself. The light will find its way, regardless. However, an Intregral Movement that is caught up in worship of and obedience to an authority figure, will not be able to achieve what a movement unfettered by such shackles could. ~ M Alan Kazlev, Kheper, Wilber, Integral,
721:Cool, Fragrant Lotus Feet
Cool, fragrant lotus feet
with anklets tinkling sweet,
gold girdle, flower-soft garment
setting off the comely hips,
pot-belly and big, heavy tusk,
elephant-face with the bright red mark,
five hands, the goad, the noose,
blue body dwelling in the heart,
pendulous jaws, four mighty shoulders,
three eyes and the three required marks,
two ears, the gold crown gleaming,
the breast aglow with the triple thread,
O Being, bright and beautiful!
Wish-yielding elephant, born of the
Master of Mystery in Mount Kailasa,
mouse-rider, fond of the three famed fruits,
desiring to make me yours this instant,
you like a mother have appeared before me
and cut the delusion of unending births.
You have come and entered my heart,
imprinting clear the five prime letters,
set foot in the world in the form of a guru,
declared the final truth is this, gladly,
graciously shown the way of life unfading.
With that unfailing weapon, your glance,
you have put an end to my heinous sins,
poured in my ear uncloying precepts,
laid bare for me the clarity
of ever-fresh awareness,
sweetly given me your sweet grace
for firm control of the senses five,
taught how to still the organs of action;
snapped my two-fold karma and dispelled
my darkness, giving, out of grace,
a place for me in all four states;
dissolved the illusion of triple filth,
taught me how to shut the five
sense gates of the nine-door temple,
fixed me firm in the six yogic centers,
stilled my speech, taught me
the writ of ida and pingala,
shown me at last the head of sushumna.
To the tongue of the serpent that sinks and soars
you have brought the force sustaining the three
bright spheres of sun, moon and fire the mantra unspoken asleep in the snake and explicitly uttered it;
imparted the skill of raising by breath
the raging flame of muladhara;
explained the secret of immortality,
the sun's movement and the charm
of the moon; the water lily's friend,
the sixteen states of the prasada mantra;
revealed to me in thoughtful wisdom
the six-faced form and the meanings four;
disclosed to me the subtle body
and the eight separate modes of being;
the orifice of Brahman opened,
giving me miraculous powers,
by your sweet grace, and mukti, too;
revealed my Self to me and by your grace
swept away accumulated karma,
stilled my mind in tranquil calm
beyond speech and thought;
clarified my intellect, plunged me
in bliss which is the common ground
of light and darkness.
Boundless beatitude you have given me,
ended all affliction, shown the way of grace:
Siva eternal at the core of sound,
Sivalinga within the heart,
atom within atom, vast beyond all vastness,
sweetness hid in the hardened node.
You have steadied me clear in human form
all besmeared with holy ashes;
added me to the congregation
of your servants true and trusty;
made me experience in my heart
the inmost meaning of the five letters;
restored my real state to me;
and rule me now, O Master of Wisdom,
Vinayaka. Your feet alone,
O Master of Wisdom, Vinayaka, your feet alone, are my sole refuge.
~ Avvaiyar,
722:There are many types of teachers out there from many traditions. Some are very ordinary and some seem to radiate spirituality from every pore. Some are nice, some are indifferent, and some may seem like sergeants in boot camp. Some stress reliance on one’s own efforts, others stress reliance on the grace of the guru. Some are very available and accessible, and some may live far away, grant few interviews, or have so many students vying for their time that you may rarely get a chance to talk with them. Some seem to embody the highest ideals of the perfected spiritual life in their every waking moment, while others may have many noticeable quirks, faults and failings. Some live by rigid moral codes, while others may push the boundaries of social conventions and mores. Some may be very old, and some may be very young. Some may require strict commitments and obedience, while others may hardly seem to care what we do at all. Some may advocate very specific practices, stating that their way is the only way or the best way, while others may draw from many traditions or be open to your doing so. Some may point out our successes, while others may dwell on our failures.

Some may stress renunciation or even ordination into a monastic order, while others seem relentlessly engaged with “the world.” Some charge a bundle for their teachings, while others give theirs freely. Some like scholarship and the lingo of meditation, while others may never use or even openly despise these formal terms and conceptual frameworks. Some teachers may be more like friends or equals that just want to help us learn something they happened to be good at, while others may be all into the hierarchy, status and role of being a teacher. Some teachers will speak openly about attainments, and some may not. Some teachers are remarkably predictable in their manner and teaching style, while others swing wide in strange and unpredictable ways. Some may seem very tranquil and mild mannered, while others may seem outrageous or rambunctious. Some may seem extremely humble and unimposing, while others may seem particularly arrogant and presumptuous. Some are charismatic, while others may be distinctly lacking in social skills. Some may readily give us extensive advice, and some just listen and nod. Some seem the living embodiment of love, and others may piss us off on a regular basis. Some teachers may instantly click with us, while others just leave us cold. Some teachers may be willing to teach us, and some may not.

So far as I can tell, none of these are related in any way to their meditation ability or the depths of their understanding. That is, don’t judge a meditation teacher by their cover. What is important is that their style and personality inspire us to practice well, to live the life we want to live, to find what it is we wish to find, to understand what we wish to understand. Some of us may wander for a long time before we find a good fit. Some of us will turn to books for guidance, reading and practicing without the advantages or hassles of teachers. Some of us may seem to click with a practice or teacher, try to follow it for years and yet get nowhere. Others seem to fly regardless. One of the most interesting things about reality is that we get to test it out. One way or another, we will get to see what works for us and what doesn’t, what happens when we do certain practices or follow the advice of certain teachers, as well as what happens when we don’t. ~ Daniel M Ingram,
723:Upon this earth, the land of the Victorious Ones,
Once lived a Saint, known as the second Buddha;
His fame was heard in all the Ten Directions.
To Him, the Jewel atop the eternal Banner of Dharma
I pay homage and give offerings.
Is He not the holy Master, the great Midripa?

Upon the Lotus-seat of Midripa
My Father Guru places his reliance;
He drinks heavenly nectar
With the supreme view of Mahamudra;
He has realized the innate Truth in utter freedom.
He is the supreme one, Jetsun Marpa.
Undefiled by faults or vices,
He is the Transformation Body of Buddha.

He says: Before Enlightenment,
All things in the outer world
Are deceptive and confusing;
Clinging to outer forms,
One is ever thus entangled.
After Enlightenment, one sees all things and objects
As but magic shadow-plays,
And all objective things
Become his helpful friends.
In the uncreated Dharmakaya all are pure;
Nothing has ever manifested
In the Realm of Ultimate Truth.

He says: Before Enlightenment,
The ever-running Mind-consciousness within
Is shut in a confusing blindness
Which is the source of passions, actions, and desires.
After Enlightenment, it becomes the
   Self-illuminating Wisdom
All merits and virtues spring from it.
In Ultimate Truth there is not even Wisdom;
Here one enters the Realm where Dharma is exhausted.

The coproreal form
Is built of the Four Elements;
Before one attains Enlightenment,
All illness and all suffering come from it.
After Enlightenment, it becomes the two-in-one Body
Of Buddha clear as the cloudless firmament!
Thus rooted out are the base Samsaric clingings.
In Absolute Truth there is no body.

The malignant male and femal demons
Who create myriad troubles and obstructions,
Seem real before one has Enlightenment;
But when one realizes their nature truly,
They become Protectors of the Dharma,
And by their help and freely-given assistance
One attains to numerous accomplishments.

In Ultimate Truth there are no Buddhas and no demons;
One enters here the Realm where Dharma is exhausted.
Among all Vehicles, this ultimate teaching
Is found only in the Tantras.
It says in the Highest Division of the Tantra:
When the various elements gather in the Nadis,
One sees the demon-forms appear.
If one knows not that they are but mind-created
Visions, and deems them to be real,
One is indeed most foolish and most stupid.

In time past, wrapped up in clinging blindness,
I lingered in the den of confusion,
Deeming benevolent deities and malignant
Demons to be real and subsistent.
Now, through the Holy Ones grace and blessing
I realize that both Samsara and Nirvana
Are neither existent nor non-existent;
And I see all forms as Mahamudra.

Realizing the groundless nature of ignorance,
My former awareness, clouded and unstable
Like reflections of the moon in rippling water,
Becomes transparent, clear as shining crystal.
Its sun-like brilliance is free from obscuring clouds,
Its light transcends all forms of blindness,
Ignorance and confusion thus vanish without trace.
This is the truth I have experienced within.

Again, the foolish concept demons iself
Is groundless, void, and yet illuminating!
Oh, this indeed is marvelous and wonderful!

Milarepa

   Translated by Garma C. C. Chang
  

~ Jetsun Milarepa, Upon this earth, the land of the Victorious Ones
,
724:Assim como no regime da criação, Shakti é o criador e Shiva é o testemunho de todo o jogo, no tantra a mulher tem o estado do guru e o homem do discípulo. A tradição tântrica é atualmente passada da mulher para o homem, na prática tântrica, é a mulher quem inicia. É só por seu poder que o ato de maithuna acontece. Todas as preliminares são feitas por ela. Ela coloca a marca na testa do homem e fala pra ele meditar. Na relação ordinária, quem controla é o homem e a mulher participa. Mas no tantra eles trocam de papéis. A mulher torna-se a operadora e o homem o seu intermédio. Ela tem que ser capaz de despertá-lo. então, no momento certo, ela deve criar o bindu para que ele possa praticar vajroli. Se o homem perde seu bindu, significa que a mulher não conseguiu realizar suas funções adequadamente.
No tantra se diz que Shiva é incapaz sem Shakti. Shakti é a sacerdotisa. Portanto, quando Vama marga é praticado, o homem deve ter uma atitude absolutamente tântrica com a mulher. Ele não pode comportar-se com ela como os homens geralmente fazem com outras mulheres. Normalmente, quando um homem olha uma mulher, ele torna-se apaixonado, mas durante o maithuna ele não deve. Ele deve vê-la como a mãe divina, a Devi, e aproximar-se dela como uma atitude de devoção e entrega, não com luxúria.
De acordo com o conceito tântrico, as mulheres são mais dotadas de qualidades espirituais e seria uma coisa sábia se elas assumissem posições elevadas na área social. Então, haveria maior beleza, compaixão, amor e compreensão em todas as esferas da vida. O que estamos discutindo aqui não é sociedade patriarcal versus matriarcal, mas tantra.
No relacionamento entre marido e mulher, por exemplo, há dependência e posse, enquanto que no tantra cada parceiro é independente, um para si mesmo. Outra coisa difícil na sadhana tântrica é cultivar a atitude de impassionalidade. O homem tem de se tornar praticamente um bramacharya, a fim de libertar a mente as emoções dos pensamentos sexuais e da paixão, que normalmente surgem na presença de uma mulher.
Ambos os parceiros devem ser absolutamente purificados e controlados interna e externamente antes de praticar o maithuna. É difícil para a pessoa comum compreender isto porque para a maioria das pessoas a relação sexual é o resultado da paixão e da atração emocional ou física, tanto para a procriação quanto para o prazer. É somente quando você está purificado que estes instintos sexuais estarão ausentes. Isto acontece porque, de acordo com a tradição, o caminho do Dakshina marga deve ser seguido por muitos anos antes do caminho do Vama marga poder ser iniciado. Então, a interação do maithuna não acontece por uma gratificação física. O propósito é muito claro – o despertar de sushumna, o aumento da energia de Kundalini no mooladhara chakra e a explosão nas áreas inconscientes do cérebro.
Se isto não ficar claro, quando você praticar os kriyas e sushumna se tornar ativa, você não será capaz de confrontar o despertar. Sua cabeça vai ficar quente e você nãos será capaz de controlar a paixão e o excitamento, porque você não tranqüilizou seu cérebro.
Portanto, em minha opinião, somente aqueles que são adeptos no yoga estão qualificados para o Vama marga. Este caminho não é para ser usado indiscriminadamente como um pretexto para a auto-indulgência. Ele se destina para os sadhakas maduros e chefes de família sérios, que são evoluídos, que têm praticado sadhana para despertar o potencial energético e atingir o samadhi Eles devem utilizar este caminho como um veículo para o despertar, caso contrário torna-se um caminho de queda. ~ Satyananda Saraswati,
725:English version by K. N. Upadhyaya So priceless is the birth, O brother, That in it, the Supreme Lord can be met. The human body is the Door to salvation. If the meeting is not accomplished while alive, If the contact is not made while alive, If the Lord of the universe is not found while alive, Then one is simply drowned. The One who has made this temple of our hearts, He alone dwells in this temple. None else but our Beloved is in our hearts. With thee is thy Friend. Let thyself recognize Him. Look not at a distance. Know Him as thy reflection, O Dadu. God is within all beings. He accompanies all and is close by. Musk is in the musk deer, and yet it goes around smelling grass. The self knows not God, although God is with the self. Being deaf to the Holy Sound of the Master, sadly does he wander. He for whom thou searchest in the world dwells within thyself. Thou knowest Him not, because the veil of 'mine' and 'thine' is there. He dwells within all beings, yet rarely anyone knows Him. He alone who is a devotee of God will know Him. A true Master unites us with God And shows all within the body. Within the body is the Creator, And within the body is Onkar [divinity of the second heaven]. The sky is within the body, and close by Is the earth within the body. Air and light are within the body. So is water contained within the body. Within the body are the Sun and the Moon. And the Bagpipe is played within the body. By rendering service within the heart, See thou the One who is indestructible and boundless, Having no limit either on this end or on that end, sayeth Dadu. After entering within, let one, O Dadu, bolt the doors of the house. Let one, O Dadu, serve the Lord at the Door of Eternity. God is within the self, His worship alone is to be done. Search thou for the Beloved close to the place Wherefrom the Sound emerges, and thou shalt find Him, sayeth Dadu. There is solitude there, and there is luster of Light. One who, turning the attention inward, Brings it within the self, And fixes it on the Radiant Form of the Master, Is indeed wise, O Dadu. Where the self is, there is God; all is filled with Him. Fix thine attention within, O valiant servant. So does Dadu proclaim. Fix thine attention within, and sing always within the self. This mind then dances with ecstasy, and beats with pleasure the rhythm. God is within the self; He is close to the worshipper. But leaving Him aside, men serve external constructions, lamenteth Dadu. This is the true mosque, this is the true temple. So hath the Master shown. The service and worship are performed within. Destroy delusion, O mind, by means of the Name of God and the Word bestowed by the Guru. The mind is then united with the One untouched by karmas. Liquidate thereby thy karmas, O Dadu. If the mind stays with the Name of the Supreme Lord even for a moment, O Dadu, All its karmas will be destroyed then and there, within the twinkling of an eye. The aspirant who fills his pot with drops of Celestial Melody, alone survives. How can he die, O Dadu? He drinks the divine Nectar. The artistic Creator is playing the instrument in perfect harmony. Melody is the essence of the five [elements], and through the self is the Melody expressed, O Dadu. By enabling people to hear the Sound, the Master can awaken them at His will. He may, at His pleasure, speak within them, and merge them in his own form. The knowledge of the Sound Current imparted by the Guru merges one easily into Truth. It carries me to the abode of my Beloved, says Dadu. [bk1sm.gif] -- from Dadu: The Compassionate Mystic, Translated by K. N. Upadhyaya

~ Dadu Dayal, So priceless is the birth, O brother
,
726:In the process of this change there must be by the very necessity of the effort two stages of its working. First, there will be the personal endeavour of the human being, as soon as he becomes aware by his soul, mind, heart of this divine possibility and turns towards it as the true object of life, to prepare himself for it and to get rid of all in him that belongs to a lower working, of all that stands in the way of his opening to the spiritual truth and its power, so as to possess by this liberation his spiritual being and turn all his natural movements into free means of its self-expression. It is by this turn that the self-conscious Yoga aware of its aim begins: there is a new awakening and an upward change of the life motive. So long as there is only an intellectual, ethical and other self-training for the now normal purposes of life which does not travel beyond the ordinary circle of working of mind, life and body, we are still only in the obscure and yet unillumined preparatory Yoga of Nature; we are still in pursuit of only an ordinary human perfection. A spiritual desire of the Divine and of the divine perfection, of a unity with him in all our being and a spiritual perfection in all our nature, is the effective sign of this change, the precursory power of a great integral conversion of our being and living. By personal effort a precursory change, a preliminary conversion can be effected; it amounts to a greater or less spiritualising of our mental motives, our character and temperament, and a mastery, stilling or changed action of the vital and physical life. This converted subjectivity can be made the base of some communion or unity of the soul in mind with the Divine and some partial reflection of the divine nature in the mentality of the human being. That is as far as man can go by his unaided or indirectly aided effort, because that is an effort of mind and mind cannot climb beyond itself permanently: at most it arises to a spiritualised and idealised mentality. If it shoots up beyond that border, it loses hold of itself, loses hold of life, and arrives either at a trance of absorption or a passivity. A greater perfection can only be arrived at by a higher power entering in and taking up the whole action of the being. The second stage of this Yoga will therefore be a persistent giving up of all the action of the nature into the hands of this greater Power, a substitution of its influence, possession and working for the personal effort, until the Divine to whom we aspire becomes the direct master of the Yoga and effects the entire spiritual and ideal conversion of the being. Two rules there are that will diminish the difficulty and obviate the danger. One must reject all that comes from the ego, from vital desire, from the mere mind and its presumptuous reasoning incompetence, all that ministers to these agents of the Ignorance. One must learn to hear and follow the voice of the inmost soul, the direction of the Guru, the command of the Master, the working of the Divine Mother. Whoever clings to the desires and weaknesses of the flesh, the cravings and passions of the vital in its turbulent ignorance, the dictates of his personal mind unsilenced and unillumined by a greater knowledge, cannot find the true inner law and is heaping obstacles in the way of the divine fulfilment. Whoever is able to detect and renounce those obscuring agencies and to discern and follow the true Guide within and without will discover the spiritual law and reach the goal of the Yoga. A radical and total change of consciousness is not only the whole meaning but, in an increasing force and by progressive stages, the whole method of the integral Yoga.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Yoga of Self-Perfection, The Integral Perfection [618],
727:Homage to the Adamantine Mind! Dharma king, you who have realized the essence; you who expound the way of being, out of compassion: king Buddha Samdrup, I bow to you in my heart, pray listen to me. Through your kind and skillful means, by a habit long formed, and as a fruit of long practice in this life, I have realized the nature of ever-presence. When the secret of appearance is revealed, everything arises in a tone of voidness, undefined by the marks of identity. Like a sky that is nothing but an image. When the secret of thoughts is revealed, though active, they are but mind's sport, naked reflections of transcendent mind unsullied by deliberation and correction. When the secret of recollection is revealed, every memory is but an illumination of self-knowledge in the ever-present state, untainted by ego consciousness. When the secret of illusions is revealed, they seem nothing but the primordial state, appearing in the visual field of rikpa, untouched by the dualism of mind and things. When the secret of abiding is revealed, you are in the state of self-cognition, however long you remain, free of elaboration, the expanse unstained by laxity and torpor. When the secret of mobility is revealed, however much you move, you remain within clear light, unstained by distraction, excitement, and so on, a true self-recognizer. When the secret of samsara is revealed, however often one may circle, the cycles are illusion unaffected by joy and pain. This is the realization of Buddha's four bodies. When the secret of peace is revealed, however tranquil one's attainments, they are but an image; this is the natural pure space, free of the signs of being and nonbeing. When the secret of birth is revealed, however one's reborn, it's but an emanation; meditation's vision of pure self-generation free of clinging and apprehensions. When the secret of death is revealed, however often one may die, it's but the vision of the ultimate, the stages of completion perfect, free of any karmic deeds. When the secret of bliss is revealed, its intensity cannot be bettered; this is the state of spontaneous bliss, free of all traces of contamination. When the secret of luminosity is revealed, however bright, it's but an empty form -- mother image of the void in space, free of every multiplicity. When the secret of emptiness is revealed, though empty, it is the unsurpassed, devoid of every contingent stain, and free from every deception. When the secret of the view is revealed, however much one looks and sees, the world remains beyond thought and word -- the expanse beyond dichotomies. When the secret of meditation is revealed, however much one meditates, it's but a state -- undistracted, and in natural restfulness, free of exertion and constraint. When the secret of action is revealed, whatever one does are the six perfections -- spontaneous, free, and to the point, uncolored by strictures and moral codes. When the secret of fruition is revealed, achievements are but the cognition of mind as dharmakaya, the mind itself free of hope and fear. This is the profound innermost secret; guru's blessings have entered my heart; naked nonduality dawns within; the secret of samsara and nirvana is revealed! I have beheld the face of the ordinary mind; I have arrived at the view that is free of extremes; even if the Buddha came in person now, I have no queries that require his advice! This song on the view of voidness expounding the nature of the being of all, spoken in words inspired by conviction, was sung in a voice echoing itself, unobstructed, in between meditation sessions. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

~ Karma Trinley, A Song on the View of Voidness
,
728:The true Mantra must come from within OR it must be given by a Guru

Nobody can give you the true mantra. It's not something that is given; it's something that wells up from within. It must spring from within all of a sudden, spontaneously, like a profound, intense need of your being - then it has power, because it's not something that comes from outside, it's your very own cry.

I saw, in my case, that my mantra has the power of immortality; whatever happens, if it is uttered, it's the Supreme that has the upper hand, it's no longer the lower law. And the words are irrelevant, they may not have any meaning - to someone else, my mantra is meaningless, but to me it's full, packed with meaning. And effective, because it's my cry, the intense aspiration of my whole being.

A mantra given by a guru is only the power to realize the experience of the discoverer of the mantra. The power is automatically there, because the sound contains the experience. I saw that once in Paris, at a time when I knew nothing of India, absolutely nothing, only the usual nonsense. I didn't even know what a mantra was. I had gone to a lecture given by some fellow who was supposed to have practiced "yoga" for a year in the Himalayas and recounted his experience (none too interesting, either). All at once, in the course of his lecture, he uttered the sound OM. And I saw the entire room suddenly fill with light, a golden, vibrating light.... I was probably the only one to notice it. I said to myself, "Well!" Then I didn't give it any more thought, I forgot about the story. But as it happened, the experience recurred in two or three different countries, with different people, and every time there was the sound OM, I would suddenly see the place fill with that same light. So I understood. That sound contains the vibration of thousands and thousands of years of spiritual aspiration - there is in it the entire aspiration of men towards the Supreme. And the power is automatically there, because the experience is there.

It's the same with my mantra. When I wanted to translate the end of my mantra, "Glory to You, O Lord," into Sanskrit, I asked for Nolini's help. He brought his Sanskrit translation, and when he read it to me, I immediately saw that the power was there - not because Nolini put his power into it (!), God knows he had no intention of "giving" me a mantra! But the power was there because my experience was there. We made a few adjustments and modifications, and that's the japa I do now - I do it all the time, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working, all the time.[[Mother later clarified: "'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't MY mantra, it's something I ADDED to it - my mantra is something else altogether, that's not it. When I say that my mantra has the power of immortality, I mean the other, the one I don't speak of! I have never given the words.... You see, at the end of my walk, a kind of enthusiasm rises, and with that enthusiasm, the 'Glory to You' came to me, but it's part of the prayer I had written in Prayers and Meditations: 'Glory to You, O Lord, all-triumphant Supreme' etc. (it's a long prayer). It came back suddenly, and as it came back spontaneously, I kept it. Moreover, when Sri Aurobindo read this prayer in Prayers and Meditations, he told me it was very strong. So I added this phrase as a kind of tail to my japa. But 'Glory to You, O Lord' isn't my spontaneous mantra - it came spontaneously, but it was something written very long ago. The two things are different."

And that's how a mantra has life: when it wells up all the time, spontaneously, like the cry of your being - there is no need of effort or concentration: it's your natural cry. Then it has full power, it is alive. It must well up from within.... No guru can give you that. ~ The Mother, Agenda, May 11 1963,
729:The process of receiving teaching depends upon the student giving something in return; some kind of psychological surrender is necessary, a gift of some sort. This is why we must discuss surrendering, opening, giving up expectations, before we can speak of the relationship between teacher and student. It is essential to surrender, to open yourself, to present whatever you are to the guru, rather than trying to present yourself as a worthwhile student. It does not matter how much you are willing to pay, how correctly you behave, how clever you are at saying the right thing to your teacher. It is not like having an interview for a job or buying a new car. Whether or not you will get the job depends upon your credentials, how well you are dressed, how beautifully your shoes are polished, how well you speak, how good your manners are. If you are buying a car, it is a matter of how much money you have and how good your credit is. But when it comes to spirituality, something more is required. It is not a matter of applying for a job, of dressing up to impress our potential employer. Such deception does not apply to an interview with a guru, because he sees right through us. He is amused if we dress up especially for the interview. Making ingratiating gestures is not applicable in this situation; in fact it is futile. We must make a real commitment to being open with our teacher; we must be willing to give up all our preconceptions. Milarepa expected Marpa to be a great scholar and a saintly person, dressed in yogic costume with beads, reciting mantras, meditating. Instead he found Marpa working on his farm, directing the laborers and plowing his land. I am afraid the word guru is overused in the West. It would be better to speak of one’s “spiritual friend,” because the teachings emphasize a mutual meeting of two minds. It is a matter of mutual communication, rather than a master-servant relationship between a highly evolved being and a miserable, confused one. In the master-servant relationship the highly evolved being may appear not even to be sitting on his seat but may seem to be floating, levitating, looking down at us. His voice is penetrating, pervading space. Every word, every cough, every movement that he makes is a gesture of wisdom. But this is a dream. A guru should be a spiritual friend who communicates and presents his qualities to us, as Marpa did with Milarepa and Naropa with Marpa. Marpa presented his quality of being a farmer-yogi. He happened to have seven children and a wife, and he looked after his farm, cultivating the land and supporting himself and his family. But these activities were just an ordinary part of his life. He cared for his students as he cared for his crops and family. He was so thorough, paying attention to every detail of his life, that he was able to be a competent teacher as well as a competent father and farmer. There was no physical or spiritual materialism in Marpa’s lifestyle at all. He did not emphasize spirituality and ignore his family or his physical relationship to the earth. If you are not involved with materialism, either spiritually or physically, then there is no emphasis made on any extreme. Nor is it helpful to choose someone for your guru simply because he is famous, someone who is renowned for having published stacks of books and converted thousands or millions of people. Instead the guideline is whether or not you are able actually to communicate with the person, directly and thoroughly. How much self-deception are you involved in? If you really open yourself to your spiritual friend, then you are bound to work together. Are you able to talk to him thoroughly and properly? Does he know anything about you? Does he know anything about himself, for that matter? Is the guru really able to see through your masks, communicate with you properly, directly? In searching for a teacher, this seems to be the guideline rather than fame or wisdom. ~ Ch gyam Trungpa,
730:Indian Express (Indian Express) - Clip This Article at Location 721 | Added on Sunday, 30 November 2014 20:28:42 Fifth column: Hope and audacity Ministers, high officials, clerks and peons now report for duty on time and are no longer to be seen taking long lunch breaks to soak in winter sunshine in Delhi’s parks. Reform is needed not just in economic matters but in every area of governance. Does the Prime Minister know how hard it is to get a passport? Tavleen Singh | 807 words At the end of six months of the Modi sarkar are we seeing signs that it is confusing efficiency with reform? I ask the question because so far there is no sign of real reform in any area of governance. And, because some of Narendra Modi’s most ardent supporters are now beginning to get worried. Last week I met a man who dedicated a whole year to helping Modi become Prime Minister and he seemed despondent. When I asked how he thought the government was doing, he said he would answer in the words of the management guru Peter Drucker, “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.” We can certainly not fault this government on efficiency. Ministers, high officials, clerks and peons now report for duty on time and are no longer to be seen taking long lunch breaks to soak in winter sunshine in Delhi’s parks. The Prime Minister’s Office hums with more noise and activity than we have seen in a decade but, despite this, there are no signs of the policy changes that are vital if we are to see real reform. The Planning Commission has been abolished but there are many, many other leftovers from socialist times that must go. Do we need a Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in an age when the Internet has made propaganda futile? Do we need a meddlesome University Grants Commission? Do we need the government to continue wasting our money on a hopeless airline and badly run hotels? We do not. What we do need is for the government to make policies that will convince investors that India is a safe bet once more. We do not need a new government that simply implements more efficiently bad policies that it inherited from the last government. It was because of those policies that investors fled and the economy stopped growing. Unless this changes through better policies, the jobs that the Prime Minister promises young people at election rallies will not come. So far signals are so mixed that investors continue to shy away. The Finance Minister promises to end tax terrorism but in the next breath orders tax inspectors to go forth in search of black money. Vodafone has been given temporary relief by the courts but the retroactive tax remains valid. And, although we hear that the government has grandiose plans to improve the decrepit transport systems, power stations and ports it inherited, it continues to refuse to pay those who have to build them. The infrastructure industry is owed more than Rs 1.5 lakh continued... crore in government dues and this has crippled major companies. No amount of efficiency in announcing new projects will make a difference unless old dues are cleared. Reform is needed not just in economic matters but in every area of governance. Does the Prime Minister know how hard it is to get a passport? Does he know that a police check is required even if you just want to get a few pages added to your passport? Does he know how hard it is to do routine things like registering property? Does he know that no amount of efficiency will improve healthcare services that are broken? No amount of efficiency will improve educational services that have long been in terminal decline because of bad policies and interfering officials. At the same time, the licence raj that strangles private investment in schools and colleges remains in place. Modi’s popularity with ordinary people has increased since he became Prime Minister, as we saw from his rallies in Kashmir last week, but it will not la ~ Anonymous,
731:PRATYAHARA

PRATYAHARA is the first process in the mental part of our task. The previous practices, Asana, Pranayama, Yama, and Niyama, are all acts of the body, while mantra is connected with speech: Pratyahara is purely mental.

   And what is Pratyahara? This word is used by different authors in different senses. The same word is employed to designate both the practice and the result. It means for our present purpose a process rather strategical than practical; it is introspection, a sort of general examination of the contents of the mind which we wish to control: Asana having been mastered, all immediate exciting causes have been removed, and we are free to think what we are thinking about.

   A very similar experience to that of Asana is in store for us. At first we shall very likely flatter ourselves that our minds are pretty calm; this is a defect of observation. Just as the European standing for the first time on the edge of the desert will see nothing there, while his Arab can tell him the family history of each of the fifty persons in view, because he has learnt how to look, so with practice the thoughts will become more numerous and more insistent.

   As soon as the body was accurately observed it was found to be terribly restless and painful; now that we observe the mind it is seen to be more restless and painful still. (See diagram opposite.)

   A similar curve might be plotted for the real and apparent painfulness of Asana. Conscious of this fact, we begin to try to control it: "Not quite so many thoughts, please!" "Don't think quite so fast, please!" "No more of that kind of thought, please!" It is only then that we discover that what we thought was a school of playful porpoises is really the convolutions of the sea-serpent. The attempt to repress has the effect of exciting.

   When the unsuspecting pupil first approaches his holy but wily Guru, and demands magical powers, that Wise One replies that he will confer them, points out with much caution and secrecy some particular spot on the pupil's body which has never previously attracted his attention, and says: "In order to obtain this magical power which you seek, all that is necessary is to wash seven times in the Ganges during seven days, being particularly careful to avoid thinking of that one spot." Of course the unhappy youth spends a disgusted week in thinking of little else.

   It is positively amazing with what persistence a thought, even a whole train of thoughts, returns again and again to the charge. It becomes a positive nightmare. It is intensely annoying, too, to find that one does not become conscious that one has got on to the forbidden subject until one has gone right through with it. However, one continues day after day investigating thoughts and trying to check them; and sooner or later one proceeds to the next stage, Dharana, the attempt to restrain the mind to a single object.

   Before we go on to this, however, we must consider what is meant by success in Pratyahara. This is a very extensive subject, and different authors take widely divergent views. One writer means an analysis so acute that every thought is resolved into a number of elements (see "The Psychology of Hashish," Section V, in Equinox II).

   Others take the view that success in the practice is something like the experience which Sir Humphrey Davy had as a result of taking nitrous oxide, in which he exclaimed: "The universe is composed exclusively of ideas."

   Others say that it gives Hamlet's feeling: "There's nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so," interpreted as literally as was done by Mrs. Eddy.

   However, the main point is to acquire some sort of inhibitory power over the thoughts. Fortunately there is an unfailing method of acquiring this power. It is given in Liber III. If Sections 1 and 2 are practised (if necessary with the assistance of another person to aid your vigilance) you will soon be able to master the final section. ~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA,
732:I have never been able to share your constantly recurring doubts about your capacity or the despair that arises in you so violently when there are these attacks, nor is their persistent recurrence a valid ground for believing that they can never be overcome. Such a persistent recurrence has been a feature in the sadhana of many who have finally emerged and reached the goal; even the sadhana of very great Yogis has not been exempt from such violent and constant recurrences; they have sometimes been special objects of such persistent assaults, as I have indeed indicated in Savitri in more places than one - and that was indeed founded on my own experience. In the nature of these recurrences there is usually a constant return of the same adverse experiences, the same adverse resistance, thoughts destructive of all belief and faith and confidence in the future of the sadhana, frustrating doubts of what one has known as the truth, voices of despondency and despair, urgings to abandonment of the Yoga or to suicide or else other disastrous counsels of déchéance. The course taken by the attacks is not indeed the same for all, but still they have strong family resemblance. One can eventually overcome if one begins to realise the nature and source of these assaults and acquires the faculty of observing them, bearing, without being involved or absorbed into their gulf, finally becoming the witness of their phenomena and understanding them and refusing the mind's sanction even when the vital is still tossed in the whirl or the most outward physical mind still reflects the adverse suggestions. In the end these attacks lose their power and fall away from the nature; the recurrence becomes feeble or has no power to last: even, if the detachment is strong enough, they can be cut out very soon or at once. The strongest attitude to take is to regard these things as what they really are, incursions of dark forces from outside taking advantage of certain openings in the physical mind or the vital part, but not a real part of oneself or spontaneous creation in one's own nature. To create a confusion and darkness in the physical mind and throw into it or awake in it mistaken ideas, dark thoughts, false impressions is a favourite method of these assailants, and if they can get the support of this mind from over-confidence in its own correctness or the natural rightness of its impressions and inferences, then they can have a field day until the true mind reasserts itself and blows the clouds away. Another device of theirs is to awake some hurt or rankling sense of grievance in the lower vital parts and keep them hurt or rankling as long as possible. In that case one has to discover these openings in one's nature and learn to close them permanently to such attacks or else to throw out intruders at once or as soon as possible. The recurrence is no proof of a fundamental incapacity; if one takes the right inner attitude, it can and will be overcome. The idea of suicide ought never to be accepted; there is no real ground for it and in any case it cannot be a remedy or a real escape: at most it can only be postponement of difficulties and the necessity for their solution under no better circumstances in another life. One must have faith in the Master of our life and works, even if for a long time he conceals himself, and then in his own right time he will reveal his Presence.
   I have tried to dispel all the misconceptions, explain things as they are and meet all the points at issue. It is not that you really cannot make progress or have not made any progress; on the contrary, you yourself have admitted that you have made a good advance in many directions and there is no reason why, if you persevere, the rest should not come. You have always believed in the Guruvada: I would ask you then to put your faith in the Guru and the guidance and rely on the Ishwara for the fulfilment, to have faith in my abiding love and affection, in the affection and divine goodwill and loving kindness of the Mother, stand firm against all attacks and go forward perseveringly towards the spiritual goal and the all-fulfilling and all-satisfying touch of the All-Blissful, the Ishwara.
   ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - IV,
733:GURU YOGA
   Guru yoga is an essential practice in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. This is true in sutra, tantra, and Dzogchen. It develops the heart connection with the masteR By continually strengthening our devotion, we come to the place of pure devotion in ourselves, which is the unshakeable, powerful base of the practice. The essence of guru yoga is to merge the practitioner's mind with the mind of the master.
   What is the true master? It is the formless, fundamental nature of mind, the primordial awareness of the base of everything, but because we exist in dualism, it is helpful for us to visualize this in a form. Doing so makes skillful use of the dualisms of the conceptual mind, to further strengthen devotion and help us stay directed toward practice and the generation of positive qualities.
   In the Bon tradition, we often visualize either Tapihritsa* as the master, or the Buddha ShenlaOdker*, who represents the union of all the masters. If you are already a practitioner, you may have another deity to visualize, like Guru Rinpoche or a yidam or dakini. While it is important to work with a lineage with which you have a connection, you should understand that the master you visualize is the embodiment of all the masters with whom you are connected, all the teachers with whom you have studied, all the deities to whom you have commitments. The master in guru yoga is not just one individual, but the essence of enlightenment, the primordial awareness that is your true nature.
   The master is also the teacher from whom you receive the teachings. In the Tibetan tradition, we say the master is more important than the Buddha. Why? Because the master is the immediate messenger of the teachings, the one who brings the Buddha's wisdom to the student. Without the master we could not find our way to the Buddha. So we should feel as much devotion to the master as we would to the Buddha if the Buddha suddenly appeared in front of us.
   Guru yoga is not just about generating some feeling toward a visualized image. It is done to find the fundamental mind in yourself that is the same as the fundamental mind of all your teachers, and of all the Buddhas and realized beings that have ever lived. When you merge with the guru, you merge with your pristine true nature, which is the real guide and masteR But this should not be an abstract practice. When you do guru yoga, try to feel such intense devotion that the hair stands upon your neck, tears start down your face, and your heart opens and fills with great love. Let yourself merge in union with the guru's mind, which is your enlightened Buddha-nature. This is the way to practice guru yoga.
  
The Practice
   After the nine breaths, still seated in meditation posture, visualize the master above and in front of you. This should not be a flat, two dimensional picture-let a real being exist there, in three dimensions, made of light, pure, and with a strong presence that affects the feeling in your body,your energy, and your mind. Generate strong devotion and reflect on the great gift of the teachings and the tremendous good fortune you enjoy in having made a connection to them. Offer a sincere prayer, asking that your negativities and obscurations be removed, that your positive qualities develop, and that you accomplish dream yoga.
   Then imagine receiving blessings from the master in the form of three colored lights that stream from his or her three wisdom doors- of body, speech, and mind-into yours. The lights should be transmitted in the following sequence: White light streams from the master's brow chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your entire body and physical dimension. Then red light streams from the master's throat chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your energetic dimension. Finally, blue light streams from the master's heart chakra into yours, purifying and relaxing your mind.
   When the lights enter your body, feel them. Let your body, energy, and mind relax, suffused inwisdom light. Use your imagination to make the blessing real in your full experience, in your body and energy as well as in the images in your mind.
   After receiving the blessing, imagine the master dissolving into light that enters your heart and resides there as your innermost essence. Imagine that you dissolve into that light, and remain inpure awareness, rigpa.
   There are more elaborate instructions for guru yoga that can involve prostrations, offerings, gestures, mantras, and more complicated visualizations, but the essence of the practice is mingling your mind with the mind of the master, which is pure, non-dual awareness. Guru yoga can be done any time during the day; the more often the better. Many masters say that of all the practices it is guru yoga that is the most important. It confers the blessings of the lineage and can open and soften the heart and quiet the unruly mind. To completely accomplish guru yoga is to accomplish the path.
   ~ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Yogas Of Dream And Sleep, [T3],
734:Pi-Dog
This is the time of day I like best,
and this the hour
when I can call this city my own;
when I like nothing better
than to lie down here, at the exact centre
of this traf?c island
(or trisland as I call it for short,
and also to suggest
a triangular island with rounded corners)
that doubles as a parking lot
on working days,
a corral for more than ?fty cars,
when it's deserted early in the morning,
and I'm the only sign
of intelligent life on the planet;
the concrete surface hard, ?at and cool
against my belly,
my lower jaw at rest on crossed forepaws;
just about where the equestrian statue
of what's-his-name
must've stood once, or so I imagine.
I look a bit like
a seventeenth-century map of Bombay
with its seven islands
not joined yet,
shown in solid black
on a body the colour of old parchment;
with Old Woman's Island
16
on my forehead,
Mahim on my croup,
and the others distributed
casually among
brisket, withers, saddle and loin
- with a pirate's
rather than a cartographer's regard
for accuracy.
I like to trace my descent
- no proof of course,
just a strong family tradition matrilineally,
to the only bitch that proved
tough enough to have survived,
?rst, the long voyage,
and then the wretched weather here
- a combination
that killed the rest of the pack
of thirty foxhounds,
imported all the way from England
by Sir Bartle Frere
in eighteen hundred and sixty-four,
with the crazy idea
of introducing fox-hunting to Bombay.
Just the sort of thing
he felt the city badly needed.
On my father's side
the line goes back to the dog that followed
Yudhishthira
on his last journey,
17
and stayed with him till the very end;
long after all the others
- Draupadi ?rst, then Sahadeva,
then Nakul, followed by Arjuna and,
last of all, Bhima had fallen by the wayside.
Dog in tow, Yudhishthira alone plodded on.
Until he too,
frostbitten and blinded with snow,
dizzy with hunger and gasping for air,
was about to collapse
in the icy wastes of the Himalayas;
when help came
in the shape of a ?ying chariot
to airlift him to heaven.
Yudhishthira, that noble prince, refused
to get on board unless dogs were allowed.
And my ancestor became the only dog
to have made it to heaven
in recorded history.
To ?nd a more moving instance
of man's devotion to dog,
we have to leave the realm of history,
skip a few thousand years
and pick up a work of science fantasy
- Harlan Ellison's A Boy and his Dog,
a cultbook among pi-dogs everywhere in which the ‘Boy' of the title
sacri?ces his love,
and serves up his girlfriend
as dogfood to save the life of his
18
starving canine master.
I answer to the name of Ugh.
No,
not the exclamation of disgust;
but the U pronounced as in Upanishad,
and gh not silent,
but as in ghost, ghoul or gherkin.
It's short for Ughekalikadu,
Siddharamayya's
famous dog that I was named after,
the guru of Kallidevayya's dog
who could recite
the four Vedas backwards.
My own knowledge of the scriptures
begins
and ends, I'm afraid,
with just one mantra, or verse;
the tenth,
from the sixty-second hymn
in the third mandala of the Rig
(and to think
that the Rig alone contains ten thousand
?ve hundred and ?fty-two verses).
It's composed in the Gayatri metre,
and it goes:
Om tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat.
Twenty-four syllables, exactly,
if you count the initial Om.
Please don't ask me what it means, though.
19
All I know
is that it's addressed to the sun-god
- hence it's called Savitri and it seems appropriate enough
to recite it
as I sit here waiting for the sun
to rise.
May the sun-god amplify
the powers of my mind.
What I like about this time and place
- as I lie here hugging the ground,
my jaw at rest on crossed forepaws,
my eyes level with the welltempered
but gaptoothed keyboard
of the black-and-white concrete blocks
that form the border of this trisland
and give me my primary horizon is that I am left completely undisturbed
to work in peace on my magnum opus:
a triple sonata for a circumpiano
based on three distinct themes one suggested by a magpie robin,
another by the wail of an ambulance,
and the third by a rockdrill;
a piebald pianist, caressing and tickling
the concrete keys with his eyes,
undeterred by digital deprivation.
As I play,
the city slowly reconstructs itself,
stone by numbered stone.
20
Every stone
seeks out his brothers
and is joined by his neighbours.
Every single crack
returns to its ?agstone
and all is forgiven.
Trees arrive at themselves,
each one ready
to give an account of its leaves.
The mahogany drops
a casket bursting with winged seeds
by the wayside,
like an inexperienced thief
drops stolen jewels
at the sight of a cop.
St Andrew's church tiptoes back to its place,
shoes in hand,
like a husband after late-night revels.
The university,
you'll be glad to know,
can never get lost
because, although forgetful,
it always carries
its address in its pocket.
My nose quivers.
A many-coloured smell
of innocence and lavender,
mildly acidic perspiration
and nail polish,
rosewood and rosin
21
travels like a lighted fuse
up my nose
and explodes in my brain.
It's not the leggy young girl
taking a short cut
through this island as usual,
violin case in hand,
and late again for her music class
at the Max Mueller Bhavan,
so much as a warning to me
that my idyll
will soon be over,
that the time has come for me
to surrender the city
to its so-called masters.
~ Arun Kolatkar,
735:It does not matter if you do not understand it - Savitri, read it always. You will see that every time you read it, something new will be revealed to you. Each time you will get a new glimpse, each time a new experience; things which were not there, things you did not understand arise and suddenly become clear. Always an unexpected vision comes up through the words and lines. Every time you try to read and understand, you will see that something is added, something which was hidden behind is revealed clearly and vividly. I tell you the very verses you have read once before, will appear to you in a different light each time you re-read them. This is what happens invariably. Always your experience is enriched, it is a revelation at each step.

But you must not read it as you read other books or newspapers. You must read with an empty head, a blank and vacant mind, without there being any other thought; you must concentrate much, remain empty, calm and open; then the words, rhythms, vibrations will penetrate directly to this white page, will put their stamp upon the brain, will explain themselves without your making any effort.

Savitri alone is sufficient to make you climb to the highest peaks. If truly one knows how to meditate on Savitri, one will receive all the help one needs. For him who wishes to follow this path, it is a concrete help as though the Lord himself were taking you by the hand and leading you to the destined goal. And then, every question, however personal it may be, has its answer here, every difficulty finds its solution herein; indeed there is everything that is necessary for doing the Yoga.

*He has crammed the whole universe in a single book.* It is a marvellous work, magnificent and of an incomparable perfection.

You know, before writing Savitri Sri Aurobindo said to me, *I am impelled to launch on a new adventure; I was hesitant in the beginning, but now I am decided. Still, I do not know how far I shall succeed. I pray for help.* And you know what it was? It was - before beginning, I warn you in advance - it was His way of speaking, so full of divine humility and modesty. He never... *asserted Himself*. And the day He actually began it, He told me: *I have launched myself in a rudderless boat upon the vastness of the Infinite.* And once having started, He wrote page after page without intermission, as though it were a thing already complete up there and He had only to transcribe it in ink down here on these pages.

In truth, the entire form of Savitri has descended "en masse" from the highest region and Sri Aurobindo with His genius only arranged the lines - in a superb and magnificent style. Sometimes entire lines were revealed and He has left them intact; He worked hard, untiringly, so that the inspiration could come from the highest possible summit. And what a work He has created! Yes, it is a true creation in itself. It is an unequalled work. Everything is there, and it is put in such a simple, such a clear form; verses perfectly harmonious, limpid and eternally true. My child, I have read so many things, but I have never come across anything which could be compared with Savitri. I have studied the best works in Greek, Latin, English and of course French literature, also in German and all the great creations of the West and the East, including the great epics; but I repeat it, I have not found anywhere anything comparable with Savitri. All these literary works seems to me empty, flat, hollow, without any deep reality - apart from a few rare exceptions, and these too represent only a small fraction of what Savitri is. What grandeur, what amplitude, what reality: it is something immortal and eternal He has created. I tell you once again there is nothing like in it the whole world. Even if one puts aside the vision of the reality, that is, the essential substance which is the heart of the inspiration, and considers only the lines in themselves, one will find them unique, of the highest classical kind. What He has created is something man cannot imagine. For, everything is there, everything.

It may then be said that Savitri is a revelation, it is a meditation, it is a quest of the Infinite, the Eternal. If it is read with this aspiration for Immortality, the reading itself will serve as a guide to Immortality. To read Savitri is indeed to practice Yoga, spiritual concentration; one can find there all that is needed to realise the Divine. Each step of Yoga is noted here, including the secret of all other Yogas. Surely, if one sincerely follows what is revealed here in each line one will reach finally the transformation of the Supramental Yoga. It is truly the infallible guide who never abandons you; its support is always there for him who wants to follow the path. Each verse of Savitri is like a revealed Mantra which surpasses all that man possessed by way of knowledge, and I repeat this, the words are expressed and arranged in such a way that the sonority of the rhythm leads you to the origin of sound, which is OM.

My child, yes, everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, the history of man, of the gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for what purpose, what destiny - all is there. You can find all the answers to all your questions there. Everything is explained, even the future of man and of the evolution, all that nobody yet knows. He has described it all in beautiful and clear words so that spiritual adventurers who wish to solve the mysteries of the world may understand it more easily. But this mystery is well hidden behind the words and lines and one must rise to the required level of true consciousness to discover it. All prophesies, all that is going to come is presented with the precise and wonderful clarity. Sri Aurobindo gives you here the key to find the Truth, to discover the Consciousness, to solve the problem of what the universe is. He has also indicated how to open the door of the Inconscience so that the light may penetrate there and transform it. He has shown the path, the way to liberate oneself from the ignorance and climb up to the superconscience; each stage, each plane of consciousness, how they can be scaled, how one can cross even the barrier of death and attain immortality. You will find the whole journey in detail, and as you go forward you can discover things altogether unknown to man. That is Savitri and much more yet. It is a real experience - reading Savitri. All the secrets that man possessed, He has revealed, - as well as all that awaits him in the future; all this is found in the depth of Savitri. But one must have the knowledge to discover it all, the experience of the planes of consciousness, the experience of the Supermind, even the experience of the conquest of Death. He has noted all the stages, marked each step in order to advance integrally in the integral Yoga.

All this is His own experience, and what is most surprising is that it is my own experience also. It is my sadhana which He has worked out. Each object, each event, each realisation, all the descriptions, even the colours are exactly what I saw and the words, phrases are also exactly what I heard. And all this before having read the book. I read Savitri many times afterwards, but earlier, when He was writing He used to read it to me. Every morning I used to hear Him read Savitri. During the night He would write and in the morning read it to me. And I observed something curious, that day after day the experiences He read out to me in the morning were those I had had the previous night, word by word. Yes, all the descriptions, the colours, the pictures I had seen, the words I had heard, all, all, I heard it all, put by Him into poetry, into miraculous poetry. Yes, they were exactly my experiences of the previous night which He read out to me the following morning. And it was not just one day by chance, but for days and days together. And every time I used to compare what He said with my previous experiences and they were always the same. I repeat, it was not that I had told Him my experiences and that He had noted them down afterwards, no, He knew already what I had seen. It is my experiences He has presented at length and they were His experiences also. It is, moreover, the picture of Our joint adventure into the unknown or rather into the Supermind.

These are experiences lived by Him, realities, supracosmic truths. He experienced all these as one experiences joy or sorrow, physically. He walked in the darkness of inconscience, even in the neighborhood of death, endured the sufferings of perdition, and emerged from the mud, the world-misery to breathe the sovereign plenitude and enter the supreme Ananda. He crossed all these realms, went through the consequences, suffered and endured physically what one cannot imagine. Nobody till today has suffered like Him. He accepted suffering to transform suffering into the joy of union with the Supreme. It is something unique and incomparable in the history of the world. It is something that has never happened before, He is the first to have traced the path in the Unknown, so that we may be able to walk with certitude towards the Supermind. He has made the work easy for us. Savitri is His whole Yoga of transformation, and this Yoga appears now for the first time in the earth-consciousness.

And I think that man is not yet ready to receive it. It is too high and too vast for him. He cannot understand it, grasp it, for it is not by the mind that one can understand Savitri. One needs spiritual experiences in order to understand and assimilate it. The farther one advances on the path of Yoga, the more does one assimilate and the better. No, it is something which will be appreciated only in the future, it is the poetry of tomorrow of which He has spoken in The Future Poetry. It is too subtle, too refined, - it is not in the mind or through the mind, it is in meditation that Savitri is revealed.

And men have the audacity to compare it with the work of Virgil or Homer and to find it inferior. They do not understand, they cannot understand. What do they know? Nothing at all. And it is useless to try to make them understand. Men will know what it is, but in a distant future. It is only the new race with a new consciousness which will be able to understand. I assure you there is nothing under the blue sky to compare with Savitri. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is a *super-epic,* it is super-literature, super-poetry, super-vision, it is a super-work even if one considers the number of lines He has written. No, these human words are not adequate to describe Savitri. Yes, one needs superlatives, hyperboles to describe it. It is a hyper-epic. No, words express nothing of what Savitri is, at least I do not find them. It is of immense value - spiritual value and all other values; it is eternal in its subject, and infinite in its appeal, miraculous in its mode and power of execution; it is a unique thing, the more you come into contact with it, the higher will you be uplifted. Ah, truly it is something! It is the most beautiful thing He has left for man, the highest possible. What is it? When will man know it? When is he going to lead a life of truth? When is he going to accept this in his life? This yet remains to be seen.

My child, every day you are going to read Savitri; read properly, with the right attitude, concentrating a little before opening the pages and trying to keep the mind as empty as possible, absolutely without a thought. The direct road is through the heart. I tell you, if you try to really concentrate with this aspiration you can light the flame, the psychic flame, the flame of purification in a very short time, perhaps in a few days. What you cannot do normally, you can do with the help of Savitri. Try and you will see how very different it is, how new, if you read with this attitude, with this something at the back of your consciousness; as though it were an offering to Sri Aurobindo. You know it is charged, fully charged with consciousness; as if Savitri were a being, a real guide. I tell you, whoever, wanting to practice Yoga, tries sincerely and feels the necessity for it, will be able to climb with the help of Savitri to the highest rung of the ladder of Yoga, will be able to find the secret that Savitri represents. And this without the help of a Guru. And he will be able to practice it anywhere. For him Savitri alone will be the guide, for all that he needs he will find Savitri. If he remains very quiet when before a difficulty, or when he does not know where to turn to go forward and how to overcome obstacles, for all these hesitations and incertitudes which overwhelm us at every moment, he will have the necessary indications, and the necessary concrete help. If he remains very calm, open, if he aspires sincerely, always he will be as if lead by the hand. If he has faith, the will to give himself and essential sincerity he will reach the final goal.

Indeed, Savitri is something concrete, living, it is all replete, packed with consciousness, it is the supreme knowledge above all human philosophies and religions. It is the spiritual path, it is Yoga, Tapasya, Sadhana, in its single body. Savitri has an extraordinary power, it gives out vibrations for him who can receive them, the true vibrations of each stage of consciousness. It is incomparable, it is truth in its plenitude, the Truth Sri Aurobindo brought down on the earth. My child, one must try to find the secret that Savitri represents, the prophetic message Sri Aurobindo reveals there for us. This is the work before you, it is hard but it is worth the trouble. - 5 November 1967

~ The Mother, Sweet Mother, The Mother to Mona Sarkar, [T0],
736:Gracious Ganapati! with Thy hand bless me, that I may make this marital garland of letters worthy of Sri Arunachala, the Bridegroom! REFRAIN Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala! 1. Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate on Thee in the heart, Oh Arunachala! Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who dwell on their identity with Thee, Oh Arunachala! 2. May Thou and I be one and inseparable like Alagu and Sundara, Oh Arunachala! 3. Entering my home and luring me to Thine, why didst Thou keep me prisoner in Thy heart's cavern, Oh Arunachala? 4. Was it for Thy pleasure or for my sake Thou didst win me? If now Thou turn me away, the world will blame Thee, Oh Arunachala! 5. Escape this blame! Why didst Thou then recall Thyself to me? How can I leave Thee now, Oh Arunachala? 6. Kinder far art Thou than one's own mother. Is this then Thy all-kindness, Oh Arunachala? Kinder indeed art Thou than one's own mother, such is Thy Love, Oh Arunachala! 7. Sit firmly in my mind lest it elude Thee, Oh Arunachala! Change not Thy nature and flee, but hold fast in my mind, Oh Arunachala! Be watchful in my mind, lest it change even Thee into me and rush away, Oh Arunachala! 8. Display Thy beauty, for the fickle mind to see Thee for ever and to rest, Oh Arunachala! The strumpet mind will cease to walk the streets if only she find Thee. Disclose Thy Beauty then and hold her bound, Oh Arunachala! The mind by her unsteadiness prevents my seeking Thee and finding peace; grant me the vision of Thy Beauty, Oh Arunachala! 9. After abducting me if now Thou dost not embrace me, where is Thy chivalry, Oh Arunachala? 10. Does it become Thee thus to sleep when I am outraged by others, Oh Arunachala? 11. Even when the thieves of the five senses break in upon me, art Thou not still in my heart, Oh Arunachala! 12. One art Thou without a second; who then could dare elude Thee and come in? This is only Thy jugglery, Oh Arunachala! 13. Significance of OM unrivalled -- unsurpassed! Who can comprehend Thee, Oh Arunachala? 14. As Universal Mother, it is Thy duty to dispense Thy Grace and save me, Oh Arunachala! 15. Who can ever find Thee? The Eye of the eye art Thou, and without eyes Thou seest, Oh Arunachala! Being the sight of the eye, even without eyes find me out Thyself. Who but Thyself can find out Thee, Oh Arunachala? 16. As a lode-stone attracts iron, magnetizing it and holding it fast, so do Thou to me, Oh Arunachala! 17. Unmoving Hill, melting into a Sea of Grace, have mercy I pray, Oh Arunachala! 18. Fiery Gem, shining in all directions, do Thou burn up my dross, Oh Arunachala! 19. Shine as my Guru, making me free from faults and worthy of Thy Grace, Oh Arunachala! 20. Save me from the cruel snares of fascinating women and honour me with union with Thyself, Oh Arunachala! 21. Though I beg, Thou art callous and dost not condescend. I pray Thee! say to me 'Fear not!' Oh Arunachala! 22. Unasked Thou givest; this is Thy imperishable fame. Do not belie Thy name, Oh Arunachala! 23. Sweet fruit within my hands, let me be mad with ecstasy, drunk with the Bliss of Thy Essence, Oh Arunachala! 24. Blazoned as the Devourer of Thy votaries, how can I survive who have embraced Thee, Oh Arunachala? 25. Thou, unruffled by anger! What crime has marked me off for Thy wrath, Oh Arunachala? Thou, unruffled by anger! What austerities left incomplete have won me Thy special favour, Oh Arunachala? 26. Glorious Mountain of Love, celebrated by Gautama, rule me with Thy gracious glance, Oh Arunachala! 27. Dazzling Sun that swallowest up all the universe in Thy rays, in Thy Light open the lotus of my heart I pray, Oh Arunachala! 28. Let me, Thy prey, surrender unto Thee and be consumed, and so have Peace, Oh Arunachala! I came to feed on Thee, but Thou has fed on me; now there is Peace, Oh Arunachala! 29. O Moon of Grace, with Thy cool rays as hands, open within me the ambrosial orifice and let my heart rejoice, Arunachala! 30. Tear off these robes, expose me naked, then robe me with Thy Love, Oh Arunachala! 31. There in the heart rest quiet! Let the sea of joy surge, speech and feeling cease, Oh Arunachala! 32. Do not continue to deceive and prove me; disclose instead Thy Transcendental Self, Oh Arunachala! 33. Vouchsafe the knowledge of Eternal Life that I may learn the glorious Primal Wisdom, and shun the delusion of this world, Oh Arunachala! 34. Unless Thou embrace me, I shall melt away in tears of anguish, Oh Arunachala! 35. If spurned by Thee, alas! what rests for me but the torment of my prarabdha? What hope is left for me, Arunachala? 36. In silence Thou saidst, 'Stay silent!' and Thyself stood silent, Oh Arunachala! 37. Happiness lies in peaceful repose enjoyed when resting in the Self. Beyond speech indeed is This my State, Oh Arunachala! 38. Thou didst display Thy prowess once, and, the perils ended, return to Thy repose, Oh Arunachala! Sun! Thou didst sally forth and illusion was ended. Then didst Thou shine motionless, Oh Arunachala! 39. A dog can scent out its master; am I then worse than a dog? Steadfastly will I seek Thee and regain Thee, Oh Arunachala! Worse than a dog for want of a scent, how can I track Thee, Oh Arunachala? 40. Grant me wisdom, I beseech Thee, so that I may not pine for love of Thee in ignorance, Oh Arunachala! 41. Not finding the flower open, Thou didst stay, no better than a bee trapped in the bud of my mind, Oh Arunachala! In sunlight the lotus blossoms, how then couldst Thou, the Sun of suns, hover before me like a flower bee, saying 'Thou art not yet in blossom,' Oh Arunachala? 42. 'Thou hast realized the Self even without knowing that it was the Truth. It is the Truth Itself!' Speak thus if it be so, Oh Arunachala! Thou art the subject of most diverse views yet art Thou not this only, Oh Arunachala? Not known to the tattvas, though Thou art their being! What does this mean, Oh Arunachala? 43. That each one is Reality Itself, Thou wilt of Thy Nature show, Oh Arunachala! Reveal Thyself! Thou only art Reality, Oh Arunachala! 'Reality is nothing but the Self;' is this not all Thy message, Oh Arunachala? 44. 'Look within, ever seeking the Self with the inner eye, then will It be found.' Thus didst Thou direct me, beloved Arunachala! 45. Seeking Thee within but weakly, I came back unrewarded. Aid me, Oh Arunachala! Weak though my effort was, by Thy Grace I gained the Self, Oh Arunachala! Seeking Thee in the Infinite Self, I regained my own Self, Oh Arunachala! 46. What value has the birth without Knowledge born of realization? It is not even worth speaking about, Oh Arunachala! 47. Let me dive into the true Self, wherein merge only the pure in mind and speech, Oh Arunachala! I, by Thy Grace, am sunk in Thy Self, wherein merge only those divested of their minds and thus made pure, Oh Arunachala! 48. When I took shelter under Thee as my One God, Thou didst destroy me altogether, Oh Arunachala! 49. Treasure of benign and holy Grace, found without seeking, steady my wandering mind, Oh Arunachala! 50. On seeking Thy Real Self with courage, my raft capsized and the waters came over me. Have mercy on me Arunachala! 51. Unless Thou extend Thy hand of Grace in mercy and embrace me, I am lost, Oh Arunachala! Enfold me body to body, limb to limb, or I am lost, Oh Arunachala! 52. O Undefiled, abide Thou in my heart so that there may be everlasting joy, Arunachala! 53. Mock me not, who seek Thy protection! Adorn me with Thy Grace and then regard me, Oh Arunachala! Smile with Grace and not with scorn on me, who come Thee, Oh Arunachala! 54. When I approached, Thou didst not bend; Thou stoodst unmoved, at one with me, Oh Arunachala! Does it not shame Thee to stand there like a post, leaving me to find Thee by myself, Oh Arunachala? 55. Rain Thy Mercy on me ere Thy Knowledge burn me to ashes, Oh Arunachala! 56. Unite with me to destroy Thou and me, and bless me with the state of ever-vibrant joy, Oh Arunachala! 57. When shall I become like the ether and reach Thee, subtle of being, that the tempest of thoughts may end, Oh Arunachala? When will waves of thought cease to rise? When shall I reach Thee, subtler than the subtlest ether, Oh Arunachala! 58. I am a simpleton devoid of learning. Do Thou dispel illusion, Oh Arunachala! Destroy Thou my wrong knowledge, I beseech Thee, for I lack the knowledge which the Scriptures lead to, Oh Arunachala! 59. When I melted away and entered Thee, my Refuge, I found Thee standing naked, Oh Arunachala! 60. In my unloving self Thou didst create a passion for Thee, therefore forsake me not, Oh Arunachala! 61. Fruit shriveled and spoilt is worthless; take and enjoy it ripe, Oh Arunachala! I am not a fruit which is overripe and spoilt; draw me, then, into the inmost recess and fix me in Eternity, Oh Arunachala! 62. Hast Thou not bartered cunningly Thyself for me? Oh, Thou art death to me, Arunachala! Hast Thou not bartered happily Thyself for me, giving all and taking nothing? Art Thou not blind, Oh Arunachala? 63. Regard me! Take thought of me! Touch me! Mature me! Make me one with Thee, Oh Arunachala! 64. Grant me Thy Grace ere the poison of delusion grips me and, rising to my head, kills me, Oh Arunachala! 65. Thyself regard me and dispel illusion! Unless Thou do so who can intercede with Grace Itself made manifest, Oh Arunachala? 66. With madness for Thee hast Thou freed me of madness; grant me now the cure of all madness, Oh Arunachala! 67. Fearless I seek Thee, Fearlessness Itself! How canst Thou fear to take me, Oh Arunachala? 68. Where is ignorance or Wisdom, if I am blessed with union to Thee, Oh Arunachala? 69. My mind has blossomed, scent it with Thy fragrance and perfect it. Oh Arunachala! Espouse me, I beseech Thee, and let this mind, now wedded to the world, be wedded to Perfection, Oh Arunachala! 70. Mere thought of Thee has drawn me to Thee, and who can gauge Thy Glory, Oh Arunachala? 71. Thou hast possessed me, unexorcizable Spirit! and made me mad for Thee, that I may cease to be a ghost wandering the world, Oh Arunachala! 72. Be Thou my stay and my support lest I droop helpless like a tender creeper, Oh Arunachala! 73. Thou didst benumb my faculties with stupefying powder, then rob me of my understanding and reveal the Knowledge of Thy Self, Oh Arunachala! 74. Show me the warfare of Thy Grace, in the Open Field where there is no coming and going. Oh Arunachala! 75. Unattached to the physical frame composed of the elements, let me for ever repose happy in the sight of Thy Splendour, Oh Arunachala! 76. Thou hast administered the medicine of confusion to me, so must I be confounded! Shine Thou as Grace, the cure of all confusion, Oh Arunachala! 77. Shine Thou selfless, sapping the pride of those who boast of their free will, Oh Arunachala! 78. I am a fool who prays only when overwhelmed, yet disappoint me not, Oh Arunachala! 79. Guard me lest I flounder storm-tossed like a ship without a helmsman, Oh Arunachala! 80. Thou hast cut the knot which hid the vision of Thy Head and Foot. Motherlike, shouldst Thou not complete Thy task, Oh Arunachala? 81. Be not like a mirror held up to a noseless man, but raise me and embrace me, Oh Arunachala! 82. Let us embrace upon the bed of tender flowers, which is the mind, within the room of the body, Oh Arunachala! 83. How is it that Thou hast become famous from Thy constant union with the poor and humble, Oh Arunachala? 84. Thou hast removed the blindness of ignorance with the unguent of Thy Grace, and made me truly Thine, Oh Arunachala! 85. Thou didst shave clean my head; then Thou didst show Thyself dancing in Transcendent Space, Oh Arunachala! 86. Though Thou hast loosed me from the mists of error and made me mad for Thee, why hast Thou not yet freed me from illusion, Oh Arunachala? Though Thou hast detached me from the world and made me cleave to Thee, Thy passion for me has not cooled, Oh Arunachala! 87. Is it true Silence to rest like a stone, inert and unexpansive, Oh Arunachala? 88. Who was it that threw mud to me for food and robbed me of my livelihood, Oh Arunachala? 89. Unknown to all, stupefying me, Who was it that ravished my soul, Oh Arunachala? 90. I spoke thus to Thee, because Thou art my Lord; be not offended but come and give me happiness, Oh Arunachala! 91. Let us enjoy one another in the House of Open Space, where there is neither night nor day, Oh Arunachala! 92. Thou didst take aim at me with darts of Love and then devoured me alive, Oh Arunachala! 93. Thou art the Primal Being, whereas I count not in this nor in the other world. What didst Thou gain then by my worthless self, Oh Arunachala? 94. Didst Thou not call me in? I have come in. Now measure out for me, my maintenance is now Thy burden. Hard is Thy lot, Oh Arunachala! 95. The moment Thou didst welcome me, didst enter into me and grant me Thy divine life, I lost my individuality, Oh Arunachala! 96. Bless me that I may die without losing hold of Thee, or miserable is my fate, Oh Arunachala! 97. From my home Thou didst entice me, then stealing into my heart didst draw me gently into Thine, such is Thy Grace, Oh Arunachala! 98. I have betrayed Thy secret workings. Be not offended! Show me Thy Grace now openly and save me, Oh Arunachala! 99. Grant me the essence of the Vedas, which shine in the Vedanta, One without a second, Oh Arunachala! 100. Even my slanders, treat as praise and guard me for ever as Thine own, I pray, Oh Arunachala! Let even slander be as praise to me, and guard me for ever as Thine own, I pray, Oh Arunachala! Place Thy hand upon my head! make me partaker of Thy Grace! do not abandon me, I pray, Oh Arunachala! 101. As snow in water, let me melt as Love in Thee, who art Love itself, Oh Arunachala! 102. I had but thought of Thee as Aruna, and lo! I was caught in the trap of Thy Grace! Can the net of Thy Grace ever fail, Oh Arunachala? 103. Watching like a spider to trap me in the web of Thy Grace, Thou didst entwine me and when imprisoned feed upon me, Oh Arunachala! 104. Let me be the votary of the votaries of those who hear Thy name with love, Oh Arunachala! 105. Shine Thou for ever as the loving Saviour of helpless suppliants like myself, Oh Arunachala! 106. Familiar to Thine ears are the sweet songs of votaries who melt to the very bones with love for Thee, yet let my poor strains also be acceptable, Oh Arunachala! 107. Hill of Patience, bear with my foolish words, as hymns of joy or as Thou please, Oh Arunachala! 108. Oh Arunachala! my Loving Lord! Throw Thy garland about my shoulders, wearing Thyself this one strung by me, Arunachala! Blessed be Arunachala! blessed be His devotees! Blessed be this Marital Garland of Letters! [1468.jpg] -- from The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Edited by Arthur Osborne

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, The Marital Garland of Letters
,

IN CHAPTERS [300/336]



  161 Integral Yoga
   67 Yoga
   37 Poetry
   11 Occultism
   6 Sufism
   6 Mysticism
   6 Buddhism
   3 Hinduism
   2 Philosophy
   1 Thelema
   1 Psychology
   1 Education


   86 The Mother
   65 Sri Aurobindo
   65 Satprem
   43 Sri Ramakrishna
   19 Nolini Kanta Gupta
   14 Swami Krishnananda
   14 A B Purani
   11 Aleister Crowley
   9 Nirodbaran
   9 Kabir
   8 Sri Ramana Maharshi
   7 Swami Vivekananda
   5 Jetsun Milarepa
   4 Namdev
   3 Swami Sivananda Saraswati
   2 Yeshe Tsogyal
   2 Vyasa
   2 Mahendranath Gupta
   2 Guru Nanak
   2 George Van Vrekhem
   2 Dadu Dayal


   42 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
   16 Agenda Vol 01
   15 Letters On Yoga II
   14 The Study and Practice of Yoga
   14 Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo
   12 Talks
   9 Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo
   9 The Synthesis Of Yoga
   9 Agenda Vol 02
   8 Letters On Yoga IV
   8 Agenda Vol 03
   6 Songs of Kabir
   6 Magick Without Tears
   6 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07
   6 Agenda Vol 04
   5 Milarepa - Poems
   5 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05
   5 Bhakti-Yoga
   5 Agenda Vol 10
   5 Agenda Vol 08
   5 Agenda Vol 06
   5 Agenda Vol 05
   4 Record of Yoga
   4 Liber ABA
   4 Essays In Philosophy And Yoga
   4 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03
   3 Words Of Long Ago
   3 The Mother With Letters On The Mother
   3 Some Answers From The Mother
   3 Questions And Answers 1957-1958
   3 Questions And Answers 1956
   3 Questions And Answers 1950-1951
   3 Questions And Answers 1929-1931
   3 Amrita Gita
   3 Agenda Vol 09
   2 Words Of The Mother II
   2 Vishnu Purana
   2 The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep
   2 The Secret Doctrine
   2 Questions And Answers 1955
   2 Questions And Answers 1953
   2 Preparing for the Miraculous
   2 Letters On Poetry And Art


00.01 - The Mother on Savitri, #Sweet Mother - Harmonies of Light, #unset, #Zen
  My child, every day you are going to read Savitri; read properly, with the right attitude, concentrating a little before opening the pages and trying to keep the mind as empty as possible, absolutely without a thought. The direct road is through the heart. I tell you, if you try to really concentrate with this aspiration you can light the flame, the psychic flame, the flame of purification in a very short time, perhaps in a few days. What you cannot do normally, you can do with the help of Savitri. Try and you will see how very different it is, how new, if you read with this attitude, with this something at the back of your consciousness; as though it were an offering to Sri Aurobindo. You know it is charged, fully charged with consciousness; as if Savitri were a being, a real guide. I tell you, whoever, wanting to practice Yoga, tries sincerely and feels the necessity for it, will be able to climb with the help of Savitri to the highest rung of the ladder of Yoga, will be able to find the secret that Savitri represents. And this without the help of a Guru. And he will be able to practice it anywhere. For him Savitri alone will be the guide, for all that he needs he will find Savitri. If he remains very quiet when before a difficulty, or when he does not know where to turn to go forward and how to overcome obstacles, for all these hesitations and incertitudes which overwhelm us at every moment, he will have the necessary indications, and the necessary concrete help. If he remains very calm, open, if he aspires sincerely, always he will be as if lead by the hand. If he has faith, the will to give himself and essential sincerity he will reach the final goal.
  Indeed, Savitri is something concrete, living, it is all replete, packed with consciousness, it is the supreme knowledge above all human philosophies and religions. It is the spiritual path, it is Yoga, Tapasya, Sadhana, everything, in its single body. Savitri has an extraordinary power, it gives out vibrations for him who can receive them, the true vibrations of each stage of consciousness. It is incomparable, it is truth in its plenitude, the Truth Sri Aurobindo brought down on the earth. My child, one must try to find the secret that Savitri represents, the prophetic message Sri Aurobindo reveals there for us. This is the work before you, it is hard but it is worth the trouble. - 5 November 1967

0.00 - INTRODUCTION, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
   Ramkumar wanted Sri Ramakrishna to learn the intricate rituals of the worship of Kali. To become a priest of Kali one must undergo a special form of initiation from a qualified Guru, and for Sri Ramakrishna a suitable brahmin was found. But no sooner did the brahmin speak the holy word in his ear than Sri Ramakrishna, overwhelmed with emotion, uttered a loud cry and plunged into deep concentration.
   Mathur begged Sri Ramakrishna to take charge of the worship in the Kali temple. The young priest pleaded his incompetence and his ignorance of the scriptures. Mathur insisted that devotion and sincerity would more than compensate for any lack of formal knowledge and make the Divine Mother manifest Herself through the image. In the end, Sri Ramakrishna had to yield to Mathur's request. He became the priest of Kali.
  --
   Hardly had he crossed the threshold of the Kali temple when he found himself again in the whirlwind. His madness reappeared tenfold. The same meditation and prayer, the same ecstatic moods, the same burning sensation, the same weeping, the same sleeplessness, the same indifference to the body and the outside world, the same divine delirium. He subjected himself to fresh disciplines in order to eradicate greed and lust, the two great impediments to spiritual progress. With a rupee in one hand and some earth in the other, he would reflect on the comparative value of these two for the realization of God, and finding them equally worthless he would toss them, with equal indifference, into the Ganges. Women he regarded as the manifestations of the Divine Mother. Never even in a dream did he feel the impulses of lust. And to root out of his mind the idea of caste superiority, he cleaned a pariahs house with his long and neglected hair. When he would sit in meditation, birds would perch on his head and peck in his hair for grains of food. Snakes would crawl over his body, and neither would be aware of the other. Sleep left him altogether. Day and night, visions flitted before him. He saw the sannyasi who had previously killed the "sinner" in him again coming out of his body, threatening him with the trident, and ordering him to concentrate on God. Or the same sannyasi would visit distant places, following a luminous path, and bring him reports of what was happening there. Sri Ramakrishna used to say later that in the case of an advanced devotee the mind itself becomes the Guru, living and moving like an embodied being.
   Rani Rasmani, the foundress of the temple garden, passed away in 1861. After her death her son-in-law Mathur became the sole executor of the estate. He placed himself and his resources at the disposal of Sri Ramakrishna and began to look after his physical comfort. Sri Ramakrishna later spoke of him as one of his five "suppliers of stores" appointed by the Divine Mother. Whenever a desire arose in his mind, Mathur fulfilled it without hesitation.
  --
   Sri Ramakrishna was a learner all his life. He often used to quote a proverb to his disciples: "Friend, the more I live the more I learn." When the excitement created by the Brahmani's declaration was over, he set himself to the task of practising spiritual disciplines according to the traditional methods laid down in the Tantra and Vaishnava scriptures. Hitherto he had pursued his spiritual ideal according to the promptings of his own mind and heart. Now he accepted the Brahmani as his Guru and set foot on the traditional highways.
   --- TANTRA
  --
   The disciplines of Tantra are graded to suit aspirants of all degrees. Exercises are prescribed for people with "animal", "heroic", and "divine" outlooks. Certain of the rites require the presence of members of the opposite sex. Here the aspirant learns to look on woman as the embodiment of the Goddess Kali, the Mother of the Universe. The very basis of Tantra is the Motherhood of God and the glorification of woman. Every part of a woman's body is to be regarded as incarnate Divinity. But the rites are extremely dangerous. The help of a qualified Guru is absolutely necessary. An unwary devotee may lose his foothold and fall into a pit of depravity.
   According to the Tantra, Sakti is the active creative force in the universe. Siva, the Absolute, is a more or less passive principle. Further, Sakti is as inseparable from Siva as fire's power to burn is from fire itself. Sakti, the Creative Power, contains in Its womb the universe, and therefore is the Divine Mother. All women are Her symbols. Kali is one of Her several forms. The meditation on Kali, the Creative Power, is the central discipline of the Tantra. While meditating, the aspirant at first regards himself as one with the Absolute and then thinks that out of that Impersonal Consciousness emerge two entities, namely, his own self and the living form of the Goddess. He then projects the Goddess into the tangible image before him and worships it as the Divine Mother.
   Sri Ramakrishna set himself to the task of practising the disciplines of Tantra; and at the bidding of the Divine Mother Herself he accepted the Brahmani as his Guru. He performed profound and delicate ceremonies in the Panchavati and under the bel-tree at the northern extremity of the temple compound. He practised all the disciplines of the sixty-four principal Tantra books, and it took him never more than three days to achieve the result promised in any one of them. After the observance of a few preliminary rites, he would be overwhelmed with a strange divine fervour and would go into samadhi, where his mind would dwell in exaltation. Evil ceased to exist for him. The word "carnal" lost its meaning. The whole world and everything in it appeared as the lila, the sport, of Siva and Sakti. He beheld held everywhere manifest the power and beauty of the Mother; the whole world, animate and inanimate, appeared to him as pervaded with Chit, Consciousness, and with Ananda, Bliss.
   He saw in a vision the Ultimate Cause of the universe as a huge luminous triangle giving birth every moment to an infinite number of worlds. He heard the Anahata Sabda, the great sound Om, of which the innumerable sounds of the universe are only so many echoes. He acquired the eight supernatural powers of yoga, which make a man almost omnipotent, and these he spurned as of no value whatsoever to the Spirit. He had a vision of the divine Maya, the inscrutable Power of God, by which the universe is created and sustained, and into which it is finally absorbed. In this vision he saw a woman of exquisite beauty, about to become a mother, emerging from the Ganges and slowly approaching the Panchavati. Presently she gave birth to a child and began to nurse it tenderly. A moment later she assumed a terrible aspect, seized the child with her grim jaws, and crushed it. Swallowing it, she re-entered the waters of the Ganges.
  --
   The Brahmani was the enthusiastic teacher and astonished beholder of Sri Ramakrishna in his spiritual progress. She became proud of the achievements of her unique pupil. But the pupil himself was not permitted to rest; his destiny beckoned him forward. His Divine Mother would allow him no respite till he had left behind the entire realm of duality with its visions, experiences, and ecstatic dreams. But for the new ascent the old tender guides would not suffice. The Brahmani, on whom he had depended for, three years, saw her son escape from her to follow the command of a teacher with masculine strength, a sterner mien, a gnarled physique, and a virile voice. The new Guru was a wandering monk, the sturdy Totapuri, whom Sri Ramakrishna learnt to address affectionately as Nangta, the "Naked One", because of his total renunciation of all earthly objects and attachments, including even a piece of wearing cloth.
   Totapuri was the bearer of a philosophy new to Sri Ramakrishna, the non-dualistic Vedanta philosophy, whose conclusions Totapuri had experienced in his own life. This ancient Hindu system designates the Ultimate Reality as Brahman, also described as Satchidananda, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Brahman is the only Real Existence. In It there is no time, no space, no causality, no multiplicity. But through maya, Its inscrutable Power, time, space, and causality are created and the One appears to break into the many. The eternal Spirit appears as a manifold of individuals endowed with form and subject to the conditions of time. The Immortal becomes a victim of birth and death. The Changeless undergoes change. The sinless Pure Soul, hypnotized by Its own maya, experiences the joys of heaven and the pains of hell. But these experiences based on the duality of the subject-object relationship are unreal. Even the vision of a Personal God
  --
   In the burning flame before him Sri Ramakrishna performed the rituals of destroying his attachment to relatives, friends, body, mind, sense-organs, ego, and the world. The leaping flame swallowed it all, making the initiate free and pure. The sacred thread and the tuft of hair were consigned to the fire, completing his severance from caste, sex, and society. Last of all he burnt in that fire, with all that is holy as his witness, his desire for enjoyment here and hereafter. He uttered the sacred mantras giving assurance of safety and fearlessness to all beings, who were only manifestations of his own Self. The rites completed, the disciple received from the Guru the loin-cloth and ochre robe, the emblems of his new life.
   The teacher and the disciple repaired to the meditation room near by. Totapuri began to impart to Sri Ramakrishna the great truths of Vedanta.
  --
   Sri Ramakrishna, on the other hand, though fully aware, like his Guru, that the world is an illusory appearance, instead of slighting maya, like an orthodox monist, acknowledged its power in the relative life. He was all love and reverence for maya, perceiving in it a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. To him maya itself was God, for everything was God. It was one of the faces of Brahman. What he had realized on the heights of the transcendental plane, he also found here below, everywhere about him, under the mysterious garb of names and forms. And this garb was a perfectly transparent sheath, through which he recognized the glory of the Divine Immanence. Maya, the mighty weaver of the garb, is none other than Kali, the Divine Mother. She is the primordial Divine Energy, Sakti, and She can no more be distinguished from the Supreme Brahman than can the power of burning be distinguished from fire. She projects the world and again withdraws it. She spins it as the spider spins its web. She is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta, and with the Atman of Yoga. As eternal Lawgiver, She makes and unmakes laws; it is by Her imperious will that karma yields its fruit. She ensnares men with illusion and again releases them from bondage with a look of Her benign eyes. She is the supreme Mistress of the cosmic play, and all objects, animate and inanimate, dance by Her will. Even those who realize the Absolute in nirvikalpa samadhi are under Her jurisdiction as long as they still live on the relative plane.
   Thus, after nirvikalpa samadhi, Sri Ramakrishna realized maya in an altogether new role. The binding aspect of Kali vanished from before his vision. She no longer obscured his understanding. The world became the glorious manifestation of the Divine Mother. Maya became Brahman. The Transcendental Itself broke through the Immanent. Sri Ramakrishna discovered that maya operates in the relative world in two ways, and he termed these "avidyamaya" and "vidyamaya". Avidyamaya represents the dark forces of creation: sensuous desires, evil passions, greed, lust, cruelty, and so on. It sustains the world system on the lower planes. It is responsible for the round of man's birth and death. It must be fought and vanquished. But vidyamaya is the higher force of creation: the spiritual virtues, the enlightening qualities, kindness, purity, love, devotion. Vidyamaya elevates man to the higher planes of consciousness. With the help of vidyamaya the devotee rids himself of avidyamaya; he then becomes mayatita, free of maya. The two aspects of maya are the two forces of creation, the two powers of Kali; and She stands beyond them both. She is like the effulgent sun, bringing into existence and shining through and standing behind the clouds of different colours and shapes, conjuring up wonderful forms in the blue autumn heaven.
  --
   One day, when Guru and disciple were engaged in an animated discussion about Vedanta, a servant of the temple garden came there and took a coal from the sacred fire that had been lighted by the great ascetic. He wanted it to light his tobacco. Totapuri flew into a rage and was about to beat the man. Sri Ramakrishna rocked with laughter. "What a shame!" he cried. "You are explaining to me the reality of Brahman and the illusoriness of the world; yet now you have so far forgotten yourself as to be about to beat a man in a fit of passion. The power of maya is indeed inscrutable!" Totapuri was embarrassed.
   About this time Totapuri was suddenly laid up with a severe attack of dysentery. On account of this miserable illness he found it impossible to meditate. One night the pain became excruciating. He could no longer concentrate on Brahman. The body stood in the way. He became incensed with its demands. A free soul, he did not at all care for the body. So he determined to drown it in the Ganges. Thereupon he walked into the river. But, lo! He walks to the other bank." (This version of the incident is taken from the biography of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Saradananda, one of the Master's direct disciples.) Is there not enough water in the Ganges? Standing dumbfounded on the other bank he looks back across the water. The trees, the temples, the houses, are silhouetted against the sky. Suddenly, in one dazzling moment, he sees on all sides the presence of the Divine Mother. She is in everything; She is everything. She is in the water; She is on land. She is the body; She is the mind. She is pain; She is comfort. She is knowledge; She is ignorance. She is life; She is death. She is everything that one sees, hears, or imagines. She turns "yea" into "nay", and "nay" into "yea". Without Her grace no embodied being can go beyond Her realm. Man has no free will. He is not even free to die. Yet, again, beyond the body and mind She resides in Her Transcendental, Absolute aspect. She is the Brahman that Totapuri had been worshipping all his life.
  --
   Toward the end of 1866 he began to practise the disciplines of Islam. Under the direction of his Mussalman Guru he abandoned himself to his new sadhana. He dressed as a Mussalman and repeated the name of Allah. His prayers took the form of the Islamic devotions. He forgot the Hindu gods and goddesses — even Kali — and gave up visiting the temples. He took up his residence outside the temple precincts. After three days he saw the vision of a radiant figure, perhaps Mohammed. This figure gently approached him and finally lost himself in Sri Ramakrishna. Thus he realized the Mussalman God. Thence he passed into communion with Brahman. The mighty river of Islam also led him back to the Ocean of the Absolute.
   --- CHRISTIANITY
  --
   Sri Ramakrishna accepted the divinity of Buddha and used to point out the similarity of his teachings to those of the Upanishads. He also showed great respect for the Tirthankaras, who founded Jainism, and for the ten Gurus of Sikhism. But he did not speak of them as Divine Incarnations. He was heard to say that the Gurus of Sikhism were the reincarnations of King Janaka of ancient India. He kept in his room at Dakshineswar a small statue of Tirthankara Mahavira and a picture of Christ, before which incense was burnt morning and evening.
   Without being formally initiated into their doctrines, Sri Ramakrishna thus realized the ideals of religions other than Hinduism. He did not need to follow any doctrine. All barriers were removed by his overwhelming love of God. So he became a Master who could speak with authority regarding the ideas and ideals of the various religions of the world. "I have practised", said he, "all religions — Hinduism, Islam, Christianity — and I have also followed the paths of the different Hindu sects. I have found that it is the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths. You must try all beliefs and traverse all the different ways once. Wherever I look, I see men quarrelling in the name of religion — Hindus, Mohammedans, Brahmos, Vaishnavas, and the rest. But they never reflect that He who is called Krishna is also called Siva, and bears the name of the Primal Energy, Jesus, and Allah as well — the same Rama with a thousand names. A lake has several ghats. At one the Hindus take water in pitchers and call it 'jal'; at another the Mussalmans take water in leather bags and call it pani'. At a third the Christians call it 'water'. Can we imagine that it is not 'jal', but only 'pani' or 'water'? How ridiculous! The substance is One under different names, and everyone is seeking the same substance; only climate, temperament, and name create differences. Let each man follow his own path. If he sincerely and ardently wishes to know God, peace be unto him! He will surely realize Him."
  --
   ^The word is generally used in the text to denote one devoted to God, a worshipper of the Personal God, or a follower of the path of love. A devotee of Sri Ramakrishna is one who is devoted to Sri Ramakrishna and follows his teachings. The word "disciple", when used in connexion with Sri Ramakrishna, refers to one who had been initiated into spiritual life by Sri Ramakrishna and who regarded him as his Guru.
   --- THE MASTER'S METHOD OF TEACHING
   But he remained as ever the willing instrument in the hand of God, the child of the Divine Mother, totally untouched by the idea of being a teacher. He used to say that three ideas — that he was a Guru, a father, and a master — pricked his flesh like thorns. Yet he was an extraordinary teacher. He stirred his disciples' hearts more by a subtle influence than by actions or words. He never claimed to be the founder of a religion or the organizer of a sect. Yet he was a religious dynamo. He was the verifier of all religions and creeds. He was like an expert gardener, who prepares the soil and removes the weeds, knowing that the plants will grow because of the inherent power of the seeds, producing each its appropriate flowers and fruits. He never thrust his ideas on anybody. He understood people's limitations and worked on the principle that what is good for one may be bad for another. He had the unusual power of knowing the devotees' minds, even their inmost souls, at the first sight. He accepted disciples with the full knowledge of their past tendencies and future possibilities. The life of evil did not frighten him, nor did religious squeamishness raise anybody in his estimation. He saw in everything the unerring finger of the Divine Mother. Even the light that leads astray was to him the light from God.
   To those who became his intimate disciples the Master was a friend, companion, and playmate. Even the chores of religious discipline would be lightened in his presence. The devotees would be so inebriated with pure joy in his company that they would have no time to ask themselves whether he was an Incarnation, a perfect soul, or a yogi. His very presence was a great teaching; words were superfluous. In later years his disciples remarked that while they were with him they would regard him as a comrade, but afterwards would tremble to think of their frivolities in the presence of such a great person. They had convincing proof that the Master could, by his mere wish, kindle in their hearts the love of God and give them His vision.
  --
   Girish Chandra Ghosh was a born rebel against God, a sceptic, a Bohemian, a drunkard. He was the greatest Bengali dramatist of his time, the father of the modem Bengali stage. Like other young men he had imbibed all the vices of the West. He had plunged into a life of dissipation and had become convinced that religion was only a fraud. Materialistic philosophy he justified as enabling one to get at least a little fun out of life. But a series of reverses shocked him and he became eager to solve the riddle of life. He had heard people say that in spiritual life the help of a Guru was imperative and that the Guru was to be regarded as God Himself. But Girish was too well acquainted with human nature to see perfection in a man. His first meeting with Sri Ramakrishna did not impress him at all. He returned home feeling as if he had seen a freak at a circus; for the Master, in a semi-conscious mood, had inquired whether it was evening, though the lamps were burning in the room. But their paths often crossed, and Girish could not avoid further encounters. The Master attended a performance in Girish's Star Theatre. On this occasion, too, Girish found nothing impressive about him. One day, however, Girish happened to see the Master dancing and singing with the devotees. He felt the contagion and wanted to join them, but restrained himself for fear of ridicule. Another day Sri Ramakrishna was about to give him spiritual instruction, when Girish said: "I don't want to listen to instructions. I have myself written many instructions. They are of no use to me. Please help me in a more tangible way If you can." This pleased the Master and he asked Girish to cultivate faith.
   As time passed, Girish began to learn that the Guru is the one who silently unfolds the disciple's inner life. He became a steadfast devotee of the Master. He often loaded the Master with insults, drank in his presence, and took liberties which astounded the other devotees. But the Master knew that at heart Girish was tender, faithful, and sincere. He would not allow Girish to give up the theatre. And when a devotee asked him to tell Girish to give up drinking, he sternly replied: "That is none of your business. He who has taken charge of him will look after him. Girish is a devotee of heroic type. I tell you, drinking will not affect him." The Master knew that mere words could not induce a man to break deep-rooted habits, but that the silent influence of love worked miracles. Therefore he never asked him to give up alcohol, with the result that Girish himself eventually broke the habit. Sri Ramakrishna had strengthened Girish's resolution by allowing him to feel that he was absolutely free.
   One day Girish felt depressed because he was unable to submit to any routine of spiritual discipline. In an exalted mood the Master said to him: "All right, give me your power of attorney. Henceforth I assume responsibility for you. You need not do anything." Girish heaved a sigh of relief. He felt happy to think that Sri Ramakrishna had assumed his spiritual responsibilities. But poor Girish could not then realize that He also, on his part, had to give up his freedom and make of himself a puppet in Sri Ramakrishna's hands. The Master began to discipline him according to this new attitude. One day Girish said about a trifling matter, "Yes, I shall do this." "No, no!" the Master corrected him. "You must not speak in that egotistic manner. You should say, 'God willing, I shall do it.'" Girish understood. Thenceforth he tried to give up all idea of personal responsibility and surrender himself to the Divine Will. His mind began to dwell constantly on Sri Ramakrishna. This unconscious meditation in time chastened his turbulent spirit.
  --
   Mahimacharan and Pratap Hazra were two devotees outstanding for their pretentiousness and idiosyncrasies. But the Master showed them his unfailing love and kindness, though he was aware of their shortcomings. Mahimacharan Chakravarty had met the Master long before the arrival of the other disciples. He had had the intention of leading a spiritual life, but a strong desire to acquire name and fame was his weakness. He claimed to have been initiated by Totapuri and used to say that he had been following the path of knowledge according to his Guru's instructions. He possessed a large library of English and Sanskrit books. But though he pretended to have read them, most of the leaves were uncut. The Master knew all his limitations, yet enjoyed listening to him recite from the Vedas and other scriptures. He would always exhort Mahima to meditate on the meaning of the scriptural texts and to practise spiritual discipline.
   Pratap Hazra, a middle-aged man, hailed from a village near Kamarpukur. He was not altogether unresponsive to religious feelings. On a moment's impulse he had left his home, aged mother, wife, and children, and had found shelter in the temple garden at Dakshineswar, where he intended to lead a spiritual life. He loved to argue, and the Master often pointed him out as an example of barren argumentation. He was hypercritical of others and cherished an exaggerated notion of his own spiritual advancement. He was mischievous and often tried to upset the minds of the Master's young disciples, criticizing them for their happy and joyous life and asking them to devote their time to meditation. The Master teasingly compared Hazra to Jatila and Kutila, the two women who always created obstructions in Krishna's sport with the gopis, and said that Hazra lived at Dakshineswar to "thicken the plot" by adding complications.
  --
   Even before Rakhal's coming to Dakshineswar, the Master had had visions of him as his spiritual son and as a playmate of Krishna at Vrindavan. Rakhal was born of wealthy parents. During his childhood he developed wonderful spiritual traits and used to play at worshipping gods and goddesses. In his teens he was married to a sister of Manomohan Mitra, from whom he first heard of the Master. His father objected to his association with Sri Ramakrishna but afterwards was reassured to find that many celebrated people were visitors at Dakshineswar. The relationship between the Master and this beloved disciple was that of mother and child. Sri Ramakrishna allowed Rakhal many liberties denied to others. But he would not hesitate to chastise the boy for improper actions. At one time Rakhal felt a childlike jealousy because he found that other boys were receiving the Master's affection. He soon got over it and realized his Guru as the Guru of the whole universe. The Master was worried to hear of his marriage, but was relieved to find that his wife was a spiritual soul who would not be a hindrance to his progress.
   --- THE ELDER GOPAL
  --
   As he read in college the rationalistic Western philosophers of the nineteenth century, his boyhood faith in God and religion was unsettled. He would not accept religion on mere faith; he wanted demonstration of God. But very soon his passionate nature discovered that mere Universal Reason was cold and bloodless. His emotional nature, dissatisfied with a mere abstraction, required a concrete support to help him in the hours of temptation. He wanted an external power, a Guru, who by embodying perfection in the flesh would still the commotion of his soul. Attracted by the magnetic personality of Keshab, he joined the Brahmo Samaj and became a singer in its choir. But in the Samaj he did not find the Guru who could say that he had seen God.
   In a state of mental conflict and torture of soul, Narendra came to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. He was then eighteen years of age and had been in college two years. He entered the Master's room accompanied by some light-hearted friends. At Sri Ramakrishna's request he sang a few songs, pouring his whole soul into them, and the Master went into samadhi. A few minutes later Sri Ramakrishna suddenly left his seat, took Narendra by the hand, and led him to the screened verandah north of his room. They were alone. Addressing Narendra most tenderly, as if he were a friend of long acquaintance, the Master said: "Ah! You have come very late. Why have you been so unkind as to make me wait all these days? My ears are tired of hearing the futile words of worldly men. Oh, how I have longed to pour my spirit into the heart of someone fitted to receive my message!" He talked thus, sobbing all the time. Then, standing before Narendra with folded hands, he addressed him as Narayana, born on earth to remove the misery of humanity. Grasping Narendra's hand, he asked him to come again, alone, and very soon. Narendra was startled. "What is this I have come to see?" he said to himself. "He must be stark mad. Why, I am the son of Viswanath Dutta. How dare he speak this way to me?"
  --
   A few more meetings completely removed from Narendra's mind the last traces of the notion that Sri Ramakrishna might be a monomaniac or wily hypnotist. His integrity, purity, renunciation, and unselfishness were beyond question. But Narendra could not accept a man, an imperfect mortal, as his Guru. As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, he could not believe that a human intermediary was necessary between man and God. Moreover, he openly laughed at Sri Ramakrishna's visions as hallucinations. Yet in the secret chamber of his heart he bore a great love for the Master.
   Sri Ramakrishna was grateful to the Divine Mother for sending him one who doubted his own realizations. Often he asked Narendra to test him as the money-changers test their coins. He laughed at Narendra's biting criticism of his spiritual experiences and samadhi. When at times Narendra's sharp words distressed him, the Divine Mother Herself would console him, saying: "Why do you listen to him? In a few days he will believe your every word." He could hardly bear Narendra's absences. Often he would weep bitterly for the sight of him. Sometimes Narendra would find the Master's love embarrassing; and one day he sharply scolded him, warning him that such infatuation would soon draw him down to the level of its object. The Master was distressed and prayed to the Divine Mother. Then he said to Narendra: "You rogue, I won't listen to you any more. Mother says that I love you because I see God in you, and the day I no longer see God in you I shall not be able to bear even the sight of you."
  --
   Jogindranath, on the other hand, was gentle to a fault. One day, under circumstances very like those that had evoked Niranjan's anger, he curbed his temper and held his peace instead of threatening Sri Ramakrishna's abusers. The Master, learning of his conduct, scolded him roundly. Thus to each the fault of the other was recommended as a virtue. The Guru was striving to develop, in the first instance, composure, and in the second, mettle. The secret of his training was to build up, by a tactful recognition of the requirements of each given case, the character of the devotee.
   Jogindranath came of an aristocratic brahmin family of Dakshineswar. His father and relatives shared the popular mistrust of Sri Ramakrishna's sanity. At a very early age the boy developed religious tendencies, spending two or three hours daily in meditation, and his meeting with Sri Ramakrishna deepened his desire for the realization of God. He had a perfect horror of marriage. But at the earnest request of his mother he had had to yield, and he now believed that his spiritual future was doomed. So he kept himself away from the Master.
  --
   Kaliprasad visited the Master toward the end of 1883. Given to the practice of meditation and the study of the scriptures. Kali was particularly interested in yoga. Feeling the need of a Guru in spiritual life, he came to the Master and was accepted as a disciple. The young boy possessed a rational mind and often felt sceptical about the Personal God. The Master said to him: "Your doubts will soon disappear. Others, too, have passed through such a state of mind. Look at Naren. He now weeps at the names of Radha and Krishna." Kali began to see visions of gods and goddesses. Very soon these disappeared and in meditation he experienced vastness, infinity, and the other attributes of the Impersonal Brahman.
   --- SUBODH
  --
   In the beginning of September 1885 Sri Ramakrishna was moved to Syampukur. Here Narendra organized the young disciples to attend the Master day and night. At first they concealed the Master's illness from their guardians; but when it became more serious they remained with him almost constantly, sweeping aside the objections of their relatives and devoting themselves whole-heartedly to the nursing of their beloved Guru. These young men, under the watchful eyes of the Master and the leadership of Narendra, became the antaranga bhaktas, the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna's inner circle. They were privileged to witness many manifestations of the Master's divine powers. Narendra received instructions regarding the propagation of his message after his death.
   The Holy Mother — so Sarada Devi had come to be affectionately known by Sri Ramakrishna's devotees — was brought from Dakshineswar to look after the general cooking and to prepare the special diet of the patient. The dwelling space being extremely limited, she had to adapt herself to cramped conditions. At three o'clock in the morning she would finish her bath in the Ganges and then enter a small covered place on the roof, where she spent the whole day cooking and praying. After eleven at night, when the visitors went away, she would come down to her small bedroom on the first floor to enjoy a few hours' sleep. Thus she spent three months, working hard, sleeping little, and praying constantly for the Master's recovery.
  --
   Among the attendants Sashi was the embodiment of service. He did not practise meditation, japa, or any of the other disciplines followed by his brother devotees. He was convinced that service to the Guru was the only religion for him. He forgot food and rest and was ever ready at the Master's bedside.
   Pundit Shashadhar one day suggested to the Master that the latter could remove the illness by concentrating his mind on the throat, the scriptures having declared that yogis had power to cure themselves in that way. The Master rebuked the pundit. "For a scholar like you to make such a proposal!" he said. "How can I withdraw the mind from the Lotus Feet of God and turn it to this worthless cage of flesh and blood?" "For our sake at least", begged Narendra and the other disciples. "But", replied Sri Ramakrishna, do you think I enjoy this suffering? I wish to recover, but that depends on the Mother."
  --
   While the devotees were returning to the garden house, carrying the urn with the sacred ashes, a calm resignation came to their souls and they cried, "Victory unto the Guru!"
   The Holy Mother was weeping in her room, not for her husband, but because she felt that Mother Kali had left her. As she was about to put on the marks of a Hindu widow, in a moment of revelation she heard the words of faith, "I have only passed from one room to another."

0.00 - The Book of Lies Text, #The Book of Lies, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
    this, and not criticism of his holy Guru, should be the
    occupation of his days and nights.
  --
   Paragraph 5 expresses the wish of the Guru that his Chela may attain safely
  to binah, the Mother.

0.00 - THE GOSPEL PREFACE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  The Master, who divined the mood of desperation in M, his resolve to take leave of this 'play-field of deception', put new faith and hope into him by his gracious words of assurance: "God forbid! Why should you take leave of this world? Do you not feel blessed by discovering your Guru? By His grace, what is beyond all imagination or dreams can be easily achieved!" At these words the clouds of despair moved away from the horizon of M.'s mind, and the sunshine of a new hope revealed to him fresh vistas of meaning in life. Referring to this phase of his life, M. used to say, "Behold! where is the resolve to end life, and where, the discovery of God! That is, sorrow should be looked upon as a friend of man. God is all good." ( Ibid P.33.)
  After this re-settlement, M's life revolved around the Master, though he continued his professional work as an educationist. During all holidays, including Sundays, he spent his time at Dakshineswar in the Master's company, and at times extended his stay to several days.

0.02 - II - The Home of the Guru, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
  object:0.02 - II - The Home of the Guru
  author class:A B Purani
  --
   Guru-griha-vsa staying in the home of the Guru is a very old Indian ideal maintained by seekers through the ages. The Aranyakas the ancient teachings in the forest-groves are perhaps the oldest records of the institution. It was not for education in the modern sense of the term that men went to live with the Guru; for the Guru is not a 'teacher'. The Guru is one who is 'enlightened', who is a seer, a Rishi, one who has the vision of and has lived the Truth. He has, thus, the knowledge of the goal of human life and has learnt true values in life by living the Truth. He can impart both these to the willing seeker. In ancient times seekers went to the Guru with many questions, difficulties and doubts but also with earnestness. Their questions were preliminary to the quest.
   The Master, the Guru, set at rest the puzzled human mind by his illuminating answers, perhaps even more by his silent consciousness, so that it might be able to pursue unhampered the path of realisation of the Truth. Those ancient discourses answer the mind of man today even across the ages. They have rightly acquired as everything of the past does a certain sanctity. But sometimes that very reverence prevents men from properly evaluating, and living in, the present. This happens when the mind instead of seeking the Spirit looks at the form. For instance, it is not necessary for such discourses that they take place in forest-groves in order to be highly spiritual. Wherever the Master is, there is Light. And Guru-griha the house of the Master can be his private dwelling place. So much was this feeling a part of Sri Aurobindo's nature and so particular was he to maintain the personal character of his work that during the first few years after 1923 he did not like his house to be called an 'Ashram', as the word had acquired the sense of a public institution to the modern mind. But there was no doubt that the flower of Divinity had blossomed in him; and disciples, like bees seeking honey, came to him. It is no exaggeration to say that these Evening Talks were to the small company of disciples what the Aranyakas were to the ancient seekers. Seeking the Light, they came to the dwelling place of their Guru, the greatest seer of the age, and found it their spiritual home the home of their parents, for the Mother, his companion in the great mission, had come. And these spiritual parents bestowed upon the disciples freely of their Light, their Consciousness, their Power and their Grace. The modern reader may find that the form of these discourses differs from those of the past but it was bound to be so for the simple reason that the times have changed and the problems that puzzle the modern mind are so different. Even though the disciples may be very imperfect representations of what he aimed at in them, still they are his creations. It is in order to repay, in however infinitesimal a degree, the debt which we owe to him that the effort is made to partake of the joy of his company the Evening Talks with a larger public.
   ***

0.07 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  It is not as a Guru that I love and bless, it is as the Mother who
  asks nothing in return for what she gives.
  --
  without a Guru who will lead me to Her Feet?
  I do not see anybody in the world more qualified than Sri

0.10 - Letters to a Young Captain, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  forces or with deities. These Japas must be given by the Guru,
  who at the same time infuses them with the power of realisation.
  --
  India is supposed to be the Guru of the world in
  order to establish the spiritual life on earth. But, Mother,

0.11 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  good Guru and what a good disciple!
  Speed is not necessarily a sign of superiority.

0 1958-08-29, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   [Satprem would later part company with this Swami and follow a thorough tantric discipline with another Guru who will henceforth be called X in the Agenda.]
   The mantra written upon each of the souvenirs1 from the Himalayas has a strong power of evoking the Supreme Mother.
   At the Thursday evening meditation, he appeared as the Guru of Tantric Initiation, magnified and seated upon a symbolic representation of the forces and riches of material Nature (in the middle of the playground, to my left), and he put into my hand something sufficiently material for me to feel the vibrations physically, and it had a great realizing power. It was a kind of luminous and very vibrant globe which I held in my hands during the whole meditation.
   S, who was sitting in front of me, spontaneously asked me afterwards what I had been holding in my hands during the meditation, and she described it thus: It was round, very soft and luminous like the moon.

0 1958-10-04, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   In this vision, the d. ceased tantric Guru of the Guru who initiated Satprem appeared to Mother in a dark blue light and 'imposed' himself on her to tell her certain things.
   The disciple's tantric Guru.
   We believe that Mother used the word 'qualified' in the sense of restrict, limit Or modifya limitless Power.

0 1958-10-10, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   Then and this becomes rather amusing like lifes play Depending upon each ones nature and position and bias, and because human beings are very limited, very partial and incapable of a global vision, there are those who believe, who have faith, or to whom the eternal Mother is revealed through Grace, who have this kind of relationship with the eternal Mother and there are those who themselves are plunged in sadhana, who have the consciousness of a developed sadhak, and thereby have the same relationship with me as one has with what they generally call a realized soul. Such persons consider me the prototype of the Guru teaching a new way, but the others dont have this relationship of sadhak to Guru (I am taking the two extremes, but of course there are all the possibilities in between), they are only in contact with the eternal Mother and, in the simplicity of their hearts, they expect Her to do everything for them. If they were perfect in this attitude, the eternal Mother would do everything for themas a matter of fact, She does do everything, but as they arent perfect, they cannot receive it totally. But the two paths are very different, the two kinds of relationships are very different; and as we all live according to the law of external things, in a material body, there is a kind of annoyance, an almost irritated misunderstanding, between those who follow this path (not consciously and intentionally, but spontaneously), who have this relationship of the child to the Mother, and those who have this other relationship of the sadhak to the Guru. So it creates a whole play, with an infinite diversity of shades.
   But all this is still in suspense, on the way to realization, moving forward progressively; therefore, unless we are able to see the outcome, we cant understand a thing. We get confused. Only when we see the outcome, the final realization, only when we have TOUCHED there, will everything be understood then it will be as clear and as simple as can be. But meanwhile, my relationships with different people are very funny, utterly amusing!

0 1958-10-25 - to go out of your body, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   (Concerning the disciple's tantric Guru)
   When X does his puja, I clearly see the particular form of the Mother he is invoking I see her descending.

0 1958-11-22, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   The first tantric Guru whom the disciple joined in Ceylon and with whom he travelled in the Himalayas.
   Original English.

0 1958-11-27 - Intermediaries and Immediacy, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   It is like the story X told me of his Guru2 who could comm and the coming of Kali (something which seems quite natural to me when one is sufficiently developed); well, not only could he commend the coming of Kali, but Kali with I dont know how many crores of her warriors! For me, Kali was Kali, after all, and she did her work; but in the universal organization, her action, the innumerable multiplicity of her action, is expressed by an innumerable multitude of conscious entities at work. It is this individualization, as it were, that gives to these forces a consciousness and a certain play of freedom, and this is what makes all the difference in action. It is in this respect that the occult system is an absolutely indispensable complement to spiritual action.
   The spiritual action is direct, but it may not be immediate (anyway, thats my experience). Sri Aurobindo said that with the supramental presence, it becomes immediate and I have experienced this. But this would then mean that the supramental Power automatically commands all these intermediaries, whereas if its not present, even the highest spiritual power would need a specialized knowledge to act in this realm, a knowledge equivalent to an occult or initiatory knowledge of all these realms. This is why I told X, Well, you taught me many things while you were here. There is always something to learn.
  --
   The disciple's tantric Guru.
   The deceased Guru of the disciple's Guru.
   A few days later, the disciple left on a journey, then Mother fell 'ill.' It was to be the first great turning in her yoga: the beginning of the yoga of the cells.

0 1959-01-14, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   This morning, X told me that he would be most happy to continue his action upon you if it would help your work; he has continued it anyway, even after knowing that the malefic influence was expelled from the Ashram. By the way, X told me that this evil spirit is continuing to circle around the Ashram, but beyond its borders. Therefore, if you agree, it would be necessary for him to come to Pondicherry one of these days to come to grips directly with the evil one and finish him off in such a way that he can no longer come to disturb the sadhaks, or your work, upon the slightest pretext. Then X could force this spirit to appear before him, and thereby free the atmosphere from its influence. Anyway, this trip to Pondicherry would not take place in the near future, and it would be easy to give him an official excuse: seminars on the Tantra Shastra that will interest all the Sanskritists at the Ashram. Moreover, Xs work would be done quietly in his room when he does his daily puja. From here, from Rameswaram, it is rather difficult to attract Pondicherrys atmosphere and do the work with precision. Of course, nothing will be done without your express consent. Swami is writing you on his own to tell you of the revelation that X received from his [deceased] Guru concerning your experience and the schemings of certain Ashram members.
   In this regard, perhaps you know that X is the tenth in the line of Bhaskaraya (my spelling of this name is perhaps not correct), the great Tantric of whom you had a vision, who could comm and the coming of Kali along with all her warriors. It is from X that Swami received his initiation.

0 1959-01-21, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   Here is what X told me: I have received a message from my Guru.1 In my vision, the Mother was there, next to my Guru, and she was smiling. My Guru told me that your present difficulties are a period of testing, but I could already give you the first stage of tantric initiation and that for you, the three stages of initiation could be done in an accelerated way.
   I will therefore give you initiation this Friday or Saturday, on the day of the full moon or the day before. This first stage will last three months during which you will have to repeat 1 lakh2 times the mantra that I will give you. At the end of three months, I will come to see you in Pondicherryor you will come here for a fortnight, and as soon as I have received the message from my Guru, I will give you the second stage that will last three months as well. At the end of these three months, you will receive the full initiation. X warned me that the first stage I am to receive provokes attacks and tests but that all this disappears with the second stage. Forewarned is forearmed. For what reason I do not know, but X told me that the particular nature of my initiation should remain secret and that he will say nothing about it to Swami, and he added (in speaking of the speed of the process), But you will not be less than the Swami. (!!) There, I wanted you to knowbesides, you were present in Xs vision. All this happened at a time when I was in the most desperate crisis I have ever known. Sweet Mother, there is no end to expressing my gratitude to you, and yet with the least trial, I am reduced to nothing. Why have you so much grace for me?
   I would like very much to return to Pondicherry for the February Darshan and once again begin working for you. Today I am sending a second lot to Pavitra and tomorrow I will start on the Aphorisms, for I do not want to make you wait any longer. I will send a third and final lot to Pavitra by the end of the month, in time for printing. I am very touched, sweet Mother, by your attention and the money you are sending me.
  --
   X's deceased Guru.
   One lakh = one hundred thousand.

0 1959-05-25, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   The disciple's tantric Guru.
   ***

0 1959-06-13a, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   Lele: the tantric Guru whom Sri Aurobindo met in 1908 and who gave him mental silence and Nirvana.
   ***

0 1959-07-10, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   A moment ago I barely found the strength not to kill myself. Destiny has repeated itself once again, but this time it was not I who rejected her, as in past existences, it is she who rejected me: Too late. For a moment, I thought I was going to go crazy too, so much pain did I have then finally I said, May Thy Will be done, (that of the Supreme Lord) and I kept repeating, Thy Grace is there, even in the greatest suffering. But I am broken, rather like a living dead man. So be happy, for I will never wear the white robe that Guruji gave me.
   You will understand that I do not have the strength to come to see you. My only strength is not to rebel, my only strength is to believe in the Grace in the face of everything. I believe I have too much grief in my heart to rebel against anything at all. I seem to have a kind of great pity for this world.

0 1960-05-16, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   The tantric Guru.
   Tamas: inertia. Later, Mother would discover that this is not tamas but something else.

0 1960-10-22, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   Traditionally, one's mantra is never to be repeated before anyone except the Guru.
   Tamas: inertia.

0 1960-10-25, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   Its so contrary not only to the education but to the make up of people from the West! For an Indian for a modern Indian it would be difficult, but for those who have kept something of the old tradition it would not be difficult. Its easy for children raised in a monastery or near the Guru
   (silence)
  --
   The disciple's tantric Guru.
   In occult language, a 'formation' is a concentration of power towards a specific end. In this case, the tantric Guru's formation to save the nephew.
   The yearly ritual worship in honor of Durga, the universal Mother.

0 1960-12-13, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   The tantric Guru. During his periodic visits to the Ashram, Mother used to give him almost daily meditations.
   ***

0 1960-12-23, #Agenda Vol 01, #unset, #Zen
   (Mother arrives from a meditation with X, the tantric Guru)
   I come empty-handed

0 1961-01-27, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   The tantric Guru.
   The Vedic or pre-Vedic experience of the artificial hurricane and the pink marble bathtub.

0 1961-03-04, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I treated it as something altogether secondary and unimportantwhen people need to gallop, I let them gallop (but I hadnt met Z). Then J. and Z left together on a speaking-tour of Africa and there things began to go sour, because Z was working in one way and J. in another. Finally, they were at odds and came back here to tell me, World Union is off to a good startwith a quarrel! (Mother laughs) Z was saying, Nothing can be done unless we base ourselves EXCLUSIVELY on the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and they are behind us giving support. And J. said, No, no! We are not sectarian! We accept all ideas, all theories, etc. I replied, and as it happens, I said that Z was right, though with one corrective: he had been saying that people had to recognize us as their Guru. No, I said, its absolutely uselessnot only useless, I refuse. I dont want to be anybodys Guru. People should simply be told that things are to be done on the basis of Sri Aurobindos thought.9
   So they kept pulling in opposing directions. Eventually they tried to set something up (which still didnt hold together), and finally they wrote me a little more clearly. (There is one very nice man involved, Y. He isnt particularly intellectual but has a lot of common sense and a very faithful hearta very good man.) Y asked me some direct questions, without beating around the bush, and I replied directly: World Union is an entirely superficial thing, without any depth, based on the fact that Sri Aurobindo said the masses must be helped to follow the progress of the elitewell, let them go ahead! If they enjoy it, let them go right ahead! I didnt say it exactly like that (I was a bit more polite!), but that was the gist of it.

0 1961-03-21, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   The tantric Guru.
   Puja: ceremony, invocation or evocation of a god (in this case, a tantric ritual).
   Z was Satprem's first Guru when he became a sannyasi. Then Z tried to exert his control over Satprem and predicted to Mother that he would never remain in the Ashram. Finally Satprem broke with him and Z went away furious.
   Satprem has never believed for a minute that Z practiced black magic against Mother: it must have been something or someone else.

0 1961-04-08, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Later, concerning the disciples very traditionalist Guru who falls ill each time he comes to the Ashram:)
   He seems to understand better. In his own way, he is progressiveunfortunately, it always makes him sick! The Force is too great for his body to bear.

0 1961-04-29, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Oh, Ive had some very interesting revelations on this point, on the way people think and feel about it. I remember someone once made a little statue of Sri Aurobindo; he gave it a potbelly and anyway, to me it was ridiculous. So I said, How could you make such a thing?! He explained that even if its a caricature for the ordinary eye, since its an image of the one you consider God, or a god, or an Avatar, since its the image of the one you worship, even if only a Guru, it contains the spirit and the force of his presence, and this is what you worship, even in a crude form, even if the form is a caricature to the physical eye.
   Someone made a large painting of Sri Aurobindo and myself, and they brought it here to show me. I said, Oh, its dreadful! It was to the physical eye it was really dreadful. Its dreadful, I said, we cant keep it. Then immediately someone asked me for it, saying, Im going to put it up in my house and do my puja before it. Ah! I couldnt help saying, But how could you put up a thing like that! (It wasnt so much ugly as frightfully banal.) How can you do puja before something so commonplace and empty! This person replied, Oh, to me its not empty! It contains all the presence and all the force, and I shall worship it as that: the Presence and the Force.

0 1961-06-20, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Yesterday, when I was in that immobility, suddenly I felt something obliging me to turn my head. I didnt turn my head, but the consciousness turned (gesture to the left), and then I saw myself standing there in the corridor (that kind of corridor separating the hall and Sri Aurobindos room) in my usual outdoor dress [Indian shirt and light trousers]. I was standing up very straight and holding a globe of light above my head and such a light! It was shining brighter than those strong electric bulbsdazzling. My own clothing seemed to be made of golden-pink light. I was standing very straight and carrying this globe (gesture above the head). When I saw that I said to myself, Now why on earth is he making me see this? And that was all. Nothing else happened except that. But near me there was a figure I didnt know, and it reminded me of Xs great Guru,1 whom I had already seen once. There he was by my side, a tall figure, and he seemed to be the one who had tugged at me to make me see that vision.
   It was a large globe. Although no distinct rays could be seen, it appeared to be projecting innumerable rays like flashes of lightning. It was sparkling all over.
  --
   X's deceased Guru. See Agenda I, October 4, 1958, pp. 200-201
   See the poem entitled Self
  --
   The tantric Guru Sri Aurobindo met in 1907 and from whom he received mental silence.
   ***

0 1961-09-10, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Concerning the tantric Guru:)
   Has A. spoken to you about this? X told him that you were the bridge between him and me (he even spoke in English): Oh, Satprem was the bridge. (Mother smiles) And a second later he added, But now we dont need it anymore! (Mother laughs merrily) I was much amused!

0 1961-11-05, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   It was certainly Sri Aurobindos power that made Richard decide to leave. For twelve years I had been Richards Guru (thats where our relationship stood), but I hadnt succeeded in converting him, and when we came back here I said, Im through with it. Ive tried and Ive failed. Ive failed completely. Ask Sri Aurobindo. When Sri Aurobindo took him in hand, that was another story. He couldnt take i the left.
   But the whole affair was diabolic, you know; it had turned into something fantastic.

0 1961-12-20, #Agenda Vol 02, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Then when Richard came here he met Sri Aurobindo (he was haunted by the idea of meeting the Master, the Guru, the Great Teacher). Sri Aurobindo was in hiding, seeing no one, but when Richard insisted, he met him, and Richard returned with a photograph. It was one of those early photos, with nothing in it. It was empty, the remnants of the political man, not at all resembling what I had seen I didnt recognize him. Its strange, I said to myself, thats not it (for I saw only his external appearance, there was no inner contact). But still, I was curious to meet him. At any rate, I cant say that when I saw this photograph I felt, Hes the one! Not at all. He impressed me as being a very interesting man, but no more.
   I came here. But something in me wanted to meet Sri Aurobindo all alone the first time. Richard went to him in the morning and I had an appointment for the afternoon. He was living in the house thats now part of the second dormitory, the old Guest House.5 I climbed up the stairway and he was standing there, waiting for me at the top of the stairs. EXACTLY my vision! Dressed the same way, in the same position, in profile, his head held high. He turned his head towards me and I saw in his eyes that it was He. The two things clicked (gesture of instantaneous shock), the inner experience immediately became one with the outer experience and there was a fusion the decisive shock.

0 1962-01-09, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   The tantric Guru.
   Tapasya: yogic discipline.

0 1962-02-03, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I mean, if they themselves discover the experiences they had in their past life, then its part of a whole inner, psychic awakening, and very useful. But if some Guru or other comes along and tells you, Here, this was your karma. I dont think its useful, to put it mildly!
   If you discover the line of a former life on your own, thats different; its part of an inner, psychic awakening, and its very good. But I dont think its helpful when someone sees something and comes and tells you, You know, you have been this, you have done that. I feel it makes things worse instead of betterit puts you back in touch with things you were in the process of eliminating.

0 1962-03-11, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Only its perfectly true that to deal with those realms one must either be fully protected by a Guru, a real Guru, a man with knowledge, or else have purity (not saintliness), an unmixed vital and mental purity. Very, very often, bhaktas [devotees] of Sri Aurobindo or mewhen they are sincere, truly sincere, that is, people of great spiritual purityhave dozens of beings appear to them, saying, I am Sri Aurobindo. It happens all the time, with all the right external appearancesits very easy for such beings to put on a disguise. It takes the inner psychic purity not to be deceivedyou invariably FEEL something that makes it impossible for you to be duped. But otherwise, many, many people are taken in.
   I dont like to talk about this because people here have no discrimination; they would be left with nothing but fear and would no longer believe in anything, forever asking me, Oh, isnt this a trick? Which paralyzes everything. Thats why I didnt speak about that in this Talk.
  --
   Actually, thats the main reason I dont like to talk about occultism. It puts people in touch with an extremely dangerous world which cant be safely entered unless one is (I cant even say a saint, because its not true; some saints enter the vital world and get right into it!) unless one is transformed, unless one has the true spiritual consciousness. On this condition alone are you perfectly safe. So where are the people with the spiritual consciousness? There are really very few of them, very few. And above all, in those who have this occult curiosity there are also all sorts of vital movements, which make it dangerous for them to enter that world. Unless, of course, they go shielded by the Gurus presence; with that, you can go anywhere, its the same as going there with him. And if you do go with him, all is well; he has the knowledge and he protects you. But going there all on your own is you need the Divine Protection itself! Or the protection of the Guru who represents the Divine. With the Gurus protection you are safe.
   But isnt it possible to have a fruitful collaboration with those beings? Should they be avoided altogether, or what?
  --
   That teaching should really be given under the seal of secrecy, and given along with the necessary power and discrimination for going through the experiences without danger. And that means the Gurus constant personal care and attention.
   Certain stages of your development even require the Gurus physical presence: you must no longer go into trance unless he is there, sitting beside you. Out of the question! Cant you just imagine me saddled with loads of people! Its impossible; I couldnt even do the job properly. No, its impossible, it would simply mean exposing a lot of people to permanent danger and I dont want to.
   So well put this Talk aside.

0 1962-05-22, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (The beginning of this conversation, unfortunately not kept, dealt with certain instances of human ugliness. The topic, in fact, was Satprem's break with X who had been his Guru for the past few years. The reasons for this rupture may one day be told, but it should be stressed right now that the fault did not really lie with X, whom Satprem continued to respect, but with a group of schemers at the Ashram who fastened onto X in the hope of god knows what "powers." It is perhaps just as well that the human "ugliness" here in question has vanished from Satprem's records, foralthough it did come up again immediately after Mother's departureit concerned only the Ashram disciples. All the details and all Mother's reflections on the subject have thus been lost, with the exception of this last fragment:)
   What a world!

0 1962-06-12, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Unexpectedly, this conversation led into the subject of Satprem's break with X, who had been his Guru for the past few years. Here then, briefly, is the story behind the rupture: No sooner had Satprem brought X to the Ashram than a swarm of disciples threw themselves at him. Conspicuous among these were the moneymen, the same wheelerdealers who, eleven years later, after Mother's departure, were to reveal their ambitions in Auroville as well as Pondicherry. Satprem's somewhat straightforward manner soon got in the way of their schemes. He had a deep affection for X and when he repeatedly saw that these peoplespiritual scoundrels is the only word for themwere, in the hope of sowing confusion (for they always prosper best in confusion), bringing false reports to Mother of things X had supposedly said, he tried in all innocence to put X on his guard against the false reports and dishonest people who were wronging him. But instead of listening to Satprem and understanding that he spoke out of love, Xwith all his Tantric power behindflew into a violent rage against him, as if he had been casting a slur on X's prestige. Satprem then broke with X, but not without sorrow.)
   Anything new?

0 1962-07-21, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Afterwards, when I came to Pondicherry, this unsteady condition came to an end. The Guru of the world who is within us then gave me complete directions for my pathits complete theory, the ten limbs of the body of this Yoga. These past ten years He has been making me develop it in experience, and this is not yet finished. It may take another two years, and as long as it is not finished I doubt if I shall be able to return to Bengal. Pondicherry is the appointed place for my yoga siddhi [realization], except indeed one part of it, and that is action. The centre of my work is Bengal, although I hope that its circumference will be all India and the whole earth.
   I shall write and tell you afterwards what this way of yoga is. Or if you come here I shall speak to you about it. In this matter the spoken word is better than the written. At present I can only say that its root-principle is to make a harmony and unity of complete knowledge, complete works and complete Bhakti [Devotion], to raise all this above the mind and give it its complete perfection on the supramental level of Vijnana [Gnosis]. This was the defect of the old yoga the mind and the Spirit it knew, and it was satisfied with the experience of the Spirit in the mind. But the mind can grasp only the divided and partial; it cannot wholly seize the infinite and indivisible. The minds means to reach the infinite are Sannyasa [Renunciation], Moksha [Liberation] and Nirvana, and it has no others. One man or another may indeed attain this featureless Moksha, but what is the gain? The Brahman, the Self, God are ever present. What God wants in man is to embody Himself here in the individual and in the community, to realize God in life.
  --
   You say that what is needed is maddening enthusiasm, to fill the country with emotional excitement. In the time of the Swadeshi [fight for independence, boycott of English goods] we did all that in the field of politics, but what we did is all now in the dust. Will there be a more favorable result in the spiritual field? I do not say there has been no result. There has been. Any movement will produce some result, but for the most part in terms of an increase of possibility. This is not the right method, however, to steadily actualize the thing. Therefore I no longer wish to make emotional excitement or any intoxication of the mind the base. I wish to make a large and strong equanimity the foundation of the yoga. I want established on that equality a full, firm and undisturbed Shakti in the system and in all its movements. I want the wide display of the light of Knowledge in the ocean of Shakti. And I want in that luminous vastness the tranquil ecstasy of infinite Love, Delight and Oneness. I do not want hundreds of thousands of disciples. It will be enough if I can get a hundred complete men, purified of petty egoism, who will be the instruments of God. I have no faith in the customary trade of the Guru. I do not wish to be a Guru. If anybody wakes and manifests from within his slumbering godhead and gets the divine lifebe it at my touch or at anothersthis is what I want. It is such men that will raise the country.
   You must not think from all this lecture that I despair of the future of Bengal. I too hope, as they say, that this time a great light will manifest itself in Bengal. Still I have tried to show the other side of the shield, where the fault is, the error, the deficiency. If these remain, the light will not be a great light and it will not be permanent.
  --
   Lele, a tantric Guru Sri Aurobindo met in 1908, who gave him the realization of mental silence and Nirvana.
   Rama, the divine Avatar who killed the demon Ravana with the help of Hanuman and the other monkeys.

0 1962-08-14, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Satprem did not keep any record of his questions at the beginning of the following conversation, nor does he exactly remember the circumstances that led to it. It seems that he wanted to write a letter to X, his former Tantric Guru, or meet him, to explain what had happened and, in fact, to tell X that he still held him in deepest affection, despite external circumstances and Satprem's outward break with him.)
   One must never go back; one must always go forward.

0 1962-11-30, #Agenda Vol 03, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   A. has a neighbor who is an educational officer (retired). He does serious Puja daily and has certain powers of foretelling, mind-reading etc. He is under instructions from his Guru never to send back people without answering their questions of whatever kind; never to get angry under any conditions; never to accept money; and never to tell things of his own accord. He is in great demand among ministers and officials of the Madras Government, and Nehru too had an interesting experience at his hands.
   This gentleman told A. on October 20 that the Chinese hostilities will be under Cease-Fire by the end of November. It actually came to be on November 20. Here are a few other things he has said in reply to A. on his return from here:

0 1963-03-19, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Satprem's Tantric Guru.
   Pranam: prostration.

0 1963-05-11, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   A mantra given by a Guru is only the power to realize the experience of the discoverer of the mantra. The power is automatically there, because the sound contains the experience. I saw that once in Paris, at a time when I knew nothing of India, absolutely nothing, only the usual nonsense. I didnt even know what a mantra was. I had gone to a lecture given by some fellow who was supposed to have practiced yoga for a year in the Himalayas and recounted his experience (none too interesting, either). All at once, in the course of his lecture, he uttered the sound OM. And I saw the entire room suddenly fill with light, a golden, vibrating light. I was probably the only one to notice it. I said to myself, Well! Then I didnt give it any more thought, I forgot about the story. But as it happened, the experience recurred in two or three different countries, with different people, and every time there was the sound OM, I would suddenly see the place fill with that same light. So I understood. That sound contains the vibration of thousands and thousands of years of spiritual aspiration there is in it the entire aspiration of men towards the Supreme. And the power is automatically there, because the experience is there.
   Its the same with my mantra. When I wanted to translate the end of my mantra, Glory to You, O Lord, into Sanskrit, I asked for Nolinis help. He brought his Sanskrit translation, and when he read it to me, I immediately saw that the power was therenot because Nolini put his power into it (!), God knows he had no intention of giving me a mantra! But the power was there because my experience was there. We made a few adjustments and modifications, and thats the japa I do now I do it all the time, while sleeping, while walking, while eating, while working, all the time.1 And thats how a mantra has life: when it wells up all the time, spontaneously, like the cry of your beingthere is no need of effort or concentration: its your natural cry. Then it has full power, it is alive. It must well up from within. No Guru can give you that.
   Well up. Well, its a long way to go! I will need a great deal of paper for all those diagrams [Tantric diagrams given by X]: seventy-two every day.

0 1963-07-10, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Satprem reads Mother a previous conversation, of May 11, in which Mother said that the true mantra is not the one given you by a Guru but the mantra that wells up from within spontaneously, like the cry of your soul.)
   But how is it, if the mantra automatically contains the power of the experience, that it is always said that unless you have been given the mantra by your Guru, it has no power?
   Thats when you have no power of your own, naturally! If, for example, just anybody comes to me and asks me for a mantra, I wont tell him he should find his own mantra inside. What I said there applies to those who are in contact with their soul. But those who have no conscious contact with their soul cannot find their mantra their head will search for words, but thats nothing. I said the mantra must well up from within but for them, nothing will well up! They wont find it. They wont find it, not a chance! So in that case, the Guru passes on his own power.
   Yes, but when you read a mantra in a book, for instance, it is said theres no force in ithow is that, since the vibration is there?
  --
   Ultimately, what does the Guru do? He connects (gesture of junction), he is nothing but a link. Its not his power he gives you (thats what he thinks, but its not true): he is the link. He brings you into contact with the Powera contact you dont have without him. But those who dont need a Guru will make contact WITHOUT a Guru.
   Its not at all like something he pulls out of his pocket and offers you! Thats not it at all: its the power to make contact.
  --
   Basically, the Gurus real power is to fill up the gaps! To bring you into contact: when you are in the higher planes, to bring you into contact with the Highest. Or to bring you into contact with your soul, your psychic being within, or to bring you into contact with the Supreme but that not many can do.
   (silence)

0 1963-08-31, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I see those colors, I always see them in association with those who have practiced Tantrism. X always has them with him, and with his Guru,1 its even much more, very strong and very intense.
   It was there in front of you, from there (the throat), that is to say the center of relationship with the world, down to here (the solar plexus).
  --
   X's deceased Guru, who several times appeared before Mother.
   Mother may be alluding to the following Aphorism (141): "Nietzsche saw the superman as the lion-soul passing out of camelhood, but the true heraldic device and token of the superman is the lion seated upon the camel which stands upon the cow of plenty. If thou canst not be the slave of all mankind, thou art not fit to be its master, and if thou canst not make thy nature as Vasishtha's cow of plenty with all mankind to draw its wish from her udders, what avails thy leonine supermanhood?" (The Rishi Vasishtha had a cow that supplied all that he needed for himself and his ashram, including armies to defend him.)

0 1963-10-16, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   No. It was either he or his Guruhis Guru interferes in many things. And I saw his Guru several times by his side I wasnt positively sure it was X, but if it wasnt X, it was his Guru, it can only be one or the other. And it was done DELIBERATELY, to make me think that Sri Aurobindo was there, in X, using X as a means of expression.
   Very, very long ago, when I was still downstairs (not last year, the year before), one day I dont remember the details, but I know he made a sort of cinema show during the meditation: he showed himself as this god, that god, this or thatthere was a whole swarm of gods and beings who came and threw themselves onto him like this (Mother lays one hand flat on the other), and Sri Aurobindo was there too, among the crowd! I took it as a demonstration of his powers I didnt attach any importance to it. Naturally, I saw what it was; none of those beings was actually there, it was only their image. But I didnt attach any importance to it because to me it was (laughing) like someone giving me a show!

0 1963-12-14, #Agenda Vol 04, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Thats just what I knew of Ws nature: the ego in him is that he likes to be a Guru thats when one is quite egoistic, but as one grows less so, there still remains that aspect of the nature that makes one more inclined to give than to receive. And as I had made a very strong concentration, quite naturally he felt the force going out of him.
   I didnt tell him anything, I simply said it was a very good experience: an experience that was given to you or that you were given (all that impersonal, as impersonal as possible). I am very glad when people do not tell me, You did this, you did that because immediately I feel that sort of little limitation which is so childishintellectuals would call it idolatry! (Mother laughs) I dont like that.

0 1964-01-04, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Regarding the Tantric Guru's visit)
   There has been an interesting phenomenon.
  --
   Its erudition, thats how its passed down from Guru to chela [disciple], indefinitely.
   Now when I see a possibility in someonebang! I fling it at him sometimes it stuns him a bit! But at any rate, one goes faster.

0 1964-08-11, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (About the Tantric Guru announcing his coming visit:)
   He has sent me his usual message: its a sort of picture with all the colors. You know that Tantrism attributes a value to each color; they make a sort of play of forces with all those colors, depending on what they want to say or express theyre lights, very brightly colored lights. Its very particular; the first time I saw that, it was connected with Tantrism. And the other day there came to me (in a slightly ironical tone) a very beautiful picture, this big (gesture: about six inches by twelve). So I knew it was coming from him and that he was happy!

0 1964-08-29, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Regarding the definitive break between Satprem and his Tantric Guru, with whom he had worked for six years. The occasion for this break was a sort of repetition of what had happened two years earlier, i.e., a swarming little horde of businessmen and "disciples" in search of petty powers, against whom, once again, Satprem wanted to warn X, for he loved him in spite of everything. This break nearly cost Satprem his life, as will be seen later. Thus is it said that those things are fire.)
   I see in a very clear way that even in circumstances in which you seem to have made a mistake, even with things that betrayed a hope and give you proof that what you expected wasnt legitimate, even in such a case, there isnt one circumstance, not one encounter, not one event that isnt EXACTLY whats necessary to lead you to the victory as rapidly as possible.

0 1964-09-23, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   (Here, Mother makes various remarks about the Tantric Guru and describes certain things she saw about him:)
   It comes with images, its a sort of perception like a motion picture.

0 1964-11-12, #Agenda Vol 05, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   There is something interesting (not the faintings!). You know that Z has started a yoga in the body (I didnt ask her to do anything, she did it spontaneously); she wrote to me her first experiences, and there were observations quite similar to those I had made and with an accuracy that interested me I have encouraged her. She is going on. I dont have the time to read her letters: theyre piling up there. But what I found very interesting is that yesterday I was read a letter from an English writer (a lady): she has a little group there, they meditate together, and they had a sort of Indian Guru (I dont know who) who was teaching them meditation. Then they came across Sri Aurobindos writings, and they began to study and follow his indications and try to understand. As it happened (about a year ago now), during their meditation, instead of their making an effort of ascent to awaken the Kundalini and rise towards the heights, all of a sudden the Force the Power, the Shaktibegan to descend from above downward. They informed their Guru, who told them, Very bad! Very dangerous, stop it, terrible things are going to happen to you! That was about a year ago. They werent quite sure that the gentleman was right and they went on, with very good results. Then, yesterday, that lady wrote, giving a detailed notation of their experiencesalmost the SAME WORDS as Z! Now thats beginning to be interesting. Because it represents an impersonalization of the Action, in other words it doesnt express itself subjectively according to each individual: it has a WAY of acting.
   I was very happy, I wrote her a note to congratulate her.

0 1965-07-10, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   But did I tell you the story of I. who was with Dilip? Before meeting Dilip, she had been with a Guru, a sannyasin or whatever, and he was absolutely furious at her leaving him, so he cursed her. His curse gave her a sort of thrombosis (you know, when the blood stops flowing and coagulates), anyway it was here, in the neck, near the right arm, I think, and it was very painfulit was even dangerous. She told me about it. I in turn told Sri Aurobindo about it and Sri Aurobindo told me to protect her. I sent my light to the gentleman. That man, frightful things happened to him! He died of a horrible disease. I. went and saw him at that time, a little before he died, and the man (who was conscious) told her, Here is what your Mother has done with me. He had been conscious. Then I saw that my affair was perfectly objective, because I had never said a word about it to anyone, nothing. And above all, that light had gone through Sri Aurobindo. I quite simply did that, I put the light, and the gentleman left for the curse to stop. And as he wasnt too pure, it resulted in a horrible disease.
   Now, my children, good-bye.

0 1965-07-14, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   People make too many personal stories out of what I say; you know, the anecdote about the Guru, as you read them in books.
   Theyre silly!

0 1965-08-07, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Indias true destiny is to be the Guru of the world.
   2) Similarly, if you were asked to comment on the reality as you see it, how would you do it in one sentence?

0 1965-08-18, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Do you remember C.? He has become a great Guru there, with a group, and it seems he hypnotizes people. And two Americans have come here (very nice people, one is a painter, the other is a sculptor); one was in C.s clutches and its the other who saved him by keeping him, almost brutally, materially far from C. for three days the third day, he was free (which does seem to prove that he has a hypnotic influence)and by telling him, Were leaving for Pondicherry, you dont need an intermediary between the Mother and you. Because C. plays the great intermediary between Sri Aurobindo and the poor public.
   (Mother looks at the photos)

0 1965-09-25, #Agenda Vol 06, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   X = the Tantric Guru.
   ***

0 1967-05-27, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   D. has gone to the Tibetan zones (not in Tibet, thats not possible, but up there, where the Tibetan refugees live), with some sort of hope of finding a Guru. But I saw her yesterday, and she has changed a lot. Yesterday she told me (she had read something by me, I dont know where, because she generally doesnt read), she told me that one day, Oh, I had a revelation; I suddenly understood that I didnt understand anything of what you say! Because we dont give words the same meaning. I said it was true! And now Ive understood, Ive understood how it is when we dont understand! And she was troubled, because naturally, everyone tells her, Why do you go there in search of what you have here? I answered her, What does it matter to you! Its quite simple, just tell them the truth that you arent ready for staying here. She said, Yes, thats what I am trying to tell them. (She is trying to tell them in a roundabout way.)
   But she has a great sincerity in her aspiration

0 1967-06-07, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I told you the other day that I had met D. before she left (in search of a Tibetan Guru) and we had spoken. I spoke to her of Sri Aurobindo and his teaching. And she has been converted! Yes, really. She wrote me another letter today, which Ive just received (its the second letter she has written to me from up there), in which she says she has met that famous Tibetan sage with whom she wanted to discuss. He seems to have made fun of her (she doesnt say so), but she says he constantly brings you face to face with your mental formations (he must have shown her that she was feeding on words). And then she adds, But as for me, I feel, I do feel your love always with me, and everything is fine.Never! Its the first time in her life she has told me this.
   So it gave me the idea of writing down what I told her about Sri Aurobindos teaching:

0 1967-08-26, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Oh, she has taken you as her Guru!
   I dont know. Shes taken me as an intermediary, yes. Its a role I dont like AT ALL!
  --
   She even said last time that she would like to meditate with me but Im not a Guru!
   Its not a pleasant profession! (laughter)

0 1967-09-23, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I told her I wasnt a Guru, that if she wanted to follow this path, she had to have a Guru and I wasnt here to spread the Good Word. I told her, If you walk alone on this path, you run the risk of taking your thoughts and desires for Gods commandments, so it helps to have a Guru who protects and leads you. But I am not a Guru at all. And I told her once more, If you wish, Mother is there and you can turn to her. Then there was a little something that made me angry: she said, Sri Aurobindo, yes, I understand Sri Aurobindo; Sri Aurobindo is an Avatar, but the Mother she is a highly developed personality, but not an Avatar. I replied, But what kind of perception do you have to say things of that sort! Then I added, It doesnt matter in the least
   Yes.
   So long as one doesnt know, one talks about it; as for me, I dont say, Mother is an Avatar or Mother is not an Avatar, I dont say anything. When you have the perception, you are able to say. Thats all. Finally I told her, I am not a Guru.
   (Mother laughs) Its very funny!

0 1967-10-07, #Agenda Vol 08, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Yes. Oh, but they arent the only ones to do that. As a matter of fact, all the old things seem to be swelling up as much as they can so as not to disappear. I received today a greeting card from a former disciple. (Mother looks for the card) His name was A.C., an Israelite who was here and then went to England. In England he belonged for a long time to the Sri Aurobindo Group, then when the war between Israel and Egypt broke out (or a little before), he became fanatical, a fanatical Israelite: I want to work for Israel alone. And as he had been contacted about Auroville, he answered, Can Auroville help Israel? Things of that sort. And right now, its the New Year there, so he sent me this (Mother shows a card with seven candles illuminating the world, and wheat sheaves). In the past, he called me The Divine Mother, and Sri Aurobindo was The Lord. Then in his last letter, it was Guru (I have become the Guru!), and, I want to inform you that I have left the group. And now he sends me this card: To the Mother God bless You (Mother laughs). And its the same thing, of course! Over there, few people are religious, they have a much more practical mind, but he has the religious temperament, so now it has become like this (Mother puffs out her cheeks), his Judaism is swelling up. The seven lights and the sheaves of prosperity. I found it touching: God bless You (Mother laughs).
   I remember, long ago, right at the beginning (I think I had just moved into Sri Aurobindos house), someone, I forget who (did Tagore have a sister?1), she was a tall and strong woman, rather awe-inspiring, who had come to spend a day in the Ashram, and she said to me, Why dont you keep some rooms and rent them out to visitors? You would get ten rupees a day. (Mother laughs) I stared at her, I was flabbergasted (she was teaching me to be practical!). And at the end, she said, God bless you. At that point I couldnt restrain myself, and I answered her, Its already done! (Mother laughs)

0 1968-02-14, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Yesterday I was shown the photo of a man who is the Guru of many people.1 I do not know what he claims to be, but he is an Indian who went to Europe and America and has lotsthousands and thousandsof disciples, followers, believers. He says there is only one way to bring peace on earth, and that is total and complete freedom: intellectual and moral freedom, of course, but also vital and physical freedom. That is, freeing oneself from all subjections and all laws, living according to ones own impulsion. Then, he says, something (I forget what he calls it) will govern you and will make you do what must be done. Its not the individual who decides, its that. And if he is asked, But how? How do you know that is it? How do you find that?, he simply answers, Come and sit down beside me in meditation, and you will know. And he is convinced he can bring peace to earth with that.
   I saw his photo yesterday. Vitally, he is extraordinarily strong. I dont know if its his own force or if its what he receives from others, because you can find that out only through physical contact.
  --
   So long as its not exclusive, that is, so long as the man or woman (whoever they are), the Guru, doesnt come and say, I alone am the Truth (meaning the others dont know, I alone know), so long as theyre not like that, its quite all right. And when theyre enlightened enough to tell you, Yes, Ive caught hold of one little bit, I am giving it to you, but all other little bits are good But even if you put all the bits together, you are still far from THE Truth.
   I should have kept that photo to show you. His body too lives in freedom! Uncombed hair (maybe he never washes!), a beard Very strong eyes.

0 1968-05-29, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   What an idea! The Guru turned into a super-teacher! As it is, the idea of the Guru makes me shudder, but a super-teacher Guru, oh, how horrible!
   The amount of nonsense they must speak among themselvesfrightful.

0 1968-06-08, #Agenda Vol 09, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   But now, I see its quite spontaneous. Here in India, with the notion of Guru, of Avatar, you may recognize him, admit him, but he is there exclusively to satisfy all demandsnot because he has put on a human body, but because he is the representative of the supreme Power, and you accept the supreme Power, you pretend to obey it, you surrender to it, but with, at the back of your mind, He is there only to satisfy my desires. The quality of desires depends on the individual: for some, its the most petty personal desires; for others its big desires for all humanity, or even for greater realizations, but anyhow it amounts to the same thing. That seems to be the condition for surrendering (!)
   To emerge from that, one must emerge from the human consciousness, that is, from the active, acting consciousness.

0 1969-01-29, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Theres such a mixture! (Its Pavitra who read it out to me yesterday evening.) Suddenly theres a sentence from Sri Aurobindo, then a sentence from Y. [the brochure author], then suddenly a sentence from me, then suddenly one from M. (who has become a great Guru).
   Theyve asked me for articlesnot they, others. I said, What on earth can I say! It doesnt come, I am not interested.

0 1969-07-12, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Satprem's former Tantric Guru.
   Mother means she can afterwards check the correctness of what she saw.

0 1969-11-29, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   The second thing is T. from Calcutta: he said A.R. was coming to Calcutta and had asked him to put him up along with HIS Guru! It seems hes found a Guru.
   Good!
   So T. didnt like it much, he told me, The Guru, I dont feel like receiving him. I said, Receive him and tell us who he isso as to know who this famous Guru is, what he is like.
   Its strange, he has a complete absence of discernment.
  --
   Yes, its the intermediary levels that are missing. He has no discernment. So it may simply be someone with a considerable vital force which he felt. Thats just why Id like to know who it is. I told T. to see and write what this famous Guru is like.
   But you know, I had a very strange dream with A.R. some two or three weeks ago. One night I met him, and I went to him very affectionately; it seemed to me he was affectionate towards me too, and I was as if pressed against him, or he had pressed himself against me. Then at one point I felt he was uttering a sort of mantra, which had an increasingly powerful rhythm. It was very odd, the vibration of that mantra, it was like something being hammered with an increasingly powerful pace. And as I felt that, I was at the same time conscious that it was a mantra to exorcize demons. The second I felt that, I called the Force. I called the Force and said OM. And then I became much taller than him and made this gesture (Abhay1): let him be in peace. And everything stopped.
  --
   So thats why, with what I saw, his complete incapacity of discernment towards people (an absolutely complete incapacity), thats why, when I was told he had a Guru, I said to myself, What trap has he fallen into, poor man! Because theres no lack of tricksters with those little powers of the vital that greatly impress people.
   So hes going to Calcutta and Ive asked I to write and tell me right away who that gentleman is and give me his name.

0 1969-12-13, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   I have the name of A.R.s master. I told you he has a Guru .
   (Mother looks for a scrap of paper)

0 1969-12-24, #Agenda Vol 10, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Sujata has discovered the photo of A.R.s Guru. Here it is.
   (Mother looks at the photo) What does he wear on his head?

0 1970-07-18, #Agenda Vol 11, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Satprem will abundantly carry on with this until 1971. Then he will abruptly close his door when people will start referring to him as a Guru.
   Mother has begun examining the list of visitors, instead of accepting everything and everyone.

0 1971-05-26, #Agenda Vol 12, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   But then I would like to ask one thing which I didnt find in the book: there is no express mention of the Guru. Could a person do that all alone, without a Guru?
   (after a silence)
  --
   (Satprem to M.:) In a book you cant openly speak of a Guru, telling the readers, You must follow such and such a person. You can only make them feel something and turn them toward it, but you cant very well tell them, You know, you have to follow such and such a person.
   Yes, of course!
  --
   (M.:) Well, I mention this because, reading the book, I felt, If someone starts following this path without a Guru, he may find himself in trouble. But its a book that inspires you to follow the path.
   (silence)

03.02 - Yogic Initiation and Aptitude, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   In a general way we may perhaps say, without gross error, that every man has the right to become a poet, a scientist or a politician. But when the question rises in respect of a particular person, then it has to be seen whether that person has a natural ability, an inherent tendency or aptitude for the special training so necessary for the end in view. One cannot, at will, develop into a poet by sheer effort or culture. He alone can be a poet who is to the manner born. The same is true also of the spiritual life. But in this case, there is something more to take into account. If you enter the spiritual path, often, whether you will or not, you come in touch with hidden powers, supra-sensible forces, beings of other worlds and you do not know how to deal with them. You raise ghosts and spirits, demons and godsFrankenstein monsters that are easily called up but not so easily laid. You break down under their impact, unless your adhr has already been prepared, purified and streng thened. Now, in secular matters, when, for example, you have the ambition to be a poet, you can try and fail, fail with impunity. But if you undertake the spiritual life and fail, then you lose both here and hereafter. That is why the Vedic Rishis used to say that the ear then vessel meant to hold the Soma must be properly baked and made perfectly sound. It was for this reason again that among the ancients, in all climes and in all disciplines, definite rules and regulations were laid down to test the aptitude or fitness of an aspirant. These tests were of different kinds, varying according to the age, the country and the Path followedfrom the capacity for gross physical labour to that for subtle perception. A familiar instance of such a test is found in the story of the aspirant who was asked again and again, for years together, by his Teacher to go and graze cows. A modern mind stares at the irrelevancy of the procedure; for what on earth, he would question, has spiritual sadhana to do with cow-grazing? In defence we need not go into any esoteric significance, but simply suggest that this was perhaps a test for obedience and endurance. These two are fundamental and indispensable conditions in sadhana; without them there is no spiritual practice, one cannot advance a step. It is absolutely necessary that one should carry out the directions of the Guru without question or complaint, with full happiness and alacrity: even if there comes no immediate gain one must continue with the same zeal, not giving way to impatience or depression. In ancient Egypt among certain religious orders there was another kind of test. The aspirant was kept confined in a solitary room, sitting in front of a design or diagram, a mystic symbol (cakra) drawn on the wall. He had to concentrate and meditate on that figure hour after hour, day after day till he could discover its meaning. If he failed he was declared unfit.
   Needless to say that these tests and ordeals are mere externals; at any rate, they have no place in our sadhana. Such or similar virtues many people possess or may possess, but that is no indication that they have an opening to the true spiritual life, to the life divine that we seek. Just as accomplishments on the mental plane,keen intellect, wide studies, profound scholarship even in the scriptures do not entitle a man to the possession of the spirit, even so capacities on the vital plane,mere self-control, patience and forbearance or endurance and perseverance do not create a claim to spiritual realisation, let alone physical austerities. In conformity with the Upanishadic standard, one may not be an unworthy son or an unworthy disciple, one may be strong, courageous, patient, calm, self-possessed, one may even be a consummate master of the senses and be endowed with other great virtues. Yet all this is no assurance of one's success in spiritual sadhana. Even one may be, after Shankara, a mumuksu, that is to say, have an ardent yearning for liberation. Still it is doubtful if that alone can give him liberation into the divine life.
  --
   In the practice of Yoga the fitness or capacity that the inner being thus lends is the only real capacity that a sadhaka possesses; and the natural, spontaneous, self-sufficing initiation deriving from the inner being is the only initiation that is valid and fruitful. Initiation does not mean necessarily an external rite or ceremony, a mantra, an auspicious day or moment: all these things are useless and irrelevant once we take our stand on the au thentic self-competence of the soul. The moment the inner being has taken the decision that this time, in this life, in this very body, it will manifest itself, take possession of the body and life and mind and wait no more, at that moment itself all mantra has been uttered and all initiation taken. The disciple has made the final and definitive offering of his heart to his Guru the psychic Guruand sought refuge in him and the Guru too has definitely accepted him.
   Mantra or initiation, in its essence, is nothing else than contacting the inner being. In our Path, at least, there is no other rite or rule, injunction or ceremony. The only thing needed is to awake to the consciousness of the psychic being, to hear its callto live and move and act every moment of our life under the eye of this indwelling Guide, in accordance with its direction and impulsion. Our initiation is not therefore a one-time affair only; but at every moment, at each step, it has to be taken again and again, it must be renewed, revitalised, furthered and streng thened constantly and unceasingly; for it means that at each step and at every moment we have to maintain the contact of our external consciousness with the inner being; at each step and every moment we have to undergo the test of our sincerity and loyalty the test whether we are tending to our inner being, moving in its stream or, on the contrary, walking the way of our external animal nature, whether the movements in the mind and life and body are controlled by their habitual inferior nature or are open to and unified with their hidden divine source. This recurrent and continuous initiation is at the secret basis of all spiritual disciplinein the Integral Yoga this is the one and all-important principle.

03.03 - Arjuna or the Ideal Disciple, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   What makes a true disciple? For it is not everyone that can claim or be worthy of or meet the demands of the title. Disciplehood, like all great qualities, that is to say, qualities taken at their source and origin, is a function of the soul. Indeed, it is the soul itself coming up and asking for it'! native divine status; it is the call of the immortal in the mortal, the voice of the inmost being rising above the clamours and lures of the world, above the hungers and ties of one's own nature. When that rings out clear and unmistakable, the Divine reveals Himself as the Guru, the Path is shown and the initiation given. Even such a cry was Arjuna's when he said: iyaste ham sdhi mm twam prapannamit is a most poignant utterance in which the whole being bursts forth as it were, and delivers itself of all that it needs and of all that it gives. It needs the Illumination: it can no longer bear the darkness and confusion of Ignorance in which it is entangled; and it gives itself whole and entire, absolutely and without reserve, throws itself simply at the mercy of the Divine. Arjuna fulfils, as very few can so completely, the fundamental conditions the sine qua nonof discipleship.
   A certain modern critic, however, demurs. He asks why Arjuna was chosen in preference to Yudhisthira and doubts the wisdom and justice of the choice (made by Sri Krishna or the author of the Gita). Is not the eldest of the Pandavas also the best? He possesses in every way a superior dhra. He has knowledge and wisdom; he is free from passions, calm and self-controlled; he always acts according to the dictates of what is right and true. He is not swayed by the impulses of the moment or by considerations relating to his personal self; serene and unruffled he seeks to fashion his conduct by the highest possible standard available to him. That is why he is called dharmarja. If such a one is not to be considered as an ideal disciple, who else can be?

03.09 - Sectarianism or Loyalty, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   Modern culture demands that one should not be bound to one creed or dogma, swear by one principle or rule of life or be led blindly by one man. Truth, it is said, has many facets and the human being is also not a Cyclops, a one-eyed creature. To fix oneself to one mode of seeing and believing and even behaving is to be narrow, restricted, sectarian. One must be able to see many standpoints, appreciate views of variance with one's own, appraise the relativity of all standards. Not to be able to do so leads to obscurantism and fanaticism. The Inquisitors were monomaniacs, obsessed by an ide fixe. On the other hand, the wisest counsel seems to have been given by Voltaire who advised the inquirers to learn from anywhere and everywhere, even Science from the Chinese. In our Indian legends we know that Uddhava did not hesitate to accept and learn from more than a dozen Gurus. That is as it should be if we would have a mind and consciousness large and vast and all-encompassing.
   And yet there is a question. While attempting to be too liberal and catholic one may happen to turn a dilettante. Dilettante is one who takes an interest, an aesthetic, a dispassionate and detached interest in all things. His interest is intellectual, something abstract and necessarily superficial; it is not a vital interest, not a question of his soul, an urgent problem of his living.
  --
   Uddhava might have had numberless teachers and instructors, but the Guru of his soul was Sri Krishna alone, none other. We may learn many things from many places, from books, from nature, from persons; intuitions and inspirations may come from many quarters, inside and outside, but the central guidance flows from one source only and one must be careful to keep it unmixed, undefiled, clear and pure. When one means nothing more than playing with ideas and persons and places, there is no harm in being a globe-trotter; but as soon as one becomes serious, means business, one automatically stops short, finds and sticks to his Ishta, even like the Gopis of Sri Krishna who declared unequivocally that they would not move out of Brindaban even by a single step.
   ***

05.12 - The Soul and its Journey, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   An easy and quick passage to the place of rest, that is what the being needs and asks for after death. This is determined by one's Karma in life and the last wish and prayer at the moment of death for the force of consciousness at this critical moment acts not only upon the character of the passage but also upon the character even of the next birth. Apart from one's own merit, one can be helped by others also who are still upon earth and who claim to be his friends and relatives and wellwishers not in the way they think they do at present, that is to say, by grieving and lamenting or even by performing rites and ceremonies, these often retard rather than accelerate the passage, but by an inner detachment and calm prayer and goodwill: oftener perhaps to forget the departed is the best way to help him. A truly conscious help can be given only by one who has the requisite occult power and spiritual realisation the Guru, for example.
   III

05.33 - Caesar versus the Divine, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   In reality, however, to a vision that sees behind and beyond the appearances, spirituality the force of the Spiritis ever dynamic: the spiritual soul, even when it appears passive and inert, is most active not merely in the subtle psychological domain, but also in the material field. To the gross pragmatic eye Ramakrishna, for example, appears as a less dynamic personality, a less strong and heroic, if not positively weaker character than Vivekananda. Well, that is only face-value reading. Vivekananda himself knew and felt and said that he was only one of hundreds of Vivekanandas that his simple and, modest-looking Guru could create if he chose. Even so a Ramdas. Ramdas was not merely a spiritual adviser to Shivaji, concerned chiefly with the inner salvation and development of his disciple, and only secondarily with the gross material activities, the things of Caesar. The two domains are not separate at least in this case: the spiritual here directly and dynamically affects the physical. The spiritual guide is the dynamo the matrixof the power, the power spiritual; he wields and marshals the hidden, the secret forces that are behind the outward forms and movements. And the disciple by his attitude of obeisance and receptivity becomes all the better a channel and instrument for the actual play and fulfilment of that force. A Govind Singh is another instance of spiritual power made dynamic in mundane things. And we always have the classical instance of Rajarshi Janaka.
   Only, in the future a yet greater source of spiritual power is destined to be tapped and brought into play, into the plane of happenings, so that the material domain, the pattern of our actual day to day life will put on a different aspect; for a radiant consciousness will have breathed a new life into our very bodily cells.

09.06 - How Can Time Be a Friend?, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   She was a militant personality and a great Buddhist luminary. When she came to India she wanted to see some of the great Indian sages, Gurus, that is to say, and she went to one of them I do not give you his namewho looked at her and asked her, as the talk was about Yoga and personal effort and all that, whether she was indifferent to criticism. She answered him in the classical expression: "Does one mind the barking of a dog?" She added, when she was narrating to me the story, with much humour: "Happily, he did not ask me whether I was indifferent to praise for that is much more difficult!"
   So then, you should not consider yourself superior to others and I shall tell you why; you must know that in a being, human or other, it is the consciousness that matters and you are either conscious or unconscious: you can consider yourself superior only when you are unconscious; the very moment you are conscious, truly conscious, you lose the sense of superiority or inferiority. In either case you must not feel superior, for it is smallness, pettiness; but you must be full of goodwill and sympathy and care little about what one says or does not say; however, be always polite, for it is always better to be polite than to be impolite. In that way you put yourself in relation with forces that are more harmonious and you can fight better against the forces of destruction and ugliness. But in reality you must rise above all that and feel yourself interested only in the Divine, in what He expects of you and in what to do for Him, for that is the only thing that counts. The rest has no importance.

1.009 - Perception and Reality, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Here we go to a realm where the revelations of the ancient masters, which are embodied in the sacred scriptures, become our guide. Otherwise we shall be blind we will know nothing. The great masters who are the Gurus of mankind, who had plumbed the depths of being and had vision of the cosmic mystery, tell us something which the intellect cannot explain inductively, logically or scientifically. Our individual existence is caused by something which is prior to the manifestation of individuality and, therefore, let not the individual intellect interfere with this subject.
  The masters, whose records we have in such scriptures as the Upanishads, for example, tell us that there is a cosmic mystery behind this operation of individuality namely, the diversification of the Comic Principle. We cannot ask as to why it happened, because the intellect is interfering here. We are asking the reason why the intellect is there at all, and why individuality is there at all. That question cannot be asked because this intellect is an effect of individuality, and now we are trying to find the cause thereof. "Unbridled intellect is an obstacle," says Sankara in his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, because the intellect will insist that there is diversity. It will oblige us to accept that individuality is real, objects are real, our relationships to them must be real, and so forth. So we should not take the advice of the intellect hereafter. The mystery of cosmic manifestation, which is the diversification of the cosmic principle, is regarded as the controlling principle behind the existence and the functioning of the individual.

1.00a - Introduction, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  But is it plain obstinacy? you do not exercise the sublime Art of Guru-bullying. You should have made one frenzied leap to my dying bed, thrust aside the cohorts of Mourning Archimandrites, and wrung my nose until I made you do it.
  And you repeatedly insist that it is difficult. It isn't. Is there, however, some deep-seated inhibition a (Freudian) fear of success? Is there some connection with that sense of guilt which is born in all but the very few?
  --
  I am sure that Solomon was too good a poet, and too experienced a Guru, to tail off with the anticlimax "wise."
  6. Minerval. What is the matter? All you have to do is understand it: just a dramatization of the process of incarnation. Better run through it with me: I'll make it clear, and you can make notes of your troubles and their solution for the use of future members.

1.010 - Self-Control - The Alpha and Omega of Yoga, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  So while self-control is extremely difficult, to miss the practice of self-control is extremely dangerous. Hence, the guidance of a Guru is called for, and earnestness of practice is also requisite. Conducive atmosphere, suitable company, activity commensurate with the nature of the goal, and the presence of a competent master or a Guru all these are indispensable requisites in the practice of yoga.

1.012 - Sublimation - A Way to Reshuffle Thought, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Likewise is a desire. What is the percentage of the intensity of the desire? Is it irresistible and impossible to control? Has it almost taken charge of us? If so, what are we to do? When the desire is very intense, what are we to do? There is only one way - we go to the Guru. "My desire is very intense. What am I to do at this time?" The Guru will tell us what step to take. If the desire is very mild, then of course we can find the solution by ourselves. Suppose we have a desire to eat a banana. We eat the banana, and the matter is closed; it is not a very serious matter. We want to have a cup of tea. We have a cup of tea and are done with it. But suppose we want to become the President of India. This is a very serious desire. We cannot fulfil it in two or three days, and we may have to take another birth to fulfil it. We have to think very seriously about such desires. "Oh, I have such a desire. I want to become Rashtrapati, and it is an irresistible desire." But the means are such that it is not practicable, and so we will have to take another birth.
  In the Yoga Vasishtha, it is said that there was a Brahmin couple, poor people, who were sitting on the roadside when they saw a king's procession passing. The royal man was sitting elegantly on an elephant. And the poor couple, seeing the happiness of the king, thought, "How happy this king is, and we are wretchedly sitting here." That was the desire in the mind of the couple. This desire was not fulfilled, as the Brahmin could not become a king in that birth. He was reborn as a king in the next birth and the desire was fulfilled. He was born as a prince in a royal family and he became an emperor.
  If we have such desires which cannot be fulfilled in this life on account of prevailing conditions, we will take another birth. But we do not want another birth that is another point. Do we want to go on increasing the number of births because we have got intense desires? Here comes the need for a Guru. If we have such terrible desires that are, reasonably speaking, impossible to fulfil, and yet they cannot simply be ignored from the point of view of spiritual practice, a Guru's direct guidance is absolutely necessary. The point is that desires cannot be completely neglected. We cannot simply turn a deaf ear, or close our eyes to their cries. They have to be very rationally dealt with and sublimated.
  There are three ways of dealing with a desire. Psychologically, the terms used in this connection are 'suppression', 'substitution' and 'sublimation'. We can suppress a desire. Suppose we have got a desire just now, and we cannot fulfil it because we are in an audience and cannot fulfil the desire right here; we will suppress it. We will push it inside because society does not permit it. We cannot simply start fulfilling any desire in an audience or in a parliament it has no meaning. So we suppress it and push it inside, but this is no solution. We have pushed it inside, so it is sitting within us like a coiled-up snake, and it will show its hood when the audience is over.

1.01 - Maitreya inquires of his teacher (Parashara), #Vishnu Purana, #Vyasa, #Hinduism
  [9]: The Guru, or spiritual preceptor, is said to be Kapila or Sāraswata; the latter is included in the series of teachers of the Purāṇa. Parāśara must be considered also as a disciple of Kapila, as a teacher of the Sā
  khya philosophy.
  --
  ga Purāṇa (Pūrvārddha, s. 64) in the same manner, with the addition, conformably to the Saiva tendency of that work, that Parāśara begins his sacrifice by propitiating Mahādeva. Vaśiṣṭha's dissuasion, and Pulastya's appearance, are given in the very words of our text; and the story concludes, 'thus through the favour of Pulastya and of the wise Vaśiṣṭha, Parāśara composed the Vaiṣṇava (Viṣṇu) Purāṇa, containing ten thousand stanzas, and being the third of the Purāṇa compilations' (Purāṇasanhitā). The Bhāgavata (b. III. s. 8) also alludes, though obscurely, to this legend. In recapitulating the succession of the narrators of part of the Bhāgavata, Maitreya states that this first Purāṇa was communicated to him by his Guru Parāśara, as he had been desired by Pulastya: i. e. according to the commentator, agreeably to the boon given by Pulastya to Parāśara, saying, You shall be a narrator of Purāṇas;. The Mahābhārata makes no mention of the communication of this faculty to Parāśara by Pulastya; and as the Bhāgavata could not derive this particular from that source, it here most probably refers unavowedly, as the Li
  ga does avowedly, to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

1.01 - Prayer, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
  Bearing this in mind let us try to understand what the great Vedantic commentators have to say on the subject. In explaining the Sutra vrittirasakridupadesht (Meditation is necessary, that having been often enjoined.), Bhagavn Shankara says, "Thus people say, 'He is devoted to the king, he is devoted to the Guru'; they say this of him who follows his Guru, and does so, having that following as the one end in view. Similarly they say, 'The loving wife meditates on her loving husband'; here also a kind of eager and continuous remembrance is meant." This is devotion according to Shankara.
  "Meditation again is a constant remembrance (of the thing meditated upon) flowing like an unbroken stream of oil poured out from one vessel to another. When this kind of remembering has been attained (in relation to God) all bandages break. Thus it is spoken of in the scriptures regarding constant remembering as a means to liberation. This remembering again is of the same form as seeing, because it is of the same meaning as in the passage, 'When He who is far and near is seen, the bonds of the heart are broken, all doubts vanish, and all effects of work disappear' He who is near can be seen, but he who is far can only be remembered. Nevertheless the scripture says that he have to see Him who is near as well as Him who, is far, thereby indicating to us that the above kind of remembering is as good as seeing. This remembrance when exalted assumes the same form as seeing. . . . Worship is constant remembering as may be seen from the essential texts of scriptures. Knowing, which is the same as repeated worship, has been described as constant remembering. . . . Thus the memory, which has attained to the height of what is as good as direct perception, is spoken of in the Shruti as a means of liberation. 'This Atman is not to be reached through various sciences, nor by intellect, nor by much study of the Vedas. Whomsoever this Atman desires, by him is the Atman attained, unto him this Atman discovers Himself.' Here, after saying that mere hearing, thinking and meditating are not the means of attaining this Atman, it is said, 'Whom this Atman desires, by him the Atman is attained.' The extremely beloved is desired; by whomsoever this Atman is extremely beloved, he becomes the most beloved of the Atman. So that this beloved may attain the Atman, the Lord Himself helps. For it has been said by the Lord: 'Those who are constantly attached to Me and worship Me with love I give that direction to their will by which they come to Me.' Therefore it is said that, to whomsoever this remembering, which is of the same form as direct perception, is very dear, because it is dear to the Object of such memory perception, he is desired by the Supreme Atman, by him the Supreme Atman is attained. This constant remembrance is denoted by the word Bhakti." So says Bhagavn Rmnuja in his commentary on the Sutra Athto Brahma-jijns (Hence follows a dissertation on Brahman.).

1.01 - SAMADHI PADA, #Patanjali Yoga Sutras, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
  sa poorvesham api Guruh kalenanavachchhedat
  He is the Teacher of even the ancient teachers, being

1.01 - The Four Aids, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
   Guru - ideal Guru
  Kala - time
  1:Yoga-siddhi, the perfection that comes from the practice of Yoga, can be best attained by the combined working of four great instruments. There is, first, the knowledge of the truths, principles, powers and processes that govern the realisation -- sastra. Next comes a patient and persistent action on the lines laid down by the knowledge, the force of our personal effort -- utsaha. There intervenes, third, uplifting our knowledge and effort into the domain of spiritual experience, the direct suggestion, example and influence of the Teacher -- Guru. Last comes the instrumentality of Time -- kala; for in all things there is a cycle of their action and a period of the divine movement.
  

SHASTRA


  --
  5:Ordinarily, the Word from without, representative of the Divine, is needed as an aid ill the work of self-unfolding; and it may be either a word from the past or the more powerful word of the living Guru. In some cases this representative word is only taken as a sort of excuse for the inner power to awaken and manifest; it is, as it were, a concession of the omnipotent and omniscient Divine to the generality of a law that governs Nature. Thus it is said in the Upanishads of Krishna, son of Devaki, that he received a word of the Rishi Ghora and had the knowledge. So Ramakrishna, having attained by his own internal effort the central illumination, accepted several teachers in the different paths of Yoga, but always showed in the manner and swiftness of his realisation that this acceptance was a concession to the general rule by which effective knowledge must be received as by a disciple from a Guru.
  6:But usually the representative influence occupies a much larger place in the life of the Sadhaka. If the Yoga is guided by a received written Shastra, -- some Word from the past which embodies the experience of former Yogins, -- it may be practised either by personal effort alone or with the aid of a Guru. The spiritual knowledge is then gained through meditation on the truths that are taught and it is made living and conscious by their realisation in the personal experience; the Yoga proceeds by the results of prescribed methods taught in a Scripture or a tradition and reinforced and illumined by the instructions of the Master. This is a narrower practice, but safe and effective within its limits, because it follows a well-beaten track to a long familiar goal.
  7:For the Sadhaka of the Integral Yoga it is necessary to remember that no written Shastra, however great its authority or however large its spirit, can be more than a partial expression of the eternal Knowledge. He will use, but never bind himself even by the greatest Scripture. Where the Scripture is profound, wide, catholic, it may exercise upon him an influence for the highest good and of incalculable importance. It may be associated in his experience with his awakening to crowning verities and his realisation of the highest experiences. His Yoga may be governed for a long time by one Scripture or by several successively, -- if it is in the line of the great Hindu tradition, by the Gita, for example, the Upanishads, the Veda. Or it may be a good part of his development to include in its material a richly varied experience of the truths of many Scriptures and make the future opulent with all that is best in the past. But in the end he must take his station, or better still, if he can, always and from the beginning he must live in his own soul beyond the written Truth, -- sabdabrahmativartate -- beyond all that he has heard and all that he has yet to hear, -- srotaryasya srutasya ca. For he is not the Sadhaka of a book or of many books; he is a Sadhaka of the Infinite.
  --
  21:This inner Guide is often veiled at first by the very intensity of our personal effort and by the ego's preoccupation with itself and its aims. As we gain in clarity and the turmoil of egoistic effort gives place to a calmer self-knowledge, we recognise the source of the growing light within us. We recognise it retrospectively as we realise how all our obscure and conflicting movements have been determined towards an end that we only now begin to perceive, how even before our entrance into the path of the Yoga the evolution of our life has been designedly led towards its turning point. For now we begin to understand the sense of our struggles and efforts, successes and failures. At last we are able to seize the meaning of our ordeals and sufferings and can appreciate the help that was given us by all that hurt and resisted and the utility of our very falls and stumblings. We recognise this divine leading afterwards, not retrospectively but immediately, in the moulding of our thoughts by a transcendent Seer, of our will and actions by an all-embracing Power, of our emotional life by an all-attracting and all-assimilating Bliss and Love. We recognise it too in a more personal relation that from the first touched us or at the last seizes us; we feel the eternal presence of a supreme Master, Friend, Lover, Teacher. We recognise it in the essence of our being as that develops into likeness and oneness with a greater and wider existence; for we perceive that this miraculous development is not the result of our own efforts; an eternal Perfection is moulding us into its own image. One who is the Lord or Ishwara of the Yogic philosophies, the Guide in the conscious being (caitya Guru or antaryamin), the Absolute of the thinker, the Unknowable of the Agnostic, the universal Force of the materialist, the supreme Soul and the supreme shakti, the One who is differently named and imaged by the religions, is the Master of our Yoga.
  22:To see, know, become and fulfil this One in our inner selves and in all our outer nature, was always the secret goal and becomes now the conscious purpose of our embodied existence.
  --
  25:But while it is difficult for man to believe in something unseen within himself, it is easy for him to believe in something which he can image as extraneous to himself. The spiritual progress of most human beings demands an extraneous support, an object of faith outside us. It needs an external image of God; or it needs a human representative, -- Incarnation, Prophet or Guru; or it demands both and receives them. For according to the need of the human soul the Divine manifests himself as deity, as human divine or in simple humanity, -- using that thick disguise, which so successfully conceals the Godhead, for a means of transmission of his guidance.
  26:The Hindu discipline of spirituality provides for this need of the soul by the conceptions of the Ishta Devata, the Avatar and the Gum. By the Ishta Devata, the chosen deity, is meant, -- not some inferior Power, but a name and form of the transcendent and universal Godhead. Almost all religions either have as their base or make use of some such name and form of the Divine. Its necessity for the human soul is evident. God is the All and more than the All. But that which is more than the All, how shall man conceive? And even the All is at first too hard for him; for he himself in his active consciousness is a limited and selective formation and can open himself only to that which is in harmony with his limited nature. There are things in the All which are too hard for his comprehension or seem too terrible to his sensitive emotions and cowering sensations. Or, simply, he cannot conceive as the Divine, cannot approach or cannot recognise something that is too much out of the circle of his ignorant or partial conceptions. It is necessary for him to conceive God in his own image or at some form that is beyond himself but consonant with his highest tendencies and seizable by his feelings or his intelligence. Otherwise it would be difficult for him to come into contact and communion with the Divine.
  --
  28:This also is not enough; a living influence, a living example, a present instruction is needed. For it is only the few who can make the past Teacher and his teaching, the past Incarnation and his example and influence a living force in their lives. For this need also the Hindu discipline provides in the relation of the Guru and the disciple. The Guru may sometimes be the Incarnation or World-Teacher; but it is sufficient that he should represent to the disciple the divine wisdom, convey to him something of the divine ideal or make him feel the realised relation of the human soul with the Eternal.
  29:The Sadhaka of the integral Yoga will make use of all these aids according to his nature; but it is necessary that he should shun their limitations and cast from himself that exclusive tendency of egoistic mind which cries, "My God, my Incarnation, my Prophet, my Guru," and opposes it to all other realisation in a sectarian or a fanatical spirit. All sectarianism, all fanaticism must be shunned; for it is inconsistent with the integrity of the divine realisation.
  30:On the contrary, the Sadhaka of the integral Yoga will not be satisfied until he has included all other names and forms of Deity in his own conception, seen his own Ishta Devata in all others, unified all Avatars in the unity of Him who descends in the Avatar, welded the truth in all teachings into the harmony of the Eternal Wisdom.
  --
  32:The Teacher of the integral Yoga will follow as far as he may the method of the Teacher within us. He will lead the disciple through the nature of the disciple. Teaching, example, influence, -- these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will give a method as an aid, as a utilisable device, not as an imperative formula or a fixed routine. And he will be on his guard against any turning of the means into a limitation, against the mechanising of process. His whole business is to awaken the divine light and set working the divine force of which he himself is only a means and an aid, a body or a channel.
  33:The example is more powerful than the instruction; but it is not the example of the outward acts nor that of the personal character, which is of most importance. These have their place and their utility; but what will most stimulate aspiration in others is the central fact of the divine realisation within him governing his whole life and inner state and all his activities. This is the universal and essential element; the rest belongs to individual person and circumstance. It is this dynamic realisation that the Sadhaka must feel and reproduce in himself according to his own nature; he need not strive after an imitation from outside which may well be sterilising rather than productive of right and natural fruits.
  --
  35:And it shall also be a sign of the teacher of the integral Yoga that he does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humanly vain and self-exalting spirit. His work, if he has one, is a trust from above, he himself a channel, a vessel or a representative. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened Soul awakening souls, at highest a Power or Presence of the Divine calling to him other powers of the Divine.
  

KALA



1.01 - The Unexpected, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  The calendar stood at November 1938, the month of the Darshan. A few weeks more and we would meet the Master after a long wait of three months. After every Darshan we start counting the days for the next one, for each occasion brings the Eternal and his Shakti closer to us and is therefore a significant landmark in our lives. As the date comes nearer, our days too take on a brighter hue and the day before the Darshan, all faces glow with sweet smiles. Friends meeting on the road greet each other with one word, "Tomorrow!" or with a silent look of happy expectation. The Dining Room hums with the same theme. Wherever you go, whomsoever you meet, no other talk except the Guru's Darshan for one or two minutes, an eternal moment.
  As for myself, my feelings are more complex. I have broken verbal lances with him, challenged his views, poked fun at his Yoga. I know all these will be forgotten at the moment when I shall meet his august Presence. He will be as affable as in his letters and bestow his gracious smile from his transcendental height while my heart will beat in joy and wonder. Still, the mind cannot be entirely free from a conventional fear.
  --
  It will be seen from the above account that a personal relation had now grown between the Guru and the disciples; the sense of awe and distance had vanished. In this respect, Dr. Manilal must be considered our vanguard. His age, profession, charming childlike nature melted the apparently frosty reserve of the Master. The Divine has a soft corner for the healers of the body. The much abused human representative of the Divine Healer has still a place in the economy of things! Nevertheless, even in his personal relations, Sri Aurobindo never lost his impersonality.
  Now, as far as I was concerned, I was face to face with a disquieting situation. Dr. Manilal was to depart. He had come on a short leave for the Darshan and had made quite a long stay. He could not further extend his holidays, nor was it necessary, he said. For everything was running well, "according to schedule"; the critical period had been tided over. We had only to follow the present regime almost blindfold, and there would be no trouble that he could foresee. Besides, Sri Aurobindo's force was there constantly at our call. The doctor assured us that he would come again when the limb was released from the plaster. But I could not be so easily persuaded. I was most reluctant to take the divine burden on my shoulders, frail as they were, and poor as I was in knowledge, strength and experience. True, things appear simple enough in the presence of a superior authority, but troubles gather as soon as he turns his back, for the adverse forces try to test, as it were, the novice, the uninitiated. So I clung to him like a child and entreated him not to leave me in mid-stream. The Mother also pleaded on my behalf with the result that he stayed for a few days more. Sri Aurobindo was witnessing the scene silently. Then, after cheering me up, Dr. Manilal left to resume his post and to look after his family who felt helpless without him and were pressing him to come back. My dark forebodings were however set at rest by the Grace that always helps one who relies upon its power, and there was no cause for anxiety. The Divine took good care of himself. Only once as I was taking an afternoon nap did a call come down. When I ran up, Sri Aurobindo said with an almost apologetic smile, "Oh, it is nothing much! the knee has been paining for some time, perhaps the position has got disturbed." I tried to set it right, it wouldn't work. But fortunately some readjustment of the slings put the matter right and I heaved a sigh of relief when he said, "It is all right now." But the pain could not have been "nothing much", for he would not have "troubled" me for a trivial discomfort.

1.024 - Affiliation With Larger Wholes, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  One hundred times the happiness of the emperor of this world is the happiness of the pitris, another level which is superior to the physical world. One hundred times the happiness of the pitris is the happiness of the gandharvas, who are celestial musicians in a world which is still higher than that of the pitris. One hundred times the happiness of the gandharvas is the happiness of the celestials in heaven the devas, as we call them. One hundred times the happiness of these celestials is the happiness of Indra, the king of the gods. One hundred times the happiness of the king of the gods is the happiness of the preceptor, the Guru of the gods Brihaspati. One hundred times the happiness of Brihaspati is the happiness of Prajapati, the Creator Brahma. One hundred times the happiness of Brahma the Creator is the happiness of Virat, the Supreme. Beyond that is Hiranyagarbha, and beyond that, Ishvara, and beyond Ishvara is the Absolute.
  So where are we in this scheme? What is our happiness? It is the happiness of a cup of coffee, cup of tea, or a sweet which has no meaning compared to these calculations of astounding existences which are transcendent to human comprehension. When I say a hundred times, it is not merely a mathematical increase of the quantity of happiness; it is also a corresponding increase of the quality of happiness. As mentioned earlier, the quality of happiness in waking life is superior to the happiness in dream; it is not merely quantitative increase, but is also a qualitative increase. The joy of waking life is greater and more intense than the quality of joy in dream. So these calculations given in the Upanishad mean an increase of happiness one hundred times, both in quantity and in quality, so that when we go to the top, we are in an uncontrollable ecstasy of unbounded bliss.

1.025 - Sadhana - Intensifying a Lighted Flame, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  The meritorious deeds that we performed in previous lives, the good karmas of our past produce a force called 'apurva' in Mimamsa parlance. The good karmas of the past are present in the mind even now as a kind of prarabdha, and when the prarabdha is of a sattvic nature, it permits the rise of a novel type of asking by the soul, which is called spiritual aspiration. It is this peculiar context - which is inscrutable, of course, to anyone's mind which brings a person in contact with a Guru. How we come in contact with a Guru cannot be understood. It is worked up by mysterious forces from within that are associated with the good deeds of our past lives, etc., and which permit good actions in this present birth. Such forces make it possible for us to think divine thoughts and to take the initial step in the practice of yoga. It is this initial step, as mentioned, which is capable of generating a peculiar potency, enough to carry us forward to the next step. Like the chain reaction of an atomic bomb burst, every step is automatically an urge towards another step.
  The more we practise sadhana, the stronger we become and the greater is our capacity to understand, to enlarge our perspective of thinking and to contact reality in deeper profundity. Many factors operate in spiritual practice. The good deeds that we did in the past is one factor. The other factors are the associations that we have established in society with wise people in this present birth, the practical experience that we gain by living in this world, the initiation that we receive from the Guru, and the wisdom that we acquire from the Guru. Finally, the most mysterious, of course, is the grace of God Himself, which is perennially operating, perpetually working, and infinitely and most abundantly contri buting to the onward march of the soul towards its goal.
  The practice of yoga is nothing but a conscious participation in the universal working of nature itself and, therefore, it is the most natural thing that we can do, and the most natural thing that we can conceive. There can be nothing more natural than to participate consciously in the evolutionary work of the universe, which is the attempt of the cosmos to become Self-conscious in the Absolute. Evolution is nothing but a movement of the whole universe towards Self-awareness this is called God-realisation. Our every activity from the cup of tea that we take, to the breath that we breathe, from even the sneeze that we jet forth, to the least action that we perform, from even a single thought which occurs in the mind everything is a part of this cosmic operation which is the evolution of the universe towards Self-realisation. Therefore, the practice of yoga is the most natural thing that we can think of and the most necessary duty of a human being. Nothing can be more obligatory on our part than this duty. It is from this point of view, perhaps, that Lord Krishna proclaims, towards the end of the Bhagavadgita, sarvadharmnparityajya mmeka araa vraja (B.G. XVIII.66): Renounce every other duty and come to Me for rescue which means to say, take resort in the law of the Absolute. This is the practice of yoga, and every other dharma is subsumed under it and included within it, as every drop and every river is in the ocean. In this supreme duty, every other duty is included. There is no need to think of every individual, discrete and isolated duty, because all duties are included in this one duty, which is the mother of all duties.

1.02 - IN THE COMPANY OF DEVOTEES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  First my Guru gives molasses for the making of the Wine; My longing is the ferment to transform it.
  Knowledge, the maker of the Wine, prepares it for me then; And when it is done, my mind imbibes it from the bottle of the mantra,
  --
  Need of a Guru
  NEIGHBOUR: "Then householders, too, will have the vision of God, won't they?"
  MASTER: "Everybody will surely be liberated. But one should follow the instructions of the Guru; if one follows a devious path, one will suffer in trying to retrace one's steps. It takes a long time to achieve liberation. A man may fail to obtain it in this life. Perhaps he will realize God only after many births. Sages like Janaka performed worldly duties. They performed them, bearing God in their minds, as a dancing-girl dances, keeping jars or trays on her head. Haven't you seen how the women in northwest India walk, talking and laughing while carrying water-pitchers on their beads?"
  NEIGHBOUR: "You just referred to the instructions of the Guru. How shall we find him?"
  MASTER: "Anyone and everyone cannot be a Guru. A huge timber floats on the water and can carry animals as well. But a piece of worthless wood sinks, if a man sits on it, and drowns him. Therefore in every age God incarnates Himself as the Guru, to teach humanity. Satchidananda alone is the Guru.
  "What is knowledge? And what is the nature of this ego? 'God alone is the Doer, and none else' - that is knowledge. I am not the doer; I am a mere instrument in His hand.

1.02 - Karmayoga, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
   the Guru of the nations and carried the light she had to give all over the civilised world, moulding ideas and creating forms which are still extant and a living force. Already the Vedanta and the Yoga have exceeded their Asiatic limit and are beginning to influence the life and practice of America and Europe; and they have long been filtering into Western thought by a hundred indirect channels. But these are small rivers and underground streams. The world waits for the rising of India to receive the divine flood in its fullness.
  Yoga is communion with God for knowledge, for love or for work. The Yogin puts himself into direct relation with that which is omniscient and omnipotent within man and without him. He is in tune with the infinite, he becomes a channel for the strength of God to pour itself out upon the world whether through calm benevolence or active beneficence. When a man rises by putting from him the slough of self and lives for others and in the joys and sorrows of others; - when he works perfectly and with love and zeal, but casts away the anxiety for results and is neither eager for victory nor afraid of defeat; - when he devotes all his works to God and lays every thought, word and deed as an offering on the divine altar; - when he gets rid of fear and hatred, repulsion and disgust and attachment, and works like the forces of Nature, unhasting, unresting, inevitably, perfectly; - when he rises above the thought that he is the body or the heart or the mind or the sum of these and finds his own and true self; - when he becomes aware of his immortality and the unreality of death; - when he experiences the advent of knowledge and feels himself passive and the divine force working unresisted through his mind, his speech, his senses and all his organs; - when having thus abandoned whatever he is, does or has to the Lord of all, the Lover and Helper of mankind, he dwells permanently in

1.02 - The Divine Teacher, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Avatars or in the devotion to the human Guru through whom the voice of the one world-Teacher makes itself heard. Through these it strives to awaken to that inner voice, unveil that form of the Formless and stand face to face with that manifest divine
  Power, Love and Knowledge.

1.02 - The Recovery, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  The days were getting hotter and he used to perspire profusely. There was no ceiling fan. We started fanning him as he walked, but what were two small hand-fans the wing-wafts of tiny birds in the sultry heat of the closed room? Sri Aurobindo did not seem to be concerned at all, though we were. Purani hit upon a brilliant idea. He came up with a huge palm leaf fan festooned with a red cloth border, as used for the temple Deities. The Mother smiled approvingly. Stationed near the door, he began fanning with all the vigour of his bare muscular arms and a miniature storm would sweep by. We enjoyed the grand sight. It was so becoming to his giant's nature! He handled it very well. Once for some days he could not come up, and the fan lay idle, like the mythical bow in the cave. With much trepidation I took it up, a pigmy to the giant, but seeing no question on the Mother's face, I set to work. The performance was not bad. I felt rather proud, but alas, pride had its quick fall! By same faux pas, or should I say fausse main, one day I struck Sri Aurobindo's back with the fan, as he was just turning my corner! He immediately looked around with an indulgent smile, and the Mother smiled graciously to lift me up from the crushing shame. But fortunately for the Guru and the disciple, it was not repeated. Afterwards both Champaklal and Mulshankar used the fan with a greater skill.
  When at the end of the walk he would stand in the middle of the room with the stick in his right hand, his upright figure with the flowing beard on his broad bare chest, his two plaits of silken hair in front, and a far away look in his calm wide-open eyes, he would kindle a soft glow of love and adoration in our hearts. The Mother would then take the stick from him; after an exchange of sweet smiles between them, she would go away. Champaklal would then step in and wipe away the dripping perspiration.

1.031 - Intense Aspiration, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Why do we travel from place to place, as if we have nothing else to do? The reason is that we want to bring about a corresponding change in our own self, and the external movement has been used as a kind of assistance. But if that change has not become an assistance, the whole effort is futile. Another thing why does it not become helpful? How is it that this imagined external change of condition does not become helpful in bringing about an internal reorientation of living? The reason is that we have not been very honest and sincere. There has been a kind of bungling in the whole attitude of our mind towards what we are seeking, and a kind of confusion a self-deception, we may say. This, again, is due to a lack of proper training from a competent master. Again, I come to this point that a Guru is necessary. We cannot tread this path with our own legs. Our legs are very weak, because there are millions of obstacles that can simply shake us from our roots and throw us into the pits, even with all our understanding, which is of no use in the face of these obstacles. The obstacles are violent winds, and our legs are like sand which will be thrown in any direction by these violent movements of winds of desire, and what not.
  In the external change that we bring about, which is the first step in vairagya, as people generally understand it, we leave the homestead and go to Badrinath or Uttarkashi, or somewhere. This initial step that we regard as vairagya or renunciation is to be converted into an internal discipline and change of attitude, for which proper guidance is necessary. Everything is a system of thinking, a change in the attitude of consciousness, and even the first step that we take is only towards that end. Unless there is a corresponding transformation inside, external movements have no meaning. If proper care is taken, an external discipline has some effect upon the internal character. But proper care has to be taken; we have to be very vigilant, and we cannot be vigilant if we give a long rope to our old ways of thinking. We can change anything, but our ways of thinking cannot change, because that is a part of us part of our nature.
  What we should do is, together with our effort at change of physical atmosphere, also try to bring about a gradual change in our internal atmosphere by resorting to certain spiritual disciplines, such as the utilisation of the time on hand for certain definite chosen purposes. When we live in a particular place we have left our homes and have come to Uttarkashi, for instance how do we use our time? Do we go about from place to place, chatting? Then we should go back to our home and stay there. Why do we come to Uttarkashi? We have to utilise the time for a purpose which is more intimate to the object on hand than the way in which we lived earlier. Generally, people take to mantra purascharana a disciplined type of chanting of the mantra that has been given to them by their Guru and sacred study of scriptures, such as the Srimad Bhagavata or the Ramayana, or any other holy text which is conducive to pinpointing the mind on the liberation of the soul, which is the ultimate objective.
  Another great helpful factor is observing mouna or not talking, or at least talking only when it is necessary. Talking only when it is necessary means we will talk only when it is absolutely impossible to avoid talking; otherwise, we will not talk. Why do we go on talking with everyone? There is no necessity. We should regard ourselves as real seekers and not merely as jokers with truth, and try to open our mouths only when it is necessary, and otherwise not open our mouths. It is necessary to open the mouth only when it has some connection with the purpose for which we have come here. When it has no connection, why do we talk? We should keep our mouths closed. This is not only a spiritual discipline but also a very helpful method of conserving energy, because much of the energy is lost in talking. If we do not speak for three days continuously, we will see what difference it makes. We will feel that there is so much of strength in us that we can walk even long distances without any feeling of fatigue. All our energy goes in speaking unnecessarily to anyone and anything that is in front of us, on any subject whatsoever.

1.037 - Preventing the Fall in Yoga, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  We have to cure these reactions of yoga only through yoga. Drugs will not cure these illnesses. If a headache is caused by intense meditation, it cannot be cured by an aspirin tablet, because it is a result of an intense pressure that we have exerted upon the mind, the nerves and the pranas, and that pressure can be lifted up only by another type of meditation, of which we have to gain the knowledge only through the Guru who has initiated us. It is not an easy thing to understand. Sometimes there can be such disturbance of the digestive system that we will have diarrhoea for days or months, and we cannot stop it with medicine. Headache, giddiness and diarrhoea are generally supposed to be the immediate reactions of intense concentration of the mind. We will feel as if the mountains are revolving when we stand up. This is giddiness, and we cannot easily know why this is happening. Sometimes we may be under the impression that we are practising a wrong type of meditation, due to which these reactions are set up. It is not necessarily so. Our meditation may be correct, and yet the reactions can be there.
  When there is a physical condition of the type of painful illness, the practice should not be diminished. Generally, when we have a little fever, we will not be able to sit for meditation; and of course when there is a headache, it is out of the question. But knowing that these are the necessary and expected consequences of practice, one should not become diffident, and the practice of meditation should not be brought down to a lower level, either in quantity or quality, merely because of these obstacles. They will be there for some days, and sometimes even for months, but they will pass away. Just as when we clean a room with a broom there is a rise of dust, and it may look as if we are worsening the condition in the room rather than cleaning it, that is not the truth, because afterwards all of the dust will vanish and the whole room will be clean. Likewise, in the beginning it may look as if there is something worse happening to us than what has occurred earlier, but it is not true. We are getting cleaned up, and a day will come when the storm will cease and we shall be happy.
  --
  Then doubts will start rising up in the mind and tell us all sorts of stories about our Guru and our sadhana, our scripture and religion, and everything. We will start doubting everything; and only a single doubt has to arise in order for ten doubts to rise up as the result of that one doubt. Then we will change the Guru. Many people change their Gurus, change the method of meditation, change the mantra and move from place to place, because they have found that there is something wrong. "Otherwise, why is it that I am not achieving anything after so many years of effort?" So, after vyadhi and styana comes samsaya or doubt. This is an obstacle, says Patanjali.
  We may doubt the existence of God Himself this is something that is not unexpected. "After all, is there such a thing called God? Buddha does not believe in God. Perhaps Buddha may be right. He never uttered a word about God. So why am I crying for Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and all that? They may not be there at all." These doubts also will arise. "If they are not there, why am I praying to them? And if they are there, why didn't Buddha mention them? Buddha was not a fool. And there are other religious teachers who do not mention these things. They have other methods, such as upasana meditation, vipasana meditation, and are all sorts of things.
  So we change the technique, and this change of technique, this change of initiation and Guru can be compared to digging a well a foot deep, in one thousand places, for water. We have dug only one foot, and we do not find water anywhere, and so we go on digging for a lifetime. In the same way, one thousand Gurus will bring us nothing. This is what will happen. This has happened to many people, and nobody can be exempted from this possibility, because doubts do not come like extraneous factors. They are internal illnesses that are conditions of the mind itself.
  Vydhi styna saaya pramda (I.30) Pramada is the other obstacle in the sutra that is mentioned by Patanjali. Blunder, floundering and gross error are called pramada. What can be a greater blunder than to forget the existence of God and our purpose in life? Most of the students do not go beyond this stage; they end with this. Their life closes with this difficulty. They make a serious blunder in choosing a different line of activity altogether. For example, suddenly there can be an emotion fired up within to save the world from falling into to hell. They will think that, "We have come to a stage now where we have to lift the world from perdition." There will be arguments after arguments, logically deduced, justifying this attitude, because logic also comes from the mind it does not come from outside. The aspiration of the spirit for God-realisation will be dubbed as selfishness of the worst type. Even today we have thousands of people before us who have such suspicions in their minds. These suspicions do not arise merely in idiotic minds, but they also arise in minds of those who are very intelligent, very learned, very honest and sincere in their approach. Such people will have doubts of this type, and come to think that working for the liberation of others is better than working for the liberation of one's own self, because one's own self is a selfish centre. The thinking is: "This is very clear everybody knows that, and it does not require very much argument to prove that a single person's salvation is selfish compared to the salvation of many others."

1.03 - Meeting the Master - Meeting with others, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Sri Aurobindo: That is the aim of Raja Yoga and you should go to a Rajayogi Guru.
   Raghunath: I have come to take up any path that you may point out. I always had the idea that I should get something from you. I am ready to do what you tell me.
  --
   In the meantime it was brought to Sri Aurobindo's notice that this man had tried to practise Hatha Yoga without a Guru and had begun with Khechari Mudra, Trataka and Uddiyana accompanied by Kapalabhati Pranayama and ended by being sick. Raghunath was all along thinking that Sri Aurobindo was a great Hathayogi, because he meditated with open eyes and was able to do Utthapana, levitation.
   Disciple: Raghunath says that he has made up his mind.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: He has his own ideas and if he wants to practise Raja Yoga he must go to a Rajayogi Guru. For this Yoga his mind must undergo a radical change. My giving him the Yoga at present is out of the question. If he wants to prepare himself he can practise the separation of Purusha and Prakriti.
   3 JANUARY 1924 (Second Interview)

1.03 - Spiritual Realisation, The aim of Bhakti-Yoga, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
  next chapter: 1.04 - The Need of Guru

1.03 - The House Of The Lord, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  We were thus installed in the House for an indefinite period. This was the house in which Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived for about a decade before we broke into their seclusion. Sri Aurobindo had not gone one step out of this house, nor seen any visitors or inmates; only Champaklal, his personal attendant, had glimpses of him. He used to find his body shining like gold. Our work too was to serve the Lord as is done in the temple, not as medical attendants, for henceforth he needed none but to minister to his physical and other minor needs, to be near him, even to amuse him by our talk and presence. That was our Yoga. What better way could there be than to serve personally the Guru, the Divine? Sri Ramakrishna had said to his nephew Hriday, "Serve me and you will get all you want." We had no particular want till then and all our heart was offered to him in utter dedication. It is gratifying for us to remember that Sri Aurobindo had said in the beginning that he was happy to have such a team to serve him. Service was our life, and the hours passed "with a moon-imprinted sail". Sri Aurobindo did not require, in fact, so many hands, since he had almost recovered the use of his own limbs, but it was not Sri Aurobindo's or the Mother's way to dispense with someone, even something, as soon as their need of him was over. Their grace Would always be with him.
  How did we serve him? The best way to give a clear idea about it would be to present a picture of Sri Aurobindo's daily life, now that it had fallen into a definite pattern and woven our activities into it. However, I fear that in depicting his external life, some misconception may be created in the minds of the readers about his real Self. Since man is usually led by surface appearance and expressions, we are likely to be taken up by his outward gestures or words and have not the least idea of the vast consciousness from which these movements flowed. For instance, when he talked to us as a friend, could we ever have imagined that he was the Divine talking to us as divine beings? When he saw Dr. Manilal, could Manilal have perceived that "it was no longer Dr. Manilal but the Divine living in the Divine" that he saw? How could we guess that living confined within the body and the small room, he saw "Paris, Tokyo and New York"? He could say, "My soul unhorizoned widens to measureless sight." Referring to a certain context I once told him, "I am satisfied with you as Sri Aurobindo pure and simple." He replied, "No objection, I only suggested that I don't know who this Sri Aurobindo pure and simple is. If you do, I congratulate you."

1.04 - ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER: "Oh, my hair is standing on end! Please be initiated by a Guru as soon as possible."
  Shortly before midnight Narendra and the other devotees lay down on a bed made on the floor of the Master's room.

1.04 - Pratyahara, #Liber ABA, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  7:When the unsuspecting pupil first approaches his holy but wily Guru, and demands magical powers, that Wise One replies that he will confer them, points out with much caution and secrecy some particular spot on the pupil's body which has never previously attracted his attention, and says: "In order to obtain this magical power which you seek, all that is necessary is to wash seven times in the Ganges during seven days, being particularly careful to avoid thinking of that one spot." Of course the unhappy youth spends a disgusted week in thinking of little else.
  8:It is positively amazing with what persistence a thought, even a whole train of thoughts, returns again and again to the charge. It becomes a positive nightmare. It is intensely annoying, too, to find that one does not become conscious that one has got on to the forbidden subject until one has gone right through with it. However, one continues day after day investigating thoughts and trying to check them; and sooner or later one proceeds to the next stage, Dharana, the attempt to restrain the mind to a single object.

1.04 - The Divine Mother - This Is She, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  During the sports season, she went to the sports ground after her tennis. Instead of following her, I stayed to enjoy a game. But when I had followed her, she took note of my presence by a fugitive glance for no apparent reason. This happened so often that even a dull person would not fail to perceive the meaning. Thus the battle raged on: sense of humiliation, struggle to keep the right attitude, doggedness to stick to my self-will and a host of other psychological complexes. At last the relentless silent pressure won and I gave up tennis. This is our human nature. When it is evident that the Divine wants to do something for my good, I refuse either out of attachment, self-justification or sheer disobedience. Change of nature is such an uphill job. It is not for nothing that the Guru said in 1936, that changing the nature of 150 inmates of the Ashram was a job! The interesting point was that the Mother never voiced her wish in words. Her way is usually subtle. She has said that unless she could control a movement by a silent gesture or look, she had not gained a complete mastery. Neither did I ask her what should have been my attitude towards the play. If I did, she would probably have answered. When she said, "You will play with me", I could not grasp the inner meaning that I should play with her alone. This is one of the methods she employs to open us to higher perceptions than those of reason.
  Now, I shall give some instances of my medical contact with her. We have noticed that she possessed medical knowledge far above an average doctor's. In fact, during my medical practice in the Ashram, it was she who guided me at every step. I was doing the double duty of attending to the patients as well as the Divine. I could not spare much time for the patients, A heavy work was imposed upon me, of course at my own suggestion, that a medical history of all the Ashram people should be recorded and preserved for reference, and it should be incumbent on the new candidates for taking up Yoga to appear for and pass a medical examination. I was to read these reports every day when the Mother attended on Sri Aurobindo. Both of them would ask questions and give suggestions. It became more a test for the doctor than for the patients. Any negligence, mistake or slip in my case-taking was at once detected, but never was I reprimanded for any short-coming. If to some of her questions I remained silent, the Mother would comment, "Oh, he doesn't know. If he knew, he would at once speak out." A humorous instance comes to mind. Once I prescribed a mixture to our bumptious Mridu, Sri Aurobindo's luchi-maker, but forgot to write precise directions on the label. She caught hold of this slip, came in a flurry to the Mother and burst out, "Mother, Nirodbabu is a poem, he is no doctor. He has given me medicine without any directions." The Mother appearing grave, the bottle in her hand, came and reported the joke to Sri Aurobindo. He listened in silence. If it had happened during the correspondence period, I am sure he would have had fun at my cost.
  --
  Then a year later I believe it was in 1935, he came to me for treatment for the first time. I wrote to Sri Aurobindo in my medical report, "S's story is out. In addition to green mangoes, he had some rasagollas too. This food business is almost a possession with him." Sri Aurobindo wrote back, "So I heard. Why almost?" "We have decided to remove his stove for good. Rather childish, but what else can be done?" I continued, and he replied, "Quite right. The Doctor said that he was surprised by the relapses of S's health until he found that when he was not there, S used to get up and secretly cook food for himself on the stove! Palate satisfaction seems to be more precious to him than his life." After about five months I received a note from Sri Aurobindo, "Is the condition of S dangerous or critical? If it is so or if it becomes so, it will be better to send for a French doctor who will take the responsibility of the case.... The Mother was knocked up in the small hours and informed that S was very bad and hiccoughing. I presume the French Doctor has been sent for by this time. If it is serious, let us have news 2 or 3 times a day." I replied to him, "S's condition is neither dangerous nor critical. It is a case of hyperacidity. He has vomited a lot and has found some relief now. But I hear that he wants to be treated by our renowned homeopath R. I have no objection, subject to your approval." And this is what Sri Aurobindo wrote to me, "I expect you to put your medical feelings under a glass case in a corner for the time and help the... Homeopath so far as nursing and other care for S goes." I handed over the patient to R and did the nursing part as asked by Sri Aurobindo. He also wanted me to send him a regular report of the case. The patient started copious vomiting of blood and passing blood in the stool. When I asked the Guru how far the exact reporting was essential for the action of the Force, he replied, "It is absolutely essential. Wrong information or concealment of important facts may have disastrous consequences." I reported, "His condition will be critical at night. Two things must be done: hiccough has to stop, and he must have sleep. He is extremely weak. Are you sure about him?" His answer came, "No. From the beginning of the case I have not been at all sure of it.... The circumstances have been very contrary and there has not been the usual response to the Force which makes recovery only a matter of time. It seems to me that it is an old illness which has Suddenly taken an acute and perilous form. If tomorrow morning there is no improvement, we can call Philaire5 (I hope it will be in time)."
  The next day, there was a sudden good turn putting the patient beyond the danger zone. Synchronous with the Mother's coming down to give general blessings, he went into a sound sleep with the temporary cessation of the hiccough. It was at this time that I felt that he had crossed the danger line. Sri Aurobindo, confirming my feelings, wrote, "There was something a sense of a danger passed and a Force put out.... There is a change in so far as S's physical has begun to respond while before it was not responsive at all. There is no longer the predominance of the dark forces that there was before. But the response has to increase before one can be absolutely sure of the result. The obstinacy of the hiccough is a dark point that ought to disappear."

1.04 - The Need of Guru, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
  object:1.04 - The Need of Guru
  author class:Swami Vivekananda
  --
  THE NEED OF Guru
  Every soul is destined to be perfect, and every being, in the end, will attain the state of perfection.
  --
  The person from whose soul such impulse comes is called the Guru the teacher; and the person to whose soul the impulse is conveyed is called the Shishya the student. To convey such an impulse to any soul, in the first place, the soul from which it proceeds must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the soul to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. The seed must be a living seed, and the field must be ready ploughed; and when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of genuine religion takes place. "The true preacher of religion has to be of wonderful capabilities, and clever shall his hearer be" ; and when both of these are really wonderful and extraordinary, then will a splendid spiritual awakening result, and not otherwise. Such alone are the real teachers, and such alone are also the real students, the real aspirants. All others are only playing with spirituality. They have just a little curiosity awakened, just a little intellectual aspiration kindled in them, but are merely standing on the outward fringe of the horizon of religion. There is no doubt some value even in that, as it may in course of time result in the awakening of a real thirst for religion; and it is a mysterious law of nature that as soon as the field is ready, the seed must and does come; as soon as the soul earnestly desires to have religion, the transmitter of the religious force must and does appear to help that soul. When the power that attracts the light of religion in the receiving soul is full and strong, the power which answers to that attraction and sends in light does come as a matter of course.
  There are, however, certain great dangers in the way. There is, for instance, the danger to the receiving soul of its mistaking momentary emotions for real religious yearning. We may study that in ourselves. Many a time in our lives, somebody dies whom we loved; we receive a blow; we feel that the world is slipping between our fingers, that we want something surer and higher, and that we must become religious. In a few days that wave of feeling has passed away, and we are left stranded just where we were before. We are all of us often mistaking such impulses for real thirst after religion; but as long as these momentary emotions are thus mistaken, that continuous, real craving of the soul for religion will not come, and we shall not find the true transmitter of spirituality into our nature. So whenever we are tempted to complain of our search after the truth that we desire so much, proving vain, instead of so complaining, our first duty ought to be to look into our own souls and find whether the craving in the heart is real. Then in the vast majority of cases it would be discovered that we were not fit for receiving the truth, that there was no real thirst for spirituality.
  There are still greater dangers in regard to the transmitter, the Guru. There are many who, though immersed in ignorance, yet, in the pride of their hearts, fancy they know everything, and not only do not stop there, but offer to take others on their shoulders; and thus the blind leading the blind, both fall into the ditch.
   "Fools dwelling in darkness, wise in their own conceit, and puffed up with vain knowledge, go round and round staggering to and fro, like blind men led by the blind." (Katha Up., I. ii. 5). The world is full of these. Every one wants to be a teacher, every beggar wants to make a gift of a million dollars! Just as these beggars are ridiculous, so are these teachers.

1.04 - The Sacrifice the Triune Path and the Lord of the Sacrifice, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  It is an integral knowledge that is being sought, an integral force, a total amplitude of union with the All and Infinite behind existence. For the seeker of the integral Yoga no single experience, no one Divine Aspect,however overwhelming to the human mind, sufficient for its capacity, easily accepted as the sole or the ultimate reality,can figure as the exclusive truth of the Eternal. For him the experience of the Divine Oneness carried to its extreme is more deeply embraced and amply fathomed by following out to the full the experience of the Divine Multiplicity. All that is true behind polytheism as well as behind monotheism falls within the scope of his seeking; but he passes beyond their superficial sense to human mind to grasp their mystic truth in the Divine. He sees what is aimed at by the jarring sects and philosophies and accepts each facet of the Reality in its own place, but rejects their narrownesses and errors and proceeds farther till he discovers the One Truth that binds them together. The reproach of anthropomorphism and anthropolatry cannot deter him,for he sees them to be prejudices of the ignorant and arrogant reasoning intelligence, the abstracting mind turning on itself in its own cramped circle. If human relations as practised now by man are full of smallness and perversity and ignorance, yet are they disfigured shadows of something in the Divine and by turning them to the Divine he finds that of which they are a shadow and brings it down for manifestation in life. It is through the human exceeding itself and opening itself to a supreme plenitude that the Divine must manifest itself here, since that comes inevitably in the course and process of the spiritual evolution, and therefore he will not despise or blind himself to the Godhead because it is lodged in a human body, mnu tanum ritam. Beyond the limited human conception of God, he will pass to the one divine Eternal, but also he will meet him in the faces of the Gods, his cosmic personalities supporting the World-Play, detect him behind the mask of the Vibhutis, embodied World-Forces or human Leaders, reverence and obey him in the Guru, worship him in the Avatar. This will be to him his exceeding good fortune if he can meet one who has realised or is becoming That which he seeks for and can by opening to it in this vessel of its manifestation himself realise it. For that is the most palpable sign of the growing fulfilment, the promise of the great mystery of the progressive Descent into Matter which is the secret sense of the material creation and the justification of terrestrial existence.
  Thus reveals himself to the seeker in the progress of the sacrifice the Lord of the sacrifice. At any point this revelation can begin; in any aspect the Master of the Work can take up the work in him and more and more press upon him and it for the unfolding of his presence. In time all the Aspects disclose themselves, separate, combine, fuse, are unified together. At the end there shines through it all the supreme integral Reality, unknowable to Mind which is part of the Ignorance, but knowable because self-aware in the light of a spiritual consciousness and a supramental knowledge.

1.053 - A Very Important Sadhana, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  We are always in a mood of unhappiness. We cannot know what has happened to us. We are not satisfied neither with people, nor with our sadhana, nor with anything in this world. This disquiet, peacelessness and displeasure which can manifest as a sustained mood in spiritual seekers is due to the presence of the impressions left by frustrated desires. We have not withdrawn our senses from objects wantonly or deliberately, but we have withdrawn them due a pressure from scriptures, Guru, atmosphere, monastery, or other conditions.
  Sometimes factors which are extraneous become responsible for the practice that we have undergone or are undergoing; and because the heart is absent there, naturally the feeling of happiness is also not there. When the heart is not there, there cannot be joy. That is why it is suggested that the sadhana of self-control, or control of the senses, should be coupled with a deep philosophical knowledge and spiritual aspiration, which is what is indicated by the term svadhyaya, and the other term Ishvara pranidhana, which is adoration of God as the ultimate goal of life.

1.05 - The Ascent of the Sacrifice - The Psychic Being, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
     But the most intimate character of the psychic is its pressure towards the Divine through a sacred love, joy and oneness. It is the divine Love that it seeks most, it is the love of the Divine that is its spur, its goal, its star of Truth shining over the luminous cave of the nascent or the still obscure cradle of the new-born godhead within us. In the first long stage of its growth and immature existence it has leaned on earthly love, affection, tenderness, goodwill, compassion, benevolence, on all beauty and gentleness and fineness and light and strength and courage, on all that can help to refine and purify the grossness and commonness of human nature; but it knows how mixed are these human movements at their best and at their worst how fallen and stamped with the mark of ego and self-deceptive sentimental falsehood and the lower self profiting by the imitation of a soul movement. At once, emerging, it is ready and eager to break all the old ties and imperfect emotional activities and replace them by a greater spiritual Truth of love and oneness. It may still admit the human forms and movements, but on condition that they are turned towards the One alone. It accepts only the ties that are helpful, the heart's reverence for the Guru, the union of the God-seekers, a spiritual compassion for the ignorant human and animal world and its peoples, the joy and happiness and satisfaction of beauty that comes from the perception of the Divine everywhere. It plunges the nature inward towards its meeting with the immanent Divine in the heart's secret centre and, while that call is there, no reproach of egoism, no mere outward summons of altruism or duty or philanthropy or service will deceive or divert it from its sacred longing and its obedience to the attraction of the Divinity within it. It lifts the being towards a transcendent Ecstasy and is ready to shed all the downward pull of the world from its wings in its uprising to reach the One Highest; but it calls down also this transcendent Love and Beatitude to deliver and transform this world of hatred and strife and division and darkness and jarring Ignorance. It opens to a universal Divine Love, a vast compassion, an intense and immense will for the good of all, for the embrace of the World-Mother enveloping or gathering to her her children, the divine Passion that has plunged into the night for the redemption of the world from the universal Ignorance. It is not attracted or misled by mental imitations or any vital misuse of these great deep-seated Truths of existence; it exposes them with its detecting search-ray and calls down the entire truth of divine Love to heal these malformations, to deliver mental, vital, physical love from their insufficiencies or their perversions and reveal to them their abounding share of the intimacy and the oneness and the ascending ecstasy and the descending rapture.
     All true truths of Love and of the works of Love the psychic being accepts in their place; but its flame mounts always upward and it is eager to push the ascent from lesser to higher degrees of Truth, since it knows that only by the ascent to a highest Truth and the descent of that highest Truth can Love be delivered from the cross and placed upon the throne; for the cross is the sign of the Divine Descent barred and marred by the transversal line of a cosmic deformation which turns life into a state of suffering and misfortune. Only by the ascent to the original Truth can the deformation be healed and all the works of love, as too all the works of knowledge and of life, be restored to a divine significance and become part of an integral spiritual existence.

1.05 - THE MASTER AND KESHAB, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTEIR (to Keshab): "Look here. There is Vijay. Your quarrel seems like the fight between iva and Rama. iva was Rama's s Guru. Though they fought with each other, yet they soon came to terms. But the grimaces of the ghosts, the followers of iva, and the gibberish of the monkeys, the followers of Rama, would not come to an end! (Loud laughter.) Such quarrels take place even among one's own kith and kin. Didn't Rama fight with His own sons, Lava and Kusa? Again, you must have noticed how a mother and daughter, living together and having the same spiritual end in view, observe their religious fast separately on Tuesdays, each on her own accountas if the welfare of the mother were different from the welfare of the daughter. But what benefits the one benefits the other. In like manner, you have a religious society, and Vijay thinks he must have one too. (Laughter.) But I think all these are necessary. While Sri Krishna, Himself God Incarnate, played with the gopis at Vrindvan, trouble-makers like Jatila and Kutila appeared on the scene. You may ask why. The answer is that the play does not develop without trouble-makers. (All laugh.) There is no fun without Jatila and Kutila. (Loud laughter.)
  "Ramanuja upheld the doctrine of Qualified Non-dualism. But his Guru was a pure non-dualist. They disagreed with each other and refuted each other's arguments. That always happens. Still, to the teacher the disciple is his own."
  All rejoiced in the Mastcr's company and his words.
  --
  "There is only one Guru, and that is Satchidananda. He alone is the Teacher. My attitude toward God is that of a child toward its mother. One can get human Gurus by the million. All want to be teachers. But who cares to be a disciple?
  Difficulty of preaching

1.05 - War And Politics, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  For all the war-news we had to depend on the daily newspapers, since members of the Ashram were not supposed to have radios. Somebody in the town began to supply us with short bulletins; when the War had taken a full-fledged turn, the radio news was transmitted to Sri Aurobindo's room so he might follow the war-movements from hour to hour. Here we find a notable instance of the spiritual flexibility of his rules and principles. What had been laid down for a particular time and condition, would not be inviolable under altered circumstances. Sri Aurobindo, who was once a mortal opponent of British rule in India, came to support the Allies against the threat of world-domination by Hitler. "Not merely a non-cooperator but an enemy of British Imperialism", he now listened carefully to the health bulletins about Churchill when he had pneumonia, and, we believe, even helped him with his Force to recover. It is the rigid mind that cries for consistency under all circumstances. I still remember Sri Aurobindo breaking the news of Hitler's march and England's declaration of war. For a time the world hung in suspense wondering whether Hitler would flout Holland's neutrality and then penetrate into Belgium. We had very little doubt of his intention. It was evening; Sri Aurobindo was alone in his room. As soon as I entered, he looked at me and said, "Hitler has invaded Holland. Well, we shall see." That was all. Two or three such laconic but pregnant remarks regarding the War still ring in my ears. At another crucial period when Stalin held a threatening pistol at England and was almost joining hands with Hitler, we were dismayed and felt that there would be no chance for the Divine, were such a formidable alliance to take place. Sri Aurobindo at once retorted, "Is the Divine going to be cowed by Stalin?" When, seeing Hitler sweeping like a meteor over Europe, a sadhak cried in despair to the Guru, "Where is the Divine? Where is your word of hope?" Sri Aurobindo replied calmly, "Hitler is not immortal." Then the famous battle of Dunkirk and the perilous retreat, the whole Allied army exposed to enemy attack from land and air and the bright summer sun shining above. All of a sudden a fog gathered from nowhere and gave unexpected protection to the retreating army. We said, "It seems the fog helped the evacuation." To which Sri Aurobindo remarked, "Yes, the fog is rather unusual at this time." We, of course, understood what he meant. It was after the fall of Dunkirk and the capitulation of France that Sri Aurobindo began to apply his Force more vigorously in favour of the Allies, and he had "the satisfaction of seeing the rush of German victory almost immediately arrested and the tide of war begin to turn in the opposite direction".
  Thus, we see, Sri Aurobindo was not simply a passive witness, a mere verbal critic of the Allied war policy. When India was asked to participate in the war effort, and the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, much to the surprised indignation of our countrymen, contributed to the War Fund, he, for the first time, made clear to the nation what issues were involved in the War. I remember the Mother darting into Sri Aurobindo's room quite early in the morning with a sheet of paper in her hand. I guessed that something private was going to be discussed and discreetly withdrew. Then Purani came most unexpectedly. "Ah! here is something afoot," I said to myself. A couple of days later the secret was revealed in all the newspapers: Sri Aurobindo had made a donation to the War Fund! Of course, he explained why he had done so. He stated that the War was being waged "in defence of civilisation and its highest attained social, cultural and spiritual values and the whole future of humanity...." Giving the lead, he acted as an example for others to follow. But, all over the country, protests, calumnies and insinuations were his lot. Even his disciples were nonplussed in spite of his explanation why he had made that singular gesture. A disciple wrote to the Mother, "The Congress is asking us not to contribute to the War Fund. What shall we do?" The answer given was: "Sri Aurobindo has contributed for a divine cause. If you help, you will be helping yourselves." Some were wishing for the victory of the Nazis because of their hatred for the British. The Mother had to give a stern admonition. She wrote: "It has become necessary to state emphatically and clearly that all who by their thoughts and wishes are supporting and calling for the victory of the Nazis are by that very fact collaborating with the Asura against the Divine and helping to bring about the victory of the Asura."

1.06 - Incarnate Teachers and Incarnation, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
   "Know the Guru to be Me", says Shri Krishna in the Bhagavata. The moment the world is absolutely bereft of these, it becomes a hideous hell and hastens on to its destruction.
  Higher and nobler than all ordinary ones are another set of teachers, the Avatras of Ishvara, in the world. They can transmit spirituality with a touch, even with a mere wish. The lowest and the most degraded characters become in one second saints at their command. They are the Teachers of all teachers, the highest manifestations of God through man. We cannot see God except through them. We cannot help worshipping them; and indeed they are the only ones whom we are bound to worship.

1.06 - The Ascent of the Sacrifice 2 The Works of Love - The Works of Life, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Ignorance. One must learn to hear and follow the voice of the inmost soul, the direction of the Guru, the comm and of the Master, the working of the Divine Mother Whoever clings to the desires and weaknesses of the flesh, the cravings and passions of the vital in its turbulent ignorance, the dictates of his personal mind unsilenced and unillumined by a greater knowledge, cannot find the true inner law and is heaping obstacles in the way of the divine fulfilment. Whoever is able to detect and renounce those obscuring agencies and to discern and follow the true Guide within and without will discover the spiritual law and reach the goal of the Yoga.
  A radical and total change of consciousness is not only the whole meaning but, in an increasing force and by progressive stages, the whole method of the integral Yoga.

1.06 - THE MASTER WITH THE BRAHMO DEVOTEES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Three types of Gurus
  "Like the physicians, there are three types of religious teachers. The inferior teacher only gives instruction to the disciples but makes no inquiries about their progress. The mediocre teacher, for the good of the student, makes repeated efforts to bring the instruction home to him, begs him to assimilate it, and shows him love in many other ways. But there is a type of teacher who goes to the length of using force when he finds the student persistently unyielding; I call him the best teacher."
  --
  It is your Guru, says Kubir;
  Meditate on his holy feet.
  --
  "Let me tell you one thing. God can be seen. The Vedas say that God is beyond mind and speech. The meaning of this is that God is unknown to the mind attached to worldly objects. Vaishnavcharan used to say, 'God is known by the mind and intellect that are pure.' Therefore it is necessary to seek the company of holy men, practise prayer, and listen to the instruction of the Guru. These purify the mind. Then one sees God. Dirt can be removed from water by a purifying agent. Then one sees one's reflection in it.
  One cannot see one's face in a mirror if the mirror is covered with dirt.

1.078 - Kumbhaka and Concentration of Mind, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  But the suggestion given in this term kala is that a ratio is maintained, and that ratio can be modified according to ones convenience, level of evolution, the extent of practice, etc. This has to be done with the guidance of a Guru. One should not meddle with the prana without knowing what happens. Thus, the ratio that is associated with the processes of inhalation, retention and exhalation is what is meant by the term kala.
  Samkhya is the number of rounds that we practise. People who are exclusively devoted to the pranayama process sit for it often. In advanced stages, it is said we may have to sit four times in the morning, at noon, in the evening, at midnight. These are the four times that we sit for meditation and practise pranayama. How many times, how many rounds of breathing, can we practise at each sitting? This calculation is the number that is mentioned samkhya.It should increase gradually, not suddenly. Pranayama is a most dangerous practice when it is not correctly understood, because we are dealing directly with the physical system, and so one has to be very cautious. We should not interfere with it unnecessarily. It should be done with a great understanding of ones strengths as well as ones weaknesses.

1.07 - A Song of Longing for Tara, the Infallible, #How to Free Your Mind - Tara the Liberator, #Thubten Chodron, #unset
  personal Guru.
  From my heart I bow to Divine Mother Tara, essence of love and compassion, the most precious objects of refuge gathered into one. From
  --
  Great Gurus and small Gurus cheat us with their made-up teachings,
  selling Dharma, teaching without comprehension, not observing who
  --
  friends of this degenerate age, you are my principal Guru. Inspire me,
  Divine Mother, essence of love. Arouse the great power of your compassion and think of me.
  --
  You are my Guru, my yidam, my protector, my refuge, my food, my
  clothes, my possessions, and my friend. Since your divine quality is
  --
  offerings and requests to Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava. This little rinpoche asked my friend, Why do we request the Buddha over and over again
  Please grant me blessings and inspire me?
  --
  Great Gurus and small Gurus cheat us with their made-up teachings, selling
  Dharma, teaching without comprehension, not observing who is qualied
  --
  you are my principal Guru. Inspire me, Divine Mother, essence of love. Arouse
  the great power of your compassion and think of me.
  --
  I think that great Gurus refers to famous teachers and small Gurus to
  reflections on a song of longing for tara, the infallible
  --
  because he or she is the latest rage is not a good reason. Those who are actually great Gurus that is, those who have correct realizationsare not
  involved in the eight worldly concerns and are always humble.
  Famous Gurus and not-so-famous Gurus can cheat us with their made-up
  teachings. Some people mix non-Buddhist teachings with Buddhist practices and call it Buddhism. Others misunderstand the Buddhas teachings but
  --
  that she was channeling her Guru who had passed away. She began teaching
  and was apparently charismatic, but then became psychologically manipulative, which left the students confused.
  In thinking of the potential corruptions great Gurus and small Gurus
  could fall prey to, we might be tempted to start judging our teachers. This
   Guru does this, that Guru does that, but Im very pure. I would never do any
  of these things. We feel superior and look down on our spiritual mentors
  --
  But its not only the big Gurus and small Gurus who are involved in the
  eight worldly concerns. Lets be inclusive and non-biased and talk about ourselves as well! There are four pairs of worldly concerns, making eight altogether:
  --
  When we say to Tara, you are my principal Guru, it means that the wisdom of the Buddha is our principal Guru. Inspire me, Divine Mother, essence
  of love. Arouse the great power of your compassion and think of me. Here,
  --
  The previous verse concerned how to relate to Gurus. This verse is about how
  to relate to Buddhas and meditation deities (yidams). The following verse concerns our relationship with protectors. These are the principal relationships
  --
  You are my Guru, my yidam, my protector, my refuge, my food, my clothes, my
  possessions, and my friend. Since your divine quality is everything to me, let
  --
  Tara embodies all objects of refugeour Gurus, meditation deities
  (yidams), and Dharma protectors. Like spiritual food, the wisdom and compassion she represents nourish us. Like clothes, the six far-reaching attitudes
  --
  times in a pure land such as Tushita, Sukhavati, or Akanishta. In the Six-Session Guru Yoga we aspire to be reborn in Shambhala. You may wonder: Why
  do we pray for so many different rebirths in these various places? Were covering all our bases!

1.07 - Raja-Yoga in Brief, #Raja-Yoga, #Swami Vivkenanda, #unset
  Where there is fire, or in water or on ground which is strewn with dry leaves, where there are many ant-hills, where there are wild animals, or danger, where four streets meet, where there is too much noise, where there are many wicked persons, Yoga must not be practiced. This applies more particularly to India. Do not practice when the body feels very lazy or ill, or when the mind is very miserable and sorrowful. Go to a place which is well hidden, and where people do not come to disturb you. Do not choose dirty places. Rather choose beautiful scenery, or a room in your own house which is beautiful. When you practice, first salute all the ancient Yogis, and your own Guru, and God, and then begin.
  Dhyana is spoken of, and a few examples are given of what to meditate upon. Sit straight, and look at the tip of your nose. Later on we shall come to know how that concentrates the mind, how by controlling the two optic nerves one advances a long way towards the control of the arc of reaction, and so to the control of the will. Here are a few specimens of meditation. Imagine a lotus upon the top of the head, several inches up, with virtue as its centre, and knowledge as its stalk. The eight petals of the lotus are the eight powers of the Yogi. Inside, the stamens and pistils are renunciation. If the Yogi refuses the external powers he will come to salvation. So the eight petals of the lotus are the eight powers, but the internal stamens and pistils are extreme renunciation, the renunciation of all these powers. Inside of that lotus think of the Golden One, the Almighty, the Intangible, He whose name is Om, the Inexpressible, surrounded with effulgent light. Meditate on that. Another meditation is given. Think of a space in your heart, and in the midst of that space think that a flame is burning. Think of that flame as your own soul and inside the flame is another effulgent light, and that is the Soul of your soul, God. Meditate upon that in the heart. Chastity, non-injury, forgiving even the greatest enemy, truth, faith in the Lord, these are all different Vrittis. Be not afraid if you are not perfect in all of these; work, they will come. He who has given up all attachment, all fear, and all anger, he whose whole soul has gone unto the Lord, he who has taken refuge in the Lord, whose heart has become purified, with whatsoever desire he comes to the Lord, He will grant that to him. Therefore worship Him through knowledge, love, or renunciation.

1.07 - THE MASTER AND VIJAY GOSWAMI, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "This maya, that is to say, the ego, is like a cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the Guru one's ego vanishes, then one sees God.
  "Rama, who is God Himself, was only two and a half cubits ahead of Lakshmana. But Lakshmana couldn't see Him because Sita stood between them. Lakshmana may be compared to the jiva, and Sita to maya. Man cannot see God on account of the barrier of maya. Just look: I am creating a barrier in front of my face with this towel. Now you can't see me, even though I am so near. Likewise, God is the nearest of all, but we cannot see Him on account of this covering of maya.

1.083 - Choosing an Object for Concentration, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  We now conclude that this point is not merely a physical point. It is more a type of conceptual point, or rather the centre of our affection, which cannot find a physical location anywhere. It cannot be seen in this world. Such is the intricacy that is involved in the choosing of the object of meditation itself. This difficulty is a little bit obviated by the assistance that we receive from a Guru at the time of initiation.

1.08 - Adhyatma Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
  21. Serve your Guru. Be devoted to your Guru. Obey him. Have implicit faith in his teachings. You will grow in spirituality. The veil will be torn down. You will attain Self-realisation.
  22. All actions culminate in Jnana or wisdom. Bhakti also terminates in wisdom. Without Bhakti, Jnana is impossible.

1.08 - Attendants, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  Mulshankar, youngest of the group, was the brother of Esculape, alias Dayashankar, at one time in charge of the Ashram Dispensary. He also worked as an assistant in the Dispensary after Esculape's retirement and came to serve Sri Aurobindo as a medical aid. An excellent worker, he had the privilege of massaging Sri Aurobindo's body for a certain period. He was no masseur and in fact knew nothing about it, but he picked it up from some casual lessons and was gifted with the natural lightness and suppleness of finger movements. During the short interval that Sri Aurobindo had to wait for the Mother to come, before he started walking, Mulshankar would sit behind and apply a good massage to his back. It was really as if an expert masseur was at work; his hands moved so lightly and fast, up and down the back and spine; sometimes using delicate finger strokes or the edge of the palms and swinging and bending the body as the various movements demanded and then finishing off with very gentle touches of the fingertips. One was tempted to take a photograph of his agile figure and beaming face visibly moved beyond measure by the unique privilege of touching the Lord's body, while Sri Aurobindo kept on sitting like a statue looking downwards as the massage proceeded, or in front, sometimes smiling by himself, perhaps oblivious of all the hundred kinds of fleeting, fluttering, striking movements being made on his back. Both the figures supplied us food for a good deal of merriment, the Guru sitting on the edge of the bed, the shishya briskly massaging his back. But the poor fellow had to miss his service because of an intractable headache that crippled him often. And every time that happened we would report to Sri Aurobindo; his comment would be: "Again?", or an exclamatory expression; we could feel at the same time that the inner help was being given.
  What could be more heart-rending than that he lost his life at the hands of an assassin during the riot of 1947? When the news was brought to Sri Aurobindo that he had been fatally stabbed, the air was filled with gloom. Sri Aurobindo listened quietly and his face bore a grave and serious expression that we had not seen before. The dark forces seemed to have achieved a perilous victory in snatching away one of the personal attendants of the Divine. Such is the grim occult struggle between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness. For days we were under a pall of gloom and none of us referred to the incident in our talks.
  --
  Dr. Satyendra is an unassuming and nice person, did his part of the job in a quiet and steady way. He was cleaning, for a time, the windows and furniture in Sri Aurobindo's room. Ready to serve but never pushing and not over eager, he kept a closeness and happy relation with all. He used to express very often that he was more of a retiring nature and more intent on personal realisation through Bhakti. Karmayoga did not suit his temperament very well. Whatever might be his particular bent, we saw that he did his own work like a karmayogi, in a genuine spirit of service to the Master whom he always addressed as Sir. His talks with Sri Aurobindo showed his sense of humour, his insight into philosophy, politics and mysticism. Sri Aurobindo seemed to like his company, his quiet devotion, in spite of his constantly grumbling against the integral Yoga and the Supermind. While cleaning the Master's nails as he lay in bed, he would start his old unvarying tale about the necessity of the personal touch, his close contact with his former Guru. Sri Aurobindo would listen quietly to his nostalgic monologue. There must be some expression of love, was his constant burden, to which Sri Aurobindo once replied that unity of consciousness is the root and love is its fine flower. A shrewd observer of human and divine nature, it was he who made the pertinent remark that in this Yoga only two persons have achieved complete surrender: the Mother to Sri Aurobindo and Sri Aurobindo to the Mother! As an example he related this story: Sri Aurobindo was lying in bed one day, and the ceiling-fan was revolving at full speed. Satyendra felt that he wanted something, so he approached the Master and asked, "Are you looking for something, Sir?" "Oh, no.... Is Nirod there?" "No, Sir. But can I do anything?" he asked. "I was wondering if the speed of the fan could be reduced," he replied. "I can do it, Sir." "Oh, can you?" he asked. Sri Aurobindo enquired about me because I was given charge of the fan by the Mother, and he would not violate the rule. As for the reduction of the speed, that too was in deference to the wishes of the Mother, for once on entering Sri Aurobindo's room, she saw the fan turning at full speed and remarked, "Oh, what a storm!" To give another instance: when we wanted to move the table-fan a bit nearer him, he said, "No, Mother has kept it there." This is how we learnt submission and obedience not only in big matters, but even in small trivialities.
  The Mother told Satyendra recently on his birthday that Sri Aurobindo had come to her on the eve of his interview with her and said that he had taken good care of Sri Aurobindo's body. What a touching recognition from Sri Aurobindo! Even after leaving the body, the Guru remembers a kind act, some help rendered to him by his disciple! What a Divine Magnanimity! We know also that all those who had served him during his accident period have had their reward in some form or other, in the material and spiritual life.
  Purani, the last to be mentioned of our group, was one of the old guards associated with Sri Aurobindo from the twenties. I shall not speak much about him because his own books tell in every line what profound love and adoration he bore for the Master for whose sake he would do anything. Full of life and gusto, he added a liveliness to our company. His choice of the unearthly hours from 2 a.m. to 6.30 a.m. for service was a great relief to us. He would surge up from the bosom of the night and say, "Here I am!" He had the entire period to himself and kept awake while we were contentedly sleeping and snoring by his side. Now and then we used to hear, as if in a dream, Sri Aurobindo's soft voice asking for something and Purani with military steps advancing and responding to the call of the General. If you happened to wake up by some inadvertent noise, you would find a different figure altogether, moving in the penumbra. No longer that lively, youngish spirit, but a very serious face that does not recognise anything else but the work, and brooks no meddling in his duty when Sri Aurobindo is his sole monopoly. I realised then why he chose that hour for service. He could be concentrated, watchful and all alone with the Master. The midnight surely affects all of us with its portentous weight. Another distinctive feature in his service was his physical strength without which it would have been difficult to lift or carry Sri Aurobindo during the early days of the accident. We have seen how he served as a solid human crutch on Sri Aurobindo's right side and later on, his giant manipulation of the large hand-fan was no less an achievement.
  --
  Often forgetting his gravity, Purani becomes a child and joins us in a plot, when there is nothing to talk about, to draw out Sri Aurobindo who might himself be waiting for the occasion. The ball is set rolling by Purani reporting for instance, "Nirod says that his mind is getting dull and stupid!" On other occasions he starts serious discussions on modern painting, modern poetry, philosophy, politics, history, science and what not. There is hardly any subject on which he cannot say something a versatile man indeed, and a very interesting personality. Once in the evening the Guru and the shishya had a long talk, for more than an hour, on an old legal case (Bapat case?) that must have taken place during Sri Aurobindo's stay in Baroda, and must have been famous for Purani to remember it and discuss it with Sri Aurobindo. He was lying on one side and Purani was sitting on the floor leaning against a couch opposite. It had the air of a very homely talk, as between father and son. Anybody who had seen the Master only during the Darshan could never conceive of this Sri Aurobindo who had put off his mantle of majesty and high impersonality. I stood for a while to listen to the discussion, but found it so dull that I began wondering how they could drag on ad infinitum! It was Purani's versatility that enriched much in our talks with the Master. If, however, by any chance you stepped on his toes, the old lion growled and roared! But wherever Sri Aurobindo's interest was involved, he would not spare himself. The Guru's name acted on him like a Mantra. The Aurobindonians are ever grateful to him for his yeoman service in bringing out so many valuable documents on Sri Aurobindo's early life in England and for trying to get his genius recognised by the English intellectual circle.
  One other casual attendant whose name I should include was Dr. Sanyal. He was an eminent surgeon in Calcutta and his active service was called for when Sri Aurobindo's condition became critical in the first week of December, 1950. He was sent an urgent wire to come immediately. Before this he had Sri Aurobindo's private darshan twice. The first occasion was when I consulted him in the beginning about Sri Aurobindo's illness. Next year, when again he visited the Ashram, his contact with Sri Aurobindo was renewed for the same reason. Each time he stayed for about a week and every day he had the Guru's darshan. He would come dressed in simple white dhoti and punjabi with a big bouquet of lotuses or roses and offer his pranam to the Guru in quiet devotion. Then, as Sri Aurobindo sat on the bed, he, kneeling on the floor, massaged his leg and held long talks with him at the same time. Sri Aurobindo's manner was affable and engaging, bearing a smile that egged on the speaker. Once I heard from a distance the Mother talking to Sri Aurobindo about him. From a few words that caught my ear it seemed she was very much impressed by his deportment and physiognomy. I felt that she had already marked him as one of her future instruments. All these paved the way to his last service to his Lord and permanent service to the Mother.
  Besides Pavitra and Dyuman who used to come to clean the carpeted floor, the former at the beginning only, I might mention another sadhak, Udar, who came daily to clean the new furniture in Sri Aurobindo's room since 1947. He had also helped us greatly in procuring medicines for Sri Aurobindo during the last days of his illness and he was present at the moment of his departure. Here is his own account regarding his attendance:

1.08 - Sri Aurobindos Descent into Death, #Preparing for the Miraculous, #George Van Vrekhem, #Integral Yoga
  conquest of death when the Guru, or Master, or Avatar and
  bringer of the new vision had succumbed himself to death?

1.08 - The Four Austerities and the Four Liberations, #On Education, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  It is a well-known fact that one must never speak of ones spiritual experiences if one does not want to see vanishing in a flash the energy accumulated in the experience, which was meant to hasten ones progress. The only exception which can be made to the rule is with regard to ones Guru, when one wants to receive some explanation or teaching from him concerning the content and meaning of ones experience. Indeed, one can speak about these things without danger only to ones Guru, for only the Guru is able by his knowledge to use the elements of the experience for your own good, as steps towards new ascents.
  It is true that the Guru himself is subject to the same rule of silence with regard to what concerns him personally. In Nature everything is in movement; thus, whatever does not move forward is bound to fall back. The Guru must progress even as his disciples do, although his progress may not be on the same plane. And for him too, to speak about his experiences is not favourable: the greater part of the dynamic force for progress contained in the experience evaporates if it is put into words. But on the other hand, by explaining his experiences to his disciples, he greatly helps their understanding and consequently their progress. It is for him in his wisdom to know to what extent he can and ought to sacrifice the one to the other. It goes without saying that no boasting or vainglory should enter into his account, for the slightest vanity would make him no longer a Guru but an imposter.
  As for the disciple, I would tell him: In all cases, be faithful to your Guru whoever he is; he will lead you as far as you can go. But if you have the good fortune to have the Divine as your Guru, there will be no limit to your realisation.
  Nevertheless, even the Divine, when incarnate on earth, is subject to the same law of progress. His instrument of manifestation the physical being he has assumed, should be in a constant state of progress, and the law of his personal self-expression is in a way linked to the general law of earthly progress. Thus even the embodied god cannot be perfect on earth until men are ready to understand and accept perfection. That day will come when everything that is now done out of a sense of duty towards the Divine will be done out of love for Him. Progress will be a joy instead of being an effort and often even a struggle. Or, more exactly, progress will be made in joy, with the full adherence of the whole being, instead of by coercing the resistance of the ego, which entails great effort and sometimes even great suffering.

1.08 - THE MASTERS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MR. CHOUDHURY: "Sir, is it not possible to have the vision of God without the help of a Guru?"
  MASTER: "Satchidananda Himself is the Guru. At the end of the Shavasadhana, just when the vision of the Ishta is about to take place, the Guru appears before the aspirant and says to him, 'Behold! There is your Ishta.' Saying this, the Guru merges in the Ishta. He who is the Guru is also the Ishta. The Guru is the thread that leads to God.
  Women perform a ritualistic worship known as the 'Ananta-vrata', the object of worship being the Infinite. But actually the Deity worshipped is Vishnu. In Him are the 'infinite'
  --
  MASTER: "The world is the field of action. Through action one acquires knowledge. The Guru instructs the disciple to perform certain works and refrain from others. Again, he advises the pupil to perform action without desiring the result. The impurity of the mind is destroyed through the performance of duty. It is like getting rid of a disease by means of medicine, under the instruction of a competent physician.
  "Why doesn't God free us from the world? Ah, He will free us when the disease is cured.

1.096 - Powers that Accrue in the Practice, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Do not try these methods. They are very dangerous and can lead to anything. You may end up in a mental hospital if you start these techniques without proper purification of the mind. It requires a Guru. Nobody may practise these samyamas without proper initiation under a competent master.
  Thus, this grahsya samapatti, or the mastery one acquires over the object, brings such powers as these. Incidentally, it has a result on the body of the person also. There is a perfection that follows in respect of ones own body, which is described in another sutra: rpa lvaya bala vajra sahananatvni kyasapat (III.47). It appears that one becomes very handsome in ones personality, beautiful in complexion, radiant in the skin, and so on; these are qualities described. Apart from that, great strength follows. One becomes vajrasamhana adamantine in ones energy so that one will become indefatigable and unapproachable by the forces of nature. These perfections of the body are subsidiary consequences that follow the mastery one gains over the elements. The third result that follows, as the sutra tells us, is that the elements do not any more obstruct the person. We will not sink into water, or get burnt by fire, etc. These are the non-obstructing characters revealed by the elements. One can pierce through a wall and pass through it, by the entry of the subtle body through these apparently gross objects. The non-obstructive character of the elements in respect of the yogi is the third aspect.

1.097 - Sublimation of Object-Consciousness, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Well, this may be one of the conditions through which the mind passes, or has to pass. As mystical language tells us, it is the dark night of the soul. When we cut off all connections with everything in the world, we have to pass through darkness; we will not enter into light immediately. There will be an interim period of darkness, oblivion and unawareness of everything, which is the frightened condition, a state of affairs where the mind is in fear as to what is happening. There, higher guidance is necessary from a Guru, a spiritual master because we will be cast into the winds of unawareness. The mind is afraid of this condition. The moment we withdraw the mind from objects, there is unhappiness because happiness is nothing but contemplation of objects, and the requisition of this meditation is the opposite of it. So it will mean, impliedly, that we are trying to cut at the roots of all the pleasures of the mind by attempting this meditation. Therefore, the mind will not agree.
  This sort of bhoga, or pleasurable experience, is the opposite of the requisite of spiritual salvation. Hence, yoga becomes difficult. The most difficult thing to undergo, and even conceive in the mind, is the abolition of all possible joys in this world. The mind is used to the joy of contact with objects, which is called bhoga. But, the sutra tells us that is an error, that it is a great mistake which has been committed due to an imaginary experience of happiness. It is not happiness at all. It is a kind of stirring of the organism by certain reactionary processes brought about by the contact a fact which the mind cannot understand. It is a trick of nature by which it keeps the mind tied to ordinary experience. This pratyaya avishesa is bhoga. An absence of the consciousness of the distinction between the character of the mind and the nature of the purusha is called world experience. This has to be cut at the root by the methods of meditation mentioned in the Samadhi Pada.

1.098 - The Transformation from Human to Divine, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Thus, we cannot be prepared for things now itself, inasmuch as we do not know what it is that is there inside of us. But if we are persistent enough in our practice, these weaknesses will show their heads gradually, like snakes coming out from the hole. They will not come out if the practice is very mild. The practice has to be very intense, continuous, and for hours together daily practice, without remission of effort. If this is not possible, the only other alternative is the knowledge that we have to gain of ourselves through our Guru, as our Guru is likely to know more about us than we know about ourselves because of his experience, and because of the insight that he has into human nature. But without these preparations, neither can we do anything for ourselves, nor will we accept the advice of others. If this is the situation, then danger is there, ahead.
  Patanjali simply mentions, in a very precise statement: sthnyupanimantrae sa
  --
  At a stage where we are about to transfer ourselves from the first level to the second level, direct guidance of a competent master is necessary. This is the usual tradition of the Yoga Shastra. When we are highly advanced and can grasp all the meanings for ourselves, we may be able to stand on our own feet; that is true. But there is a particular stage we reach when we have not been endowed with that perception of the meaning behind things, when we have lifted our feet from the ground of the earth and we have not yet reached the summits of the heavens. In the middle of the atmosphere where we are hanging, we will find ourselves helpless. There, the need of a Guru is necessary.

1.09 - ADVICE TO THE BRAHMOS, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Thou art my scriptures, my commandments; Thou art my ever gracious Guru;
  Thou the Spring of my boundless bliss.

1.09 - Kundalini Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
  12. Learn the Asanas, Pranayama, Bandhas and Mudras under an expert, Siddha Yogi Guru.
  13. A Guru is one who has full illumination, who is endowed with all divine virtues, who is able to remove the doubts of his disciples and guide them in the path of Yoga.
  14. The Guru transmits his powers to the disciple through Sankalpa (willing), Drishti (sight), Sakti-Sanchar (touch).
  15. A Sadhaka should observe perfect discipline in diet. He should take Sattvic food in moderation. A glutton cannot dream of success in Yoga.
  --
  17. He who has firm faith in the scriptures, who has Sadachara (right conduct), who constantly engages himself in the service of his Guru, who is free from lust, anger, delusion, greed, vanity, hatred and egoism can awaken Kundalini, attain perfection and enter into Samadhi quickly.
  18. The first step in Kundalini Yoga is the purification of Nadis.
  --
  28. He who is addicted to sensual pleasures, who is arrogant, proud, dishonest, untruthful, who disrespects the Guru, Sadhus and Saints can never attain success in Kundalini Yoga.
  29. Kundalini Sakti passes through the Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajna Chakras and finally enters the Sahasrara at the crown of the head.
  --
  37. Kundalini can also be awakened by devotion, strong, pure, irresistible, dynamic will, the grace of the Guru and recitation of Mantra.
  38. A Kundalini Yogi attains Bhukti (enjoyment) and Mukti (liberation).

1.09 - Talks, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  About the range and variety of the talks the readers have now got a fair idea from our books. They show Sri Aurobindo's encyclopaedic knowledge and bear out the truth of his remark that if he wrote all that he knew, it Would be ten times more than what he had already written. He had serious or sublime subjects in mind, but I am referring even to ordinary matters of life. Dr. Ramachandra once told me that he had had a racy discussion with the Guru on horse-racing! Much more striking was the ease and freedom in which the talks were held and on either side there was no feeling of constraint or sanctimonious awe putting a check on our impulses. We forgot the sublime Guru-shishya relationship and became long-standing friends. It was quite a different Sri Aurobindo from what he was at other hours of the day. The high, serene and silent snow on the Himalayan peaks had melted down into a quiet and cool gurgling stream. Hold the pure sanctified waters in your hands, sprinkle them over the body, drink them or play with them like a child. How perennially fresh and diversely rich, sparkling always with his ready wit and humour! But the stream flowed, as I said, only at some particular time and not for a long period. Again the grand, serene and silent Presence on the peaks! One could say that the austere "cloak of a reclining God", the robe of silence had slipped down and brought to our view the body of a human godhead. But he would put on the robe of silence again; yet both the visions had their unfailing charm and grandeur.
  The talks of Sri Ramakrishna come naturally to our mind in comparison. Their spirit is perhaps the same, the lightness and vivacity too are there, but his talks were restricted in scope, while all life being yoga for us, no subject was too trivial for our discussions. And in Sri Aurobindo's case always samam brahman, impersonality marked all his utterances, no matter what the subject ofthe discourse. Nevertheless, the warm touch of personality could always be felt from behind the usual frontof impersonality. For instance, though he would, while talking, hardly look at us or address us by our names, for his eyes were cast downwards or looking away in front, still the soft tone of his voice, sparks of personal humour reflected the "sweet rays of a temperate sun."
  --
  His talks with Dr. Manilal deserve special notice. The doctor had medical and worldly experience. The Mother considered him a master in his own field. But he still had a child-soul in him and it talked freely with Sri Aurobindo. The Guru with an equal paternal or friendly smile would listen to his prattle. His long rigmarole on Jainism that would bore us, would amuse him and after the doctor had departed, Sri Aurobindo would naively ask Purani how far Manilal's knowledge of Jainism was sound and dependable. It was most entertaining to see how Sri Aurobindo used to dodge, tease, play with him, yet obey his medical injunctions! "Oh! Dr. Manilal is coming! I must hang my leg!" he would exclaim and we in turn utter, "You seem to be afraid of Dr. Manilal!" The tone, one would feel, was that of a comrade chatting with another; the doctor's age, position and nature evoked from the Guru a response in tune with them. Sri Aurobindo once remarked that he was very simple and frank like a child.
  Throughout our talks extending over many years and to many subjects, I don't remember a single occasion when Sri Aurobindo lost his patience with us. He never refused to answer any question but on the contrary would explain at great length and repeatedly if some points did not enter my head. "Do you understand?" he would ask softly. The tone was always affable. Even when one of us complained that he could not accept his Yoga, he looked into his difficulties and met his objections in a kind, dispassionate manner. Much of this must have been due to the Guru's innate nature and the rest due to Yoga. We have had hot debates among ourselves before him; he listened quietly to our childish vanity and showed our mistakes only when we approached him for his views. If we have not profited as much as we should have by his talks, at least his patient tolerance and indulgence, wideness of outlook and leaven of humour have cast a radiant influence on our souls. As we look back on those days, we hear a sigh in the breeze murmuring, "Those delightful days that are no more!" The nostalgic memory revives at moments when we meet and start talking of those bygone years. Satyendra recalled an incident I had completely forgotten. Once the Mother came to inform Sri Aurobindo that Bhishmadev, a former disciple and an eminent singer of Bengal, was going to sing on the radio, and he very much wanted Sri Aurobindo to hear him. So the radio was brought near and the sponge-bath and the music went on simultaneously. When at the end of Bhishmadev's programme we asked him how he had liked the music, he answered, "Oh, I completely forgot!" We had a good laugh. A similar instance happened in Dilip's case. He had sent the timing of his radio programme from Calcutta and beseeched Sri Aurobindo to hear him. Sri Aurobindo asked Champaklal to remind him of it. Champaklal, probably, did not. When the music was over, he asked Champaklal, "Where is Dilip's music?" He laughed and said that it was already finished!
  Lastly, those who have read Talks with Sri Aurobindo and his Correspondence with me cannot but notice a striking difference between the two in their tone and manner. Though both of them have an air of intimacy and informality, still the correspondence is certainly more free. There he has let himself go, to quote his phrase, whereas in the talks there is a sense of restraint. Is it because of a different set of circumstances and a different milieu? I believe there is something more. Even if I had met him all alone, I don't think he would have been as free in his speech as with his pen. For, his shy and reserved nature would have put some curb on total abandon. Of course, the correspondence was restricted to one person with his own particular interests; the talks covered a larger and more diverse sphere, and there they have an advantage of their own.

1.107 - The Bestowal of a Divine Gift, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
  Thus, it would be appropriate on the part of everyone to move harmoniously with the requirements of the forces of nature, which is a great judicious act, no doubt, and it requires guidance from inside as well as outside inwardly from our own conscience, outwardly from the Guru. Otherwise, there will be tremendous opposition, and we may have to cut off all our practices. We may be bedridden by the psychological onslaughts of those little children whom we ignored earlier when we were very young, and they will come up when we are old.
  The sadhanas which are prescribed in the different schools of yoga always give a warning that no stage or step in the progress should be ignored. We should not try to have a double promotion at any time. We must always see that we have passed through every stage. Otherwise, that particular step which we have not taken and jumped over will be a problem one day or the other. These are all cautions and private problems rather than social ones. Each problem is individualistic. This is a general statement of the difficulty that may arise in the case of students or seekers, but how they will come, in what manner, is peculiar to each individual and cannot be explained generally. My problem will be different from yours, and so on, according to the nature of the vrittis and the type of emotion which is prevalent or predominant in the mind of a person. That is the statement of warning in this sutra, tat cchidreu pratyayntari saskrebhya (IV.27). Hnam e kleavat uktam (IV.28): As we have dealt with the vrittis avidya, asmita, raga, dvesa, abhinivesa we deal with them. That is the way we have to face them and sublimate them.

1.10 - GRACE AND FREE WILL, #The Perennial Philosophy, #Aldous Huxley, #Philosophy
  Human grace comes to us either from persons, or from social groups, or from our own wishes, hopes and imaginings projected outside ourselves and persisting somehow in the psychic medium in a state of what may be called second-hand objectivity. We have all had experience of the different types of human grace. There is, for example, the grace which, during childhood, comes from mother, father, nurse or beloved teacher. At a later stage we experience the grace of friends; the grace of men and women morally better and wiser than ourselves; the grace of the Guru, or spiritual director. Then there is the grace which comes to us because of our attachment to country, party, church or other social organizationa grace which has helped even the feeblest and most timid individuals to achieve what, without it, would have been the impossible. And finally there is the grace which we derive from our ideals, whether low or high, whether conceived of in abstract terms or bodied forth in imaginary personifications. To this last type, it would seem, belong many of the graces experienced by the pious adherents of the various religions. The help received by those who devotedly adore or pray to some personal saint, deity or Avatar is often, we may guess, not a genuinely spiritual grace, but a human grace, coming back to the worshipper from the vortex of psychic power set up by repeated acts (his own and other peoples) of faith, yearning and imagination.
  Spiritual grace cannot be received continuously or in its fulness, except by those who have willed away their self-will to the point of being able truthfully to say, Not I, but God in me. There are, however, few people so irremediably self-condemned to imprisonment within their own personality as to be wholly incapable of receiving the graces which are from instant to instant being offered to every soul. By fits and starts most of us contrive to forget, if only partially, our preoccupation with I, me, mine, and so become capable of receiving, if only partially, the graces which, in that moment, are being offered us.

1.10 - Laughter Of The Gods, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  Yogis and great men there were, who used to joke with their disciples and friends; but it seems to me that there was always a barrier of awe and reverence between them. And though Sri Aurobindo allowed us to forget that and we cut jokes with him on equal terms, the sense of his being our Guru was there.
  At certain places in this book, I have given some indication of his sense of humour. Here I shall reveal it further by citing instances from several sources and add my little bit to the gaiety of nations. The readers will also notice how any circumstance or situation could trigger off his comic Muse either in the form of sustained volleys or quick sparkling shots.

1.10 - Mantra Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
  7. Repetition of Subrahmanya Mantra Om Saravanabhavaya Namah will give success in any undertaking and make you glorious. It will drive off the evil influences and evil spirits. Repetition of Sri Hanuman Mantra, Om Hanumanthaya Namah will bestow victory and strength. Repetition of Panchadasakshara and Sodasakshara (Sri Vidya) will give you wealth, power, freedom, etc. It will give you whatever you want. You must learn this Vidya from a Guru alone.
  8. Repetition of Gayatri or Pranava or Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, one and a quarter lakh of times with Bhava, faith and devotion will confer on you Mantra Siddhi.
  --
  16. Get the Mantra initiation from your Guru. Or pray to your Ishta Devata and start doing Japa of the particular Mantra, if you find it difficult to get a Guru.
  17. May you all become Mantra Yogis with Mantra Siddhi! May you all become real benefactors of the world by becoming divine healers through Mantra cure! May Mantra cure, divine healing centres be started all over the world!

1.10 - THE MASTER WITH THE BRAHMO DEVOTEES (II), #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  The members of the Brahmo Samaj are opposed to the traditional Guru system of orthodox Hinduism. Therefore the Brahmo devotee asked the Master about it.
  The need of a Guru
  BRAHMO: "Is spiritual knowledge impossible without a Guru?"
  MASTER: "Satchidananda alone is the Guru. If a man in the form of a Guru awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that human form for your sake. The Guru is like a companion who leads you by the hand. After the realization of God, one loses the distinction between the Guru and the disciple. 'That creates a very difficult situation; there the Guru and the disciple do not see each other.' It was for this reason that Janaka said to Sukadeva, 'Give me first my teacher's fee if you want me to initiate you into the Knowledge of Brahman.' For the distinction between the teacher and the disciple ceases to exist after the disciple attains to Brahman. The relationship between them remains as long as the disciple does not see God."
  It was dusk. Some of the Brahmo devotees said to the Master, "Perhaps it is time for your evening devotions."
  --
  "Once a devotee was overwhelmed with ecstasy at the sight of a babla-tree. The idea flashed in his mind that the handle of the axe used in the garden of the temple of Radhakanta was made from the wood of the babla. Another devotee had such devotion for his Guru that he would be overwhelmed with divine feeling at the sight of his Guru's neighbours. Krishna-consciousness would be kindled in Radha's mind at the sight of a cloud, a blue dress, or a painting of Krishna. She would become restless and cry like a mad person, 'Krishna, where art Thou?' "
  GHOSAL: "But madness is not desirable."

1.10 - The Methods and the Means, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
  The test of Ahimsa is absence of jealousy. Any man may do a good deed or make a good gift on the spur of the moment or under the pressure of some superstition or priestcraft; but the real lover of mankind is he who is jealous of none. The so-called great men of the world may all be seen to become jealous of each other for a small name, for a little fame, and for a few bits of gold. So long as this jealousy exists in a heart, it is far away from the perfection of Ahimsa. The cow does not eat meat, nor does the sheep. Are they great Yogis, great non-injurers (Ahimsakas)? Any fool may abstain from eating this or that; surely that gives him no more distinction than to herbivorous animals. The man who will mercilessly cheat widows and orphans and do the vilest deeds for money is worse than any brute even if he lives entirely on grass. The man whose heart never cherishes even the thought of injury to any one, who rejoices at the prosperity of even his greatest enemy, that man is the Bhakta, he is the Yogi, he is the Guru of all, even though he lives every day of his life on the flesh of swine. Therefore we must always remember that external practices have value only as helps to develop internal purity. It is better to have internal purity alone when minute attention to external observances is not practicable.
  But woe unto the man and woe unto the nation that forgets the real, internal, spiritual essentials of religion and mechanically clutches with death-like grasp at all external forms and never lets them go.

1.10 - The Secret of the Veda, #Vedic and Philological Studies, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  If this traditionlet us call it mystic or esoteric for want of a less abused wordwas already formed at the time of the Brahmanas and Upanishads, when and how did it originally arise? Two possibilities present themselves. The tradition may have grown up gradually in the period between the Vedic hymns and the exegetical writings or else the esoteric sense may have already existed in the Veda itself and descended in a stream of tradition to the later mystics, developing, modifying itself, substituting new terms for oldas is the way of traditions. The former is, practically, the European theory.We are told that this spiritual revolution, this movement away from ritual Nature-worship to Brahmavada, begun in the seed in the later Vedic hymns, is found in a more developed state in the Upanishads & culminated in Buddha. In these writings and in the Brahmanas some record can be found of the speculations by which the development was managed. If it prove to be so, if these ancient writings are really the result of progressive intellectual speculation departing from crude & imperfect beginnings of philosophic thought, the European theory justifies itself to the reason and can no longer easily be disputed. But is this the true character of the Upanishads? It seems to me that in most of their dealings with our religions and our philosophical literature European scholars have erred by imposing their own familiar ideas and the limits of their own mentality on the history of an alien mentality and an alien development. Nowhere has this error been more evident than in the failure to realise the true nature of the Upanishads. In India we have never developed, but only affirmed thought by philosophical speculation, because we have never attached to the mere intellectual idea the amazingly exaggerated value which Europe has attached to it, but regarded it only as a test of the logical value to be attached to particular intellectual statements of truth. That is not truth to us which is merely well & justly thought out & can be justified by ratiocinative argument; only that is truth which has been lived & seen in the inner experience. We meditate not to get ideas, but in order to experience, to realise. When we speak of the Jnani, the knower, we do not mean a competent and logical thinker full of wise or of brilliant ideas, but a soul which has seen and lived & spoken in himself with the living truth. Ratiocination is freely used by the later philosophers, but only for the justification against opponents of the ideas already formed by their own meditation or the meditation of others, Rishis, Gurus, ancient Vedantins; it is not itself a sufficient means towards the discovery of truth, but at best a help. The ideas of our great thinkers are not mere intellectual statements or even happy or great intuitions; they are based upon spiritual experiences formalised by the intellect into a philosophy. Shankaras passionate advocacy of the idea of Maya as an explanation of life was not merely the ardour of a great metaphysician enamoured of a beautiful idea or a perfect theory of life, but the passion of a man with a deep & vast spiritual experience which he believed to be the sole means of human salvation. Therefore philosophy in India, instead of tending as in Europe to ignore or combat religion, has always been itself deeply religious. In Europe Buddha and Shankara would have become the heads of metaphysical schools & ranked with Kant or Hegel or Nietzsche1 as strong intellectual influences; in India they became, inevitably, the founders of great religious sects, immense moral & spiritual forces;inevitably because Europe has made thought its highest & noblest aim, while India seeks not after thought but soul-vision and inner experience and even in the realm of ideas believes that they can & ought to be seen & lived inwardly rather than merely thought and allowed indirectly to influence outward action. This has been the mentality of our race for ages.Was the mentality of our Vedic forefa thers entirely different from our own? Was it, as Western scholars seem to insist, a European mentality, the mentality of incursive Western savages, (it is Sergis estimate of the Aryans), changed afterwards by the contact with the cultured & reflective Dravidians into something new and strange, rationality changing to mysticism, materialism to a metaphysical spirituality? If so, the change had already been effected when the Upanishads were written. We speak of the discussions in the Upanishads; but in all truth the twelve Upanishads contain not a single genuine discussion. Only once in that not inconsiderable mass of literature, is there something of the nature of logical argument brought to the support of a philosophical truth. The nature of debate or logical reasoning is absent from the mentality of the Upanishadic thinkers. The grand question they always asked each other was not What hast thou thought out in this matter? or What are thy reasonings & conclusions? but What dost thou know? What hast thou seen in thyself? The Vedantic like the Vedic Rishi is a drashta & srota, not a manota, a kavi, not a manishi. There is question, there is answer; but solely for the comparison of inner knowledge & experience; never for ratiocinative argument, for disputation, for the battles of the logician. Always, knowledge, spiritual vision, experience are what is demanded; and often a questioner is turned back because he is not yet prepared in soul to realise the knowledge of the master. For all knowledge is within us and needs only to be awakened by the fit touch which opens the eyes of the soul or by the powerful revealing word.We find throughout the Vedic era always the same method, always the same theory of knowledge; they persist indeed in India to the present day and later habits of metaphysical debate unknown to the Vedic Brahmavadins have never been able to dethrone them from their primaeval supremacy. Let a man present never so finely reasoned a system of metaphysical philosophy, few will turn to hear, none leave his labour to receive, but let a man say as in the old Vedantic times I have experienced, my soul has seen, & hundreds in India will yet leave all to share in this new light of the eternal Truth.
  concrete visualisation & passion for his ideas & experiences which mark off the religious from the merely philosophical mind.

1.1.1.06 - Inspiration and Effort, #Letters On Poetry And Art, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Inspiration is always a very uncertain thing; it comes when it chooses, stops suddenly before it has finished its work, refuses to descend when it is called. This is a well-known affliction, perhaps of all artists, but certainly of poets. There are some who can comm and it at will; those who, I think, are more full of an abundant poetic energy than careful for perfection; others who oblige it to come whenever they put pen to paper but with these the inspiration is either not of a high order or quite unequal in its level. Again there are some who try to give it a habit of coming by always writing at the same time; Virgil with his nine lines first written, then perfected every morning, Milton with his fifty epic lines a day, are said to have succeeded in regularising their inspiration. It is, I suppose, the same principle which makes Gurus in India prescribe for their disciples a meditation at the same fixed hour every day. It succeeds partially of course, for some entirely, but not for everybody. For myself, when the inspiration did not come with a rush or in a stream,for then there is no difficulty,I had only one way, to allow a certain kind of incubation in which a large form of the thing to be done threw itself on the mind and then wait for the white heat in which the entire transcription could rapidly take place. But I think each poet has his own way of working and finds his own issue out of inspirations incertitudes.
  26 January 1932

1.11 - The Kalki Avatar, #Preparing for the Miraculous, #George Van Vrekhem, #Integral Yoga
  ment between spirituality, Guruship and occult powers is
  generally vague among those who search for solace or spir-
  --
  chelas see their Guru, sometimes rightly, as a realized being
  which they declare, unrightly, to be an Avatar. The task of

1.11 - WITH THE DEVOTEES AT DAKSHINEWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER (to M.): "Some think: 'Oh, I am a bound soul. I shall never acquire knowledge and devotion.' But if one receives the Guru's grace, one has nothing to fear. Once a tigress attacked a flock of goats. As she sprang on her prey, she gave birth to a cub and died. The cub grew up in the company of the goats. The goats ate grass and the cub followed their example. They bleated; the cub bleated too. Gradually it grew to be a big tiger. One day another tiger attacked the same flock. It was amazed to see the grass-eating tiger. Running after it, the wild tiger at last seized it, whereupon the grass-eating tiger began to bleat. The wild tiger dragged it to the water and said: 'Look at your face in the water. It is just like mine. Here is a little meat. Eat it.' Saying this, it thrust some meat into its mouth. But the grass-eating tiger would not swallow it and began to bleat again. Gradually, however, it got the taste for blood and came to relish the meat.
  Then the wild tiger said: 'Now you see there is no difference between you and me.
  --
  "So there can be no fear if the Guru's grace descends on one. He will let you know who you are and what your real nature is.
  "If the devotee practises spiritual discipline a little, the Guru explains everything to him.
  Then the disciple understands for himself what is real and what is unreal. God alone is real, and the world is illusory.
  --
  Must they too renounce it?" Sri Ramakrishna, who could see into a man's innermost thought, said very tenderly: "Suppose an office clerk has been sent to jail. He undoubtedly leads a prisoner's life there. But when he is released from jail, does he cut capers in the street? Not at all. He gets a job as a clerk again and goes on working as before. Even after attaining Knowledge through the Guru's grace, one can very well live in the world as a Jivanmukta." Thus did Sri Ramakrishna reassure those who were living as householders.
  MANILAL: "Sir, where shall I meditate on God when I perform my daily worship?"
  --
  A DEVOTEE: "Sir, is it necessary to have a Guru?"
  MASTER: "Yes, many need a Guru. But a man must have faith in the Guru's words. He succeeds in spiritual life by looking on his Guru as God Himself. Therefore the Vaishnavas speak of Guru, Krishna, and Vaishnava.
  "One should constantly repeat the name of God. The name of God is highly effective in the Kaliyuga. The practice of yoga is not possible in this age, for the life of a man depends on food. Clap your hands while repeating God's name, and the birds of your sin will fly away.
  --
  "But the Bhakti scriptures admit that the manifestations of Power are different in different beings. It is Rma who has become everything, no doubt; but He manifests Himself more in some than in others. There is one kind of manifestation of Rma in the Incarnation of God, and another in men. Even the Incarnations are conscious of the body. Embodiment is due to maya. Rma wept for Sita. But the Incarnation of God puts a bondage over His eyes by His own will, like children playing blindman's buff. The children stop playing when their mother calls them. It is quite different, however, with the ordinary man. The cloth his eyes are bandaged with is fastened to his back with screws, as it were. There are eight fetters. Shame, hatred, fear, caste, lineage, good conduct, grief, and secretiveness-these are the eight fetters. And they cannot be unfastened without the help of a Guru.
  Earnestness in spiritual life extolled
  --
  "The practice of discipline is absolutely necessary. Why shouldn't a man succeed if he practises sadhana? But he doesn't have to work hard if he has real faith-faith in his Guru's words. Once Vyasa was about to cross the Jamuna, when the gopis also arrived there, wishing to go to the other side. But no ferryboat was in sight. They said to Vyasa, 'Revered sir, what shall we do now?' 'Don't worry', said Vyasa. 'I will take you across. But I am very hungry. Have you anything for me to eat?' The gopis had plenty of milk, cream, and butter with them. Vyasa ate it all. Then the gopis asked, 'Well, sir, what about crossing the river?' Vyasa stood on the bank of the Jamuna and said, 'O
  Jamuna, if I have not eaten anything today, then may your waters part so that we may all walk to the other side.' No sooner did the sage utter these words than the waters of the Jamuna parted. The gopis were speechless with wonder. 'He ate so much just now,'
  --
  Of God that your Guru has given to you,
  Faithfully watering it with love;
  --
  The Master continued: "Faith! Faith! Faith! Once a Guru said to his pupil, 'Rma alone has become everything.' When a dog began to eat the pupil's bread, he said to it: 'O
  Rma, wait a little. I shall butter Your bread.' Such was his faith in the words of his Guru.
  "Worthless people do not have any faith. They always doubt. But doubts do not disappear completely till one realizes the Self.

1.12 - God Departs, #Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo, #Nirodbaran, #Integral Yoga
  We could not say then that this change of mood had any connection with the disease. Not only with us, but with the Mother too, he became very reticent. However, with regard to his work, there was no flagging. Even when a little time was at our disposal and I was reluctant to bring out the numerous files containing the Savitri manuscript, just for half an hour, he would say, "We shall work a little." This provoked my other colleagues, particularly Champaklal, to an impish mirth, for they loved work and I did not, at least I did not then. And almost till his withdrawal the miscellaneous literary works and the labour on Savitri were carried on in full swing in spite of the discomfort caused by the gradual increase of the symptoms. In addition to these, when at this stage an importunate call came from an outside sadhika in Northern India to save her life from a dreaded and strange illness, he took great pains to cure her, especially as she was an intimate friend of an old sadhak who had made a desperate appeal to Sri Aurobindo's compassion. The story is rather long but intriguing. The doctors, as usual, differed about the diagnosis. Cancer, ulcer, T. B., none was found to be the case. One prominent symptom was profuse bleeding through the mouth but without any definite lesion of any organ. All kinds of tests and treatment failed. At last the patient gave up all treatment and said that she would depend entirely on Sri Aurobindo, even if she were to die. Sri Aurobindo then took up the responsibility at the supplication of the sadhak-bhakta, I believe, but on one condition that regular news must be supplied to him. The bhakta himself went from Pondicherry to the patient's place with a view to fulfil the condition. News began to stream in by letters, wires about her daily progress. Suddenly it stopped. Sri Aurobindo became anxious and enquired again and again if any news had come. I tried to plead on their behalf and give the usual excuses for the delay. At last he remarked, "How am I to save her if I have no news?" After two or three days, information began to flow in and very soon the patient recovered completely and came to settle in the Ashram. Her illness turned out to be a case of black magic. That is why the symptoms were erratic and there was no definite lesion in spite of their gravity. That was what probably made Sri Aurobindo so anxious about the case. We modern people may scoff at such unscientific superstition, but in this case, there was very solid ground in favour of such a belief. Though Sri Aurobindo took charge of the case, at each fresh arrival of news, he would ask me to keep the Mother informed. "Have you informed the Mother?" he would repeat. I did not understand why he was so insistent on the point; it was not his nature. Did he suspect that I might not, and I really felt no necessity, such was my human stupidity, trying to be wiser than the Guru! The reason for it became clear when he left the body. He had already taken the decision and wanted the Mother to know all about the case in anticipation of possible future developments.
  The revision of Savitri was going on apace with regular unabated vigour. Book after Book was getting done and fascicules of them released for publication. Some 400-500 lines of The Book of Everlasting Day were dictated on successive days, since we could not spare more than an hour a day for the monumental work and that too had often to be cut short to meet other demands. We were, nevertheless, progressing quite steadily. I marvelled at the smooth spontaneous flow of verse after verse of remarkable beauty. Once I had complained to him in my correspondence why, having all the planes of inspiration at his command, should he still labour like us mortals at his Savitri.Why should not the inspiration burst out like the "champagne bottle"? Now I witnessed that miracle and imagined that it also must have been the way Valmiki composed his Ramayana. At this rate, I thought, Savitri would not take long to finish. On everyone's lips was the eager query, "How far are you with Savitri?"
  --
  The Darshan was now upon us. A letter had arrived from an astrologer stating that Sri Aurobindo would be subject to a grave malady which might even threaten his life. We simply pooh-poohed the idea, but Sri Aurobindo did not pass it off so lightly. He asked, "Will you enquire what exactly he has written? I feel that he has caught some truth." Sometime previously Dr. Manilal was also told by an astrologer that Sri Aurobindo was going to leave his body and if Dr. Manilal wanted to see his Guru, he had better rush to Pondicherry. When he reported this prediction to Sri Aurobindo, he simply smiled. There were quite a number of predictions about this time to the same effect. Surendra Mohan Ghose has narrated a similar one published in Mother India which I have already described at some length in the previous chapter. Still, I was not a little surprised to find Sri Aurobindo giving credence to such seemingly wild forecasts. For his view with regard to astrology was that its predictions were often uncertain, more especially about the Yogis, since they can change their own and others' destiny. The predictions of Narayan Jyotishi, a famous astrologer of Calcutta, about him had all come true, except the one about a serious illness at the age of 63. But that too, it was said, would be overcome by his yogic force, and he would live up to a ripe old age. Sri Aurobindo writes in Savitri,
  Nature and Fate compel his free-will's choice.
  --
  Before this, for four days, the disciples, the people of the town, Ashram employees had the unique Darshan and paid their homage. Bhaktas had come from different parts of India for the benediction of the last Darshan of the Guru. Many of them felt the room surcharged with peace, force, light or bliss. Some saw Sn Aurobindo sitting on the bed and saying, "I am here, I am here!" as if to falsify Nature's decree. Dilip happened to be away. On receiving the news, he arrived posthaste and utterly broke down. The Mother tenderly consoled and assured him, "How can I not love someone whom Sri Aurobindo loved? What do you think we are here for? Only to please Sri Aurobindo." He told me, "You don't know, Nirod, what I have lost." Amal Kiran too was not there. He had just left on the night of 3rd December for Bombay after meeting the Mother. He flew back as soon as he got the news. He was in the Ashram on the morning of the 6th. He has written in his reminiscences entitled The Grace of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother:
  "I who had depended so much on Sri Aurobindo in all my writing work when he had woken to inspiration the labouring poet, stirred to literary insight the fumbling critic, shaped out of absolute nothing the political commentator I who had almost every day despatched to him some piece of writing for consideration felt a void at the thought that he would not be in that room of his, listening so patiently to my poetry or prose and sending me by letter or telegram his precious guidance. A fellow-sadhak, Udar, spoke to the Mother about my plight. On December 12, the inmates of the Ashram met her again and each received from her hands a photograph of Sri Aurobindo taken after his passing. It was dusk, as far as I recollect. She must have seen a certain helplessness on my face. Smiling as she alone can do, she looked me in the eyes and said, 'Nothing has changed. Call for inspiration and help as you have always done. You will get everything from Sri Aurobindo as before.'"

1.12 - The Divine Work, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  spiritual guide and master, the Guru, or else dictated by a Guide
  within us. But in the last state of the soul's infinity and freedom

1.12 - THE FESTIVAL AT PNIHTI, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  The Master had been invited to the festival by Mani Sen, who was the custodian of the temple. Ram, M., Rkhl , Bhavanath, and a few other disciples went with the Master in a carriage. On his way to Pnihti Sri Ramakrishna was in a light mood and joked with the youngsters. But as soon as the carriage reached the place of the festival, the Master, to the utter amazement of' the devotees, shot into the crowd. He joined the kirtan party of Navadvip Goswami, Mani Sen's Guru, and danced, totally forgetting the world. Every now and then he stood still in samdhi, carefully supported by Navadvip Goswami for fear he might fall to the ground. Thousands of devotees were gathered together for the festival. Wherever one looked there was a forest of human heads. The crowd seemed to become infected by the Master's divine fervour and swayed to and fro, chanting the name of God, until the very air seemed to reverberate with it. Drums, cymbals, and other instruments produced melodious sounds. The atmosphere became intense with spiritual fervour. The devotees felt that Gaurnga himself was being manifested in the person of Sri Ramakrishna. Flowers were showered from all sides on his feet and head. The shouting of the name of Hari was heard even at a distance, like the rumbling of the ocean.
  Sri Ramakrishna entered by turn into all the moods of ecstasy. In deep samdhi he stood still, his face radiating a divine glow. In the state of partial consciousness he danced, sometimes gently and sometimes with the vigour of a lion. Again, regaining consciousness of the world, he sang, himself leading the chorus: Behold, the two brothers have come, who weep while chanting Hari's name,
  --
  Mani Sen said good-bye to the invited brahmins and Vaishnavas with suitable gifts of money. He offered five rupees to Sri Ramakrishna. The latter said that he could not possibly accept any money. But Mani insisted. The Master then asked him in the name of his Guru not to press him. Mani requested him again to accept the offering. Sri Ramakrishna asked M., in a distressed voice, whether he should take the money. The disciple made a vehement protest and said, "No, sir. By no means."
  Friends of Mani Sen gave the money to Rkhl , requesting him to buy some mangoes and sweets for the Master. Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "I have definitely said to Mani that I would not accept the money. I feel free now. But Rkhl has accepted it. His is now the responsibility."
  --
  "Padmalochan was a man of deep wisdom. He had great respect for me, though at that time I constantly repeated the name of the Divine Mother. He was the court pundit of the Maharaja of Burdwan. Once he came to Calcutta and went to live in a garden house near kamarhati. I felt a desire to see him and sent Hriday there to learn if the pundit had any vanity. I was told that he had none. Then I met him. Though a man of great knowledge and scholarship, he began to weep on hearing me sing Ramprasad's devotional songs. We talked together a long while; conversation with nobody else gave me such satisfaction. He said to me, 'Give up the desire for the company of devotees; otherwise people of all sorts will come to you and make you deviate from your spiritual ideal.' Once he entered into a controversy, by correspondence, with Utshavananda, Vaishnavcharan's Guru. He told me an interesting incident. Once a meeting was called to decide which of the two deities, iva or Brahma, was the greater. Unable to come to any decision, the pundits at last referred the matter to Padmalochan. With characteristic guilelessness he said: 'How do I know? Neither I nor any of my ancestors back to the fourteenth generation have seen iva or Brahma.' About the renunciation of 'woman and gold', he said to me one day: 'Why have you given up those things? Such distinctions as "This is money and that is clay" are the outcome of ignorance.' What could I say to that?
  I replied: 'I don't know all these things, my dear sir. But for my part, I cannot relish such things as money and the like.'

1.12 - The Superconscient, #Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness, #Satprem, #Integral Yoga
  There exists in India a secret knowledge based upon sounds and the differences of vibratory modes found on different planes of consciousness. If we pronounce the sound OM, for example, we clearly feel its vibrations enveloping the head centers, while the sound RAM affects the navel center. And since each of our centers of consciousness is in direct contact with a plane, we can, by the repetition of certain sounds (japa), come into contact with the corresponding plane of consciousness.200 This is the basis of an entire spiritual discipline, called "tantric" because it originates from sacred texts known as Tantra. The basic or essential sounds that have the power to establish the contact are called mantras. The mantras, usually secret and given to the disciple by his Guru,201 are of all kinds (there are many levels within each plane of consciousness), and may serve the most contradictory purposes. By combining certain sounds, one can at the lower levels of consciousness generally at the vital level come in contact with the corresponding forces and acquire many strange powers: some mantras can cause death (in five minutes, with violent vomiting), some mantras can strike with precision a particular part or organ of the body, some mantras can cure, some mantras can start a fire, protect, or cast spells. This type of magic, or chemistry of vibrations, derives simply from a conscious handling of the lower vibrations. But there is a higher magic, which also derives from handling vibrations, on higher planes of consciousness. This is poetry, music, the spiritual mantras of the Upanishads and the Veda, the mantras given by a Guru to his disciple to help him come consciously into direct contact with a special plane of consciousness, a force or a divine being. In this case, the sound holds in itself the power of experience and realization it is a sound that makes one see.
  Similarly, poetry and music, which are but unconscious processes of handling these secret vibrations, can be a powerful means of opening up the consciousness. If we could compose conscious poetry or music through the conscious manipulation of higher vibrations, we would create masterpieces endowed with initiatory powers. Instead of a poetry that is a fantasy of the intellect and a nautch-girl of the mind,202 as Sri Aurobindo put it, we would create a mantric music or poetry to bring the gods into our life. 203 For true poetry is action; it opens little inlets in the consciousness we are so walled in, so barricaded! through which the Real can enter. It is a mantra of the Real,204 an initiation. This is what the Vedic rishis and the seers of the Upanishads did with their mantras, which have the power of communicating illumination to one who is ready. 205 This is what Sri Aurobindo has explained in his Future Poetry and what he has accomplished himself in Savitri.
  --
  201 - One may read mantras in a book and repeat them endlessly to no avail. They will have no power or "active force" unless given by a Master or Guru.
  202 - The Human Cycle, 15:5

1.13 - THE MASTER AND M., #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Faith in the Guru
  "One must get instruction from a Guru. Once a man was looking for a stone image of iva. Someone said to him: 'Go to a certain river. There you will find a tree. Near it is a whirlpool. Dive into the water there, and you will find the image of iva.' So I say that one must get instruction from a teacher."
  ISHAN: "That is true, sir."
  MASTER: "It is Satchidananda that comes to us in the form of the Guru. If a man is initiated by a human Guru, he will not achieve anything if he regards his Guru as a mere man. The Guru should be regarded as the direct manifestation of God. Only then can the disciple have faith in the mantra given by the Guru. Once a man has faith he, achieves all. The sudra Ekalavya learnt archery in the forest before a clay image of Drona; He worshipped the image as the living Drona; that by itself enabled him to attain mastery in archery.
  "Don't mix intimately with brahmin pundits. Their only concern is to earn money. I have seen brahmin priests reciting the Chandi while performing the swastyayana. It is hard to tell whether they are reading the sacred book or something else. They turn half the pages without reading them. (All laugh.)
  --
  "A Guru said to his disciple, 'It is Rma alone who resides in all bodies.' The disciple was a man of great faith. One day a dog snatched a piece of bread from him and started to run away. He ran after the dog, with a jar of butter in his hand, and cried again and again: 'O Rma, stand still a minute. That bread hasn't been buttered.'
  "What tremendous faith Krishnakishore had! He used to say, 'By chanting "Om Krishna, Om Rma", one gets the result of a million sandhyas.' Once he said to me secretly, 'I don't like the sandhya and other devotions any more; but don't tell anyone.'

1.14 - INSTRUCTION TO VAISHNAVS AND BRHMOS, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER: "They are not eight bonds, but eight fetters. But what if they are? These fetters fall off in a moment, by the grace of God. Do you know what it is like? Suppose a room has been kept dark a thousand years. The moment a man brings a light into it, the darkness vanishes. Not little by little. Haven't you seen the magician's feat? He takes string with many knots, and ties one end to something, keeping the other in his hand. Then he shakes the string once or twice, and immediately all the knots come undone. But another man cannot untie the knots however he may try. All the knots of ignorance come undone in the twinkling of an eye, through the Guru's grace.
  "Well, can you tell me why Keshab Sen has changed so much lately? He used to come here very often. He learnt here how to bow low before a holy man. One day I told him that one should not salute a holy man as he had been doing. Harish says rightly: 'All the cheques must be approved here. Only then will they be cashed in the bank.'"
  --
  M. listened to these words breathlessly. He began to realize that Satchidananda, in the form of the Guru, passes the "cheque".
  MASTER: "Do not reason. Who can ever know God? I have heard it from Nangta, once for all, that this whole universe is only a fragment of Brahman.
  --
  "'He is the Master, and the universe and all its living beings belong to Him'-that is Knowledge. And, 'I am the doer', 'I am the Guru', 'I am the father'-that is ignorance.
  'This is my house; this is my family; this is my wealth; these are my relatives'-this also is ignorance."
  --
  "It is narrated in the Bhagavata that the Avadhuta had twenty-four Gurus, one of whom was a kite. In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. The kite went east and west, but with the same result. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: 'That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.'
  "The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the kite, that as long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these desires than his activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul.

1.16 - WITH THE DEVOTEES AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "Once Sukadeva went to Janaka to be instructed in the Knowledge of Brahman; Janaka said, 'First give me my fee.' 'But', said Sukadeva, 'why should I give you the fee before receiving the instruction?' Janaka laughed and said: 'Will you be conscious of Guru and disciple after attaining Brahmajnana? That is why I asked you to give me the fee first.' "
  It was night. The moon rose, flooding all the quarters with its silvery light. M. was walking alone in the garden of the temple. On one side of the path stood the Panchavati, the bakul-grove, the nahabat, and the Master's room, and on the other side flowed the Ganges, reflecting millions of broken moons on its rippling surface.
  --
  "One must call on God with a longing heart. One must learn from the Guru how God can be realized. Only if the Guru himself has attained Perfect Knowledge can he show the way.
  "A man, gets rid of all desires when he has Perfect Knowledge. He becomes like a child five years old. Sages like Dattatreya and Jadabharata had the nature of a child."

1.17 - Legend of Prahlada, #Vishnu Purana, #Vyasa, #Hinduism
  The illustrious son of the Daitya king, Prahlāda, being yet a boy, resided in the dwelling of his preceptor, where he read such writings as are studied in early years. On one occasion he came, accompanied by his teacher, to the court of his father, and bowed before his feet as he was drinking. Hiraṇyakaśipu desired his prostrate son to rise, and said to him, "Repeat, boy, in substance, and agreeably, what during the period of your studies you have acquired." "Hear, sire," replied Prahlāda, "what in obedience to your commands I will repeat, the substance of all I have learned: listen attentively to that which wholly occupies my thoughts. I have learned to adore him who is without beginning, middle, or end, increase or diminution; the imperishable lord of the world, the universal cause of causes." On hearing these words, the sovereign of the Daityas, his eyes red with wrath, and lip swollen with indignation, turned to the preceptor of his son, and said, "Vile Brahman, what is this preposterous commendation of my foe, that, in disrespect to me, you have taught this boy to utter?" "King of the Daityas," replied the Guru, "it is not worthy of you to give way to passion: that which your son has uttered, he has not been taught by me." "By whom then," said Hiraṇyakaśipu to the lad, "by whom has this lesson, boy, been taught you? your teacher denies that it proceeds from him." "Viṣṇu, father," answered Prahlāda, "is the instructor of the whole world: what else should any one teach or learn, save him the supreme spirit?" "Blockhead," exclaimed the king, "who is this Viṣṇu, whose name you thus reiterate so impertinently before me, who am the sovereign of the three worlds?" "The glory of Viṣṇu," replied Prahlāda, "is to be meditated upon by the devout; it cannot be described: he is the supreme lord, who is all things, and from whom all things proceed." To this the king rejoined, "Are you desirous of death, fool, that you give the title of supreme lord to any one whilst I survive?" "Viṣṇu, who is Brahma," said Prahlāda, "is the creator and protector, not of me alone, but of all human beings, and even, father, of you: he is the supreme lord of all. Why should you, sire, be offended?" Hiraṇyakaśipu then exclaimed, "What evil spirit has entered into the breast of this silly boy, that thus, like one possessed, he utters such profanity?" "Not into my heart alone," said Prahlāda, "has Viṣṇu entered, but he pervades all the regions of the universe, and by his omnipresence influences the conduct of all beings, mine, fattier, and thine[2]." "Away with the wretch!" cried the king; "take him to his preceptor's mansion. By whom could he have been instigated to repeat the lying praises of my foe?"
  According to the commands of his father, Prahlāda was conducted by the Daityas back to the house of his Guru; where, assiduous in attendance on his preceptor, he constantly improved in wisdom. After a considerable time had elapsed, the sovereign of the Asuras sent for him again; and on his arrival in his presence, desired him to recite some poetical composition. Prahlāda immediately began, "May he from whom matter and soul originate, from whom all that moves or is unconscious proceeds, he who is the cause of all this creation, Viṣṇu, be favourable unto us!" On hearing which, Hiraṇyakaśipu exclaimed, "Kill the wretch! he is not fit to live, who is a traitor to his friends, a burning brand to his own race!" and his attendants, obedient to his orders, snatched up their weapons, and rushed in crowds upon Prahlāda, to destroy him. The prince calmly looked upon them, and said, "Daityas, as truly as Viṣṇu is present in your weapons and in my body, so truly shall those weapons fail to harm me:" and accordingly, although struck heavily and repeatedly by hundreds of the Daityas, the prince felt not the least pain, and his strength was ever renewed. His father then endeavoured to persuade him to refrain from glorifying his enemy, and promised him immunity if the would not be so foolish as to persevere but Prahlāda replied, that he felt no fear as long as his immortal guardian against all dangers was present in his mind, the recollection of whom was alone sufficient to dissipate all the perils consequent upon birth or human infirmities.
  Hiraṇyakaśipu, highly exasperated, commanded the serpents to fall upon his disobedient and insane son, and bite him to death with their envenomed fangs: and thereupon the great snakes Kuhaka, Takṣaka,

1.17 - M. AT DAKSHINEWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  In the morning the Master and M. were conversing alone under the bel-tree. The Master told him many secrets of spiritual discipline, exhorting him to renounce "woman and gold". He further said that the mind at times becomes one's Guru.
  After his midday meal the Master went to the Panchavati wearing a beautiful yellow robe. Two or three Vaishnava monks were there, clad in the dress of their sect.
  --
  "Before you came here, you didn't know who you were. Now you will know. It is God who, as the Guru, makes one know.
  "Nangta told the story of the tigress and the herd of goats. Once a tigress attacked a herd of goats. A hunter saw her from a distance and killed her. The tigress was pregnant and gave birth to a cub as she expired. The cub began to grow in the company of the goats. At first it was nursed by the she-goats, and later on, as it grew bigger, it began to eat grass and bleat like the goats. Gradually the cub became a big tiger; but still it ate grass and bleated. When atached by other animals, it would run away, like the goats. One day a fierce-looking tiger attacked the herd. It was amazed to see a tiger in the herd eating grass and running away with the goats at its approach.
  --
  "Eating grass is like enjoying 'woman and gold'. To bleat and run away like a goat is to behave like an ordinary man. Going away with the new tiger is like taking shelter with the Guru, who awakens one's spiritual consciousness, and recognizing him alone as one's relative. To see one's face rightly is to know one's real Self."
  Sri Ramakrishna stood up. There was silence all around, distrubed only the by the gentle rustling of the pine-needless and the murmuring of the Ganges. The Master went to the Panchavati and then to his room, talking all the while with M. The disciple followed him, fascinated. At the Panchavati Sri Ramakrishan touched with his forehead the raised platform around the banyan-tree. This was the place of his intense spiritual discipline, where he had wept bitterly for the vision of the Divine Mother, where he had held intimate communion with Her, and where he had seen many divine forms.
  --
  MASTER: "That is true. Distress of mind disappears for ever. I shall tell you a few things about yoga. But you see, the mother bird doesn't break the shell until the chick inside the egg is matured. The egg is hatched in the fullness of time. It is necessary to practise some spiritual discipline. The Guru no doubt does everything for the disciple; but at the end he makes the disciple work a little himself. When cutting down a big tree, a man cuts almost through the trunk; then he stands aside for a moment, and the tree falls down with a crash.
  "The farmer brings water to his field through a canal from the river. He stands aside when only a little digging remains to be done to connect the field with the water. Then the earth becomes soaked and falls of itself, and the water of the river pours into the canal in torrents.

1.18 - M. AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  M. listened silently to the conversation. Looking at him, the Master asked the Tantrik devotee, "Can a man attain perfection without the help of a vija mantra, a sacred word from the Guru?"
  TANTRIK: "Yes, he can if he has faith-faith in the words of the Guru."
  The Master turned to M. and said, drawing his attention, "Faith!"
  --
  "Still another day She showed me an ocean. Taking the form of a salt doll, I was going to measure its depth. While doing this, through the grace of the Guru I was turned to stone. Then I saw a ship and at once got into it.
  The helmsman was the Guru. I hope you pray every day to Satchidananda, who is the Guru. Do you?"
  M: "Yes, sir."
  MASTER: "The Guru was the helmsman in that boat. I saw that 'I' and 'you' were two different things. Again I jumped into the ocean, and was changed into a fish. I found myself swimming joyfully in the Ocean of Satchidananda.
  "These are all deep mysteries. What can you understand through reasoning? You will realize everything when God Himself teaches you. Then you will not lack any knowledge."
  --
  "But no spiritual progress is possible without the renunciation of 'woman and gold'. I renounced these three: land, wife, and wealth. Once I went to the Registry Office to register some land, the title of which was in the name of Raghuvir. The officer asked me to sign my name; but I didn't do it, because I couldn't feel that it was 'my' land. I was shown much respect as the Guru of Keshab Sen. They presented me with mangoes, but I couldn't carry them home. A sannyasi cannot lay things up.
  "How can one expect to attain God without renunciation? Suppose one thing is placed upon another; how can you get the second without removing the first?
  --
  He went on: "Mother, one needs faith. Away with this wretched reasoning! Let it be blighted! One needs faith-faith in the words of the Guru, childlike faith. The mother says to her child, 'A ghost lives there'; and the child is firmly convinced that the ghost is there. Again, the mother says to the child, 'A holy man is there', and the child is sure of it. Further, the mother says, pointing to a man, 'He is your elder brother', and the child believes that the man is one hundred and twenty-five per cent his brother. One needs faith. But why should I blame them, Mother? What can they do? It is necessary to go through reasoning once. Didn't You see how much I told him about it the other day? But it all proved useless."
  Master's prayer to the Divine Mother

1.19 - THE MASTER AND HIS INJURED ARM, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Death or fear I have none, nor any distinction of caste; Neither father nor mother nor even a birth have I; Neither friend nor comrade, neither disciple nor Guru: I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am iva! I am iva!
  I have no form or fancy; the All-pervading am I; Eyerywhere I exist, yet I am beyond the senses; Neither salvation am I, nor anything that may be known: I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am iva! I am iva!

1.200-1.224 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  M.: Grace is always there. Dispassion cannot be acquired, nor realization of the Truth, nor inherence in the Self, in the absence of Gurus Grace, the Master quoted.
  Practice is necessary. It is like training a roguish bull confined to his stall by tempting him with luscious grass and preventing him from straying.
  --
  Such association is both mental and physical. The extremely visible being (of the Guru) pushes the mind inward. He is also in the heart of the seeker and so he draws the latters inward-bent mind into the Heart.
  This question is asked only when the man begins to meditate and finds it difficult. Let him practise breath-control just a little and the mind will be purified. It does not now sink into the heart because the latent tendencies stand as obstacles. They are removed by breath-control or association with the wise. In fact the mind is always in the Heart. But it is restive and moves about on account of latent tendencies. When the tendencies are made ineffective it will be restful and at peace.

1.2.01 - The Call and the Capacity, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  1 The correspondent suggested that in this Yoga a disciple with an occidental mentality might be "even better off" than a disciple with a traditional Indian mentality of humility and respect for the Guru. - Ed.

1.2.07 - Surrender, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  What I meant by surrender was this inner surrender of the mind and vital. There is of course the outer surrender also, the giving up of all that is found to conflict with the spirit or need of the sadhana, the offering, the obedience to the guidance of the Divine, whether directly, if one has reached that stage, or through the psychic or to the guidance of the Guru. I may say that prayopavesana does not seem to me to have anything to do with surrender; it is a form of tapasya of a very austere and in my opinion very excessive kind, often dangerous. But what I was speaking of in my letter was the inner surrender.
  The core of this inner surrender is trust and confidence in the

1.20 - RULES FOR HOUSEHOLDERS AND MONKS, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "In the beginning of spiritual life one goes by a roundabout way. One has to suffer a great deal. But the path becomes very easy when ecstatic love is awakened in the heart. It is like going over the paddy-field after the harvest is over. You may then walk in any direction. Before the harvest you had to go along the winding balk, but now you can walk in any direction. There may be stubble in the field, but you will not be hurt by it if you walk with your shoes on. Just so, an aspirant does not suffer if he has discrimination, dispassion, and faith in the Guru's words."
  Rules for concentration

1.21 - A DAY AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER: "What if they are? You must not renounce your mother even if she commits adultery. The woman Guru of a certain family became corrupt. The members of the family said that they would like to make the son of the Guru their spiritual guide. But I said: 'How is that? Will you accept the shoot and give up the yam? Suppose she is corrupt; still you must regard her as your Ishta. 'Though my Guru visits the tavern, still to me he is the holy Nitynanda.' "
  "Are father and mother mere trifles? No spiritual practice will bear fruit unless they are pleased. Chaitanya was intoxicated with the love of God. Still, before taking to the monastic life, for how many days did he try to persuade his mother to give him her permission to become a monk! He said to her: 'Mother, don't worry. I shall visit you every now and then.'
  --
  RAM: "Sir, I now realize why a Guru asks some of his disciples to visit the four principal holy places of the country. Once having wandered about, the disciple discovers that it is the same here as there. Then he returns to the Guru. All this wandering is only to create faith in the Guru's words."
  After this conversation had come to an end, Sri Ramakrishna extolled Ram's virtues.

1.22 - ADVICE TO AN ACTOR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "As long as there is bhoga, there will be less of yoga. Furthermore, bhoga begets suffering. It is said in the Bhagavata that the Avadhuta chose a kite as one of his twenty-four Gurus. The kite had a fish in its beak; so it was surrounded by a thousand crows. Whichever way it flew with the fish, the crows pursued it crying, 'Caw! Caw!'
  When all of a sudden the fish dropped from its beak, the crows flew after the fish, leaving the kite alone.
  --
  MASTER (affectionately): "I don't give initiation. If a Guru gives initiation he must assume responsibility for the disciple's sin and suffering. The Divine Mother has placed me in the state of a child. Perform the iva Puja as I told you. Come here now and then.
  We shall see what happens later on through the will of God. I asked you to chant the name of Hari at home. Are you doing that?"
  --
  MASTER (smiling): "Please tell me who you are. God alone has become all this-my, the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. 'As the snake I bite, and as the charmer I cure.' It is God Himself who has become both vidy and avidy. He remains deluded by the my of avidy, ignorance. Again, with the help of the Guru, He is cured by the my of vidy, Knowledge.
  "Ignorance, Knowledge, and Perfect Wisdom. The Jnni sees that God alone exists and is the Doer, that He creates, preserves, and destroys. The vijnni sees that it is God who has become all this.
  --
  The Master gradually came down to the sense plane. He was talking to Krishna, now and then uttering the word "Krishna". He could not say it very distinctly because of the intensity of his spiritual emotion. He said: "Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna Satchidananda! Nowadays I do not see Your form. Now I see You both inside me and outside. I see that it is You who have become the universe, all living beings, the twenty-four cosmic principles, and everything else. You alone have become mind, intelligence, everything. It is said in the 'Hymn of Salutation to the Guru': 'I bow down to the Guru by whose grace I have realized Him who pervades the indivisible universe of the animate and the inanimate.'
  "You alone are the Indivisible. Again, it is You who pervade the universe of the animate and the inanimate. You are verily the manifold universe; again, You alone are its basis. O

1.23 - FESTIVAL AT SURENDRAS HOUSE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  It is your Guru, says Kubir;
  Meditate on his holy feet.

1.240 - 1.300 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  D.: A certain young man from Dindigul spoke to Sri Bhagavan, saying that he had learnt by his stay for a few days; that all that he need do was to enquire, "Who am I?" He wanted to know if any discipline was to be observed and started with the question: "Where should I do the enquiry?" meaning if he should do it in Guru sannidhi (the presence of the Master).
  M.: The enquiry should be from where the 'I' is.
  --
  M.: Yes. To the one from whom Grace is sought. God, Guru and Self are only different forms of the same.
  D.: Please explain, so that I may understand.
  --
  On worshipping God, God appears to you as Guru. On serving
   Guru He manifests as the Self. This is the rationale.
  --
  I say to them? I do not call myself a disciple or a Guru.
  Q.: How did you approve the building of Skandasramam on the Hill which was temple-land, without previously obtaining permission from the authorities?
  --
  D.: It is said that the Guru can make his disciple realise the Self by transmitting some of his own power to him? Is it true?
  M.: Yes. The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles to it. The Self is always realised.
  D.: Is there absolute necessity of a Guru for Self-Realisation?
  M.: So long as you seek Self-Realisation the Guru is necessary.
   Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the Real Self and your self as the individual self.
  The disappearance of this sense of duality is removal of ignorance.
  So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Because you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body. You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are the Self and so is the Guru.
  This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-Realisation.
  D.: How can one know whether a particular individual is competent to be a Guru?
  M.: By the peace of mind found in his presence and by the sense of respect you feel for him.
  D.: If the Guru happens to turn out incompetent, what will be the fate of the disciple who has implicit faith in him?
  M.: Each one according to his merits.
  --
  D.: It is said in Srimad Bhagavad Gita: "Realise the Self with pure intellect and also by service to Guru and by enquiry." How are they to be reconciled?
  M.: Iswaro Gururatmeti - Iswara, Guru and Self are identical. So long as the sense of duality persists in you, you seek a Guru considering that he stands apart. He however teaches you the truth and you gain the insight.
  D.: Kindly explain: ahameko name kaschit nahamanyasya kasyachit naham pasyami yasyaham tam na pasyami yo mama (I am alone; none is mine; of none else am I, I see none whose I am, none who is mine).
  --
  (sandeha, viparita). All efforts are directed to destroying doubt and confusion. To do so their roots must be cut. Their roots are the samskaras. These are rendered ineffective by practice as prescribed by the Guru. The Guru leaves it to the seeker to do this much so that he might himself find out that there is no ignorance. This truth mentioned is in the stage of the hearing of the Truth (sravana). That is not drdha (firm). For making it unshaken, one has to practise reflection (manana) and one-pointedness (nididhyasana). These two processes scorch the seeds of vasanas so that they are rendered ineffective.
  Some extraordinary persons get drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
  --
  Q.: There are Gurus for each asrama. Is there a Guru for atyasrama?
  M.: Yes.
  Q.: But you do not admit a Guru.
  M.: There is a Guru for everyone. I admit a Guru for me also.
  Q.: Who is your Guru.
  M.: The Self.
  --
  M.: For myself. The Guru may be internal or external. He may reveal
  Himself internally or communicate externally.

1.240 - Talks 2, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  D.: A certain young man from Dindigul spoke to Sri Bhagavan, saying that he had learnt by his stay for a few days; that all that he need do was to enquire, Who am I? He wanted to know if any discipline was to be observed and started with the question: Where should I do the enquiry? meaning if he should do it in Guru sannidhi (the presence of the Master).
  M.: The enquiry should be from where the I is.
  --
  M.: Yes. To the one from whom Grace is sought. God, Guru and Self are only different forms of the same.
  D.: Please explain, so that I may understand.
  --
  On worshipping God, God appears to you as Guru. On serving
   Guru He manifests as the Self. This is the rationale.
  --
  I say to them? I do not call myself a disciple or a Guru.
  Q.: How did you approve the building of Skandasramam on the Hill which was temple-land, without previously obtaining permission from the authorities?
  --
  D.: It is said that the Guru can make his disciple realise the Self by transmitting some of his own power to him? Is it true?
  M.: Yes. The Guru does not bring about Self-Realisation. He simply removes the obstacles to it. The Self is always realised.
  D.: Is there absolute necessity of a Guru for Self-Realisation?
  M.: So long as you seek Self-Realisation the Guru is necessary.
   Guru is the Self. Take Guru to be the Real Self and your self as the individual self.
  The disappearance of this sense of duality is removal of ignorance.
  So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Because you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body. You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are the Self and so is the Guru.
  This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-Realisation.
  D.: How can one know whether a particular individual is competent to be a Guru?
  M.: By the peace of mind found in his presence and by the sense of respect you feel for him.
  D.: If the Guru happens to turn out incompetent, what will be the fate of the disciple who has implicit faith in him?
  M.: Each one according to his merits.
  --
  D.: It is said in Srimad Bhagavad Gita: Realise the Self with pure intellect and also by service to Guru and by enquiry. How are they to be reconciled?
  M.: Iswaro Gururatmeti - Iswara, Guru and Self are identical. So long as the sense of duality persists in you, you seek a Guru considering that he stands apart. He however teaches you the truth and you gain the insight.
  D.: Kindly explain: ahameko name kaschit nahamanyasya kasyachit naham pasyami yasyaham tam na pasyami yo mama (I am alone; none is mine; of none else am I, I see none whose I am, none who is mine).
  --
  (sandeha, viparita). All efforts are directed to destroying doubt and confusion. To do so their roots must be cut. Their roots are the samskaras. These are rendered ineffective by practice as prescribed by the Guru. The Guru leaves it to the seeker to do this much so that he might himself find out that there is no ignorance. This truth mentioned is in the stage of the hearing of the Truth (sravana). That is not drdha (firm). For making it unshaken, one has to practise reflection (manana) and one-pointedness (nididhyasana). These two processes scorch the seeds of vasanas so that they are rendered ineffective.
  Some extraordinary persons get drdha jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
  --
  Q.: There are Gurus for each asrama. Is there a Guru for atyasrama?
  M.: Yes.
  Q.: But you do not admit a Guru.
  M.: There is a Guru for everyone. I admit a Guru for me also.
  Q.: Who is your Guru.
  M.: The Self.
  --
  M.: For myself. The Guru may be internal or external. He may reveal
  Himself internally or communicate externally.
  --
  A question was again raised regarding the function of the Guru.
  M.: Because the man is not able to help himself, finding himself too weak, he seeks more strength in the shape of a Guru.
  Talk 303.
  --
  D.: Realisation is said to be helped by Gurus Grace.
  M.: Guru is none other than the Self.
  D.: Krishna had Sandipini for his Guru and so Rama had Vasishta.
  M.: Guru is said to be external for the seeker. The in-turn of the mind is brought about by the Guru. Since the seeker is out-ward-bent he is advised to learn from a Guru whom he will in due course find to be the Self.
  D.: May I have Gurus Grace?
  M.: Grace is always there.
  --
  D.: He taught others while alive. Those around Him must have realised. I seek a similar living Guru.
  M.: Is Gita then useless after He withdrew His body? Did He speak of His body as Krishna?
  --
  D.: But I want a living Guru who can say the truth first hand.
  M.: The fate of the Guru will be similar to the fate of Krishna.
  The questioner retired. Later, Sri Bhagavan said: Divine sight means
  --
  LEARNING WONT DO: Sri Sankara opens the theme by observing that it is hard indeed to attain human birth, and one should (having attained it) strive for the realisation of the bliss of liberation, which is verily the nature of ones being. By jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry. In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru, and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
  He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation ones own individual effort is an essential factor. Mere book-learning never yields this bliss which can be realised only through enquiry or vichara, which consists of sravana or devoted attention to the precepts of the Guru, manana or deep contemplation and Nididhyasana or the cultivation of steady poise in the Self.
  THE THREE PATHS: The three bodies - physical, subtle and causal - are non-self and are unreal. The Self, or I, is quite different from them.
  --
  To know this from the Guru is sravana.
  To reject the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths (physical, vital, mental, gnostic and blissful) as not I and to extract through subtle
  --
  Sri Sankara thus describes Realisation that connotes liberation as twofold, i.e., jivanmukti and videha mukti referred to above. Moreover, in this short treatise, written in the form of a dialogue between a Guru and his disciple, he has considered many relevant topics.
  6th February, 1937
  --
  The sastras say that one must serve a Guru for 12 years for getting
  Self-Realisation. What does Guru do? Does he hand it over to the disciple? Is not the Self always realised? What does the common belief mean then? The man is always the Self and yet he does not know it. He confounds it with the non-self, viz., the body etc.
  Such confusion is due to ignorance. If ignorance be wiped out the confusion will cease to exist and the true knowledge will be unfolded. By remaining in contact with realised sages the man gradually loses the ignorance until its removal is complete. The eternal Self is thus revealed.
  --
  Without understanding it aright, people think that the Guru teaches the disciple something like TATVAMASI and that the disciple realises
  I am Brahman. In their ignorance they conceive of Brahman as something more huge and powerful than anything else. With a limited
  --
  This false I must perish. Its annihilation is the fruit of Guru seva.
  Realisation is eternal and it is not newly brought about by the Guru.
  He helps in the removal of ignorance. That is all.
  --
  M.: Guru simply helps you in the eradication of ignorance. Does he hand over Realisation to you?
  D.: We are ignorant.
  M.: Inasmuch as you say you are ignorant, you are wise. Is he a madman who says that he is mad? Gurus Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water, or it makes your way easier for the removal of ignorance.
  D.: Is it not like a medicine to cure the disease of avidya?
  M.: What is medicine for? It is only to restore the patient to the original state of health. What is this talk of Guru. Grace, God, etc.? Does the Guru hold you by the hand and whisper something in your ear? You imagine him to be like yourself. Because you are with a body you think that he is also a body in order to do something tangible to you. His work lies within. How is Guru gained? God, who is immanent, in his Grace takes pity on the loving devotee and manifests Himself as a being according to the devotees standard.
  The devotee thinks that he is a man and expects relationship as between bodies. But the Guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within, helps the man to see the error of his ways, guides him in the right path until he realises the Self within.
  After such realisation the disciple feels, I was so worried before. I am after all the Self, the same as before but not affected by anything; where is he who was miserable? He is nowhere to be seen.
  What should we do now? Only act up to the words of the master, work within. The Guru is both within and without. So he creates conditions to drive you inward and prepares the interior to drag you to the centre. Thus he gives a push from without and exerts a pull from within so that you may be fixed at the centre.
  In sleep you are centred within. Simultaneously with waking your mind rushes out, thinking this, that and all else. This must be checked. It is possible only for the agent who can work both within and without. Can he be identified with a body? We think that the world can be conquered by our efforts. When frustrated externally and driven internally, we feel Oh! oh! There is a power higher than man. The existence of the higher power must be admitted and recognised. The ego is a very powerful elephant and cannot be brought under control by anyone less than a lion, who is no other than the Guru in this instance; whose very look makes the elephant tremble and die. We will know in due course that our
  Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi glory lies where we cease to exist. In order to gain that state, one should surrender oneself saying LORD! Thou art my Refuge! The master then sees This man is in a fit state to receive guidance, and so guides him.
  --
  D.: Swami Vivekananda says that a spiritual Guru can transfer spirituality substantially to the disciple.
  M.: Is there a substance to be transferred? Transfer means eradication of the sense of being the disciple. The master does it. Not that the man was something at one time and metamorphosed later into another.
  D.: Is not Grace the gift of the Guru?
  M.: God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? Is it for the Guru to bestow
  It by his look? If a Guru thinks so, he does not deserve the name.
  The books say that there are so many kinds of diksha (initiations
  --
  They also say that the Guru makes some rites with fire, water, japa, mantras, etc., and call such fantastic performances dikshas, as if the disciple (sishya) becomes ripe only after such processes are gone through by the Guru.
  If the individual is sought he is nowhere to be found. Such is the
  --
  Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together. These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
  Thayumanavar says: Oh Lord! Coming with me all along the births, never abandoning me and finally rescuing me! Such is the experience of Realisation.
  --
  D.: Does not the Guru take a concrete form?
  M.: What is meant by concrete? Because you identify your being with your body, you raise this question. Find out if you are the body.
  --
  Dr. Venkata Rao, a visitor from Guntur, asked: A Guru asks his disciple to do things contrary to ethical principles. But the disciple, having accepted the person as the master, desires to please the master but his moral sense obstructs him. What should he do under the circumstances?
  M.: (No reply).
  D.: I shall make myself clear. The Guru asked his disciple to commit a theft and the disciple did not do it. The master then said, I wanted to test you to see if you had completely surrendered yourself or retained your individuality. It is now clear what it is. Is the Guru right in ordering the disciple that way?
  M.: (Still no reply).
  Another person observed: There are persons on whom I refuse to sit in judgement. Still I cannot help feeling if they deserve the appellation of Gurus. They appear bogus men. If they be really worthy they would not order the disciples in that way.
  M.: But the person says, It is for a test.
  --
  D.: Is success not dependent on Gurus Grace?
  M.: Yes, it is. Is not your practice itself due to such Grace? The fruits are the result of the practice and follow it automatically. There is a stanza in Kaivalya which says, O Guru! You have been always with me watching me through several reincarnations, and ordaining my course until I was liberated. The Self manifests externally as Guru when occasion arises; otherwise He is always within, doing the needful.
  12th June, 1937
  --
  M.: Mowna (silence) is the best and the most potent diksha. That was practised by Sri Dakshinamurti. Touch, look, etc., are all of a lower order. Silence (mowna diksha) changes the hearts of all. There is no Guru and no disciple.
  The ajnani confounds his body with the Self and so he takes the others body for the Guru. But does the Guru think his body to be the Self?
  He has transcended the body. There are no differences for Him. So the ajnani cannot appreciate the standpoint of Guru and of sishya.
  D.: Is there then no difference between the one and the other?
  --
  The Self is objectified as God. So also with Guru.
  The Professor returned in the evening and asked something about good actions. He further wondered why Brahman is said to be sacchidananda, but not God.
  --
  D.: I want a visible Guru.
  M.: That visible Guru says that He is within.
  D.: Can I throw myself at the mercy of the Sad Guru?

1.25 - ADVICE TO PUNDIT SHASHADHAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "Better than reading is hearing, and better than hearing is seeing. One understands the scriptures better by hearing them from the lips of the Guru or of a holy man. Then one doesn't have to think about their non-essential part.
  Hanuman said: 'Brother, I don't know much about the phase of the moon or the position of the stars. I just contemplate Rma.'
  --
  (To the pundit) "One can attain spiritual consciousness through both affirmation and negation. There is the positive path of love and devotion, and there is the negative path of knowledge and discrimination. You are preaching the path of knowledge. But that creates a very difficult situation: there the Guru and the disciple do not see each other.
  Sukadeva went to Janaka for instruction about the Knowledge of Brahman. Janaka said to him: 'You must pay me the Guru's fee beforehand. When you attain the knowledge of Brahman you won't pay me the fee, because the knower of Brahman sees no difference between the Guru and the disciple.'
  Different stages of divine love
  --
  MASTER: "One feels restless for God when one's soul longs for His vision. The Guru said to the disciple: 'Come with me. I shall show you what kind of longing will enable you to see God.' Saying this, he took the disciple to a pond and pressed his head under the water. After a few moments he released the disciple and asked, 'How did you feel?' The disciple answered: 'Oh, I felt as if I were dying! I was longing for a breath of air.' "
  SHASHADHAR: "Yes! Yes! That's it. I understand it now."

1.27 - AT DAKSHINESWAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "The Bauls do not like the worship of an image. They want a living man. That is why one of their sects is called the Kartabhaja. They worship the karta, that is to say, the Guru, as God.
  Different paths leading to God
  --
  MASTER: "Faith in the Guru's words. One attains God by following the Guru's instructions step by step. It is like reaching an object by following the trail of a thread."
  SADHAKA: "Is it possible to see God?"
  --
  Then he said to the musician: "My dear sir, you are a child of the Divine Mother. She dwells in all beings. Therefore I have every right to enforce my demand. A farmer said to his Guru, 'I shall get my mantra from you by beating you, if I have to.' "
  MUSICIAN (smiling): "By a shoe-beating?"

1.300 - 1.400 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  A question was again raised regarding the function of the Guru.
  M.: Because the man is not able to help himself, finding himself too weak, he seeks more strength in the shape of a Guru.
  Talk 303.
  --
  D.: Realisation is said to be helped by Guru's Grace.
  M.: Guru is none other than the Self.
  D.: Krishna had Sandipini for his Guru and so Rama had Vasishta.
  M.: Guru is said to be external for the seeker. The in-turn of the mind is brought about by the Guru. Since the seeker is out-ward-bent he is advised to learn from a Guru whom he will in due course find to be the Self.
  D.: May I have Guru's Grace?
  M.: Grace is always there.
  --
  D.: He taught others while alive. Those around Him must have realised. I seek a similar living Guru.
  M.: Is Gita then useless after He withdrew His body? Did He speak of His body as Krishna?
  --
  D.: But I want a living Guru who can say the truth first hand.
  M.: The fate of the Guru will be similar to the fate of Krishna.
  The questioner retired. Later, Sri Bhagavan said: Divine sight means
  --
  LEARNING WON'T DO: Sri Sankara opens the theme by observing that it is hard indeed to attain human birth, and one should (having attained it) strive for the realisation of the bliss of liberation, which is verily the nature of one's being. By jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry. In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru, and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
  He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation one's own individual effort is an essential factor. Mere book-learning never yields this bliss which can be realised only through enquiry or vichara, which consists of sravana or devoted attention to the precepts of the Guru, manana or deep contemplation and Nididhyasana or the cultivation of steady poise in the Self.
  THE THREE PATHS: The three bodies - physical, subtle and causal - are non-self and are unreal. The Self, or 'I', is quite different from them.
  --
  To know this from the Guru is sravana.
  To reject the three bodies consisting of the five sheaths (physical, vital, mental, gnostic and blissful) as not 'I' and to extract through subtle
  --
  Sri Sankara thus describes Realisation that connotes liberation as twofold, i.e., jivanmukti and videha mukti referred to above. Moreover, in this short treatise, written in the form of a dialogue between a Guru and his disciple, he has considered many relevant topics.
  6th February, 1937
  --
  The sastras say that one must serve a Guru for 12 years for getting
  Self-Realisation. What does Guru do? Does he hand it over to the disciple? Is not the Self always realised? What does the common belief mean then? The man is always the Self and yet he does not know it. He confounds it with the non-self, viz., the body etc.
  330
  --
  Without understanding it aright, people think that the Guru teaches the disciple something like "TATVAMASI" and that the disciple realises
  "I am Brahman". In their ignorance they conceive of Brahman as something more huge and powerful than anything else. With a limited
  --
  This false 'I' must perish. Its annihilation is the fruit of Guru seva.
  Realisation is eternal and it is not newly brought about by the Guru.
  He helps in the removal of ignorance. That is all.
  --
  M.: Guru simply helps you in the eradication of ignorance. Does he hand over Realisation to you?
  D.: We are ignorant.
  --
  M.: Inasmuch as you say you are ignorant, you are wise. Is he a madman who says that he is mad? Guru's Grace is like a hand extended to help you out of water, or it makes your way easier for the removal of ignorance.
  D.: Is it not like a medicine to cure the disease of avidya?
  M.: What is medicine for? It is only to restore the patient to the original state of health. What is this talk of Guru. Grace, God, etc.? Does the Guru hold you by the hand and whisper something in your ear? You imagine him to be like yourself. Because you are with a body you think that he is also a body in order to do something tangible to you. His work lies within. How is Guru gained? God, who is immanent, in his Grace takes pity on the loving devotee and manifests Himself as a being according to the devotee's standard.
  The devotee thinks that he is a man and expects relationship as between bodies. But the Guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within, helps the man to see the error of his ways, guides him in the right path until he realises the Self within.
  After such realisation the disciple feels, "I was so worried before. I am after all the Self, the same as before but not affected by anything; where is he who was miserable? He is nowhere to be seen."
  What should we do now? Only act up to the words of the master, work within. The Guru is both within and without. So he creates conditions to drive you inward and prepares the interior to drag you to the centre. Thus he gives a push from without and exerts a pull from within so that you may be fixed at the centre.
  In sleep you are centred within. Simultaneously with waking your mind rushes out, thinking this, that and all else. This must be checked. It is possible only for the agent who can work both within and without. Can he be identified with a body? We think that the world can be conquered by our efforts. When frustrated externally and driven internally, we feel "Oh! oh! There is a power higher than man." The existence of the higher power must be admitted and recognised. The ego is a very powerful elephant and cannot be brought under control by anyone less than a lion, who is no other than the Guru in this instance; whose very look makes the elephant tremble and die. We will know in due course that our
  383
  --
  D.: Swami Vivekananda says that a spiritual Guru can transfer spirituality substantially to the disciple.
  M.: Is there a substance to be transferred? Transfer means eradication of the sense of being the disciple. The master does it. Not that the man was something at one time and metamorphosed later into another.
  D.: Is not Grace the gift of the Guru?
  M.: God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? Is it for the Guru to bestow
  It by his look? If a Guru thinks so, he does not deserve the name.
  384
  --
  They also say that the Guru makes some rites with fire, water, japa, mantras, etc., and call such fantastic performances dikshas, as if the disciple (sishya) becomes ripe only after such processes are gone through by the Guru.
  If the individual is sought he is nowhere to be found. Such is the
  --
  Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together. These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
  Thayumanavar says: "Oh Lord! Coming with me all along the births, never abandoning me and finally rescuing me!" Such is the experience of Realisation.
  --
  D.: Does not the Guru take a concrete form?
  M.: What is meant by concrete? Because you identify your being with your body, you raise this question. Find out if you are the body.

1.3.02 - Equality The Chief Support, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Brahman", until the elephant took him up in his trunk and put him aside. When he complained to his Guru, the Guru said,
  "Yes, but why didn't you listen to the Mahout Brahman? That was why the elephant Brahman had to lift you up and put you out of harm's way." In the manifestation there are two sides to the Truth and you cannot ignore either.

1.37 - Death - Fear - Magical Memory, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  If it should happen that you have that faculty, and no gift at all for the other, it's just too bad; you'd better buzz off, and get another Holy Guru less one-legged.)
  There are, however, as I find on reading over what I have written else- where, quite a few lacunae in the exposition; and I may as well now do my best to stop one or two obvious gaps.

1.3 - Mundaka Upanishads, #Kena and Other Upanishads, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  of That, let him approach, fuel in hand, a Guru, one who is
  learned in the Veda and is devoted to contemplation of the

1.400 - 1.450 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  Dr. Venkata Rao, a visitor from Guntur, asked: A Guru asks his disciple to do things contrary to ethical principles. But the disciple, having accepted the person as the master, desires to please the master but his moral sense obstructs him. What should he do under the circumstances?
  M.: (No reply).
  D.: I shall make myself clear. The Guru asked his disciple to commit a theft and the disciple did not do it. The master then said, "I wanted to test you to see if you had completely surrendered yourself or retained your individuality. It is now clear what it is." Is the Guru right in ordering the disciple that way?
  M.: (Still no reply).
  Another person observed: There are persons on whom I refuse to sit in judgement. Still I cannot help feeling if they deserve the appellation of Gurus. They appear bogus men. If they be really worthy they would not order the disciples in that way.
  M.: But the person says, "It is for a test."
  --
  D.: Is success not dependent on Guru's Grace?
  M.: Yes, it is. Is not your practice itself due to such Grace? The fruits are the result of the practice and follow it automatically. There is a stanza in Kaivalya which says, "O Guru! You have been always with me watching me through several reincarnations, and ordaining my course until I was liberated." The Self manifests externally as Guru when occasion arises; otherwise He is always within, doing the needful.
  12th June, 1937
  --
  M.: Mowna (silence) is the best and the most potent diksha. That was practised by Sri Dakshinamurti. Touch, look, etc., are all of a lower order. Silence (mowna diksha) changes the hearts of all. There is no Guru and no disciple.
  The ajnani confounds his body with the Self and so he takes the other's body for the Guru. But does the Guru think his body to be the Self?
  He has transcended the body. There are no differences for Him. So the ajnani cannot appreciate the standpoint of Guru and of sishya.
  D.: Is there then no difference between the one and the other?
  --
  The Self is objectified as God. So also with Guru.
  The Professor returned in the evening and asked something about good actions. He further wondered why Brahman is said to be sacchidananda, but not God.
  --
  D.: I want a visible Guru.
  M.: That visible Guru says that He is within.
  D.: Can I throw myself at the mercy of the Sad Guru?
  --
  D.: Without logic, without learned terminology, please instruct me the way to the Bliss of Self. Let it be of Guru's grace only.
  M.: Have a clear idea of your requirement. Who seeks to gain what?
  --
  Another visitor asked: Please tell me which is the most efficacious of all the methods, e.g., prayer to God, Guru anugraha, i.e., master's grace, concentration of mind, etc.
  M.: The one is the consequence of the other. Each of them leads to the next stage. They form a continuous whole. God, Guru, and the
  Self are not different. They are one and the same. Therefore the methods offer no choice.
  --
  We had a great sage for our Guru. He advised us to "take the name of Hari," saying that it is all in all; no effort is necessary for concentrating the mind. Concentration will come of itself if Harinam is persisted in. So we are doing it. The Guru passed away. We felt like a rudderless ship in mid-ocean. In our anxiety to find a safe guide we read and heard of you and so desired to come here. Our desire has been fulfilled after two years' longing. On coming here and hearing Sri Bhagavan we understand that the Master teaches
  Atma-vichara (self-quest). This is the method of knowledge (jnana marga), whereas the other master taught us bhakti marga (method of devotion).
  --
  None can realise the Name by the practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity. Surrender yourself at first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know who the 'I' in you is. After finding the source of that 'I', merge your individuality in that Oneness - which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality. It is that Name that permeates the three worlds.
  The Name is Paramatman Itself where there is no action arising out of dvaita (duality).
  --
  IV. None can realise the Name by practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity. Surrender yourself first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know that 'I' myself is that Name. After finding the source of that 'I', merge your individuality in that one-ness, which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality. That which pervades beyond dwaita and dwaitatita, that Name has come into the three worlds. The Name is Para Brahman itself, where there is no action arising out of duality.
  When Sri Bhagavan had read this, a certain musician came into the hall and began to sing Tyagaraja Kirtanas in Telugu. One of them says: "Find the source of the sound which is transcendental (mooladhara sabda) by diving deep like a pearl-diver diving for pearls." Then again another song was: "For a man who has controlled his mind where is the use of tapasya?

1.4.02 - The Divine Force, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Yoga force, spiritual force, Yoga Shakti, then also there can be no effectivity in Yoga. A Yoga consciousness or spiritual consciousness which has no power or force in it, may not be dead or unreal but it is evidently something inert and without effect or consequence. Equally a man who sets out to be a Yogi or Guru and has no spiritual consciousness or no power in his spiritual consciousness - a Yoga force or spiritual force - is making a false claim and is either a charlatan or a self-deluded imbecile; still more is he so if having no spiritual force he claims to have made a path others can follow. If Yoga is a reality, if spirituality is anything better than a delusion, there must be such a thing as
  Yoga force or spiritual force.
  --
   the claim of those sadhaks who say that they feel the force of the Guru or the force of the Divine working in them and leading towards spiritual fulfilment and experience. Whether it is so or not in a particular case is a personal question, but the statement cannot be denounced as per se incredible and manifestly false because such things cannot be. Farther, if it be true that spiritual force is the original one and the others are derivative from it, then there is no irrationality in supposing that spiritual force can produce mental results, vital results, physical results. It may act through mental, vital or physical energies and through the means which these energies use, or it may act directly on mind, life or matter as the field of its own special and immediate action.
  Either way is prima facie possible. In a case of cure of illness, someone is lying ill for two days, weak, suffering from pains and fever; he takes no medicine but finally asks for cure from his Guru; the next morning he rises well, strong and energetic.
  He has at least some justification for thinking that a force has been used on him and put into him and that it was a spiritual power that acted. But in another case medicines may be used, while at the same time the invisible force may be called for to aid the material means, for it is a known fact that medicines may or may not succeed - there is no certitude. Here for the reason of an outside observer (one who is neither the user of the force nor the doctor nor the patient) it remains uncertain whether the patient was cured by the medicines only or by the spiritual force with the medicines as an instrument. Either is possible, and it cannot be said that because medicines were used, therefore the working of a spiritual force is per se incredible and demonstrably false. On the other hand it is possible for the doctor to have felt a force working in him and guiding him or he may see the patient improving with a rapidity which, according to medical science, is incredible. The patient may feel the force working in himself bringing health, energy, rapid cure. The user of the force may watch the results, see the symptoms he works on diminishing, those he did not work upon increasing till he does work on them and then immediately diminishing, the doctor working according to his unspoken suggestions, etc. etc. until the cure is

1.4.03 - The Guru, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  object:1.4.03 - The Guru
  author class:Sri Aurobindo
  --
  The Guru
  Acceptance of the Guru
  The Guru should be accepted in all ways - transcendent, impersonal, personal.
  It has always been held in Indian yoga that the relation between Guru and disciple must be one of full confidence and full acceptance of the Guru by the Shishya. The latter was supposed to accept unquestioningly the guidance and to follow the instructions of the Guru without criticism or questioning; he was not supposed to criticise, to blame or to refuse adhesion or to follow in a questioning or grudging spirit: for that would stand in the way of his advance. The Indian disciple of those days would not have expected the Guru to suit his directions or instructions or ways of leading to the mental demands or vital ideas of the
  [incomplete]
  --
  2nd: He must accept the indications given by the Guru and follow them firmly and with full faith and perseverance to the best of his own spiritual capacity.
  3rd: He must make himself open and receptive to the Guru for even more than what the Guru teaches to the mind of the disciple, it is what he spiritually is, the spiritual consciousness, the knowledge, the light, the power, the Divinity in him that helps the disciple to grow by his receiving that into himself and its being used within himself for the growth of his consciousness and nature into its own divine possibility.
  What the Guru can do for the sadhak depends upon the latter's receptivity - not upon any method or rule of sadhana. Certain psychological conditions or attitudes of the consciousness tend to increase the receptivity - e.g., humility towards the Guru, devotion, obedience, trust, a certain receptive passivity to his influence. The opposite things - independence, a critical attitude, questionings - go the other way and make it necessary for the Guru to help only indirectly or behind the veil. But the main thing is a kind of psychological openness in the consciousness which comes or increases of itself with the help of the will to receive and the right attitude. If there is that then it is not necessary to pull anything from the Guru, only to receive quietly.
  Pulling from him often draws untruly or things for which the consciousness is not ready to assimilate.
  --
  Up to now no liberated man has objected to the Guruvada; it is usually only people who live in the mind or vital and have the pride of the mind or the arrogance of the vital that find it below their dignity to recognise a Guru.
  One has to learn from the master and act according to his instructions because the master knows the subject and how it is to be learnt - just as in spiritual things one has to follow the Guru who has the knowledge and knows the way. If one learns all by oneself, the chances are that one will learn all wrong. What is the use of a freedom to learn wrongly? Of course if the pupil is more intelligent than the master, he will learn more than the master, just as a great spiritual capacity may arrive at realisations which the Guru has not - but even so, the control and discipline in the early stages is indispensable.
  The Guru in the Supramental Yoga
  The Guru is the Guide in the Yoga. When the Divine is accepted as the Guide, He is accepted as the Guru.
  It is not usual to use the word Guru in the supramental Yoga, here everything comes from the Divine himself. But if anybody wants it he can use it for the time being.
  The relation of Guru and disciple is only one of many relations which one can have with the Divine, and in this Yoga which aims at a supramental realisation, it is not usual to give it this
  The Guru
  193
  --
  Surrender to the Guru
  Because through it [surrender to the Guru]1 you surrender not only to the impersonal but to the personal, not only to the Divine in yourself but to the Divine outside you; you get a chance for the surpassing of ego not only by retreat into the Self where ego does not exist, but in the personal nature where it is the ruler. It is the sign of the will to complete surrender to the total Divine, samagram mam manus.m tanum asritam. Of course it must be a genuine spiritual surrender for all this to be true.
  When one takes sincerely to surrender, nothing must be concealed that is of any importance for the life of the sadhana.
  Confession helps to purge the consciousness of hampering elements and it clears the inner air and makes for a closer and more intimate and effective relation between the Guru and the disciple.
  No [surrender to the Divine and surrender to the Guru are not two different things]. In surrendering to the Guru, it is to the
  Divine in him that one surrenders - if it were only to a human
  1 The correspondent asked, "What makes the surrender to the Guru so grand and glorious as to be called the surrender beyond all surrenders?" - Ed.
  194
  --
  Divine Presence that makes the Guru a real Guru, so that even if the disciple surrenders to him thinking of the human being to whom he surrenders, that Presence would still make it effective.
  Yes [surrender to the formless Divine would leave parts of the being subject to the gunas and ego] - because only the static parts would be free in formlessness, the active nature would be still in the play of the gunas. Many think they are free from ego because they get the sense of the formless Existence, they do not see that the egoistic element remains in their action just as before.
  Other Gurus
  All true Gurus are the same, the one Guru, because all are the one Divine. That is a fundamental and universal truth. But there is also a truth of difference; the Divine dwells in different personalities with different minds, teachings, influences so that He may lead different disciples with their special need, character, destiny by different ways to the realisation. Because all Gurus are the same Divine, it does not follow that the disciple does well if he leaves the one meant for him to follow another. Fidelity to the Guru is demanded of every disciple, according to the Indian tradition. "All are the same" is a spiritual truth, but you cannot convert it indiscriminately into action; you cannot deal with all persons in the same way because they are the one Brahman: if one did, the result pragmatically would be an awful mess. It is a rigid mental logic that makes the difficulty but in spiritual matters mental logic easily blunders; intuition, faith, a plastic spiritual reason are here the only guides.
  To respect the spiritual attainment of X [another spiritual teacher] is all right, but it is a rule of this Yoga not to mix influences (and what he [a sadhak] has described is very much like undergoing an influence). Otherwise there may be harm done by two different methods getting mixed together - e.g. the vital being awakened to a Bhakti-Ananda influence on that plane before it is purified and ready.
  The Guru's Help in Difficulty
  I think this saying of Ramakrishna's2 expresses a certain characteristic happening in sadhana and cannot be interpreted in a general and absolute sense; for in that sense it is hard for it to be true. All difficulties disappearing in a minute? Well, Vivekananda had the grace of Ramakrishna from the beginning, but I think his difficulty of doubt lasted for some time and to the end of his life the difficulty of the control of anger was there - making him say that all that was good in him was his Guru's gift but these things (anger etc.) were his own property. But what could be true is that the central difficulty may disappear by a certain touch between the Guru and the disciple. But what is meant by the kr.pa? If it is the general compassion and grace of the Guru, that, one would think, is always there on the disciple; his acceptance itself is an act of grace and the help is there for the disciple to receive. But the touch of grace, divine grace coming directly or through the Guru is a special phenomenon having two sides to it, - the grace of the Guru or the Divine, in fact both together, on one side and a "state of grace" in the disciple on the other. This "state of grace" is often prepared by a long tapasya or purification in which nothing decisive seems to happen, only touches or glimpses or passing experiences at the most, and it comes suddenly without warning. If this is what is spoken of in Ramakrishna's saying, then it is true that when it comes, the fundamental difficulties can in a moment and generally do disappear. Or at the very least something happens which makes the rest of the sadhana - however long it may take - sure and secure.
  This decisive touch comes most easily to the "baby cat" people, those who have at some point between the psychic and the emotional vital a quick and decisive movement of surrender to the Guru or the Divine. I have seen that when that is there and there is the conscious central dependence compelling the mind also and the rest of the vital, then the fundamental difficulty disappears. If others remain they are not felt as difficulties, but simply as things that have just to be done and need cause no worry. Sometimes no tapasya is necessary - one just refers things to the Power that one feels guiding or doing the sadhana and assents to its action, rejecting all that is contrary to it, and the Power removes what has to be removed or changes what has to be changed, quickly or slowly - but the quickness or slowness does not seem to matter since one is sure that it will be done. If tapasya is necessary, it is done with so much feeling of a strong support that there is nothing hard or austere in the tapasya.
  2 "With the Guru's grace all difficulties can disappear in a flash, even as agelong darkness does the moment you strike a match." - Ed.
  For the others, the "baby monkey" type or those who are still more independent, following their own ideas, doing their own sadhana, asking only for some instruction or help, the grace of the Guru is there, but it acts according to the nature of the sadhak and waits upon his effort to a greater or less degree; it helps, succours in difficulty, saves in the time of danger, but the disciple is not always, is perhaps hardly at all aware of what is being done as he is absorbed in himself and his endeavour. In such cases the decisive psychological movement, the touch that makes all clear, may take longer to come.
  But with all the kr.pa is there working in one way or another and it can only abandon the disciple if the disciple himself abandons or rejects it - by decisive and definitive revolt, by rejection of the Guru, by cutting the painter and declaring his independence, or by an act or course of betrayal that severs him from his own psychic being. Even then, except perhaps in the last case if it goes to an extreme, a return to grace is not impossible.
  That is my own knowledge and experience of the matter.
  --
  All that is popular Yoga.3 The Guru's touch or grace may open something, but the difficulties have always to be worked out still.
  What is true is that if there is complete surrender which implies the prominence of the psychic, these difficulties are no longer felt as a burden or obstacle but only as superficial imperfections which the working of the grace will remove.
  It has always been said that to take disciples means to take upon yourself the difficulties of the disciples as well as your own. Of course, if the Guru does not identify himself with the disciple, does not take him into his own consciousness, keeps him outside and only gives him upadesa, leaving him to do the rest himself, then the chance of these effects is much diminished, made practically nil.
  The Knowledge Given by the Guru
  I do not know what you mean by indirect knowledge. The knowledge given by the Guru, if that is what you mean, is in the nature of experience and becomes part and parcel of the experience. Mere instruction is not knowledge but only an intellectual indication of what must be realised by experience.
  According to Yoga, as it is known in India, the mediation of the Guru is almost indispensable. It is not a crutch. It is a direct action of the Divine who is realised by the Guru. It is an opening of the consciousness to spiritual experience without which few can open at all or go very far. If they advance by themselves, they can fall into all sorts of perils and errors of which they have no knowledge and no idea how to guide themselves among these things.
  All experience is direct - there is no such thing as an indirect spiritual experience. But after the consciousness is sufficiently opened and matured, a knowledge and guidance can come from within and above and the sadhana proceeds by Divine working within. But the sadhak has to be very careful, for he may easily mistake the guiding of his own mind, ego or vital or the guiding of some inferior Power that flatters his ego for the Divine guidance. It is by the inner experience and consciousness that one knows a spiritual result - one feels and sees it happening.
  3 The correspondent wrote, "It is said that if a disciple receives his Guru's touch or grace, his main difficulties very often disappear." - Ed.
  There are two kinds of knowledge - mental knowledge such as you describe here which is usually necessary as a mental preparation or for guidance and the real knowledge which is spiritual. One receives the mental knowledge from the Guru in the shape of instruction and guidance, but that is only a part of what he gives - for the man who gives only mental or what you call indirect knowledge is not a Guru but only a teacher, Acharya.
  As for spiritual knowledge, it consists of two elements, experience and a direct knowledge which is not mental but is of the nature of a light showing the deeper truth of things, a direct vision and perception of the Truth.
  --
  The Capacity of the Guru
  One can have a Guru inferior in spiritual capacity (to oneself or to other Gurus) carrying in him many human imperfections, and yet, if you have the faith, the bhakti, the right spiritual stuff, contact the Divine through him, attain to spiritual experiences, to spiritual realisation, even before the Guru himself. Mark the "if", - for that proviso is necessary; it isn't every disciple who can do that with every Guru. From a humbug you can acquire nothing but humbuggery. The Guru must have something in him which makes the contact with the Divine possible, something which works even if he is not himself in his outer mind quite conscious of its action. If there is nothing at all spiritual in him he is not a Guru - only a pseudo. Undoubtedly, there can be considerable differences of spiritual realisation between one Guru and the other; but much depends on the inner relation between Guru and shishya. One can go to a very great spiritual man and get nothing or only a little from him; one can go to a man of less spiritual capacity and get all he has to give - and more. The causes of this disparity are various and subtle; I need not expand on them here. It differs with each man. I believe the Guru is always ready to give what can be given, if the disciple can receive, or it may be when he is ready to receive. If he refuses to receive or behaves inwardly or outwardly in such a way as to make reception impossible or if he is not sincere or takes up the wrong attitude, then things become difficult. But if one is sincere and faithful and has the right attitude and if the Guru is a true Guru, then, after whatever time, it will come.
  What X quotes about the limitation of the power of the Guru to that of a teacher who shows the way but cannot help or guide is the conception of certain paths of Yoga such as the pure Adwaitin and the Buddhist which say that you must rely upon yourself and no one can help you; but even the pure Adwaitin does in fact rely upon the Guru and the chief mantra of Buddhism insists on saran.am to Buddha. For other paths of sadhana, especially those which like the Gita accept the reality of the individual soul as an "eternal portion" of the Divine or which believe that Bhagavan and the bhakta are both real, the help of the Guru has always been relied upon as an indispensable aid.
  I don't understand the objection to the validity of Vivekananda's experience; it was exactly the realisation which is described in the Upanishads as a supreme experience of the Self.
  --
  I do not know if his Guru falls far short in any respect, but with the attitude he has taken, her deficiencies, if any, do not matter. It is not the human defects of the Guru that can stand in the way when there is the psychic opening, confidence and surrender. The Guru is the channel or the representative or the manifestation of the Divine, according to the measure of his personality or his attainment; but whatever he is, it is to the
  Divine that one opens in opening to him, and if something is determined by the power of the channel, more is determined by the inherent and intrinsic attitude of the receiving consciousness, an element that comes out in the surface mind as simple trust or direct unconditional self-giving, and once that is there, the essential things can be gained even from one who seems to others than the disciple an inferior spiritual source and the rest will grow up in the sadhak of itself by the Grace of the Divine, even if the human being in the Guru cannot give it. It is this that Krishnaprem appears to have done perhaps from the first; but in most nowadays this attitude seems to come with difficulty after much hesitation and delay and trouble. In my own case I owe the first decisive turn of my inner life to one who was infinitely inferior to me in intellect, education and capacity and by no means spiritually perfect or supreme; but, having seen a Power behind him and decided to turn there for help, I gave myself entirely into his hands and followed with an automatic passivity the guidance. He himself was astonished and said to others that he had never met anyone before who could surrender himself so absolutely and without reserve or question to the guidance of the helper. The result was a series of transmuting experiences of such a radical character that he was unable to follow and had to tell me to give myself up in future to the Guide within with the same completeness of surrender as I had shown to the human channel. I give this example to show how these things work; it is not in the calculated way the human reason wants to lay down, but by a more mysterious and greater law.

14.04 - More of Yajnavalkya, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   Last time I told you the story of the great Rishi Yajnavalkya. But that was about the later Yajnavalkya when he had become a full-fledged rishi, a Guru with an Ashram and disciples. Today I will tell you something of the earlier Yajnavalkya, the beginning of his rishihood, the start of his spiritual life. You know the structure of the old Indian society, it consisted of four castes, varnas, and four stages, ramas. I shall speak of the ramas now. Each individual person had to follow a definite course of life through developing stages. First of all, naturally, when you are a baby, in your early childhood, you belong to the family and remain with your parents. As soon as you grow up and the time for your education arrives, you are initiated into a stage called brahmacarya; you may generally call it as the stage of self-discipline, you go to a Guru and pursue your studies through a disciplined life, something like the life of the children who are here like you. In those days a student's life did not mean merely studies, that is to say, reading and writing, book knowledge, but as here a very active life. The physical education in the old time ramas in certain ways was even more complete than what is given here, for it included the art of warfare also, combatives like serious archery and many other items of physical training. When you have terminated this discipline or brahmacarya, when you have become an accomplished young man you are allowed to return to the world, and take to the worldly life, enrich yourself with all experiences of that life, that is to say, you marry and become a family man. It is the second stage called grhashtya. Next when you have fully enjoyed or fulfilled the duty of the worldly life, you pass on to the next stage that is called the vnaprastha . That is the hermit life, the beginning of the true spiritual life. Finally at the end of the vnaprastha, you pass still beyond and adopt the life of the sannyasi, abandoning everything, concentrating wholly on the Supreme Truth and merging into it.
   Now our Yajnavalkya in the normal course of things has passed through the stage of brahmacarya, he has also pursued the stage of domestic life and is now at the end of it. He thinks the time has now come to him to take to spiritual life and enter into vnaprastha. He had married and had two wives. So one day he called the first wife, Katyayani, and said to her: "Katyayani, I am now leaving this life and entering the spiritual life. You have given me comfort and happiness. I am thankful to you for that. Whatever I have, my possessions, movable and immovable, I have divided into two. This is your portion." Katyayani accepted the decision without a murmur. She answered: "Since you are my lord and husband, as you ask me so I shall do." Then Yajnavalkya went to his second wife, Maitreyee; to Maitreyee too he said the same thing as he had said to Katyayani: "Maitreyee, I am leaving this life, I am taking to the spiritual life. I have given to Katyayani her share of my possessions. This is your share." But Maitreyee answered: "Wherever you go, I will follow you, I will also give up the world and its life." Yajnavalkya said: "No Maitreyee, it is a very hard, very difficult life, particularly for a woman. Follow the life to which you have been accustomed. Enjoy freely the possessions I leave you." Then Maitreyee uttered those famous words which you must have heard and which have been ringing through the centuries down to us also, even today: "All these possessions, will they give me immortality?" Yajnavalkya answered: "No, Maitreyee, that they will not give you, it is quite another matter." Maitreyee answered uttering a mantra as it were "What am I to do with that which does not give me immortality?" So Yajnavalkya had to accept her and allow her to accompany him. Now Yajnavalkya gives his first lesson of spiritual life to Maitreyee: "Maitreyee, you love me, so you are coming with me. But do you know the real truth of the matter? The real truth is that you do not love me, but you love the soul that is in you, which is also in me: you love your own self in me. Therefore you love me. And I love you, I love you not for your sake but for the sake of the self in you which is the self in me. All love is like that. A husb and loves his wife, the wife loves her husband, the brother loves his brother or sister, a sister loves her sister or brother, it is not for the sake of the person or the relation but for the sake of the self-one's own self which is in everybody. That is the first lesson which you have to learn. Forget the outer person, your own person or another's person, find the self that is in you and everybody else. That is the basis of the spiritual life."

14.06 - Liberty, Self-Control and Friendship, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   I may remind you here of what Sri Krishna did in this line, something very similar. Sri Krishna, the Divine, became a very ordinary playmate of cowherd-boys and village maids and was one of them and with them, almost with no apparent difference. The Divine not merely as the Master, the Guru, the leader or the captain but as a loving playmate and comrade is a very extraordinary Indian conception of the Divine. Arjuna in his loving tenderness for his friend Krishna almost forgot to respect him and honour him, he could only embrace him. But one day revelation came to him as to who his intimate friend and comrade really was: he was dumbfounded and full of contrition and repentance for his past lapses. I may tell you Arjuna's state of mind in his own wordsas stated in the Gita:
   For whatsoever I have spoken to Thee in rash vehemence, thinking of Thee only as my human friend and companion, 'O Krishna, O Yadava, O Comrade,' not knowing this Thy greatness, in negligent error or in love, and for whatsoever disrespect was shown by me to Thee in jest, at play, on the couch and the seat and in the banquet, alone or in Thy presence, O faultless One, I pray forgiveness from Thee, the Immeasurable.3

14.07 - A Review of Our Ashram Life, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   In its early days, quite at the beginning, we may now say, long long ago, for it is now almost half a century ago, the Ashram from its very start and quite spontaneously and inevitably grew into a community life. That is to say, the individuals ceased to have any personal possessions. Whatever they had belonged not to themselves but to the group, rather to the Master of the group, the Guru, to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. Whatever they had, they considered as having received from the Mother for use only. They are not proprietors or possessors of anything: whatever they needed or they thought they needed, they had to ask for it and the Mother decided what they should have or not. It was a joyous surrender of possessions and a grateful acceptance of gifts. One may yet remember the beautiful movement that impelled each one of those who were fortunate to be there at that time. One is reminded of a parallel movement, although on a different field, described by Tagore in his well-known lines:
   Image 1
  --
   Such a life was possible because of two reasons: (i) a physical reason and (ii) a psychological reason. The physical reason was, the number of people forming the Ashram was very small: instead of the two thousand and odd that we are today, there were at that time (the time I am speaking of) barely fifty. And there were no children.1 And of men, only those who were allowed, who had a real call for the spiritual life, those alone who were chosen by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo and permitted to live here. And here is the natural psychological reason: it was a select group who had already had an inner life and spiritual aspiration. And so they were ready for a life of surrender and self-giving, obedience and allegiance to the Guru. They did not come ignorant and innocent of the rudimentary elements of spiritual life.
   The work that Mother could do then and was doing, she has herself described and explained to us. It was the creation of a worlda region at leastof the higher consciousness in which everyone who participated had his own place, everyone with his soul-being sufficiently in front; and this being she could connect or link up with a being of the higher spherea counterpart, an over-soul as it were for each soul. It was a kind of descenta subtle incarnation of Gods which the Mother's Grace occasioned or brought about into the elevated and sublimated human level.

1.439, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  D.: Without logic, without learned terminology, please instruct me the way to the Bliss of Self. Let it be of Gurus grace only.
  M.: Have a clear idea of your requirement. Who seeks to gain what?
  --
  Another visitor asked: Please tell me which is the most efficacious of all the methods, e.g., prayer to God, Guru anugraha, i.e., masters grace, concentration of mind, etc.
  M.: The one is the consequence of the other. Each of them leads to the next stage. They form a continuous whole. God, Guru, and the
  Self are not different. They are one and the same. Therefore the methods offer no choice.
  --
  We had a great sage for our Guru. He advised us to take the name of Hari, saying that it is all in all; no effort is necessary for concentrating the mind. Concentration will come of itself if Harinam is persisted in. So we are doing it. The Guru passed away. We felt like a rudderless ship in mid-ocean. In our anxiety to find a safe guide we read and heard of you and so desired to come here. Our desire has been fulfilled after two years longing. On coming here and hearing Sri Bhagavan we understand that the Master teaches
  Atma-vichara (self-quest). This is the method of knowledge (jnana marga), whereas the other master taught us bhakti marga (method of devotion).
  --
  None can realise the Name by the practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity. Surrender yourself at first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know who the I in you is. After finding the source of that I, merge your individuality in that Oneness - which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality. It is that Name that permeates the three worlds.
  The Name is Paramatman Itself where there is no action arising out of dvaita (duality).
  --
  IV. None can realise the Name by practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity. Surrender yourself first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know that I myself is that Name. After finding the source of that I, merge your individuality in that one-ness, which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality. That which pervades beyond dwaita and dwaitatita, that Name has come into the three worlds. The Name is Para Brahman itself, where there is no action arising out of duality.
  When Sri Bhagavan had read this, a certain musician came into the hall and began to sing Tyagaraja Kirtanas in Telugu. One of them says: Find the source of the sound which is transcendental (mooladhara sabda) by diving deep like a pearl-diver diving for pearls. Then again another song was: For a man who has controlled his mind where is the use of tapasya?
  --
  A passage from Arunachala Mahatmya (the Glory of Arunachala) was read out. It related to Pangunni (a lame sage) who had his legs made whole by the grace of Sri Arunachala. Sri Bhagavan then related the story of a man whom Sri Maharshi had seen when He was in Gurumurtham. The man was one Kuppu Iyer. His legs were useless and he could not walk.
  He was once on his way to Vettavalam, moving on his buttocks. An old man suddenly appeared before him and said Get up and walk. Why do you move on your buttocks? Kuppu Iyer was excited and beside himself. Involuntarily he rose up and walked freely. After going a short distance, he looked behind to see the stranger who made him walk. But he could not find anyone. He narrated the incident to all those who were surprised to see him walk. Any old man in the town can bear witness to
  --
  D.: But all the disciples of a Guru are not of the same degree of advancement. There are found lapses in a few cases. Who is responsible for such lapses?
  M.: There is no connection between Self-Realisation and individual predispositions (samskara). It is not always possible to live up to the ideal of the Guru.
  D.: Do not passions affect Realisation?
  --
  Isvaro Gururatmeti (Isvara, Guru and the Self are synonymous).
  D.: I pray for that Grace.
  --
  D.: Yes. I quite see it. Moreover, advaita cannot be practised in ones dealings with the Guru. For, consistently with it, he cannot receive instructions.
  M.: Yes, the Guru is within and not without. A Tamil saint has said,
  O Guru! always abiding within me, but manifesting now in human form only to guide and protect me! What is within as the Self manifests in due course as Guru in human shape.
  D.: So it amounts to this. To see a Jnani is not to understand him.
  --
  M.: That one is not external. You mistake the body for the Guru. But the Guru does not think himself so. He is the formless Self. That is within you; he appears without only to guide you.
  Talk 500.
  --
  M.: If he has surrendered himself to God or to Guru the Power to which he had surrendered will take him on the right course. The worker need no longer concern himself about the rectitude or otherwise of the course. The doubt will arise only if he fails to obey the Master in all details.
  D.: Is there not any Power on earth which can bestow Grace on Its devotees so that they may grow strong to work for the country and gain swaraj? (Sri Maharshi remained silent. This, He later said, signified that such was the case).
  --
  Mr. Mac Iver, a resident devotee, asked Sri Bhagavan if he might go to Switzerl and where a Guru was inviting him. Sri Bhagavan said:
  Some Force brought him here and the same is taking him to Europe.
  --
  M.: It is so, for the seekers silence Gurus silence is the loudest upadesa. It is also Grace in its highest form. All other dikshas
  (initiations), e.g., sparsa, chakshus are derived from mowna
  --
  If the Guru is silent the seekers mind gets purified by itself.
  D.: Is it proper that one prays to God or Guru when one is afflicted by worldly ills?
  M.: Undoubtedly.
  --
  D.: Yes. I understand it now. I have learnt it now. Is a Guru necessary?
  M.: So long as you consider yourself as an individual, a Guru is necessary to show to you that you are not bound by limitations and that your nature is to be free from limitations.
  Talk 525.
  --
  M.: All are Gurus to us. The wicked say by their evil deeds, Do not come near me. The good are always good. So then, all persons are like Gurus to us.
  Talk 542.
  --
  D.: What is the significance of Gurus Grace in the attainment of liberation?
  M.: Liberation is not anywhere outside you. It is only within. If a man is anxious for Deliverance, the Guru within pulls him in and the Guru without pushes him into the Self. This is the Grace of the Guru.
  Talk 548.
  --
  Tiruvannamalai, when I was staying in Gurumoortham, I noticed a red wasp construct a hive in which it placed five or six grubs and then flew away. My curiosity was roused and I wanted to test the truth of the oftquoted nyaya. I waited some days, maybe ten days. I then tapped the hive. It broke and there I found that all the five or six grubs had united together and taken the shape of a wasp, but it was white.
  2. Later when I was in Virupaksha Cave, I saw a red wasp construct five or six hives in each of which it placed five or six grubs and flew away. After about ten days, a black beetle, smaller than the wasp, buzzed round the hives and closed each of then, with a little black mud and flew away. I was wondering at the intrusion of the beetle on the hive of the wasp. I waited a few days and then gently opened one of the hives. Five or six black bodies came out and each of them was a black beetle. I thought it strange.
  --
  M.: You have done well in having come. Isvaro Gururatmeti (The
  Self is the God and Guru). A person seeks happiness and learns
  that God alone can make one happy. He prays to God and worships
  --
  D.: What is staying with the Guru?
  M.: It means studying the sacred lore.
  D.: But there is the special virtue of the Gurus presence.
  M.: Yes. That purifies the mind.
  --
  of being with the Guru, studying the sacred books and worshipping
  God with forms, and by these awakening is attained.
  --
  etc., to support his statements. Others, e.g., Sri Narayana Guru, used
  to refute him on the same grounds.

1.450 - 1.500 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  A passage from Arunachala Mahatmya (the Glory of Arunachala) was read out. It related to Pangunni (a lame sage) who had his legs made whole by the grace of Sri Arunachala. Sri Bhagavan then related the story of a man whom Sri Maharshi had seen when He was in Gurumurtham. The man was one Kuppu Iyer. His legs were useless and he could not walk.
  He was once on his way to Vettavalam, moving on his buttocks. An old man suddenly appeared before him and said "Get up and walk. Why do you move on your buttocks?" Kuppu Iyer was excited and beside himself. Involuntarily he rose up and walked freely. After going a short distance, he looked behind to see the stranger who made him walk. But he could not find anyone. He narrated the incident to all those who were surprised to see him walk. Any old man in the town can bear witness to
  --
  D.: But all the disciples of a Guru are not of the same degree of advancement. There are found lapses in a few cases. Who is responsible for such lapses?
  488
  --
  M.: There is no connection between Self-Realisation and individual predispositions (samskara). It is not always possible to live up to the ideal of the Guru.
  D.: Do not passions affect Realisation?
  --
  Isvaro Gururatmeti (Isvara, Guru and the Self are synonymous).
  D.: I pray for that Grace.
  --
  D.: Yes. I quite see it. Moreover, advaita cannot be practised in one's dealings with the Guru. For, consistently with it, he cannot receive instructions.
  M.: Yes, the Guru is within and not without. A Tamil saint has said,
  "O Guru! always abiding within me, but manifesting now in human form only to guide and protect me!" What is within as the Self manifests in due course as Guru in human shape.
  D.: So it amounts to this. To see a Jnani is not to understand him.
  --
  M.: That one is not external. You mistake the body for the Guru. But the Guru does not think himself so. He is the formless Self. That is within you; he appears without only to guide you.

1.45 - Unserious Conduct of a Pupil, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  What you need, in the way of a Guru, is some fat, greasy Swami, who would not allow you to enter or leave his presence without permission, or address him without being formally invited to do so. After seven years at menial household drudgeries, you might with luck be allowed to listen to some of his improving discourse.
  Pretentious humbug is the only appeal to which you can be relied on to respond. Praxiteles would repel you, unless you covered the marble completely with glittering gew-gaws, tinsel finery, sham jewels from the tray of Autolycus! Yet it was precisely because you were sick of all this that you came to me at all.

1.49 - Thelemic Morality, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  (How exquisitely keen is the Qabalah! How apt, how clear, how simple, how pictorially assimilable are its explanations of the facts of Nature! If you will only learn to use it, to refer your problems to it, you will soon need no Holy Guru!)
  In practice, we most of us do act upon Nephesch a great deal. All learning, training, discipline, tend to modify our physiological reactions in a thousand minor manners. A complete branch of Yoga, Hatha Yoga, is occupied with nothing else. And you can have your face "lifted." Apart from this, we nearly all of us attend to matters like our waistline, our hours of sleep, our digestion, or our muscular development. Some men have even taught themselves to reduce the pulse-beat both in rate and in volume: so much so that they have sometimes been credited with the power to stop the heart altogether at will. (Wasn't it Colonel Somebody not Blimp who used to show off to his friends, after dinner? Did it once too often, in any case!)

1.550 - 1.600 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
  Tiruvannamalai, when I was staying in Gurumoortham, I noticed a red wasp construct a hive in which it placed five or six grubs and then flew away. My curiosity was roused and I wanted to test the truth of the oftquoted nyaya. I waited some days, maybe ten days. I then tapped the hive. It broke and there I found that all the five or six grubs had united together and taken the shape of a wasp, but it was white.
  2. Later when I was in Virupaksha Cave, I saw a red wasp construct five or six hives in each of which it placed five or six grubs and flew away. After about ten days, a black beetle, smaller than the wasp, buzzed round the hives and closed each of then, with a little black mud and flew away. I was wondering at the intrusion of the beetle on the hive of the wasp. I waited a few days and then gently opened one of the hives. Five or six black bodies came out and each of them was a black beetle. I thought it strange.

1.63 - Fear, a Bad Astral Vision, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  Well, let us hope that I've got it all down fairly well this time, and that you will find it work. For I confess to a touch of my Mariana-in-the-moated-Grange complex: I've been umpteen hours on this letter, and I must have killed a Cakkravarti-Rajah, or wounded the body of a Buddha, in my last incarnation, or Tahuti (hang it all! I have been most devoted to him all my life) would have let me have a secretary. Well, that's that: so now to turn the Flak on to your so-called "Astral Flight." What a Tail spin! (Here I dash my turban to the ground! Here I deliver you to Eblis, and reserve a private box for you in Jehannum! Here I melt into salt tears, and think of all the other Gurus that have had to bear it.)
  Astral Flight!!!!!!!!

1.64 - Magical Power, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  Here is another of those Eastern stories for you! A certain Yogi thought it would be an admirable achievement to walk across the Ganges. After forty years he succeeded, and went off to his Guru to demonstrate his power, and receive his due meed of praise. It so happened that this Guru was rather like myself, at least in he matter of his Nasty Temper; and when the disciple came gaily striding back across the Sacred Stream, expecting compliments, he was met with: "Well, I think you're a perfect fool all these years, your neighbours have been going to and fro on a raft for a couple of pice!"
  The moral, dear child, is that such powers are never to be considered as the main object; it ought in fact to be obvious from the start that any one's True Will must be deeper and more comprehensive than any mere technical achievement. I will go further and say that any such endeavour must be a magical mistake, like cherishing a gun or a clock or a fishing-rod for its own sake, and not for the use that one can make of it. Indeed, that remark goes to the root of the matter; for all these powers, if we understand them properly, are natural by-products of one's real Great Work. My own experience was very convincing on this point; for one power after another came popping up when it was least wanted, and I saw at once that they represented so many leaks in my boat. They argued imperfect insulation.

17.11 - A Prayer, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   He dwells in the thousand-petalled lotus, luminous cool like the full orb of the moon, his lotus-hands carry grace and protection. He wears a robe of pure sweet-scented flowers, ever-smiling and gracious-looking. He embodies all the gods. He is the Spirit, the soaring Bird on the crown of the head. Remember Him and worship Him in any fair form. He is the Guru.
   He shines bright 'within the lotus-centre of the head like the soothing moon; like the brilliant sun he flashes; his arms extend to protect and to give. He is radiant like burning camphor. He wears a white robe and white garlands, he is anointed white. His consort gleams like lightning, as she clings to him athwart one-half of his body. He is the Guru, full of Grace. I worship him in adoration.
   He is the warp with which this world of moving and unmoving things is woven, he is the woof that runs through all. His grace releases even the animal-kind from all bonds. He dwells in the sounds, as of Om, that are uttered as mantra, he is the light of all the luminaries. He is vast as the skies, he is the Supreme, he is Shiva, he is the fullness of Light, to Him I surrender with a steadfast thought.
  --
   May the divine Master, Guru Bhaskara, protect us from every evil and danger. May he manifest himself to reveal the essential mystery of his path of worship and to spread the true tradition of Knowledge.
   OM! I bow to the lotus feet of the most revered Guru!
   The Supreme Shiva is an intense and concentrated Delight, luminously aware of his integral, infinite and supreme consciousness, with all the gathered rays of the supernal awareness. He has no other form than that of light. He is whole and undivided. But when he emits the rays of his light he assumes the form of the Eternal Benign, replete with the manifoldness of his own Ananda. The Supreme God, the adorable Shiva, thus took a manifest form to create the universe. He then brought forth the eighteen Sciences and all the systems of philosophies; he assumed the forms of various personalities by his own Lila.
  --
   This High Knowledge (Vidya) has been very secretly taught by the different branches of Yajurveda in their hymns and their Upanishadic versions. It has been mysteriously revealed by the various branches of Rigveda in their hymns or their Upanishadic versions. It is mystically awakened through a certain subtle duct in the body, evoked by manifold metrical hymns of the Sarna Veda. This Vidya is commonly found in all the Vedas. It is the essence of all Vedic mantras, Brahmanas and Upanishads. It is the Queen of the Shaktichakra, a wave of supremely great light, a form or embodiment of supreme consciousness. This is a mystic truth inherited from a tradition of Gurus.
   The tradition enjoins that to realise this Maha-Vidya a sadhaka should take an initiation and do the ceremonial worship as directed. And when initiated by a true adept he must first meditate on the Holy Feet, Sri Mahapaduka, uttering the sacred words that mean "I adore the Sri Mahapaduka in the eight-petalled white lotus that looks upward, that has twelve extremities and that is established within the womb of the thousand-petalled lotus, spread out like an umbrella and facing downward. The great Holy Feet is possessed of all sciences, embodies the Powers of all deities. It represents the three strides of the holy preceptor in the three centres, the crown (Brahma-randhra), the heart and the lower abdomen, even as it is richly decorated with resplendent ornaments."
   Then the sadhak must contemplate the Twin Deity, Shiva and Parvati, the aggregate of all the gods, and possessed of the Gnostic Light displayed in the burning of the three cities of demons. They wear red and white garlands and garments, ointments and ornaments. They shower the desirable boon of divine protection with the twin hands outstretched in mysterious gesture of lotus embrace; delightful face and eyes they have, the mind enraptured in knowledge and bliss, their form is the very image of the supreme Guru, with his' red and white lotus-feet.
   Next the sadhak must think himself flooded in his body with the outpourings of nectar from His lotus-feet; the immortalising streamings from the wash of those Feet purge him of all evil and free him from all the impurities obstructing the fulfilment, viz., the inflow of the Force (Shakti-pata) that must result from the Shiva-Initiation, contemplation on the Supreme Shiva as Guru, uttering the Japa-mantra of the Holy Feet. It is thus that the sadhak must adore the divine Master.
   Then he must contemplate, as force in his mantric vision, the Light wave ranging from the lowest mystical circle to the opening in the crown he must know and realise it as rising up from the bottom of the spine to the crown of the head. He should meditate on it and realise that it is the tan-coloured point of lightning and the golden rising sun; it is a flaming Force which is no other than the Original Consciousness, it acts like a kindled fire that burns the knots of sin. Then he should contemplate on himself and see that his tangles of evil and sin that impede the fruition of Initiation and the flow of shakti, have all been burnt out by the gathered rays reflected from the spontaneous Grace of the original consciousness-force. All the bonds of evil and sin having thus been destroyed by its rays, he must remember in his inner heart the original Divine Knowledge with the following prayer:
  --
   This is the highest truth of Tantra which can only be attained by the Grace of the Guru. This has been expounded by Yogishananda Nath Nilakantha Sharma Joshi, the disciple of Sri Amba Nanda Nath, as commanded by the Mother, the incarnate Divine Force, for the delight of the sadhakas who are freed from all evil by a single ray from the glance cast by the Grace of Sri Aurobindo, the great seer.
   Bliss for all!

1929-04-14 - Dangers of Yoga - Two paths, tapasya and surrender - Impulses, desires and Yoga - Difficulties - Unification around the psychic being - Ambition, undoing of many Yogis - Powers, misuse and right use of - How to recognise the Divine Will - Accept things that come from Divine - Vital devotion - Need of strong body and nerves - Inner being, invariable, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  One of the commonest forms of ambition is the idea of service to humanity. All attachment to such service or work is a sign of personal ambition. The Guru who believes that he has a great truth to teach to humanity and who wants many disciples and who feels uncomfortable when the disciples go away or who seizes on anybody that comes and tries to make him a disciple, is evidently following nothing but his ambition. You must be able, if you are ready to follow the divine order, to take up whatever work you are given, even a stupendous work, and leave it the next day with the same quietness with which you took it up and not feel that the responsibility is yours. There should be no attachmentto any object or any mode of life. You must be absolutely free. If you want to have the true yogic attitude, you must be able to accept everything that comes from the Divine and let it go easily and without regret. The attitude of the ascetic who says, I want nothing and the attitude of the man of the world who says, I want this thing are the same. The one may be as much attached to his renunciation as the other to his possession.
  You must accept all thingsand only those things that come from the Divine. Because things can come from concealed desires. The desires work in the subconscious and bring things to you which, although you may not recognise them as such, nevertheless do not come from the Divine but from disguised desires.

1929-07-28 - Art and Yoga - Art and life - Music, dance - World of Harmony, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  Why not? The Mahabharata and Ramayana are certainly not inferior to anything created by Shakespeare or any other poet, and they are said to have been the work of men who were Rishis and had done Yogic tapasy. The Gita which, like the Upanishads, ranks at once among the greatest literary and the greatest spiritual works, was not written by one who had no experience of Yoga. And where is the inferiority to your Milton and Shelley in the famous poems written whether in India or Persia or elsewhere by men known to be saints, Sufis, devotees? And, then, do you know all the Yogis and their work? Among the poets and creators can you say who were or who were not in conscious touch with the Divine? There are some who are not officially Yogis, they are not Gurus and have no disciples; the world does not know what they do; they are not anxious for fame and do not attract to themselves the attention of men; but they have the higher consciousness, are in touch with a Divine Power, and when they create they create from there. The best paintings in India and much of the best statuary and architecture were done by Buddhist monks who passed their lives in spiritual contemplation and practice; they did supreme artistic work, but did not care to leave their names to posterity. The chief reason why Yogis are not usually known by their art is that they do not consider their art-expression as the most important part of their life and do not put so much time and energy into it as a mere artist. And what they do does not always reach the public. How many there are who have done great things and not published them to the world!
  Have Yogis done greater dramas than Shakespeare?

1951-02-10 - Liberty and license - surrender makes you free - Men in authority as representatives of the divine Truth - Work as offering - total surrender needs time - Effort and inspiration - will and patience, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Try then to question yourself to see to what extent you are above all blame and praise. Not that you must feel so superior to others that what they say seems to you of no importance, it is not that. It is that you have become aware of the general state of ignorance, including yours, and when others believe that something is good, you know It is not so good as that, and when they believe it is bad you can say, It is not so bad as that. Everything is completely mixed up and finally nobody can judge anybody. Therefore you are completely indifferent to all praise and all blame. And the conclusion would be: so long as the divine consciousness in me or in one whom I have chosen as my Guru does not tell me This is to be done, This is not to be done, I am indifferent to what others may tell me. For I think that the divine presence in the one in whom I have put my trust is capable of knowing what is good and what is bad, what is to be done and what is not to be done.
   And that is the best way of being free. Let your surrender to the Divine be entire and you will become completely free.

1951-02-19 - Exteriorisation- clairvoyance, fainting, etc - Somnambulism - Tartini - childrens dreams - Nightmares - gurus protection - Mind and vital roam during sleep, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  object:1951-02-19 - Exteriorisation- clairvoyance, fainting, etc - Somnambulism - Tartini - childrens dreams - Nightmares - Gurus protection - Mind and vital roam during sleep
  author class:The Mother
  --
   People who have nightmares of this kind should always protect themselves occultly before going out of the body it can be done in many ways. The simplest way, one which needs no special knowledge is to call the Guru or, if one knows somebody who has the knowledge, to call him in thought or spirit; or to protect oneself by making a kind of wall of protection around oneself (one can do many things, cant one?); this can prevent such beings from entering.
   If you have a disposition for exteriorisation and if you follow a yoga, you are always asked to protect your sleep: by some contemplation, a mental movement, any movement there are many ways of protecting oneself. But I think there is no such danger for you; perhaps not for everybody, but still one would have to be terribly ambitious, terribly insincere for such a thing to happen; one would have to be in relation with truly wicked entities, for, a being who lives in orderliness and truth will never rush into the body of another, that is an act of disorder and it is not done.

1951-05-05 - Needs and desires - Discernment - sincerity and true perception - Mantra and its effects - Object in action- to serve - relying only on the Divine, #Questions And Answers 1950-1951, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   There are disciplines which make it a rule (we dont like rules, for they are always arbitrary and artificial) that one should receive absolutely nothing from anybody except the Divine or the Guru who represents the Divine. Some people would not receive even a fruit from anybody because it does not come from the Guru. That is an exaggerationthis depends on circumstances, on conditions, and it also depends very much on the attitude one takes oneself, it depends on many things, it would take very long to explain but there is one thing you must learn, never to rely on anyone or anything whatever except the Divine. For if you lean upon anyone for support, that support will break, you may be sure of that. From the minute you start doing yoga (I always speak of those who do yoga, I do not speak about ordinary life), for those who do yoga, to depend upon someone else is like wanting to transform that person into a representative of the Divine Force; now you may be sure there is not one in a hundred millions who can carry the weight: he will break immediately. So never take the attitude of hoping for support, help, comfort from anyone except the Divine. That is absolute; I have never, not once, met anyone who tried to cling to something to find a support there (someone doing yoga or who has been put into touch with yoga) and who was not deceivedit breaks, it stops, one loses ones support. Then one says, Life is difficultit is not difficult but one must know what one is doing. Never seek a support elsewhere than in the Divine. Never seek satisfaction elsewhere than in the Divine. Never seek the satisfaction of your needs in anyone else except the Divinenever, for anything at all. All your needs can be satisfied only by the Divine. All your weaknesses can be borne and healed only by the Divine. He alone is capable of giving you what you need in everything, always, and if you try to find any satisfaction or support or help or joy or heaven knows what, in anyone else, you will always fall on your nose one day, and that always hurts, sometimes even hurts very much.
   ***

1953-07-15, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Ah! The easiest way, when you have a Guru, is to go and ask him. It is within the reach of everyone. It is enough to have faith in ones Guru, to go and find him and ask him; he will tell you, for he indeed knows.
   If you do not have a Guru, then it is a little more difficult, because these forces are very clever; they do not put on a look of catastrophe and misery and wickedness, for you will immediately find it out and will not let yourself be taken in; generally they come in the garb of a friend. If you are very sincere, soon you notice some little indications, like small suggestions that satisfy your vanity or awaken in you doubts or make you a bit unconscious of what exactly is to be donevery tiny things. If you are very sincere, you see through them; particularly if you are alert enough not to allow yourself to be deceived by compliments or attempts that encourage you in these satisfactions of amour-propre. Things that give just a little encouragement to your vanity that is the surest sign; something that makes you think: After all, I am not so bad. All that I do, I do well. My attempt is very praiseworthy. My sincerity is above all reproach, etc. You become more and more self-satisfied and then there you may be sure. But even there, it does not always take these forms. There are other things, depending upon the persons. For some it is this; for others, they awaken ideas of grandeur: If I continue in this way I shall become a great Yogi. I shall have great powers. I shall do much fine work. How nicely I am going to serve the Divine, how happy he will be with me! It is very dangerous. The very opposite thing may happen: After all, perhaps I am good for nothing. Is it worth while my making any effort? Nothing will come out of this effort. Am I capable of the spiritual life? Probably I shall never do anything, I am giving up tangible things for the sake of an unrealisable dream. And what am I after all? A grain of dust. Is it worth my making an effort to find the Divine? Probably I shall find nothing at all and all my efforts are futile. That is even much more dangerous. I could cite hundreds of examples like that.
   There is only one thing that can truly save you, it is to have a contact, even the slightest, with your psychic beingto have felt the solidity of that contact. Then whatever comes to you from this person or that circumstance you place in front of that and see whether it is all right or not. Even if you are satisfiedin every wayeven if you say to yourself: At last I have found the friend I wanted to have. I am in the best circumstances of my life, etc., then put that before this little contact with your psychic being, you will see whether it keeps its bright colour or suddenly there comes a little uneasiness, not much, nothing making a great noise, but just a little uneasiness. You are no longer so sure that it was as you thought! Then you know: yes, it is that small voice which one must listen to always. It is that which is the truth and the other cant trouble you any longer.

1953-12-09, #Questions And Answers 1953, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   Attitudes in the worldattitudes towards virtueare very subjective. And what may succeed with one may not do so with another. And every one must follow his own path. That is why it is always difficult to say to people: Do what I do. This is what all Gurus usually say: Do as I do and you will reach the goal. All that one may say is: Do as I do and you will be like me.
   (Silence)

1955-10-19 - The rhythms of time - The lotus of knowledge and perfection - Potential knowledge - The teguments of the soul - Shastra and the Gurus direct teaching - He who chooses the Infinite..., #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  object:1955-10-19 - The rhythms of time - The lotus of knowledge and perfection - Potential knowledge - The teguments of the soul - Shastra and the Gurus direct teaching - He who chooses the Infinite...
  class:chapter
  --
  Yes. According to the usual formula, it is like that. It cant be learnt overnight, no, nobody believes that, I suppose! Only Sri Aurobindo has made I dont know, we havent yet read it today he has made a distinction; he says no, a little further on he speaks ofwe shall see this next timehe speaks of the Guru no the more powerful word of the living Guru; it comes later.
  That is, if it is necessary to prepare oneself by studying books, it is a preparation that takes quite a long time. But if it happens that one can receive a direct teaching, and in all circumstances, then it goes much more quickly. When you have nobody to guide you, and have to find your way by the help of books, when you dont even have anyone to tell you, Read that book rather than this one, when you have to find out everything by yourself, it takes time. Many years.

1955-10-26 - The Divine and the universal Teacher - The power of the Word - The Creative Word, the mantra - Sound, music in other worlds - The domains of pure form, colour and ideas, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  The universal Teacher is only an aspect of the Divine, you see. The Divine contains all the possible activities; the Teacher is only one activity, the One who teaches. Sri Aurobindo means that either it is a direct contact with the Divine or a contact with an aspect of the Divine, the One who teaches, the divine Guru. But the Divine is not only a Guru.
  Thats all?

1956-02-15 - Nature and the Master of Nature - Conscious intelligence - Theory of the Gita, not the whole truth - Surrender to the Lord - Change of nature, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  But if one wants to be wise even without being a great yogi, one must be able to look at all these things with a smile, and not be affected by them. You have your own experience; try to make it as true and complete as possible, but leave each one to his own experience. Unless they come seeking you as a Guru and tell you, Now, lead me to the Light and the Truth; then, there your responsibility begins but not before. (Looking at a disciple) He is longing to speak!
    Sri Aurobindo has said, The Gita pauses at the borders of the highest spiritual mind and does not cross them into the splendours of the supramental Light.

1956-02-22 - Strong immobility of an immortal spirit - Equality of soul - Is all an expression of the divine Will? - Loosening the knot of action - Using experience as a cloak to cover excesses - Sincerity, a rare virtue, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  There are people who have had this experience but these things come first in a flash, for a moment, and then withdraw; it is only when one is quite ready for the transformation that this comes and is establishedwell, some people have had this experience once, perhaps for a few seconds in their lives, they have had the experience; and then the movement has been withdrawn, the state of consciousness has withdrawn; but the memory remains. And they imitate that. And if by chance they happen to be people who know how to make speeches, like certain Gurus who have disciples to whom they teach the path, they tell them this, When it is the Divine who acts through you and when you have loosened the knot of desire, you no longer suffer any moral or other consequences of what you do. And you can do anything whatever: you can kill your neighbour, you can violate a woman, you can do everything the Divine wants in youand you will never suffer any consequences.
  And indeed they do it! Yes, they take the experience as a cloak to cover all their excesses. This is just by the way, to put you on your guard against people who pretend to be what they are not.

1956-11-14 - Conquering the desire to appear good - Self-control and control of the life around - Power of mastery - Be a great yogi to be a good teacher - Organisation of the Ashram school - Elementary discipline of regularity, #Questions And Answers 1956, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  Finally, if one is sincere one desires no other approval except that of ones teacher or ones Guru or of the Divine Himself. And thats the first step towards a total cure of this little weakness of wishing to make a good impression on people. Now, if the movement comes from a motive of utility, the one I spoke of first, the question does not arise here, for here we do not depend upon the opinion others have of us, either for living or for our development. So there remains the most frequent instance, the one most difficult to cure: that kind of small, very foolish vanity which makes you like to be complimented and dislike being criticised. So the best way is to look at yourself, to see how very ridiculous you are, how petty, paltry, stupid and all that, to laugh a little at yourself and resolve to do without the compliments of others.
  That is all I have to offer.
  --
  Indeed, it is better not to care at all about what others think of you, whether it is good or bad. But in any case, before reaching this stage, it would be less ridiculous to try to find out the impression you make on others simply by taking them as a mirror in which you see your reflection more exactly than in your own consciousness which is always over-indulgent to all your weakness, blindness, passions, ignorance. There is always quite a charming and pleasant mental explanation to give you a good impression of yourself. But to conclude, when you have the chance of getting information thats a little more trustworthy and reliable about the condition you are in, it is better not to ask the opinion of others, but only to refer all to the vision of the Guru. If you really want to progress, this is the surest path.
  There we are. Is that all?

1957-03-20 - Never sit down, true repose, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
    Help men, but do not pauperise them of their energy; lead and instruct men, but see that their initiative and originally remain intact; take others into thyself, but give them in return the full godhead of their nature. He who can do this is the leader and the Guru.
    God has made the world a field of battle and filled it with the trampling of combatants and the cries of a great wrestle and struggle. Would you filch His peace without paying the price He has fixed for it?

1957-03-22 - A story of initiation, knowledge and practice, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  This evening I am going to read to you a short story which seemed quite instructive to me. It is a tale of ancient times, of what used to happen before there were printing presses and books, of the days when only the Guru or the Initiate had the knowledge and gave it only to those he considered worthy of having it. And for him, usually, to be worthy of having it meant putting into practice what one had learnt. He gave you a truth and expected you to practise it. And when you had put it into practice, he consented to give you another.
  Now things happen quite differently. Everybody and anybody can have a book, read it right through and he is quite free to practise it or not as he pleases. This is all very well, but it creates a certain confusion in many minds, and people who have read many books think that it is enough and that all sorts of miraculous things must happen to them because they have read books, and that they dont need to take the trouble of practising. So they become impatient and say, How is it that although I have read all this I am still just the same person, have the same difficulties, havent achieved any realisation? I very often hear remarks of this kind.
  --
  So it is for the impatient ones that I am going to read this story, to tell you how things happened in the days of old when one couldnt simply have a book and read it, when one depended on the Guru or the Initiate to obtain the knowledge which he alone had; he had received it from another Guru, another Initiate, and he transmitted it to you when he pleased, that is, when he found you worthy of having it.
  So heres my story (Mother reads):
  --
  With great care the servant placed the box before the Mahatma. He took it and gave it to Yusuf: I have a friend who lives there on the banks of the river Neela. Go and take this box to him from me. But take good care, brother, dont make any mistake on the way. Keep this box carefully with you and give it to the man whom it is for. When you come back I shall give you initiation. Once again the Mahatma repeated his advice and described the route Yusuf had to follow to reach the river Neela. Yusuf bowed down at his Gurus feet, took the box and started on his way.
  The retreat where the Mahatmas friend lived was quite far away and in those days there were no cars or railways. So Yusuf walked. He walked the whole morning, then came the afternoon. The heat was intense and radiated everywhere. He felt tired. So he sat down in the shade of an old tree by the roadside to rest a little. The box was very small. It was not locked. Besides, Yusuf had not even paid attention to it. His Guru had told him to carry a box, and he had started off without another word.
  But now, during the afternoon rest, Yusuf began to think. His mind was free to wander with nothing to occupy it. It would be very rare indeed if on such occasions some foolish idea did not cross the mind. Thus his eyes fell on the box. He began to look at it. A pretty little box! Why, it does not seem to be locked. And how light it is! Is it possible that there is anything inside? So light. Perhaps it is empty? Yusuf stretched out his hand as though to open it. Suddenly he thought better of it: But no. Full or empty, whatever is in this box is not my concern. My Guru asked me to deliver it to his friend, nothing more. And thats all that concerns me. I should not care about anything else.
  For some time Yusuf sat quietly. But his mind would not remain quiet. The box was still there before his eyes. A pretty little box. It seems quite empty, he thought, what harm would there be in opening an empty box? If it had been locked I would understand, that would be bad. A box which is not even locked, it cant be very serious. Ill just open it for a moment and then shut it again.

1958-09-10 - Magic, occultism, physical science, #Questions And Answers 1957-1958, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  Magic? It is a knowledge that has been reduced to purely material formulas. They are some kind of words or numbers or combinations of words and numbers, which, if they are simply pronounced or written, even by someone who has no inner power, must act. In occultism, this is what corresponds to chemical formulas in science. You see, in science you have chemical formulas for combining certain elements and producing others from them; even if you do not have any mental or vital or even physical power, if you just follow to the letter the formula you have, you obtain the required resultit is enough simply to have a memory. Well, the same thing has been tried in occultism, making combinations of sounds, letters, numbers, words, which, by their inherent qualities, have the power to obtain a certain result. In this way, any fool, if he learns this and does exactly what he is told, obtainsor believes he will obtain the result he wants. While let us take the mantra, for instance, which is a form of occultism; unless the mantra is given by a Guru and the Guru transmits his occult or spiritual power to you with the mantra, you may repeat your mantra thousands of times, it will have no effect.
  That is to say, in true occultism, one must have the quality, the ability, the inner gift in order to use it, and that is the safeguard. True occultism cannot be practised by any fool. And this is no longer magicnei ther white magic nor black nor goldenis not magic at all, it is a spiritual power which must be acquired by long discipline; and finally, it is given to you only by a divine grace.

1970 04 10, #On Thoughts And Aphorisms, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
   466God, the world Guru, is wiser than thy mind; trust Him and not that eternal self-seeker and arrogant sceptic.
   467The sceptic mind doubts always because it cannot understand, but the faith of the God-lover persists in knowing although it cannot understand. Both are necessary to our darkness, but there can be no doubt which is the mightier. What I cannot understand now, I shall some day master, but if I lose faith and love, I fall utterly from the goal which God has set before me.

1.bni - Raga Ramkali, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   Original Language Hindi The ira-vein, the pingala-vein, the sukhmana-vein -- these three converge at one spot. Where the three rivers meet, there is found holy Prayag -- and it is there that the heart bathes and becomes clean. O you saints, it is there that you find the faultless Ram. Only the fortunate few who follow the Guru's path understand this truth: the eternal Ram is forever blended therein. What are the manifestations of Deva's abode? There, resounds the Word unspoken. There, neither moon nor sun, air nor water exist. Those who follow the Guru's words know all this already. Divine wisdom awakens and hard-heartedness melts away; sweet ambrosia soaks and wets the inner sky. Those who know the secret of this discipline will surely meet the primal Gurudeva. Beyond the Tenth Door is the abode of the inaccessible, the unfathomable Primal Being. Above the body, upon the body is an alcove. Within this alcove is His abode. Be vigilant; do not fall asleep. Attain that stage wherein the three qualities and the three worlds count for nothing. Place the seed-mantra within your heart. Turn back your mind and fix it upon Silence. Be vigilant; do not dwell in falsehood. Restrain and hold back the five senses. Place the Guru's teaching in your thoughts, and lay your body and your soul as an offering to Krishna's love. Deem your hands and fingers as branches of a tree: do not lose your life as in a gambling match. Well up the spring that feeds the stream of evil deeds; drive the sun away from the west. Restrain what cannot be restrained, and let the spring gush forth: thus converse with Jaganath. A lamp with four wicks illumines the Tenth Door: countless petals surround the flower's cup. Therein dwells the Lord Himself, holding all His power: a ruby hidden by another precious ruby. In the brain is the lotus encircled by diamonds. Therein is Niranjan, the Holder of the three worlds. All the five types of instruments play sweetly on; the fan sways; the conch forever resounds. The Guru's enlightenment tramples all demons underfoot: Beni begs for Your name. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

1.bsf - Raga Asa, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Punjabi 1. True lovers are those who love with all their hearts. Those who think of another, speak of another are called false lovers. Those steeped in the color of God's love abide in His care. Those who forget His name are a burden upon earth. Those whom He gathers become dervishes at His door. Exalted are the mothers of such men who gave them birth, blessed is their coming into the world. You are caring, infinite, boundless, endless. Those who have discerned this truth, their feet, their mouths I kiss. You are my protection O Lord, my salvation. Grant to Sheikh Farid the blessing of Your adoration. 2. Sheikh Farid speaks: dear friend, turn to Allah. This body shall become dust in the miserable, dark house of the grave. Today is the day of union, O Sheikh Farid, so tame these wild cranes of desire that inflame and incite the heart. We all know that we shall die and never again return. Then why do we love this false world and sell ourselves? We must ever speak of the true path; let us not speak lies. Let us walk the Guru's course like humble disciples. Seeing strong, handsome youths swim across to the other side, a weak woman takes heart. Those who pursue only gold should be sawn in half. O Sheikh, no one in this world can stay alive forever. The place upon which I now sit, many have sat before and gone on their way. Cranes come to Katak, forest fires in Chet, lightning in Savan. In winter, fair arms of women adorn lovers' necks. All ephemeral things pass on. Think of this, O heart. That which takes six months to form is destroyed in an instant. The earth asks the sky, O Farid: how many boatmen have come and gone? The body merely rots in the grave, but it is the soul that must suffer the consequences. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass <
1.cllg - A Dance of Unwavering Devotion, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Thupten Jinpa and Jas Elsener Original Language Tibetan You who absorb into sublime, immutable bliss all phenomena, moving and unmoving, infinite as space, O glorious Heruka and Varahi, your consort, I wear the jewel light of your feet as my crown. Great bliss, the union of method and wisdom, engaged in the play of the unmoving with movement, this young coral maiden with beautiful eyes, diamond queen, embrace me with your arts of love. Adorning the highest part of my body, my crown, with the jewel of your feet, I recite these words of aspiration and prayer with my palms folded at my heart. When shall I ever achieve this state: seeing all forms as mandala deities, all sounds as vajra songs of tantra, all thoughts as fuel to enflame the spontaneous wisdom of emptiness and bliss? When will I experience perfect purity? By purging in profound absorption all phenomena born of imaginative concepts, fully aware that they open the way to self-arisen rikpa. When will I run in a joyful step-dance, the play of supreme illusion, the bliss-void wisdom, in the dakin town, the emanation of pure realms -- where a hundred dharma doors are opened wide? Outer dakinis hover above the twenty-four mystic places; inner dakinis dwell in the sphere of radiant bliss. When will I immerse in the glory of sexual play through the secret act of conjoining space and vajra? When can I arise as the great magical net -- the union of body and mind, instantly burning all grossness of dualism with the great bliss fire flaming the expanse? When will I accomplish the natural feat of absorbing the imperfections of illusion into immutable bliss, this wheel of becoming, engaged in the blissful play of union? On the clear mirror of the luminous mind my Guru, my deity, and my mind reflect as one; may I soon attain the good fortune of practicing night and day this perfect meditation. May my mind be always intoxicated by drinking insatiably the nectar -- the delicious taste of sexual play between the hero in his utter ecstasy and his lover, the lady emptiness. By entering deep into the sphere of voidness, may I be endowed with the power of cleansing this foul odor, grasping body, speech, and mind as ordinary, through the yoga of perceiving all as divine. May I come to see with naked eyes the form of the fully emergent mandala of perfect deities, the sport of the ever-present mind inside the courtyard of the heart's dharma chakra. O yoginis, heroines of the twenty-four places, and the hosts of mantra-born and field-born dakinis who possess powers swift as thought, assist me in friendship of every kind. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

1.dd - So priceless is the birth, O brother, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by K. N. Upadhyaya So priceless is the birth, O brother, That in it, the Supreme Lord can be met. The human body is the Door to salvation. If the meeting is not accomplished while alive, If the contact is not made while alive, If the Lord of the universe is not found while alive, Then one is simply drowned. The One who has made this temple of our hearts, He alone dwells in this temple. None else but our Beloved is in our hearts. With thee is thy Friend. Let thyself recognize Him. Look not at a distance. Know Him as thy reflection, O Dadu. God is within all beings. He accompanies all and is close by. Musk is in the musk deer, and yet it goes around smelling grass. The self knows not God, although God is with the self. Being deaf to the Holy Sound of the Master, sadly does he wander. He for whom thou searchest in the world dwells within thyself. Thou knowest Him not, because the veil of 'mine' and 'thine' is there. He dwells within all beings, yet rarely anyone knows Him. He alone who is a devotee of God will know Him. A true Master unites us with God And shows all within the body. Within the body is the Creator, And within the body is Onkar [divinity of the second heaven]. The sky is within the body, and close by Is the earth within the body. Air and light are within the body. So is water contained within the body. Within the body are the Sun and the Moon. And the Bagpipe is played within the body. By rendering service within the heart, See thou the One who is indestructible and boundless, Having no limit either on this end or on that end, sayeth Dadu. After entering within, let one, O Dadu, bolt the doors of the house. Let one, O Dadu, serve the Lord at the Door of Eternity. God is within the self, His worship alone is to be done. Search thou for the Beloved close to the place Wherefrom the Sound emerges, and thou shalt find Him, sayeth Dadu. There is solitude there, and there is luster of Light. One who, turning the attention inward, Brings it within the self, And fixes it on the Radiant Form of the Master, Is indeed wise, O Dadu. Where the self is, there is God; all is filled with Him. Fix thine attention within, O valiant servant. So does Dadu proclaim. Fix thine attention within, and sing always within the self. This mind then dances with ecstasy, and beats with pleasure the rhythm. God is within the self; He is close to the worshipper. But leaving Him aside, men serve external constructions, lamenteth Dadu. This is the true mosque, this is the true temple. So hath the Master shown. The service and worship are performed within. Destroy delusion, O mind, by means of the Name of God and the Word bestowed by the Guru. The mind is then united with the One untouched by karmas. Liquidate thereby thy karmas, O Dadu. If the mind stays with the Name of the Supreme Lord even for a moment, O Dadu, All its karmas will be destroyed then and there, within the twinkling of an eye. The aspirant who fills his pot with drops of Celestial Melody, alone survives. How can he die, O Dadu? He drinks the divine Nectar. The artistic Creator is playing the instrument in perfect harmony. Melody is the essence of the five [elements], and through the self is the Melody expressed, O Dadu. By enabling people to hear the Sound, the Master can awaken them at His will. He may, at His pleasure, speak within them, and merge them in his own form. The knowledge of the Sound Current imparted by the Guru merges one easily into Truth. It carries me to the abode of my Beloved, says Dadu. [bk1sm.gif] -- from Dadu: The Compassionate Mystic, Translated by K. N. Upadhyaya <
1.dd - The Creator Plays His Cosmic Instrument In Perfect Harmony, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by K. N. Upadhyaya Destroy delusion, O mind, by means of the Name of God and the Word bestowed by the Guru. The mind is then united with the One untouched by karmas. Liquidate thereby thy karmas, O Dadu. If the mind stays with the Name of the Supreme Lord even for a moment, O Dadu, All its karmas will be destroyed then and there, within the twinkling of an eye. The aspirant who fills his pot with drops of Celestial Melody, alone survives. How can he die, O Dadu? He drinks the divine Nectar. The artistic Creator is playing the instrument in perfect harmony. Melody is the essence of the five elements, and through the self is the Melody expressed, O Dadu. [bk1sm.gif] -- from Dadu: The Compassionate Mystic, Translated by K. N. Upadhyaya <
1.gnk - Ek Omkar, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Ivan M. Granger Original Language Punjabi Ek Onkar One God, One Song, One Creation-- The true name, creator of the universe, beyond fear and conflict, omnipresent, unborn, undying, self-existent, grace of the Guru. Chant this again and again! From the beginning, truth, throughout the ages, truth, in this moment, now, truth! Says Nanak, ever true!

1.gnk - Siri ragu 9.3 - The guru is the stepping stone, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
  object:1.gnk - Siri ragu 9.3 - The Guru is the stepping stone
  author class: Guru Nanak
  --
   English version by John Stratton Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer Original Language Punjabi The Guru is the stepping stone, The Guru is the boat, the Guru is the raft of Hari's name. The Guru is the lake, the sea, The Guru is the ship, the Guru is the place to ford the stream. Would you like to glisten in the lake that's made of truth? Go then and bathe in that name. [2326.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer <
1.jm - I Have forgotten, #Milarepa - Poems, #Jetsun Milarepa, #Buddhism
  Accustomed long to meditating on my Guru as enhaloed over my head,
  I have forgotten all those who rule by power and prestige.

1.jm - The Song of Food and Dwelling, #Milarepa - Poems, #Jetsun Milarepa, #Buddhism
  I bow down at the feet of the wish-fulfilling Guru.
  Pray vouchsafe me your grace in bestowing beneficial food,

1.jm - The Song of Perfect Assurance (to the Demons), #Milarepa - Poems, #Jetsun Milarepa, #Buddhism
  Of the Succession Gurus and the teaching
  Of the great Naropa are attained.
  --
  By the gracious instruction of my Guru,
  Is the abstruse inner meaning of Tantra understood.

1.jm - The Song of View, Practice, and Action, #Milarepa - Poems, #Jetsun Milarepa, #Buddhism
  Oh, my Guru! The Exemplar of the View, Practice, and Action,
  Pray vouchsafe me your grace, and enable me
  --
  Which only a wondrous Guru
  Can clearly illustrate.

1.jm - Upon this earth, the land of the Victorious Ones, #Milarepa - Poems, #Jetsun Milarepa, #Buddhism
  My Father Guru places his reliance;
  He drinks heavenly nectar

1.kbr - Brother, I've Seen Some, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
  A Guru prostrated
  Before his disciple;

1.kbr - Hope For Him, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
  Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true
  Name!

1.kbr - I Burst Into Laughter, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
  by Guru alone is the confusion curbed.

1.kbr - I burst into laughter, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
   English version by Sunil Uniyal Original Language Hindi I burst into laughter whenever I hear that the fish is thirsty in water. Without the knowledge of Self people just wander to Mathura or to Kashi like the musk-deer unaware of the scent in his navel, goes on running forest to forest. In water is the lotus plant and the plant bears flowers and on the flowers are the bees buzzing. Likewise all yogis and mendicants and all those who have renounced comforts, are on here and hereafter and the nether world -- contemplating. Friend, the Supreme Indestructible Being, on whom thousands of sages meditate and even Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, really resides within one's self. Though He is near, He appears far away -- and that is what makes one disturbed; says Kabir, listen, O wise one, by Guru alone is the confusion curbed. <
1.kbr - I Have Attained The Eternal Bliss, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
  as revealed by the grace of the true Guru.
  Now there is effulgence of a million suns,

1.kbr - I have attained the Eternal Bliss, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
   English version by Sunil Uniyal Original Language Hindi I have attained the Eternal Bliss. There is no time for sorrow or pain, for now I enjoy singing His glory. The tree of His pleasure has neither root, nor seed, as revealed by the grace of the true Guru. Now there is effulgence of a million suns, my swan has dipped in the lake of His knowledge. Says Kabir, listen, O wise brother, Now comings and goings have come to an end. <
1.kbr - O Friend, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
  Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru,
  have faith in the true Name!

1.kbr - The Swan flies away, #Songs of Kabir, #Kabir, #Sufism
   Guru Ki Karni Guru Jayega,
  Chele Ki Karni Chela
  --
  Finally Kabir reinforces that a continuous dedication to God yields instantaneous results. But warns that its our own effort that bear fruits and everybody (both Guru and Disciple) progresses according to their own actions.

1.kbr - The Word, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Mahmood Jamal Original Language Hindi Find the word, understand the word, Depend on the word; The word is heaven and space, the word the earth, The word the universe. The word is in our ears, the word is on our tongues, The word the idol. The word is the holy book, the word is harmony, The word is music. The word is magic, the word the Guru. The word is the body, the word is the spirit, the word is being, The word Not-being. The word is man, the word is woman, The Worshipped Great. The word is the seen and unseen, the word is the existent And the non-existent. Know the word, says Kabir, The word is All-powerful. [2469.jpg] -- from Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal <
1.kg - Little Tiger, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Thubten Jinpa and Jas Elsener Original Language Tibetan The honey bee, a little tiger, is not addicted to the taste of sugar; his nature is to extract the juice from the sweet lotus flower! Dakinis, above, below, and on earth, unimpeded by closeness and distance, will surely extract the blissful essence when the yogins bound by pledges gather. The sun, the king of illumination, is not inflated by self-importance; by the karma of sentient beings, it shines resplendent in the sky. When the sun perfect in skill and wisdom dawns in the sky of the illuminated mind, without conceit, you beautify and crown the beings of all three realms. The smiling faces of the radiant moon are not addicted to hide and seek; by its relations with the sun, the moon takes waning and waxing forms. Though my Gurus, embodiment of all refuge, are free of all fluctuation and of faults, through their flux-ridden karma the disciples perceive that the Guru's three secrets display all kinds of effulgence. Constellations of stars adorning the sky are not competing in a race of speed; due to the force of energy's pull, the twelve planets move clockwise with ease. Guru, deity, and dakini -- my refuge -- though not partial toward the faithful, unfailingly you appear to guard those with fortunate karma blessed. The white clouds hovering above on high are not so light that they arise from nowhere; it is the meeting of moisture and heat that makes the patches of mist in the sky. Those striving for good karma are not greedy in self-interest; by the meeting of good conditions they become unrivaled as they rise higher. The clear expanse of the autumn sky is not engaged in the act of cleansing; yet being devoid of all obscuration, its pure vision bejewels the eyes. The groundless sphere of all phenomena is not created fresh by a discursive mind; yet when the face of ever-presence is known, all concreteness spontaneously fades away. Rainbows radiating colors freely are not obsessed by attractive costumes; by the force of dependent conditions, they appear distinct and clearly. This vivid appearance of the external world, though not a self-projected image, through the play of fluctuating thought and mind, appears as paintings of real things. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

1.kt - A Song on the View of Voidness, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Thupten Jinpa & Jas Elsner Original Language Tibetan Homage to the Adamantine Mind! Dharma king, you who have realized the essence; you who expound the way of being, out of compassion: king Buddha Samdrup, I bow to you in my heart, pray listen to me. Through your kind and skillful means, by a habit long formed, and as a fruit of long practice in this life, I have realized the nature of ever-presence. When the secret of appearance is revealed, everything arises in a tone of voidness, undefined by the marks of identity. Like a sky that is nothing but an image. When the secret of thoughts is revealed, though active, they are but mind's sport, naked reflections of transcendent mind unsullied by deliberation and correction. When the secret of recollection is revealed, every memory is but an illumination of self-knowledge in the ever-present state, untainted by ego consciousness. When the secret of illusions is revealed, they seem nothing but the primordial state, appearing in the visual field of rikpa, untouched by the dualism of mind and things. When the secret of abiding is revealed, you are in the state of self-cognition, however long you remain, free of elaboration, the expanse unstained by laxity and torpor. When the secret of mobility is revealed, however much you move, you remain within clear light, unstained by distraction, excitement, and so on, a true self-recognizer. When the secret of samsara is revealed, however often one may circle, the cycles are illusion unaffected by joy and pain. This is the realization of Buddha's four bodies. When the secret of peace is revealed, however tranquil one's attainments, they are but an image; this is the natural pure space, free of the signs of being and nonbeing. When the secret of birth is revealed, however one's reborn, it's but an emanation; meditation's vision of pure self-generation free of clinging and apprehensions. When the secret of death is revealed, however often one may die, it's but the vision of the ultimate, the stages of completion perfect, free of any karmic deeds. When the secret of bliss is revealed, its intensity cannot be bettered; this is the state of spontaneous bliss, free of all traces of contamination. When the secret of luminosity is revealed, however bright, it's but an empty form -- mother image of the void in space, free of every multiplicity. When the secret of emptiness is revealed, though empty, it is the unsurpassed, devoid of every contingent stain, and free from every deception. When the secret of the view is revealed, however much one looks and sees, the world remains beyond thought and word -- the expanse beyond dichotomies. When the secret of meditation is revealed, however much one meditates, it's but a state -- undistracted, and in natural restfulness, free of exertion and constraint. When the secret of action is revealed, whatever one does are the six perfections -- spontaneous, free, and to the point, uncolored by strictures and moral codes. When the secret of fruition is revealed, achievements are but the cognition of mind as dharmakaya, the mind itself free of hope and fear. This is the profound innermost secret; Guru's blessings have entered my heart; naked nonduality dawns within; the secret of samsara and nirvana is revealed! I have beheld the face of the ordinary mind; I have arrived at the view that is free of extremes; even if the Buddha came in person now, I have no queries that require his advice! This song on the view of voidness expounding the nature of the being of all, spoken in words inspired by conviction, was sung in a voice echoing itself, unobstructed, in between meditation sessions. [1585.jpg] -- from Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight & Awakening, Translated by Thupten Jinpa / Translated by Jas Elsner

1.lla - A thousand times I asked my guru, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
  object:1.lla - A thousand times I asked my Guru
  author class:Lalla
  --
   English version by B. N. Paramoo Original Language Kashmiri A thousand times I asked my Guru, 'The name of the One who is known by No-thing', Tired and exhausted was I, asking time and again; Out of Nothing emerged Something, bewildering and great! [bk1sm.gif] -- from The Ascent of Self: A Reinterpretation of the Mystical Poetry of Lalla-Ded, by B. N. Paramoo

1.ml - Realisation of Dreams and Mind, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   Lord Paindapa, you who practice yogic discipline! Your name has been prophesied by the devas; what a great wonder! Under the hand of glorious Advayalalita Are the vajra brothers and sisters whose minds do not differ. Headed by Sri Gunamati, Dakas who are sitting in the right hand row, listen to me! After them, the secret yoginis, Headed by the consort Sukhavajri, Dakinis who are sitting in the left hand row, listen to me! Generally, all Dharmas are illusion. Dreams are exalted as special illusion. Early in the night, dreams arise born from habitual patterns. There is nothing whatsoever to rely on there. At midnight, the deceptions of Mara appear. One should not trust in these. At dawn, there are prophecies by the devas. How wondrous, how great indeed! At the break of dawn this morning, The great lord master appeared And taught the Dharma which revealed the ultimate. This is the unforgettable memory of what Maitripa said: "In general, all Dharmas are mind. The Guru arises from mind. The Guru is nothing other than mind. Everything that appears is the nature of mind. This mind itself is primordially non-existent. In the natural state, unborn and innate, There is nothing to abandon by discursive effort. Rest at ease, naturally, without restriction. This can be shown by signs: A human corpse, an outcast, a dog, a pig, An infant, a madman, an elephant, A precious jewel, a blue lotus, Quicksilver, a deer, a lion, A Brahman, and a black antelope; did you see them?" Maitripa asked. The realization of the truth was shown by these signs: Not fixated on either samsara or Nirvana, Not holding acceptance or rejection in one's being, Not hoping for fruition from others, Mind free from occupation and complexity, Not falling into the four extremes, Nonmeditation and nonwandering, Free from thought and speech, Beyond any analogy whatsoever. Through the kindness of the Guru, I realised these. Since the experience of these realisations has dawned, Mind and mental events have ceased, And space and insight are inseparable. Faults and virtues neither increase nor decrease. Bliss, emptiness, and luminosity are unceasing. Therefore, luminosity dawns beyond coming or going. This transmission of the innate, the pith of the view Through the sign meanings which reveal the unborn, I heard from the great lord master. The reason why I sing these words Is the insistent request of the honourable lords. I could not refuse the Dharma brothers and sisters. Dakinis, do not be jealous! Thus, this song was sung for the Dharma brothers and sisters headed by Paindapa at the Rinchen Tsul monastery in Nepal to show the meaning of the signs of mahamudra as revealed by Maitripa's appearance in a dream.

1.nmdv - He is the One in many, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Hindi He is the One in many, countless are His shapes and forms. He pervades all that exists; wherever I look, He is there. But very few perceive this reality, for Maya ever enchants us with her multiple reflections of color and alluring beauty. Everything is Gobind, Gobind is everything. Nothing that exists is without Gobind: the one thread strings innumerable beads -- Prabhu Himself is the thread, the threader, the threaded. River and waves, foam and bubbles have all their being within water itself. This play of things is the sport of Parbhama. The One cannot be thought different from the other. Hope is a lie and desire a mere dream -- yet both are construed as actual reality. But when my Guru gave me his holy wisdom, I awoke from my dream and my heart yielded. Namdeva says, Behold Hari's creation; ponder upon it with all your heart, and you will see that in every pore, in every living thing, there is only the one Murari. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

1.nmdv - Laughing and playing, I came to Your Temple, O Lord, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by S Abnashi Singh and Gurvinder Singh Original Language Hindi Laughing and playing, I came to Your Temple, O Lord. While Naam Dayv was worshipping, he was grabbed and driven out. I am of a low social class, O Lord; why was I born into a family of fabric dyers? I picked up my blanket and went back, to sit behind the temple. As Naam Dayv uttered the Glorious Praises of the Lord, the temple turned around to face the Lord's humble devotee. Shabad by Bhagat Nam Dev in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib on how he had the darshan of the Lord. Nam Dev milked the brown cow, and brought a cup of milk and a jug of water to his family god. Please drink this milk, O my Sovereign Lord God. Drink this milk and my mind will be happy. Otherwise, my father will be angry with me. Taking the golden cup, Nam Dev filled it with the ambrosial milk, and placed it before the Lord. The Lord looked upon Nam Dev and smiled. This one devotee abides within my heart. The Lord drank the milk, and the devotee returned home. Thus did Nam Dev come to receive the Blessed Vision of the Lord's Darshan. <
1.nmdv - The drum with no drumhead beats, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Hindi The drum with no drumhead beats; clouds thunder without the monsoon; rain falls without clouds. Can anyone guess this riddle? I have met Ram the beautiful, and I too have become beautiful. The philosopher's stone turns lead into gold; costly rubies I string with my words and thoughts. I discovered real love; doubts, fears have left me. I found comfort in what my Guru taught me. A pitcher will fill when plunged in water, so Ram is the One in all. The Guru's heart and the disciple's heart are one. Thus has the slave Namdeva perceived Truth. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass <
1.nmdv - When I see His ways, I sing, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Hindi When I see His ways, I sing. Thus I find peace, O brothers. O brothers, lose yourself in the Word; the true Guru shall lead you to Deva. Where light shimmers, there resounds the unsounded Word. Light blends with light: this I perceived by the Guru's grace. There were rubies bright as lightning in my own lotus-room. He is near, not far. He fills my very breath. Where shines the eternal Sun, there a lamp also dimly burns. I finally understood by the Guru's grace. Now the slave Namdeva is blended with the Eternal. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass <
1.nrpa - Advice to Marpa Lotsawa, #Naropa - Poems, #unset, #Zen
  Previously, we have been Guru and disciple;
  Keep this with you in the future; do not give this up.

1.pp - Raga Dhanashri, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Santbhasha The body is God, the body is the temple, the body is the worshiper, the body is the sacred shrine. The body is the incense, the lamp, the sacred offerings; it is the body I worship with broken petals. After searching all the world, it was in the body I found all the treasure of the world. Nothing is born, nothing dies -- such is Ram's light. What is contained in the universe is also contained in the body: whatever you seek, you shall find. Pipa says, He is Primal Matter; the true Guru will show this. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

1.rmd - Raga Basant, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Nirmal Dass Original Language Hindi O my brother, where shall I go, why should I wander? The pleasure I seek is in my very own home. My mind will not stray, for my heart is now steadfast. One day, a yearning arose in my heart, and I went with sandal shavings and essence and so many perfumes, so I could worship Brahma in the temple. But then the Guru told me that the Brahma I sought dwelt in my very own heart. Wherever I went I met only water and stone -- but You remain all-pervasive and forever unchanging. I read and searched all the Vedas and the Puranas; I go to them if I do not find Him here. O my true Guru, I am your handmaid, your living sacrifice, for you have cut away all my hardened doubts, all my great fears. Ramananda's lord is the all-pervasive Brahma -- a Guru's word can destroy a million sins. [2184.jpg] -- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

1.rmpsd - I drink no ordinary wine, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
  First my Guru gives molasses for the making of the Wine;
  My longing is the ferment to transform it.

1.snk - Nirvana Shatakam, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Ivan M. Granger I am not mind, not intellect, not ego, not thought. I am not the ears, the tongue, the nose or the eyes, or what they witness, I am neither earth nor sky, not air nor light. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I am not the breath of prana, nor its five currents. I am not the seven elements, nor the five organs, Nor am I the voice or hands or anything that acts. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I have no hatred or preference, neither greed nor desire nor delusion. Pride, conflict, jealousy -- these have no part of me. Nothing do I own, nothing do I seek, not even liberation itself. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I know neither virtue nor vice, neither pleasure nor pain. I know no sacred chants, no holy places, no scriptures, no rituals. I know neither the taste nor the taster. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! I fear not death. I doubt neither my being nor my place. I have no father or mother; I am unborn. I have no relatives, no friends. I have no Guru and no devotees. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! Free from doubt, I am formless. With knowledge, in knowledge, I am everywhere, beyond perception. I am always the same. Not free, not trapped -- I am. I am knowledge and bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva! Truly, I am Shiva, pure awareness. Shivo Ham! Shivo Ham! [2652.jpg] -- from The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology), Edited by Ivan M. Granger <
1.srm - The Marital Garland of Letters, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Ramanasramam Original Language Tamil Gracious Ganapati! with Thy hand bless me, that I may make this marital garland of letters worthy of Sri Arunachala, the Bridegroom! REFRAIN Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala! 1. Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate on Thee in the heart, Oh Arunachala! Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who dwell on their identity with Thee, Oh Arunachala! 2. May Thou and I be one and inseparable like Alagu and Sundara, Oh Arunachala! 3. Entering my home and luring me to Thine, why didst Thou keep me prisoner in Thy heart's cavern, Oh Arunachala? 4. Was it for Thy pleasure or for my sake Thou didst win me? If now Thou turn me away, the world will blame Thee, Oh Arunachala! 5. Escape this blame! Why didst Thou then recall Thyself to me? How can I leave Thee now, Oh Arunachala? 6. Kinder far art Thou than one's own mother. Is this then Thy all-kindness, Oh Arunachala? Kinder indeed art Thou than one's own mother, such is Thy Love, Oh Arunachala! 7. Sit firmly in my mind lest it elude Thee, Oh Arunachala! Change not Thy nature and flee, but hold fast in my mind, Oh Arunachala! Be watchful in my mind, lest it change even Thee into me and rush away, Oh Arunachala! 8. Display Thy beauty, for the fickle mind to see Thee for ever and to rest, Oh Arunachala! The strumpet mind will cease to walk the streets if only she find Thee. Disclose Thy Beauty then and hold her bound, Oh Arunachala! The mind by her unsteadiness prevents my seeking Thee and finding peace; grant me the vision of Thy Beauty, Oh Arunachala! 9. After abducting me if now Thou dost not embrace me, where is Thy chivalry, Oh Arunachala? 10. Does it become Thee thus to sleep when I am outraged by others, Oh Arunachala? 11. Even when the thieves of the five senses break in upon me, art Thou not still in my heart, Oh Arunachala! 12. One art Thou without a second; who then could dare elude Thee and come in? This is only Thy jugglery, Oh Arunachala! 13. Significance of OM unrivalled -- unsurpassed! Who can comprehend Thee, Oh Arunachala? 14. As Universal Mother, it is Thy duty to dispense Thy Grace and save me, Oh Arunachala! 15. Who can ever find Thee? The Eye of the eye art Thou, and without eyes Thou seest, Oh Arunachala! Being the sight of the eye, even without eyes find me out Thyself. Who but Thyself can find out Thee, Oh Arunachala? 16. As a lode-stone attracts iron, magnetizing it and holding it fast, so do Thou to me, Oh Arunachala! 17. Unmoving Hill, melting into a Sea of Grace, have mercy I pray, Oh Arunachala! 18. Fiery Gem, shining in all directions, do Thou burn up my dross, Oh Arunachala! 19. Shine as my Guru, making me free from faults and worthy of Thy Grace, Oh Arunachala! 20. Save me from the cruel snares of fascinating women and honour me with union with Thyself, Oh Arunachala! 21. Though I beg, Thou art callous and dost not condescend. I pray Thee! say to me 'Fear not!' Oh Arunachala! 22. Unasked Thou givest; this is Thy imperishable fame. Do not belie Thy name, Oh Arunachala! 23. Sweet fruit within my hands, let me be mad with ecstasy, drunk with the Bliss of Thy Essence, Oh Arunachala! 24. Blazoned as the Devourer of Thy votaries, how can I survive who have embraced Thee, Oh Arunachala? 25. Thou, unruffled by anger! What crime has marked me off for Thy wrath, Oh Arunachala? Thou, unruffled by anger! What austerities left incomplete have won me Thy special favour, Oh Arunachala? 26. Glorious Mountain of Love, celebrated by Gautama, rule me with Thy gracious glance, Oh Arunachala! 27. Dazzling Sun that swallowest up all the universe in Thy rays, in Thy Light open the lotus of my heart I pray, Oh Arunachala! 28. Let me, Thy prey, surrender unto Thee and be consumed, and so have Peace, Oh Arunachala! I came to feed on Thee, but Thou has fed on me; now there is Peace, Oh Arunachala! 29. O Moon of Grace, with Thy cool rays as hands, open within me the ambrosial orifice and let my heart rejoice, Arunachala! 30. Tear off these robes, expose me naked, then robe me with Thy Love, Oh Arunachala! 31. There in the heart rest quiet! Let the sea of joy surge, speech and feeling cease, Oh Arunachala! 32. Do not continue to deceive and prove me; disclose instead Thy Transcendental Self, Oh Arunachala! 33. Vouchsafe the knowledge of Eternal Life that I may learn the glorious Primal Wisdom, and shun the delusion of this world, Oh Arunachala! 34. Unless Thou embrace me, I shall melt away in tears of anguish, Oh Arunachala! 35. If spurned by Thee, alas! what rests for me but the torment of my prarabdha? What hope is left for me, Arunachala? 36. In silence Thou saidst, 'Stay silent!' and Thyself stood silent, Oh Arunachala! 37. Happiness lies in peaceful repose enjoyed when resting in the Self. Beyond speech indeed is This my State, Oh Arunachala! 38. Thou didst display Thy prowess once, and, the perils ended, return to Thy repose, Oh Arunachala! Sun! Thou didst sally forth and illusion was ended. Then didst Thou shine motionless, Oh Arunachala! 39. A dog can scent out its master; am I then worse than a dog? Steadfastly will I seek Thee and regain Thee, Oh Arunachala! Worse than a dog for want of a scent, how can I track Thee, Oh Arunachala? 40. Grant me wisdom, I beseech Thee, so that I may not pine for love of Thee in ignorance, Oh Arunachala! 41. Not finding the flower open, Thou didst stay, no better than a bee trapped in the bud of my mind, Oh Arunachala! In sunlight the lotus blossoms, how then couldst Thou, the Sun of suns, hover before me like a flower bee, saying 'Thou art not yet in blossom,' Oh Arunachala? 42. 'Thou hast realized the Self even without knowing that it was the Truth. It is the Truth Itself!' Speak thus if it be so, Oh Arunachala! Thou art the subject of most diverse views yet art Thou not this only, Oh Arunachala? Not known to the tattvas, though Thou art their being! What does this mean, Oh Arunachala? 43. That each one is Reality Itself, Thou wilt of Thy Nature show, Oh Arunachala! Reveal Thyself! Thou only art Reality, Oh Arunachala! 'Reality is nothing but the Self;' is this not all Thy message, Oh Arunachala? 44. 'Look within, ever seeking the Self with the inner eye, then will It be found.' Thus didst Thou direct me, beloved Arunachala! 45. Seeking Thee within but weakly, I came back unrewarded. Aid me, Oh Arunachala! Weak though my effort was, by Thy Grace I gained the Self, Oh Arunachala! Seeking Thee in the Infinite Self, I regained my own Self, Oh Arunachala! 46. What value has the birth without Knowledge born of realization? It is not even worth speaking about, Oh Arunachala! 47. Let me dive into the true Self, wherein merge only the pure in mind and speech, Oh Arunachala! I, by Thy Grace, am sunk in Thy Self, wherein merge only those divested of their minds and thus made pure, Oh Arunachala! 48. When I took shelter under Thee as my One God, Thou didst destroy me altogether, Oh Arunachala! 49. Treasure of benign and holy Grace, found without seeking, steady my wandering mind, Oh Arunachala! 50. On seeking Thy Real Self with courage, my raft capsized and the waters came over me. Have mercy on me Arunachala! 51. Unless Thou extend Thy hand of Grace in mercy and embrace me, I am lost, Oh Arunachala! Enfold me body to body, limb to limb, or I am lost, Oh Arunachala! 52. O Undefiled, abide Thou in my heart so that there may be everlasting joy, Arunachala! 53. Mock me not, who seek Thy protection! Adorn me with Thy Grace and then regard me, Oh Arunachala! Smile with Grace and not with scorn on me, who come Thee, Oh Arunachala! 54. When I approached, Thou didst not bend; Thou stoodst unmoved, at one with me, Oh Arunachala! Does it not shame Thee to stand there like a post, leaving me to find Thee by myself, Oh Arunachala? 55. Rain Thy Mercy on me ere Thy Knowledge burn me to ashes, Oh Arunachala! 56. Unite with me to destroy Thou and me, and bless me with the state of ever-vibrant joy, Oh Arunachala! 57. When shall I become like the ether and reach Thee, subtle of being, that the tempest of thoughts may end, Oh Arunachala? When will waves of thought cease to rise? When shall I reach Thee, subtler than the subtlest ether, Oh Arunachala! 58. I am a simpleton devoid of learning. Do Thou dispel illusion, Oh Arunachala! Destroy Thou my wrong knowledge, I beseech Thee, for I lack the knowledge which the Scriptures lead to, Oh Arunachala! 59. When I melted away and entered Thee, my Refuge, I found Thee standing naked, Oh Arunachala! 60. In my unloving self Thou didst create a passion for Thee, therefore forsake me not, Oh Arunachala! 61. Fruit shriveled and spoilt is worthless; take and enjoy it ripe, Oh Arunachala! I am not a fruit which is overripe and spoilt; draw me, then, into the inmost recess and fix me in Eternity, Oh Arunachala! 62. Hast Thou not bartered cunningly Thyself for me? Oh, Thou art death to me, Arunachala! Hast Thou not bartered happily Thyself for me, giving all and taking nothing? Art Thou not blind, Oh Arunachala? 63. Regard me! Take thought of me! Touch me! Mature me! Make me one with Thee, Oh Arunachala! 64. Grant me Thy Grace ere the poison of delusion grips me and, rising to my head, kills me, Oh Arunachala! 65. Thyself regard me and dispel illusion! Unless Thou do so who can intercede with Grace Itself made manifest, Oh Arunachala? 66. With madness for Thee hast Thou freed me of madness; grant me now the cure of all madness, Oh Arunachala! 67. Fearless I seek Thee, Fearlessness Itself! How canst Thou fear to take me, Oh Arunachala? 68. Where is ignorance or Wisdom, if I am blessed with union to Thee, Oh Arunachala? 69. My mind has blossomed, scent it with Thy fragrance and perfect it. Oh Arunachala! Espouse me, I beseech Thee, and let this mind, now wedded to the world, be wedded to Perfection, Oh Arunachala! 70. Mere thought of Thee has drawn me to Thee, and who can gauge Thy Glory, Oh Arunachala? 71. Thou hast possessed me, unexorcizable Spirit! and made me mad for Thee, that I may cease to be a ghost wandering the world, Oh Arunachala! 72. Be Thou my stay and my support lest I droop helpless like a tender creeper, Oh Arunachala! 73. Thou didst benumb my faculties with stupefying powder, then rob me of my understanding and reveal the Knowledge of Thy Self, Oh Arunachala! 74. Show me the warfare of Thy Grace, in the Open Field where there is no coming and going. Oh Arunachala! 75. Unattached to the physical frame composed of the elements, let me for ever repose happy in the sight of Thy Splendour, Oh Arunachala! 76. Thou hast administered the medicine of confusion to me, so must I be confounded! Shine Thou as Grace, the cure of all confusion, Oh Arunachala! 77. Shine Thou selfless, sapping the pride of those who boast of their free will, Oh Arunachala! 78. I am a fool who prays only when overwhelmed, yet disappoint me not, Oh Arunachala! 79. Guard me lest I flounder storm-tossed like a ship without a helmsman, Oh Arunachala! 80. Thou hast cut the knot which hid the vision of Thy Head and Foot. Motherlike, shouldst Thou not complete Thy task, Oh Arunachala? 81. Be not like a mirror held up to a noseless man, but raise me and embrace me, Oh Arunachala! 82. Let us embrace upon the bed of tender flowers, which is the mind, within the room of the body, Oh Arunachala! 83. How is it that Thou hast become famous from Thy constant union with the poor and humble, Oh Arunachala? 84. Thou hast removed the blindness of ignorance with the unguent of Thy Grace, and made me truly Thine, Oh Arunachala! 85. Thou didst shave clean my head; then Thou didst show Thyself dancing in Transcendent Space, Oh Arunachala! 86. Though Thou hast loosed me from the mists of error and made me mad for Thee, why hast Thou not yet freed me from illusion, Oh Arunachala? Though Thou hast detached me from the world and made me cleave to Thee, Thy passion for me has not cooled, Oh Arunachala! 87. Is it true Silence to rest like a stone, inert and unexpansive, Oh Arunachala? 88. Who was it that threw mud to me for food and robbed me of my livelihood, Oh Arunachala? 89. Unknown to all, stupefying me, Who was it that ravished my soul, Oh Arunachala? 90. I spoke thus to Thee, because Thou art my Lord; be not offended but come and give me happiness, Oh Arunachala! 91. Let us enjoy one another in the House of Open Space, where there is neither night nor day, Oh Arunachala! 92. Thou didst take aim at me with darts of Love and then devoured me alive, Oh Arunachala! 93. Thou art the Primal Being, whereas I count not in this nor in the other world. What didst Thou gain then by my worthless self, Oh Arunachala? 94. Didst Thou not call me in? I have come in. Now measure out for me, my maintenance is now Thy burden. Hard is Thy lot, Oh Arunachala! 95. The moment Thou didst welcome me, didst enter into me and grant me Thy divine life, I lost my individuality, Oh Arunachala! 96. Bless me that I may die without losing hold of Thee, or miserable is my fate, Oh Arunachala! 97. From my home Thou didst entice me, then stealing into my heart didst draw me gently into Thine, such is Thy Grace, Oh Arunachala! 98. I have betrayed Thy secret workings. Be not offended! Show me Thy Grace now openly and save me, Oh Arunachala! 99. Grant me the essence of the Vedas, which shine in the Vedanta, One without a second, Oh Arunachala! 100. Even my slanders, treat as praise and guard me for ever as Thine own, I pray, Oh Arunachala! Let even slander be as praise to me, and guard me for ever as Thine own, I pray, Oh Arunachala! Place Thy hand upon my head! make me partaker of Thy Grace! do not abandon me, I pray, Oh Arunachala! 101. As snow in water, let me melt as Love in Thee, who art Love itself, Oh Arunachala! 102. I had but thought of Thee as Aruna, and lo! I was caught in the trap of Thy Grace! Can the net of Thy Grace ever fail, Oh Arunachala? 103. Watching like a spider to trap me in the web of Thy Grace, Thou didst entwine me and when imprisoned feed upon me, Oh Arunachala! 104. Let me be the votary of the votaries of those who hear Thy name with love, Oh Arunachala! 105. Shine Thou for ever as the loving Saviour of helpless suppliants like myself, Oh Arunachala! 106. Familiar to Thine ears are the sweet songs of votaries who melt to the very bones with love for Thee, yet let my poor strains also be acceptable, Oh Arunachala! 107. Hill of Patience, bear with my foolish words, as hymns of joy or as Thou please, Oh Arunachala! 108. Oh Arunachala! my Loving Lord! Throw Thy garland about my shoulders, wearing Thyself this one strung by me, Arunachala! Blessed be Arunachala! blessed be His devotees! Blessed be this Marital Garland of Letters! [1468.jpg] -- from The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Edited by Arthur Osborne

1.yt - The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness!, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Keith Dowman The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness! I have vanished into fields of lotus-light, the plenum of dynamic space, To be born in the inner sanctum of an immaculate lotus; Do not despair, have faith! When you have withdrawn attachment to this rocky defile, This barbaric Tibet, full of war and strife, Abandon unnecessary activity and rely on solitude. Practice energy control, purify your psychic nerves and seed-essence, And cultivate mahamudra and Dsokchen. The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness! Attaining humility, through Guru Pema Jungne's compassion I followed him, And now I have finally gone into his presence; Do not despair, but pray! When you see your karmic body as vulnerable as a bubble, Realising the truth of impermanence, and that in death you are helpless, Disabuse yourself of fantasies of eternity, Make your life a practice of sadhana, And cultivate the experience that takes you to the place where Ati ends. [1484.jpg] -- from The Shambhala Anthology of Women's Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone <
1.yt - This self-sufficient black lady has shaken things up, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
   English version by Tarthang Tulku Listen, faithful Tibetans! I am merging with the fundamental, the ground of all that is--- physical pain and suffering are disappearing.... The son, the inner elements of my body, is reuniting with the mother, the outer elements. Her physical remains will disappear into earth and stone. The compassion of the Guru has never left me; his manifestations fill all the world and call out to welcome me. This wild lady has done everything; Many times have I come and gone, but now, no longer. I am a Tibetan wife sent back to her family. I shall now appear as the Queen, the All-good, the Dharmakaya. This self-sufficient black lady has shaken things up far and wide; now the shaking will carry me away into the southwest. I have finished with intrigues, with the fervent cascades of schemes and deceptions; I am winding my way into the expanse of the Dharma. I have mourned many men of Tibet who have left me behind--- but now I am the one who will go to the land of the Buddhas. <
20.01 - Charyapada - Old Bengali Mystic Poems, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   Luy says, "you must ask your Guru if you
   want to know."
  --
   Row on, Kamali, and ask of the true Guru.
   The helm is not there? How to ply and who can ply?
  --
   With the consciousness of the Guru one wins the world-game.
   The two were removed and the King taken prisoner.35
  --
   Through the Grace of the Guru's feet
   I will reach again the city of Victory.
  --
   what an error not to ask it of the Guru!
   A bare expanse, no frontier anywhere!
  --
   It is with the consciousness of the Guru that you have
   understood whose is the story and what it is!62
  --
   The dark ignorance is dispelled by the Guru's words,
   and all the senses dissolve in the Sky.
  --
   through the guidance of a true Guru.
   Now the reign of my consciousness is ended:
  --
   Jalandhripada, my Guru, I have as witness.
   The learned scholars are never by my side.
  --
   And the word of the Guru the helm upon the seas;
   Calm your mind and hold to the wheel:
  --
   In vain does the Guru teach the disciple.
   That which is beyond the way of speech,
  --
   If you are in ignorance, go and ask of a true Guru.
   XLII
  --
   O, cut it down with the axe that is the Guru's word:
   Kanhu says, the tree must not grow again.
  --
   Directed by the Guru the wise one knows how to fell it.
   And he who knows not the trick
  --
   Threefold Adherence: to the Truth, the Guru, and the Divine Family (Dharma, Buddha, Samgha). Eight Rooms = the seven planes of consciousness (Sat-chitananda-mahas-manas-prana-anna) and the Supreme.
   The Buddha consciousness: within, it is nothingness, outside it is compassion incarnate.
  --
   The mouse is the ignorant being, the small being of ignorance the restless desiresoul full of hunger and hankeringsmoved by the untamed vital urge ('the wind'). It is difficult to spot it, because it is a black thing moving in blacknessignorance enveloped in ignorance. Tamo asit tamasa gudham. It burrows a hole in the earth consciousness, enters into the basic inconscience, steals all the light and happiness from above and hides them in the underground darkness. No spiritual realisation can come and stay unless this nibbling enemy is tracked and brought to light. The Veda gives a similar image. The panis, the dark Asuras seize even the sun and store it away in their secret caverns. Indra, the lord of the Divine Mind, has to come and with his fulgurating thunderbolt pierce the hills the earth-built consciousness and rescue and release the Light. Even so, here the poet says, the mouse, the ignorant consciousness, must rise into the sky of the luminous mindlessness, attain a steadfast concentration, then it will lose its normal restlessness; when it is filled with the consciousness of the true Guru, the divine Master, then it becomes stable and tranquillisedit is no more fidgety bound in its inferior consciousness its bondages snap, it is free. The little ignorant being of small mind is freed into the luminous vastness of the Buddha-consciousness. Then only can he taste of the nectar of immortality for which he yearned even in his ignorant states.
   Five creatures the five senses.

2.01 - AT THE STAR THEATRE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "One day I saw a sannyasi under the banyan-tree. He had put the salagram on the same carpet with his Guru's sandals. He was worshipping them. I said to him, 'If you have attained Knowledge to that extent, then why such formal worship at all?' He replied: 'What difference does it make? Since I do everything else, why not this too? Sometimes I offer the flowers at the Guru's feet and sometimes to God.'
  "One cannot renounce work as long as one has a body. As long as there is mud at the bottom of the lake, bubbles will be produced.
  --
  "One should learn the essence of the scriptures from the Guru and then practise sadhana. If one rightly follows spiritual discipline, then one directly sees God. The discipline is said to be rightly followed only when one plunges in. What will a man gain by merely reasoning about the words of the scriptures? Ah, the fools! They reason themselves to death over information about the path. They never take the plunge. What a pity!
  "You may say, even though you dive deep you are still in danger of sharks and crocodiles, of lust and anger. But dive after rubbing your body with turmeric powder; then sharks and crocodiles will not come near you. The turmeric is discrimination and renunciation.

2.01 - On Books, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: He says that he has accepted you as his Guru.
   Sri Aurobindo: It is very kind of him! (Laughter)
  --
   These people have a very crude notion of Yoga. They think it is something like the Guru asking the disciple to repeat the Name, or the Mantra, and then the Guru's Kripa raining down in abundance upon them. All his pleading shows a want of balance and an emotional temperament. If he were in earnest he would have taken my refusal in another fashion. The old Bhakti Yoga seems to have done so much harm. People think that Yoga is very easy and simple.
   Disciple: X is very sincere, I don't think he knew about the rule of informing before coming here.
  --
   There is a very fine and humourous passage in which a disciple asks the Guru whether the king is riding the elephant, or the elephant the king?
   Disciple: The king must be Ramamurthy if the elephant was on him! Besides, this may be the theory of relativity in embryo.
   Sri Aurobindo: The method of reply adopted by the Guru is original. He jumps upon the shoulders of the disciple and then asks him whether he is on the disciple's back or the disciple is on his back?
   There is also a very fine description of Jada Bharata.

2.01 - The Yoga and Its Objects, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  It is said in the "Sanatsujatiya" that four things are necessary for siddhi - sastra, utsaha, Guru and kala - the teaching of the path, zeal in following it, the Guru and time. Your path is that which I am pointing out, the utsaha needed is this anumati and this nitya smaran.a, the Guru is God himself and for the rest only time is needed. That God himself is the Guru, you will find when knowledge comes to you; you will see how every little circumstance within you and without you has been subtly planned and brought about by infinite wisdom to carry out the natural process of the yoga, how the internal and external movements are arranged and brought together to work on each other, so as to work out the imperfection and work in the perfection.
  An almighty love and wisdom are at work for your uplifting.
  --
   which you can travel widely to all parts of the world and are admitted to the freedom of the infinite. All that you need are the ship, the steering-wheel, the compass, the motive-power and a skilful captain. Your ship is the Brahmavidya, faith is your steering-wheel, self-surrender your compass, the motive-power is she who makes, directs and destroys the worlds at God's comm and and God himself is your captain. But he has his own way of working and his own time for everything. Watch his way and wait for his time. Understand also the importance of accepting the Shastra and submitting to the Guru and do not do like the Europeans who insist on the freedom of the individual intellect to follow its own fancies and preferences which it calls reasonings, even before it is trained to discern or fit to reason. It is much the fashion nowadays to indulge in metaphysical discussions and philosophical subtleties about Maya and Adwaita and put them in the forefront, making them take the place of spiritual experience. Do not follow that fashion or confuse yourself and waste time on the way by questionings which will be amply and luminously answered when the divine knowledge of the vijnana awakes in you. Metaphysical knowledge has its place, but as a handmaid to spiritual experience, showing it the way sometimes but much more dependent on it and living upon its bounty. By itself it is mere pan.d.itya, a dry and barren thing and more often a stumbling-block than a help. Having accepted this path, follow its Shastra without unnecessary doubt and questioning, keeping the mind plastic to the light of the higher knowledge, gripping firmly what is experienced, waiting for light where things are dark to you, taking without pride what help you can from the living guides who have already trod the path, always patient, never hastening to narrow conclusions, but waiting for a more complete experience and a fuller light, relying on the Jagad Guru who helps you from within.
  It is necessary to say something about the Mayavada and the modern teachings about the Adwaita because they are much in the air at the present moment and, penetrated with ideas from European rationalism and agnosticism for which Shankara would have been astonished to find himself made responsible,

2.02 - On Letters, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Secondly, when it is awakened, the psychic being gives the sadhak the true Bhakti for God or for the Guru. That devotion is quite different from mental and vital devotion.
   In the mind one may have admiration for the intellectual ideas of someone, or one may have mental appreciation for some great intellect. But if it is merely mental, it does not carry matters very far; it is not sufficient by itself. It does not open the whole of the inner being; it only establishes a mental contact. Of course, there is no harm in having that. When K came here he had that mental admiration for what I have written in the Arya. One can get something from that kind of mental contact, but it is not what one can get by being in relation with the psychic being. I do not, for a moment, want to suggest that there was no truth in his Bhakti, but there was much mixture in it and even what was mental and vital was very much exaggerated.
  --
   The unillumined mind also surrenders to the Truth but it makes its own conditions. It says to the Truth: "Satisfy my judgment and my opinions." It demands that the Truth should cast itself in mental forms. The vital being insists that the Truth should throw itself into its own movement of force. The vital being pulls at the Higher Power; it pulls at the vital being of the Guru. Both the mind and the vital beings have got an arrire pense a mental reservation in their surrender.
   But the psychic Bhakti is not like that. Because the soul is in contact with the Divinity behind, it is capable of true Bhakti. The psychic being has what is called ahaituk bhakti, devotion without any motive. It does not make any demands, it makes no reservations in its surrender.
   The psychic being knows how to obey the Truth in the right way. It can give itself up fully to God or to the Guru; and because it gives itself up truly it receives also truly.
   When the psychic being comes to the surface it feels sad when the mental or the vital being is making a fool of itself. That sadness is purity offended. When the mind is playing its own game, or when the vital being is carried away by its impulses, it is the psychic being which says: "I do not want these things; what am I here for, after all? I am here for the Truth and not for these things." Psychic sadness is again different from mental dissatisfaction or vital sadness or physical depression.
  --
   Disciple :He saw a Yogapuri a city of Yoga in which there were different circles of sadhaks round a Guru in the centre of each group. Bibhuti wanted to join the circle but he was not allowed because he had not the password. There were watchmen also.
   Sri Aurobindo: It looks more of the vital plane than anything else. There are people who get a symbolic vision and when they see the work not accomplished they generally see it as an unfinished building, or a place where workmen are still working. That does not correspond to any building in the Supramental. That is only a symbolic way of representing the Yoga and its condition and even at that it is not exact but gives only a general idea.
  --
   Disciple: They even want to use physical force to make others accept you as the Guru and Avatar. (Laughter)
   You know what happened to X, who is a friend of Y when he came here.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: I thought he was already a kind of Guru. (Laughter)
   Disciple: He explains everything on the blackboard.
  --
   Disciple: It is very difficult for a man like me to accept what these people want one to accept. I can accept you as the guide and Guru. But I must have my spiritual experience to believe them.
   Sri Aurobindo: It is not always necessary to have the experience in order to believe in a thing. There are many people who believe on faith before they realise. But the difficulty comes when you want to force your faith on others. One can say: "I believe that so and so is an Avatar." But one can't say: "If you don't believe in him I will beat you." (Laughter) Then there are others who want to go into the Yoga with their families. There are husbands who get angry with their wives because they can't take to Yoga with them. (Laughter)
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: In most cases the people who persist are not those who have a real call for the Yoga from something deep in them. In most cases it is obstinacy. I particularly remember one case in which the obstinacy was wonderful. There are others in whom the desire to come and remain here is a mere surface movement, while in others it is there because they are lunatics or eccentrics. Even if you tell them to seek another Guru they won't listen to you!
   There was a pause as some disciples left the room.

2.02 - The Ishavasyopanishad with a commentary in English, #Isha Upanishad, #unset, #Zen
  THE Guru
  The Upanishad sets forth by pronouncing as the indispensable basis of its revelations the universal nature of God. This
  --
  THE Guru
  The Upanishad therefore begins by saying that all this must
  --
  THE Guru
  It is meant by this expression that the universal & undivided consciousness which we call Brahman, surrounds and
  --
  THE Guru
  On the contrary this is precisely the nature of consciousness
  --
  THE Guru
  Let us consider a nut with the kernel in it, we see that ether
  --
  THE Guru
  Consider next what the Upanishad goes on to indicate more
  --
  THE Guru
  It will yet say that. It tells us next by abandonment of this (all
  --
  THE Guru
  And a true view.
  --
  THE Guru
  It is inevitable because as I have risen from the beast to the
  --
  THE Guru
  Are you sure that it is? What do they teach?
  --
  THE Guru
  Vairagya is a big word and it has come to mean many things,
  --
  THE Guru
  It is not opposed to the teaching of Srikrishna who is the
  --
  THE Guru
  Nor is there; for Jnana is indispensable. Jnana is first &
  --
  THE Guru
  There was a reason for what Shankara said and it was necessary in his age that Jnana should be exalted at the expense of
  --
  THE Guru
  He was not an undeveloped mind, but he was dealing with
  --
  THE Guru
  Mukti prevents one's future deeds from creating bondage;
  --
  THE Guru
  It is no new light but as old as the sun; for it is clearly laid
  --
  THE Guru
  A man may be a great Rishi or Yogi without being Jivanmukta. Yog and spiritual learning are means to Mukti, not
  --
  THE Guru
  The Jivanmukta will be perfectly ready to live a hundred
  --
  THE Guru
  Do not be misled by words. The Asuric worlds are a reality,
  --
  THE Guru
  When a man dies in great pain, or in great grief or in great
  --
  THE Guru
  No. It says
  --
  THE Guru
  Perhaps; waters is the proper sense of ap, but let us see first
  --
  THE Guru
  The Gods are; - they are the Immortals and cannot be done
  --
  THE Guru
  That and nothing more in the terms of material analysis,
  --
  THE Guru
  Call him what you like, only realise that Matariswun is a
  --
  THE Guru
  No, there is no difficulty, once you have the key. But try to
  --
  THE Guru
  I do not. Emanation is a silly word and a silly idea. God is
  --
  THE Guru
  Nay, if you seek the interpretation of your religion from
  --
  THE Guru
  If you really understand, then are you ready for the next
  --
  THE Guru
  Because Avidya, the sense of difference is your natural condition in the body. Think a little. This body is built by the
  --
  THE Guru
  So it appears to you because it is working in Time & Space,
  --
  THE Guru
  Very noble and we have it among ourselves in a noble cou{v k;V;Mbk\; but everything which implies difference is
  --
  THE Guru
  It does not; and yet the impossible repeatedly happens. At
  --
  THE Guru
  The strength is in yourself and the way to find that strength
  --
  THE Guru
  But are those ideals true? Delusions may give you strength
  --
  THE Guru
  Tell me one of these newborn truths that profess to dispel
  --
  THE Guru
  We have heard something about it in this country, a system
  --
  THE Guru
  It is not true, because it is not in human nature; no human
  --
  THE Guru
  My son, there is one great capacity of the learned & cultured
  --
  THE Guru
  On the contrary he is entirely right, - if we consent to lump
  --
  THE Guru
  What race? The English or German or Russian or the great
  --
  THE Guru
  And getting called atavistic and degenerate and other terrible names? Still I should like to be better satisfied as to the basis
  --
  THE Guru
  Verily? and what do I care, if my opposition to the inevitable
  --
  THE Guru
  Truly? I do not think the present state of Europe favourable
  --
  THE Guru
  And mark that these retrogressions are most inevitable when
  --
  THE Guru
  The utterances of the Upanishad are never disconnected,
  --
  THE Guru
  You cannot slay Maya; you can only slay Moha, the illusion

2.03 - On Medicine, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   As an instance of the change of device I told you about Agamya Guru Paramahamsa. He could stop his heart-beats and go on talking and working like other men. Now, ordinarily, when the heart stops the man dies, or gets into a cataleptic Samadhi. But in his case it was not so.
   Disciple: How many hours do you sleep?
  --
   Disciple: Yes, and his Guru who was his wife in disguise came there and convinced him that he had not given up the world! (Laughter) Then they went back and lived happily ever afterwards.
   Sri Aurobindo: That was all right in those days. But now people who think of building huts have more chance of going mad than they had in the olden times.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Yes. He said so himself and, when he said that, it must be true. You know he is said to have given arguments for and against the view that the Guru has to take up many things of the disciples upon himself.
   The Mother does that because she unites herself with the disciples; takes them up into herself. Of course, she at the same time stops also many things from happening in herself. A famous Yogi told a disciple of his when he was becoming a Guru, "In addition to your own difficulties you are taking up those of others." Of course, if one cuts the connection with the disciples then that can't happen but that means no work and the sadhaks are left: to themselves without support.
   This sort of interchange is very common. Wherever two persons meet, the interchange is going on. In that way one contracts a disease from another without any infection by germs. N was conscious of what he was receiving from others and did not care to think about what he was passing to them. Not only that, he even thought he had power for good or for evil. Bad thoughts may affect others. That is why Buddha used to emphasise right thought etc. You find some people cannot do without meeting others. What is after all the passion of man and woman for each other? Nothing but this vital interchange, this drawing in of forces from each other. When a woman has a need of someone else, that means she is in need of a vital force from him. Woman and man running after each other means this interchange or drawing. Of course, it takes place unconsciously; even in ordinary life when a person does not like another he does not know the reason but it means that their vital beings don't agree. You know the lines:
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Why! Anatomy and surgery were known to Indians. There were many surgical instruments in India. For an ancient system like the Ayurveda I doubt if the modern method of teaching would do. Modern methods make the whole subject too mental, too intellectual, while the ancient systems were more intuitional. These subjects used to be handed down from Guru to disciple. The same is true of Yoga. One can't think of schools and colleges and studies of Yoga. That would be an American idea. The centre of Yoga teaching in America has been holding classes and giving lectures and courses.
   Disciple: Perhaps Hatha Yoga can be taught that way.

2.04 - ADVICE TO ISHAN, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Take this medicine and your son will come to life. But you will die.' The mother took the medicine in her hand and began to think. After much reflection she said to the physician, with tears in her eyes: 'My child, I have a few more children. I have to think about them too. I am wondering what will happen to them if I die. Who will feed them and look after them?' The physician next called the wife and handed the medicine to her. She had been weeping bitterly too. With the medicine in her hand she also began to reflect. She had heard that she would die from the effect of the medicine. At last, with tears in her eyes, she said: 'He has met his fate. If I die, what will happen to my young children? Who will keep them alive? How can I take the medicine?' In the mean time the disciple had got over the effect of the pills. He was now convinced that nobody was really his own. He jumped out of bed and left the place with his teacher. The Guru said to him, 'There is only one whom you may call your own, and that is God.'
  "Therefore a man should act in such a way that he may have bhakti for the Lotus Feet of God and love God as his very own. You see this world around you. It exists for you only for a couple of days. There is nothing to it." PUNDIT (smiling): "Revered sir, I feel a spirit of total renunciation when I am here. I feel like going away, giving up the world."
  --
  "A man cannot be a Guru. Everything happens by the will of God. Heinous sins-the sins of many births-and accumulated ignorance all disappear in the twinkling of an eye, through the grace of God. When light enters a room that has been kept dark a thousand years, does it remove the thousand years' darkness little by little, or instantly? Of course, at the mere touch of light all the darkness disappears.
  "What can a man do? He may speak many words, but after all is said and done everything rests with God. The lawyer says: 'I have said all that can be said. Now the verdict rests with the judge.'

2.04 - On Art, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: In The Synthesis of Yoga, in the fourth chapter about the Four Aids; you have mentioned there Chaitya Guru, the inner guide.
   Disciple: In Vaishnavite literature it means the portion Amsha of the Divine which guides a man. It is called Chaitya Guru.
   Sri Aurobindo: I wanted to know if the word has a fixed connotation. If it has not, then one can use the word Chaitya Purusha for the psychic being. It has the advantage of carrying both the functions of the psychic being: it is the direct portion of the Divine in the human and it is also the being that is behind the Chitta.

2.05 - VISIT TO THE SINTHI BRAMO SAMAJ, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "If somebody addresses me as Guru, I say to him: 'Go away, you fool! How can I be a teacher?' There is no teacher except Satchidananda. There is no refuge except Him. He alone is the Ferryman to take one across the ocean of the world. (To Vijay) It is very difficult to act as an chrya. It harms the chrya himself. Finding a number of men doing him reverence, he sits you put four seers of milk in a oneseer jar? If God, through His grace, ever reveals Himself to His devotee and makes him understand, then he will know; but not otherwise.
  "That which is Brahman is akti, and That, again, is the Mother.

2.06 - The Wand, #Liber ABA, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  46:There is the story of the man who practised for forty years to walk across the Ganges; and, having succeeded, was reproached by his Holy Guru, who said: "You are a great fool. All your neighbours have been crossing every day on a raft for two pice."
  47:This occurs to most, perhaps to all, of us in our careers. We spend infinite pains to learn something, to achieve something, which when gained does not seem worth even the utterance of the wish.
  --
  51:So the Guru of the water-walking Hindu only meant that it was now time to be dissatisfied with what he had done - and to employ his powers to some better end.
  52:And, incidentally, since the divine Will is one, it will be found that there is no capacity which is not necessarily subservient to the destiny of the man who possesses it.
  --
  74:In all this is will have been seen that the most powerful weapon in the hand of the student is the Vow of Holy Obedience; and many will wish that they had the opportunity of putting themselves under a holy Guru. Let them take heart - for any being capable of giving commands is an efficient Guru for the purpose of this Vow, provided that he is not too amiable and lazy.
  75:The only reason for choosing a Guru who has himself attained is that he will aid the vigilance of the sleepy Chela, and, while tempering the Wind to that shorn lamb, will carefully harden him, and at the same time gladden his ears with holy discourse. But if such a person is inaccessible, let him choose any one with whom he has constant intercourse, explain the circumstances, and ask him to act.
  76:The person should if possible be trustworthy; and let the Chela remember that if he should be ordered to jump over a cliff it is very much better to do it than to give up the practice.

2.06 - WITH VARIOUS DEVOTEES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER (to Mahimacharan): "How much of the scriptures can you read? What will you gain by mere reasoning? Try to realize God before anything else. Have faith in the Guru's words, and work. If you have no Guru, then pray to God with a longing heart. He will let you know what He is like.
  "What will you learn of God from books? As long as you are at a distance from the marketplace you hear only an indistinct roar. But it is quite different when you are actually there. Then you hear and see everything distinctly. You hear people saying: 'Here are your potatoes. Take them and give me the money.' "From a distance you hear only the rumbling noise of the ocean. Go near it and you will see many boats sailing about, birds flying, and waves rolling.
  --
  Sri Ramakrishna remained silent a few moments watching the devotees. He had heard that Mahimacharan did not believe in following a Guru. He began the conversation again.
  Faith in Guru
  MASTER: "A man should have faith in the words of his Guru. He doesn't have to look into his Guru's character. 'Though my Guru visits the grog-shop, still he is the Embodiment of Eternal Bliss.'
  "A man who used to give recitals of the Chandi and the Bhagavata once said, 'A broomstick is itself unclean, but it cleans dirty places.' "

2.07 - BANKIM CHANDRA, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  BANKIM: "Who? The Guru? He enjoys all the good mangoes himself and gives us the bad ones!" (Laughter.)
  MASTER: "Why should that be so? The mother knows what food suits the stomachs of her different children. Can all of them digest pilau and Kalia? Suppose a fish has been procured. The mother doesn't give pilau and Kalia to all the children. For the weak child with a poor stomach she prepares simple soup. But does that mean she loves him the less?
  Faith in Guru
  "One must have faith in the Guru's words. The Guru is none other than Satchidananda.
  God Himself is the Guru. If you only believe his words like a child, you will realize God.
  What faith a child has! When a child's mother says to him about a certain man, 'He is your brother', the child believes he really is his brother. The child believes it one hundred and twenty-five percent, though he may be the son of a brahmin, and the man the son of a blacksmith. The mother says to the child, 'There is a bugaboo in that room', and the child really believes there is a bugaboo in the room. Such is the faith of a child! One must have this childlike faith in the Guru's words. God cannot be realized by a mind that is hypocritical, calculating, or argumentative. One must have faith and sincerity.
  Hypocrisy will not do. To the sincere, God is very near; but He is far, far away from the hypocrite.
  --
  said the Guru, 'and I shall show you.' He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The Guru asked him, 'How did you feel?' The disciple said, 'Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.' The teacher said, 'When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His vision.'
  (To Bankim) "Let me tell you something. What will you gain by floating on the surface?
  --
  It is your Guru, says Kubir;
  Meditate on his holy feet.

2.07 - The Mother Relations with Others, #Words Of The Mother I, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
    I am not eager to be the Guru of anyone. It is more spontaneously natural for me to feel the Mother of all and to carry them forward silently through the power of love.
    19 September 1961
  --
    I am not eager to be the Guru of anyone. It is more spontaneously natural for me to be the universal Mother and to act in silence through love.
    But as you put the question, I shall answer.
  --
    Mother who carries the universe in her loving arms, and I was dealing with each one as with the child from whom she tolerates everything equally; and all that the people here were doing to please me I was taking as a token of their love and I was very grateful for it. Today I have learnt that many, if not most, are looking at me as their Guru and that they are eager to please me because to please the Guru is the best way to acquire merit on the path. And then I have understood that the duty of the Guru is to encourage from each one only that which can lead him quickly to the Lord and serve His Divine Purpose, and I am very grateful for the lesson.
    *

2.08 - Victory over Falsehood, #Questions And Answers 1929-1931, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  Indeed the very act of bringing it out and showing it to the Light would be in itself a momentous conversion and pave the way to the final victory. For the laying bare of each falsehood is in itself a victoryeach acknowledgment of error is the demolition of one of the lords of Darkness. It may be an acknowledgment to oneself, provided it is absolutely honest and is no subtle regret apt to be forgotten the next moment and without the strength to make an unbreakable resolution not to repeat the mistake. Or it may be the acknowledgment to the Divine embodied in the Guru. As a result of direct personal confession to the Guru, your resolution remains no longer your own, because, if you are sincere, the Divines fiat goes forth in your favour. To give you an idea of what this means I shall relate an experience of mine when I first met Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry. I was in deep concentration, seeing things in the Supermind, things that were to be but which were somehow not manifesting. I told Sri Aurobindo what I had seen and asked him if they would manifest. He simply said, Yes. And immediately I saw that the Supramental had touched the earth and was beginning to be realised! This was the first time I had witnessed the power to make real what is true: it is the very same power that will bring about the realisation in you of the truth when you come in all sincerity, saying, This falsehood I want to get rid of, and the answer which you get is Yes.
  ***

2.09 - On Sadhana, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: Yesterday we had a talk about Sj. Lele and his Gurubhai Narayan Swami, and I told you that I came to know that they follow I do not know how far it is true, though the Dattatreya Yoga. I wonder what that Yoga is like.
   Sri Aurobindo: I was thinking about it after the talk. You know there is, perhaps, a traditional method of Yoga in Maharashtra which belongs to the Dattatreya cult. The truth behind it is that Dattatreya represents the highest realisation he always keeps his consciousness immersed in the Infinite and the freedom of the Infinite is brought down by him to the mental, vital and even to the physical plane. Therefore a man who is a Siddha of the path acts free like the Infinite even in his Prakriti and therefore may often act in a way which is considered immoral by society. He tries to bring down the power of the free Infinite into the instruments of manifestation and this he considers perfection. But it is doubtful whether it is perfection.
  --
   When I was in Bombay, from the balcony of a friend's house, I saw the whole busy movements of Bombay city as a picture in a cinema show all unreal, shadowy. That was a Vedantic experience. Ever since I have maintained that peace of mind, never losing it even in the midst of difficulties. All the speeches that I delivered on my way to Calcutta from Bombay were of the same nature with some mixture of mental work in some parts. Before parting I told Lele: "Now that we shall not be together I should like you to give me instructions about Sadhana." In the meantime I told him of a Mantra that had arisen in my heart. He was giving me instructions when he suddenly stopped and asked me if I could rely absolutely on Him who had given me the Mantra. I said I could always do it. Then Lele said there was no need of instructions. We had then no talk till we reached our destination. Some months later, he came to Calcutta. He asked me if I meditated in the morning and in the evening. I said, "No." Then he thought that some devil had taken possession of me and he began to give me instructions. I did not insult him but I did not act upon his advice. I had received the command from within that a human Guru was not necessary for me. As to meditation, I was not prepared to tell him that I was meditating practically the whole day.
   All that I wrote in the Bande Mataram and in the Karmayogin was from that state. I have since trusted the inner guidance even when I thought it was leading me astray. The Arya and the subsequent writings did not come from the brain. It was, of course, the same Power working. Now I do not use that method. I developed it to perfection and then abandoned it.
  --
   The question was raised about the Guru giving spiritual experience to disciples.
   Sri Aurobindo: It only means that the readiness was already there and the Guru's help removes the obstacle and the natural development comes about. But no one can permanently change the consciousness.
   Disciple: The difficulty with our people is that they seek the easy path and are easily satisfied; they do not want to face an uphill task.
  --
   A disciple's friend who had taken Yoga from some Guru came and wished to take up Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. He was told that this was not his path.
   Disciple: I told him to seek out his old Guru again and stick to him. But he likes an 'educated' and a 'good-looking' Guru! (Laughter)
   Sri Aurobindo: He told me during our talk that he was 'weak'. So I told him he must become strong. If he is unwilling to sit down at his task, that means he does not want it.
   I am afraid he would not stick to anybody. And then he has got this 'educated' stupidity about his Guru! What people understand by education is some kind of ideas or thoughts and restlessness without any fixity of aim. He can take yoga from Tagore if he wants a good-looking Guru! The whole thing is that he is not prepared to take trouble.
   Disciple: His idea of a mahpurua is that he can make small men do what they cannot do by themselves alone.
  --
   Disciple: But then would the idea of surrender to the Guru alone be sufficient?
   Sri Aurobindo: What do you mean by it? Do you think it so easy to surrender? It is very difficult, it is Sadhana itself.
   Disciple: But supposing a man surrenders to a human Guru, would it be sufficient?
   Sri Aurobindo: What do you mean by surrender to a human being? And sufficient for what?
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: I suppose when a man surrenders himself to another man, he surrenders to the Truth in the man. In what other sense can one understand it? He can, of course, get whatever the Guru has got if he is sincere and if he has a still greater sincerity for the search he may become even greater than his Guru.
   The disciples then began to recount about various Gurus. The question raised was: "Should the mahpurua call himself God?" The difference between Rukmini's and Radha's surrender was also discussed. Rukmini laid down conditions in her surrender while Radha surrendered unconditionally.
   Disciple: I now remember how Girish Chandra Ghosh, some days before his death, said that though Ramakrishna had asked him to leave the burden of his Sadhana to him, yet Girish found he had not been able to transfer his burden to Ramakrishna.
   Sri Aurobindo: But the idea in India is that Yoga is a work of abhysa constant practice. How can one man do Sadhana for another? Whatever may be the idea in other yogas, in our Yoga, at any rate, to leave the burden to the Guru would defeat its own aim. Each must work out his way by himself. What the Guru can do at the most is that he can put the Power. But the rejection and the transformation are to be done by the sadhak himself. He can get the help when he needs. And when the Guru can put the Power one may not be able to hold it, or one may even spend it away uselessly. Everyone has to work out his way.
   A suggestion was made to the newcomer to stick to his Vaishnava Guru from whom he had got the temporary experience of peace. His objections to the Guru were: 1. That he was a Vaishnava. 2. That he did not generally speak and explain. 3. That he was not impressive-looking. This was reported to Sri Aurobindo.
   Sri Aurobindo: All these, if they are true, instead of being disqualifications are, on the contrary, recommendations! The fact that he can give experience in silence is a sign of a great yogi. That he does not speak except when necessary is also a good sign. He may be a Vaishnava or a Shaiva, that matters very little; that is religion. But this man does not want any religion from him he wants spiritual development. What has that to do with religion ?
  --
   Disciple: In this Yoga what is the part of the sadhak and how far does it depend upon God and how far upon the Guru?
   Sri Aurobindo: O Lord! That is too big a question. Do you want a mathematical reply or what?
  --
   Then there is the Guru. What do you mean by the Guru? If you mean myself, I may, for the sake of convenience, consent to be called the Guru, but there is no Guru in this Yoga as people ordinarily understand the term. It is the Higher Force that is coming down. Generally, whenever any such Higher Force comes down it prepares an instrument who discovers the Truth but really speaking, to whom it is revealed, and it manifests itself in him in proportion to his power of receptivity; there, too, the power is given to him. When the Power that is coming down prepares one such instrument it becomes easy for it to come down into others who want to manifest it, who do not want to go their own way but want to have and live the Truth. Then there is the chance of success. (Pointing to himself) Here is the instrument. Whenever there is the human instrument it becomes easy for the Higher Truth to manifest itself in life. If you prefer to call it a 'dynamo' you can say so. Even then everyone has to do his own work.
   In this Yoga, at any rate, you can't say that "the Guru will do everything", and leave the whole burden to him. I do not know about other Yogas; but this Yoga means growing conscious every moment of what is going on in oneself. One has to give consent to the higher working, rejecting the lower movement. That is the basis.
   The conditions for receiving the Guru's help are the same as those for receiving the help of the Higher Power directly. Unless you consent to his working, even God does not help man. In this Yoga there is that perfect liberty to the individual to make his choice.
   Disciple: Do we get the help through you or directly?
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: I had to tell him clearly: "If you want to do what you like and then want the Guru to help you I can't do it." In his case there were two things wrong: he had certain experiences and he began to indulge himself in them, to take the Bhoga of the experiences. He felt the exhilaration and the sense of power. When for two or three days he went without food with that weak body of his, people used to wonder. But it was all due to the vital force, and he entirely precipitated himself into the vital.
   The second thing was that he did not want the Truth for its own sake but he wanted it so that he might become something great and unique he wanted the Truth for himself he wanted to become divine and used to tell me that he had already got half the Supermind. I was trying to push him into the physical consciousness. Unfortunately his psychic being had no hold over his other parts.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Ido not know. But Ithink some kind of consent somewhere in the being, veiled or unveiled, is absolutely necessary for the working of the power of the Guru. But the exterior does not matter. The real thing required is the central sincerity.
   Disciple: Suppose there is the central consent.
  --
   Disciple: What is the ideal relation of a disciple to his Guru?
   Sri Aurobindo: Ask some other question! You must find it out within yourself.
   Disciple: What should be the relation of the Guru to his disciple?
   Sri Aurobindo: That I know. (Laughter)
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: In these matters it is no good forming mental ideas and ideals and trying to cut the behaviour according to it. Again, it depends on the Guru.
   Disciple: What I wanted to know was: Is there anything like Grace what is called ahaituk kp?
   Sri Aurobindo: You mean to say that the Guru would give everything whether the disciple deserved it or not? What do you mean by ahaituk kp?
   Disciple: I do not know the exact meaning, but I believe it is what may be called Grace. Something from the Divine descending in man.
  --
   Disciple: Then is there nothing like the personal side of the Guru? I was all along thinking that there is the personal side as well as the impersonal side. Anyone who opens himself to the impersonal side of the Guru gets the Truth, but unless there is surrender to the personal it is not complete. This personal side of the Guru can use divine Grace.
   Sri Aurobindo: It depends on the Guru. If he is a human Guru then his personal vital or mental preferences may play a part and often they falsify the purpose of Grace. The less they interfere the better. But what did you mean by the personal and the impersonal? Do you mean to say that if you gave me a lot of fruits and other things everyday there would be a lot of spiritual things going from me to you ? (Laughter)
   Disciple: It will depend upon the object with which one gives the fruit, etc.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: As I said, it depends on the Guru. You don't mean to say that the personal side of the Guru decides voluntarily and independently of the Divine what is to be given to a disciple? Even when it appears to take that form it is something else that decides. The more the personal element (in the sense of the vital or mental preference on the part of the Guru) the more is the likelihood of mistake being committed. If he is a mere human Guru, then if he is a Bengali he would like to give his grace to Bengalis or he would choose his relatives. That has nothing to do with the divine Work. All that idea about patita-pvana and adhama-uddhra means only this that however bad or seemingly wicked the external life may be, the man can yet be saved if he has something in him which can receive the Truth. One may say that even for Grace to descend there are conditions.
   Disciple: Are these conditions determined by the Divine?
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: It is one of the conditions. There is also the power to receive the Force and many other things. It is not as simple as many people imagine that the Guru gives and the disciple takes.
   Disciple: Is it not true that of all the disciples of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda got the greatest benefit?
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Not always; otherwise why so many failures and defeats? The Guru may fill the deficiency.
   Disciple: At times does the Guru even ward off the attack without any effort on the part of the sadhak?
   Sri Aurobindo: Yes. There is no general rule; in some cases the Guru does the whole thing, sometimes the sadhak starts and the Guru helps which means that the Higher Power helps and the Guru is made only an instrument.
   10 SEPTEMBER 1926

2.09 - THE MASTERS BIRTHDAY, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER (to Narendra and the others): "Let me tell you this: really and truly I don't feel sorry in the least that I haven't read the Vednta or the other scriptures. I know that the essence of the Vednta is that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. And what is the essence of the Git? It is what you get by repeating the word ten times. Then it is reversed into, 'Tagi', which refers to renunciation. The pupil should hear the essence of the scriptures from the Guru; then he should practise austerity and devotions. A man needs the letter he has received from home as long as he has not learnt its contents.
  After reading it, however, he sets out to get the thing he has been asked to send.
  --
  "There are two kinds of yoga: Mano Yoga and Karma Yoga. To perform, following the Guru's instructions, such pious acts as worship, pilgrimage, and service to living beings is called karmayoga. The duties that Janaka performed are also called karmayoga. The meditation and contemplation of the yogis is called manoyoga."
  "Sometimes I say to myself in the Kli temple, 'O Mother, the mind is nothing but Yourself.' Therefore Pure Mind, Pure Buddhi, and Pure tman are one and the same thing."
  --
  "To sit with a woman or talk to her a long time has also been described as a kind of sexual intercourse. There are eight kinds. To listen to a woman and enjoy her conversation is one kind; to speak about a woman is another kind; to whisper to her privately is a third kind; to keep something belonging to a woman and enjoy it is a fourth kind; to touch her is a fifth. Therefore a sannysi should not salute his Guru's young wife, touching her feet. These are the rules for sannysis.
  Householders discipline

2.11 - On Education, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: There was Guru grha vsa living with the Guru and corporate life.
   Sri Aurobindo: Where is the Guru-grha now?
   Disciple: Seal says that in ancient times students used to do manual work for the Guru, and they were also living a corporate life, i.e., the student community working together for common ends.
   Disciple: He wants modern education to be national, international, socialistic, etc. I am afraid he tries to read some modern thoughts into the ancient system.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: In very ancient times it was the building up of spiritual character which was the aim of education. The Guru was generally a yogi who put his influence for the growth of the student. Spiritual life was the aim, and its centre was the Veda. Of course, there was also cultural training, but it was not the main thing. For instance, take the case of Satyakama. The method of teaching was to send him out driving the cows. How does Seal reconcile that with any modern method?
   The main basis in India was spiritual in contrast to the Greek ideal of education. In Greece it was intellectual and aesthetic. The Greeks tried to give intellectual training but not through giving information and teaching different subjects. They rather allowed the intellect to grow freely and there was an atmosphere in which these capacities and activities could grow.

2.11 - The Guru, #Words Of The Mother II, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  object:2.11 - The Guru
  class:chapter
  The Guru
    In an age like ours success alone counts and the material satisfactions it brings. However, an ever-increasing number of dissatisfied people are seeking to know the reason of life. And, on the other hand, there are sages who know and strive to help suffering humanity and to spread the light of knowledge. When the two meet, he who knows and he who wants to know, there springs up a new hope in the world, and a little light penetrates the prevailing darkness.
  --
    The western mind always finds it difficult to submit totally to a Guru and without total and unquestioning surrender to the Guru his help to you is paralysed. That is why generally I advise westerners to find the guidance and the Presence within themselves; it is true that this process is very often open to uncertainty and self-deception, mistaking some voice of the ego in disguise for the Divines guidance.
    In both cases, it is only an absolute sincerity and an unmixed humility that can be your safeguard.
  --
    If you have faith and confidence, it is not the human form of the Guru that you worship, but the Supreme Lord who manifests through him.
    Be not troubled and give yourself unreservedly to the Supreme Lord through whatever channel helps you.
  --
    It follows that the knowledge given to one may not be useful or good for another. That is why the personal teaching of the Guru must not be disclosed to others.
    *

2.12 - THE MASTERS REMINISCENCES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "People with a little occult power gain such things as name and fame. Many of them want to follow the profession of Guru, gain people's recognition, and make disciples and devotees. Men say of such a Guru: 'Ah! He is having a wonderful time. How many people visit him! He has many disciples and followers. His house is overflowing with furniture and other things. People give him presents. He has such power that he can feed many people if he so desires.'
  "The profession of a teacher is like that of a prostitute. It is the selling of oneself for the trifle of money, honour, and creature comforts. For such insignificant things it is not good to prostitute the body, mind, and soul, the means by which one can attain God. A man once said about a certain woman: 'Ah! She is having a grand time now. She is so well off! She has rented a room and furnished it with a couch, a mat, pillows, and many other things. And how many people she controls! They are always visiting her.' In other words, the woman has now become a prostitute. Therefore her happiness is unbounded.

2.13 - On Psychology, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: Then directly you go to a Guru! (Laughter)
   Sri Aurobindo: The true dissatisfaction comes from the inner being which is not satisfied with the ordinary life once it is touched by the psychic being.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Yes. Tolstoy was his Guru.
   Disciple: The Russian people have an enthusiastic but tragic and gloomy temperament.

2.13 - THE MASTER AT THE HOUSES OF BALARM AND GIRISH, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER: "Let me give an illustration. A natmandir has pillars inside and outside. An antaranga is like the inside pillars. Those who always live near the Guru are the antarangas.
  (To Mahimacharan) "The Jnni wants neither a form of God nor His Incarnation. While wandering in the forest, Ramachandra saw a number of rishis. They welcomed Him to their rama with great love and said to Him: 'O Rma, today our life is blessed because we have seen You. But we know You as the son of Daaratha. Bharadvaja and other sages call You a Divine Incarnation; but that is not our view. We meditate on the Indivisible Satchidananda.' Rma was pleased with them and smiled.
  --
  "A Guru said to his disciple: 'The world is illusory. Come away with me.' 'But, revered sir,' said the disciple, 'my people at home-my father, my mother, my wife-love me so much. How can I give them up?' The Guru said: No doubt you now have this feeling of "I" and "mine" and say that they love you; but this is all an illusion of your mind. I shall teach you a trick, and you will know whether they love you truly or not.' Saying this, the teacher gave the disciple a pill and said to him: 'Swallow this at home. You will appear to be a corpse, but you will not lose consciousness. You will see everything and hear everything. Then I shall come to your house and gradually you will regain your normal state.'
  "The disciple followed the teacher's instructions and lay on his bed like a dead person: The house was filled with loud wailing. His mother, his wife, and the others lay on the ground weeping bitterly. Just then a brahmin entered the house and said to them, 'What is the matter with you?' 'This boy is dead', they replied. The brahmin felt his pulse and said: 'How is that? No, he is not dead. I have a medicine for him that will cure him completely.' The joy of the relatives was unbounded; it seemed to them that heaven itself had come down into their house. 'But', said the brahmin, 'I must tell you something else. Another person must take some of this medicine first and then the boy must swallow the rest. But the other person will die. I see he has so many dear relatives here; one of them will certainly agree to take the medicine. I see his wife and mother crying bitterly. Surely they will not hesitate to take it.'
  --
  MASTER (to M. and the others): "Is it an easy thing to obtain the Knowledge of Brahman? It is not possible unless the mind is annihilated. The Guru said to the disciple, 'Give me your mind and I shall give you Knowledge.' In this state one enjoys only spiritual talk and the company of devotees.
  (To Ram) "You are a physician. You know that medicine works only when it mixes with the patient's blood and becomes one with it. Likewise, in the state of Brahmajnana one sees God both within and without. One sees that it is God Himself who has become the body, mind, life, and soul."
  --
  MASTER: "He has nothing to fear if God Himself, as the Guru cuts the chain of my."
  --------------------

2.14 - AT RAMS HOUSE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "It is not good to be a Guru by profession. One cannot be a teacher without a comm and from God. He who says he is a Guru is a man of mean intelligence. Haven't you seen a balance? The lighter side goes higher. He who is spiritually higher than others does not consider himself a Guru. Everyone wants to be a teacher, but a disciple is hard to find."
  Trailokya was seated on the floor, to the north of the small couch. He was going to sing.
  --
  Thou art my ever gracious Guru;
  Thou the Spring of my boundless bliss.

2.15 - CAR FESTIVAL AT BALARMS HOUSE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  M. was surprised and said to himself: "Why did the Master suddenly ask me about the great storm of win? Does he know that I was alone at that time earnestly praying to God with tears in my eyes? Does he know all this? Has he been protecting me as my Guru since my very birth?"
  MASTER: "It was quite late in the day at Dakshineswar when the storm broke, but somehow they managed to cook the meals. The trees were uprooted. You see, this is the fate of the house one lives in.

2.15 - On the Gods and Asuras, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   There was then talk about another spiritual figure in Bengal. A disciple of this Guru, A, argued with a Pandit trying to prove the Avatarhood of the Guru. But the Pandit would not accept it. So when he slept at night on an iron bed-stead they applied an electric current and gave him shocks, to make him accept the Guru's Avatarhood!
   Sri Aurobindo: But Ithought A always denied that he was an Avatar.

2.17 - December 1938, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Sri Aurobindo: That is natural peace which is more than quietude. But there is a positive peace which one knows and feels. Truth also can descend into the physical, and also Power, but very few can bear Power. Light also descends. I remember a disciple telling his Guru about the descent of Light in himself. The Guru said, "The devil has caught hold of you." And from that time the disciple lost everything.
   There is an infinite sea of peace, Ananda, above the head. If one is in contact with it one can get these things always.
  --
   Y was another M, with a powerful vital being. At one time I had strong hopes about him. But people whose sadhana is on a vital basis pass into what I have called the Intermediate Zone and hardly go beyond. The vital is like a jungle and it is extremely difficult to rescue one with such a vital power. It is comparatively much easier to help people who are weak and have no such power. Y used to think that he had put himself in the Divine's hand and the Divine was in him. We had to be severe with him to disillusion him of his idea. That is why he could not remain here. He went back and became a Guru with about thirty or forty disciples round him. Gurugiri comes very easily to these people. He did all that in my name which I heartily disliked. Unfortunately his mind was not equally powerfully developed as his vital. He had the fighter's mind, not the thinker's. We often put a strong force on him and as a result he used to become very lucid for a time and he could see his wrong movements. But immediately his vital rushed back and took control of his mind and it all used to be wiped out. If his mind had been as developed perhaps he would have been able to retain the clarity. The intellect helps one to separate oneself from the vital and look at it dispassionately. The mind also can deceive but not so much.
   M is another of this type.
  --
   Disciple: Why are Gurus obliged to work with imperfect and defective people like us? Here the difficulty seems to be more keen.
   Sri Anrobindo: That has been a puzzle to me also. But it is so. Our case is a little different. Our aim is to change the world not universally, of course. Hence every one here represents human nature with all its difficulties and capacities. (Looking at the disciple) That's how your difficulties are explained.

2.17 - THE MASTER ON HIMSELF AND HIS EXPERIENCES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  The pundit clung to his feet and said, "O Guru! Please give me God Consciousness."
  After the pundit had left the room Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "Don't you see that what I have said is coming to pass? Those who have sincerely practised meditation and japa must come here."
  --
  MASTER: "Shame! Never say that again. I look on myself as a devotee of Krishna, not as Krishna Himself. You may think as you like. You may look on your Guru as God.
  Nevertheless, it is wrong to talk as you are talking. You must not talk that way again."
  --
  GIRISH: "The Guru and the Ishta. I like very much the form of the Guru. I am not afraid of him. Why should it be so? I am afraid of ecstasy. At the sight of ecstasy I run away."
  The Guru and the Chosen Ideal
  MASTER: "He who is the Ishta appears in the form of the Guru. The aspirant practises meditation on a corpse. When he obtains the vision of his Chosen Ideal, it is really the Guru who appears to him and says, 'This is that', that is to say, he points out to the disciple his Ishta. Uttering these words, the Guru disappears into the form of the Ishta.
  The disciple no longer sees the Guru. In the state of perfect Jnna, who is the Guru and who is the sishya? That creates a very difficult situation; there the teacher and the disciple do not see each other.' "
  A DEVOTEE: " Guru's head and disciple's feet."
  --
  NAVAGOPAL: "But listen to its meaning. The disciple's head belongs to the Guru; and the Guru's feet belong to the disciple. Do you understand?"
  GIRISH: "No, that is not the meaning. Haven't you seen the child climbing on the head of the father? That is why the disciple's feet are mentioned."
  --
  "The aspirants of both classes are devotees of God. The farther you advance, the more you will realize that God alone has become everything. He alone does everything. He alone is the Guru and He alone is the Ishta. He alone gives us knowledge and devotion.
  "The farther you advance, the more you will see that there are other things even beyond the sandalwood forest-mines of silver and gold and precious gems. Therefore go forward.

2.18 - January 1939, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   There is a humorous passage in it, where a disciple asks the Guru whether the king is on the elephant or the elephant on the king. (Laughter)
   Disciple: The king must be Ramamurthy if the elephant was to be on him.
   Sri Aurobindo: Then the Guru jumps on the shoulders of the disciple and asks him whether he is on the disciples back or the disciple on his back. (Laughter)
   There is also a very fine description of Jada Bharata.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Ifind Z's letter to Y is written with his usual clear vision. He advises Y to guard against mixing up his own feeling of personal wrong with the legitimate decision not to shake hands with one who has wronged the Guru. Then he says, "These people like M, when they take to Yoga it is more ornamental than anything else." It is a fine phrase "ornamental Yoga".
   Disciple: About Z becoming a Buddhist, Y said it is only that Z does not want to belong to any particular sect.
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: Yes. But she took up politics as part of Vivekananda's work. Her book is one of the best on Vivekananda. Vivekananda himself had ideas about political work and revolution. Once he had a vision which corresponded to something like Maniktolla Garden. It is curious that many Sannyasins at that time had thought of India's freedom. Ramana Maharshi's young disciples were revolutionaries. Our Yogananda's Guru also had such ideas. Thakur Dayananda was also one such. (Turning to a disciple) Do you know one Mr. Manthel?
   Disciple: The one with spectacles?
  --
   Sri Aurobindo: If you can wait you will know yourself, or you have to accept it from the Guru who has gone through the experience you have to accept it by Sravana, hearing, and then by Manana, meditating upon it.
   Disciple: It is said that ascent and descent take place. How to know it?

2.18 - SRI RAMAKRISHNA AT SYAMPUKUR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "I must tell you something else. Why should I not listen to the 'mahut Narayana'? The Guru had taught his disciple that everything was Narayana. A mad elephant was coming toward the disciple, but he did not move away since he believed the Guru's words. He thought that the elephant was Narayana. The mahut shouted to him: 'Get away! Get away!' But the disciple did not move. The elephant picked him up and threw him to the ground. The disciple was not quite dead; when his face was sprinkled with water he regained consciousness. Being asked why he had not moved away, he said: 'why should I? The Guru said, "Everything is Narayana."' 'But, my child,' said the Guru, 'Why didn't you listen to the words of the mahut Narayana?'
  "It is God who dwells within as the Pure Mind and Pure Intelligence. I am the machine and He is its Operator. I am the house and He is the Indweller. It is God who is the mahut Narayana."

2.2.02 - Becoming Conscious in Work, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  As for the feeling from within, it depends on being able to go inside. Sometimes it comes of itself with the deepening of the consciousness by bhakti or otherwise; sometimes it comes by practicea sort of referring the matter and listening for the answerlistening is of course a metaphor but it is difficult to express it otherwiseit doesnt mean that the answer comes necessarily in the shape of words, spoken or unspoken, though it does sometimes or for some; it can take any shape. The main difficulty for many is to be sure of the right answer. For that it is necessary to be able to contact the consciousness of the Guru inwardly that comes best by bhakti. Otherwise it may become a delicate and ticklish job. Obstacles, (1) normal habit of relying on outward means for everything, (2) ego, substituting its suggestions for the right answer, (3) mental activity, (4) intruder nuisances. I think you need not be eager for this, but rely on the growth of the inner consciousness. The above is only by way of general explanation.
  ***

2.2.04 - Practical Concerns in Work, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  [Discipline:] To act according to a standard of Truth or a rule or law of action (dharma) or in obedience to a superior authority or to the highest principles discovered by the reason and intelligent will and not according to ones own fancy, vital impulses and desires. In Yoga obedience to the Guru or to the Divine and the law of the Truth as declared by the Guru is the foundation of discipline.
  ***

2.21 - IN THE COMPANY OF DEVOTEES AT SYAMPUKUR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  "When the mind is united with God, one sees Him very near, in one's own heart. But you must remember one thing. The more you realize this unity, the farther your mind is withdrawn from worldly things. There is the story of Vilwamangal in the Bhaktamala. He used to visit a prostitute. One night he was very late in going to her house. He had been detained at home by the sraddha ceremony of his father and mother. In his hands he was carrying the food offered in the ceremony, to feed his mistress. His whole soul was so set upon the woman that he was not at all conscious of his movements. He didn't even know how he was walking. There was a yogi seated on the path, meditating on God with eyes closed. Vilwamangal stepped on him. The yogi became angry, and cried out: 'What? Are you blind? I have been thinking of God, and you step on my body!' 'I beg your pardon,' said Vilwamangal, 'but may I ask you something? I have been unconscious, thinking of a prostitute, and you are conscious of the outer world though thinking of God. What kind of meditation is that?' In the end Vilwamangal renounced the world and went away in order to worship God. He said to the prostitute: 'You are my Guru. You have taught me how one should yearn for God.' He addressed the prostitute as his mother and gave her up."
  DR. SARKAR: "To address a woman as mother is the Tantrik form of worship."
  --
  First my Guru gives molasses for the making of the Wine; My longing is the ferment to transform it.
  Knowledge, the maker of the Wine, prepares it for me then; And when it is done, my mind imbibes it from the bottle of the mantra,

2.22 - 1941-1943, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   Disciple: Could one make a surrender to a Guru whose outer nature is imperfect?
   Sri Aurobindo: It has nothing to do with any human standards moral or mental. Most often it is the ego that says, "This fellow has got this defect, I wont surrender to him."
   Disciple: But doesn't the very act of accepting someone as a Guru require some perception or feeling or experience of the Divine in the person?
   Sri Aurobindo: Not necessarily. It may be only a belief in the Divinity of the Guru. That way it can be argued that God is imperfect because the exterior working in this world is full of imperfection, ignorance, suffering, etc. All these things do not count. The question is whether the Divinity in the Guru can awaken the Divine in the disciple.
   Vivekananda was conscious of Ramakrishna's shortcomings and his mind was very agnostic. So it took him years and he was fighting with himself before he accepted Ramakrishna.
  --
   Faith blind, in Guru's words.
   Religion is superfluous and injurious to India.

2.22 - THE MASTER AT COSSIPORE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  MASTER: "How wonderful Narendra's state of mind is! You see, this very Narendra did not believe in the forms of God. And now you see how his soul is panting for God! You know that story of the man who asked his Guru how God could be realized. The Guru said to him: 'Come with me. I shall show you how one can realize God.' Saying this, he took the disciple to a lake and held his head under the water. After a short time he released the disciple and asked him, 'How did you feel?' 'I was dying for a breath of air!' said the disciple.
  "When the soul longs and yearns for God like that, then you will know that you do not have long to wait for His vision. The rosy colour on the eastern horizon shows that the sun will soon rise."

2.2.3 - Depression and Despondency, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  I have tried to dispel all the misconceptions, explain things as they are and meet all the points at issue. It is not that you really cannot make progress or have not made any progress; on the contrary, you yourself have admitted that you have made a good advance in many directions and there is no reason why, if you persevere, the rest should not come. You have always believed in the Guruvada: I would ask you then to put your faith in the Guru and the guidance and rely on the Ishwara for the fulfilment, to have faith in my abiding love and affection, in the affection and divine goodwill and loving kindness of the Mother, stand firm against all attacks and go forward perseveringly towards the spiritual goal and the all-fulfilling and all-satisfying touch of the All-Blissful, the Ishwara.
    Nothing has ever happened, nothing is happening, nothing will happen.Ed.

2.23 - THE MASTER AND BUDDHA, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  RAKHAL: "At the beginning I too used to feel jealous of others when they visited the Master. But he graciously revealed to me that my Guru is also the Guru of the Universe. Has he taken this birth only for a few of us?"
  SASHI: "I don't mean that. But why should she trouble him when he is ill? And she is such a nuisance!"
  --
  SURENDRA: "It is said that a man should bring fruit and flowers when visiting his Guru or a holy man. So I have brought these. . . . (To the Master) I am spending all this money for you. God alone knows my heart. Some people feel grieved to give away a penny; and there are people who spend a thousand rupees without feeling any hesitation. God sees the inner love of a devotee and accepts his offering."
  Sri Ramakrishna said to Surendra, by a nod, that he was right.

2.24 - THE MASTERS LOVE FOR HIS DEVOTEES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Neither friend nor comrade, neither disciple nor Guru:
  I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Siva! I am Siva!
  --
  SURENDRA (to Kedar): "Doesn't our Gurudeva (Referring to Sri Ramakrishna) know our inner feelings? He does not care for money. It is our inner attitude that pleases him."
  Sri Ramakrishna with a nod of his head approved Surendra's words.

2.25 - AFTER THE PASSING AWAY, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
  Narendra and the other devotees stood up and circled round and round the tree, singing and dancing. Now and then they chanted in chorus: "Siva Guru! Siva Guru!"
  It was midnight, the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the moon. Pitch darkness filled all the quarters. Men, birds, and animals were all hushed into silence. The young sannyasis were clad in gerrua robes. The words "Siva Guru", chanted in their full-throated voices, rose into the infinite sky like the rumblings of rain-clouds and disappeared in the Indivisible Satchidananda.
  The worship was over. The sun, about to rise, was painting the eastern horizon crimson. In this sacred twilight, the conjunction of night and day, the holy Brahmamuhurta, the young worshippers finished their baths in the Ganges.
  --
  Refreshments were now given to everyone. M. looked on at this wonderful mart of happiness. The devotees shouted joyfully, "Jai Gurumaharaj!" (Victory to the Guru.)
  Monday, March 25, 1887
  --
  It was dusk. The evening worship was over. The devotees, as usual, sang in chorus, "Jaya Siva Omkara". Afterwards they assembled in the room of the "danas". M., too, was seated there. Prasanna was reading from the Guru Gita.
  Narendra sang:
  --
  There is none higher than the Guru, none better than the Guru;
  This is what Siva has declared.
  I shall sing of the blessed Guru, the Supreme Brahman;
  I shall worship the blessed Guru, the Supreme Brahman;
  I shall meditate on the blessed Guru, the Supreme Brahman;
  I shall bow down to the blessed Guru, the Supreme Brahman.
  As Narendra sang these verses from the Guru Gita in his melodious voice, the minds of the devotees became steady, like a candle-name in a windless place.
  Rakhal was seated in Kali Tapasvi's room. Prasanna sat near him. M., too, was there.
  --
  RAKHAL: "Can our parents love us as intensely as Gurumaharaj [mean- ing Sri Ramakrishna] did? What have we done for him, to deserve all this love? Why was he so eager for our welfare in body, mind, and soul? What have we done for him, to deserve all this?"
  M. (to himself): "Ah! Rakhal is right. Therefore a person like Sri Ramakrishna is described as the 'Ocean of Mercy without any reason'."
  --
  The meaning of hearing the scriptures from the Guru and reasoning on his instruction;
  How then can I speak of reflecting on Truth without interruption? Therefore, O Siva! O Mahadeva! O Sambhu! forgive me, I pray, for my transgressions.
  --
  Repeating the holy 'mantra given to me by my Guru;
  Never have I done penance along the Ganges with japa and study of the Vedas.
  --
  Worship Siva, as your Guru instructs you, for the attaining of Self-Knowledge.
  Day by day does man come nearer to death;
  --
  I salute the self-effulgent Guru of the gods, the Lord of Uma;
  I salute the Cause of the Universe;
  --
  Neither friend nor comrade, neither disciple nor Guru:
  I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Siva! I am Siva!

2.25 - List of Topics in Each Talk, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
   | Part II | The Home of the Guru |
   | Part III | The Evening Sittings |
  --
   | 27-12-23 | Athavale: Purusha, Prakriti, psychic, will, celibacy, obstacles, receiving Guru's help |
   | 01-01-24 | Visitors: Spiritism, medium, Karmayoga |
  --
   | 20-12-38 | Public life; Homeopathy, Yogic force; Guru and disciples; vital interchange, vampires |
   | 21-12-38 | Ayurveda, Hippocrates, Galen |
  --
   | 16-10-25 | Guru and disciple; Abhyasa and Tapasya |
   | 02-03-26 | Higher Power and receptivity; Guru and personal effort; Tirupati; central being and sincerity; conditions for transformation |
   | 09-04-26 | Drinking, narcotics, Samadhi; Sri Aurobindo's experiences |
  --
   | 06-09-26 | Guru and disciple, Grace, preferences; consent for Divine to act; measure of spirituality; outer success and inner progress; energy from Yoga; money power |
   | 09- 09-26 | Hostiles: controlling and transforming them; Higher Power and Adhar |
  --
   | 22-12-38 | Right attitude, psychic control; love for all; transformation; fall in Yoga; Intermediate zone and Guru-giri |
   | 23-12-38 | Divine's Omnipotence; Christianity, Buddhism, Mohammedanism; Ramana Maharshi |
  --
   | 29-12-38 | Psychic being, Ramana Maharshi's experience; Tagore's meditation; choosing a Guru; spiritual realisations; truth in science and political systems; immortality; intellectuals |
   | Chapter 18 | January 1939 |
  --
   | 19-04-43 | Spiritism; ego and effort in Yoga; Guru and his external nature |
   | 07-08-43 | Faith and reason; Sri Aurobindo's interventions in the War, Brahman vs. Brahman, Sri Aurobindo's message about Cripps' Proposals |

2.2.7.01 - Some General Remarks, #Letters On Poetry And Art, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  By the way what is this story about my four or five hours concentration a day for several years before anything came down? Such a thing never happened, if by concentration you mean laborious meditation. What I did was four or five hours a day pranayamwhich is quite another matter. And what flow do you speak of? The flow of poetry came down while I was doing pranayam, not some years afterwards. If it is the flow of experiences, that did come after some years, but after I had stopped the Pranayam for a long time and was doing nothing and did not know what to do or where to turn once all my efforts had failed. And it came as a result not of years of Pranayam or concentration, but in a ridiculously easy way, by the grace either of a temporary Guru (but it wasnt that, for he was himself bewildered by it) or by the grace of the eternal Brahman and afterwards by the the grace of Mahakali and Krishna. So dont try to turn me into an argument against the Divine; that attempt will be perfectly ineffective.
  I am obliged to stopif I go on, there will be no Pranam till 12 oclock. So send your Jeremiad back tonight and I will see what else to write. Have written this in a headlong hurry I hope it is not full of lapsus calami.

2.3.01 - Aspiration and Surrender to the Mother, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  I always thought that in other Yogas seekers first had to undergo a rigorous disciplined period of 12 years of Brahmacharya, and only when the Guru certified their physical, vital, mental immunity were they allowed to enter into its practical course.
  Aspiration and Surrender to the Mother
  --
  Never heard of this 12 years affair or of any certificate. Perhaps in European occultism there are noviciates, stages, ordeals, grades etc. In India the Guru gives a mantra as soon as he accepts a disciple and tells him to go ahead with it. We have no mantra except the Mother's name. But usually we give work, tell them to aspire, reject, open to the Mother. I don't know whether you call that the practical course. Anyhow people have got into difficulties here even without any practical course, most while doing their "twelve years" and in some cases we have had to push them into active sadhana as the only way to control the lower forces and get them out of it.
  Here the merry lot fancy they can do all manner of things.
  --
  Force is felt at work to let it work without opposition, when the Knowledge is given to receive and follow it, when the Will is revealed to make oneself its instrument. It is also, no doubt, to accept the guidance and control of the Guru who is at least supposed to know better than oneself what is or is not the Truth and the way to the Truth. All that is nothing very terrible, it is simple common sense. As to the particular kind of control you speak of, it is not imposed on anybody; it is only a few in the Asram who at all follow any such rule. X whom you mention would not have dreamed a year or two ago of asking the Mother before doing anything; if he does so now, it is not because the Mother told him to do so or "imposed" it on him, but because he felt the need for it for his sadhana. The Mother never imposed any rule on Y; he made his own rule of life of his own accord according to his own perception of the best way for him to concentrate and took the sanction of the Mother.
  You yourself were told by the Mother that you had no need to do what Z was trying to do in this respect at that time of her own motion - that for each it was only when he felt the need that he should do it. I do not see therefore why you should fear so much for your liberty - when in the whole Asram of 120 people there are hardly half a dozen who follow any such rule of strict external surrender. And I cannot understand what you mean by the reproach that we have made some people stiff and speechless. Who are they? X, Y, A? As far as I know, they are quite indefatigable and eloquent or fluent talkers. I am guiltless of the crime you charge against me.

2.3.03 - The Mother's Presence, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  How much freedom is given to every sadhak here! But how many of us know what is meant by a Guru and how to respect him and treat him?
  Certainly very few seem to realise what a possibility has been given them here - all has been turned into an opportunity for the bubbling of the vital or the tamas of the physical rather than

2.3.04 - The Mother's Force, #The Mother With Letters On The Mother, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  In this process of the descent from above and the working it is most important not to rely entirely on oneself, but to rely on the guidance of the Guru and to refer all that happens to his judgment and arbitration and decision. For it often happens that the forces of the lower nature are stimulated and excited by the descent and want to mix with it and turn it to their profit. It often happens too that some Power or Powers undivine in their nature present themselves as the Supreme Lord or as the Divine Mother and claim the being's service and surrender. If these things are accepted, there will be an extremely disastrous consequence. If indeed there is the assent of the sadhak to the Divine working alone and the submission or surrender to that guidance, then all can go smoothly. This assent and a rejection of all egoistic forces or forces that appeal to the ego are the safeguard throughout the sadhana. But the ways of Nature are full of snares, the disguises of the ego are innumerable, the illusions of the Powers of Darkness, Rakshasi Maya, are extraordinarily skilful; the reason is an insufficient guide and often turns traitor; vital desire is always
  214

2.3.1 - Ego and Its Forms, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Others before you have entered into this whirl of the vital mind and ego and have gone on justifying it and indulging it. The only result was a constant repetition of vital crises sometimes ending in departure and the failure of the sadhana; others by a repeated reaction of their psychic being finally succeeded in emerging out of the chaos. But we have found that to comply with the claims, demands, clamours, ultimatums of the vital mind in this condition is the worst way to meet the difficulty. It only increases the demands, revolts, outbursts of ego and makes the recurrence or continuance of the vital crises endless. You must get out of your head the idea that you have a right to demand this or that from the Mother because she is accepted by you as the Divine and that she is bound to satisfy you and any refusal is an offence and an outrage. The Mother acts and decides in all freedom according to her vision and judgment and she cannot be expected to act according to the desires, opinions or demands of the sadhaks nor can they judge by their minds her reasons or motives, for these do not belong to the ordinary consciousness in which the mind moves. For her to obey the dictates of the sadhaks or their claims and desires would be to make her work meaningless and a failure. Apart from that, the basis of this Yoga is self-giving and surrender of the sadhak to the Divine, his acceptance of guidance by a higher consciousness than his own. A reversal of the position, an imposition of the will of the lower consciousness on the Divine or the Guru is not admissible; yet the position you have taken in your letters of demand amounts to that and nothing else. This attitude must cease if you want to get out of your difficulty.
  I have tried to make the position clear to you. It is for you to accept or not to accept what I have said; but it is the only way possible for the sadhana.
  --
  In regard to the difference between you and X, the Mothers warning to you against the undesirability of too much talk, loose chat and gossip, social self-dispersion was entirely meant and stands; when you indulge in these things, you throw yourself out into a very small and ignorant consciousness in which your vital defects get free play and this is likely to bring you out of what you have developed in your inner consciousness. That was why we said that if you felt a reaction against these things when you went to Xs, it was a sign of (psychic) sensitiveness coming into youinto your vital and nervous being and we meant that it was all for the good. But in dealing with others, in withdrawing from these things you should not allow any sense of superiority to creep in or force on them by your manner or spirit a sense of disapproval or condemnation or pressure on them to change. It is for your personal inward need that you draw back from these things, that is all. As for them what they do in these matters, right or wrong, is their affair and ours; we will deal with them according to what we see as necessary and possible for them at the moment and for that purpose we can not only deal quite differently with different people, allowing for one what we forbid for another, but we may deal differently with the same person at different times, allowing or even encouraging today what we shall forbid tomorrow. Xs case is quite different from yours, for there is no resemblance in your natures. I told you that or something like it long ago and I emphasised in my letter to X that what might be the rule for myself or Y was not to be applied or going to be applied to his case. To deal otherwise would be to create difficulties in his sadhana and not to make it easier for him or swifter. I have also told him quite clearly in my letter that the attempt at meeting and mixing with otherswhich in the ordinary human life is attempted by sociableness and other contactshas to be realised in Yoga on another plane of consciousness and without the lower mixture for a higher unity with all on a spiritual and psychic basis. But the way, the time, the order of movements by which this is done, need not be the same for everybody. If he attempted to force himself it would lead to gloom, despondency and an artificial movement which would not be the true way to success. A human soul and nature cannot be dealt with by a set of mental rules applicable to everybody in the same way; if it were so, there would be no need of a Guru, each could set his chart of Yogic rules before him like the rules of Sandows exercise and follow them till he became the perfect siddha!
  I have said so much in order to let you understand why we do not deal in the same way with X as with you or another. The tendency to take what I lay down for one and apply it without discrimination to another is responsible for much misunderstanding. A general statement too, true in itself, cannot be applied to everyone alike or applied now and immediately without consideration of condition or circumstance or person or time. I may say generally that to bring down the supermind is my aim in the Yoga or that to do that one has first to rise out of mind into overmind, but if on the strength of that, anybody and everybody began trying to pull down the supermind or force his way immediately out of mind into overmind, the result would be disaster.

2.3.2 - Desire, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Demand and desire are only two different aspects of the same thingnor is it necessary that a feeling should be agitated or restless to be a desire; it can be, on the contrary, quietly fixed and persistent or persistently recurrent. Demand or desire comes from the mental or the vital and a psychic or spiritual need is a different thing. The psychic does not demand or desire; it aspires; it does not make conditions for its surrender or withdraw if its aspiration is not immediately satisfied for the psychic has complete trust in the Divine or in the Guru and can wait for the right time or the hour of the divine grace. The psychic has an insistence of its own, but it puts its pressure not on the Divine, but on the nature, placing a finger of light on all the defects there that stand in the way of the realisation, sifting out all that is mixed, ignorant or imperfect in the experience or in the movements of the Yoga and never satisfied with itself or with the nature till it has got it perfectly open to the Divine, free from all forms of ego, surrendered, simple and right in the attitude and all the movements. This is what has to be established entirely in the mind and vital and in the physical consciousness before supramentalisation of the whole nature is possible. Otherwise what one gets is more or less brilliant, half luminous, half cloudy illuminations and experiences on the mental and vital and physical planes, half truth, half error or at the best true only for those planes and inspired either from some larger mind or larger vital or at the best from the mental reaches above the human that intervene between the intellect and the Overmind. These can be very stimulating and satisfying up to a certain point and are good for those who want some spiritual realisation on these planes; but the supramental realisation is something much more difficult and exacting in its conditions and the most difficult of all is to bring it down on to the physical level.
  ***

2.4.02.09 - Contact and Union with the Divine, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  and his Guru. The more ways there are of the union, the better.
  Adesh and darshan are elements of a stage of sadhana in which

2.4.02 - Bhakti, Devotion, Worship, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  4) Obedience to the Guru, worship of the Divine are all tommy rot and fit only for sheep, not men. To turn round furiously on the Guru or the Divine, abuse him, express contempt, challenge his sincerity, declare his actions to be wrong, foolish or a trickto assert oneself as right at every point and his judgment as mistaken, prejudiced, absurd, false, a support of devils etc. etc. is the best way of devotion and the true relation between Guru and Shishya. Disobedience is the highest respect to the Guru, anger and revolt are the noblest worship one can give to the Divine.
  5) One who takes the blows of Mahakali with joy as a means of discovering his faults and increasing in light and strength and purity is a sheep and unworthy of disciplehoodone who responds to the quietest pressure to change by revolt and persisting in his errors is a strong man and a mighty adhar and a noble disciple on the way to perfection.
  --
  As for milana, the abiding union is within and that can be there at all times; the outer milana or contact is not usually abiding. There are some who often or almost invariably have the contact whenever they worship; the Deity may become living to them in the picture or other image they worship, may move and act through it; others may feel him always present, outwardly, subtle-physically, abiding with them where they live or in the very room; but sometimes this is only for a period. Or they may feel the Presence with them, see it frequently in a body (but not materially except sometimes), feel its touch or embrace, converse with it constantly,that is also one kind of milana. The greatest milana is one in which one is constantly aware of the Deity constantly abiding in oneself, in everything in the world, holding all the world in him, identical with existence and yet supremely beyond the world but in the world too one sees, hears, feels nothing but him, so that the very senses bear witness to him alone and this does not exclude such specific personal manifestations as those vouchsafed to Krishnaprem and his Guru. The more ways there are of the union, the better.
  ***

2.4.2 - Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  This helping others is a perilous businessit brings the Guru ego or else you very uncertainly rid others of their difficulties and very certainly get them yourself. Why do you have all these disciples? said a sage to some Maratha saint (I have forgotten the names); to have disciples means to add all their difficulties to your own. Helping others has the same disadvantage.
  ***

25.03 - Songs of Ramprasad, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 06, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   The Guru commands, the holy spot between the eye-brows
   is a place of pilgrimage surpassing others -

29.03 - In Her Company, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   I have spoken of automatic writing; there is a parallel phenomenon, automatic speech. That is also possible. When you speak, it happens personally you do not speak, in other words, you make no effort, do not exercise your brain or your mind, all remains still, even your tongue, like the pencil in automatic writing. Sri Aurobindo explained how he arrived at this achievement. At one time when he thought of practising Yoga seriously, he was looking for someone who could give preliminary practical guidance. He was told there was such a person somewhere in Baroda. This person was not a Guru in the normal sense, he looked like a householder, was not at all a sannyasi. He was employed in an office, perhaps as a clerk, still he was pursuing some practice of yogic discipline. Sri Aurobindo had an interview with him, and the first lesson was to this effect: Make your mind quiet, absolutely silent, there should be no thought, no ripple of any mental movement, it has to be absolutely blank. Then you will be able to have your first experience. Usually we are in the habit of saying: I think, you think, he thinks, but in point of fact you will observe that you do not think at all - there is nobody who thinks,1
   Suffering there is, sufferer none;

29.06 - There is also another, similar or parallel story in the Veda about the God Agni, about the disappearance of this, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   Now the return journey. The Shakti cannot be for long away from her Lord, that cannot be the final stance. She is to come back to her Lord. This is the story of the redemption of material nature and her gradual transmutation into the higher Nature, regaining her status by the side of her Lord. The process or the series of steps described by the Veda remains always the same, for human beings also for their liberation from inferior nature and regaining the spiritual nature. The Veda says the Gods came one by one and led the Shakti up the way. First Soma came, that is to .say, Delight touched the inner core of the fallen Nature and impelled her to awake and rise. As Ananda was the source of their first union, so for the reunion Ananda is the inspirer and the leader. Next Agni was directed to take the Shakti along with him on the way. Agni means, as I have said, the light and fire of aspiration to rise up. Agni first initiated the ignorant Shakti with a mantra,it is like a normal human initiation when you enter the spiritual life. You have to go to a Guru and the Guru gives you the mantra that awakens your consciousness. Now Agni gave as mantra the Divine word "Brahma" as the image of the Divine. She was to concentrate upon it till she became in consciousness identified with Him. She did so and after a time when she felt she recognised her Lord and accepted Him, the God Agni said: "Now proceed. You have to go to the second stage. Enlarge your being, enlarge your consciousness; what you have got now is the realisation that you are the Brahman, you are one with Him. Now you have to unite yourself with all beings, with all Gods, with all creatures, universalise yourself." So the .Bride of Brahman from her individual realisation went forward into the universal where she met her Lord, dwelling in all beings and all creatures everywhere, - she entered into the mansion of all the Gods. Now, you know there are three steps, three steps of consciousness, three steps of your being in its ascension towards the Supreme: first, your ordinary individual being with your particular name and form, that is the personal individual; then, coming out of that shell you learn to be one with all beings, all humanity, all things even. You become as large as creation itself; however, that is not the end. You have to go beyond, beyond, into what is known as the Transcendent, there you find the Supreme, the total, the Supreme Truth of your being. So the Bride of Brahman from her universal realisation went into theTranscendent, into her Lord, her own total Self. From her ignorant material formulation in her upward march she was shedding her scales as it were, of her inferior formations, putting on purer and higher and more glorious embodiments. Ultimately she found herself to be as she used to be originally and always and ever before the separation. When thus united the Gods were also included in their embrace and all found themselves happy at last.
   It is said that this separation and this reunion meant a greater fulfilment upon earth. Without the separation the fulfilment also would not have happened upon earth. Earth would have remained as it is but because of the separation, that is to say, the Bride of Brahman separating herself from her Lord and coming down into Matter and becoming one with Matter, there arose the possibility, the inevitability of fusing her reality and the reality of Brahman into Matter.

3.03 - Faith and the Divine Grace, #Words Of The Mother II, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
  Is it not true that even most of the seekers after God cannot call it down? And yet they can receive it if someone, a Guru or avatar, has once called it down within him. Is it so?
  Yes.

3.1.02 - Asceticism and the Integral Yoga, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  However, all this will make you think that I am hardly fit to be a Guru in the path of asceticism and you will probably be right. You see, I have such a strong penchant for the inner working and am so persuaded that if you give the psychic a chance, it will get rid of the vital bonds without all this sternness and trouble.
  ***
  --
  4) Unfortunately, there is the resistance, a very obscure and obstinate resistance. That necessitates a negative element in the Yoga, an element of rejection of things that stand in the way and of pressure upon those forms that are crude and useless to disappear, on those that are useful but imperfect or have been perverted to attain or to recover their true movement. To the vital this pressure is very painful, first, because it is obscure and does not understand and, secondly, because there are parts of it that want to be left to their crude motions and not to change. That is why the intervention of a psychic attitude is so helpful. For the psychic has the happy confidence, the ready understanding and response, the spontaneous surrender; it knows that the touch of the Guru is meant to help and not to hurt, or, like Radha in the poem, that whatever the Beloved does is meant to lead to the Divine Rapture.
  5) At the same time, it is not from the negative part of the movement that you have to judge the Yoga, but from its positive side; for the negative part is temporary and transitional and will disappear, the positive alone counts for the ideal and for the future. If you take conditions which belong to the negative side and to a transitional movement as the law of the future and the indication of the character of the Yoga, you will commit a serious misjudgment, a grave mistake. This Yoga is not a rejection of life or of closeness and intimacy between the Divine and the sadhaks. Its ideal aims at the greatest closeness and unity on the physical as well as the other planes, at the most divine largeness and fullness and joy of life.

3.18 - Of Clairvoyance and the Body of Light, #Liber ABA, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  especially if you have a good Guru, you ought to be able to slip in
  and out of your astral body as easily as you slip in and out of a

3.2.01 - The Newness of the Integral Yoga, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Your Gurus teaching and that of this Yoga are essentially the same; what he called cittauddhi is what we mean by the psychic change. The teaching here is more developed because it includes the Supramental means of creating a divine life. Also the getting of the truth is different, since here it is put in such a way as to initiate men of all castes, races, creeds and cultures without distinction to share in the Truth and the Divine Life. But it is no use trying to draw those who received the earlier teaching, for their sight is still circumscribed by past forms and feelings and cannot extend itself beyond them. It is good that you have freed yourself from the desire to do so and taken an impersonal positionif any have to come they will come. Our concentration must be on all preparing themselves so that what was foreseen by your Guru may be fulfilled this time and here.
  ***
  --
  It [self-realisation] is not a long process? The whole life and several lives more are often not enough to achieve it. Ramakrishnas Guru took 30 years to arrive and even then he was not satisfied that he had realised it.
  ***

3.2.04 - Sankhya and Yoga, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  You can write to him that it is not safe to do Pranayam except under the directions of a Guru who is siddha in either Rajayoga or Hathayoga. Gasping is obviously a sign of something wrong for the breathing in Pranayam must be perfectly unimpeded and regular. It is better either to stop the Pranayam or to find out somebody who is practised in the method and take instructions from him what to do.
  ***

32.04 - The Human Body, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   That the preceptor takes upon himself the sins of his disciple, that is, his impurities and weaknesses, in order to help the disciple in his self-purification, is well known to us. The reaction that the Guru has to undergo as a result of accepting the impurity of the disciple and the consequences he has to suffer, such as disease, we can know from the example of Sri Ramakrishna. The origin of the malignant disease that had attacked him was the close contact and intimacy with his disciples. Sri Ramakrishna himself has said so. And it is because of the incidence of this disease that the atheist, the wiseacre foolishly say, "God incurs cancer! What a helpless and poor God!"1
   But herein lies the real mystery. God has become man; that means he has assumed the human nature and has accepted the human weakness not only in word or allegorically but in fact, in actual practice. That is why we see this human weakness in Christ on the last day of his life when he asks God to remove the vessel of deadly poison from his lips, so that he may not have to drink of it any more.

3.2.06 - The Adwaita of Shankaracharya, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  The Shankara knowledge is, as your Guru pointed out, only one side of the Truth; it is the knowledge of the Supreme as realised by the spiritual Mind through the static silence of the pure Existence. It was because he went by this side only that Shankara was unable to accept or explain the origin of the universe except as illusion, a creation of Maya. Unless one realises the Supreme on the dynamic as well as the static side, one cannot experience the true origin of things and the equal reality of the active Brahman. The Shakti or Power of the Eternal becomes then a power of illusion only and the world becomes incomprehensible, a mystery of cosmic madness, an eternal delirium of the Eternal. Whatever verbal or ideative logic one may bring to support it, this way of seeing the universe explains nothing; it only erects a mental formula of the inexplicable. It is only if you approach the Supreme through his double aspect of Sat and Chit-Shakti, double but inseparable, that the total truth of things can become manifest to the inner experience. The other side was developed by the Shakta Tantrics. The two together, the Vedantic and the Tantric truth unified, can arrive at the integral knowledge.
  But philosophically this is what your Gurus teaching comes to and it is obviously a completer truth and a wider knowledge than that given by the Shankara formula. It is already indicated in the Gitas teaching of the Purushottama and the Parashakti (Adya Shakti) who becomes the Jiva and upholds the universe. It is evident that Purushottama and Parashakti are both eternal and are inseparable and one in being; the Parashakti manifests the universe, manifests too the Divine in the universe as the Ishwara and herself appears at his side as the Ishwari Shakti. Or, one may say, it is the Supreme Consciousness-Power of the Supreme that manifests or puts forth itself as Ishwara Ishwari, Atma Atmashakti, Purusha Prakriti, Jiva Jagat. That is the truth in its completeness as far as the mind can formulate it. In the Supermind these questions do not even arise for it is the mind that creates the problem by erecting oppositions between aspects of the Divine which are not really opposed to each other but are one and inseparable.
  This supramental knowledge has not yet been attained, because the supermind itself has not been attained, but the reflection of it in intuitive spiritual consciousness is there and that was what was evidently realised in experience by your Guru and what he was expressing in mental terms in the quoted passage. It is possible to go towards this knowledge by beginning with the experience of dissolution in the One, but on condition that you do not stop there, taking it as the highest Truth, but proceed to realise the same One as the supreme Mother, the Consciousness Force of the Eternal. If on the other hand you approach through the supremeMo ther, she will give you the liberation in the silent One also as well as the realisation of the dynamic One and from that it is easier to arrive at the Truth in which both are one and inseparable. At the same time the gulf created by Mind between the Supreme and his Manifestation is bridged and there is no longer a fissure in the truth which makes all incomprehensible. If in the light of this you examine what your Guru taught, you will see that it is the same thing in less metaphysical language.
  ***
  --
  Still, I would have no objection, if your attraction towards Nirvana were not merely a mood of the mind and vital but an indication of the minds true road and the souls issue. But it seems to me that it is only the vital recoiling from its own disappointed desires in an extreme dissatisfaction, not the soul leaping gladly to its true path. This vairagya is itself a vital movement; vital vairagya is the reverse side of vital desirethough the mind of course is there to give reasons and say ditto. Even this vairagya, if it is one-pointed and exclusive, can lead or can point towards Nirvana. But you have many sides to your personality or rather many personalities in you; it is indeed their discordant movements each getting in the way of the other, as happens when they are expressed through the external mind, that have stood much in the way of your sadhana. There is the vital personality which was turned towards success and enjoyment and got it and wanted to go on with it but could not get the rest of the being to follow. There is the vital personality that wanted enjoyment of a deeper kind and suggested to the other that it could very well give up these unsatisfactory things if it got an equivalent in some faeryl and of a higher joy. There is the psycho-vital personality that is the Vaishnava within you and wanted the Divine Krishna and bhakti and Ananda. There is the personality which is the poet and musician and a seeker of beauty through these things. There is the mental-vital personality which when it saw the vital standing in the way insisted on a grim struggle of Tapasya, and it is no doubt that also which approves vairagya and Nirvana. There is the physical-mental personality which is the Russellite, extrovert, doubter. There is another mental-emotional personality all whose ideas are for belief in the Divine, Yoga, bhakti, Guruvada. There is the psychic being also which has pushed you into the sadhana and is waiting for its hour of emergence.
  What are you going to do with all these people? If you want Nirvana, you have either to expel them or stifle them or beat them into coma. All authorities assure us that this exclusive Nirvana business is a most difficult job (dukha dehavadbhi says the Gita), and your own fatal attempt at suppressing the others was not encouraging,according to your own account it left you as dry and desperate as a sucked orange, no juice left anywhere. If the desert is your way to the promised land, that does not matter. But

3.2.07 - Tantra, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Sri Aurobindo1 cannot undertake to guide you as your Guru, for the reason that he takes as disciples only those who follow his special path of Yoga; your experiences follow a different line. In his Yoga there may be an occasional current in the spine as in other nerve channels or different parts of the body, but no awakening of the Kundalini in this particular and powerful fashion. There is only a quiet uprising of the consciousness from the lower centres to join the spiritual consciousness above and a descent of the Divine Force from above which does its own work in the mind and body the manner and stages varying in each sadhak. A perfect confidence in the Divine Mother and a vigilance to repel all wrong suggestions and influences is the main law of this Yoga. Your opening having once been so powerful on the more usual Tantric lines (even without your own will intervening), it is hardly probable that it could now change easily to other linesany such effort might create a serious disturbance. In speaking of a competent Guru Sri Aurobindo meant one who had himself practised this opening of the centres and become siddha in that line of Yoga. It should not be impossible to find onewhen one has the call for the Guru, the Guru sooner or later comes. Meanwhile to put away fear and have confidence in the Divine working is indispensable but no effort should be made to force the pace by concentrated meditation unless you have a guide whom you can trusta clear guidance from within or a guide from without. The inspiration about the Ida nadi and the subsequent waking of the Shakti show that there was an intervention at a critical moment and that the call to it whenever needed is likely to be effective.
  In the experiences proper related in your first letter there is absolutely nothing that should have disturbed youall was quite normal, the usual experiences of the Yogin at such a juncture and very good and powerful, such as do not come except by the grace of the Divine. Probably the opening came after slow invisible preparation as a result of the meditation on the lotus at the top of the head; for that is always an invitation to the Kundalini to awake or for the lower consciousness to rise and meet the higher. The disturbing factor came with the feeling of discomfort in the heart due to some resistance in the physical being which is very often felt and can be overcome by the working of the Force itself and the fear that came afterwards in the seats of the vital Nature, heart, navel etc. But that was no part of the experience, it was an interference by a wrong reaction from the lower or exterior consciousness. If you had not allowed yourself to be disturbed, probably nothing untoward would have disturbed the process. One must not get frightened by unusual states or movements or experiences, the Yogi must be fearless, abh; it is absurd to have a fear because one can control ones states; that is a power very much to be desired and welcomed in Yoga.

3.2.08 - Bhakti Yoga and Vaishnavism, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  It is not by pryopaveana or anything of the kind that it must come, but by the increase of the pure and true bhakti. You have been constantly told so by us and lately be Krishnaprem and his Guru; remember that she told you that the presence of Krishna during your singing was a sure sign that it would come,not necessarily today or tomorrow or the day after, but that it would surely come. We cant be all of us wrong and your vital impatience only in the right. For heavens sake, get rid of it and settle down to quiet aspiration and an ever growing devotion and surrender leaving it to Krishna to do what he is sure to do in his own way and time.
  ***
  --
  In this later Vaishnava tradition the sadhana takes the form of an application of human vital love in all its principal turns to the Divine; viraha, abhimna, even complete separation (like the departure of Krishna to Mathura) are made prominent elements of this Yoga. But all that was only meantin the sadhana itself, not in the Vaishnava poemsas a passage of which the end is milana or complete union; but the stress laid on the untoward elements by some would almost seem to make strife, separation, abhimna, the whole means if not the very object of this kind of prema-yoga. Again, this method was only applied to the inner, not to a physically embodied Divine and had a reference to certain states and reactions of the inner consciousness in its seeking after the Divine. In the relations with the embodied Divine manifestation, or, I may add, of the disciple with the Guru, such things might rise as a result of human imperfection, but they were not made part of the theory of the relations. I do not think they formed a regular and authorised part of the relations of the bhaktas to Chaitanya or of the disciples at Dakshineshwar towards Ramakrishna! On the contrary, the relation of the disciple to the Guru in the Guruvada is supposed always to be that of worship, respect, complete happy confidence, unquestioning acceptance of the guidance. The application of the unchanged vital relations to the embodied Divine or the Guru may lead and has led to movements which are not conducive to the progress of the Yoga.
  Ramakrishnas Yoga was also turned only to an inner realisation of the inner Divine,nothing less but also nothing more. I believe his sentence about the claim of the sadhak on the Divine for whom one has sacrificed everything was the assertion of an inner and not an outer claim, on the inner rather than on any physically embodied Divine: it was a claim for the full spiritual union, the God-lover seeking the Divine, but the Divine also giving himself and meeting the God-lover. There can be no objection to that; such a claim all seekers of the Divine have; but as to the modalities of this Divine meeting, it does not carry us much farther. In any case, my object is a realisation on the physical plane and I cannot consent merely to repeat Ramakrishna. I seem to remember too that for a long time he was withdrawn into himself, all his life was not spent with his disciples! He got his siddhi first in retirement and when he came out and received everyonewell, a few years of it wore out his body. To that, I suppose, he had no objection; he even pronounced a theory, when Keshav Chandra was dying, that spiritual experience ought to wear out the body! But at the same time, when asked why he got his illness in the throat, he answered that it was the sins of his disciples which they threw upon him and he had to swallow! Not being satisfied, as he was, with an inner liberation alone, I cannot accept these ideas or these results, for it does not sound to me like a successful meeting of the Divine and the sadhak on the physical plane, however successful it might have been for the inner life. Krishna did great things and was very clearly a manifestation of the Divine. But I remember a passage of the Mahabharata in which he complains of the unquiet life his followers and adorers gave him, their constant demands, reproaches, their throwing of their unregenerate vital nature upon him. And in the Gita he speaks of this human world as a transient and sorrowful affair and, in spite of his gospel of divine action, seems almost to admit that to leave it is after all the last solution! The traditions of the past are very great in their own place,in the past; but I do not see why we should merely repeat them and not go farther. In the spiritual development of the consciousness upon earth the great past ought to be followed by a greater future.
  --
  The direct approach to Krishna is not safe or easy; it can sometimes be terribly risky, if there is anything in the sadhak that interferes with the clarity and singleness of his attitude. In that case any wrong desire, vanity, pride, sexual impurity, ambition, or any other pronounced weakness may open the way to serious distortion of the sadhana, turning into wrong ways, breakdown or collapse, even to spiritual perdition. Krishnas own influence cannot be a wrong influence, if it is really his, but it is easy to mistake and accept some other influence as his. Especially, he is the Lord of Love and Beauty and Delight, and nothing is easier for men who are always going in the wrong way in search of these things, to bring their wrong ways into their search for him also. That experience must be one of the reasons why the seers insist on the approach through the Guru and say that Krishna cannot be attained otherwise. It is the reason why they insist on vairagya, detachment from the ordinary aims and ends of human nature as so necessary. That is also why Krishna does not like to show himself until the field is clear for him! The intervention of some power or influence that represents itself as he, even puts on an imitation of his form or voice would be fatal if accepted; but even his real manifestation might bring about an upset in someone not really ready for it. One must be on guard against these dangers and it is the Guru who can interpose himself as a shield against them.
  The identification of the Guru with the Divine is a common rule, not peculiar to the Vaishnava bhakti. Ordinarily, so far as the outer mind is concerned, it is a firm belief; the outer mind can believe, can by its faith have some feeling of it, can with the help of the heart worship, adore, serve with humility and fidelity; ordinarily, this is enough and it prepares besides for something deeper. But to realise the identity is another matter, [incomplete]
  ***
  --
  There are some however who seem to regard this invasion of Light not merely as a thing without value but a thing of evil or, possibly, one that can be such and so to be distrusted: for I have before me a letter describing an experience very similar to Ramdass, but it was condemned by the writers Guru as an attempt at possession by a devil to be dispelled by uttering the name of Ramakrishna!
  But why limit oneself, insist on one thing alone and shut out every other? Whether it be by Bhakti or by Light or by Ananda or by Peace or by any other means whatsoever that one gets the initial realisation of the Divine, to get it is the thing and all means are good that bring it.

3.21 - Of Black Magic, #Liber ABA, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
  He to have found a Guru who instructed Him in the proper
  principles of the technique of Yoga, and He, having sufficient sense

33.11 - Pondicherry II, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   Amarendra had suddenly disappeared one day. He lived the life of a primitive savage in the jungles of Assam; he had been selling poultry and eggs at the steamship stations along the rivers of East Bengal, in the garb of a Muslim complete with Lungi and Fez. And so many other things he had done just in order to avoid the Government's vigilant eye. It was a long romantic tale. Finally, he made himself a Sannyasin, became a Guruji. Near Tanjore he set up his Ashram. Disciples gathered, his mantras and teachings brought him fame; he styled himself, if I remember aright, Swami Kaivalyananda. The British Government were completely fooled.
   The Swamiji, our Amarendra, came here to obtain Sri Aurobindo's instructions as to what to do next. This, as I have said, was after the end of the War, when practically all the political prisoners had been set free and even those deported to the Andamans had been allowed to come back. He wished to know if he could now disclose himself and also what he was to do afterwards. He was advised to go back to Calcutta and await the turn of events for a while. The Swamiji now ordered his disciples back to the Ashram and. said that he would like to live in solitude for some time.
   That was the end of Swami Kaivalyananda. He had had his nirvana and his place was taken by Amarendra Chatterji. The disciples had in the meantime gone back to their Ashram. There they kept waiting, but the months passed without any news of Guruji. They came here at last to find out where their Guruji was. Where indeed?
   I met Amarendra for the last time just before I came away to Pondicherry for good. I had been to his shop. It was a drapery stores known as the Workers' Cooperative that served as a veil and a meeting ground for terrorist activities. He knew all about me and also that I was on my way to Pondicherry. As a parting gift, he handed me a shawl from his Stores, adding, "Payable when able." I distinctly remember the phrase. I came in touch with him again long after this. He became a devotee and disciple of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and remained a faithful follower till his death.
  --
   But it was not found possible for Sri Aurobindo to continue with his own studies or even to help us in ours. For, as I have already hinted, our mode of living, our life itself took a different turn with the arrival of the Mother. How and in what direction? It was like this. The Mother came and installed Sri Aurobindo on his high pedestal of Master and Lord of Yoga. We had hitherto known him as a dear friend and close companion, and although in our mind and heart be had the position of a Guru, in our outward relations we seemed to behave as if he were just like one of ourselves. He too had been averse to the use of the words " Guru" and "Ashram" in relation to himself, for there was hardly a place 'in his work of new creation for the old traditional associations these words conveyed. Nevertheless, the Mother taught by her manner and speech, and showed us in actual practice, what was the meaning of disciple and master; she has always practised what she preached. She showed us, by not taking her seat in front of or on the same level as Sri Aurobindo, but by sitting on the ground, what it meant to be respectful to one's Master, what was real courtesy. Sri Aurobindo once said to us, perhaps with a tinge of regret, "I have tried to stoop as low as I can, and yet you do not reach me."
   It was the Mother who opened our eyes and gave us that vision which made us say, even as Arjuna had been made to say:

33.13 - My Professors, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   All these men possessed a special gift for which they deserve admiration. Learning and teaching ability are qualities not so rare, many teachers have them. But the quality for which our ancient teachers were known as preceptors, Guru,is something unusual: that is the power of influence, the touch of an awakened soul. The true quality of a teacher does not He in what mysteries he has taught the disciple or how deep has been his exposition. How far has he evoked with his own personality the inner spirit of his disciple? - that is the question. We find this in the records of our ancient tradition. A disciple comes to the teacher for the knowledge of Brahman, brahmavidya.The teacher, instead of giving him any instruction or explanation of any deep mystery, asks him simply to repair to the forest and tend the kine for a while. 'For a while' meant quite a few years in fact - as in the Gautama-Satyakama episode of the Chhandogya Upanishad! As we all know, here in the Ashram, the Mother has often given us to clean the dishes and not engage in study.
   The great men with whom we studied had this gift in large measure, at least many of them. Percival taught us Shakespeare. He never expounded in full the meaning of words and phrases. This was done in detail by Manomohan Ghose, although he too did this only during the first two years of college; for we were then just fresh from school and he had to explain everything in detail, so that we had no need of any other help, not even of a dictionary. But, from this point of view, there was no one, the students thought, who could match 'Professor J. N. Dasgupta. He was actually a History man, but he was given to teach English as well. The boys would say, the naughty ones perhaps, that Dasgupta left us in no doubt or uncertainty as to the meaning anywhere, so he would dictate, "father means the male parent'.'! Percival did not act as a lexicon. He, dwelt only on such passages as had any complexity or dramatic intent, and he would convey the inner sense by his manner of reading. I remember a passage in King
  --
   There was another professor of philosophy I should not omit to mention. He too was quite young at the time, a fine handsome and pleasing figure. But the subject that he taught gave us - to me at least - no kind of pleasure. The subject was Ethics, and the text book was James Seth's. To me, it seemed, it talked all sorts of rubbish and nonsense, things that had neither depth nor sincerity. The professor, Khagendranath Mitra, did, however, take a good deal of pains to initiate us into the mysteries of morality. But. J am mentioning his name here not for that reason; nor again because he developed into a well-known singer of Vaishnava hymns. It is because he chanced to turn up here, many years later, on the occasion of a Darshan; this was after he had retired from service. When we met, I reminded him in the course of our talk, "Sir, you are my Guru, I have been a student of yours". He was a little surprised. I then explained everything. "That's very well," he said, "I am very pleased to hear it, for I have found what I wanted. Well, I was your Guru, now give me my fee." "Tell me, sir, how." "I have given you some teaching, now you give me some: tell me about the sadhana you follow here."
   While speaking of my professors, I must not omit to mention our Pundit. This was a title given by the students to the teacher of Sanskrit in college as in school, no matter how big a professor he might be - as if to show that the feeling of distance created by English was not there in the case of Sanskrit. Our Pundit was Satischandra Vidyabhushan, who later became a Mahamahopadhyaya, an extremely courteous man, entirely modest, one who behaved as if he were an absolute "nobody". In his class the students had no fear or worry, no constraint, sometimes even no sense of propriety either. One day they said in class, "There is not going to be any reading today, sir; you had better tell us a story. You are familiar with the languages and histories and cultures of so many strange lands, please tell us something." Vidyabhushan was particularly learned in Pali and the Buddhist scriptures. Without a murmur he accepted the order of the boys. While talking of Pali and the Buddhists, he told us something about the Tibetans too. "What you call Darjeeling," he said, "is not a distorted version of Durjayalinga. Actually it is a transcription of a Tibetan word." He spelt out the word on the black-board, in the Tibetan script - it looked somewhat like Bengali - something like Dang-Sang-Ling, I cannot now exatly recall. On another occasion we had the chance to hear a conversation in Sanskrit in his class. The class was on, when one of the officials of the college entered the room with a Ceylonese monk. The monk wanted to meet the Pundit. They talked in Sanskrit. I only remember a single sentence of our professor, "ghatika-catustayam eva agacchatu bhavan,"Be pleased to come at four o'clock." The kindness and affection of our Pundit are still fresh in my mind. He was never afflicted by the weight of his learning, nor did it ever afflict us.

33.17 - Two Great Wars, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
   As Hitler was threatening to cover, as with an ominous comet's tail, the whole of earth and sky, one of our sadhaks here sent up to Sri Aurobindo his wail, "What, O Guru, is this happening to the comforting words you gave? Don't you see that the earth is getting on to the verge of ruin? Where, O Saviour, are you?" Sri Aurobindo's reply was a quiet admonition, "Where is the worry? Hitler is not immortal." After a short while the castle that Hitler had built was blown to the winds like a pack of cards. It was as if an all-englobing fog had been puffed away by a breath, a frightful nightmare had got dissolved in the light of the dawn.
   ***

3.4.2 - Guru Yoga, #The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, #Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, #Buddhism
  object:3.4.2 - Guru Yoga
  class:chapter
  --
   Guru yoga is an essential practice in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. This is true in sutra, tantra, and Dzogchen. It develops the heart connection with the master. By continually streng thening our devotion, we come to the place of pure devotion in ourselves, which is the unshakeable, powerful base of the practice. The essence of Guru yoga is to merge the practitioner's mind with the mind of the master.
  What is the true master? It is the formless, fundamental nature of mind, the primordial awareness of the base of everything, but because we exist in dualism, it is helpful for us to visualize this in a form. Doing so makes skillful use of the dualisms of the conceptual mind, to further streng then devotion and help us stay directed toward practice and the generation of positive qualities.
  In the Bon tradition, we often visualize either Tapihritsa* as the master, or the Buddha Shenla Odker*, who represents the union of all the masters. If you are already a practitioner, you may have another deity to visualize, like Guru Rinpoche or a yidam or dakini. While it is important to work with a lineage with which you have a connection, you should understand that the master you visualize is the embodiment of all the masters with whom you are connected, all the teachers with whom you have studied, all the deities to whom you have commitments. The master in Guru yoga is not just one individual, but the essence of enlightenment, the primordial awareness that is your true nature.
  The master is also the teacher from whom you receive the teachings. In the Tibetan tradition, we say the master is more important than the Buddha. Why? Because the master is the immediate messenger of the teachings, the one who brings the Buddha's wisdom to the student. Without the master we could not find our way to the Buddha. So we should feel as much devotion to the master as we would to the Buddha if the Buddha suddenly appeared in front of us.
   Guru yoga is not just about generating some feeling toward a visualized image. It is done to find the fundamental mind in yourself that is the same as the fundamental mind of all your teachers, and of all the Buddhas and realized beings that have ever lived. When you merge with the Guru, you merge with your pristine true nature, which is the real guide and master. But this should not be an abstract practice. When you do Guru yoga, try to feel such intense devotion that the hair stands up on your neck, tears start down your face, and your heart opens and fills with great love. Let yourself merge in union with the Guru's mind, which is your enlightened Buddha-nature. This is the way to practice Guru yoga.
  The Practice
  --
  There are more elaborate instructions for Guru yoga that can involve prostrations, offerings, gestures, mantras, and more complicated visualizations, but the essence of the practice is mingling your mind with the mind of the master, which is pure, non-dual awareness. Guru yoga can be done any time during the day; the more often the better. Many masters say that of all the practices it is Guru yoga that is the most important. It confers the blessings of the lineage and can open and soften the heart and quiet the unruly mind. To completely accomplish Guru yoga is to accomplish the path.

3.5.02 - Thoughts and Glimpses, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  Help men, but do not pauperise them of their energy; lead and instruct men, but see that their initiative and originality remain intact; take others into thyself, but give them in return the full godhead of their nature. He who can do this is the leader and the Guru.
  God has made the world a field of battle and filled it with the trampling of combatants and the cries of a great wrestle and struggle. Would you filch His peace without paying the price He has fixed for it?

37.02 - The Story of Jabala-Satyakama, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 08, #unset, #Zen
   Thus did Satyakama become a knower of Brahman and foremost among Brahmins. In course of time he himself took the place of a Guru.
   (3)

4.1.1.05 - The Central Process of the Yoga, #Letters On Yoga III, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  One thing more. In this process of the descent from above and the working it is most important not to rely entirely on oneself, but to rely on the guidance of the Guru and to refer all that happens to his judgment and arbitration and decision.
  For it often happens that the forces of the lower nature are stimulated and excited by the descent and want to mix with it and turn it to their profit. It often happens too that some Power or Powers undivine in their nature present themselves as the

4.12 - The Way of Equality, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  First, it is found that the mind is voluntarily bound by the petty joys and troubles of life and that in reality these can have no inner hold on it, if the soul simply chooses to cast off its habit of helpless determination by external and transient things. Secondly, it is found that here too a division can be made, a psychological partition between the lower or outward mind still subservient to the old habitual touches and the higher reason and will which stand back to live in the indifferent calm of the spirit. There grows on us, in other words, an inner separate calm which watches the commotion of the lower members without taking part in it or giving it any sanction. At first the higher reason and will may be often clouded, invaded, the mind carried away by the incitation of the lower members, but eventually this calm becomes inexpugnable, permanent, not to be shaken by the most violent touches, na duhkhena Gurunapi vicalyate. This inner soul of calm regards the trouble of the outer mind with a detached superiority or a passing uninvolved indulgence such as might be given to the trivial joys and griefs of a child, it does not regard them as its own or as reposing on any permanent reality. And, finally, the outer mind too accepts by degrees this calm and indifferent serenity; it ceases to be attracted by the things that attracted it or troubled by the griefs and pains to which it had the habit of attaching an unreal importance. Thus the third power comes, an all-pervading power of wide tranquillity and peace, a bliss of release from the siege of our imposed fantastic self-torturing nature, the deep undisturbed exceeding happiness of the touch of the eternal and infinite replacing by its permanence the strife and turmoil of impermanent things, brahma-samsparsam atyantam sukham asnute. The soul is fixed in the delight of the self, atmaratih in the single and infinite Ananda of the spirit and hunts no more after outward touches and their griefs and pleasures. It observes the world only as the spectator of a play or action in which it is no longer compelled to participate.
  The third way is that of submission, which may be the Christian resignation founded on submission to the will of God, or an unegoistic acceptance of things and happenings as a manifestation of the universal Will in time, or a complete surrender of the person to the Divine, to the supreme Purusha. As the first was a way of the will and the second a way of knowledge, of the understanding reason, so this is a way of the temperament and heart and very intimately connected with the principle of Bhakti. If it is pushed to the end, it arrives at the same result of a perfect equality. For the knot of the ego is loosened and the personal claim begins to disappear, we find that we are no longer bound to joy in things pleasant or sorrow over the unpleasant; we bear them without either eager acceptance or troubled rejection, refer them to the Master of our being, concern ourselves less and less with their personal result to us and hold only one thing of importance, to approach God, or to be in touch and tune with the universal and infinite Existence, or to be united with the Divine, his channel, instrument, servant, lover, rejoicing in him and in our relation with him and having no other object or cause of joy or sorrow. Here too there may be for some time a division between the lower mind of habitual emotions and the higher psychical mind of love and self-giving, but eventually the former yields, changes, transforms itself, is swallowed up in the love, joy, delight of the Divine and has no other interests or attractions. Then all within is the equal peace and bliss of that union, the one silent bliss that passes understanding, the peace that abides untouched by the solicitation of lower things in the depths of our spiritual existence.

4.1.3 - Imperfections and Periods of Arrest, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  You yourself speak of the Baradi Brahmachari. Because of his habits of speech, it is surely impossible to deny greatness as a spiritual man to this remarkable ascetic admired by Ramakrishna and revered by Vivekananda. Even Ramakrishna himself had habits of speech about which Vivekananda in a letter to his Gurubhais rates them for translating these portions as it would make a very bad impression on his English readers. But would these English readers have been justified in denouncing Ramakrishna on that account as an unspiritual man or spirituality as therefore without value?
  This was my reasoning and, so stated in a clearer way, I hope, you will not find it either irrational or offensive. I wanted to clear this because, if you remain under the impression that I am saying outrageous things, it will be difficult to go farther.
  --
  A difficulty comes or an arrest in some movement which you have begun or have been carrying on for some time. How is it to be dealt with?for such arrests are inevitably frequent enough, not only for you, but for everyone who is a seeker; one might almost say that every step forward is followed by an arrestat least, that is a very common, if not a universal experience. It is to be dealt with by becoming always more quiet, more firm in the will to go through, by opening oneself more and more so that any obstructing non-receptivity in the nature may diminish or disappear, by an affirmation of faith even in the midst of the obscurity, faith in the presence of a Power that is working behind the cloud and the veil, in the guidance of the Guru, by an observation of oneself to find any cause of the arrest, not in a spirit of depression or discouragement but with the will to find out and remove it. This is the only right attitude and, if one is persistent in taking it, the periods of arrest are not abolished,for that cannot be at this stage,but greatly shortened and lightened in their incidence. Sometimes these arrests are periods, long or short, of assimilation or unseen preparation, their appearance of sterile immobility is deceptive: in that case, with the right attitude, one can after a time, by opening, by observation, by accumulated experience, begin to feel, to get some inkling of what is being prepared or done. Sometimes it is a period of true obstruction in which the Power at work has to deal with the obstacles in the way, obstacles in oneself, obstacles of the opposing cosmic forces or any other or of all together, and this kind of arrest may be long or short according to the magnitude or obstinacy or complexity of the impediments that are met. But here too the right attitude can alleviate or shorten and, if persistently taken, help to a more radical removal of the difficulties and greatly diminish the necessity of complete arrests hereafter.
  On the contrary, an attitude of depression or unfaith in the help or the guidance or in the certitude of the victory of the guiding Power, a shutting up of yourself in the sense of the difficulties impedes the recovery, prolongs the difficulties, helps the obstructions to recur with force instead of progressively diminishing in their incidence. It is an attitude whose persistence or recurrence you must resolutely throw aside if you want to get over the obstruction which you feel so muchwhich the depressed attitude only makes, while it lasts, more acute.

4.2.1 - The Right Attitude towards Difficulties, #Letters On Yoga IV, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
  A possibility in the soul or in the inner being generally remains always a possibilityat the worst, its fulfilment can be postponed, but even that only if the possessor of the possibility gives up or breaks away from the true spiritual path without probability of early returnbecause he is in chase of the magnified and distorted shadow of his own ego or for some other distortion of the nature produced by a wrong egoistic misuse of the Yoga. A mere appearance of inability or obstruction of progress in the outer being, a covering of the inner by the outer, even if it lasts for years, has no probative value, because that happens to a great number, perhaps to the majority of aspirants to Yoga. The reason is that they take somehow the way of raising up all the difficulties in their nature almost at the beginning and tunnelling through the mass instead of the alternative way of going ahead, slowly or swiftly, and trusting to time, Yoga and the Force Divine to clear out of them in the proper season what has to be eliminated. It is not of their own deliberate choice that they do it, something in their nature drives them. There are many here who have had or still have that long covering of the inner by the outer or separation of the inner from the outer consciousness. You yourself took that way in spite of our expostulations to you advising you to take the sunlit road, and you have not yet got out of the habit. But that does not mean that you wont get out of the tunnel and when you do you will find your inner being waiting for you on the other sidein the sun and not in the shadow. I dont think I am more patient than a Guru ought to be. Anyone who is a Guru at all ought to be patient, first because he knows the difficulty of human nature and, secondly, because he knows how the Yoga force works, in so many contrary ways, open or subterranean, slow or swift, volcanic or coralline,passing even from one to the other and he does not use the surface reason but the eye of inner knowledge and Yogic experience.
  ***
  There is no contradiction between my former statements about the sunlit path and what I have said about the difficult and unpleasant passages which the Yoga has to pass through in its normal development in the way of human nature. The sunlit path can be followed by those who are able to practise surrender, first a central surrender and afterwards a more complete self-giving in all the parts of the being. If they can achieve and preserve the attitude of the central surrender, if they can rely wholly on the Divine and accept cheerfully whatever comes to them from the Divine, then their path becomes sunlit and may even be straightforward and easy. They will not escape all difficulties, no seeker can, but they will be able to meet them without pain and despondency,as indeed the Gita recommends that Yoga should be practised, anirviacetas,trusting in the inner guidance and perceiving it more and more or else in the outer guidance of the Guru. It can also be followed even when one feels no light and no guidance if there is or if one can acquire a bright settled faith and happy bhakti or has the nature of the spiritual optimist and the firm belief or feeling that all that is done by the Divine is done for the best even when we cannot understand his action. But all have not this nature, most are very far from it, and the complete or even the central surrender is not easy to get and to keep it always is hard enough for our human nature. When these things are not there, the liberty of the soul is not attained and we have instead to undergo the law or fulfil a hard and difficult discipline.
  That law is imposed on us by the Ignorance which is the nature of all our parts; our physical being is obviously a mass of ignorance, the vital is full of ignorant desires and passions, the mind is also an instrument of Ignorance struggling towards some kind of imperfect and mostly inferior and external knowledge. The path of the seeker proceeds through this ignorance; for a long time he can find no light of solid experience or realisation, only the hopes and ideas and beliefs of the mind which do not give the true spiritual seeing; or he gets glimpses of light or periods of light but the light often goes out and the luminous periods are followed by frequent or long periods of darkness. There are constant fluctuations, persistent disappointments, innumerable falls and failures. No path of Yoga is really easy or free from these difficulties or fluctuations; the way of bhakti is supposed to be the easiest, but still we find constant complaints that one is always seeking but never finding and even at the best there is a constant ebb and tide, milana and viraha, joy and weeping, ecstasy and despair. If one has the faith or in the absence of faith the will to go through, one passes on and enters into the joy and light of the divine realisation. If one gets some habit of true surrender, then all this is not necessary; one can enter into the sunlit way. Or if one can get some touch of what is called pure bhakti, uddh bhakti, then whatever happens that is enough; the way becomes easy, or if it does not, still this is a sufficient start to support us to the end without the sufferings and falls that happen so often to the ignorant seeker.
  --
  The attitude you have taken is the right one. It is this feeling and attitude which help you to overcome so rapidly the attacks that sometimes fall upon you and throw you out of the right consciousness. As you say, difficulties so taken become opportunities; the difficulty faced in the right spirit and conquered, one finds that an obstacle has disappeared, a fresh step forward has been taken. To question, to resist in some part of the being increases trouble and difficulties that was why an unquestioning acceptance, an unfailing obedience to the directions of the Guru was laid down as indispensable in the old Indian Yogasit was demanded not for the sake of the Guru, but for the sake of the disciple.
  ***

WORDNET



--- Overview of noun guru

The noun guru has 3 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
                    
1. (1) guru ::: (a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher)
2. Guru ::: (each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion)
3. guru ::: (a recognized leader in some field or of some movement; "a guru of genomics")


--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun guru

3 senses of guru                            

Sense 1
guru
   => religious leader
     => religious person
       => person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
         => organism, being
           => living thing, animate thing
             => whole, unit
               => object, physical object
                 => physical entity
                   => entity
         => causal agent, cause, causal agency
           => physical entity
             => entity
     => leader
       => person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
         => organism, being
           => living thing, animate thing
             => whole, unit
               => object, physical object
                 => physical entity
                   => entity
         => causal agent, cause, causal agency
           => physical entity
             => entity

Sense 2
Guru
   => religious leader
     => religious person
       => person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
         => organism, being
           => living thing, animate thing
             => whole, unit
               => object, physical object
                 => physical entity
                   => entity
         => causal agent, cause, causal agency
           => physical entity
             => entity
     => leader
       => person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
         => organism, being
           => living thing, animate thing
             => whole, unit
               => object, physical object
                 => physical entity
                   => entity
         => causal agent, cause, causal agency
           => physical entity
             => entity

Sense 3
guru
   => leader
     => person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
       => organism, being
         => living thing, animate thing
           => whole, unit
             => object, physical object
               => physical entity
                 => entity
       => causal agent, cause, causal agency
         => physical entity
           => entity


--- Hyponyms of noun guru
                                    


--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun guru

3 senses of guru                            

Sense 1
guru
   => religious leader

Sense 2
Guru
   => religious leader

Sense 3
guru
   => leader




--- Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun guru

3 senses of guru                            

Sense 1
guru
  -> religious leader
   => ayatollah
   => guru
   => Guru
   HAS INSTANCE=> Mahdi
   HAS INSTANCE=> Al-hakim
   HAS INSTANCE=> Asanga
   HAS INSTANCE=> Joshua
   HAS INSTANCE=> Khomeini, Ruholla Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini
   HAS INSTANCE=> Moon, Sun Myung Moon
   HAS INSTANCE=> Nanak, Guru Nanak
   HAS INSTANCE=> Russell, Charles Taze Russell
   HAS INSTANCE=> Seton, Elizabeth Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Mother Seton
   HAS INSTANCE=> Wise, Isaac Mayer Wise
   HAS INSTANCE=> Wise, Stephen Samuel Wise
   HAS INSTANCE=> Young, Brigham Young

Sense 2
Guru
  -> religious leader
   => ayatollah
   => guru
   => Guru
   HAS INSTANCE=> Mahdi
   HAS INSTANCE=> Al-hakim
   HAS INSTANCE=> Asanga
   HAS INSTANCE=> Joshua
   HAS INSTANCE=> Khomeini, Ruholla Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini
   HAS INSTANCE=> Moon, Sun Myung Moon
   HAS INSTANCE=> Nanak, Guru Nanak
   HAS INSTANCE=> Russell, Charles Taze Russell
   HAS INSTANCE=> Seton, Elizabeth Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Mother Seton
   HAS INSTANCE=> Wise, Isaac Mayer Wise
   HAS INSTANCE=> Wise, Stephen Samuel Wise
   HAS INSTANCE=> Young, Brigham Young

Sense 3
guru
  -> leader
   => spiritual leader
   => aristocrat, blue blood, patrician
   => bellwether
   => caller
   => captain, chieftain
   => cheerleader
   => choragus
   => civic leader, civil leader
   => commander
   => demigod, superman, Ubermensch
   => duce
   => employer
   => father
   => boss
   => fugleman
   => galvanizer, galvaniser, inspirer
   => guide
   => guru
   => head, chief, top dog
   => headman, tribal chief, chieftain, chief
   => imam, imaum
   => instigator, initiator
   => labor leader
   => lawgiver, lawmaker
   => malik
   => military leader
   => misleader
   => model, role model
   => hero
   => nationalist leader
   => pied piper
   => point man
   => point woman
   => politician, politico, pol, political leader
   => politician
   => presiding officer
   => puppet ruler, puppet leader
   => religious leader
   => scoutmaster
   => spearhead
   => strike leader
   => superior, higher-up, superordinate
   => torchbearer
   => trainer
   HAS INSTANCE=> Hussein, Husain, Husayn, Saddam Hussein, Saddam, Saddam bin Hussein at-Takriti
   HAS INSTANCE=> Judas Maccabaeus
   HAS INSTANCE=> Masoud, Ahmad Shah Masoud
   HAS INSTANCE=> Qaddafi, Qadhafi, Khadafy, Gaddafi, Muammar al-Qaddafi, Muammar el-Qaddafi




--- Grep of noun guru
computer guru
guru
guru nanak
media guru
unix guru



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Guru Nanak ::: Born: April 15, 1469; Died: September 22, 1539; Occupation: Sikh guru;
Paramahansa Yogananda ::: Born: January 5, 1893; Died: March 7, 1952; Occupation: Guru;
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ::: Born: January 12, 1918; Died: February 5, 2008; Occupation: Guru;
Rajneesh ::: Born: December 11, 1931; Died: January 19, 1990; Occupation: Guru;
Anandmurti Gurumaa ::: Born: April 8, 1966; Occupation: Spiritual leader;
Prabal Gurung ::: Born: March 31, 1979; Occupation: Fashion designer;
Guru Gobind Singh ::: Born: December 22, 1666; Died: October 7, 1708; Occupation: Sikh Gurus;
Guru Arjan ::: Born: April 15, 1563; Died: May 30, 1606; Occupation: Sikh Gurus;
Guru Angad ::: Born: March 31, 1504; Died: March 28, 1552; Occupation: Sikh Gurus;
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Kheper - Guru -- 33
Kheper - abusive_guru -- 59
Kheper - Adidam_Revelation -- 50
Kheper - ambiguous_guru -- 61
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Andrew_Cohen -- 0
Kheper - Andrew_Cohen -- 254
Kheper - antagonism -- 34
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Arunachala_Ramana.html -- 0
Kheper - avatar -- 64
Kheper - avidya -- 27
Kheper - books -- 34
Kheper - breaking_down_the_ego -- 36
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/charisma.html -- 0
Kheper - crazy_wisdom -- 52
Kheper - cult -- 34
Kheper - Da-7stages -- 47
Kheper - Da -- 180
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Da.html -- 0
Kheper - Da-limitations -- 57
Kheper - Da-Realization -- 27
Kheper - devotee -- 50
Kheper - disciple -- 32
Kheper - disclaimer -- 14
Kheper - eastern_gurus_in_the_west -- 66
Kheper - emotional_manipulation -- 48
Kheper - etymology -- 24
Kheper - financial_exploitation -- 34
Kheper - Gangaji -- 84
Kheper - Geoff_Falk -- 33
Kheper - glossary -- 110
Kheper - gurus -- 69
Kheper - guru_test -- 54
Kheper - H_W_L_Poonja -- 76
Kheper - IMZ_guru -- 84
Kheper - gurus index -- 53
Kheper - inflation -- 51
Kheper - IZ_guru -- 84
Kheper - key_Indian_esoteric_societies -- 37
Kheper - links -- 32
Kheper - listing -- 142
Kheper - Mataji -- 32
Kheper - mixed_light -- 27
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Moshe.html -- 0
Kheper - Moshe_Kroy -- 49
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Mother_Meera.html -- 0
Kheper - Muktananda -- 12
Kheper - narcissism -- 36
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Osho.html -- 0
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/pandit.html -- 0
Kheper - Patrizia_Norelli-Bachelet -- 143
Kheper - power_without_gnosis -- 25
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Prabhupada.html -- 0
Kheper - Presence -- 19
Kheper - Ramakrishna -- 31
Kheper - Ramana_index -- 21
Kheper - Ramana_Maharshi -- 62
Kheper - Ramana-response_to_criticism -- 26
Kheper - sadomasochism -- 22
Kheper - sahaja_yoga -- 10
Kheper - Sai_Baba -- 69
Kheper - saintly -- 25
Kheper - sexual_abuse -- 30
Kheper - slanderous_devotee -- 64
Kheper - thought_control -- 42
Kheper - Three_Cards_Trick -- 36
Kheper - true_Guru -- 30
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/true_guru.html -- 0
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Vivekananda.html -- 0
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/gurus/Yogananda.html -- 0
Kheper - Yogi_Ramsuratkumar -- 54
http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/Sant_Mat/members.tripod.com/santhakar/guru/chart.html -- 0
auromere - how-does-a-guru-act
auromere - how-does-a-guru-act
auromere - anandamayi-ma-as-the-guru
auromere - the-mother-mirra-alfassa-as-a-guru
auromere - anandamayi-ma-as-the-guru
auromere - the-mother-mirra-alfassa-as-a-guru
auromere - can-i-have-more-than-one-guru
auromere - handling-rejection-by-the-guru
auromere - a-movie-on-sri-kumare-the-guru
auromere - practicing-yoga-without-a-guru
auromere - anecdotes-of-my-guru
auromere - guru-spiritual-practice
Integral World - What Makes a Guru a Guru?, Cohen is Responsible for Himself, Elliot Benjamin
Integral World - Wilber and Freud: The Guru Question Continued, Elliot Benjamin
Integral World - Gurus and Ivory Towers: Adi Da Full Spectrum, Elliot Benjamin
Integral World - No I'm Not A "Guru-Hater": Review of "Modern Religions", Elliot Benjamin
Integral World - Andrew Cohen and the Fall of the Mythic Guru in an Age of PR-Spin, Hal Blacker
Integral World - Beware of the God, The Pitbull of Gurus, Jim Chamberlain
Integral World - Reply to Benjamin's "What Makes a Guru a Guru?", Martin Erdmann
Integral World - Is Ken Wilber a guru?, Jos Groot
Integral World - The Guru Question, A Detailed Response to "Appreciative Reader", David Lane
Integral World - The Guru Who Wouldn't Quit, Andrew Cohen Emerges from his Downfall, David Lane
Integral World - The Guru Transparency, Why Inner Attainment shouldn't be equated with Outer Knowledge, David Lane
Integral World - The Guru has no turban, Why Perfect Masters don't exist, David Lane
Integral World - The Poisoning of Charisma, Death Threats, Personality Issues, Financial Intrigue, And Murder in Guru Succession, David Lane
Integral World - The Skeptical Yogi, Part Five: Missing Train Times, Astrological Armlets, and Physically Charged Guru Manifestations, David Lane
Integral World - The Honest Guru, Reflections on Unknowingness, David Lane
Integral World - The Liberation of Andrew Cohen, How Devoted Disciples Can Enlighten Their Guru, David Lane
Integral World - Father Yod and the Source Brotherhood, My First Encounter with a Self-Appointed Guru, David Lane
Integral World - A Comment on "American Guru Andrew Cohen", Yonatan Levy
Integral World - "I Love Him, I Hate Him, I Love Him Again", Devotion, Deception and Opportunism in Andrew Cohen's Re-found Love for His Guru, H.W.L. Poonja, Stas Mavrides
Integral World - Andrew Cohen and the Decline of the Guru Institution, Part I: Andrew Cohen Steps Down as a Guru, Tomer Persico
Integral World - Andrew Cohen and the Decline of the Guru Institution, Part II: Interview with Amir Freimann, Tomer Persico
Integral World - Crazy Wisdom, Buddha Nature and the Guru, Barclay Powers
Integral World - The Pandit: Standing on the Shoulders of the Sat-Guru, The Influence of Adi Da Samraj on the First Books of Ken Wilber, Brad Reynolds
Integral World - Defending Adi Da Samraj, Transcending the Cult of Guru-Haters, Brad Reynolds
Integral World - Tech Bro Guru: Inside the Sedona Cult of Bentinho Massaro, Be Scofield
Integral World - The Gucci Guru: Inside Teal Swan's Posh Cult, Be Scofield
Integral World - A Critique of Perennialism: Problems with Enlightenment, Gurus, and Meditation, Gary Stogsdill
Integral World - "What's Love Got to Do with It", Love Guru Marc Gafni under Attack after New York Times publications, Frank Visser
Integral World - American Guru: Excerpts and an Update, William Yenner
http://integraltransformation.blogspot.com/2009/gurus/Ramana_Maharshi.html
http://integraltransformation.blogspot.com/gurus/Ramana_Maharshi.html
http://integraltransformation.blogspot.com/search/gurus/Ramana_Maharshi.html
selforum - guru bhakti yoga
selforum - female gurus
selforum - increasing number of pseudo gurus and
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/08/list-of-hindu-gurus-and-saints.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/09/gurus-and-saints.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/09/gurus.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/10/gurusagain.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/10/gurus.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2013/10/meeting-gurus-in-britain.html
https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-guru-question.html
dedroidify.blogspot - love-guru
dedroidify.blogspot - david-lynch-is-back-as-guru-of
https://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2010/08/guru-purnima-and-other-cosmic-musings.html
wiki.auroville - Guru
Dharmapedia - Afzal_Guru
Dharmapedia - Arsha_Vidya_Gurukulam
Dharmapedia - File:Guru_Nanak_Mahavishnu.jpg
Dharmapedia - Guru
Dharmapedia - Guru_Arjan
Dharmapedia - Guru_Gobind_Singh
Dharmapedia - Guru_Granth_Sahib
Dharmapedia - Guru_Nanak
Dharmapedia - Guru_Ravidas
Dharmapedia - Guru_Tegh_Bahadur
Dharmapedia - List_of_Hindu_gurus_and_saints
Dharmapedia - List_of_Indian_asana_yoga_gurus
Dharmapedia - Martyrdom_of_Guru_Tegh_Bahadar
Dharmapedia - Narayana_Guru
Dharmapedia - Sexual_abuse_by_yoga_gurus
Dharmapedia - The_Guru_of_Joy
Psychology Wiki - Category:Hindu_gurus
Psychology Wiki - Guru
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Assessment_and_criticism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Attributes_of_Guru
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Buddhism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Classification_of_gurus
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Etymologies
Psychology Wiki - Guru#External_links
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Further_reading
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Guru_and_God
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Guru_in_Buddhism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Guru_in_Hinduism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Guru_in_Sikhism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Gurus_in_the_West
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Hinduism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#In_modern_Hinduism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Notable_scandals_and_controversies
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Other
Psychology Wiki - Guru#References_and_notes
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Rituals
Psychology Wiki - Guru#See_also
Psychology Wiki - Guru-shishya_tradition
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Sikhism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Succession_and_lineage_.28parampara.29
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Surat_Shabda_Yoga
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Testing_the_guru
Psychology Wiki - Guru#The_.22guru-shishya.22_tradition
Psychology Wiki - Guru#The_Gurus_of_Sikhism
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Video
Psychology Wiki - Guru#Views_of_.22Guru.22_from_a_Western_culture_perspective
Psychology Wiki - Narayana_Guru
Psychology Wiki - Satguru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/Kakegurui
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/GuruStudio
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/HorrorGuru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanficRecs/Kakegurui
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheLoveGuru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HermitGuru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/AllRounderMeguru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/Kakegurui
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/MagicalCircleGuruGuru
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/Shigurui
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/HoodooGurus
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/GuruminAMonstrousAdventure
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/PuchiguruLoveLive
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebVideo/GuruLarryAndWez
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Tropers/GalagaGuru
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Tropers/GameGuruGG
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Tropers/Theguru
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Angad_Dev
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Arjan
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Govind_Singh
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Granth_Sahib
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gurukula
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Nanak
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Nanak_Dev
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Guru_Tegh_Bahadur
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jagadguru_Kripaluji_Maharaj
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jagadguru_Rmabhadrcrya
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Narayana_Guru
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Love_Guru
https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/N/NanakGuru/index.html
PAW Patrol (2013 - Current) - a Canadian CGIanimated television series created by Keith Chapman. It is produced by Spin Master Entertainment in association with TVOntario and Nickelodeon, with animation provided by Guru Studio. In Canada, the series is primarily broadcast on TVOntario, which first ran previews of the show in Au...
Leo the Lion (1966 - 1967) - ( ! Shin Janguru Taitei: Susume Reo!, New Jungle Emperor: Move Ahead Leo!) is a sequel to the Japanese anime series Jungle Emperor, or Kimba the White Lion. Osamu Tezuka had always wanted his story of Kimba to follow Kimba's entire life, and the Jungle Emperor/Kimba series was such a hit...
Chance Pop Session (2001 - Current) - Chance: Triangle Session ( Chansu Toraianguru Sesshon), also known as Chance: Pop Session, is a 2001 anime produced by Madhouse studios. The series aired from May 21 to August 27, 2001 and ran for 13 episodes.Three young girlsAkari, Yuki, and Nozomimeet at a concert and set out to...
Abby Hatcher (2018 - Current) - Canadian-American CGI-animated television series created by Rob Hoegee. Produced by Guru Studio in conjunction with Spin Master Entertainment for Nickelodeon, the series was scheduled to premiere on January 1, 2019,[1] before slightly being pushed to December 31, 2018.The series follows an intellige...
Brave Beats (2015 - 2016) - a Japanese anime television series produced by BN Pictures. It aired from October 11, 2015 to March 27, 2016 when it was followed by a rerun of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn the week after.One day, sixth grade student Hibiki Kazaguruma meets a small robot named Breakin. He discovers Breakin can talk, a...
Heavyweights(1995) - Jerry, an overweight pre-teen, is sent to a "fat farm" for the summer, lured by the promise of go-karts and swimming fun. When he arrives, however, he finds that the camp has been bought out by an exercise/fitness guru whose mental stability quickly deteriorates. Jerry and his friends--including a c...
Fight Club(1999) - The story focuses on a disillusioned, death-obsessed pencil-pusher (Edward Norton) whose only apparent social stimulus comes from attending cancer support-group meetings. His dreary existence takes a decided turn for the anarchic when he meets an amoral and enigmatic guru named Tyler Durden (Brad Pi...
Mama's Boy(2007) - A twenty-nine year-old slacker who lives with his mom realizes his sweet set-up is threatened when she hears wedding bells with her self-help guru beau.
North Shore(1987) - Before entering art school next autumn, Rick sets out to spend the summer surfing at Hawaii. He knows nothing about the local habits, what causes him some starting problems, but by chance he gets a room in the house of guru Chandler. He teaches him the difference between 'soul surfers' and those who...
Happiness Runs(2010) - A young man named Victor realizes the shortcomings of the Utopian ideals on the hippie commune where he was raised. Victor's mother is funding the commune where the guru Insley hypnotizes and seduces women with a technique he calls "running." Insley manipulates the minds of these women so that they...
A Thousand Words(2012) - After stretching the truth on a deal with a spiritual guru, literary agent Jack McCall finds a Bodhi tree on his property. Its appearance holds a valuable lesson on the consequences of every word we speak.
The Love Guru(2008) - Darren Roanoke, the star player of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is suffering from stress because his wife, Prudence, has left him for Jacques "Le Coq" Grand, who is the goaltender of rival team Los Angeles Kings, his nickname apparently a nod to being exceedingly well-endowed. Roanoke's stress causes h...
Heavyweights(1995) - Heavyweights is about a fat camp for kids that is taken over by a fitness guru named Tony Perkis. The film takes place at Camp Hope where all of the campers are overweight. For previous years it is a fun place for kids alike to go and have fun together. Trouble ensues once the previous owners decl...
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1373/Black_Jack_Specials__Inochi_wo_Meguru_Yottsu_no_Kiseki -- Drama
https://myanimelist.net/anime/15077/Tabisuru_Nuigurumi__Traveling_Daru -- Kids, Slice of Life
https://myanimelist.net/anime/2216/Shigurui --
https://myanimelist.net/anime/23249/Uchuu_Senkan_Yamato_2199__Hoshimeguru_Hakobune --
https://myanimelist.net/anime/23319/Suisei_no_Gargantia__Meguru_Kouro_Haruka --
https://myanimelist.net/anime/23439/Toki_wa_Meguru__Tokyo_Station --
https://myanimelist.net/anime/32397/Saga-ken_wo_Meguru_Animation -- Slice of Life
https://myanimelist.net/anime/331/Mahoujin_Guruguru -- Adventure, Comedy, Magic, Fantasy, Shounen
https://myanimelist.net/anime/332/DokidokiDensetsu__Mahoujin_Guruguru -- Adventure, Comedy, Magic, Fantasy, Shounen
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34745/Mahoujin_Guruguru_2017 --
https://myanimelist.net/anime/3484/Maison_Ikkoku__Prelude_-_Meguru_Haru_no_Sakura_no_You_ni -- Comedy, Drama, Romance, Seinen
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34933/Kakegurui -- Game, Mystery, Psychological, Drama, School, Shounen
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35909/Guruguru_Petit_Anime_Gekijou -- Adventure, Comedy, Slice of Life, Super Power
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37086/Kakegurui -- Drama, Game, Mystery, Psychological, School, Shounen
https://myanimelist.net/anime/38939/Kakegurui_Picture_Drama -- Game, Comedy
https://myanimelist.net/anime/40934/Bungou_to_Alchemist__Shinpan_no_Haguruma -- Action, Adventure, Fantasy
https://myanimelist.net/anime/6275/Pokemon_Fushigi_no_Dungeon__Sora_no_Tankentai_-_Toki_to_Yami_wo_Meguru_Saigo_no_Bouken -- Adventure, Fantasy, Kids
https://myanimelist.net/anime/796/Mahoujin_Guru_Guru_Movie -- Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen
https://myanimelist.net/manga/103179/Kakegurui_Kari
https://myanimelist.net/manga/104547/Kakegurui_Midari
https://myanimelist.net/manga/14090/All_Rounder_Meguru
https://myanimelist.net/manga/1892/Fugurumakan_Raihouki
https://myanimelist.net/manga/20120/Kigurumi_Planet
https://myanimelist.net/manga/24765/Akaki_Tsuki_no_Meguru_Koro
https://myanimelist.net/manga/35133/Seiketsu_no_Haguruma
https://myanimelist.net/manga/3868/Shigurui
https://myanimelist.net/manga/4080/Mahoujin_Guruguru
https://myanimelist.net/manga/409/Guru_Guru_Pon-chan
https://myanimelist.net/manga/41239/Haru_Meguru
https://myanimelist.net/manga/6226/NuiguruMix
https://myanimelist.net/manga/63281/Kigurumi_Guardians
https://myanimelist.net/manga/73603/Kakegurui
https://myanimelist.net/manga/90180/DanMachi_4-koma__Somosomo_Dungeon_ni_Moguru_no_ga_Machigai_de_wa_Nai_Darou_ka
https://myanimelist.net/manga/95347/Kakegurui_Twin
Agatha Raisin -- Not Rated | 1h | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | TV Series (2014 ) ::: The Cotswolds-based PR guru turned amateur sleuth returns for a series of comedic murder-mysteries based on the books by M.C. Beaton. Creator: M.C. Beaton
Fearless (2006) ::: 7.6/10 -- Huo Yuan Jia (original title) -- Fearless Poster -- A biography of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia, who is the founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. Director: Ronny Yu Writers:
Men in Trees -- 45min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | TV Series (20062008) A relationship-advice guru, upon learning that her fianc is cheating on her, decides to stay in a small town in Alaska, the most recent stop on her book tour. It's in this remote town, where the ratio of men to women is ten to one, she realizes she can truly learn about the subject she thought she knew so well ::: how to find, and keep, a good man. Creator: Jenny Bicks
Shigurui: Death Frenzy -- Shigurui (original title) 14A | 24min | Animation, Action, Drama | TV Series (2007- ) Episode Guide 12 episodes Shigurui: Death Frenzy Poster ::: The series starts off at a tournament where a one armed samurai faces a blind one and quickly flashes back to reveal the history between the two fighters. Stars:
https://kakegurui.fandom.com/
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/All_Rounder_Meguru
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Guru_Pon-chan
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Kakegurui
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Kigurumi_Guardians
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Mahoujin_Guru_Guru
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Maseki_Gurume:_Mamono_no_Chikara_o_Tabeta_Ore_wa_Saikyou!
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/NuiguruMix
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Seiketsu_no_Haguruma
https://animanga.fandom.com/wiki/Shigurui
https://areanokishi.fandom.com/wiki/Suguru_Aizawa
https://bluelock.fandom.com/wiki/Meguru_Bachira
https://buddyfight.fandom.com/wiki/Kuguru_Uki
https://characters.fandom.com/wiki/Guru
https://characters.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_(Howzzattt)
https://characters.fandom.com/wiki/Penguru
https://characters.fandom.com/wiki/Rajguru
https://chowder.fandom.com/wiki/Veggie_Guru_(song)
https://chrono.fandom.com/wiki/Guru
https://die-kaenguru-chroniken.fandom.com/wiki/
https://dreamfiction.fandom.com/wiki/Knguru
https://dreamfiction.fandom.com/wiki/Magical_Circle_Guru_Guru_(English_dub)
https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Bond-Guru_Topeth
https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Gurum
https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Guruzug
https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Razgurug
https://eq2.fandom.com/wiki/Taskmaster_Gurunak_(Heroic)
https://ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Amagusa-Chigurusa
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Hoshi_o_Meguru_Otome
https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Guru
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kim-un-guru
https://godeater.fandom.com/wiki/Kigurumi
https://great-teacher-onizuka-gto.fandom.com/wiki/Suguru_Teshigawara
https://guruguru.fandom.com/wiki/
https://guruguru.fandom.com/wiki/Magical_Circle_Guru_Guru_Wiki
https://home.fandom.com/wiki/Design_gurus
https://humanscience.fandom.com/wiki/Guru
https://inazuma-eleven.fandom.com/wiki/Abareguruma
https://jujutsu-kaisen.fandom.com/wiki/Suguru_Geto
https://jujutsu-kaisen.fandom.com/wiki/Yuta_Okkotsu_vs._Suguru_Geto
https://kakegurui.fandom.com/wiki/
https://katamari.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Guru_Gravity
https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/PropertyGuru
https://lotro.fandom.com/wiki/Ost_Guruth
https://love-live.fandom.com/wiki/Puchiguru_Love_Live!
https://medakabox.fandom.com/wiki/Mogura_Kugurugi
https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/The_Guru_on_Mt._Woe
https://non-aliencreatures.fandom.com/wiki/Oranguru
https://runescape.fandom.com/wiki/Update:Top_RuneScape_Geography_Guru_Announced!
https://samuraipizzacats.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Lou
https://shadowwarrior.fandom.com/wiki/Kazaguruma
https://shigurui.fandom.com/wiki/
https://sikhi.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Gobind_Singh
https://sikhi.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Granth_Sahib
https://sikhi.fandom.com/wiki/Guru_Nanak
https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Guru
https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Case_of_the_Gluttonous_Guru_(audio_story)
https://tensura.fandom.com/wiki/Meguru_Mono
https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Guruhi
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi_Arena
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi Berserker
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi_Catacombs
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi_Coin
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi_Empire
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Gurubashi_tribe
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Quest:Gurubashi,_Vilebranch,_and_Witherbark_Coins
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Server:Gurubashi_US
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub_Coin
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub_enchantment
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub_(instance)
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub_loot
https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Zul'Gurub_(raid)
Area no Kishi -- -- Shin-Ei Animation -- 37 eps -- Manga -- Comedy School Shounen Sports -- Area no Kishi Area no Kishi -- Kakeru and Suguru are brothers who both have a flaming passion for soccer. However, while Suguru becomes a rising star in the Japanese youth soccer system, Kakeru decides to take on a managerial role after struggling on the field. But due to a cruel twist of fate, Kakeru ends up reevaluating the role he has chosen. -- -- In hopes of one day being able to enter the World Cup by becoming a member of the national team, Kakeru trains harder than anyone else. He isn’t alone in this quest for glory, though. Kakeru's childhood friend, Nana, is a soccer prodigy of her own, with the wicked nickname “Little Witch”. She is a top-ranked player and is already playing for Nadeshiko Japan, the Japanese women’s national team. Nana's success gives Kakeru the extra push he needs to reach for his goals. -- -- Soccer and adolescent fervor combine for an epic, emotional ride. Check it out for yourself in Area no Kishi! -- 61,244 7.21
Arei no Kagami: Way to the Virgin Space -- -- Toei Animation -- 1 ep -- - -- Action Adventure Sci-Fi Space -- Arei no Kagami: Way to the Virgin Space Arei no Kagami: Way to the Virgin Space -- The story follows Daichi Meguru and Mayu, a young boy and a pilot, as they flee their war torn planet and into space. Upon their ship a stowaway android named Zero joins their quest as they travel through Halley's Mirror. -- -- (Source: Wikipedia) -- Movie - Mar 16, 1985 -- 1,273 5.61
Bungou to Alchemist: Shinpan no Haguruma -- -- OLM -- 13 eps -- Game -- Action Adventure Fantasy -- Bungou to Alchemist: Shinpan no Haguruma Bungou to Alchemist: Shinpan no Haguruma -- Famous writers throughout history find themselves being reincarnated by a mysterious, unseen entity known as the Alchemist. With their souls confined and bound to an expansive library, they are tasked by the Alchemist to jump into books to purify the pages of monsters called Taints. Along the way, they must also rescue and recruit fellow authors trapped within the very stories they themselves had written. -- -- Although the writers take on new and powerful forms for this endeavor, some still maintain a semblance of who they once were, while others struggle to remember their pasts and the works they had penned. Despite there being no apparent end to their grand mission, they remain committed to the cause in hope of resolving the mystery behind their collective resurrection as well as questions that have haunted their former lives. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 33,854 6.36
Detective Conan Movie 10: Requiem of the Detectives -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Adventure Comedy Mystery Police Shounen -- Detective Conan Movie 10: Requiem of the Detectives Detective Conan Movie 10: Requiem of the Detectives -- After receiving a strange invitation, Kogorou Mouri pays a visit to the Miracle Land theme park along with his daughter Ran, Conan Edogawa, and the Detective Boys. Once there, Kogorou and Conan are tasked with finishing an unsolved case by a mysterious stranger. Realizing that the invitations were actually an elaborate trap, the two have just 12 hours to solve the case or face grave danger. -- -- With the help of familiar faces like Heiji Hattori, Kaitou Kid, and even Saguru Hakuba, the group of detectives must unravel the web of clues surrounding the case in order to find the culprit and bring them to justice before it's too late. -- -- Movie - Apr 15, 2006 -- 43,950 8.07
Joshiraku -- -- J.C.Staff -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Shounen -- Joshiraku Joshiraku -- Joshiraku follows the conversations of five rakugo storyteller girls relating the odd things that happen to them each day. Their comedic and satirical chatting covers all kinds of topics, from pointless observations of everyday life, to politics, manga, and more. Each girl has something new to add to the discussion, and the discourse never ends in the same place it began. -- -- Each of the rakugo girls has their own unique personality, with the energetic but immature Marii Buratei; the seemingly cute Kigurumi Haroukitei; the inherently lucky and carefree Tetora Bouhatei; the calm and violent Gankyou Kuurubiyuutei; and the pessimistic and unstable Kukuru Anrakutei. These girls—and their mysterious friend in a wrestling mask—give their observations to the audience, either backstage at the rakugo theater or in various famous locations around Tokyo. -- -- TV - Jul 6, 2012 -- 117,626 7.49
Kakegurui×× -- -- MAPPA -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Drama Game Mystery Psychological School Shounen -- Kakegurui×× Kakegurui×× -- As Yumeko Jabami's fame grows and the reputation of the student council dwindles, Kirari Momobami decides to revolutionize the group. To this end, she announces an election for its next president. The rules are simple: each student in the school receives one chip. Whoever has the most chips by the end of thirty days becomes both the new president and the head of the Momobami clan. -- -- Upon receiving news of this development, the Momobami branch families spring into action. Eleven transfer students arrive at Hyakkao Private Academy, each aiming to lead both the school and the Momobami clan. Equipped with unique talents, they will compete to get as many chips as possible—but their chips are not the only things on the line. -- -- 480,876 7.28
Kakegurui -- -- MAPPA -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Game Mystery Psychological Drama School Shounen -- Kakegurui Kakegurui -- Unlike many schools, attending Hyakkaou Private Academy prepares students for their time in the real world. Since many of the students are the children of the richest people in the world, the academy has its quirks that separate it from all the others. By day, it is a normal school, educating its pupils in history, languages, and the like. But at night, it turns into a gambling den, educating them in the art of dealing with money and manipulating people. Money is power; those who come out on top in the games stand at the top of the school. -- -- Yumeko Jabami, a seemingly naive and beautiful transfer student, is ready to try her hand at Hyakkaou's special curriculum. Unlike the rest, she doesn't play to win, but for the thrill of the gamble, and her borderline insane way of gambling might just bring too many new cards to the table. -- -- 940,309 7.37
Kakegurui Picture Drama -- -- MAPPA -- 3 eps -- Manga -- Game Comedy -- Kakegurui Picture Drama Kakegurui Picture Drama -- Picture drama episodes included on the DVD/Blu-ray Volumes of Kakegurui. -- Special - Oct 13, 2017 -- 19,921 6.68
Kinnikuman II Sei -- -- Toei Animation -- 51 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Comedy Sports Martial Arts Shounen -- Kinnikuman II Sei Kinnikuman II Sei -- Kinnikuman II Sei takes place several years after the events of the original Kinnikuman. Mantarou Kinniku is the 59th prince of Planet Kinniku and son of the renowned wrestler, King Suguru. Lazy, immature, and cowardly, Mantarou seems to have little in common with his heroic father. -- -- When a powerful group calling themselves the dMP threatens the Earth, only someone as powerful as Kinnikuman stands a chance against them. Not knowing the current whereabouts of the King, a plan is formed to have his son Mantarou take up the mantle. The idea of fighting super villains does not sit well with Mantarou, who initially runs away from his duty. He flees to Earth where he encounters Meat, his father’s old trainer. Despite Mantarou's shortcomings, Meat sees King Suguru in him, and believes he can set the prince on the right path. Thus begins Mantarou's journey to better himself and save the world. -- -- Licensor: -- 4Kids Entertainment -- 13,256 6.89
Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden -- -- Gainax, Shaft -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Ecchi Military Romance Sci-Fi -- Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden -- Vesper is a secret agency fighting an army of alien invaders by using super-powerful battle androids. Mahoro is Vesper's most powerful battle android and has won many battles, but she has little operating time left and soon will cease to function. However, if she lays down her arms and conserves her remaining power, the time she has left can be prolonged to just over a year. Mahoro is given an opportunity to live the remaining time she has as a normal human. She chooses to live as a maid for Suguru, a phenomenally messy middle school student who lives by himself after his family passed away. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Geneon Entertainment USA, Sentai Filmworks -- TV - Oct 5, 2001 -- 54,135 7.18
Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono -- -- Gainax, Shaft -- 14 eps -- Manga -- Military Sci-Fi Comedy Drama Romance Ecchi -- Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono -- As the relationship between Mahoro, Suguru and his classmates develops further, another android girl enters their lives and becomes attached to Mahoro. All the while, the number of days before Mahoro is to shut down decreases steadily. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Geneon Entertainment USA, Sentai Filmworks -- TV - Sep 26, 2002 -- 28,974 7.17
Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono -- -- Gainax, Shaft -- 14 eps -- Manga -- Military Sci-Fi Comedy Drama Romance Ecchi -- Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono -- As the relationship between Mahoro, Suguru and his classmates develops further, another android girl enters their lives and becomes attached to Mahoro. All the while, the number of days before Mahoro is to shut down decreases steadily. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- TV - Sep 26, 2002 -- 28,974 7.17
Mahoromatic Summer Special -- -- Gainax, Shaft -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Ecchi Romance Comedy Sci-Fi -- Mahoromatic Summer Special Mahoromatic Summer Special -- It's another normal day in the Misato residence when Mahoro finds yet another pornographic magazine in Suguru's room. This prompts her and Minawa to make a pact with Chizuko, Rin, Miyuki and Miss Shikijo to search and confiscate all of the perverted stash in the house. Suguru, Kiyomi and Toshiya must do whatever it takes to protect their treasure from the girls. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Geneon Entertainment USA, Sentai Filmworks -- Special - Aug 15, 2003 -- 10,190 7.12
Mahoujin Guruguru (2017) -- -- Production I.G -- 24 eps -- Manga -- Adventure Comedy Magic Fantasy Shounen -- Mahoujin Guruguru (2017) Mahoujin Guruguru (2017) -- Nike was a simple boy from Boering Village, and the last thing he ever wanted was to become a hero. But when a sign appears from the king of Ainshent Castle Town recruiting heroes to slay the Demon Lord Giri, Nike's father enthusiastically forces him out the door. Along with Kukuri, a member of the Migu Migu Clan, Nike sets out on an adventure to become the legendary hero that the world needs. -- -- As Nike and Kukuri travel across different continents, they attempt to learn the secrets of Guru Guru Magic, a strange but powerful type of magic used to seal Demon Lord Giri's power. While reluctantly taking on their assigned quest, the duo does not fail to acquire new comrades and have fun along the way. -- -- 28,102 7.85
Mahoujin Guruguru -- -- Nippon Animation -- 45 eps -- Manga -- Adventure Comedy Magic Fantasy Shounen -- Mahoujin Guruguru Mahoujin Guruguru -- There is a small village called Jimuna on the continent of Jamu Jamu. This village is home to a girl named Kukuri. She is the last descendant of the Migu Migu Tribe. She is raised by an old witch who teaches her the secret magic of the tribe, but Kukuri is not a good student. -- -- In the same village lives a boy named Nike. He has been raised by very strict parents. They discipline their son to become a brave hero of the village. Nike himself does not want to be a hero at all, but he grows up to become a mighty boy. -- -- One day the king of the village, Kodai, recruits troops to fight against the ruler of the darkness, Giri. Kukuri and Nike are accepted. The two children, the strong but reluctant hero Nike, and the eager but unskilled little witch Kukuri, set out on a wonderful journey full of adventures and friendship. -- -- (Source: Nippon Animation) -- 8,960 7.61
Miss Monochrome The Animation -- -- LIDENFILMS, SANZIGEN -- 13 eps -- Original -- Music Slice of Life Comedy -- Miss Monochrome The Animation Miss Monochrome The Animation -- "Miss Monochrome" is an original character design from seiyuu Horie Yui. In March 2012, she first used the "Miss Monochrome" character as a 3D virtual singer to sing her songs at her concert "Horie Yui wo Meguru Bouken III ~Secret Mission Tour~." Later, the character appeared in a range of merchandise as well as in the social network game "Girlfriend (Beta)." -- -- According to the setting, Miss Monochrome loves only the monochrome style, dislikes all kinds of color, and always dreams about changing the world into her favorite monochrome color. -- -- (Source: MAL News) -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll -- 43,707 6.40
Non Non Biyori -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy School Seinen Slice of Life -- Non Non Biyori Non Non Biyori -- Asahigaoka might look like typical, boring countryside to most; however, no day in this village can ever be considered colorless thanks to five students of varying ages occupying the only class in the only school in town. The youngest student is first grader Renge Miyauchi, who brings an unadulterated wit, curiosity, and her characteristic catchphrase, "Nyanpasu!" Then there are the Koshigaya siblings consisting of the quiet ninth grader and elder brother Suguru, diminutive eighth grader Komari, and the mischievous seventh grader Natsumi. The recent arrival of Tokyo-raised fifth grader Hotaru Ichijou, who appears overdeveloped for her age and thus naturally holds an air of maturity, rounds out this lively and vibrant group of five classmates. -- -- Based on the manga penned and illustrated by Atto, Non Non Biyori chronicles the not-so-normal daily lives of this group of friends as they engage in their own brand of fun and frolic, and playfully struggle with the realities of living in a rural area. -- -- 315,027 7.95
Non Non Biyori -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy School Seinen Slice of Life -- Non Non Biyori Non Non Biyori -- Asahigaoka might look like typical, boring countryside to most; however, no day in this village can ever be considered colorless thanks to five students of varying ages occupying the only class in the only school in town. The youngest student is first grader Renge Miyauchi, who brings an unadulterated wit, curiosity, and her characteristic catchphrase, "Nyanpasu!" Then there are the Koshigaya siblings consisting of the quiet ninth grader and elder brother Suguru, diminutive eighth grader Komari, and the mischievous seventh grader Natsumi. The recent arrival of Tokyo-raised fifth grader Hotaru Ichijou, who appears overdeveloped for her age and thus naturally holds an air of maturity, rounds out this lively and vibrant group of five classmates. -- -- Based on the manga penned and illustrated by Atto, Non Non Biyori chronicles the not-so-normal daily lives of this group of friends as they engage in their own brand of fun and frolic, and playfully struggle with the realities of living in a rural area. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 315,027 7.95
Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Seinen -- Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation -- With summer vacation coming to an end, the girls are having as much fun as they can with their remaining time. However, their daily shenanigans are cut short when Suguru Koshigaya wins the grand prize of a lottery—tickets to Okinawa! After hasty preparations, the Asahigaoka group embarks on a three-day trip for their final summer getaway. -- -- Upon arriving in Okinawa and checking into an inn, the group comes across Aoi Niizato—the young daughter of the inn's hostess. Despite being of similar age, her mature demeanor leaves Natsumi Koshigaya reflecting upon her own childish nature. With the sign of an unexpected friendship blooming on the horizon, the girls waste no time diving into their ambitious sightseeing plans and regional activities! -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- Movie - Aug 25, 2018 -- 48,174 8.24
Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School Seinen -- Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta -- While spending a summer day at the department store, Suguru Koshigaya wins the lottery’s grand prize—four tickets to Okinawa! Filled with awe and excitement, the girls of Asahigaoka do various things to prepare for the trip. From practicing how to ride on an airplane to buying travel essentials at the convenience store, they do everything beforehand so they can enjoy their time in Okinawa to the fullest extent. -- -- A departure from the familiar scenery of Asahigaoka is a new experience for Renge Miyauchi, but that does not stop her from pondering how her perspective of the world may change. As the day of the trip draws near, a promise is made. -- -- OVA - Jul 23, 2014 -- 50,070 7.62
Shigurui -- -- Madhouse -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Action Historical Psychological Drama Martial Arts Samurai Seinen -- Shigurui Shigurui -- At the beginning of the Edo Era, when people enjoyed a time of peace, Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga holds a fighting tournament. In the past, matches were fought with wooden swords. This time, real swords will be used. -- -- One-armed Fujiki Gennosuke and blind Irako Seigen will fight each other in this match. Both are disciples of Iwamoto Kogan, who is known as Japan's greatest swordsman. Each of them are determined to prove himself the successor of Iwamoto's school. However, there can only be one champion. -- -- So begins a story of intertwining fates, conflict, and strange destinies. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- 97,011 7.40
Shigurui -- -- Madhouse -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Action Historical Psychological Drama Martial Arts Samurai Seinen -- Shigurui Shigurui -- At the beginning of the Edo Era, when people enjoyed a time of peace, Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga holds a fighting tournament. In the past, matches were fought with wooden swords. This time, real swords will be used. -- -- One-armed Fujiki Gennosuke and blind Irako Seigen will fight each other in this match. Both are disciples of Iwamoto Kogan, who is known as Japan's greatest swordsman. Each of them are determined to prove himself the successor of Iwamoto's school. However, there can only be one champion. -- -- So begins a story of intertwining fates, conflict, and strange destinies. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 97,011 7.40
Suisei no Gargantia: Meguru Kouro, Haruka -- -- Production I.G -- 2 eps -- Original -- Action Adventure Mecha Sci-Fi -- Suisei no Gargantia: Meguru Kouro, Haruka Suisei no Gargantia: Meguru Kouro, Haruka -- A 2-episode OVA for Suisei no Gargantia revealed during an announcement at AnimeJapan 2014. -- -- (Source: MAL News) -- OVA - Sep 27, 2014 -- 35,739 7.37
Twin Angel Break -- -- J.C.Staff -- 12 eps -- Game -- Drama Magic -- Twin Angel Break Twin Angel Break -- Amatsuki Meguru is a girl who innocently aspires to be a hero of justice and the cool Kisaragi Sumire who grew up in the strict Kisaragi household... The two girls who are in their 3rd year of middle school end up getting orders from a mysterious hedgehog named Miruku-chan and turn into Twin Angels in order to fight evil! Meguru is always cheerful but sometimes a bit too forceful. Meanwhile, Sumire isn't accustomed with being around others. Despite their differences, as they work together, they start opening up to each other. -- -- (Source: Crunchyroll) -- 11,172 5.89
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199: Hoshimeguru Hakobune -- -- Xebec -- 1 ep -- Original -- Action Military Sci-Fi Space Drama -- Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199: Hoshimeguru Hakobune Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199: Hoshimeguru Hakobune -- 2199 AD. Yamato tried to leave behind the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, after receiving a "Cosmo Reverse System" at its destination, Iscandar. However, suddenly, it encounters a mysterious group at the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The crew finds out that the group is called the "Gatlantis," and that its leader is the Gutaba expeditionary force commander who calls himself "Goran Dagaamu of Thunder." The commander demands that Yamato be handed over to him. Yamato, wanting to hurry to Earth, escapes the fray. However, Yamato is attacked by a devastating beam weapon called the "Flame Direct Attack Cannon" that can transcend space. -- -- Yamato was able to retreat, but ends up getting lost, and finds itself in a strangely colored irregular dimension. The crew decides to turn off the engine on the ship, and explore a mysterious planet. In order to collect information, Kodai, Kiryū, Sawamura, Niimi, and Aihara land on the planet. What they saw when they arrived was a ship that was not supposed to be there. -- -- Dagaamu chases after the traces of Yamato's warp, and also reaches the strangely colored space. The planet on which Yamato landed was in fact what Dagaamu had been looking for all along. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- Movie - Dec 6, 2014 -- 11,294 7.77
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Meineckia nguruensis
Monument to Michael the Brave, Guruslu
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Mycerinodes uluguruensis
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Naguru, Uganda
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Nguru, Nigeria
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No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
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Porongurup, Western Australia
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Sit with the Guru
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Solomon Iguru I
Sree Guruvayoorappan
Sree Guruvayoorappan (1964 film)
Sree Krishna College, Guruvayur
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S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa
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Swami Premananda (guru)
Swamy Sreenarayana Guru
Taralabalu Jagadguru Brihanmath, Sirigere
Temples consecrated by Narayana Guru
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Tenke Fungurume Mine
T Guru Prasad
The Love Guru
Thrence Sinunguruza
Thevis Guruge
Tikri, Gurugram
Trishna Gurung
Tsanzaguru
Udaipur CityKamakhya Kavi Guru Express
Udara Palliyaguruge
Ukaguru Mountains
Uluguru blue-bellied frog
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Uluguru bushshrike
Uluguru forest tree frog
Uluguru greenbul
Uluguru Mountain Grasshopper
Uluguru Mountains
Uluguru violet-backed sunbird
Usotsuki Alice to Kujirag o Meguru Bken
Vasthuvidya Gurukulam
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Who Is Guru Maharaj Ji?
Women in the Guru Granth Sahib
Writers of Guru Granth Sahib
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Wulguru, Queensland
Yoko guruma
Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College



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