1. Accompanying in a circumstantial relation; going with as a concomitant; closely consequent. 2. Following closely. 3. Waiting for, awaiting, expecting (a future time, event, result, decision, etc.)
1. Causing irreversible ruin, destruction or death; disastrous. 2. Decisively important; fateful. 3. Proceeding from or decreed by fate; inevitable. 4. Influencing or concerned with fate; fatalistic.
1. Filled with bliss, ecstasy; joy. 2. Filled with spiritual joy. All-Blissful.
1. Imagination or fantasy, esp. as exercised in a capricious manner. 2. A mental image or conception. 3. An idea or opinion with little foundation; illusion. 4. A caprice; whim. 5. A sudden or irrational liking for a person or thing. fancy"s, Fancy"s, fancies.
1. Personal liberty, as opposed to bondage. 2. Liberation or deliverance from fate or necessity. 3. The state or power of being able to act without hindrance or restraint, liberty of action. 4. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition. 5. The quality of being able to conceive and execute boldly. Freedom, Freedom"s.
1. To stir to activity with or as if with a fan. 2. To expand in rays, to assume a fan-like shape.
abandon ::: 1. To give oneself up, devote oneself to (a person or thing); to yield oneself without restraint. 2. To withdraw one"s support or help from, especially in spite of duty, allegiance, or responsibility; desert: leave behind. 3. To give up; discontinue; withdraw from. abandons, abandoned, abandoning.
abandoned ::: 1. Given up, deserted, forsaken, cast off. 2. Left completely and finally, without help or support. 3. adj. Deserted.
A being of the lower vital planes who has assumed the discarded vital sheath of a departed human being or a fragment of his vital personality and appears and acts in the form and perhaps with the surface thoughts and memories of that person.
A being of the lower vital plane who by the medium of a living human being or by some other means or agency is able to materialise itself sufficiently so as to appear and act in a visible form or speak with an audible voice or, without so appearing, to move about material things, e.g., furniture or to materialise objects or to shift them from place to place. This accounts for what are called poltergeists , phenomena of stone-throwing, tree-inhabiting Bhutas, and other well-known phenomena.
abhorred ::: regarded with extreme repugnance, aversion or disgust; detested; loathed. abhorring.
abide ::: 1. To wait, stay, remain. 2. To remain in residence; to sojourn, reside, dwell. 3. To remain with; to stand firm by, to hold to, remain true to. 4. To continue in existence, endure, stand firm or sure. abides, abode, abiding.
ablaze ::: 1. Burning; on fire. 2. Gleaming with bright lights, bold colours, etc.
a body of executive officials collectively entrusted with the execution and administration of laws.
abolish ::: to put an end to, to do away with; to annul or make void; to demolish, destroy or annihilate. abolished, abolishing.
abroad ::: 1. Broadly, widely, at large, over a broad or wide surface; widely apart, with the parts or limbs wide spread. 2. At large; freely moving about.
abrogate ::: to do away with, put an end to.
absent ::: 1. Being away, withdrawn from, or not present (at a place). 2. Of time: Not present, distant, far off.
absolute ::: adj. 1. Free from all imperfection or deficiency; complete, finished; perfect, consummate. 2. Of degree: Complete, entire; in the fullest sense. 3. Having ultimate power, governing totally; unlimited by a constitution or the concurrent authority of a parliament; arbitrary, despotic. 4. Existing without relation to any other being; self-existent; self-sufficing. 5. Capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone; unconditioned. 6. Considered independently of its being subjective or objective. n. 7. Something that is not dependent upon external conditions for existence or for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to relative). Absolute, Absolute"s, absolutes, absoluteness.
abstract ::: adj. 1. Withdrawn or separated from matter, from material embodiment, from practice, or from particular examples; theoretical. 2. In the fine arts, characterized by lack of or freedom from representational qualities. n. 3. Something that concentrates in itself the essential qualities of anything more extensive or more general, or of several things; essence.
accept ::: 1. To take or receive (a thing offered) willingly, or with consenting mind; to receive (a thing or person) with favour or approval. 2. To take formally (what is offered) with contemplation of its consequences and obligations; to take upon oneself, to undertake as a responsibility. 3. To agree or consent to. 4. To regard as true or sound; believe. accepts, accepted, accepting.
access ::: 1. The ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance. 2. A way or means of approach; an entrance, channel, passage, or doorway.
accident ::: 1. Any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause. 2. A fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic. 3. An unfortunate event, a disaster, a mishap. accidents.
accompany ::: 1. To go in company with, to go along with. 2. To add as companion; to associate; to add or conjoin to. accompanied.
accurate ::: 1. Exact, precise, correct, as the result of care. 2. Free from error or defect; consistent with a standard, rule, or model; precise, exact.
accuse ::: to charge with a fault; to find fault with, blame, censure. accused.
"A cosmos or universe is always a harmony, otherwise it could not exist, it would fly to pieces. But as there are musical harmonies which are built out of discords partly or even predominantly, so this universe (the material) is disharmonious in its separate elements — the individual elements are at discord with each other to a large extent; it is only owing to the sustaining Divine Will behind that the whole is still a harmony to those who look at it with the cosmic vision. But it is a harmony in evolution in progress — that is, all is combined to strive towards a goal which is not yet reached, and the object of our yoga is to hasten the arrival to this goal. When it is reached, there will be a harmony of harmonies substituted for the present harmony built up on discords. This is the explanation of the present appearance of things.” Letters on Yoga
acquaint ::: to furnish with knowledge; inform; to make cognizant or aware.
acquiescing ::: assenting tacitly; submitting or complying silently or without protest; agreeing; consenting. acquiescence.
adamant ::: n. 1. Any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance. 2. A legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond. adj. **3. Unshakeable, inflexible, utterly unyielding. 4. Incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; immovable, impregnable. adamantine.**
"A divine Force is at work and will choose at each moment what has to be done or has not to be done, what has to be momentarily or permanently taken up, momentarily or permanently abandoned. For provided we do not substitute for that our desire or our ego, and to that end the soul must be always awake, always on guard, alive to the divine guidance, resistant to the undivine misleading from within or without us, that Force is sufficient and alone competent and she will lead us to the fulfilment along ways and by means too large, too inward, too complex for the mind to follow, much less to dictate. It is an arduous and difficult and dangerous way, but there is none other.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"A divine life must be first and foremost an inner life; for since the outward must be the expression of what is within, there can be no divinity in the outer existence if there is not the divinisation of the inner being.” The Life Divine*
adj. 1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty. 2. Unconstrained; unconfined. 3. Unobstructed; clear. 4. Ready or generous in using or giving; liberal; lavish. 5. Exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one"s will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted. 6. Exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually followed by from or of). 7. Given readily or in profusion. freer, thought-free, world-free. *adv. *8. In a free manner; without constraints; unimpeded. v. 9. To make free; set at liberty; release from bondage, imprisonment, or restraint. 10. To disengage or clear something from an entanglement. 11. To relieve or rid of a burden, an inconvenience or an obligation. freed. set free. Released; liberated; freed.
admires ::: 1. Regards with pleased surprise, or with wonder mingled with esteem, approbation, or affection; and in modern usage, gazed on with pleasure. admired, admiring. adj. 2. Regarded with admiration; wondered at; contemplated with wonder mingled with esteem, etc.
adoration ::: 1. The act of paying honour, as to a divine being; worship. 2. Reverent homage. 3. Fervent and devoted love. **adoration"s.*Sri Aurobindo: "Especially in love for the Divine or for one whom one feels to be divine, the Bhakta feels an intense reverence for the Loved, a sense of something of immense greatness, beauty or value and for himself a strong impression of his own comparative unworthiness and a passionate desire to grow into likeness with that which one adores.” Letters on Yoga*
adore ::: 1. To worship as a deity, to pay divine honours to. 2. To reverence or honour very highly; to regard with the utmost respect and affection. adores, adored, adoring, adorer, adorer"s.
"Aesthesis therefore is of the very essence of poetry, as it is of all art. But it is not the sole element and aesthesis too is not confined to a reception of poetry and art; it extends to everything in the world: there is nothing we can sense, think or in any way experience to which there cannot be an aesthetic reaction of our conscious being. Ordinarily, we suppose that aesthesis is concerned with beauty, and that indeed is its most prominent concern: but it is concerned with many other things also. It is the universal Ananda that is the parent of aesthesis and the universal Ananda takes three major and original forms, beauty, love and delight, the delight of all existence, the delight in things, in all things.” Letters on Savitri
afflicted ::: distressed with mental or bodily pain; troubled greatly; grievously depressed, oppressed, cast down; tormented.
afflicting ::: 1. Grievously painful, distressing. 2. Distressing with bodily or mental suffering; troubling grievously, tormenting. self-afflicting.
agape ::: with the mouth wide open.
aimless ::: without aim; purposeless. aimlessness.
air ::: 1. The transparent, invisible, inodorous, and tasteless gaseous substance which envelopes the earth. 2. *Fig. With reference to its unsubstantial or impalpable nature. 3. Outward appearance, apparent character, manner, look, style: esp. in phrases like ‘an air of absurdity"; less commonly of a thing tangible, as ‘the air of a mansion". 4. Mien or gesture (expressive of a personal quality or emotion). *air"s.
alarm ::: n. 1. A warning sound of any kind to give notice of danger, or to arouse or attract attention; esp. a loud and hurried peal rung out by a tocsin or alarm bell. v. 2. To arouse to a sense of danger, to excite the attention or suspicion of, to put on the alert; warn. 3. To strike with fear or apprehension of danger; to agitate or excite with sudden fear. alarmed, alarming.
algebra ::: the branch of mathematics that deals with general statements of relations, utilizing letters and other symbols to represent specific sets of numbers, values, vectors, etc., in the description of such relations. 2. Any special system of notation adapted to the study of a special system of relationship.
"All birds of that region are relatives. But this is the bird of eternal Ananda, while the Hippogriff is the divinised Thought and the Bird of Fire is the Agni-bird, psychic and tapas. All that however is to mentalise too much and mentalising always takes most of the life out of spiritual things. That is why I say it can be seen but nothing said about it.” ::: "The question was: ‘In the mystical region, is the dragon bird any relation of your Bird of Fire with ‘gold-white wings" or your Hippogriff with ‘face lustred, pale-blue-lined"? And why do you write: ‘What to say about him? One can only see"?” Letters on Savitri
"All change must come from within with the felt or the secret support of the Divine Power; it is only by one"s own inner opening to that that one can receive help, not by mental, vital or physical contact with others.” Letters on Yoga
"All ethics is a construction of good in a Nature which has been smitten with evil by the powers of darkness born of the Ignorance, . . . .” The Life Divine
alloy ::: 1. A substance composed of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with a nonmetal, intimately mixed, as by fusion or electrodeposition; a less costly metal mixed with a more valuable one, such as that which is added to gold and silver coinage. 2. Admixture, as with good with evil.
"All the limitlessly wise immortals desired and found the Child within us who is everywhere around us.” The Secret of the Veda
aloof ::: 1. At a distance; distant; hence, detached, unsympathetic. 2. Away at some distance (from), with a clear space intervening, apart. aloofness.
altar ::: 1. A block, pile, table, stand, mound, platform, or other elevated structure on which to place or sacrifice offerings to a deity. 2. With reference to the uses, customs, dedication, or peculiar sanctity of the altar. 3. A place consecrated to devotional observances. altar"s, altars, altar-burnings, mountain-altars.
alter ::: to make otherwise or different in some respect; to make some change in character, shape, condition, position, quantity, value, etc. without changing the thing itself for another; to modify, to change the appearance of. alters, altered, altering.
"Always keep in touch with the Divine Force. The best thing for you is to do that simply and allow it to do its own work; wherever necessary, it will take hold of the inferior energies and purify them; at other times it will empty you of them and fill you with itself. But if you let your mind take the lead and discuss and decide what is to be done, you will lose touch with the Divine Force and the lower energies will begin to act for themselves and all go into confusion and a wrong movement.” Letters on Yoga
amazed ::: greatly surprised; astounded; suddenly filled with wonder; astonished. amazing, amazement.
anarchy ::: a state of society without government or law ; lawlessness, confusion, chaos, disorder.
"An Avatar, roughly speaking, is one who is conscious of the presence and power of the Divine born in him or descended into him and governing from within his will and life and action; he feels identified inwardly with this divine power and presence.” Letters on Yoga
anchorite ::: withdrawn from the world; secluded.
::: "And this bliss is not a supreme pleasure of the heart and sensations with the experience of pain and sorrow as its background, but a delight also self-existent and independent of objects and particular experiences, a self-delight which is the very nature, the very stuff, as it were, of a transcendent and infinite existence.” The Synthesis of Yoga
**Angel of the Way *Sri Aurobindo: "Love fulfilled does not exclude knowledge, but itself brings knowledge; and the completer the knowledge, the richer the possibility of love. ‘By Bhakti" says the Lord in the Gita ‘shall a man know Me in all my extent and greatness and as I am in the principles of my being, and when he has known Me in the principles of my being, then he enters into Me." Love without knowledge is a passionate and intense, but blind, crude, often dangerous thing, a great power, but also a stumbling-block; love, limited in knowledge, condemns itself in its fervour and often by its very fervour to narrowness; but love leading to perfect knowledge brings the infinite and absolute union. Such love is not inconsistent with, but rather throws itself with joy into divine works; for it loves God and is one with him in all his being, and therefore in all beings, and to work for the world is then to feel and fulfil multitudinously one"s love for God. This is the trinity of our powers, [work, knowledge, love] the union of all three in God to which we arrive when we start on our journey by the path of devotion with Love for the Angel of the Way to find in the ecstasy of the divine delight of the All-Lover"s being the fulfilment of ours, its secure home and blissful abiding-place and the centre of its universal radiation.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
animal ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The animal is a living laboratory in which Nature has, it is said, worked out man. Man himself may well be a thinking and living laboratory in whom and with whose conscious co-operation she wills to work out the superman, the god. Or shall we not say, rather, to manifest God?” *The Life Divine
animate ::: alive; possessing life , endowed with life. half-animate. half-animated. Giving the appearance of moving, of being alive.
annul ::: 1. To reduce to nothing; obliterate; annihilate. To put out of existence, extinguish. 2. To put an end or stop to (an action or state of things); to abolish, cancel, do away with. 3. To make void or null; abolish; cancel; invalidate; declare invalid. annuls, annulled, annulling, annulment.
anomalous ::: deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule; irregular; abnormal.
antagonist ::: one who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent, adversary. antagonists.
anvil ::: a heavy iron block with a smooth face, frequently of steel, on which heated metals are hammered into desired shapes.
apace ::: with speed; quickly; swiftly.
a person who is practised in or who studies geometry, the branch of mathematics that deals with the deduction of the properties, measurement, and relationships of points, lines, angles, and figures in space from their defining conditions by means of certain assumed properties of space. World-Geometer"s.
"A philosophy of change?(1) But what is change? In ordinary parlance change means passage from one condition to another and that would seem to imply passage from one status to another status. The shoot changes into a tree, passes from the status of shoot to the status of tree and there it stops; man passes from the status of young man to the status of old man and the only farther change possible to him is death or dissolution of his status. So it would seem that change is not something isolated which is the sole original and eternal reality, but it is something dependent on status, and if status were non-existent, change also could not exist. For we have to ask, when you speak of change as alone real, change of what, from what, to what? Without this ‘what" change could not be. ::: —Change is evidently the change of some form or state of existence from one condition to another condition.” Essays Divine and Human
appalled ::: filled or overcome with horror, consternation, or fear, resulting in the loss of courage in the face of something dreadful.
approach ::: v. 1. To come near or nearer to; draw near. 2. To come near to a person: i.e. into personal relations; into his presence or audience; or fig. within the range of his notice or attention. 3. To come near in quality, character, time, or condition; to be nearly equal. approaches, approached, approaching.* *n. 4. Any means of access or way of passage, avenue. 5. The act of drawing near. approaches.**
arbitrary ::: 1. Based on or subject to individual will, judgment or preference: judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one"s discretion. 2. Capricious; unreasonable; unsupported. 3. Derived from mere opinion or preference; capricious; uncertain. 4. Having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical.
arch ::: 1. An upwardly curved construction, for spanning an opening, consisting of a number of wedgelike stones, bricks, or the like, set with the narrower side toward the opening in such a way that forces on the arch are transmitted as vertical or oblique stresses on either side of the opening, either capable of bearing weight or merely ornamental; 2. Something bowed or curved; any bowlike part: the arch of the foot. 3. An arched roof, door; gateway; vault; fig. the heavens. arches.
architecture ::: 1. The profession of designing buildings and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. 2. The character or style of building. 3. Construction or structure generally. architectures.
arcturus ::: a giant star in the constellation Boötes. It is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere and the fourth brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.00; sometimes referring to the Great Bear itself.
ardent ::: 1. Having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling; glowing with passion, animated by keen desire; intensely eager, zealous, fervent, fervid. 2. Burning, fiery, or hot. ardent-hued.
a religious official among the Romans, whose duty it was to predict future events and advise upon the course of public business, in accordance with omens derived from the flight, singing, and feeding of birds. Hence extended to: A soothsayer, diviner, or prophet, generally; one that foresees and foretells the future. (Sri Aurobindo employs the word as an adjective.) augured.
argosies ::: fleets of large merchant ships, especially with rich cargo.
arming ::: providing with whatever will add strength, force, or security; support; fortify.
armour ::: 1. Any covering worn as a defense against weapons, especially a metallic sheathing, suit of armour, mail. 2. Any quality, characteristic, situation, or thing that serves as protection. armours, armoured.* n. 1. Weapons. v. 2. Provides with weapons or whatever will add strength, force or security; supports; fortifies. *armed, arming.
arms ::: n. 1. Weapons. v. 2. Provides with weapons or whatever will add strength, force or security; supports; fortifies. armed, arming.
arraigned ::: called (an accused person) before a court to answer the charge made against him or her by indictment, information, or complaint, or brought before a court to answer to an indictment; accused, charged with fault.
asoca ::: bot.: Saraca indica , Asoka, Sorrowless tree. A small flowering tree native to India with glowing clusters of orange and yellow flowers. asocas.
asphodel ::: a genus of liliaceous plants with very attractive white, pink or yellow flowers, mostly natives of the south of Europe; by the poets made an immortal flower, and said to cover the Elysian (heavenly, paradisal) fields.
aspirant ::: n. **1. One who seeks with eagerness and steady purpose. adj. 2. Aspiring, striving for a higher position; mounting up, ascending. aspirants.**
"A SPIRITUAL evolution, an evolution of consciousness in Matter in a constant developing self-formation till the form can reveal the indwelling Spirit, is then the keynote, the central significant motive of the terrestrial existence. This significance is concealed at the outset by the involution of the Spirit, the Divine Reality, in a dense material Inconscience; a veil of Inconscience, a veil of insensibility of Matter hides the universal Consciousness-Force which works within it, so that the Energy, which is the first form the Force of creation assumes in the physical universe, appears to be itself inconscient and yet does the works of a vast occult Intelligence.” The Life Divine
assail ::: 1. To attack vigorously or violently; assault. 2. To impinge upon; make an impact on; beset. 3. To take upon oneself a difficult challenge with the intention of mastering it. assailed, assailing.
"As supramental Truth is not merely a sublimation of our mental ideas, so Divine Love is not merely a sublimation of human emotions; it is a different consciousness, with a different quality, movement and substance.” Letters on Yoga
astir ::: moving or stirring, esp. with much activity or excitement.
astonished ::: 1. Amazed, filled with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder. 2. Filled with consternation; dismayed. astonishing.
attack ::: the act of setting upon with violent force.; launching a physical assault (against) attacks.
auspice-hour ::: an auspice is any divine or prophetic token; a favourable sign or propitious circumstance, esp. an indication of a happy future. Sri Aurobindo combines the word ‘hour" with auspice to emphasize a special moment.
austere ::: 1. Severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding; stark. 2. Rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent. 3. Grave; sober; solemn; serious. 4. Without excess, luxury, or ease; severely simple; without ornament. austerity.
awed ::: 1. inspired or influenced by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence; 2. Inspired with reverential wonder combined with an element of latent fear.
babble ::: 1. v. To utter sounds or words imperfectly, indistinctly, or without meaning. 2.* **n. *A murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.
babel ::: "The reference is to the mythological story of the construction of the Tower of Babel, which appears to be an attempt to explain the diversity of human languages. According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and tower ‘with its top in the heavens". God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The tower was never completed and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works Sri Aurobindo: "The legend of the Tower of Babel speaks of the diversity of tongues as a curse laid on the race; but whatever its disadvantages, and they tend more and more to be minimised by the growth of civilisation and increasing intercourse, it has been rather a blessing than a curse, a gift to mankind rather than a disability laid upon it. The purposeless exaggeration of anything is always an evil, and an excessive pullulation of varying tongues that serve no purpose in the expression of a real diversity of spirit and culture is certainly a stumbling-block rather than a help: but this excess, though it existed in the past, is hardly a possibility of the future. The tendency is rather in the opposite direction. In former times diversity of language helped to create a barrier to knowledge and sympathy, was often made the pretext even of an actual antipathy and tended to a too rigid division. The lack of sufficient interpenetration kept up both a passive want of understanding and a fruitful crop of active misunderstandings. But this was an inevitable evil of a particular stage of growth, an exaggeration of the necessity that then existed for the vigorous development of strongly individualised group-souls in the human race. These disadvantages have not yet been abolished, but with closer intercourse and the growing desire of men and nations for the knowledge of each other"s thought and spirit and personality, they have diminished and tend to diminish more and more and there is no reason why in the end they should not become inoperative.” The Human Cycle
balance ::: n. **1. A state of equilibrium or equipoise; mental, psychological or emotional. 2. A weighing device, especially one consisting of a rigid beam horizontally suspended by a low-friction support at its center, with identical weighing pans hung at either end, one of which holds an unknown weight while the effective weight in the other is increased by known amounts until the beam is level and motionless. 3. An undecided or uncertain state in which issues are unresolved. v. 4. To have an equality or equivalence in weight, parts, etc.; be in equilibrium. adj. 5. Being in harmonious or proper arrangement or adjustment, proportion. 6. Mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behaviour, judgement. balanced, balancing.**
bare ::: v. 1. To make bare; uncover or reveal. 2. Fig. To expose. bared, baring. adj. 3. Lacking clothing or covering; naked 4. Fig. Exposed to view; undisguised. 5. Just sufficient; mere. 6. Lacking embellishment or ornamentation; unembellished; simple; plain. 7. Unprotected; without defence. 8. Devoid of covering, a leafless trees. 9. Sheer, as bare cliffs. heaven-bare, bareness.
barrels ::: large cylindrical containers, usually made of staves bound together with hoops, with a flat top and bottom of equal diameter.
barter ::: to trade goods or services without the exchange of money. bartered.
basilicas ::: public buildings in ancient Rome having a central nave with an apse at one or both ends and two side aisles formed by rows of columns, which was used as an assembly hall – also Christian churches with a similar design.
baying ::: 1. Uttering a deep and prolonged bark as a dog in pursuit. 2. The chorus of barking raised by hounds in immediate conflict with a hunted animal. bayings
bays ::: bodies of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, affording access to the sea.
bazaar ::: a market consisting of a street lined with shops and stalls, especially one in the Orient.
bear ::: 1. To carry. Also fig. 2. To hold up, support. Also fig. 3. To have a tolerance for; endure something with tolerance and patience. 5. To possess, as a quality or characteristic; have in or on. 6. To tend in a course or direction; move; go. 7. To render; afford; give. 8. To produce by natural growth. bears, bore, borne bearing.
beat ::: n. 1. A stroke or blow. 2. A regular sound or stroke. 3. The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart. 4. A pulsating sound. 5. A forceful flapping of wings. beats, nerve-beat, hammer-beats, heart-beats, heart-beats", moment-beats, rhyme-beats. v. 6. To strike or pound with repeated blows. 7. To shape or break by repeated blows, as metal. 8. To sound in pulsations. 9. To throb rhythmically; pulsate, as the heart. 10. To flap, especially wings. 11. To strike with or as if with a series of violent blows, dash or pound repeatedly against, as waves, wind, etc. beats, beaten, beating. *adj. *sun-beat.
bed-fellows ::: those who are closely associated or allied with one another.
beginningless ::: without a beginning; without origin; uncreated.
::: ". . . behind visible events in the world there is always a mass of invisible forces at work unknown to the outward minds of men, and by yoga, (by going inward and establishing a conscious connection with the Cosmic Self and Force and forces,) one can become conscious of these forces, intervene consciously in the play, and to some extent at least determine things in the result of the play.” Letters on Yoga
belief ::: 1. Confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof. 2. Trust or confidence, faith. 3. Something believed; an opinion or conviction. beliefs.
Question: "Sweet Mother, l don"t understand very clearly the difference between faith, belief and confidence.”
Mother: "But Sri Aurobindo has given the full explanation here. If you don"t understand, then. . . He has written ‘Faith is a feeling in the whole being." The whole being, yes. Faith, that"s the whole being at once. He says that belief is something that occurs in the head, that is purely mental; and confidence is quite different. Confidence, one can have confidence in life, trust in the Divine, trust in others, trust in one"s own destiny, that is, one has the feeling that everything is going to help him, to do what he wants to do. Faith is a certitude without any proof. Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 6.
besiege ::: 1. To surround with hostile forces. 2. To crowd around; hem in; crowd in upon; surround. besieged.
bind ::: 1. To restrain or confine with or as if with ties. 2. To place (someone) under obligation; oblige. 3. To fasten together. Also fig. **binds, bound, binding.**
binding ::: n. **1. The covering within which the pages of a book are abound. adj. 2.* Fig.* Commanding adherence to a commitment, obligatory.
binding posts ::: stakes, stout poles, columns, or the like, that are set upright in or on the ground; (with prefixed word indicating special purpose).
bird ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The Bird in the Veda is the symbol, very frequently, of the soul liberated and upsoaring, at other times of energies so liberated and upsoaring, winging upwards towards the heights of our being, winging widely with a free flight, no longer involved in the ordinary limited movement or labouring gallop of the Life-energy, the Horse, Ashwa.” *The Secret of the Veda
"Birth is an assumption of a body by the spirit, death is the casting off [of] the body; there is nothing original in this birth, nothing final in this death. Before birth we were; after death we shall be. Nor are our birth and death a single episode without continuous meaning or sequel; it is one episode out of many, scenes of our drama of existence with its denouement far away in time.” Essays Divine and Human*
bit ::: cut into with or as with a sharp instrument or weapon. Also fig.
biting ::: wounding or lacerating with the teeth.
bivouac ("s) ::: a temporary camp with shelters such as tents, as used by soldiers or mountaineers, often unprotected from an enemy.
blamed ::: found fault with; censured; held responsible.
blank ::: n. 1. Fig. Any void space. blanks. adj. 2. Empty, without contents, void, bare. 3. Devoid of activity, interest, or distinctive character; empty. 4. Mere, bare, simple. 5. Lacking expression; expressionless, showing no interest or emotion, vacant. 6. Absolute; complete. blankness.
blaze ::: n. 1. A brilliant burst of fire, a bright glowing flame. 2. A brilliant, striking display; a brilliant light; resplendent with bright colour. 3. A steady, clear light. 4. Fig. An intense outburst of passion, etc. ::: sun-blaze. v. 5. blazed.
blazing ::: 1. Burning with tremendous heat, etc. 2. Shining intensely.
blinded ::: 1. Sightless; deprived of sight or withheld the light from. 2. Fig. Unable or unwilling to perceive or understand, lacking in perception or foresight; deprived or destitute of spiritual light or guidance. thought-blinded.
blindfold ::: fig. With the awareness or clear thinking impaired, the mind blinded and without perception.
blinding ::: 1. Withholding light from. 2. Dazzling with a bright light.
blindly ::: 1. Without seeing or looking or without preparation or reflection. 2. Without understanding, reservation, or objection; unthinkingly.
blink ::: n. **1. A glance, often with half-shut eyes; a wink. v. 2. To close and open one or both of the eyes rapidly; shut the eyelids momentarily and involuntarily; to wink for an instant. 3. To shut the eyes to; to evade, shirk, pass by, ignore. blinks, blinked.**
blow ::: 1. A sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon; a stroke. 2. A sudden attack or drastic action. 3. Fig. A sudden shock, calamity, severe disaster experienced by someone. blows.
blundered ::: moved or acted blindly, stupidly, or without direction or steady guidance.
bodied ::: v. 1. Furnished or provided with a body; embodied. 2. Gave shape to, gave bodily form to, exhibited in outward reality. 3. Represented; symbolized, typified. adj. 4. Possessing or existing in bodily form, endowed with material form. half-bodied, million-bodied, three-bodied, two-bodied.
boldness or daring without regard for conventional thought or other restrictions.
bound and –bound ::: 1. Pp. and pt. of bind. *adj. 2. Being under a legal or moral obligation. 3. Circumscribed; kept within bounds. * close-bound, death-bound, earth-bound, fate-bound, form-bound, heart-bound, self-bound, sleep-bound, steel-bound, stone-bound, time-bound, trance-bound.
boundless ::: n. 1. That which is without bounds; illimitable. 2. *adj. *Being without bounds or limits; infinite.
bound ::: n. **1. A leap; a jump. v. 2.** To spring; leap; to advance with leaps or springs: said both of inanimate and animate objects.
bourneless ::: without a bourne or limit.
break in or into ::: to enter with force upon; force one"s way in.
breathless ::: 1. Motionless or still, as air without a breeze. 2. Not breathing; without breath.
breeds ::: a group of organisms within a species, esp. a group of domestic animals, originated and maintained by man and having a clearly defined set of characteristics.
bricked ::: constructed, lined, or paved with brick. Also Fig.
bright ::: 1. Emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts; shining; radiant. 2. Magnificent; glorious. 3. Favourable or auspicious. 4. Fig. Characterized by happiness or gladness; full of promise and hope. 5. Distinct and clear to the mind, etc. 6. Intensely clear and vibrant in tone or quality. 7. Polished; glistening as with brilliant color. brighter, brightest, bright-hued, bright-pinioned, flame-bright, moon-bright, pearl-bright, sun-bright.
brightly ::: with brightness; brilliantly.
brocade ::: a thick, rich fabric woven with a raised design, often using gold or silver threads. brocades.
brooding ::: 1. *Fig. Protecting (young) by or as if by covering with the wings. *2. Meditating or dwelling deeply on a thought.
brood ::: n. 1. Offspring; progeny; in one family. 2. A breed, species, group, kind or race with common qualities. v. 3. To think deeply on; dwell or meditate upon, contemplate. broods, brooded.
brook ::: to put up with, tolerate. brooked.
bubbling ::: rising to or as if to the surface; emerging forth as with a gurgling sound.
build ::: 1. To construct; erect; lit. and fig. (sometimes with up). 2. To mould, form, create. 3. To found, form or construct (a plan, system, etc.) on a basis. 4. To develop or give form to according to a plant or process; create; construct (something immaterial). builds, built, building.
burdened ::: 1. Weighed down; oppressed. 2. Bearing a heavy load of work, difficulties or responsibilities. 3. Laden with; charged with. pleasure-burdened, sign-burdened.
burden ::: n. 1. A weight that is to be borne; a load. 2. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear. v. **3. To load or overload. 4.** To oppress; tax; with responsibility, etc.
bureau ::: 1. A chest of drawers, especially a dresser for holding clothes, often with a desk top. 2. An office, usually of large organization, that is responsible for a specific duty such as administration, public business, etc.
buried ::: v. 1. Deposited or hid under ground; covered up with earth or other material. Also fig. **2. Plunged or sunk deep in, so as to be covered from view; put out of sight. adj. 3. Put in the ground or in a tomb; interred. 4. Consigned to a position of obscurity, inaccessibility, or inaction. 5.* Fig.* Consigned to oblivion, put out of the way, abandoned and forgotten.
burn ::: 1. To be very eager; aflame with activity, as to be on fire. 2. To emit heat or light by as if by combustion; to flame.. 3. To give off light or to glow brightly. 4. To light; a candle; incense, etc.) as an offering. 5. To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire; put to death by fire. 6. To injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire. 7. Fig. To be consumed with strong emotions; be aflame with desire; anger; etc. 8. To shine intensely; to seem to glow as if on fire. burns, burned, burnt, burning.
burst ::: 1. Exploded, flew apart with sudden violence. 2. Came forth suddenly and powerfully as if by pressure or internal force. 3. To emerge, come forth, or arrive suddenly. bursting.
"But always the whole foundation of the gnostic life must be by its very nature inward and not outward. In the life of the Spirit it is the Spirit, the inner Reality, that has built up and uses the mind, vital being and body as its instrumentation; thought, feeling and action do not exist for themselves, they are not an object, but the means; they serve to express the manifested divine Reality within us: otherwise, without this inwardness, this spiritual origination, in a too externalised consciousness or by only external means, no greater or divine life is possible.” The Life Divine
"But great art is not satisfied with representing the intellectual truth of things, which is always their superficial or exterior truth; it seeks for a deeper and original truth which escapes the eye of the mere sense or the mere reason, the soul in them, the unseen reality which is not that of their form and process but of their spirit.” The Human Cycle etc.
::: "Within us, there are two centres of the Purusha, the inner Soul through which he touches us to our awakening; there is the Purusha in the lotus of the heart which opens upward all our powers and the Purusha in the thousand-petalled lotus whence descend through the thought and will, opening the third eye in us, the lightnings of vision and the fire of the divine energy.” *The Synthesis of Yoga
"By Force I mean not mental or vital energy but the Divine Force from above — as peace comes from above and wideness also, so does this Force (Shakti). Nothing, not even thinking or meditating can be done without some action of Force. The Force I speak of is a Force for illumination, transformation, purification, all that has to be done in the yoga, for removal of hostile forces and the wrong movements — it is also of course for external work, whether great or small in appearance does not matter — if that is part of the Divine Will. I do not mean any personal force egoistic or rajasic.” Letters on Yoga
bystander ::: one who is present at an event without participating in it; onlooker; spectator.
calligraphy ::: 1. The art of fine handwriting. 2. An artistic and highly decorative form of handwriting, as with a great many flourishes.
calm ::: n. 1. Serenity; tranquillity; peace. 2. Nearly or completely motionless as a condition of no wind. Calm, Calm"s, calms, calmness. adj. 3. Not excited or agitated; composed; tranquil; 4. Without rough motion; still or nearly still. calmer, calm-lipped, stone-calm. *adv. calmly.
Sri Aurobindo: "Calm is a still unmoved condition which no disturbance can affect — it is a less negative condition than quiet.” Letters on Yoga*
"Calm is a positive tranquillity which can exist in spite of superficial disturbances.” *Letters on Yoga
"Calm is a strong and positive quietude, firm and solid — ordinary quietude is mere negation, simply the absence of disturbance.” *Letters on Yoga
"But more powerful still is the giving up of the fruit of one"s works, because that immediately destroys all causes of disturbance and brings and preserves automatically an inner calm and peace, and calm and peace are the foundation on which all else becomes perfect and secure in possession by the tranquil spirit.” Essays on the Gita
The Mother: "Calm is self-possessed strength, quiet and conscious energy, mastery of the impulses, control over the unconscious reflexes.” Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 14*.
cancel ::: 1. To annul, make void or invalidate. 2. To equalize or make up for; offset. 3. To cross out with lines or other markings, making something invalid. cancels, cancelled, cancelling, self-cancelling.
carelessly ::: without attention, caution or prudence.
cased ::: sheathed, enclosed, covered or protected, contained within.
castle ::: lit. A large fortified building or group of buildings with thick walls, usually dominating the surrounding country. Fig. A stronghold, fortress.
cast ::: v. 1. To throw with force; hurl. 2. To form (liquid metal, for example) into a particular shape by pouring into a mould. Also fig. 3. To cause to fall upon something or in a certain direction; send forth. 4. To throw on the ground, as in wrestling. 5. To put or place, esp. hastily or forcibly. 6. To direct (the eye, a glance, etc.) 7. To throw (something) forth or off. 8. To bestow; confer. casts, casting.
casual ::: 1. Occurring by chance; accidental. 2. Occurring offhand; not premeditated. 3. Occurring at irregular or infrequent intervals; occasional. 4. Without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing.
cave ::: 1. A hollow or natural passage under or into the earth, especially one with an opening to the surface. 2. A hollow in the side of a hill or cliff, or underground of any kind; a cavity. Cave, caves, death-cave, deep-caved, cave-heart.
ceaseless ::: without stop or pause; constant. ceaselessly.
cemented ::: bound with or as if with cement.
chained ::: restrained or confined as if with chains. love-chained.
chain ::: n. 1. A series of things connected or following in succession. 2. Something that binds or restrains. chains. v. 3. Fig. To restrain or confine with or as with a chain.
charmed ::: 1. Delighted or fascinated. 2. Marked by good fortune or privilege. 3. Protected from evil and harm as by a magical power vested in an amulet, etc. 4. Filled with wonder and delight.
chase ::: v. **1. To follow rapidly in order to catch or overtake; pursue. 2. To follow or devote one"s attention to with the hope of attracting, winning, gaining, etc. 3. To put to flight; drive out. ::: —chases, chased.* *n. 3. The act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture thunder-chase.**
cherished ::: treated with affection and tenderness; held dear.
chess-play ::: the game of chess; a board game for two players, each beginning with 16 pieces of six kinds that are moved according to individual rules, with the objective of checkmating the opposing king. chess-player.
chimaera ::: 1. A mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion"s head, a goat"s body, and a serpent"s tail. 2. A horrible or unreal creature of the imagination. chimaeras.
chime ::: to be in agreement or accord: harmonize; be compatible with.
chipped ::: broke or cut off a small piece or into small pieces with an implement such as an axe, etc. Also fig.
chiselled ::: shaped or cut as with a chisel, a metal tool with a sharp bevelled edge, used to cut and shape stone, wood, or metal. chisels.
choked ::: interfered with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea by strangling, smothering; stifling.
circumference ::: the boundary line of a circle; perimeter; figure, area, or object or the area within the boundary.
circumscribe ::: to enclose or restrict within limits; confine. circumscribed, circumscribing.
clambers ::: climbs, using both feet and hands; climbs with effort or difficulty; scrambles on all fours. clambered, clambering.
clamped ::: 1. Fastened with or fixed in a clamp (a device for binding, holding, compressing or fastening objects together); hence, fig. Restricted, repressed, tightened down, restrained. 2. Established by authority; imposed clamps. (Sri Aurobindo also employs clamped as an adj.)
clash ::: n. 1. A loud, harsh noise, such as that made by two metal objects in collision. 2. An encounter between hostile forces; a battle or skirmish. 3. A conflict, as between opposing or irreconcilable ideas. v. 4. To engage in a physical conflict or contest, as in a game or a battle (often followed by with). 5. To come into conflict; be in opposition. clashes, clashed, clashing.
clasp ::: n. 1. A grip or grasp of the hand, also reciprocal. 2. Union. 3. An embrace or hug. Also fig. v. 4. To seize, grasp, or grip with the hand. **5. To hold in a tight embrace. clasps, clasped, clasping.**
claw ::: n. **1. A sharp, usually curved, nail on the foot of an animal, as on a cat, dog, or bird. v. 2. To tear, scratch, seize, pull, etc., with or as if with claws. clawed.**
clear ::: 1. Not obscured or darkened; bright. 2. Free from darkness, obscurity, or cloudiness; transparent. 3. Serene; calm; untroubled. 4. Free from doubt or confusion; certain. 5. Easily perceptible to the eye or ear; distinct. 6. Easily understood; without ambiguity. 7. Free from impediment, obstruction, or hindrance; open. clearer, sun-clear, surface-clear.
cleave ::: 1. To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. 2. To pierce or penetrate. cleaves, cloven, cleaving.
cling ::: 1. To come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation 2. To hold fast or adhere to as if by embracing. 3. To be emotionally or intellectually attached or remain close to. 4. To hold on tightly or tenaciously to. 5. To remain attached as to an idea, hope, memory, etc. clings, clung, clinging.
cloaked ::: covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak.
clock-work ::: with machinelike regularity and precision; perfectly.
cloisters ::: 1. Covered walks with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle. 2. Secluded, quiet places. cloister"s, cloisters.
clothe ::: 1. To cover as if with clothing. 2. To present in a specific form. 3. To furnish or invest with power or authority or endue or endow attributes, qualities. 4. To cover or envelop (something) so as to change its appearance, as the face of the earth. clothes, clothed.
cloven hoof ::: 1. A divided or cleft hoof, as in deer or cattle. 2. Evil or Satan, often depicted as a figure with cleft hooves.
coerce ::: 1. To compel or restrain by force or authority without regard to individual wishes or desires. 2. To dominate or control, esp. by exploiting fear, anxiety, etc. 3. To bring about through the use of force or other forms of compulsion. coerced, coercing.
coïl ::: a large bird belonging to the cuckoo family, native to India, with a characteristic call reminiscent of the sound of its name. coïl"s
coilas ::: (Most often spelled Kailas.) "One of the highest and most rugged mountains of the Himalayan range, located in the southwestern part of China. It is an important holy site both to the Hindus, who identify it with the paradise of Shiva and also regard it as the abode of Kubera, and to the Tibetan Buddhists, who identify it with Mount Sumeru, cosmic centre of the universe.” Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works
colloques ::: converses with; holds colloquy.
colony ::: a group of emigrants or their descendants who settle in a distant territory but remain subject to or closely associated with the parent country. colonies.
command ::: n. 1. An order; mandate. 2. The possession or exercise of controlling authority. Command. v. 3. To direct with specific authority or prerogative; order. 4. To give orders. 5. To have or exercise authority or control over; be master of; have at one"s bidding or disposal. commands, commanded.
commissioned ::: issued with an authoritative order, charge, or direction.
commune ::: 1. To communicate intimately with; be in a state of heightened, intimate receptivity. 2. To be in intimate communication or rapport. communes, communed, communing.
companion ::: 1. A person who accompanies or associates with another; a comrade. 2. Astronomy. The fainter of the two stars that constitute a double star. companions, companionless.
competitors ::: those who strive to outdo others, engage in a contest, or seek an object in rivalry with others also seeking it.
compound debt ::: a debt that has increased with the addition of interest compounded through the years.
compound ::: to combine so as to form a whole; mix; mix (elements). mix with.
confidante ::: a woman to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed.
confine ::: 1. To enclose within bounds, limit, restrict. 2. To shut or keep in; prevent from leaving a place because of imprisonment, illness, discipline, etc. confined.
confront ::: 1. To come up against; encounter. 2. To come face to face with, especially with defiance or hostility. **confronts, confronting.**
::: "Consciousness is usually identified with mind, but mental consciousness is only the human range which no more exhausts all the possible ranges of consciousness than human sight exhausts all the gradations of colour or human hearing all the gradations of sound — for there is much above or below that is to man invisible and inaudible. So there are ranges of consciousness above and below the human range, with which the normal human has no contact and they seem to it unconscious, — supramental or overmental and submental ranges.” *Letters on Yoga
::: ‘Consecration" generally has a more mystical sense but this is not absolute. A total consecration signifies a total giving of one"s self; hence it is the equivalent of the word ``surrender"", not of the word (soumission} which always gives the impression that one accepts'' passively. You feel a flame in the wordconsecration"", a flame even greater than in the word offering''. To consecrate oneself isto give oneself to an action""; hence, in the yogic sense, it is to give oneself to some divine work with the idea of accomplishing the divine work.” Questions and Answers, MCW Vol. 4*.
constant ::: 1. Unchanging in nature, value, or extent; invariable. 2. Continuing without pause or letup; unceasing. 3. Steadfast; firm in mind or purpose; resolute.
contain ::: 1. To be capable of holding. 2. To halt the spread or development of; check, esp. of opposition. 3. To hold or keep within limits; restrain. contained, contains, containing, all-containing, All-containing.
contemning ::: treating or regarding with disdain, scorn, or contempt.
content ::: the state of being satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else. contents, contented.
continual ::: occurring without interruption; continuous in time.
continues ::: goes on with a particular action or in a particular condition; persists. continuing.
contrivance ::: 1. The act or faculty of devising or adapting; inventive skill or ability esp. in a negative sense. 2. The act or manner of contriving; the faculty or power of contriving. inventing or making with thought and skill; invention.
contrived ::: planned with cleverness or ingenuity; devised.
conversed ::: talked informally with another or others; exchanged views, opinions, etc.; communed with.
cope ::: to contend or strive with difficulties and act to overcome them.
coronet ::: 1. A crown worn by nobles or peers. 2. A crown-like ornament decorated with gold or jewels.
cosharers ::: those who receive, possess, or occupy (something) together with others.
cosmic mind ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Nevertheless, the fact of this intervention from above, the fact that behind all our original thinking or authentic perception of things there is a veiled, a half-veiled or a swift unveiled intuitive element is enough to establish a connection between mind and what is above it; it opens a passage of communication and of entry into the superior spirit-ranges. There is also the reaching out of mind to exceed the personal ego limitation, to see things in a certain impersonality and universality. Impersonality is the first character of cosmic self; universality, non-limitation by the single or limiting point of view, is the character of cosmic perception and knowledge: this tendency is therefore a widening, however rudimentary, of these restricted mind areas towards cosmicity, towards a quality which is the very character of the higher mental planes, — towards that superconscient cosmic Mind which, we have suggested, must in the nature of things be the original mind-action of which ours is only a derivative and inferior process.” *The Life Divine
"If we accept the Vedic image of the Sun of Truth, . . . we may compare the action of the Higher Mind to a composed and steady sunshine, the energy of the Illumined Mind beyond it to an outpouring of massive lightnings of flaming sun-stuff. Still beyond can be met a yet greater power of the Truth-Force, an intimate and exact Truth-vision, Truth-thought, Truth-sense, Truth-feeling, Truth-action, to which we can give in a special sense the name of Intuition; . . . At the source of this Intuition we discover a superconscient cosmic Mind in direct contact with the supramental Truth-Consciousness, an original intensity determinant of all movements below it and all mental energies, — not Mind as we know it, but an Overmind that covers as with the wide wings of some creative Oversoul this whole lower hemisphere of Knowledge-Ignorance, links it with that greater Truth-Consciousness while yet at the same time with its brilliant golden Lid it veils the face of the greater Truth from our sight, intervening with its flood of infinite possibilities as at once an obstacle and a passage in our seeking of the spiritual law of our existence, its highest aim, its secret Reality.” The Life Divine
"There is one cosmic Mind, one cosmic Life, one cosmic Body. All the attempt of man to arrive at universal sympathy, universal love and the understanding and knowledge of the inner soul of other existences is an attempt to beat thin, breach and eventually break down by the power of the enlarging mind and heart the walls of the ego and arrive nearer to a cosmic oneness.” *The Synthesis of Yoga
"[The results of the opening to the cosmic Mind:] One is aware of the cosmic Mind and the mental forces that move there and how they work on one"s mind and that of others and one is able to deal with one"s own mind with a greater knowledge and effective power. There are many other results, but this is the fundamental one.” Letters on Yoga
"The cosmic consciousness has many levels — the cosmic physical, the cosmic vital, the cosmic Mind, and above the higher planes of cosmic Mind there is the Intuition and above that the overmind and still above that the supermind where the Transcendental begins. In order to live in the Intuition plane (not merely to receive intuitions), one has to live in the cosmic consciousness because there the cosmic and individual run into each other as it were, and the mental separation between them is already broken down, so nobody can reach there who is still in the separative ego.” Letters on Yoga*
cosmic Self ::: Sri Aurobindo: "When one has the cosmic consciousness, one can feel the cosmic Self as one"s own self, one can feel one with other beings in the cosmos, one can feel all the forces of Nature as moving in oneself, all selves as one"s own self. There is no why except that it is so, since all is the One.” Letters on Yoga (See also Cosmic Spirit)
"Impersonality is the first character of cosmic self; . . . .” *The Life Divine
"An eternal infinite self-existence is the supreme reality, but the supreme transcendent eternal Being, Self and Spirit, — an infinite Person, we may say, because his being is the essence and source of all personality, — is the reality and meaning of self-existence: so too the cosmic Self, Spirit, Being, Person is the reality and meaning of cosmic existence; the same Self, Spirit, Being or Person manifesting its multiplicity is the reality and meaning of individual existence.” The Life Divine
"But this cosmic self is spiritual in essence and in experience; it must not be confused with the collective existence, with any group soul or the life and body of a human society or even of all mankind.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"It is the Cosmic Self and Spirit that is in and behind all things and beings, from which and in which all is manifested in the universe — although it is now a manifestation in the Ignorance.” Letters on Yoga*
cosmic vision ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Cosmic vision is the seeing of the universal movements — it has nothing to do with the psychic necessarily. It can be in the universal mind, the universal vital, the universal physical or anywhere.” Letters on Yoga*
costume ::: n. A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, or people. costumes. *v. 2. To furnish with a mode of attire, set of garments; dress. *costuming.
couchant ::: 1. Lying down; crouching, with the head raised. 2. (Of an animal) Lying on the stomach with head raised and legs pointed forward.
courage ::: the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.
courted ::: 1. Endeavoured to win favour with. 2. Tried to gain the love or affections of. 3. Attempted to gain (applause, favour, a decision, etc.).
covet ::: 1. To desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others. 2. To wish for, especially eagerly. coveted.
cowed ::: frightened with threats, violence, etc.; intimidated; overawed.
cowled ::: wearing or supplied with a cowl; hooded. self-cowled.
cowl ::: n. 1. The hood or hooded robe worn especially by a monk. 2. A hood, especially a loose one; garment. v. 3. To cover with or as with a cowl.
crack ::: 1. To break without complete separation of parts; fissure. 2. To break with a sharp snapping sound. doom-crack.
cradle ::: n. 1. A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers. 2. Where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence. cradles v. 2.* *To hold gently and carefully as in a cradle. 3. To hold gently or protectively. cradles, cradled.**
crawl ::: n. 1. The action of moving slowly on the hands or knees or dragging the body along the ground. 2. A very slow movement or progress. v. 3. To move slowly, either by dragging the body along the ground or on the hands and knees. 4. To advance slowly, feebly, laboriously, or with frequent stops. crawls, crawled, crawling.
credulous ::: disposed to believe too readily, esp. without proper or adequate evidence; gullible.
creep ::: 1. To move with the body close to the ground, as on hands and knees. 2. To go or approach stealthily or furtively. 3. To move slowly, quietly, or cautiously. creeps, crept.
creepered ::: covered with vines (creepers).
cricket ::: any of several jumping insects with long antennae, known for their squeaking and chirping sounds. crickets".
crouch ::: 1. To stoop, especially with the knees bent esp. in fear, humility or submission. 2. (of animals) to lie close to the ground, in fear, readiness for action etc. crouches, crouched, crouching.
crowded ::: 1. Filled near or to capacity. 2. Filled with a crowd. 3.* Fig.* packed closely together, as experiences, events; occurrences.
crowned ::: 1. Invested with regal power; enthroned. 2. Ultimate; perfect; sovereign. 3. Having the finishing touch added to; completed worthily; brought to a successful consummation.
crown ::: n. **1. An ornament worn on the head by kings and those having sovereign power, often made of precious metal and ornamented with gems. 2. A wreath or garland for the head, awarded as a sign of victory, success, honour, etc. 3. The distinction that comes from a great achievement; reward, honour. 4. The top or summit of something, esp. of a rounded object. etc. 5. The highest or more nearly perfect state of anything. 6. An exalting or chief attribute. 7. The acme or supreme source of honour, excellence, beauty, etc. v. 8. To put a crown on the head of, symbolically vesting with royal title, powers, etc. 9. To place something on or over the head or top of. crowns, crowned.**
crucified ::: 1. Afflicted with severe pain or distress; tormented. 2. In reference to being put to death by nailing or otherwise fastening to a cross.
crucifies ::: treats with gross injustice; persecutes; torments; tortures.
cruel ::: 1. Causing or inflicting pain or suffering without pity. 2. Pleased at causing pain; merciless. 3. Rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe. cruelly.
crush ::: 1. Fig. To conquer by force. 2. To put down; subdue completely 3. To hug, especially with great force. crushed.
cult ::: 1. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. 2. A specific system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and deity. 3. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal. cults.
cup ::: 1. A small open container, usually with a flat bottom and a handle, used for drinking, or something resembling it. cup"s 2. *Fig.* Something that one must endure; one"s lot to be experienced or endured with pain or happiness, as these lines in Savitri:
curtained ::: shut off or concealed with or as if with a curtain.
dagger ("s) ::: a short, sword like weapon with a pointed blade and a handle, used for thrusting and stabbing.
dally ::: 1. To waste time idly; linger; dawdle. 2. To talk or behave amorously, or behave in a careless manner without serious intentions; toy with. dallies, dallying, dalliance.
dangled ::: caused to hang loosely, esp. with a jerking or swaying motion.
dealt ::: took action with respect to a thing or person (followed by with).
"Death is there because the being in the body is not yet developed enough to go on growing in the same body without the need of change and the body itself is not sufficiently conscious. If the mind and vital and the body itself were more conscious and plastic, death would not be necessary.” Letters on Yoga
decorated ::: furnished or adorned with something ornamental or becoming; embellished.
deeply ::: adv. 1. At or to a considerable extent downward; well within or beneath a surface. 2. With deep feeling or emotion; greatly, thoroughly, intensely, acutely.
defied ::: opposed or resisted with boldness and assurance; unaffected by; resisted or withstood. defying.
delighted ::: greatly pleased, filled with wonder and delight.
deny ::: 1. To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disavow. 2. To declare untrue; contradict. 3. To refuse to fulfil the requests or expectations; refuse to give. 4. To give a refusal to; turn down or away. 5. To withhold the possession, user, or enjoyment of. denies, denied, denying.
desert ::: v. To withdraw from, especially in spite of a responsibility or duty; forsake; abandon. deserting.
design ::: n. 1. Purpose, aim, intention, especially with reference to a Divine Creator. 2. Plan or scheme. 3. A combination of details or features; pattern or motif. design"s, designs. *v. 4. To work out the structure or form of (something). 5. To plan and make (something) artistically or skilfully. *designed, designing.
"Desire is the root of all sorrow, disappointment, affliction, for though it has a feverish joy of pursuit and satisfaction, yet because it is always a straining of the being, it carries into its pursuit and its getting a labour, hunger, struggle, a rapid subjection to fatigue, a sense of limitation, dissatisfaction and early disappointment with all its gains, a ceaseless morbid stimulation, trouble, disquiet, asânti. ” The Synthesis of Yoga
desolate ::: 1. Uninhabited, laid waste, deserted, without any sign of life, barren. 2. Devoid of inhabitants; deserted. 3. Bereft of friends or hope; sad and forlorn. 4. Wretched or forlorn. 5. Dreary, dismal, gloomy. desolately.
despised ::: regarded with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorned; loathed.
despot ::: 1. A king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited power; autocrat. 2. Any tyrant or oppressor.
"Destruction is always a simultaneous or alternate element which keeps pace with creation and it is by destroying and renewing that the Master of Life does his long work of preservation. More, destruction is the first condition of progress. Inwardly, the man who does not destroy his lower self-formations, cannot rise to a greater existence. Outwardly also, the nation or community or race which shrinks too long from destroying and replacing its past forms of life, is itself destroyed, rots and perishes and out of its debris other nations, communities and races are formed. By destruction of the old giant occupants man made himself a place upon earth. By destruction of the Titans the gods maintain the continuity of the divine Law in the cosmos. Whoever prematurely attempts to get rid of this law of battle and destruction, strives vainly against the greater will of the World-Spirit.” Essays on the Gita
detached ::: 1. Impartial or objective; disinterested; unbiased. 2. Not involved or concerned; aloof. ::: Sri Aurobindo: "Detachment means that one stands back from [imperfections and weakness of the nature, etc.] , does not identify oneself with them or get upset or troubled because they are there, but rather looks on them as something foreign to one"s true consciousness and true self, rejects them and calls in the Mother"s Force into these movements to eliminate them and bring the true consciousness and its movements there.” Letters on Yoga
devious ::: 1. Deviating from the straight or direct course; roundabout. 2. Without definite course; vagrant. 3. Not straightforward; shifty or crooked.
dice ::: small cubes with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers.
dictate ::: to prescribe with authority; impose; issue an authoritative command.
dionysian ::: 1. Of or relating Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, fruitfulness, and vegetation, worshipped in orgiastic rites and festivals in his name. He was also known as the bestower of ecstasy and god of the drama, and identified with Bacchus. 2. Recklessly uninhibited; unrestrained.
diplomacy ::: tact and skill in dealing with people.
direct ::: adj. 1. Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving. adv. 2. In a straightforward manner; directly; straight.
disdain ::: n. 1. A feeling of contempt for anything regarded as unworthy; haughty contempt; scorn. v. 2. To look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn. disdained, disdaining.
disengage ::: 1. To release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles. 2. To free or detach oneself; withdraw. disengaging.
disown ::: to deny any connection with; refuse to acknowledge.
divine Comedy ::: a stage-play of a light and amusing character, with a happy conclusion to its plot. Its mediaeval use for a narrative poem with an agreeable ending. (Probably taken from Italian; cf. the Divine Comedy, the great tripartite poem of Dante, called by its author La Commedia, because in the conclusion, it is prosperous, pleasant, and desirable.)
divine Force ::: Sri Aurobindo: "That there is a divine force asleep or veiled by Inconscience in Matter and that the Higher Force has to descend and awaken it with the Light and Truth is a thing that is well known; it is at the very base of this yoga.” *Letters on Yoga.
divine life ::: Sri Aurobindo: "A life of gnostic beings carrying the evolution to a higher supramental status might fitly be characterised as a divine life; for it would be a life in the Divine, a life of the beginnings of a spiritual divine light and power and joy manifested in material Nature.” *The Life Divine ::: "The ascent to the divine Life is the human journey, the Work of works, the acceptable Sacrifice. This alone is man"s real business in the world and the justification of his existence, without which he would be only an insect crawling among other ephemeral insects on a speck of surface mud and water which has managed to form itself amid the appalling immensities of the physical universe.” The Life Divine
docketed ::: labelled, tagged, ticketed as with a list of contents and statement of particulars.
dogged ::: followed or tracked like a dog, especially with hostile intent; hounded. dogs, dogging.
dome ::: anything having a rounded vault such as that forming the roof of a building with a circular, elliptical, or polygonal base, as the concave vault of the sky, a vaulted canopy, a canopy of trees, etc. domed.
dot ::: n. 1. A small round mark made with or as with a pen, etc.; spot; speck; point. 2. Anything relatively small or specklike. dots. *v.* 3. To scatter or intersperse (with dots or something resembling dots). 4. To stud or diversify with or as if with dots, as trees dotting the landscape. dotted, dotting.
dove ::: 1. Any bird of the family Columbid, esp. the smaller species with pointed tails. 2. A pure white member of this species, used as a symbol of innocence, gentleness, tenderness, and peace. dove"s, doves.
dowered ::: gifted with; endowed.
drag ::: n. 1. A slow, laborious motion or movement against resistance. v. 2. To pull along with difficulty or effort; haul. 3. To trail along the ground. 4. To be drawn or hauled along. 5. To introduce; inject; insert. drags, dragged, dragging.
draped ::: covered, dressed, or hung with or as if with cloth in loose folds. drapes.
draw ::: 1. To cause to move in a given direction or to a given position, as by leading. 2. To bring towards oneself or itself, as by inherent force or influence; attract. 3. To cause to come by attracting; attract. 4. To cause to move in a particular direction by or as by a pulling force; pull; drag. 5. To get, take or obtain as from a source; to derive. 6. To bring, take, or pull out, as from a receptacle or source. 7. To draw a (or the) line (fig.) to determine or define the limit between two things or groups; in modern colloquial use (esp. with at), to lay down a definite limit of action beyond which one refuses to go. 8. To make, sketch (a picture or representation of someone or something) in lines or words; to design, trace out, delineate; depict; also, to mould, model. 9. To mark or lay out; trace. 10. To compose or write out in legal format. 11. To write out (a bill of exchange or promissory note). 12. To disembowel. 13. To move or pull so as to cover or uncover something. 14. To suck or take in (air, for example); inhale. 15. To extend, lengthen, prolong, protract. 16. To cause to move after or toward one by applying continuous force; drag. draws, drew, drawn, drawing, wide-drawn.
drawing ::: a picture or plan made by means of lines on a surface, esp. one made with a pencil or pen without the use of colour; a sketch, plan or outline.
dread ::: n. **1. Profound fear; terror. 2. An object of fear, awe, or reverence. v. 3. To be in fear or terror of. 4. To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance. adj. 5. Fearful terrible; causing terror. 6. Held in awe or reverential fear. Dread, dreads, dreaded.**
dreamless ::: 1. Free from, or without, dreams. 2. Untroubled by dreams.
drift ::: n. 1. A driving movement or force; impulse; impetus; pressure. 2. A gradual deviation from an original course, model, method, or intention. 3. Tendency, trend, meaning, or purport. 4. A bank or pile, as of sand or snow, heaped up by currents of air or water. 5. Something moving along in a current of air or water. 6. Any group of stars having a random distribution of velocities; usually applied to a group of stars with an apparent systematic motion towards some point in the sky. v. 7. To be carried along by or as if by currents of air or water. 8. To move leisurely or sporadically from place to place, especially without purpose. drifts, drifted, drifting, sleet-drift, slow-drifting.
drive ::: v. 1. To impel; constrain; urge; compel. 2. To manoeuvre, guide or steer the progress of. 3. To impel (matter) by physical force; to cause (something) to move along by direct application of physical force; to propel, carry along. 4. To send, expel, or otherwise cause to move away or out by force or compulsion. 5. To strive vigorously and with determination toward a goal or objective. 6. To cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.). n. 7. A strong organized effort to accomplish a purpose, with energy, push or aggressiveness. 8. Impulse; impulsive force. adj. 9. Urged onward, impelled. 10. Pertaining to an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition. drives, drove, drov"st, driving, driven.
drowned ::: covered with or submerged in a liquid. Also fig.
drudge ::: one who labours without interest in dull or unimaginative ways; a labourer, slave.
drunken ::: delirious with or as if with strong drink; intoxicated.
drunk ::: intoxicated as with an alcoholic liquor; overcome or dominated by a strong feeling or emotion. honey-drunk. (Also, pp. of drink.)
dubbed ::: invested with any name, character, dignity, or title; styled; named; called.
dubious ::: 1. Marked by or causing doubt; vague; ambiguous. 2. Not certain in outcome. 3. Fraught with uncertainty or doubt; undecided.
dull ::: adj. **1. Causing boredom; tedious; uninteresting. 2. Not brisk or rapid; sluggish. 3. Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive. 4. Not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft. 5. (of color) Very low in saturation; highly diluted; 6. Slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity. duller, dull-eyed, dull-hued, dull-visioned. v. 7. To make numb or insensitive. 8. To make or become dull or sluggish. 9. To make less lively or vigorous. dulls, dulled.**
dully ::: without liveliness; sluggish.
durga ::: "In Hindu religion, the goddess who is the Energy of Shiva and the conquering and protecting aspect of the Universal Mother. She is the slayer of many demons including Mahisasura. Durga is usually depicted in painting and sculpture riding a lion, having eight or ten arms, each holding the special weapon of one or another of the gods who gave them to her for her battles with demons. (A; Enc. Br.)” *Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works.
dwarf with triple stride
dynamic ::: 1. Pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active; forceful; energetic. 2. Of or concerned with energy or forces that produce motion, as opposed to static.
"Each inner experience is perfectly real in its own way, although the values of different experiences differ greatly, but it is real with the reality of the inner self and the inner planes. It is a mistake to think that we live physically only, with the outer mind and life. We are all the time living and acting on other planes of consciousness, meeting others there and acting upon them, and what we do and feel and think there, the forces we gather, the results we prepare have an incalculable importance and effect, unknown to us, upon our outer life.” Letters on Yoga
::: "Each man has to grow into the Divine Reality within himself through his own individual being, . . . " The Human Cycle
easily ::: with ease; without difficulty, labour or exertion.
echo ::: n. **1. A repetition of sound produced by the reflexion of sound waves from a wall, mountain, or other obstructing surface. 2. A sound heard again near its source after being reflected. 3. A lingering trace or effect. echoes. v. 4. To resound with or as if with an echo; reverberate. echoes, echoing, re-echoed.**
ecstasy ::: 1. Intense joy or delight. 2. A state of exalted emotion so intense that one is carried beyond thought. 3. Used by mystical writers as the technical name for the state of rapture in which the body was supposed to become incapable of sensation, while the soul was engaged in the contemplation of divine things. 4. The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation. Ecstasy, ecstasy"s, ecstasies, ecstasied, self-ecstasy, strange-ecstasied.
eddy ::: 1. A current at variance with the main current in a stream of liquid or gas, esp. one having a rotary or whirling motion. 2. A small whirlpool. eddies, eddying.
edged ::: 1. Having or provided with an edge or border. ::: 2. Having a cutting edge or especially an edge or edges as specified (often used in combination). 3. keen-edged. Sharpness with reference to the mind.
efface ::: 1. To wipe out; do away with; expunge. 2. To rub out, erase, or obliterate (outlines, traces, inscriptions, etc.). 3. To make (oneself) inconspicuous; withdraw (oneself). effaced, effacing.
elaborate ::: 1. Worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness. 2. Marked by intricate and often excessive detail; complicated.
elements ::: Sri Aurobindo: "The first ripple or vibration in causal matter creates a new and exceedingly fine and pervasive condition of matter called Akasha or Ether; more complex motion evolves out of Ether a somewhat intenser condition which is called Vayu, Air; and so by ever more complex motion with increasing intensity of condition for result, yet three other matter-states are successively developed, Agni or Fire, Apah or Water and Prithvi or Earth.” *Supplement to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library
elfin ::: suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness; in reference to legendary beings with magical powers, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous.
embody ::: 1. To invest (a spiritual entity) with a body or with bodily form; render incarnate; make corporeal. 2. To give a tangible, bodily, or concrete form to (an abstract concept) or to be an example of or express (an idea, principle, etc. embodies, embodied, embodying, self-embodying.
embroidered ::: fashioned or adorned with added embellishments; ornately embellished.
empowered ::: 1. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. 2. To equip or supply with an ability; enable; make powerful.
"Emptiness is not in itself a bad condition, only if it is a sad and restless emptiness of the dissatisfied vital. In sadhana emptiness is very usually a necessary transition from one state to another. When mind and vital fall quiet and their restless movements, thoughts and desires cease, then one feels empty. This is at first often a neutral emptiness with nothing in it, nothing in it either good or bad, happy or unhappy, no impulse or movement. This neutral state is often or even usually followed by the opening to inner experience. There is also an emptiness made of peace and silence, when the peace and silence come out from the psychic within or descend from the higher consciousness above. This is not neutral, for in it there is the sense of peace, often also of wideness and freedom. There is also a happy emptiness with the sense of something close or drawing near which is not yet there, e.g. the closeness of the Mother or some other preparing experience.” Letters on Yoga*
empty ::: 1. Holding or containing nothing. 2. Having no occupants or inhabitants; vacant. 3. Destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid. 4. Without purpose, substance, or value. emptier.
enamoured ::: filled or inflamed with love. captivated.
enceladus ::: in classical mythology, a giant with a hundred arms buried under Mt. Etna, in Sicily, by the Olympian Gods.
enchanter ::: something that delights, often as with sorcery or a spell.
encirclement ::: the act of forming a circle around; enclosing within a circle; surrounding.
enclosed ::: 1. That is surrounded (with walls, fences, or other barriers) so as to prevent free ingress or egress. 2. That is shut up or hemmed in; secluded, imprisoned.
encountered ::: came upon or met with unexpectedly.
endure ::: 1. To undergo (hardship, strain, privation, etc.) without yielding; bear. 2. To bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate. 3. To admit of; allow; bear. 4. To continue to exist; last. endures, endured.
enfeoffed ::: invested someone or something with possession of.
ensleeved ::: a word coined by Sri Aurobindo. The prefix en, occurring originally in loanwords from French, forms verbs with the general sense "to cause (a person or thing) to be in” a place, condition, or state. Hence, ensleeved in this instance is "held within a sleeve”.
ensouled ::: endowed or invested with a soul.
envy ::: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another"s advantages, success, possessions, etc.; longing to possess something awarded to or achieved by another.
equal ::: adj. 1. As great as; the same as (often followed by to or with). 2. Having the same quantity, value, or measure as another. 3. Evenly proportioned or balanced. 4. Tranquil; equable; undisturbed. 5. Impartial; just; equitable. n. 6. One who is equal to another in any specified quality. v. **7. To become equal or level with. equalled.**
". . . equality is the sign of unity with the Brahman, of becoming Brahman, of growing into an undisturbed spiritual poise of being in the Infinite. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated; for it is the sign of our having passed beyond the egoistic determinations of our nature, of our having conquered our enslaved response to the dualities, of our having transcended the shifting turmoil of the gunas, of our having entered into the calm and peace of liberation. Equality is a term of consciousness which brings into the whole of our being and nature the eternal tranquillity of the Infinite.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
::: Equality means a quiet and unmoved mind and vital, it means not to be touched or disturbed by things that happen or things said or done to you, but to look at them with a straight look, free from the distortions created by personal feeling, and to try to understand what is behind them, why they happen, what is to be learnt from them, what is it in oneself which they are cast against and what inner profit or progress one can make out of them; it means self-mastery over the vital movements, — anger and sensitiveness and pride as well as desire and the rest, — not to let them get hold of the emotional being and disturb the inner peace, not to speak and act in the rush and impulsion of these things, always to act and speak out of a calm inner poise of the spirit.” *Letters on Yoga
equipped ::: furnished or provided with whatever is needed or for any undertaking; prepared.
::: "Erinyes, in Greek mythology, the goddesses of vengeance, usually represented as three winged maidens, with snakes in their hair. They pursued criminals, drove them mad, and tormented them in Hades. They were spirits of punishment, avenging wrongs done especially to kindred. In Roman literature they were called Furies.” *Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works*
estranged ::: kept at a distance; withdrawn; withheld; displaying or evincing a feeling of alienation.
eternally ::: being without beginning or end; existing outside of time; endlessly; perpetually.
eternal ::: that which is eternal is, by its nature, without beginning or end. eternal"s, eternally. ::: the Eternal. God.
eternity ::: infinite time; duration without beginning or end. **eternity"s, eternities.
ethics ::: 1. A system of moral principles. 2. The branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. **ethics".
everlastingness ::: absolute eternity, without beginning or end.
external ::: 1. Of or relating chiefly to outward appearance; superficial. 2. Relating to, existing on, or coming or acting from without; exterior. 3. Pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show. externally.
eyeless ::: without eyes; blind, sightless.
faerylike; of the nature of a faery (one of a class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs); magical. faeries", faery-small.
::: **"Faith is a certitude in the soul which does not depend on reasoning, on this or that mental idea, on circumstances, on this or that passing condition of the mind or the vital or the body. It may be hidden, eclipsed, may even seem to be quenched, but it reappears again after the storm or the eclipse; it is seen burning still in the soul when one has thought that it was extinguished for ever. The mind may be a shifting sea of doubts and yet that faith may be there within and, if so, it will keep even the doubt-racked mind in the way so that it goes on in spite of itself towards its destined goal. Faith is a spiritual certitude of the spiritual, the divine, the soul"s ideal, something that clings to that even when it is not fulfilled in life, even when the immediate facts or the persistent circumstances seem to deny it.” Letters on Yoga
::: "Faith is the soul"s witness to something not yet manifested, achieved or realised, but which yet the Knower within us, even in the absence of all indications, feels to be true or supremely worth following or achieving.” *Letters on Yoga
faultless ::: without fault, flaw, or defect; perfect. faultlessly.
fearless ::: without fear; bold or brave; intrepid.
fear ::: n. 1. A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. v. 2. To regard with fear; be afraid of. 3. To have reverential awe of.** fear"s, fears, feared, fearing, fear-filled.
featureless ::: without distinctive features; uninteresting, plain, or drab.
ferment ::: 1. A state of agitation or of turbulent change or development. 2. A process of nature involving the addition of yeasts, moulds and certain bacteria (to liquids or solids) causing an effervescence or internal commotion, with evolution of heat, in the substance operated on, and a resulting alteration of its properties.
fettered ::: bound with chains or ropes, etc. around the legs, as an animal, to restrict the movement of. Hence, fig. imposed restraint upon; confined, impeded, restrained.
fiery ::: 1. Like or suggestive of fire. 2. Burning or glowing. 3. Charged with emotion; fervent, vehement, impassioned. fierier, fiery-footed.
fifth-columnist ::: one who acts traitorously and subversively out of a secret sympathy with an enemy; a spy.
fig. Hearts filled with despair; disillusionment; devastating sorrow, especially from disappointment or tragedy in love.
fight ::: n. 1. Fig. A confrontation between opposing groups in which each attempts to harm or gain power over the other, as with bodily force or weapons. fights. v. 2. To contend with physically or in battle; attempt to defend oneself against or to subdue, defeat, or destroy an adversary. fighting, fought.
figured ::: decorated or patterned with a design.
film ::: 1. A movie. 2. A thin flexible strip of cellulose coated with a photographic emulsion, used to make negatives and transparencies.
fireflies ::: nocturnal insects with a soft body and an organ at the rear of the abdomen that emits phosphorescent light.
firmly ::: with resolute determination; unwavering.
fitting ::: 1. Appropriate or proper; suitable. 2. Used with prefixed adverbs to denote an appropriate or inappropriate fit. 3. Of a manufactured article: Of the right measure or size; made to fit, accurate in fit, well or close-fitting. close-fitting, ill-fitting.
flameless ::: destitute of flame; without flame.
flame ::: n. 1. Burning gas or vapor, as from wood or coal, that is undergoing combustion; a portion of ignited gas or vapor. 2. Fig. A brilliant light; fiery glow. 3. Fig. Intense ardour, zeal, passion, vitality. 4. Spiritual fire. 5. Inner fire. 6. Bright colouring; a streak or patch of color. Flame, flames, flame-ascensions, flame-born, flame-bright, flame-child, flame-discovery, flame-edge, flame-eyed, flame-foot, flame-hills, flame-pure, flame-signs, flame-stabs, flame-throw, flame-white, flame-wrapped, moon-flame. v. 8. To burn with a flame or flames; burst into flames; blaze. 7. To burn or glow as if with fire; become red or fiery 8. To burn or burst forth with strong emotion. flames, flamed. ::: flames out. Bursts out in or as if in flames.
flashing ::: emitting or reflecting light with sudden or intermittent brilliance.
flat ::: 1. Lacking interest or excitement; dull. 2. Without qualification; total.
flickered ::: 1. To shine with, or be illuminated by, an unsteady or wavering light; flare, shimmer. 2. To quiver, vibrate unsteadily; flutter. 3. To appear or occur briefly. flickers, flickering, flickering-coloured.
flight ::: 1. The act or process of flying through the air with or without wings. 2. Fig. A passing above and beyond ordinary bounds. 3. A swift movement, transition, or progression. 4. A series of steps, terraces, etc., ascending without change of direction. flights.
fling ::: to throw or hurl with violence. flung, broad-flung.
float ::: 1. To remain suspended within or on the surface of a fluid without sinking. 2. To move or progress smoothly as on a stream. 3. To move or cause to move buoyantly, lightly, or freely across a surface or through air, water, etc.; drift. 4. To move lightly and gracefully. 5. Fig. To move or seem to move lightly and faintly before the eyes. floats, floated, floating.
floating ::: adj. 1. Being buoyed up on water or other liquid. 2. Having little or no attachment; moving from one place to another. 3. Continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another. 4. Being suspended in or as in a liquid with freedom to move; also, to move freely through (something).
flowered ::: flower 1. Blossomed or bloomed. Also fig. 2. Decorated with flowers. 3. Came into full development; matured; blossomed.
flute ::: n. 1. A high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown. flutes. *v. 2. To play a flute. *fluted, fluting.
flutter ::: 1. To flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements. 2. To move quickly in a nervous, restless, or excited fashion; flit. 3. Generally of the heart: to beat abnormally rapidly, esp. in a regular rhythm. 4. To wave, flap or toss about. 5. To move (a thing) in quick irregular motions. flutters, fluttered, fluttering, flutterest.
flux ::: 1. Constant or frequent change; fluctuation; movement. 2. A flowing or flow: Also used with reference to other forms of matter and energy that can be regarded as flowing, such as radiant energy, particles, etc.
forego ::: to abstain from, go without, deny to oneself; to let go or pass, omit to take or use; to give up, part with, relinquish, renounce, resign. foregone.
forewilled ::: a word coined by Sri Aurobindo. As a prefix, fore (with or without hyphen) denotes beforehand, previously, in advance; hence, willed in advance.
"For existence itself is and must always be the stuff of its own becoming; it must be shaped into the substance with which Force has to deal. Force again must be the power which works out that substance and works with it to whatever ends; Force is that which we ordinarily call Nature.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"For if evolution is the progressive manifestation by Nature of that which slept or worked in her, involved, it is also the overt realisation of that which she secretly is. We cannot, then, bid her the right to condemn with the religionist as perverse and presumptuous or with the rationalist as a disease or hallucination any intention she may evince or effort she may make to go beyond. If it be true that Spirit is involved in Matter and apparent Nature is secret God, then the manifestation of the divine in himself and the realisation of God within and without are the highest and most legitimate aim possible to man upon earth.” The Life Divine
"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*
formal ::: following or being in accord with accepted forms, conventions, or regulations.
fort ::: a fortified place or position stationed with troops. forts.
found ::: 1. To set up or establish on a firm basis or for enduring existence; to originate, create, initiate. 2. To establish or set up, especially with provision for continuing existence. Also fig. (All other references are to the word as the pp. or pt. of find. **half-found*.*) founds, founded.**
free-love ::: the practice of sexual relationships without fidelity to a single partner or without formal obligations or legal ties.
freely ::: in a free manner; without restraint.
frescoed ::: painted on fresh moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water. many-frescoed.
fretted ::: ornamented with elaborate patterns or angular designs.
friction ::: a resistance encountered when one body moves relative to another body with which it is in contact. Surface resistance to relative motion.
front ::: n. 1. That part or side that is forward, prominent, or most often seen or used. 2. Outward aspect or bearing as when dealing with a situation. 3. Demeanour or bearing, especially in the presence of danger or difficulty. 4. At a position before, in advance of, facing, or confronting; at the head of. 5. The most forward line of a combat force. 6. A position of leadership in a particular endeavour or field. front"s, fronts. v. 7. To look out on; face. 8. To meet face to face; in opposition; confront. fronts, fronted, fronting.
frozen ::: made into, covered with, or surrounded by ice. Also fig.
fruitless ::: useless; unproductive; without results or success. fruitlessly.
funeral ::: adj. A ceremony or group of ceremonies held in connection with the burial or cremation of a dead person.
fury ::: one of the avenging deities, dread goddesses with snakes twined in their hair, sent from Tartarus to avenge wrong and punish crime: in later accounts, three in number (Tisiphone, Megaera, Alecto). Hence, an avenging or tormenting infernal spirit. Fury"s.
gabled ::: built with a gable (The generally triangular section of wall at the end of a pitched roof, occupying the space between the two slopes of the roof.).
gaol ::: a prison, esp. one for the detention of persons awaiting trial or convicted of minor offences. (A variant spelling of jail. In British official use the form with G is still current; in literary and journalistic use both the G and the J form is now admitted as correct; in the U.S. the J form is standard.) gaoled.
gasping ::: struggling for breath with open mouth; breathing convulsively, esp. at the point of death.
gauze ::: 1. A thin, transparent fabric with a loose open weave, used for curtains and clothing. *Also fig.*
gaze ::: n. 1. The act of looking steadily, intently and with fixed attention. v. 2. To look long and fixedly, esp. in wonder or admiration, poet. **gazes, gazed, gazing, sun-gaze, Truth-gaze, star-gazer, outward-gazing, sun-gazing.**
-gemmed ::: studded or adorned with or as if with gems. star-gemmed
genius ::: 1. A tutelary deity or guardian spirit of a person or place. 2. A person with exceptional ability, esp. of a highly original and creative kind.
gilded ::: 1. Made from or covered with gold. 2. Having a deep golden colour.
gird ::: 1. To encircle; surround. 2. To provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength. girt.
girdle ::: n. **1. A belt or sash worn around the waist. 2. Something that encircles like a belt. v. 3. To surround as with a girdle. girdling.**
glad ::: 1. Accompanied by or causing joy or pleasure. 2. Feeling joy or pleasure; delighted; pleased. 3. Experiencing or exhibiting joy and pleasure. 4. Filled with happiness pleased; contented. gladness, self-glad.
glide ::: to move smoothly and continuously along, as if without effort or resistance. glides, glided, gliding.
glittering ::: reflecting light with a brilliant, sparkling luster; sparkling with reflected light.
glorified ::: 1. Gave glory, honour, or high praise to; exalted. 2. Invested with radiance.
glossary ::: a list of terms in a special subject, field, or area of usage, with accompanying definitions; a partial dictionary.
glowing ::: shining brightly, brilliantly and steadily, especially without a flame; luminous.
glue ::: n. 1. Any substance used as a strong adhesive for fastening or joining substances. v. 2. To stick or fasten with or as if with glue. glued, blood-glued.
gnaw ::: to bite (at) or chew on with the teeth.
goad ::: n. 1. A long stick with a pointed end used for prodding animals. 2. An agent or means of prodding or urging; a stimulus. v. 3. To prod or urge with or as if with a long pointed stick. goads.
godhead ::: Sri Aurobindo: ". . . the Godhead is all that is universe and all that is in the universe and all that is more than the universe. The Gita lays stress first on his supracosmic existence. For otherwise the mind would miss its highest goal and remain turned towards the cosmic only or else attached to some partial experience of the Divine in the cosmos. It lays stress next on his universal existence in which all moves and acts. For that is the justification of the cosmic effort and that is the vast spiritual self-awareness in which the Godhead self-seen as the Time-Spirit does his universal works. Next it insists with a certain austere emphasis on the acceptance of the Godhead as the divine inhabitant in the human body. For he is the Immanent in all existences, and if the indwelling divinity is not recognised, not only will the divine meaning of individual existence be missed, the urge to our supreme spiritual possibilities deprived of its greatest force, but the relations of soul with soul in humanity will be left petty, limited and egoistic. Finally, it insists at great length on the divine manifestation in all things in the universe and affirms the derivation of all that is from the nature, power and light of the one Godhead.” *Essays on the Gita
godless ::: without God; without regard to God; without acknowledging God.
**"I certainly won"t have ‘attracted" [in place of ‘allured"] — there is an enormous difference between the force of the two words and merely ‘attracted by the Ecstasy" would take away all my ecstasy in the line — nothing so tepid can be admitted. Neither do I want ‘thrill" [in place of ‘joy"] which gives a false colour — precisely it would mean that the ecstasy was already touching him with its intensity which is far from my intention.Your statement that ‘joy" is just another word for ‘ecstasy" is surprising. ‘Comfort", ‘pleasure", ‘joy", ‘bliss", ‘rapture", ‘ecstasy" would then be all equal and exactly synonymous terms and all distinction of shades and colours of words would disappear from literature. As well say that ‘flashlight" is just another word for ‘lightning" — or that glow, gleam, glitter, sheen, blaze are all equivalents which can be employed indifferently in the same place. One can feel allured to the supreme omniscient Ecstasy and feel a nameless joy touching one without that Joy becoming itself the supreme Ecstasy. I see no loss of expressiveness by the joy coming in as a vague nameless hint of the immeasurable superior Ecstasy.” Letters on Savitri*
"If discipline of all the members of our being by purification and concentration may be described as the right arm of the body of Yoga, renunciation is its left arm. By discipline or positive practice we confirm in ourselves the truth of things, truth of being, truth of knowledge, truth of love, truth of works and replace with these the falsehoods that have overgrown and perverted our nature; by renunciation we seize upon the falsehoods, pluck up their roots and cast them out of our way so that they shall no longer hamper by their persistence, their resistance or their recurrence the happy and harmonious growth of our divine living.” The Synthesis of Yoga*
"If you go deep enough, into a sufficiently complete silence from all outer things, you will find within you that flame about which I often speak, and in this flame you will see your destiny.} You will see the aspiration of centuries which has been concentrated gradually, to lead you through countless births to the great day of realisation — that preparation which has been made through thousands of years, and is reaching its culmination.” Questions and Answers MCW Vol. 6*.
"I may say that the opening upwards, the ascent into the Light and the subsequent descent into the ordinary consciousness and normal human life is very common as the first decisive experience in the practice of yoga and may very well happen even without the practice of yoga in those who are destined for the spiritual change, especially if there is a dissatisfaction somewhere with the ordinary life and a seeking for something more, greater or better.” Letters on Yoga*
"In Greek mythology, a giant with a hundred arms, a son of Uranus and Ge, who fought against the gods. He was hurled down by Athene and imprisoned beneath Mt. Aetna in Sicily. When he stirs, the mountain shakes; when he breathes, there is an eruption. (M.I.; Web.)” Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works
"In our errors is the substance of a truth which labours to reveal its meaning to our groping intelligence. The human intellect cuts out the error and the truth with it and replaces it by another half-truth half-error; but the Divine Wisdom suffers our mistakes to continue until we are able to arrive at the truth hidden and protected under every false cover.” The Synthesis of Yoga
" . . . insincerity is always an open door for the adversary. That means there is some secret sympathy with what is perverse. And that is what is serious.” Questions and Answers 1957-58, MCW Vol. 9.
::: ". . . in such a view, the word consciousness changes its meaning. It is no longer synonymous with mentality but indicates a self-aware force of existence of which mentality is a middle term; below mentality it sinks into vital and material movements which are for us subconscient; above, it rises into the supramental which is for us the superconscient. But in all it is one and the same thing organising itself differently. This is, once more, the Indian conception of Chit which, as energy, creates the worlds.” *The Life Divine
"Moreover we see that this cosmic action or any cosmic action is impossible without the play of an infinite Force of Existence which produces and regulates all these forms and movements; and that Force equally presupposes or is the action of an infinite Consciousness, because it is in its nature a cosmic Will determining all relations and apprehending them by its own mode of awareness, and it could not so determine and apprehend them if there were no comprehensive Consciousness behind that mode of cosmic awareness to originate as well as to hold, fix and reflect through it the relations of Being in the developing formation or becoming of itself which we call a universe.” The Life Divine
"Nothing can happen without the presence and support of the Divine, for Nature or Prakriti is the Divine Force and it is this that works out things, but it works them out according to the nature and through or with the will of each man which is full of ignorance — that goes on until men turn to the Divine and become conscious of Him and united with Him. Then only can it be said that all begins to be done in him by the direct Will of the Divine.” Letters on Yoga
of or pertaining to geometry, the branch of mathematics that deals with the deduction of the properties, measurement, and relationships of points, lines, angles, and figures in space.
". . . One Being and Consciousness is involved here in Matter. Evolution is the method by which it liberates itself; consciousness appears in what seems to be inconscient, and once having appeared is self-impelled to grow higher and higher and at the same time to enlarge and develop towards a greater and greater perfection. Life is the first step of this release of consciousness; mind is the second; but the evolution does not finish with mind, it awaits a release into something greater, a consciousness which is spiritual and supramental. The next step of the evolution must be towards the development of Supermind and Spirit as the dominant power in the conscious being. For only then will the involved Divinity in things release itself entirely and it become possible for life to manifest perfection.” On Himself
"One must go deep and find the soul, the self, the Divine Reality within us and only then can life become a true expression of what we can be instead of a blind and always repeated confused blur of the inadequate and imperfect thing we were. The choice is between remaining in the old jumble and groping about in the hope of stumbling on some discovery or standing back and seeking the Light within till we discover and can build the Godhead within and without us. "Letters on Yoga
"O son of Immortality, live not thou according to Nature, but according to God; and compel her also to live according to the deity within thee.” Essays Divine and Human*
"Our ego is only a face of the universal being and has no separate existence; our apparent separative individuality is only a surface movement and behind it our real individuality stretches out to unity with all things and upward to oneness with the transcendent Divine Infinity. Thus our ego, which seems to be a limitation of existence, is really a power of infinity; the boundless multiplicity of beings in the world is a result and signal evidence, not of limitation or finiteness, but of that illimitable Infinity.” The Life Divine
"Practically, therefore, all form is only an operation of consciousness impressing itself with presentations of its own workings.” The Upanishads
*Sri Aurobindo: "Action is the first power of life. Nature begins with force and its works which, once conscious in man, become will and its achievements; therefore it is that by turning his action Godwards the life of man best and most surely begins to become divine.” The Synthesis of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "As there are Powers of Knowledge or Forces of the Light, so there are Powers of Ignorance and tenebrous Forces of the Darkness whose work is to prolong the reign of Ignorance and Inconscience. As there are Forces of Truth, so there are Forces that live by the Falsehood and support it and work for its victory; as there are powers whose life is intimately bound up with the existence, the idea and the impulse of Good, so there are Forces whose life is bound up with the existence and the idea and the impulse of Evil. It is this truth of the cosmic Invisible that was symbolised in the ancient belief of a struggle between the powers of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil for the possession of the world and the government of the life of man; — this was the significance of the contest between the Vedic Gods and their opponents, sons of Darkness and Division, figured in a later tradition as Titan and Giant and Demon, Asura, Rakshasa, Pisacha; the same tradition is found in the Zoroastrian Double Principle and the later Semitic opposition of God and his Angels on the one side and Satan and his hosts on the other, — invisible Personalities and Powers that draw man to the divine Light and Truth and Good or lure him into subjection to the undivine principle of Darkness and Falsehood and Evil.” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "But if the individual is a persistent reality, an eternal portion or power of the Eternal, if his growth of consciousness is the means by which the Spirit in things discloses its being, the cosmos reveals itself as a conditioned manifestation of the play of the eternal One in the being of Sachchidananda with the eternal Many.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "But when I speak of the Divine Will, I mean something different, — something that has descended here into an evolutionary world of Ignorance, standing at the back of things, pressing on the Darkness with its Light, leading things presently towards the best possible in the conditions of a world of Ignorance and leading it eventually towards a descent of a greater power of the Divine, which will be not an omnipotence held back and conditioned by the law of the world as it is, but in full action and therefore bringing the reign of light, peace, harmony, joy, love, beauty and Ananda, for these are the Divine Nature.” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Concentration is a gathering together of the consciousness and either centralising at one point or turning on a single object, e.g., the Divine; there can also be a gathered condition throughout the whole being, not at a point. In meditation it is not indispensable to gather like this, one can simply remain with a quiet mind thinking of one subject or observing what comes in the consciousness and dealing with it.” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Confidence — the sense of security that goes with trust.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: " . . . Divine Love which is at the heart of all creation and the most powerful of all redeeming and creative forces has yet been the least frontally present in earthly life, the least successfully redemptive, the least creative. Human nature has been unable to bear it in its purity for the very reason that it is the most powerful, pure, rare and intense of all the divine energies; what little could be seized has been corrupted at once into a vital pietistic ardour, a defenceless religious or ethical sentimentalism, a sensuous or even sensual erotic mysticism of the roseate coloured mind or passionately turbid life-impulse and with these simulations compensated its inability to house the Mystic Flame that could rebuild the world with its tongues of sacrifice. The Synthesis of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Equality is to remain unmoved within in all conditions.” *Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "Fear is a creation of the vital plane, an instinct of the ignorance, a sense of danger with a violent vital reaction that replaces and usually prevents or distorts the intelligence of things. It might almost be considered as an invention of the hostile forces.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Finally, we have the goddess Dakshina who may well be a female form of Daksha, himself a god and afterwards in the Purana one of the Prajapatis, the original progenitors, — we have Dakshina associated with the manifestation of knowledge and sometimes almost identified with Usha, the divine Dawn, who is the bringer of illumination. I shall suggest that Dakshina like the more famous Ila, Saraswati and Sarama, is one of four goddesses representing the four faculties of the Ritam or Truth-consciousness, — Ila representing truth-vision or revelation, Saraswati truth-audition, inspiration, the divine word, Sarama intuition, Dakshina the separative intuitional discrimination.” *The Secret of the Veda
Sri Aurobindo: "Form is the basic means of manifestation and without it it may be said that the manifestation of anything is not complete. Even if the Formless logically precedes Form, yet it is not illogical to assume that in the Formless, Form is inherent and already existent in a mystic latency, otherwise how could it be manifested?” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Further, vision is of value because it is often a first key to inner planes of one"s own being and one"s own consciousness as distinguished from worlds or planes of the cosmic consciousness. Yoga-experience often begins with some opening of the third eye in the forehead (the centre of vision in the brows) or with some kind of beginning and extension of subtle seeing which may seem unimportant at first but is the vestibule to deeper experience.” *Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "Gnosis or true supermind is a power above mind working in its own law, out of the direct identity of the supreme Self, his absolute self-conscious Truth knowing herself by her own power of absolute Light without any need of seeking, even the most luminous seeking.” The Upanishads (footnote)
*Sri Aurobindo: "In other words, ethics is a stage in evolution. That which is common to all stages is the urge of Sachchidananda towards self-expression. This urge is at first non-ethical, then infra-ethical in the animal, then in the intelligent animal even anti-ethical for it permits us to approve hurt done to others which we disapprove when done to ourselves. In this respect man even now is only half-ethical. And just as all below us is infra-ethical, so there may be that above us whither we shall eventually arrive, which is supra-ethical, has no need of ethics. The ethical impulse and attitude, so all-important to humanity, is a means by which it struggles out of the lower harmony and universality based upon inconscience and broken up by Life into individual discords towards a higher harmony and universality based upon conscient oneness with all existences. Arriving at that goal, this means will no longer be necessary or even possible, since the qualities and oppositions on which it depends will naturally dissolve and disappear in the final reconciliation.” The Life Divine
"Sri Aurobindo: "It has been held that ecstasy is a lower and transient passage, the peace of the Supreme is the supreme realisation, the consummate abiding experience. This may be true on the spiritual-mind plane: there the first ecstasy felt is indeed a spiritual rapture, but it can be and is very usually mingled with a supreme happiness of the vital parts taken up by the Spirit; there is an exaltation, exultation, excitement, a highest intensity of the joy of the heart and the pure inner soul-sensation that can be a splendid passage or an uplifting force but is not the ultimate permanent foundation. But in the highest ascents of the spiritual bliss there is not this vehement exaltation and excitement; there is instead an illimitable intensity of participation in an eternal ecstasy which is founded on the eternal Existence and therefore on a beatific tranquillity of eternal peace. Peace and ecstasy cease to be different and become one. The Supermind, reconciling and fusing all differences as well as all contradictions, brings out this unity; a wide calm and a deep delight of all-existence are among its first steps of self-realisation, but this calm and this delight rise together, as one state, into an increasing intensity and culminate in the eternal ecstasy, the bliss that is the Infinite.” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "It is an achievement to have got rid so rapidly and decisively of the shimmering mists and fogs which modern intellectualism takes for Light of Truth. The modern mind has so long and persistently wandered – and we with it – in the Valley of the False Glimmer that it is not easy for anyone to disperse its mists with the sunlight of clear vision.” Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "It is true that when Matter first emerges it becomes the dominant principle; it seems to be and is within its own field the basis of all things, the constituent of all things, the end of all things: but Matter itself is found to be a result of something that is not Matter, of Energy, and this Energy cannot be something self-existent and acting in the Void, but can turn out and, when deeply scrutinised, seems likely to turn out to be the action of a secret Consciousness and Being: when the spiritual knowledge and experience emerge, this becomes a certitude, — it is seen that the creative Energy in Matter is a movement of the power of the Spirit.” The Life Divine
::: Sri Aurobindo: "Spiritual force has its own concreteness; it can take a form (like a stream, for instance) of which one is aware and can send it quite concretely on whatever object one chooses. This is a statement of fact about the power inherent in spiritual consciousness. But there is also such a thing as a willed use of any subtle force — it may be spiritual, mental or vital — to secure a particular result at some point in the world. Just as there are waves of unseen physical forces (cosmic waves etc.) or currents of electricity, so there are mind-waves, thought-currents, waves of emotion, — for example, anger, sorrow, etc., — which go out and affect others without their knowing whence they come or that they come at all, they only feel the result. One who has the occult or inner senses awake can feel them coming and invading him.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "the black dragon of the Inconscience sustains with its vast wings and its back of darkness the whole structure of the material universe; its energies unroll the flux of things, its obscure intimations seem to be the starting-point of consciousness itself and the source of all life-impulse.” The Life Divine ::: **Unused, guarded beneath Night"s dragon paws,**
Sri Aurobindo: "The cosmic consciousness is that of the universe, of the cosmic spirit and cosmic Nature with all the beings and forces within it. All that is as much conscious as a whole as the individual separately is, though in a different way. The consciousness of the individual is part of this, but a part feeling itself as a separate being. Yet all the time most of what he is comes into him from the cosmic consciousness. But there is a wall of separative ignorance between. Once it breaks down he becomes aware of the cosmic Self, of the consciousness of the cosmic Nature, of the forces playing in it, etc. He feels all that as he now feels physical things and impacts. He finds it all to be one with his larger or universal self.” *Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: ". . . the divine Ananda, the principle of Bliss [is that] from which, in the Vedic conception, the existence of Man, this mental being, is drawn. A secret Delight is the base of existence, its sustaining atmosphere and almost its substance. This Ananda is spoken of in the Taittiriya Upanishad as the ethereal atmosphere of bliss without which nothing could remain in being. In the Aitareya Upanishad Soma, as the lunar deity, is born from the sense-mind in the universal Purusha and, when man is produced, expresses himself again as sense-mentality in the human being. For delight is the raison d"être of sensation, or, we may say, sensation is an attempt to translate the secret delight of existence into the terms of physical consciousness.” The Secret of the Veda
Sri Aurobindo: "The faith in the divine Shakti must be always at the back of our strength and when she becomes manifest, it must be or grow implicit and complete. There is nothing that is impossible to her who is the conscious Power and universal Goddess all-creative from eternity and armed with the Spirit"s omnipotence.” The Life Divine
*Sri Aurobindo: "The Indian explanation of fate is Karma. We ourselves are our own fate through our actions, but the fate created by us binds us; for what we have sown, we must reap in this life or another. Still we are creating our fate for the future even while undergoing old fate from the past in the present. That gives a meaning to our will and action and does not, as European critics wrongly believe, constitute a rigid and sterilising fatalism. But again, our will and action can often annul or modify even the past Karma, it is only certain strong effects, called utkata karma, that are non-modifiable. Here too the achievement of the spiritual consciousness and life is supposed to annul or give the power to annul Karma. For we enter into union with the Will Divine, cosmic or transcendent, which can annul what it had sanctioned for certain conditions, new-create what it had created, the narrow fixed lines disappear, there is a more plastic freedom and wideness. Neither Karma nor Astrology therefore points to a rigid and for ever immutable fate.” Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "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 — . . . .” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: "There is no ignorance that is not part of the Cosmic Ignorance, only in the individual it becomes a limited formation and movement, while the Cosmic Ignorance is the whole movement of world consciousness separated from the supreme Truth and acting in an inferior motion in which the Truth is perverted, diminished, mixed and clouded with falsehood and error.” Letters on Yoga
*Sri Aurobindo: "The timeless Spirit is not necessarily a blank; it may hold all in itself, but in essence, without reference to time or form or relation or circumstance, perhaps in an eternal unity. Eternity is the common term between Time and the Timeless Spirit. What is in the Timeless unmanifested, implied, essential, appears in Time in movement, or at least in design and relation, in result and circumstance. These two then are the same Eternity or the same Eternal in a double status; they are a twofold status of being and consciousness, one an eternity of immobile status, the other an eternity of motion in status.” The Life Divine ::: "The spiritual fullness of the being is eternity; . . . ” The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "The true soul secret in us, — subliminal, we have said, but the word is misleading, for this presence is not situated below the threshold of waking mind, but rather burns in the temple of the inmost heart behind the thick screen of an ignorant mind, life and body, not subliminal but behind the veil, — this veiled psychic entity is the flame of the Godhead always alight within us, inextinguishable even by that dense unconsciousness of any spiritual self within which obscures our outward nature. It is a flame born out of the Divine and, luminous inhabitant of the Ignorance, grows in it till it is able to turn it towards the Knowledge. It is the concealed Witness and Control, the hidden Guide, the Daemon of Socrates, the inner light or inner voice of the mystic. It is that which endures and is imperishable in us from birth to birth, untouched by death, decay or corruption, an indestructible spark of the Divine.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "The word ‘ghost" as used in popular parlance covers an enormous number of distinct phenomena which have no necessary connection with each other. To name a few only: ::: An actual contact with the soul of a human being in its subtle body and transcribed to our mind by the appearance of an image or the hearing of a voice.
Sri Aurobindo: "This truth of Karma has been always recognised in the East in one form or else in another; but to the Buddhists belongs the credit of having given to it the clearest and fullest universal enunciation and the most insistent importance. In the West too the idea has constantly recurred, but in external, in fragmentary glimpses, as the recognition of a pragmatic truth of experience, and mostly as an ordered ethical law or fatality set over against the self-will and strength of man: but it was clouded over by other ideas inconsistent with any reign of law, vague ideas of some superior caprice or of some divine jealousy, — that was a notion of the Greeks, — a blind Fate or inscrutable Necessity, Ananke, or, later, the mysterious ways of an arbitrary, though no doubt an all-wise Providence.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga *Ananke"s.
*Sri Aurobindo: ". . . we live in a false relation with our environment, because we know neither the universe nor ourselves for what they really are . . .” The Synthesis of Yoga*
Sri Aurobindo: "We mean by the Absolute something greater than ourselves, greater than the cosmos which we live in, the supreme reality of that transcendent Being which we call God, something without which all that we see or are conscious of as existing, could not have been, could not for a moment remain in existence. Indian thought calls it Brahman, European thought the Absolute because it is a self-existent which is absolved of all bondage to relativities . . . The Absolute is for us the Ineffable.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "What the "void" feels as a clutch is felt by the Mother only as a reminding finger laid on her cheek. It is one advantage of the expression ‘as if" that it leaves the field open for such variation. It is intended to suggest without saying it that behind the sombre void is the face of a mother. The two other ‘as if"s have the same motive and I do not find them jarring upon me. The second is at a sufficient distance from the first and it is not obtrusive enough to prejudice the third which more nearly follows. . . .” Letters on Savitri
*Sri Aurobindo: "When there is some lowering or diminution of the consciousness or some impairing of it at one place or another, the Adversary — or the Censor — who is always on the watch presses with all his might wherever there is a weak point lying covered from your own view, and suddenly a wrong movement leaps up with unexpected force. Become conscious and cast out the possibility of its renewal, that is all that is to be done.” Letters on Yoga
Sri Aurobindo: ". . . wrong will and falsehood of the steps, . . . separative egoism inflicting by its ignorance and separate contrary will harm on oneself or harm on others, self-driven to a wrong dealing with one"s own soul, mind, life or body or a wrong dealing with the soul, mind, life, body of others, . . . is the practical sense of all human evil.” *The Life Divine
Sri Aurobindo: "Yes: the purpose is to create a large luminous trailing repetitive movement like the flight of the Bird with its dragon tail of white fire.” *Letters on Savitri
Sri Aurobindo: "Yet all the time the universal forces are pouring into him without his knowing it. He is aware only of thoughts, feelings, etc., that rise to the surface and these he takes for his own. Really they come from outside in mind waves, vital waves, waves of feeling and sensation, etc., which take particular form in him and rise to the surface after they have got inside. But they do not get into his body at once. He carries about with him an environmental consciousness (called by the Theosophists the Aura) into which they first enter. If you can become conscious of this environmental self of yours, then you can catch the thought, passion, suggestion or force of illness and prevent it from entering into you. If things in you are thrown out, they often do not go altogether but take refuge in this environmental atmosphere and from there they try to get in again. Or they go to a distance outside but linger on the outskirts or even perhaps far off, waiting till they get an opportunity to attempt entrance.” *Letters on Yoga
"That there is a divine force asleep or veiled by Inconscience in Matter and that the Higher Force has to descend and awaken it with the Light and Truth is a thing that is well known; it is at the very base of this yoga.” Letters on Yoga
::: "The ancient Vedanta presents us with . . . the conception and experience of Brahman as the one universal and essential fact and of the nature of Brahman as Sachchidananda [Existence, Consciousness, Bliss]. In this view the essence of all life is the movement of a universal and immortal existence, the essence of all sensation and emotion is the play of a universal and self-existent delight in being, the essence of all thought and perception is the radiation of a universal and all-pervading truth, the essence of all activity is the progression of a universal and self-effecting good.” The Life Divine
"The Atheist is God playing at hide & seek with Himself; . . . .” Essays Divine and Human*
"The call, once decisive, stands; the thing that has been born cannot eventually be stifled. Even if the force of circumstances prevents a regular pursuit or a full practical self-consecration from the first, still the mind has taken its bent and persists and returns with an ever-increasing effect upon its leading preoccupation. There is an ineluctable persistence of the inner being, and against it circumstances are in the end powerless, and no weakness in the nature can for long be an obstacle.” The Synthesis of Yoga
"The cosmic consciousness is that in which the limits of ego, personal mind and body disappear and one becomes aware of a cosmic vastness which is or filled by a cosmic spirit and aware also of the direct play of cosmic forces, universal mind forces, universal life forces, universal energies of Matter, universal overmind forces. But one does not become aware of all these together; the opening of the cosmic consciousness is usually progressive. It is not that the ego, the body, the personal mind disappear, but one feels them as only a small part of oneself. One begins to feel others too as part of oneself or varied repetitions of oneself, the same self modified by Nature in other bodies. Or, at the least, as living in the larger universal self which is henceforth one"s own greater reality. All things in fact begin to change their nature and appearance; one"s whole experience of the world is radically different from that of those who are shut up in their personal selves. One begins to know things by a different kind of experience, more direct, not depending on the external mind and the senses. It is not that the possibility of error disappears, for that cannot be so long as mind of any kind is one"s instrument for transcribing knowledge, but there is a new, vast and deep way of experiencing, seeing, knowing, contacting things; and the confines of knowledge can be rolled back to an almost unmeasurable degree. The thing one has to be on guard against in the cosmic consciousness is the play of a magnified ego, the vaster attacks of the hostile forces — for they too are part of the cosmic consciousness — and the attempt of the cosmic Illusion (Ignorance, Avidya) to prevent the growth of the soul into the cosmic Truth. These are things that one has to learn from experience; mental teaching or explanation is quite insufficient. To enter safely into the cosmic consciousness and to pass safely through it, it is necessary to have a strong central unegoistic sincerity and to have the psychic being, with its divination of truth and unfaltering orientation towards the Divine, already in front in ::: —the nature.” Letters on Yoga*
". . . the cosmic Force, masked as a material Energy, hides from our view by its insistent materiality of process the occult fact that the working of the Inconscient is really the expression of a vast universal Life, a veiled universal Mind, a hooded Gnosis, and without these origins of itself it could have no power of action, no organising coherence.” The Life Divine
"The form of that which is in Time is or appears to be evanescent, but the self, the substance, the being that takes shape in that form is eternal and is one self, one substance, one being with all that is, all that was, all that shall be. But even the form is in itself eternal and not temporal, but it exists for ever in possibility, in power, in consciousness in the Eternal.” Essays Divine and Human
::: "The Gods, as has already been said, are in origin and essence permanent Emanations of the Divine put forth from the Supreme by the Transcendent Mother, the Adya Shakti; in their cosmic action they are Powers and Personalities of the Divine each with his independent cosmic standing, function and work in the universe. They are not impersonal entities but cosmic Personalities, although they can and do ordinarily veil themselves behind the movement of impersonal forces.” Letters on Yoga
The Mother: "And this Vibration (which I feel and see) gives the feeling of a fire. That"s probably what the Vedic Rishis translated as the "Flame” – in the human consciousness, in man, in Matter. They always spoke of a "Flame.” It is indeed a vibration with the intensity of a higher fire. Mother"s Agenda 25 March 1964.
::: The Mother: "With the Divine"s Love is the power of Transformation. It has this power because it is for the sake of Transformation that it has given itself to the world and manifested everywhere. Not only into man but into all the atoms of Matter it has infused itself in order to bring the world back to the original Truth. The moment you open to it, you also receive its power of Transformation.” Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 15.
The Mother: "In the physical world, of all things it is beauty that expresses best the Divine. the physical world is the world of form and the perfection of form is beauty. Beauty interprets, expresses, manifests the Eternal. Its role is to put all manifested nature in contact with the Eternal through the perfection of form, through harmony and a sense of the ideal which uplifts and leads towards something higher. On Education, MCW Vol. 12.
The Mother (to a young person): "It is very simple, as you will see. 1) The Infinite is the inexhaustible storehouse of forces. The individual is a battery, a storage cell which runs down after use. Consecration is the wire that connects the individual battery to the infinite reserve of forces. Or 2) The Infinite is the river that flows without cease; the individual is the little pond that dries up slowly in the sun. Consecration is the canal that connects the river to the pond and prevents the pond from drying up.” Some Answers from the Mother, MCW *Vol. 16.
*The Mother: "To conquer the Adversary is not a small thing. One must have a greater power than his to vanquish him. But one can liberate oneself totally from his influence. And from the minute one is completely free from his influence, one"s self-giving can be total. And with the self-giving comes joy, long before the Adversary is truly vanquished and disappears.”
"There is a sunlit path as well as a gloomy one and it is the better of the two — a path in which one goes forward in absolute reliance on the Mother, fearing nothing, sorrowing over nothing. Aspiration is needed but there can be a sunlit aspiration full of light and faith and confidence and joy. If difficulty comes, even that can be faced with a smile.” Letters on Yoga
::: **"There is no fear in the higher Nature. Fear is a creation of the vital plane, an instinct of the ignorance, a sense of danger with a violent vital reaction that replaces and usually prevents or distorts the intelligence of things.” Letters on Yoga
"There is no such thing as death, for it is the body that dies and the body is not the man. That which really is, cannot go out of existence, though it may change the forms through which it appears, just as that which is non-existent cannot come into being. The soul is and cannot cease to be. This opposition of is and is not, this balance of being and becoming which is the mind"s view of existence, finds its end in the realisation of the soul as the one imperishable self by whom all this universe has been extended. Finite bodies have an end, but that which possesses and uses the body, is infinite, illimitable, eternal, indestructible. It casts away old and takes up new bodies as a man changes worn-out raiment for new; and what is there in this to grieve at and recoil and shrink? This is not born, nor does it die, nor is it a thing that comes into being once and passing away will never come into being again. It is unborn, ancient, sempiternal; it is not slain with the slaying of the body. Who can slay the immortal spirit? Weapons cannot cleave it, nor the fire burn, nor do the waters drench it, nor the wind dry. Eternally stable, immobile, all-pervading, it is for ever and for ever. Not manifested like the body, but greater than all manifestation, not to be analysed by the thought, but greater than all mind, not capable of change and modification like the life and its organs and their objects, but beyond the changes of mind and life and body, it is yet the Reality which all these strive to figure.” Essays on the Gita
::: "The third step is to know the Divine Being who is at once our supreme transcendent Self, the Cosmic Being, foundation of our universality, and the Divinity within of which our psychic being, the true evolving individual in our nature, is a portion, a spark, a flame growing into the eternal Fire from which it was lit and of which it is the witness ever living within us and the conscious instrument of its light and power and joy and beauty.” *The Life Divine
"This Godhead is one in all things that are, the self who lives in all and the self in whom all live and move; therefore man has to discover his spiritual unity with all creatures, to see all in the self and the self in all beings, even to see all things and creatures as himself, âtmaupamyena sarvatra, and accordingly think, feel and act in all his mind, will and living. This Godhead is the origin of all that is here or elsewhere and by his Nature he has become all these innumerable existences, abhût sarvâni bhûtâni; therefore man has to see and adore the One in all things animate and inanimate, to worship the manifestation in sun and star and flower, in man and every living creature, in the forms and forces, qualities and powers of Nature, vâsudevah sarvam iti.” Essays on the Gita ::: *godhead, godheads, godhead"s.
"This universal aesthesis of beauty and delight does not ignore or fail to understand the differences and oppositions, the gradations, the harmony and disharmony obvious to the ordinary consciousness; but, first of all, it draws a Rasa from them and with that comes the enjoyment, Bhoga. and the touch or the mass of the Ananda. It sees that all things have their meaning, their value, their deeper or total significance which the mind does not see, for the mind is only concerned with a surface vision, surface contacts and its own surface reactions. When something expresses perfectly what it was meant to express, the completeness brings with it a sense of harmony, a sense of artistic perfection; it gives even to what is discordant a place in a system of cosmic concordances and the discords become part of a vast harmony, and wherever there is harmony, there is a sense of beauty. ” Letters on Savitri*
"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.” Letters on Yoga
"Usha is the divine illumination and Dakshina is the discerning knowledge that comes with the dawn and enables the Power in the mind, Indra, to know aright and separate the light from the darkness, the truth from the falsehood, the straight from the crooked, vrinîta vijânan.” The Secret of the Veda*
"Vamana, the Dwarf, in Hindu mythology, one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, born as a son of Kashyapa and Aditi. The titan King Bali had by his austerities acquired dominion of all the three worlds. To remedy this, Vishnu came to him in the form of a dwarf and begged of him as much land as he could step over in three paces. Bali complied. In two strides the dwarf covered heaven and earth, and with the third step, on Bali"s head, pushed him down to Patala, the infernal regions.” Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo"s Works
"We are not the body, but the body is still something of ourselves. With realisation the erroneous identification ceases — in certain experiences the existence of the body is not felt at all. In the full realisation the body is within us, not we in it, it is an instrumental formation in our wider being, — our consciousness exceeds but also pervades it, — it can be dissolved without our ceasing to be the self.” Letters on Yoga
"We speak of the evolution of Life in Matter, the evolution of Mind in Matter; but evolution is a word which merely states the phenomenon without explaining it. For there seems to be no reason why Life should evolve out of material elements or Mind out of living form, unless we accept the Vedantic solution that Life is already involved in Matter and Mind in Life because in essence Matter is a form of veiled Life, Life a form of veiled Consciousness.” The Life Divine
"When the Peace is established, this higher or Divine Force from above can descend and work in us. It descends usually first into the head and liberates the inner mind centres, then into the heart centre and liberates fully the psychic and emotional being, then into the navel and other vital centres and liberates the inner vital, then into the Muladhara and below and liberates the inner physical being. It works at the same time for perfection as well as liberation; it takes up the whole nature part by part and deals with it, rejecting what has to be rejected, sublimating what has to be sublimated, creating what has to be created. It integrates, harmonises, establishes a new rhythm in the nature. It can bring down too a higher and yet higher force and range of the higher nature until, if that be the aim of the sadhana, it becomes possible to bring down the supramental force and existence. All this is prepared, assisted, farthered by the work of the psychic being in the heart centre; the more it is open, in front, active, the quicker, safer, easier the working of the Force can be. The more love and bhakti and surrender grow in the heart, the more rapid and perfect becomes the evolution of the sadhana. For the descent and transformation imply at the same time an increasing contact and union with the Divine.” Letters on Yoga
"When the Peace is established, this higher or Divine Force from above can descend and work in us. It descends usually first into the head and liberates the inner mind centres, then into the heart centre and liberates fully the psychic and emotional being, then into the navel and other vital centres and liberates the inner vital, then into the Muladhara and below and liberates the inner physical being. It works at the same time for perfection as well as liberation; it takes up the whole nature part by part and deals with it, rejecting what has to be rejected, sublimating what has to be sublimated, creating what has to be created.” Letters on Yoga
::: "Wherever thou seest a great end, be sure of a great beginning. Where a monstrous and painful destruction appals thy mind, console it with the certainty of a large and great creation. God is there not only in the still small voice, but in the fire and in the whirlwind.” Essays in Philosophy and Yoga
without plan or intent; accidentally.
" Yes. A third eye does open there [in the centre of the forehead] — it represents the occult vision and the occult power which goes with that vision — it is connected with the ajnacakra.” Letters on Yoga
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1:Attend with the ear of your heart. ~ Benedict, #KEYS
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~ Stephen Covey,#KEYS
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4:Zen has no business with ideas." ~ D.T. Suzuki, #KEYS
5:Think with your whole body." ~ Taisen Deshimaru, #KEYS
6:Wisdom sails with wind and time." ~ John Florio, #KEYS
7:And fly with more affection." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, #KEYS
8:One can always reason with reason. ~ Henri Bergson, #KEYS
9:Proceed with humility and sacrifice. ~ Quetzalcoatl, #KEYS
10:Become acquainted with every art. ~ Miyamoto Musashi, #KEYS
11:to be filled with light, and to shine. ~ Mary Oliver, #KEYS
12:Become comfortable with not knowing." ~ Eckhart Tolle, #KEYS
13:God bears with the wicked but not forever. ~ Cervantes, #KEYS
14:The most dangerous moment comes with victory ~ Napoleon, #KEYS
15:Do all that you do with love. ~ Saint Therese of Lisieux, #KEYS
16:Most friendships begin with a compliment. ~ Peter M Brown, #KEYS
17:Enlightenment is intimacy with all things." ~ Dōgen Zenji, #KEYS
18:Waffles are like pancakes with syrup traps ~ Mitch Hedberg, #KEYS
19:Only Union with the Friend can cure it. ~ Rabia al-Adawiyya, #KEYS
20:The greatest effort is not concerned with results." ~ Atisa, #KEYS
21:Act your part with honor. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
22:Fall in love with the deep comfort of insecurity. ~ Jeff Foster, #KEYS
23:Our problem with desire is that we want too little. ~ C S Lewis, #KEYS
24:The soul is healed by being with children." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky, #KEYS
25:Its important to be comfortable with uncertainty.
~ Xiaolu Guo,#KEYS
26:with inexpressible groanings: 'Return, Lord Jesus!"" ~ Our Lady , #KEYS
27:You choose the future with your actions each day." ~ James Clear, #KEYS
28:Endure and you will conquer, The Lord is with you. ~ Mother Mirra, #KEYS
29:Eternity is in love with the productions of time. ~ William Blake, #KEYS
30:A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey." ~ Sufi saying, #KEYS
31:and with great affection. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
32:the most massive characters are seared with scars.
~ Khalil Gibran,#KEYS
33:What really matters is what you do with what you have." ~ H.G. Wells, #KEYS
34:God has entrusted me with myself. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
35:It is said that the present is pregnant with the future.
~ Voltaire,#KEYS
36:Oh snow, fall with The scent of apples! ~ Hakushu Kitahara, 1885-1942, #KEYS
37:One earns Paradise with one's daily task. ~ Saint Gianna Beretta Mola, #KEYS
38:Poets are damned... but see with the eyes of angels. ~ Allen Ginsberg, #KEYS
39:something with its continuous scripture of leaves. ~ William Stafford, #KEYS
40:To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge." ~ Zhuangzi, #KEYS
41:Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. ~ Tao Te Ching, ch.14, #KEYS
42:The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. ~ Marcus Aurelius, #KEYS
43:With words, music, dance, and every sign. ~ Czeslaw Milosz, "Either-Or", #KEYS
44:Better to sit all night than to go to bed with a dragon.
~ Zen Proverb,#KEYS
45:I have lived with several Zen masters-all of them cats." ~ Eckhart Tolle, #KEYS
46:Live with your century; but do not be its creature. ~ Friedrich Schiller, #KEYS
47:Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~ Theodore Roosevelt, #KEYS
48:If God be with us, there is no one else left to fear. ~ Saint Philip Neri, #KEYS
49:Jesus is with me. I have nothing to fear. ~ Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, #KEYS
50:Move in harmony with the present moment." ~ Lao Tzu, #KEYS
51:I don't necessarily agree with everything that I say.
~ Marshall McLuhan,#KEYS
52:To live effectively is to live with adequate information. ~ Norbert Wiener, #KEYS
53:With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt, #KEYS
54:How can I begin anything new with all of yesterday in me?
~ Leonard Cohen,#KEYS
55:The memories we make with our family is everything." ~ Candace Cameron Bure, #KEYS
56:Whoso seeketh with diligence, he shall find. ~ Bahaullah: the Seven Valleys, #KEYS
57:Be happy with what you have while working for what you want." ~ Helen Keller, #KEYS
58:Confuse them with your silence, and amaze them with your actions." ~ Unknown, #KEYS
59:Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.
~ Oscar Wilde,#KEYS
60:Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Confucius, #KEYS
61:Do not worry about the results, but be concerned with the process.
~ Nemoto,#KEYS
62:Enlightenment is intimacy with all things." ~ Dogen Zenji, #KEYS
63:I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart. ~ Vincent van Gogh, #KEYS
64:Mind wrestles with mind - our minds with the mind of the enemy." ~ Philokalia, #KEYS
65:The old calendar fills me with gratitude like a song. ~ Yosa Buson, 1716-1783, #KEYS
66:The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus. ~ Bruce Lee, #KEYS
67:Thinking in isolation and with pride ends in being an idiot. ~ G K Chesterton, #KEYS
68:Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it. ~ Mark Twain, #KEYS
69:Grant me the sight Lord that I may see Thee who hast been with me always. ~ JB, #KEYS
70:If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family. ~ Ram Dass, #KEYS
71:I know what thou desirest and I'm with thee everywhere ~ The Corpus Hermeticum, #KEYS
72:The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." ~ Bruce Lee, #KEYS
73:A flute with no holes is not a flute. ~ Matsuo Basho, #KEYS
74:midnight — no waves, no wind
empty boat
flooded with moonlight. ~ Dogen,#KEYS
75:Only laughter can be gotten away with for free.
~ Peter J Carroll, Liber Null,#KEYS
76:He is everywhere in the world and stands with all in His embrace. ~ Bhagavad Gita, #KEYS
77:Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." ~ Steve Jobs, #KEYS
78:I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met. ~ John Green, #KEYS
79:My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. ~ Benjamin Disraeli, #KEYS
80:Remain with Me and you will find peace. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
81:The problem with closed minded people is their mouth is always open." ~ Zig Ziglar, #KEYS
82:Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?" ~ Zhuangzi, #KEYS
83:An unknown tree
with mysterious flowers
beautiful fragrance ~ Matsuo Basho?#KEYS
84:Beauty is the bait which with delight allures man to enlarge his kind.
~ Socrates,#KEYS
85:Before we love with our heart, we already love with our imagination. ~ Louise Colet, #KEYS
86:God dwells within you, and there you should dwell with Him. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila, #KEYS
87:Saki, with the light of wine up-kindle the cup of ours. ~ Hafiz, #KEYS
88:Don't be satisfied with your accomplishment, nor be dissatisfied with it." ~ Unknown, #KEYS
89:I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go. ~ Sheng-yen, #KEYS
90:I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go." ~ Sheng-yen, #KEYS
91:To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.
~ T Gantier,#KEYS
92:You are that vast thing that you see far, far off with great telescopes." ~ Alan Watts, #KEYS
93:Approach the enemy with the attitude of defeating him without delay. ~ Miyamoto Musashi, #KEYS
94:I am with you wherever you are. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
95:I'm afraid a boat so small would sink with the weight of all my sorrow.
~ Li Qingzhao,#KEYS
96:My daily affairs are quite ordinary; but I'm in total harmony with them." ~ Layman Pang, #KEYS
97:People with goals succeed, because they know where they are going.
~ Earl Nightingale,#KEYS
98:You can do more with the grace of God than you think." ~ Saint John Baptist de la Salle, #KEYS
99:I think hell is something you carry around with you. Not somewhere you go. ~ Neil Gaiman, #KEYS
100:It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer ~ Albert Einstein, #KEYS
101:One scientific epoch ended and another began with James Clerk Maxwell. ~ Albert Einstein, #KEYS
102:Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
~ Mark Twain,#KEYS
103:Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?" ~ Bob Marley, #KEYS
104:Because he is content with himself he doesn't need other's approval. ~ Tao Te Ching, ch.30, #KEYS
105:How joyful to look upon the awakened and to keep company with the wise. ~ Buddhist Proverb, #KEYS
106:I desire that they confess the union of Jesus with the Father. ~ Saint Ignatius of Antioch, #KEYS
107:It is like the eternal void : filled with eternal possibilities. ~ Tao Te Ching, chapter 4, #KEYS
108:On a night with dew the mountains seem like next door neighbors. ~ Dakotsu Lida, 1885-1962, #KEYS
109:The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." ~ Dolly Parton, #KEYS
110:To pardon the oppressor is to deal harshly with the oppressed. ~ Saadi, #KEYS
111:Make friends with angels. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
112:Try to enjoy the great festival of life with other men! ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
113:Act well your given part; the choice rests not with you. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
114:All in calmness - the earth with half-opened eyes moves into winter. ~ Dakotsu Iida 1883-196, #KEYS
115:Don't live by your own rules, but in harmony with nature ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
116:He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. ~ Socrates, #KEYS
117:He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands." ~ Saint Benedict of Nursia, #KEYS
118:Identification with the body is dvaita. Non-identification is advaita. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
119:If you can make music with someone you don't need words. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
120:Invoke often! Inflame thyself with prayer! ~ Aleister Crowley, #KEYS
121:Let the Divine fill your thoughts with His Presence.
~ The Mother,#KEYS
122:Preoccupation with one's weakness is the last form taken by self-importance. ~ Rodney Collin, #KEYS
123:Rub your eyes, Look again with love at love. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
124:The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant. ~ Miyamoto Musashi, #KEYS
125:And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ~ Old Testament, #KEYS
126:Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me. ~ Whitman, #KEYS
127:You're always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company." ~ Diane Von Furstenberg, #KEYS
128:Be humble and peaceful, and Jesus will be with you. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
129:Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
130:Experiences are the chemicals of life with which the philosopher experiments.
~ Manly P Hall,#KEYS
131:He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two. ~ Victor Hugo, #KEYS
132:Every moment this cup fills with vision. This is my wine. I drink the given moment. ~ Bahauddin, #KEYS
133:Home is where you reminisce when you are far away and sing with sorrow. ~ Muro Saisei 1889-1962, #KEYS
134:I remembered you with my soul clenched
in that sadness of mine that you know. ~ Pablo Neruda,#KEYS
135:The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something." ~ Koun Yamada, #KEYS
136:A hundred years of education is nothing compared with one moment spent with God! ~ Shams Tabrizi, #KEYS
137:But when I know that the glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious. ~ Ajahn Chah, #KEYS
138:If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." ~ Dalai Lama, #KEYS
139:Thinking comfortable thoughts with a friend in silence in the cool evening. ~ Hyakuchi 1749-1836, #KEYS
140:To see things for what they are is to see with the eyes of the vastness itself." ~ Suzanne Segal, #KEYS
141:Whilst all the winds with melody are ringing.... ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound II.5, #KEYS
142:Darkness,
Wet with
The sound of the waves. ~ Santoka Taneda,#KEYS
143:Doubt grows with knowledge. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, #KEYS
144:I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times but somehow I am still in love with life. ~ Voltaire, #KEYS
145:That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons death may die.
~ H P Lovecraft,#KEYS
146:Tonglen is a way for you to be with people who need you - beginning with yourself. ~ Pema Chodron, #KEYS
147:Truth is above mind, it is in silence that one can enter into communication with it. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
148:Be pure and free within, unentangled with any creature. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
149:Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.
~ Rabindranath Tagore,#KEYS
150: Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary." ~ Blaise Pascal, #KEYS
151:Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary.
~ Blaise Pascal,#KEYS
152:Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others. ~ Pema Chodron, #KEYS
153:you can't extort from her with levers and with screws. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust I.672-75, #KEYS
154:Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." ~ Marcus Aurelius, #KEYS
155:Going on a pilgrimage is like falling in love with the greenness of faraway grass. ~ Lalla 1320-1392, #KEYS
156:Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.
~ Benjamin Disraeli,#KEYS
157:The biggest coward is a man who awakens a woman's love with no intention of loving her. ~ Bob Marley, #KEYS
158:With faith in the Divine Grace, all difficulties are solved.
~ The Mother,#KEYS
159:You shall confess your sins in the church and not go to your prayer with a bad conscience. ~ Didache, #KEYS
160:Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, #KEYS
161:Make a bad beginning and you'll contend with troubles ever after. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
162:Oh, Lord, nourish me not with love, but with the desire for love. ~ Ibn Arabi, #KEYS
163:The only real rest comes when you are alone with God. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
164:To believe is to think with assent. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
165:Until you are happy with who you are, you will never be happy because of what you have." ~ Zig Ziglar, #KEYS
166:Wet with morning dew
I go in the direction I want ~ Santoka Taneda,#KEYS
167:With God ruling in us, let us be immersed in the blessings of regeneration and resurrection. ~ Origen, #KEYS
168:An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.
~ William James,#KEYS
169:He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire.
~ Lao Tzu,#KEYS
170:I am not devaluing thoughts. Just do not mix up what we think with what actually is." ~ Taizan Maezumi, #KEYS
171:The owl of Minerva begins its flight only with the coming of the dusk. ~ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, #KEYS
172:There's a child in the forest! He plays a flute you can hear with your heart ears. ~ TheMidnightGospel, #KEYS
173:To desire with one's very soul every second of every day to accomplish one's aim. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo, #KEYS
174:We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. ~ Lucretius, #KEYS
175:You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, 1 Corinthians, 7:23, #KEYS
176:All men are born with a nose and five fingers, but no one is born with a knowledge of God.
~ Voltaire,#KEYS
177:He prays well who is so absorbed with God that he does not know he is praying. ~ Saint Francis de Sales, #KEYS
178:I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I'm with you. ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, #KEYS
179:It is difficult to fight with an enemy who longs more for battle than for victory. ~ Francesco Petrarca, #KEYS
180:Let the Lord of Truth be always with you. ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, #KEYS
181:Put up willingly with the faults of others if you wish others to put up with yours." ~ Saint John Bosco, #KEYS
182:True, I am in love with suffering, but I do not know if I deserve the honor. ~ Saint Ignatius of Loyola, #KEYS
183:I'll be with you to meet all difficulties-you can be sure of that. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
184:But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, 1 Corinthians, 6:17, #KEYS
185:Consciousness is eternal it is not vanquished with the destruction of the temporary body" ~ Bhagavad Gita, #KEYS
186:Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. ~ Carl Jung, #KEYS
187:Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose.
~ Leonardo da Vinci,#KEYS
188:Sing such a song with all of your heart that you'll never have to sing again. ~ Kabir, #KEYS
189:The heart is a thousand-stringed instrument that can only be tuned with Love. ~ Hafiz, #KEYS
190:We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
191:with an ultimate force, They are the supreme moments of our earthly existence." ~ Cecil A. Poole, mystic., #KEYS
192:With each and every breath, I dwell upon You; I shall never forget You.
~ Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib,#KEYS
193:and waters them with self-doubt." ~ Ma Jaya, (1940-2012), Wikipedia. From "The 11 Karmic Spaces,", (2012)., #KEYS
194:Fortify yourself with contentment for this is an impregnable fortress. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
195:For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, 1 Corinthians, 6:20, #KEYS
196:Jnana-Yoga means communion with God by means of knowledge. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
197:on a journey
traveling with the gods
numbering the days ~ Matsuo Basho,#KEYS
198:The philosophy of laughter will never have anything in common with the religion of tears.
~ Eliphas Levi,#KEYS
199:He who loves with purity considers not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver." ~ Thomas a Kempis, #KEYS
200:I saw my Lord with the eye of the heart
I asked, 'Who are You?'
He replied, 'You'. ~ Mansur al-Hallaj,#KEYS
201:It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #KEYS
202:Men that love wisdom must be acquainted with very many things indeed. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
203:We must be humble and reverent when face to face with the source of enlightenment. ~ Chinese Texts, I Ching, #KEYS
204:... Women will abandon feelings of delicacy, and cohabit with men out of wedlock." ~ Saint Senanus, Ireland #KEYS
205:Closeness to the Divine will always grow with the growth of consciousness, equanimity and love. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
206:Magick is the art of causing changes in consciousness to occur in accordance with the will.
~ Dion Fortune,#KEYS
207:Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." ~ Benjamin Disraeli, #KEYS
208:A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind." ~ John Neal, #KEYS
209:Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.
My Beloved is alone with me there, always. ~ Rabia al-Adawiyya,#KEYS
210:Man is divine so long as he is in communion with the Eternal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
211:Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." ~ Willie Nelson, #KEYS
212:The Lord was completely one with the Father and never acted independently of him. ~ Saint Ignatius of Antioch, #KEYS
213:With patience any difficulty can be overcome.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
214:Work done with joy is work done well. ~ The Mother, Some Answers From The Mother, S5, #KEYS
215:Mathematics reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love, for its own beauty. ~ Archimedes, #KEYS
216:The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains." ~ Josephine Baker, #KEYS
217:With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down, and will never be found again." ~ Revelation 18:21, #KEYS
218:Do not forget the covenant. Struggle with your lower self. Either you ride it, or it will ride you. ~ Al-Jilani, #KEYS
219:I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us. ~ Khalil Gibran, #KEYS
220:It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God. ~ C.S. Lewis #KEYS
221:Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well." ~ Jack Kornfield, #KEYS
222:He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor. ~ Saint Ignatius of Loyola, #KEYS
223:The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.
~ Rene Descartes,#KEYS
224:All men have the capacity of knowing themselves and acting with moderation. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
225:Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment. ~ Stephen Covey, #KEYS
226:The emancipated soul lives in the world but does not mix with it. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
227:Whatever good work you begin to do, beg of God with most earnest prayer to perfect it. ~ Saint Benedict of Nursia, #KEYS
228:What you contemplate, you touch. What you enter into in imagination, you make yourself one with.
~ Dion Fortune,#KEYS
229:because I am constantly talking with you. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
230:Calling upon God with one's mind steadfast is equivalent to a million repetitions of the Mantra. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
231:Destroy the darkness of delusion with the brightness of wisdom. ~ The Sutra on the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching, #KEYS
232:... Love the Divine alone and the Divine will always be with you. ~ The Mother, WOTM2, 1:1 #KEYS
233:Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. ~ Henry David Thoreau, #KEYS
234:Always perform your duties unattached, with your mind fixed on God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
235:For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.
~ Lao Tzu,#KEYS
236:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, John, 1:1,#KEYS
237:Man in many respects may be compared with those animals which have long been domesticated.
~ Charles Darwin, 1871,#KEYS
238:Men who love wisdom should acquaint themselves with a great many particulars. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
239:that Soul shines not forth; yet He is seen by subtle seers with superior, subtle intellect. ~ Katha Upanishad, 3:12, #KEYS
240:Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him? ~ Chuang Tzu, #KEYS
241:He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise. ~ Proverbs XIII 20, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
242:It is only with total humility, and in absolute stillness of mind that we can know what indeed we are." ~ Wei Wu Wei, #KEYS
243:To pick up a straw with loving intention is more to God than to remove mountains without love." ~ Gerhard Tersteegen, #KEYS
244:We share one Intelligence with heaven and the stars. ~ Macrobius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
245:When I am with you, everything is prayer.'' ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
246:all rivers
become one
with the ocean
~ Sora, @BashoSociety#KEYS
247:Anyone who has once called on the Master, with sincere faith and devotion has nothing more to fear. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
248:He that tells a lie to save his credit, wipes his mouth with his sleeves to spare his napkin.
~ Sir Thomas Overbury,#KEYS
249:Ive never been married, but I tell people Im divorced so they wont think somethings wrong with me.
~ Elayne Boosler,#KEYS
250:petals
falling
with easy hearts
~ Etsujin, @BashoSociety#KEYS
251:To fight with desire is hard: whatever it wishes, it buys at the price of soul. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
252:To work with all the passion of your being to acquire an inner light. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
253:Have the courage to be completely frank with the Divine. ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, #KEYS
254:Identification with the Supreme is only the other name for the destruction of the ego. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 130, #KEYS
255:Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden #KEYS
256:The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
~ Bertrand Russell,#KEYS
257:To compel men to do what appears good to oneself is the best means of making them disgusted with it. ~ Sri Ramakrishsa, #KEYS
258:Whenever anything is being accomplished, it is being done, I have learned, by a monomaniac with a mission.
~ Drucker,#KEYS
259:Follow peace with all men. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Hebrews, XII. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
260:if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another . . . ~ Anonymous, The Bible, #KEYS
261:Let all your things be done with charity. ~ I. Corinthians. XVI. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
262:A pure heart, open to the Light will be filled with the elixir of Truth. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
263:Do not complain, that shows discontent with the will of GOD in the present moment. ~ Saint Martin de Porres, (1579-1639), #KEYS
264:Instead of clearing his own heart the zealot tries to clear the world. ~ Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, #KEYS
265:Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #KEYS
266:Let the wise man fight Mara with the sword of wisdom. He should now protect what he has won, without attachment. ~ Buddha, #KEYS
267:The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart." ~ Saint Philip Neri, #KEYS
268:3) he eats with the disciples ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on John 21, lect. 1)., #KEYS
269:Sleep not until thou hast held converse with thyself. ~ Chinese Maxims, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
270:When scientific power outruns spiritual power, we end up with guided missles and misguided men.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.,#KEYS
271:... with the view of winning honor for themselves, they will hold each other as objects for ridicule." ~ Saint Columbcille, #KEYS
272:You are Rama Sastri. Make that name significant. Be one with Rama. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
273:But it is not that way with God ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on John 1, lect. 1)., #KEYS
274:God with form is visible, we can touch Him, as one does his dearest friend. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
275:To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfections." ~ Dogen Zenji, #KEYS
276:Whosoever thinketh with love, never offendeth any. ~ Antoine the Healer, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
277:With thorns in the inner world there will always be roses in the outer world, in law-able compensation." ~ George Gurdjieff, #KEYS
278:Discover your difference-the asynchrony with which you have been blessed or cursed-and make the most of it. ~ Howard Gardner, #KEYS
279:Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo, #KEYS
280:Everyday, at each moment, my blessings are with you.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 03 June,#KEYS
281:In accordance with the divine wisdom, genesis can only take place through destruction. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
282:Its shadows gleaming with the birth of gods, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 1:5, #KEYS
283:Make solitude a part of your life. In order to work with difficulty, we need to gather our inner strength." ~ Pema Chödrön, #KEYS
284:Steady efforts always bring great results. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
285:That which is produced with intention has passed over from non-existence to existence. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
286:Allah deals with you based upon your certainty of Him." ~ Sufi Proverb, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
287: If you ain't down with fractals, I feel bad for you, son I've got 99 problems, and 99 smaller problems inside of each one ~ ? #KEYS
288:If you find me not within you, you will never find me. For, I have been with you, from the beginning of me. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
289:That which comes from satan begins with calmness and ends in storm, indifference and apathy. ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, #KEYS
290:The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. ~ Albert Einstein, #KEYS
291:With confidence we shall advance; with certitude we shall wait. ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, #KEYS
292:With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes satin. ~ Persian Proverb, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
293:Do not interrupt life's natural flow by damming its river at every bend with sticks of analysis and definition. ~ Omar Khayyam, #KEYS
294:Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with your might.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson,#KEYS
295:Have confidence, I am near you.
With all my tender love. ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, [T5],#KEYS
296:I am with you and I will take you to the goal. Have an unshakable faith and all will go well. Blessings.
~ The Mother?, [T2],#KEYS
297:Let us be one even with those who do not wish to be one with us. ~ Bossuet, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
298:Let us sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
299:The eye of Faith is not one with the eye of Knowledge. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Karmayogin, In Either Case, #KEYS
300:The hour will come for the culture of the soul in solitary communion with God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
301:When the past is always with you, it may as well be present; and if it is present, it will be future as well. ~ William Gibson, #KEYS
302:Cry unto the Lord with a longing and yearning heart, and then you shall see Him ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
303:If man surrenders himself to Tao, he identifies himself with Tao. ~ Lao-tse, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
304:Man is divine so long as he is in communion with the Eternal. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
305:One gains the purest joy from spirited things only when they are not tied in with earning one's livelihood.
~ Albert Einstein,#KEYS
306:The full moon
ringed with stars
deep green sk
~ Shiki, @BashoSociety#KEYS
307:Whoso seeketh with diligence, he shall find. ~ Bahaullah: the Seven Valleys, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
308:With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things. ~ William Wordsworth, #KEYS
309:With Reality on the one hand and Illusion on the other, I constantly experience as it were, a pull on either side. ~ Meher Baba, #KEYS
310:A steady hope helps much on the way. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 15 August,#KEYS
311:Be out of sync with your times for just one day, and you will see how much eternity you contain within you. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, #KEYS
312:Disillusionment in living is finding that no one can really ever be agreeing with you completely in anything.
~ Gertrude Stein,#KEYS
313:Do not let the past disturb you, just leave everything in the Sacred Heart and begin again with joy." ~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta, #KEYS
314:It is far more useful to commune with oneself than with others. ~ Demophilus, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
315:Let us sing a new song, not with our lips, but with our lives. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
316:One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything. ~ Georg C Lichtenberg, #KEYS
317:When we give up all, we become flooded with light, exceedingly bright with God." ~ Meister Eckhart, #KEYS
318:alone with a
gold star
dawn
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
319:The devotee who goes on patiently with his devotions is sure to find God at last. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
320:The mind of the worldly man is largely diluted with the water of impure thoughts. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
321:When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
~ Henry Ford,#KEYS
322:You are 27 or 28 right? It is very tough to live at that age. When nothing is sure. I have sympathy with you.
~ Haruki Murakami,#KEYS
323:Even in death, the individuality of the person with samskaras is not list. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
324:e will see with the divine eyes the mysteries of the eternal art. ~ Baha-ullah, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
325:If the presence of God overlaps simultaneously with whatever we are doing, then anything we work on performs eternity. ~ Bahauddin, #KEYS
326:Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works. ~ Carl Sagan , #KEYS
327:Rest is in Him alone. Man knows no peace in the world; but he has no disturbance when he is with God. ~ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, #KEYS
328:The highest teachers are those who say that God is with form, as well as formless. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
329:To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility. ~ Saint John of the Cross, #KEYS
330:To escape from the world means that one's mind is not concerned with the opinions of the world." ~ Dogen Zenji, #KEYS
331:a moon
with no clouds
together through the night
~ Ikkyu, @BashoSociety#KEYS
332:Know for certain that He will not leave you. He will never fail you when you cry His name with a longing heart. ~ Swami Saradananda, #KEYS
333:small birds
with happy sounds
on a wooden bridge
~ Buson, @BashoSociety#KEYS
334:With patience one arrives always.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Will and Perserverance, Patience,#KEYS
335:Battle with all thy force to cross the great torrent of desire. ~ Buddhist Texts, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
336:cold air
falling with
the rain
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
337:Have your loins girt about with truth. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ephesians, VI. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
338:It's not that I disagreed with Bush's economic policy... I believed he was a child of Satan here to destroy the planet. ~ Bill Hicks, #KEYS
339:Let your tongue never cease to be moist with the remembrance of God. ~ Hadith, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
340:Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.
~ Abraham Heschel, [T5],#KEYS
341:Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son ~ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever., #KEYS
342:Bhakti, Jnana, Yoga are names for Self Realization or mukti which is our real nature. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by day with Bhagavan, #KEYS
343:Cannabis is used by necromancers, in combination with ginseng to set forward time in order to reveal future events. ~ Ming-I Pieh Lu, #KEYS
344:Happiness stems from your relationship with Allah ~ Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
345:He is everywhere in the world and stands with all in His embrace. ~ Bhagavad Gita, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
346:If thou canst not equal thyself with God, thou canst not understand Him. ~ Hermes, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
347:If you want to assist at Mass, with devotion and with fruit, think of the sorrowful Mother at the feet of Calvary." ~ Saint Padre Pio, #KEYS
348:Let each suffering pave the wave to transformation. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
349:The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
350:The saints were so completely dead to themselves they cared very little whether others agreed with then or not!" ~ Saint John Vianney, #KEYS
351:Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty." ~ Saint Augustine, #KEYS
352:With the sense of possession comes selfishness, and selfishness brings on misery. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #KEYS
353:A constant aspirations conquers all defects. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, May 21,#KEYS
354:From the moment I picked up your book until I put it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it. ~ Groucho Marx, #KEYS
355:If a devotee prays to God with real longing, God cannot help revealing Himself to him. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
356:If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. ~ Saint Charles Borromeo, #KEYS
357:I'm only lost if I'm going someplace in particular." ~ Megan Scribner, See "Teaching With Heart, Fire & Poetry," http://bit.ly/35cFwKD, #KEYS
358:Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one service to the community to another, with God ever in mind. ~ Marcus Aurelius, #KEYS
359:Love and devotion towards the Guru makes the disciple's life beautiful, filled with light and divinely fragrant. ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMYI, #KEYS
360:Only after the last judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children. ~ Saint John Vianney, #KEYS
361:On the bare peak where Self is alone with Nought ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Issue, #KEYS
362:The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." ~ Epictetus, #KEYS
363:Die for love: lay down your life, and life with you will stay. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
364:Drop the craving for self, for permanence, for particular circumstances, and go straight ahead with the movement of life." ~ Alan Watts, #KEYS
365:greeting my
reflection
with love
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
366:It is not sufficient just to remain calm in the event of catastrophe or emergency. When challenged by adversity, charge onwards with co, #KEYS
367:It is our lack of faith that creates our limitations. With my blessings,
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
368:No man of war entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. ~ II Timothy. II. 4, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
369:One is a true hero who performs all the duties of the world with the mind fixed on God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
370:Our inner self is provided with all necessary faculties ~ Meng-Tse VII. I. IV. I. 3, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
371:To travel this road, self-sincerity is necessary - and to be sincere with oneself is more difficult than you think. ~ Attar of Nishapur, #KEYS
372:To travel this road, self-sincerity is necessary—and to be sincere with oneself is more difficult than you think. ~ Attar of Nishapur, #KEYS
373:Treat transitory things as passing, as necessary for the moment. Cling to eternal things with anenduring desire. ~ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, #KEYS
374:True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are; it is what you become.
~ A B Purani, EVENING TALKS WITH SRI AUROBINDO,#KEYS
375:A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.
~ Abraham Maslow,#KEYS
376:A new ordeal always brings with it a new awakening. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - II, Ideals Face to Face, #KEYS
377:A spiritual man is happy with the whole existence. He says 'yes' to the whole existence." ~ Swami Dhyan Giten, born in Sweden. Author of, #KEYS
378:He must content himself with little and never ask for more than he has. ~ Baha-ullah, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
379:I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, John, 14:16, [T0],#KEYS
380:Nowhere and in no situation is the sage dissatisfied with his condition. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
381:Our life is a paradox with God for key. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Secret Knowledge, #KEYS
382:Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. ~ Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, #KEYS
383:Struggle to pierce that darkness above you with the dart of longing love, and do not give up, whatever happens. ~ Anonymous English Monk, #KEYS
384:To it with good heart, O pilgrim, on to that other shore ! ~ Book of Golden Precepts, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
385:You are not separate from the whole. You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don't have a life. You are life." ~ Eckhart Tolle, #KEYS
386:Along a moonlit river
our thoughts move
with the wate
~ Etsujin, @BashoSociety#KEYS
387:Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time.
~ Jorge Luis Borges, [T1],#KEYS
388:I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Psalms, 32:8, #KEYS
389:Let the Divine Presence be always with you.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [T1],#KEYS
390:The deeper the humility with which we conduct ourselves, the better it is for us. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
391:The Divine's peace must dwell constantly in our hearts. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
392:Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.~ Dogen Zenji, #KEYS
393:All sincere prayers are granted, every call is answered. With my blessings,
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
394:Await with calm the moment of extinction or perhaps of displacement. ~ Marcus Aurelius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
395:The tree laden with fruit always bends low. So if you wish to be great, be lowly and meek. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
396:With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes satin. With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
~ Chinese Proverb,#KEYS
397:An apostle of the truth should have no contest with any in the world. ~ Samyutta Nikaya, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
398:Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels. ~ Goya, #KEYS
399:It may be given to the householder to see God. It was the case with Janaka, the great sage. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
400:The more we know the more we can see that we do not know. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
401:Your naked body should only belong to those who fall in love with your naked soul. ~ Charlie Chaplin in a letter to his daughter, Geraldine, #KEYS
402:A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans. ~ Italo Calvino, #KEYS
403:„Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth." ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
404:For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
~ Anonymous, The Bible?,#KEYS
405:Friendship with God, which is charity, is impossible without faith ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1-2.65.5)., #KEYS
406:In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others be gentle and kind. ~ Tao Te Ching, chapter 8, #KEYS
407:Karma in its effect on character is the most tremendous power that man has to deal with. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #KEYS
408:leaves with
poems on them
are falling
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
409:Psychotherapy may begin with the primitive, but it must end with the divine, for both are integral factors in the human mind. ~ Dion Fortune, #KEYS
410:The Yogi knows by his capacity for a containing or dynamic identity with things and persons and forces.~ The Mother, #KEYS
411:At play with him as with her child or slave, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Secret Knowledge, #KEYS
412:Go on aspiring and the necessary progress is bound to come. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
413:I can have nothing to do with your money. For if I accept it, my mind will be always with it. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
414:If we are calm and persevering, we shall find not only ourselves, but our souls, and with that, God Himself. ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, #KEYS
415:In spring
your bag shall be filled
with cherry-blossoms
~ Yoshihide, @BashoSociety#KEYS
416:Start with God - the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
~ King Solomon,#KEYS
417:The man of knowledge with-out a good heart is like the bee without honey ~ Sadi: Gulistan, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
418:Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed. ~ Joseph Campbell, The Hero with A Thousand Faces, #KEYS
419:with tonight's
moon we begin
to dance
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
420:Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate." ~ Zhuangzi, #KEYS
421:For all things difficult to acquire the intelligent man works with perseverance. ~ Lao-tse, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
422:Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. ~ Proverbs IV. 23, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
423:Let your words corres-pond with your actions and your actions with your words. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
424:The cause of the distress of a living entity is forgetfulness of his relationship with God.
~ Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita, As It Is PURPORT,#KEYS
425:The Divine alone is the support that never fails.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You [14],#KEYS
426:Within the Supreme Brahma, the worlds are being told like beads:
Look upon that rosary with the eyes of wisdom. ~ Kabir,#KEYS
427:yoga: union with the Divine - by extension: the path which leads to this union
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
428:Abide in prayers and devotion, with no thought of samsara for at least three days, if not more. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
429:A diamond was laying in the street covered with dirt. Many fools passed by. Someone who knew diamonds picked it up. ~ Kabir, #KEYS
430:Deck thyself now with majesty and excellence and array thyself with glory and beauty. ~ Job, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
431:Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Psalms, 139:12, #KEYS
432:If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you." ~ Les Brown, #KEYS
433:I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity. ~ William Blake, #KEYS
434:Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the person with all the facts." ~ Albert Einstein, #KEYS
435:Sufism consists of purity of a person's relationship with God." ~ Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
436:Even if the vilest sinner worships me with exclusive devotion, he should be accounted a saint, for he has rightly resolved. ~ BHAGAVAD GITA 9:30, #KEYS
437:Have faith in the Divine, and go deep inside yourself. My help is always with you. ~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, #KEYS
438:If we practice love of neighbor with great perfection, we will have done everything. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila, #KEYS
439:In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. ~ Saint Paul, (Eph. 6:16), #KEYS
440:In sorrow and suffering, go straight to God with confidence, and you will be strengthened, enlightened and instructed. ~ Saint John of the Cross, #KEYS
441:It may be given even to the householder to see God. It was the case with Janaka, the great sage. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
442:What we have caught and what we have killed we have left behind, but what has escaped us we bring with us. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
443:Whenever I meet someone I try to look for their positive qualities, which immediately gives me a feeling of connectedness with them ~ Dalai Lama, #KEYS
444:When you see the Seer, you merge in the Self, you become one with it; that is the heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
445:With devotion within your heart, it is not absolutely necessary that you must visit holy places. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
446:All work must be play, but a divine play, played for the Divine, with the Divine.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
447:By contact with the facts of life Art attains to vitality. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Threefold Life, #KEYS
448:Comparison with others brings in a wrong standard of values. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Ego and Its Forms, #KEYS
449:I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. ~ Susan B Anthony, #KEYS
450:Our life is a paradox with God for key.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Secret Knowledge, [T5],#KEYS
451:The life of grace heals us with respect to our mind ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on Colossians, ch. 3)., #KEYS
452:The spiritual struggle has much in common with ordinary warfare; and in this battle we must likewise be brave. ~ Philokalia, Silouan the Athonite, #KEYS
453:The sunset doesn't know it's the sunset, but it is the sunset. And as with the sunset, all things are like disappearing thoughts. ~ Sodo Yokoyama, #KEYS
454:Wherever you go, whatever you do, I am always with you. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ramana Periya Puranam, 402, [T5], #KEYS
455:All the time - when you drop off to sleep or wake up, when you eat or drink, or talk with someone - keep your heart at work secretly. ~ Philokalia, #KEYS
456:Endeavour with your whole energy and leave no place for carelessness. ~ Fo -shu-hing-tsan-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
457:Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, "You owe me". Look what happens with a love like that; it lights the whole sky. ~ Hafez, #KEYS
458:Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
459:feeling safe
with a person
under a dark moon
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
460:For with God both of these of necessity match each other exactly: practice should be sustained by prayer and prayer by practice. ~ Saint Gregory I, #KEYS
461:It is difficult to lead one God-ward if they have been intoxicated with wine, woman and the world. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
462:Let us seek the treasure within our hearts, and when we have found it let us hold fast to it with all our might. ~ Philokalia, Nikiphoros the Monk, #KEYS
463:The intensity of love stems from the union of the beloved with the lover ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 2-2.26.8)., #KEYS
464:We really are one with Master or Bhagavan. The Master is God; one discovers it in the end. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
465:With trust in the Divines Grace all obstacles can be surmounted. with my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
466:A pure heart, open to the Light, will be filled with the elixir of Truth." ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
467:As food mixed with poison, so is abhorrent to me a prosperity soiled by injustice. ~ Jatakanmla, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
468:Lose yourself altogether when bowing down to God with a single-minded devotion and you will obtain joy and power in proportion. ~ Sri Anandamayi Ma, #KEYS
469:One must continue spiritual practices without interruption and with single-minded devotion as long as the Goal is not achieved. ~ SWAMI VIRAJANANDA, #KEYS
470:stand in your center
and be flooded
with joy
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
471:Success is the development of the power with which to get whatever one wants in life without interfering with the rights of others. ~ Napoleon Hill, #KEYS
472:with awareness the
appearance of conflict
disappears into unity
~ Tilopa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
473:with the moonlight
comes the cold
late autumn
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
474:Believe in the fundamental truth; it is to meditate with rapture on the Everlasting. ~ Awaghosha, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
475:in the long night
writing poetry with the
broken edge of the moon
~ Buson, @BashoSociety#KEYS
476:Look within, and you will find the inner teacher, since he is in you and with you. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
477:On meeting with a young woman, you should salute her, addressing her at the same time as your mother ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
478:A lonely day is God's way of saying that He wants to spend some quality time with you." ~ Jami, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
479:Does God ever become angry with us? If yes, when?
When you believe He is angry.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
480:enlightenment
is intimacy
with all things
~ Dogen Zenji, @BashoSociety#KEYS
481:Everything must be transformed by the knowledge of the Truth. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 6 May,#KEYS
482:His Grace is always with those who want to progress and realise the Truth of tomorrow.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I,#KEYS
483:If you must be crazy, let it not be with the things of the world; be crazy with the love of the Lord. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
484:It is only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself if not of the world. ~ Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, #KEYS
485:The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us. ~ Dorothy Day, #KEYS
486:The man of merit and ability is always humble and meek, but the fool is always puffed up with vanity. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
487:To be in full union with the Divine is the final aim. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Aim of the Integral Yoga, #KEYS
488:All other things have a portion of everything, but Mind is infinite and self-ruled, and is mixed with nothing but is all alone by itself. ~ Anaxagoras, #KEYS
489:A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, #KEYS
490:By His institution, the apostles healed the sick by anointing them with oil ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1-2.108.2)., #KEYS
491:Human feeling is like the mighty rivers that bless the earth: it does not wait for beauty ~ it flows with resistless force and brings beauty with it. , #KEYS
492:If you always think of a holy person, you will become holy and pure. Pure character is formed by close association with the holy. ~ Swami Adbhutananda, #KEYS
493:Is it not a wonder of wonders? The quest "Who am I?" is the axe with which to cut off the ego. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
494:Practice non-action. Work without doing. Taste the tasteless. Magnify the small, increase the few. Reward bitterness with care. ~ Tao Te Ching, ch.63 , #KEYS
495:Seaside temple
incoming tide flows with
the sound of the holy flute
~ Buson, @BashoSociety#KEYS
496:The absolute immunity can only come with the supramental change. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Illness and Health, #KEYS
497:The nearer one approaches God, the more is one's heart flooded with blessed feelings and love for Him. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
498:The tamasic devotee has fiery faith. He employs force with God, like a robber seizing things by force. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
499:To grieve is an insult to Sri Aurobindo who is here with us, conscious and alive.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, [T5],#KEYS
500:Every breath of ours should be associated with the Lord, in our mind. God is behind you. always remember Him in everything you do. ~ Swami Vijnanananda, #KEYS
501:Fall in Love with
the agony of Love not the Ecstasy.
Then the Beloved will Fall in Love with you. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi,#KEYS
502:God is identical with His attributes, so that it may be said that He is the knowledge, the knower, and the known. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
503:He who is face to face with reality, blessed with a vision of God, does not regard women with any fear. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
504:How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
505:I meet the sincere man with sincerity and tie insincere also with sincerity. ~ Lao-tse: Tao-te-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
506:Since the words of the sages all deal with supernatural matters which are ultimate, they must be expressed in riddles and analogies. ~ Moses Maimonides, #KEYS
507:Teishin :::
"When, when?" I sighed.
The one I longed for
Has finally come;
With her now,
I have all that I need. ~ Taigu Ryokan, [T5],#KEYS
508:The blue sky opens out farther and farther, the damage I have done to myself fades, a million suns come forward with light. ~ Kabir, #KEYS
509:The one who reckons himself one with everyone, because he seems to see himself unceasingly in each one, is a monk. ~ Evagrius Ponticus, On Prayer §125, #KEYS
510:Those whose hearts are burnt with the fire of worldly desires cannot be impressed with spiritual ideas. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
511:To be alone with the Divine is the highest of all privileged states for the sadhak.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - IV,#KEYS
512:What we fight with is so small, and when we win, it makes us small. What we want is to be defeated, decisively, by successively greater things. ~ Rilke, #KEYS
513:A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ~ Revelation 12:1, #KEYS
514:Bare your forehead, waiting for the first blessing of light, and sing with the bird of the morning in glad faith. ~ Rabindranath Tagore, Fruit Gathering, #KEYS
515:Call with Bhakti upon the hallowed name of the Lord and the mountain of your sins shall go out of sight. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
516:There is no greater bliss than that of being like a new born child in front of the Divine.
With my blessings ~ The Mother,#KEYS
517:There is no greater courage than that of recognising ones own mistakes With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
518:To feed death with her works is here life's doom. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Glory and Fall of Life, #KEYS
519:You are looking for God with his eyes. This truth is so simple, shocking and radical that it is easy to miss among one's flurry of seeking. ~ Adyashanti, #KEYS
520:You did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of baptism. ~ Saint John Chrysostom, #KEYS
521:Your friends either go through this inner transformation with you or drift out of your life. Some relationships dissolve, others deepen. ~ Eckhart Tolle, #KEYS
522:Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes." ~ Alan W. Watts, #KEYS
523:A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." ~ Revelation 12:1, #KEYS
524:a kitten
prancing with
an acorn
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
525:All existences are instinct with the life of the one indivisible Spirit. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Two Natures, #KEYS
526:And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears. ~ Kahlil Gibran, #KEYS
527:For no reason it rains,
whispers of reality.
How lovely it sings,
drop by drop.
Sitting and lying I listen
with emptied mind.
~ Chin'gak,#KEYS
528:For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
529:I am not the body. I am one with the universal soul. I am that being which is absolute and unconditioned. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
530:If you want to see God, repeat his name with firm faith and try to discriminate the real from the unreal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
531:Listen with ears of tolerance.
See through the eyes of compassion.
Speak with the language of love. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi,#KEYS
532:maple trees
tipped with stars
a lone bell rings out
~ Ogawa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
533:No more words. In the name of this place we drink in with our breathing, stay quiet like a flower so the nightbirds will start singing. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
534:O friend, fill not with mortal thoughts thy heart which is the seat of eternal mysteries. ~ Bahaullah, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
535:Remember to keep in mind that all the past is nothing and that every day we should say with David, "Now I begin to love my God." ~ Saint Francis de Sales, #KEYS
536:To follow the path to the end, one must be armed with a very patient endurance.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Path,#KEYS
537:You can read sacred books and yet be far away from the Divine; and you can read the most stupid productions and be in touch with the Divine. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
538:You should not have a favorite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well. ~ Miyamoto Musashi, #KEYS
539:God with form and God without form are not two different beings. He who is with form is also without form. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
540:If we cannot define the Eternal, we can unify ourselves with it. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Modes of the Self, #KEYS
541:Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit; for, without being seen, they are present with you. ~ Saint Francis de Sales, #KEYS
542:Often man is preoccupied with human rules and forgets the inner law. ~ Antoine the Healer; Revelations, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
543:Tell me why you should be in search of a goal? Why are you not content with the present condition? ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
544:Those who come with the Avatars are either souls who are eternally free or who are born for the last time. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
545:You can say that the Supermind is harder than diamond and yet more fluid than gas.
~ A B Purani, Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo by A B Purani, p. 478.,#KEYS
546:A great joy is always deep in our heart, and always we can find it there. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
547:Allah Almighty said: "Fear not for I am with you. I hear and see everything. ~ Qur'an 20:46] ~ Quran, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
548:And the third is CLARITY so that things with bright colors are said to be beautiful ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1.39.8)., #KEYS
549:By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with God. Begin all your prayers in the presence of God. ~ Saint Francis de Sales, #KEYS
550:Eternal truth lives not with mortal men. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Dream Twilight of the Earthly Real, #KEYS
551:Happy species endowed with infinite appreciation of pleasures and low sensitivity to pain would probably not survive the evolutionary battle ~ Amos Tversky, #KEYS
552:Identification with the body is an error, not an illusion. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Adwaita of Shankaracharya, #KEYS
553:I shall always be with you, my dear little child, in the struggle and in the victory.
~ The Mother, Some Answers From The Mother,#KEYS
554:It is true that God dwells even in the most wicked, but it is not meant that we should associate with them. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
555:the frost
sleeps with
an orphaned child
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
556:The reason deals with the finite and is helpless before the infinite. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, Vijnana or Gnosis, #KEYS
557:There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #KEYS
558:THe soul cannot think the Divine but knows Him with certitude. With my blessings. ~ The Mother, Mantras of the Mother, 26 December, #KEYS
559:The Three Thousand Worlds
that step forward
with the light snow,
and the light snow that falls
in those Three Thousand Worlds ~ Taigu Ryokan,#KEYS
560:When the aspiration is awake each day brings us nearer to the goal. With my blessings,
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, [T4],#KEYS
561:with lightning
one is not
enlightened
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
562:You might meet with many obstacles in your life. But if you are a true practitioner, you will use them as training grounds of the path. ~ Chamtrul Rinpoche, #KEYS
563:It is far better to talk to God than to talk about Him, for there is so much self love intermingled with spiritual conversations. ~ Saint Therese of Lisieux, #KEYS
564:realize that He wants to open for you to the door of intimacy with Him." ~ Ibn Ata'illah al-Sakandari, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
565:Rise with the world in thy bosom,
O Word gathered into the heart of the Ineffable. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Future Poetry, Ascent,#KEYS
566:There is a great power in the simple confidence of a child. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, November 17th,#KEYS
567:The saviors carry the multitudes, burdened with cares and sorrows of the world, to the feet of the almighty. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
568:To be evenminded
is the greatest virtue.
Wisdom is to speak
the truth and act
in keeping with its nature. ~ Heraclitus,#KEYS
569:With pain and labour all creation comes. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain, #KEYS
570:Difficult is union with God when the self is not under governance; but when the self is well-subjected, there are means to come by it. ~ Bhagavad Gita XI. 38, #KEYS
571:Don't seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.
~ Epictetus,#KEYS
572:Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause. ~ Saint John of Kanty, #KEYS
573:Force of character is man's great strength. If he uses it in his dealings with the world he will indeed be victorious in most directions. ~ SRI ANANDAMAYI MA, #KEYS
574:He who turns inward with a calm mind to see where the consciousness of 'I' arises, realizes the Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
575:Ravenous waves that march
With blue fierce nostrils quivering for prey, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Prologue,#KEYS
576:The circle of love's inspired madness surpasses the knowledge of colleges with their quibbling over explanations and conclusions. ~ Hafiz, #KEYS
577:The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. ~ Nikola Tesla, #KEYS
578:The strength is always with you to be always faithful to the Divine Will.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Faithfulness, [T5],#KEYS
579:The worldy-minded person can never be fired with enthusiasm, though God be preached to him innumerable times. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
580:When illusion passes away, a single ray of divine light is sufficient to flood you with eternal divine bliss. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
581:You must know what you want and want it with your whole will. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Wrong Movements of the Vital, #KEYS
582:Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it." ~ Marcus Aurelius, #KEYS
583:Alone the wise Can walk through fire with unblinking eyes. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Epigram, #KEYS
584:Contraries harmonise with each other; the finest harmony springs from things that are unlike. ~ Heraclitus, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
585:Even the animal is more in touch with a certain harmony in things than man. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - I, Science and Yoga, #KEYS
586:For one who lives, moves, has their being in God and is intoxicated with His love, God has incarnated Himself. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
587:For we are always glad to have something to comfort us, and only with difficulty does a man divest himself of self. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
588:Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Matthew, 22:37, #KEYS
589:Learn to love Him, call on Him earnestly with the love of a lover. You have none other. Just think, 'He alone exists, He has become all.' ~ Swami Akhandananda, #KEYS
590:On the other hand, the virtue that God asks of us is the use of the same powers based on a good conscience in accordance with God's command. ~ Basil the Great, #KEYS
591:The body of God,
The link of the finite with the Infinite, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Satyavan and Savitri,#KEYS
592:The only important thing is to follow the Divine's truth with love and joy. My blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 9 May,#KEYS
593:Whatever the difficulty if we keep truly quiet the solution will come. With my blessings,
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, [T5],#KEYS
594:When the mind is one with the deeper spirit, there results the absolute knowledge of the self. ~ Patanjali, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
595:Your duty as a married man is to live with your wife as brother and sister after one or two children are born. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
596:A single occupation, a single aim, a single joy - the Divine.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, 14, [T5],#KEYS
597:At one time I am clothed, at another naked -- so Brahman is at one time with attributes and at another without. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
598:Closeness to the Divine will always grow with the growth of consciousness, equanimity and love.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
599:come
play with me
little orphan sparrow
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
600:Critics have found fault with all the world's scriptures, but as yet they have discovered no useful substitutes. ~ Manly P Hall, The Bible, the Story of a Book, #KEYS
601:For one who lives, moves, has their being in God, and is intoxicated with His love, God has incarnated Himself. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
602:He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child. Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak, but its grip is powerful." ~ Lao Tzu, #KEYS
603:It is in the transparency of faith and knowledge, and not with their aid, that the sphere of Being becomes perceptible in its entire diaphaneity. ~ Jean Gebser, #KEYS
604:Let every page of this Book be filled with song-for it is a Book of incantation!
~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Book 4, Magick,#KEYS
605:Music deepens the emotions and harmonises them with each other. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Early Cultural Writings, The National Value of Art, #KEYS
606:Perfect love is inconsistent with the admission of the motive of fear. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Godward Emotions, #KEYS
607:The prayer of faith is the only kind that is real prayer, and it is trust in God with full acknowledgment of God's power and love. ~ Archibald Thomas Robertson, #KEYS
608:To make hardship less severe is to face it with strength. That is man's life. Man wants to conquer and God has given the power for it. ~ SWAMI TRIGUNATITANANDA, #KEYS
609:With Bhakti in your heart, it is not necessary that you must visit the holy places. You are well where you are. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
610:You are the supreme being, and yet thinking yourself to be separate from It, you strive to be united with It. What is stranger than this? ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
611:a kitten
dancing with
the falling leaves
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
612:Arunachala! Thou blazing fire of Jnana! Deign to wrap my mother in Thy light and make her one with Thee. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
613:Ground yourself, strip yourself down to blind loving Silence. Stay there, until you see you are gazing at the Light with its own ageless eyes. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #KEYS
614:Heavy is godhead to bear with its mighty sun-burden of lustre. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ahana, #KEYS
615:Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.
~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Book 4, Magick,#KEYS
616:Many dwell upon the glory of God's works. Many are charmed with the garden, but few seek the Lord of the garden. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
617:Sometimes we know them least
Whom most we love and constantly consort with. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act III,#KEYS
618:The journey of the pilgrims is two steps and no more. One is the passing out of selfhood, And one towards mystical Union with the Friend." ~ Mahmoud Shabestari, #KEYS
619:The reason deals successfully only with the settled and the finite. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, The Reason as Governor of Life, #KEYS
620:Those who refuse to be humble cannot be saved. They cannot say with the prophet: 'See, God comes to my aid; the Lord is the helper of my soul.' ~ Venerable Bede, #KEYS
621:We search for everything we believe we don't have, not knowing that everything we're looking for is already inside us. We are born with it." ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz, #KEYS
622:with the tide
small shells
mixed with clover
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
623:Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark." ~ Jay Danzie, #KEYS
624:Any spiritual endeavour which enables to raise the human consciousness to cosmic consciousness, to unite the individual with God, is Yoga.
~ Swami Avdheshanand,#KEYS
625:Daily we must aspire to conquer all mistakes, all obscurities, all ignorances. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
626:Good and evil cannot bind him who has realised the oneness of nature and self with the Eternal. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
627:Let the Divine Consciousness be the leading power in your life.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, 10, [T5],#KEYS
628:Observing the rules and injunctions prescribed by the Master, if one calls upon one's Chosen Ideal with steadfastness, one achieves everything. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
629:Samsara is the tendency to find fault with others, an unbearable fire-bowl, a dungeon dark, a deep swamp of three poisons, a fearful wave of evil lives. ~ Naropa, #KEYS
630:Self-interest is the prolongation in us of the animal. Humanity begins in man with disinterestedness. ~ Amiel, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
631:There is no quality higher than forbearance. With a firm determination, endure all that is said or done by others ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
632:The Will is mightier than any law, fate or force. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Isha Upanishad, The Ishavasyopanishad with a Commentary in English, #KEYS
633:This world is in love with its own ignorance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain, #KEYS
634:Whatever happens we must remain quiet and trust the Divine's Grace. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 25 October,#KEYS
635:Yes, my child, it is quite true that the Divine is the sole refuge - with Him is absolute safety.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
636:Yoga means 'yoke', 'to join', that is, to join the soul of man with the supreme Soul or God. ~ Swami Vivekananda, (C.W. VIII. 36), #KEYS
637:Your duty as a married man is to live with your wife as brother and sister after one or two children born to you. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
638:alone with a
bonfire of leaves
autumn rain
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
639:Amateurs believe that the world should work the way they want it to. Professionals realize that they have to work with the world as they find it." ~ Shane Parrish, #KEYS
640:A new light shall break upon the earth, a light of Truth and Harmony. With my blessings. ~ The Mother, Mantras of the Mother, 24 December, #KEYS
641:Concern yourself with that which kills your ego and brings life to your heart. ~ Mawlay Al Arabi Al Darqawi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
642:I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuse." ~ Kobe Bryant, #KEYS
643:Letting go is the lesson. Letting go is always the lesson. Have you ever noticed how much of our agony is all tied up with craving and loss?" ~ Susan Gordon Lydon, #KEYS
644:Look at the simplicity of the Truth with a straight and simple gaze. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Depression and Despondency, #KEYS
645:The true believer does not give up repeating God's glory even if, with his lifelong devotion, he fails to see God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
646:What counts now are the value-less facts, the material and the rational. All else is regarded with condescension as being of only sentimental value. ~ Jean Gebser, #KEYS
647:When you see the Seer himself [herself], you merge in the Self, you become one with it; that is the heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
648:a peach tree
still with it's leaves
autumn wind
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
649:For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Romans, 8:18,#KEYS
650:God makes Himself felt anywhere and everywhere when there is an Incarnation who floods the world with spirituality. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
651:Man is deluded by the intermingling of the conscious Self with the insentient body. This delusion must end. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
652:My child, I have not abandoned you, and I am ready to forget, to efface all revolt. My help is always with you. ~ The Mother, Agenda Vol 1, #KEYS
653:One must do things with all the ardour of one's soul, with all the strength of one's will.
~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1950-1951,#KEYS
654:One of the two great steps in this Yoga is to take refuge in the Mother.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother, [T1],#KEYS
655:The daily examination of conscience is an indispensible help if we are to follow our Lord with sincerity of heart and integrity of life. ~ Saint Jose Maria Escriva, #KEYS
656:What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books. ~ Thomas Carlyle, #KEYS
657:With good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ since many suffer much more for the world. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
658:An upright life tastes calm repose by night and by day; it is penetrated with a serene felicity. ~ Buddhist Text, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
659:Embracing Him, accepting Him, wedding Him, become one with Him, to such a degree and so intensely that there may be left no trace of separation. ~ SWAMI RAMA TIRTHA, #KEYS
660:f you are keen on realising God, repeat His name' with firm faith, and try to discriminate the Real from the unreal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
661:Human feeling is like the mighty rivers that bless the earth: it does not wait for beauty ~ it flows with resistless force and brings beauty with it. ~ George Eliot, #KEYS
662:If you are keen on realising God, repeat His name with firm faith, and try to discriminate the Real from the unreal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
663:If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
664:In samadhi, the self is merged in the Universal Soul, never to come back -- this is the case with ordinary devotees. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
665:Knowledge relating to God keeps pace with faith. Where there is little faith, it is idle to look for much knowledge. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
666:Nobody can really help—only the Divine Grace. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
667:One is safe to live in the world if one has Jnana and non-attachment, and along with these, intense devotion to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
668:Reason cannot dwell with the madness of love : love has nothing to do with the human reason. ~ Attar of Nishapur, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
669:Seek within yourself the reason for every passion, and finding it, arm yourself and dig out its root with the sword of suffering. ~ Philokalia, Paisius Velichkovsky, #KEYS
670:So the world, grounded in a timeless movement by the Soul which suffuses it with intelligence, becomes a living and blessed being. ~ Plotinus, #KEYS
671:Thanks be to the Gospel, by means of which we also, who did not see Christ when he came into this world, seem to be with him when we read his deeds. ~ Saint Ambrose, #KEYS
672:The avatars are born with divine powers and divine qualities. They can go into and stay in any state of realization. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
673:The daily examination of conscience is an indispensible help if we are to follow our Lord with sincerity of heart and integrity of life." ~ Saint Jose Maria Escriva, #KEYS
674:the lake is filled
with a flash
of fireworks
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
675:The severest school of anarchism rejects all compromise with communism. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, The End of the Curve of Reason, #KEYS
676:To clear the vital, you must get out of it all compromise with falsehood. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, The Nature of the Vital, #KEYS
677:To dye oneself with paints in order to have a rosier or a paler complexion is a lying counterfeit. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
678:We stop the one who can't cease from seeking things outside, and practice with our bodies with a posture that seeks absolutely nothing. This is zazen. ~ Kodo Sawaki, #KEYS
679:When I am blessed, Lord Rama, with Tattva-Jnana, true knowledge -- I see, I realize that "I am Thou and Thou art I." ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
680:With Christians, a poetical view of things is a duty. We are bid to color all things with hues of faith, to see a divine meaning in every event. ~ John Henry Newman, #KEYS
681:A devotee does not care to relate to any but true Bhaktas the ecstatic joys he experiences in his communion with God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
682:A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein, #KEYS
683:Do not occupy your precious time except with the most precious of things, and the most precious of things is the state of being occupied with the present. ~ Abu Said, #KEYS
684:He has trod with bleeding brow the Saviour's way. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain, #KEYS
685:If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads." ~ Anatole France, (1844 - 1924) French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers, Wikipedia., #KEYS
686:It is possible to be one with all, yet above all. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Vision of the World-Spirit - The Double Aspect, #KEYS
687:One is safe to live in the world, if one has Jnana and non-attachment, and along with these, intense devotion to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
688:Rabia Basri (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about Jannah, she replied:
The Owner of the house comes before the house. ~ Ihya Ulum al-Din, Book 36,#KEYS
689:The essence of vice is that it consists in failing to do what is in accordance with reason ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 2-2.135.1)., #KEYS
690:The source of My suffering and loneliness is deep in my heart.
This is a desease no doctor can cure. Only union with a friend can cure it. ~ Rabia al-Adawiyya,#KEYS
691:Those who think that Aristotle disagrees with Plato disagree with me, who make a concordant philosophy of both. ~ Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, On Being and the One, #KEYS
692:To know we have to go within ourselves and see with an inner knowledge. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Memory, Ego and Self-Experience, #KEYS
693:try it on
clothe yourself
with a robe of flowers
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
694:What is there in mere book-learning if it is not accompanied with Viveka, discrimination of the Real from the unreal? ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
695:Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
~ William Shakespeare,#KEYS
696:But not long had they run thus when Zarathustra became conscious of his folly, and shook off with one jerk all his irritation and detestation.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche,#KEYS
697:... People will think and think, but they will not be able to find the right cure, which will be with God's help, all around them and in themselves." ~ Mitar Tarabich, #KEYS
698:Perhaps our only sickness is to desire a truth which we cannot bear rather than to rest content with the fictions we manufacture out of each other. ~ Lawrence Durrell, #KEYS
699:Purify thyself and thou shalt see God. Transform thy body into a temple, cast from thee evil thoughts and contemplate God with the eye of thy conscious soul. ~ Vemana, #KEYS
700:The body may be covered with jewels and yet the heart may have mastered all its covetings. ~ Fo-shu-hing-tsan-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
701:The joy of perfect union can come only when what has to be done is done.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Relationship with the Divine,#KEYS
702:The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight. ~ Stanislav Grof, Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research, #KEYS
703:Thou hast always a refuge in thyself...There be free and look at all things with a fearless eye. ~ Marcus Aurelius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
704:To compel men to do what appears good to oneself is the best means of making them disgusted with it. ~ Ramakrishss, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
705:Train yourself, your mind, with the meditation techniques you have received, and don't twist the techniques to protect your delusion. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, #KEYS
706:According to Aldous Huxley, some of the books on his shelves glowed with a special energy or living power. They were alive, and they were beautiful. ~ Jeffrey J Kripal, #KEYS
707:Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." ~ Revelation 3:20, #KEYS
708:In this Kali Yuga, Bhakti, communion with God by love, devotion, and self-surrender is recommended by the Rishi Narada. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
709:Which of Sri Aurobindo's books should I start with?
The Life Divine.
My blessings.
11 March 1941 ~ The Mother, On Education,#KEYS
710:Let us constantly aspire to be a perfect instrument for the Divine's work. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 27 August,#KEYS
711:The All-Wonderful has packed heaven with his dreams, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Debate of Love and Death, 10.03, #KEYS
712:The soul that can live alone with itself meets God; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain, #KEYS
713:To the extent we have died to sin, to that extent we are alive with grace ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on Colossians, ch. 3)., #KEYS
714:Truth! Seldom with her bright and burning wand
She touches the unwilling lips of men ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act I,#KEYS
715:When going through spiritual exercises do not associate with those who never concern themselves with matters spiritual. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
716:When, in our despair, we cry to the Divine, always He answers to our call. With my blessings. ~ The Mother, Mantras of the Mother, 21 December, #KEYS
717:When waking up every morning, let us pray for a day of complete consecration. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 19 June,#KEYS
718:Wildflowers
alive with dragonflies
making love
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
719:With love there is no painful reaction; love only brings a reaction of bliss; if it does not, it not love, it is mistaking something else for love. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #KEYS
720:All the time—when you drop off to sleep or wake up, when you eat or drink, or talk with someone—keep your heart at work secretly. ~ Philokalia, Theophan the Recluse, #KEYS
721:a sparrow
happy with the grain
left at the back door
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
722:Do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it, but do it with the feeling 'I am the Lord's tool'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
723:It befits the priest especially to adorn the temple of God with fitting splendour, so that the court of the Lord may be made glorious by his endeavours. ~ Saint Ambrose, #KEYS
724:'It's your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.' ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
725:That still mind which is adorned with the attainment of the limitless supreme Self, alone is the reality of God. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
726:The Truth is in you - but you must want it, in order to realise it. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, August 29th, [T5],#KEYS
727:We are so engrossed with the objects or appearances revealed by the light that we pay no attention to the light. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
728:Come, release yourself from this ego, live in harmony with everyone, be friendly with everyone." ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
729:God is constantly at work in the mind, endowing it with its natural light and giving it direction ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (DT 1.1ad6)., #KEYS
730:If one wants to do a divine work upon earth, one must come with tons of patience and endurance.
~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1954, [T5],#KEYS
731:Infected by the vices, the soul is swollen with poisons and can only be cured by knowledge and intelligence. ~ Hermes, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
732:I recognize my affinity with [all beings]; I am nothing but an ability to echo them, to understand them, to respond to them. ~ Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Sense and Non-sense, #KEYS
733:Live a worldly life, yet fix your mind on God. Do your work with one hand, and touch the feet of the Lord with the other. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
734:Take heed unto yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. ~ Luke XXI. 34, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
735:The heart's love allies itself readily with a vital desire in the body. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Instruments of the Spirit, #KEYS
736:The Lord communicates with us as we break free of our attachment to the senses, sacrifice our own will and build our lives in humility." ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, #KEYS
737:The mind, unrestrained, wanton in the luxury of idle thoughts, is calm when struck with the goad of right discrimination. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
738:Thence comes it that the saint occupies himself with his inner being and not with the objects of his eyes. ~ Lao- Tse, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
739:We must never forget that our goal is to manifest the Supramental Reality. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 25 May, [T5],#KEYS
740:Whatever you do, always remember the Divine. 5 May 1954
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [10] [T0],#KEYS
741:When we are alone, we must act with the same sincerity as if ten eyes observed and ten fingers pointed to us ~ Ta-hio, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
742:Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Isaiah, 6:2 #KEYS
743:allow me
to wipe your tears
with these fallen leaves
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
744:a young couple
filled with hope
little butterflies
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
745:Can You now say with certainty whether this supramental substance will help decisively to realise this new birth?
EVIDENTLY.
~ The Mother,#KEYS
746:Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another. ~ Carl Sagan, #KEYS
747:Everything depends on God's grace. To have His grace, whatever work you perform, do it with sincerity and earnest longing. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
748:He who can resign himself to the will of the Almighty with simple faith and guileless love realises the Lord very quickly. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
749:Hold firmly that our faith is identical with the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church." ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
750:In concentration and silence we must gather strength for the right action. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, November 8th,#KEYS
751:I think the secret to happiness is having a Teflon soul. Whatever comes your way you either let it slide or you cook with it." ~ Diane Lane, (b.1965), an American actress, #KEYS
752:It is in the Divine that we shall always find all that we need. 17 April 1954
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You [10],#KEYS
753:Let us go to sleep with a prayer and wake with an aspiration for the New and Perfect Creation.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Aspiration,#KEYS
754:O thou who resumest in thyself all creation, cease for one moment to be preoccupied with gain and loss. ~ Omar Khayyam, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
755:Reason stops short of the Divine and only compromises with the problems of life. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, Religion as the Law of Life, #KEYS
756:Remain still, with the conviction that the Self shines as everything yet nothing, within, without, and everywhere. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
757:The Divine's Presence is for us an absolute, immutable, invariable fact.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, 11, [T3],#KEYS
758:the half moon
drifting with the tide
a little boat
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
759:The soul that can live alone with itself meets God;
~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
760:The Supreme's power is infinite -it is our faith that is small. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 23 August, [T5],#KEYS
761:They say: Thou art become mad with love for thy beloved. I reply: The savour of life is for madmen." ~ Abd Allāh ibn Asʻad al-Yafi'i, (1299-1367) chronicler from Yemen., #KEYS
762:To represent constantly the world as one single being with one single soul and one single substance. ~ Marcus Aurelius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
763:Visit not miracle-mongers. They are wanderers from the path of Truth with minds entangled in the meshes of psychic powers. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
764:We must gather ourselves in a calm resolution and an unshakable certitude. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, November 9th,#KEYS
765:Whoever is rich within and embellished with virtue, seeks not outside himself for glory and riches. ~ Angelus Silesius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
766:Who is there that serves and obeys Me in all things with as great care as that with which the world and its masters are served? ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
767:Why do you wonder that globetrotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason that set you wandering is ever at your heels. ~ Socrates, #KEYS
768:A psychic fire within must be lit into which all is thrown with the Divine Name upon it.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, [T5],#KEYS
769:But with only one heart we human beings are born." ~ Nanuo Sakaki, (1923-2008) Japanese poet,) from his poem "Homo Erectus Ambulant" in his book "Break the Mirror", (1987), #KEYS
770:It is difficult to get rid of all habits. They must be faced with a steady determination. With my blessings,
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother,#KEYS
771:Knowledge does not come gradually, little by little. It shines forth instantaneously with the ripeness of practice. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
772:Man [Woman] is deluded by the intermingling of the conscious Self with the insentient body. This delusion must end. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
773:on a journey
traveling with the gods
numbering the days
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
774:Resting with a
visiting butterfly
by a warm spring
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
775:The ignorant mind, with its infinite afflictions, passions, and evils, is rooted in the three poisons. Greed, anger, and delusion." ~ Bodhidharma, #KEYS
776:This day shall be the best day of my life. Today I will start with a new determination to dedicate my devotion forever at the feet of omnipresence. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda, #KEYS
777: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, #KEYS
778:Whoever finds love beneath hurt and grief disappears into emptiness with a thousand new disguises. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
779:With perfect and unyielding faith, With steadfastness, respect, and courtesy, With modesty and conscientiousness, Work calmly for the happiness of others." ~ Shantideva, , #KEYS
780:All Yoga is a seeking after the Divine, a turn towards union with the Eternal. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Supreme Word of the Gita, #KEYS
781:As long as people are with the holy they are full of religious emotion; yet if separated, the flood of devotion leaves them. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
782:As we have died with him, and have been buried and raised to life with him, so we bear him within us, both in body and in spirit, in everything we do. ~ Saint Leo the Great, #KEYS
783:By repeating with grit and determination 'I am not bound I am Free' one really becomes so - one really becomes free.
~ Sri Ramakrishna, [T5],#KEYS
784:Charity is the affection that impels us to sacrifice ourselves to humankind as if it were one being with us. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
785:Dive deep into the chambers of your heart. Find out the real, infinite 'I'. Rest there peacefully for ever and become identical with the Supreme Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
786:Doubt is not a sport to indulge in with impunity; it is a poison which drop by drop corrodes the soul.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, [T2],#KEYS
787:If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE. ~ Saint Therese of Lisieux, #KEYS
788:Listen with ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
789:No Joy is comparable to the feeling of the eternal Presence in one's heart. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 04 July, [T5],#KEYS
790:One must bear with everything, because everything is determined by actions (Karmas). Again, our present actions can counteract the effect of past actions. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
791:The very idea of energy in action carries with it the idea of energy abstaining from action. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Pure Existent, #KEYS
792:Think of the Divine alone and the Divine will be with you.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [13] [T0],#KEYS
793:Thus thou shalt be in perfect accord with all that lives, thou shalt love men as thy brotheas. ~ Book of Golden Precepts, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
794:With the appearance of the sun the ice melts, so on the appearance of knowledge, God with form melts away into the formless. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
795:You are sure to reach the goal but you must be very perseverant. To be constantly in contact with the Truth is not easy and needs time and a great sincerity. ~ Mother Mirra, #KEYS
796:You people are rich with your ideas of possession, of quantity and quality. I am completely without ideas. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
797:Also to think too much of the hostile Powers is to bring in their atmosphere. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Dealing with Hostile Attacks, #KEYS
798:As a true wife loves her husband and as a miser his hoarded wealth, so must the devotee love God with all his heart and soul. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
799:Is it not a wonderful thing, that he that is the Lord and author of all liberty, would thus be bound with ropes and nailed hand and foot unto the Cross?" ~ Saint John Fisher, #KEYS
800:Love is an invisible, a sacred and ineffable spirit which traverses the whole world with its rapid thoughts. ~ Empedocles, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
801:Pain with its lash, joy with its silver bribe
Guard the Wheel's circling immobility. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Issue,#KEYS
802:Steady abidance in the Self, looking at all with an equal eye, unshakable courage at all times, in all circumstances. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
803:The Divine's voice is heard as a melodious chant in the stillness of the night.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [T5],#KEYS
804:The most powerful way to resist evil is to sit with good friends who have turned their faces to God. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
805:The ninety and nine are with dreams, content, but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true. ~ Edgar Allan Poe, #KEYS
806:There is a consciousness in each physical thing with which one can communicate. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, Practical Concerns in Work, #KEYS
807:What I really wanted was to fall in love with God. It's amazing what obstacles there are within us, or at least in me, that seem to slow this process. ~ Thomas Keating, [T5], #KEYS
808:When the school of God's law admits this power of reason, it cultivates it diligently, skillfully nurtures it, and with God's help brings it to perfection. ~ Basil the Great, #KEYS
809:With a heart pure and overflowing with love I desire to act towards others even as I would toward myself. ~ Buddhist Text, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
810:All our strength is with the Divine. With Him we can surmount all the obstacles.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [T3],#KEYS
811:All souls who aspire are always under my direct care.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, The Mother, Relations with Others, 'I am with You', [T1],#KEYS
812:As the musician knows how to tune his lyre, so the wise man knows how to set his mind in tune with all minds. ~ Demophilus, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
813:He is always with us, aware of what we are, of all our thoughts, of all our feelings and all our actions.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, [T0],#KEYS
814:I am is the goal, the final reality. To hold to it with effort is vichara. Spontaneous and natural, it is realization. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
815:If a man continues to mix with the world, it is likely that he will be tainted; but he will remain pure if he lives out of it. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
816:... if one is exclusively occupied with oneself, one gets shut up in a sort of carapace and is not open to the universal forces. ~ The Mother, mcw, 6, #KEYS
817:If thou feel not love for men, busy thyself with thyself, handle things, do what thou wilt, but leave men alone. ~ Tolstoi, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
818:In the silent regions of thought which has come to itself and communes only with itself, the interests which move the lives of races and individuals are hushed. ~ H W F Hegel, #KEYS
819:Mental prayer is nothing else but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila, #KEYS
820:my home
surrounded by thick foliage
pregnant with autumn
~ Matsuo Basho, @BashoSociety#KEYS
821:One succeeds if one develops a strong spirit of renunciation. Give up at once, with determination, what you know to be unreal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
822:People do not see that science deals only with conditional knowledge. It brings no message from the land of the unconditioned. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
823:Prakriti does not act for itself or by its own motion, but with the Self as lord. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Release from the Ego, #KEYS
824:Specialisation paralyses, ultra-specialisation kills. Palaeontology is littered with such catastrophes. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #KEYS
825:That it may be easy for thee to live with every man, think of what unites thee to him and not of what separates. ~ Tolstoy, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
826:The city in which those who are going to rule are least eager to rule is necessarily governed best and with the least divisiveness. ~ Plato, Republic 520d, #KEYS
827:You cannot reach all people with your wealth, so let your smiling face and good character reach them. ~ Hakim] ~ Hadith, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
828:A cup is useful only when it is empty; and a mind that is filled with beliefs, with dogmas, with assertions, with quotations is really an uncreative mind. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti, #KEYS
829:After realization, should one dance with joy or take up his former work? Go on with your work, leaving the issue with the Lord. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
830:Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Romans, 10:9, #KEYS
831:Confidence in help from outside brings with it distress. Only self-confidence gives force and joy. ~ Fo-tho-hing-tsang-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
832:Credence, when mediocrity multiplied
Equals itself with genius. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Lines on Ireland,#KEYS
833:God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. . . . if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another . . . ~ Anonymous, The Bible, #KEYS
834:He who in his neighbour sees no other tiling but God, lives with the light that flowers in the Divinity. ~ Angelns Silesius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
835:I'm a simple lobster, I see JBP I establish a local dominance hierarchy by clicking the like button with my lobster claw. ~ Yolo Swaggins, JRE 1208 - Jordan Peterson, Comments, #KEYS
836:In each heart, the Divine's Presence is the promise of future and possible perfections.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You,#KEYS
837:In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, #KEYS
838:It is almost impossible to get rid of the illusion that the Self is one with the body. This delusion, Dehabuddhi, clings to us. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
839:Let us lay aside every weight and run with patience the race that is set before us. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Hebrews, XII. I, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
840:Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me. ~ Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, #KEYS
841:The act of being is the most real of things with respect to real effectuation, because what is other than it becomes effectively real through it. ~ Mulla Sadra, Divine Witness, #KEYS
842:The Divine manifests upon earth whenever and wherever it is possible.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, 10, [T0],#KEYS
843:The Grace will never fail us - such is the faith we must keep constantly in our heart. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 10 May,#KEYS
844:The reason of man struggling with life becomes either an empiric or a doctrinaire. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, The Reason as Governor of Life, #KEYS
845:You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. All prosperity that comes with Mammon is transient, is only for a moment. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #KEYS
846:At the site of Narendra, I am drunken with joy. Never have I asked him, "Who is your father?" or "How many houses have you got?" ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
847:Beyond words, above thoughts the flame of an intense aspiration must always burn, steady and bright. My love and blessings are with you.
~ The Mother,#KEYS
848:But the highest philosophical science, namely metaphysics, can dispute with one who denies its principles ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1.1.8)., #KEYS
849:Desire is the badge of subjection with its attendant discord and suffering. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Isha Upanishad: The Inhabiting Godhead, Life and Action, #KEYS
850:He alone traverses the current of the illusion who comes face to face with the Eternal and realises it. ~ Hermes: On Rebirth, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
851:It is quietness and inwardness that enable one to feel the Presence. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - III, Experiences Associated with the Psychic, #KEYS
852:Look into the depths of your heart and you will see the Divine Presence. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother - II, The Heart,#KEYS
853:Real yearning for God is the result of associating with the holy, and a person gets the opportunity for holy company only as a result of many good actions. ~ Swami Adbhutananda, #KEYS
854:Spirituality cannot be called upon to deal with life by a non-spiritual method. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Evolution of the Spiritual Man, #KEYS
855:We all cooperate in one common work, some with knowledge and full intelligence, others without knowing it ~ Mar-cus Aurelius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
856:We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for he, as Paul teaches, is our head, and there is in him no shadow of evil. ~ Saint Gregory of Nyssa, #KEYS
857:When the grace of the Almighty descends, everyone will understand one's mistakes, knowing this you should not argue with others. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
858:When we act with obstinacy, malice, anger, violence, to whom do we make ourselves near and like? To wild beasts. ~ Epictetus, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
859:As for reading books on Vedanta, you may go on reading any number of them. They can only tell you, 'Realise the Self within you'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by Day with Bhagavan, #KEYS
860:Do not look behind, look always in front, at what you want to do - and you are sure of progressing With my blessings ~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, #KEYS
861:Every work... is sacred - everything is service unto the Lord. You have to learn to do everything with an equal sense of reverence and sanctity in your heart. ~ SWAMI PREMANANDA, #KEYS
862:Faith may vary with different men, in different epochs, but love is invariable in all. The true faith is ~ Ibrahim of Cordova, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
863:God will come to you with His grace and comfort after every hardship. ~ As long as He finds you at home. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
864:Have faith and complete trust in the ways of God. relentless prayers offered with a pure and devoted heart have the power to make the impossible possible.
~ Swami Avdheshanand,#KEYS
865:I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings. ~ Albert Einstein, #KEYS
866:In Supermind knowledge in the Idea is not divorced from will in the Idea, but one with it. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Supermind as Creator, #KEYS
867:It is possible for the human soul to obtain the condition of absolute union with God when one is able to say: "Soham," "I am He." ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
868:No such general thing as duty exists; we have only duties, often in conflict with each other. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Divine Work, #KEYS
869:Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them. ~ Frank Herbert, Dune, #KEYS
870:One has attained perfect meditation when, upon sitting down, one is surrounded with the Divine atmosphere and communion with God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
871:Order is not inconsistent with liberty but rather the condition for the right use of liberty. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays in Philosophy and Yoga, Message, #KEYS
872:Perform all your worldly duties with your hands, never forgetting to repeat and glorify the name of the Lord with all your heart. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
873:The angel plucks a large handful of flowers, and they carry it with them up to God, where the flowers bloom more brightly than they ever did on earth. ~ Hans Christian Andersen , #KEYS
874:The knowledge of the absolute does away, in the end, with both knowledge and ignorance, since knowledge is free from all duality. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
875:The only problem with being here now is that I'm always somewhere else when I'm thinking of it.." ~ Sri Gawn Tu Fahr, (Jean-Pierre Gregoire) author of "Love's True Home." ~ See:, #KEYS
876:Throwing away the life does not improve the chances for the next time. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Dealing with Depression and Despondency, #KEYS
877:'Tis Love, 'tis Love fills up the gulfs of Time!
By Love we find our kinship with the stars. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act III,#KEYS
878:Try to be spontaneous and simple like a child in your relations with me - it will save you from many difficulties.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I,#KEYS
879:Evil forces can always attack in moments of unconsciousness or half-consciousness. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Dealing with Hostile Attacks, #KEYS
880:I am one with God in my being and yet I can have relations with Him in my experience. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Eternal and the Individual, #KEYS
881:Many have died; you also will die. The drum of death is being beaten. The world has fallen in love with a dream. Only sayings of the wise will remain. ~ Kabir, #KEYS
882:The function of India is to supply the world with a perennial source of light and renovation. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - II, Ideals Face to Face, #KEYS
883:What is the process of the cleansing of the mirror of the heart? It is an unending battle with one's ego, whose purpose is to distort reality. ~ Ibn Arabi, #KEYS
884:When a thought rises in us, let us see whether it is not in touch with the inferior worlds. ~ Antoine the Healer : Revelations, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
885:With ignorance are born all the passions, with the destruction of ignorance the passions also are destroyed. ~ Majihima Nikaya, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
886:With weakness and selfishness, however spiritual in their guise or trend, he can have no dealing. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, Renunciation, #KEYS
887:As the herdsman urges with his staff his cattle to the stall, so age and death drive before them the lives of men. ~ Udanavarga, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
888:Be true to your true self always—that is the real sincerity. Persist and conquer. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Dealing with Hostile Attacks, #KEYS
889:But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Deuteronomy, 4:29, #KEYS
890:I am in love with no other than myself, and my very separation is my union... I am my beloved and my lover; I am my knight and my maiden. ~ Ibn Arabi, [T5], #KEYS
891:sharing shade
with a butterfly
friends in a previous life
~ Kobayashi Issa, @BashoSociety#KEYS
892:The Bhakta does not long for Brahma-Jnana, the realization of the impersonal, but remains content with realizing the divine mother. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
893:The Lord has to be served with one's body, mind, and possessions. Merely to sit quiet and make japa will not do. Do serve Him a little with your body as well. ~ Swami Akhandananda, #KEYS
894:To attain to God with the mind is a great blessing, but to comprehend Him is impossible ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on John 1, lect. 5)., #KEYS
895:Who is the superior man ? It is he who first puts his words in practice and then speaks in agreement with his acts. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
896:Why does the devotee take such delight in addressing the Deity as mother? Because the child is free with its mother -- the dearest. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
897:Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with Him, familiarly and with confidence and love, as to the dearest and most loving of friends. ~ Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, #KEYS
898:Blessed will be the day when the earth, awaken to the Truth, lives only for the Divine. With My Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 28 August,#KEYS
899:But PREDESTINATION is concerned only with that end which is possible for a rational creature: his eternal glory ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (DV 6.1)., #KEYS
900:Certainly, He will come to you. Only one thing is needed: your yearning, your earnest longing. He wants nothing else. You have to call on Him with earnestness. ~ Swami Akhandananda, #KEYS
901:Hanuman was blessed with the vision of God, both Sakara (form) and Nirakara (formless). But he retained the ego of a servant of God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
902:If you are firm in your belief in the guidance of God, stick to it and do not concern yourself with what happens around you. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
903:In devotion, One becomes mad with emotion, constantly and fiercely repeating: "Jai Kali" or dancing like a maniac in praise of Hari. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
904:In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro.
(Everywhere I have sought peace and not found it, except in a corner with a book.) ~ Thomas a Kempis#KEYS
905:In past ages people would be busy with devotional exercises. In this Iron-Age, Kali Yuga, life resides in food and the mind is weak. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
906:Like a doll of salt trying to fathom the ocean, the jiva, in trying to fathom God, loses its individuality and becomes one with Him. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
907:Our regeneration is indissolubly bound up with the regeneration of the universe and with the transformation of its forms of space and time. ~ Vladimir Solovyov, The Meaning of Love, #KEYS
908:Paper moistened with oil cannot be written upon, so the soul, spoiled by the oil of sense enjoyment is unfit for spiritual devotion. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
909:Remember always the Divine and all you do will be an expression of the Divine Presence.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You [T1],#KEYS
910:The Divine Consciousness is the only true help, the only true happiness. 12 August 1954
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You [11],#KEYS
911:The proper way to spend money is to remove others' suffering. Also, in order to maintain proper dharma, you must give up your friendship with wealth and money. ~ Swami Adbhutananda, #KEYS
912:To live in the wideness of the Intuition is not possible with the limitation of the ego. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - I, The Higher Planes of Mind, #KEYS
913:For all who think of him with faith
The Buddha is there in front of them
And will give empowerments and blessings.
~ Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher, [T5],#KEYS
914: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], #KEYS
915:If you make friends with your problems you may have a lot of company but at least you're not alone." ~ Douglas King, quote from "Poems in a Minor Chord: Including Strange,", (2017)., #KEYS
916:Imagine a family unbound by numbers or appearance with no 'I' left to suffer, it finds eternal nourishment in We." ~ Phoenix Desmond, author of "Make Love to the Universe,", (2011)., #KEYS
917:I must attain perfection in this life! I must find God with a single utterance!" By such violent love, the Lord is quickly attracted. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
918:I would act towards others with a heart pure and filled with love exactly as I would have them act to- wards me. ~ Lalita Vistara, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
919:Many with a show of humility say, "I am like a low worm grovelling in the dust." Thus in time, they become weak in spirit like worms. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
920:The Gita is the essence of all scriptures. A sannyasi may or may not keep with him another book, but he always carries a pocket Gita. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
921:The Gods prodigiously sometimes reverse
The common rule of Nature and compel
Matter with soul. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act II,#KEYS
922:There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, 1 John, 4:18, #KEYS
923:When the mind is one with the deeper spirit and wholly in touch with knowledge, its universality embraces all things. ~ Patanjali, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
924:As in a house with a sound roof the lain cannot penetrate, so in a mind where meditation dwells passion cannot enter. ~ Dhammapada, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
925:A soul full of wisdom, however excellent it be, cannot be compared with right and straightforward Thought. ~ Fo-sho-hing-tsau-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
926:Bhakti-Yoga is communion with God by means of devotion or love and self-surrender. It is specially adapted to this age, the Kali-Yuga. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
927:By the influence of the deep devotion of his worshiper, the Infinite reduces himself into the finite and appears as a being with form. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
928:Call with love the name of the Lord and the mountain of your sins shall go away, just as a mountain of cotton will burn up and vanish. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
929:Does one enter a temple with dirty feet?
Likewise, one does not enter the temple of the spirit with a sullied mind.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
930:Go deep inside the temple and you will find me there.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, The Mother, Relations with Others, 'I am with You', [T1],#KEYS
931:How wonderful was this devotion of theirs! At the sight of the Tamal tree they were seized with the very madness of love (Premonmadu). ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
932:If you desire to be pure, do not waste your energies in useless scriptural arguments, but slowly go on with your devotional practices. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
933:If you surrender to the Lord and call on Him with a heart full of yearning, He is bound to listen and take care of everything for you. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
934:I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
~ Leonardo da Vinci,#KEYS
935:In the sight of worldly men there are differences of position, but with divine sight there remains no distinction of the high and low. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
936:It does not really rest with a man whether he goes to this place or that or whether he gives up his duties or not. All these events happen according to destiny. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
937:Let your behaviour be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Hebrews,. XIII. 5, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
938:The consciousness of union with the Divine is for the spiritual seeker the supreme knowledge. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Thought and Knowledge, #KEYS
939:The growing of the love of God must carry with it in him an expansion of the knowledge of God. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Mystery of Love, #KEYS
940:The hired preachers of all sects, creeds, and religions, never do, and never can, teach any thing but what is in conformity with the opinions of those who pay them." ~ Frances Wright, #KEYS
941:With sincerity, make an effort for progress, and with patience, know how to await the result of your effort.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Patience,#KEYS
942:With what understanding can man apprehend God, who does not yet apprehend that very understanding itself of his own, by which he desires to apprehend Him? ~ Saint Augustine, (DT 5.1), #KEYS
943:Yoga through work is the easiest and most effective way to enter into the stream of this Sadhana.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother,#KEYS
944:A. He for whom you work will supply you with your necessaries. God made provisions for your support before He sent you into this world. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
945:A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, #KEYS
946:At times, just relax in places with rivers, flowers, and so on, focusing on the visualization and singing HUM in a melodious, drawn out fashion.
~ Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, 1759-1792,#KEYS
947:Christ our pasch is sacrificed. Therefore let us feast ... with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (1 Cor. 5:7-8)., #KEYS
948:Every man seeks the brotherhood of his fellow and we can only live by fraternity with others. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Karmayogin: The Right of Association, Speech, #KEYS
949:God is formless and God is with form -- and God is that which transcends both form and formlessness. God alone can say what else he is. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
950:If you fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Atman, and then live in the midst of women and wealth, they will not affect you. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
951:If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 31, [T8],#KEYS
952:New words are needed to express new ideas, new forms are necessary to manifest new forces. With My blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 01 Augest,#KEYS
953:Sin is remitted to us when God is at peace with us, and this peace consists in the love whereby God loves us ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1-2.113.2)., #KEYS
954:Systems thinking shows us that there is no outside; that you and the cause of your problems are part of a single system. The cure lies in your relationship with your 'enemy'
~ Senge,#KEYS
955:The Lord has provided different forms of worship to suit different people with different capacities in different stages of development. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
956:Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Jeremiah, 29:12-13, #KEYS
957:The one who is stern with people on acts of worship (ibada) will only turn them away from it. ~ al-Habib Ahmad b. Hasan al-Attas, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
958:We should eagerly drink spiritual wine and become drunk with a sober-minded drunkenness so that, brim-full with this spiritual wine, we may speak of the divine mysteries. ~ Philokalia, #KEYS
959:A cricket's rash and fiery single note,
It marked with shrill melody night's moonless hush ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The World-Soul,#KEYS
960:A man cannot comprehend spiritual things with his ordinary intelligence. To understand them he must live in the company of holy persons. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
961:A royal Virgin of the stem of David is chosen, to be impregnated with the sacred seed and to conceive the Divinely-human offspring in mind first and then in body. ~ Saint Leo the Great, #KEYS
962:Behind the surface of things there is a sea of perfect consciousness in which we can always dip.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You,#KEYS
963:Do the difficult things while they are easy, and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." ~ Lao Tzu, #KEYS
964:Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Psalms, 23:4,#KEYS
965:Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, James, 1:17, #KEYS
966:He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Micah, 6:8, #KEYS
967:Oh Dostoyevskyan running clouds!
Oh midday's fiery Pushkin-notes!
La nuit appears, just like Tyutchev,
Infinite, with other-worldly over-filled. 1908-1909 ~ Velimir Khlebnikov,#KEYS
968:Resist not evil by doing evil in return, but make a show of resistance with a view to self-defense. This is the Dharma of a householder. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
969:The intellectual conclusion the Jnana has come to is: "I am not the body. I am one with the Universal Soul, unconditioned and absolute." ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
970:The Magician looks on the wicked as invalids whom one must pity and cure; the world, with its errors and vices, is to him God's hospital, and he wishes to serve in it.
~ Eliphas Levi,#KEYS
971:The Master used to say, 'Don't jump into the ocean of Maya, for you may be eaten up by sharks and crocodiles.' But why should you worry? You have the Master with you. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
972:Then an attempt is made to bring her to compromise with the spirit of the world, which thus enters into her and affects and paralyses her vitality." ~ Our Lady to Father Stefano Gobbi , #KEYS
973:The poet's first concern and his concern always is with living beauty and reality, with life. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Future Poetry, The Breath of Greater Life, #KEYS
974:Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
975:We must know how to give our life and also our death, our happiness and also our suffering. With my blessings. ~ The Mother, Mantras of the Mother, 28 December, #KEYS
976:As flint does not lose its properties under water, so one favored with God does not change internally, even though immersed in the world. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
977:Fine language not followed by acts in harmony with it is like a splendid flower brilliant in colour but without perfume. ~ Dhammapada, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
978:He who sees God in all, will serve freely God in all with the service of love. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, Conditions for the Coming of a Spiritual Age, #KEYS
979:If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, [T5], #KEYS
980:Our mind perhaps deceives us with its words
And gives the name of doom to our own choice; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Word of Fate,#KEYS
981:Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, John, 14:27, #KEYS
982:The more people believe in one thing, the more one ought to be careful with regard to that belief and attentive in examining it. ~ id, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
983:The servant "I" of a devotee, or the "I" of a child, each of these is like a line drawn with a stick on the water. It does not last long. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
984:The world is not a courtroom
There is no judge no jury no plaintiff.
This is a caravan filled with eccentric beings telling wondrous stories about God. ~ Saadi,#KEYS
985:Those who start their practice by uniting with their Guru and chosen deity, fear no reverses or difficulties ... progress will be smooth. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
986:When we or other men commit sin, only then is it salutary to give in to sadness. But when we meet with misfortune in human affairs, then sadness has no efficacy. ~ Saint John Chrysostom, #KEYS
987:And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
~ Anonymous, The Bible?, [T5],#KEYS
988:He mastered the tides of Nature with a look:
He met with his bare spirit naked Hell. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Descent into Night,#KEYS
989:He whose hairs stand on end with ecstasy at the mere mention of Sir Hari's name and sheds tears of love, has already taken his last birth. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
990:If you do not cover yourself on every side with the shield of patience, you will not remain long without wounds. ~ Imitation of Christ, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
991:Iron must be hammered before it becomes good steel, just as one must be hammered with the persecutions of the world to be pure and humble. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
992:I would be happy with a hole in the ground and a little plaque saying something like this, 'Here lies Al Schwartz. He tried his best for Jesus. That's it… ~ Venerable Aloysius Schwartz, #KEYS
993:Men of superior virtue practise it without thinking of it; those of inferior virtue go about it with intention. ~ Lao-Tse: Tao-te-King, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
994:Our earth is a fragment and a residue;
Her power is packed with the stuff of greater worlds ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The World-Stair,#KEYS
995:The contact of the human and individual consciousness with the divine is the very essence of Yoga. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Systems of Yoga, #KEYS
996:The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves"
~ Carl Jung,#KEYS
997:Then with a magic transformation's speed
They rushed into each other and grew one
~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Finding of the Soul,#KEYS
998:The vain main of intellect is busy finding out the why and wherefore of creation, while the humble man acquaints himself with the creator. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
999:We do not come to God with bodily steps, but with those of the mind, the first of which is faith ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on Jn 6, lect. 4)., #KEYS
1000:When a surface is coated with chemicals, pictures can be printed; just as the human heart coated with Bhakti can impress the image of God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1001:When some serve the Lord for a long time, He endows them with all His glory and attributes and raises them to His own seat of sovereignty. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1002:Whoever performs devotional exercises with the belief that there is one God, is bound to attain Him, no matter what aspect He is worshiped ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1003:With my soul have I desired thee in the night; with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Isaiah, XXVI.9, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1004:With the teacher who has become one with the Universal Soul, an ego of knowledge is kept, a slight trace to mark their separate existence. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1005:You go to God and your personality becomes one with God, this is samadhi. Then you retrace your steps, back to your ego where you started. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1006:As long as you identify with a 'you' who either is or is not awake, you are still dreaming. Awakening is awakening from the dream of a separate you to simply Being Awakeness. ~ Adyashanti, #KEYS
1007:As Radna neared Krishna, the stronger was his fragrance. The nearer one gets to God, the more one's heart is flooded with blessed feelings. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1008:Drinking if excessive affects the substance and quality of the energy. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1009:Fill then your heart with this knowledge and seek for the sources of life in the words dictated by Truth itself. ~ Epsitle to Diognetus, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1010:Fire itself has no shape but in glowing embers it assumes forms. Similarly, the formless God sometimes invests Himself with definite forms. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1011:If you fail to see God after a few exercises do not lose heart. Go on patiently with your exercises and you are sure to obtain divine grace ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1012:Not being Identified with the body, neither am I subject to the necessities of the body, such as hunger, thirst, birth, death, and disease. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1013:Poems in largeness cast like moving worlds
And metres surging with the ocean's voice ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Growth of the Flame,#KEYS
1014:Shiva and Shakti, the absolute and power, are both necessary for creation. With dry clay no potter can make a vessel -- Water is necessary. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1015:That life is grave and earnest under its smiles,
And we too with a wary gaiety
Should walk its roads. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act V,#KEYS
1016:The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with. ~ Proverbs XVII. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1017:The contact with perfected souls will most certainly stimulate love for God in others. One imbibes thoughts of God as soon as one comes near a realized soul. ~ Manapurush Swami Shivananda, #KEYS
1018:The face of Truth is covered with a brilliant golden lid; that do thou remove, O Fosterer, for the law of the Truth, for sight. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Isha Upanishad, #KEYS
1019:We do not pour forth our prayers as individuals, but with unanimous accord we declare, "Our Father" ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Compendium Theologiae 2.5)., #KEYS
1020:We have faith for a defense, if we are not smitten with distrust, in immediately making the sign of the cross and commanding and smearing the heel with the beast. ~ Tertullian of Carthage, #KEYS
1021:When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality." ~ Hélder Câmara 1(909 - 1999) Brazilian Catholic Archbishop. Wikipedia., #KEYS
1022: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, #KEYS
1023:All force is cosmic and the individual is merely an instrument. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother, Becoming Conscious of the Mother's Force, #KEYS
1024:All in thyself and thyself in all dwelling,
Act in the world with thy being beyond it. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ascent,#KEYS
1025:And remember you don't bargain with love. The choice is not yours. It is a mirror, it reflects only your essence... ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1026:One who has acquired supreme wisdom sees the all-pervading spirit both within and without; he lives, as it were, in a room with glass doors. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1027:One with little knowledge will go about preaching, but when the perfection of knowledge is obtained, one ceases to make such a vain display. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1028:Our attention must be fixed on the earth because our work is here. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother, Some Occult and Spiritual Experiences, #KEYS
1029:Reason is in its nature an imperfect light with a large but still restricted mission. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, The Office and Limitations of the Reason, #KEYS
1030:So long as the sound of bell is audible, it exists in form; but when it is no longer heard, it becomes formless. So it is the same with God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1031:The man full of uprightness is happy here below, sweet is his sleep by night and by day his heart is radiant with peace. ~ Buddhist Text, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1032:To be able to work with full energy is necessary—but to be able not to work is also necessary. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Divine Force in Work, #KEYS
1033:When creation perishes, Thou dost not perish, when it is reborn, thou coverest it, O Imperishable, with a thousand different forms. ~ id, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1034:When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality." ~ Hélder Câmara, (1909 - 1999) Brazilian Catholic Archbishop, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1035:Without stick or sword, filled with sympathy and benevolence, let the disciple show to all beings love and compassion. ~ Magghima Nikaya, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1036:At each moment of our life, in all circumstance the Grace is there helping us to surmount all difficulties. With my blessings
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1037:A World-adventurer borne on Destiny's wing
Gambles with death and triumph, joy and grief. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Lila,#KEYS
1038:hat is the true law? It is a right reason invariable, eternal, in conformity with Nature, -which is extended in all human being. ~ Cicero, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1039:Holy Knowledge, by thee illumined, I hymn by thee the ideal light; I rejoice with the joy of the Intelligence. ~ Hermes: "On the Rebirth", the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1040:However or from wheresoever it came, the only thing to do with a depression is to throw it out. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Depression and Despondency, #KEYS
1041:If you need time to achieve something, it must be false. The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
1042:Open yourself more and more to the Divine's force and your work will progress steadily towards perfection. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1043:The individual consciousness by the attempt to measure the Impersonal loses its individual egoism and becomes one with Him. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1044:To be alone with the Divine is the highest of all privileged states for the sadhak. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Human Relations and the Spiritual Life, #KEYS
1045:To whatsoever living form I turn
I see my own body with another face. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Indwelling Universal,#KEYS
1046:You evidently do not suffer from "quotation-hunger" as I do! I get all the dictionaries of quotations I can meet with, as I always want to know where a quotation comes from. ~ Lewis Carroll, #KEYS
1047:You must never rest content with the pleasure of laya experienced when thought is quelled but must press on until all duality ceases. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
1048:As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. ~ Mark 2:19-20, #KEYS
1049:As with the figure of a symbol dance
The screened Omniscient plays at Ignorance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Dual Being,#KEYS
1050:Complete surrender does require that you have no desire of your own. You must be satisfied with whatever God gives you. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, By As You Are, #KEYS
1051:Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen. ~ Maimonides, #KEYS
1052: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, #KEYS
1053: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, #KEYS
1054:I have seen all the snares of the enemy spread out over the world, and I said with a groan, "Who can get through such snares?" Then I heard a voice say to me, "Humility." ~ Anthony the Great, #KEYS
1055:Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ephesians, IV. 25, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1056:Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity." ~ George Gurdjieff, #KEYS
1057:The human mind is complex with all its typical moods, manners, and weapons. The purpose of sadhana is to be free from the magic wonders of the mind and remain free all the time. ~ SWAMI RAMA, #KEYS
1058:There are at least ten thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground. Each being has his own unique connection with god. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1059:True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations: it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart. ~ Honore de Balzac, #KEYS
1060:We must work together and with the angels to do the things of God, and we must do so in accordance with the Providence of Jesus "who works all things in all" (1 Cor 12:6). ~ Pseudo-Dyonisius, #KEYS
1061:When you have time, you can meditate on her with the thinking attitude that She is with you, She is sitting in front of you.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Mother India, [T1],#KEYS
1062:Wherever desire and ego harbour, passion and disturbance harbour with them and share their life. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Three Modes of Nature, #KEYS
1063:Compassion toward animals is essentially bound up with goodness of character. Whoever is cruel to them cannot be good to men ~ Sehopenhauer, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1064:God has the nature of a small child. God won't even look at those who do tapas with ego, but He will shower His grace on the innocent hearted ones who don't do anything. ~ MATA AMRITANADAMAYI, #KEYS
1065:I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed, I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess. ~ H P Lovecraft, #KEYS
1066:The cross to me is certain salvation. The cross is that which I ever adore. The cross of the Lord is with me. The cross is my refuge. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
1067: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, #KEYS
1068:The higher the life, the less the sleep. The body must be strong. Rise early; meditate a little, for the mind then is naturally calm. Do every bit of work with a purpose. ~ Swami Akhandananda, #KEYS
1069:They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number." ~ 1 John 2:18-19, #KEYS
1070:With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves. ~ Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind, #KEYS
1071:Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling. ~ Virgil, #KEYS
1072:Christ for His part drinks the wine even with Judas in the kingdom of God, but Judas himself repudiated this banquet ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 3.81.2.ad1)., #KEYS
1073:Forget your difficulties. Forget yourself... And the Lord will take care of your progress. With love and blessings. 5 March 1968
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1074:If you seek God with your whole heart, then you may be assured that Grace of God is also seeking you. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Conscious Immortality, Ch 7, [T5], #KEYS
1075:Out, out with the mind and its candle flares,
Light, light the suns that never die. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Musa Spiritus,#KEYS
1076:The Divine knows best and one has to have trust in His wisdom and attune oneself with His will. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, The Divine Grace and Guidance, #KEYS
1077:There is no counting the sheep who are nourished with his abundant love, and who are prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of the good shepherd who died for them. ~ Saint Leo the Great, #KEYS
1078:Trying to change yourself is a form of judgment. Awakening is not about fixing yourself. It is about revealing every aspect of yourself with love, acceptance and compassion. ~ Leonard Jacobson, #KEYS
1079:What more shall I tell you? Keep your mind on God. Don't forget Him. God will certainly reveal Himself to you if you pray to Him with sincerity. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1080:Even a nation of strong men led by the weak, blind or selfish, becomes easily infected with the vices of its leaders. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Karmayogin, Facts and Opinions, #KEYS
1081:Justice has her seat, and her fine balance
Disturbed too often spoils an unripe world
With ill-timed mercy. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act V,#KEYS
1082:Men never commit bad actions with more coolness and assurance in their rectitude than when they do them by virtue of a false belief. ~ Pascal, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1083:One must be careful that no force comes through one except the right forces. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1084:The great decisions of human life have as a rule far more to do with the instincts and other mysterious unconscious factors than with conscious will and well-meaning reasonableness. ~ Carl Jung, #KEYS
1085:...The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it." ~ Revelation 12:7-9, #KEYS
1086:Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 3:5-6, #KEYS
1087:All has to be done by the working of the Mother's force aided by your aspiration, devotion and surrender. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother, [T2], #KEYS
1088:As we move toward death, we realize that all we can take with us is our selves." ~ Robert Earl Burton, "Self-Remembering,", (1995). Teacher of The Fourth Way, (the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff)., #KEYS
1089:Bad critics judge a work of art by comparing it to pre-existing theories. They always go wrong when confronted with a masterpiece because masterpieces make their own rules. ~ Robert Anton Wilson, #KEYS
1090:Do not tell this path to all. Only the few who manifest anxiety to know the Truth and an eagerness to find it, should be told. With all others be silent and keep it secret. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
1091:I made the journey to knowledge like dogs who go for walks with their masters, a hundred times forward and backward over the same territory; and when I arrived I was tired. ~ Georg C Lichtenberg, #KEYS
1092:Overlook the faults of others and see only their merits, and thus keep your mind serene. Be unconcerned in all things, with the mind cool, free of desires and without hate. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
1093:People who are vitally weak do unconsciously and automatically pull on others. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV: Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga #KEYS
1094:Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them; and whoever is thankful, fetters them with their own cord. ~ Ibn Ata'illah, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1095:He who wishes to acquire the anger that is in accordance with nature must uproot all self-will, until he establishes within himself the state natural to the intellect. ~ Saint Isaiah the Solitary, #KEYS
1096:Hitherto you have experienced truth only with the abstract intellect. I will bring you where you can taste it like honey and be embraced by it as by a bridegroom. ~ C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, #KEYS
1097:In order to understand how the new holographic paradigm fits into the overall scheme of things, it is necessary to have an overall scheme of things to begin with. ~ Ken Wilber, Eye to Eye, p. 126, #KEYS
1098:Make sajdah with love. Pray with love. Do everything that the Lord of the Heavens is ordering you to do with love. ~ Shaykh Nazim Al Haqqani, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1099:Naked my spirit from its vestures stands;
I am alone with my own self for space. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Self's Infinity,#KEYS
1100:Our mortal vision peers with ignorant eyes;
It has no gaze on the deep heart of things. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Debate of Love and Death,#KEYS
1101:Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ephesians, 6:18, #KEYS
1102:Suppression with inner indulgence in subtle forms is not a cure, but expression in outer indulgence is still less a cure. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Desire, #KEYS
1103:The illusory individual, along with the rest of the phenomenal manifestation, disappears into its source, as soon as it's involvement in the process of conceptualization ceases. ~ Ramesh Balsekar, #KEYS
1104:The next time you try to seduce anyone, don't do it with talk, with words. Women know more about words than men ever will. And they know how little they can ever possibly mean. ~ William Faulkner, #KEYS
1105:This is good because it bans something I disagree with ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (it would be bad if it was something I agreed with) twitter.com/disclosetv/sta…, #KEYS
1106:To work for the Divine is very good, it is a delight. But to work with the Divine is a felicity infintely deeper and sweeter still.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1107:What is exactly meant by a sincere aspiration?
An aspiration which is not mixed with any interested and egoistic calculation.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1108:Whenever I write a novel, I have a strong sense that I am doing something I was unable to do before. With each new work, I move up a step and discover something new inside me.
~ Haruki Murakami,#KEYS
1109:Actions are lifeless forms, but the presence of an inner sincerity within them is what endows them with life-giving spirit. . ~ Ibn Ata'allah, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1110:Day and night constantly the Presence is there. It is enough to turn silently inward and we detect it.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [T5],#KEYS
1111:God bestows more consideration on the purity of the intention with which our actions are performed than on the actions themselves. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
1112:If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
~ Henry David Thoreau,#KEYS
1113:In the night a million stars arise
To watch us with their ancient friendly eyes. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Perigone Prologuises,#KEYS
1114:Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You've got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it." ~ Ray Bradbury, #KEYS
1115:Meet you own self. Be with your own self, listen to it, obey it, cherish it, keep it in mind ceaselessly. You need no other guide. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
1116:One day I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body. I got tired of hating myself. ~ Gabourey Sidibe, #KEYS
1117:People must think of us as Christ's servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. ~ 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, #KEYS
1118:Poet, who first with skill inspired did teach
Greatness to our divine Bengali speech. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Madhusudan Dutt,#KEYS
1119:Since you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" ~ Colossians 3:1-2)., #KEYS
1120:The blue sea dances like a girl
With sapphire and with pearl
Crowning her locks. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Songs to Myrtilla,#KEYS
1121:The resistance with which we meet in the accomplishment of our work is proportional to its importance. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 10 October,#KEYS
1122:All Nature dumbly calls to her alone
To heal with her feet the aching throb of life ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Adoration of the Divine Mother,#KEYS
1123:All warred against all, but with a common hate
Turned on the mind that sought some higher good; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Descent into Night,#KEYS
1124:Creation means that the composite is created so that it is brought into existence at the same time with all its principles ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1.45.4ad2)., #KEYS
1125:Enlightenment is making friendship with the whole existence." ~ Amit Ray, (b.1960) Indian author, and spiritual master, known for his teachings on meditation, yoga, peace and compassion, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1126:God cannot be taken by violence. It is only through love and harmony that you can reach God. Be in peace - my blessings are with you.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1127:God is a great & cruel Torturer because He loves. You do not understand this, because you have not seen & played with Krishna.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human,#KEYS
1128:How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams with its illusions, aspirations, dreams! Book of Beginnings, Story without End, Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend! ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, #KEYS
1129:If a man could write a book on Ethics that was really a book on Ethics, this book would, with an explosion, destroy all other books in the world. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein, 'A Lecture on Ethics' (1929), #KEYS
1130:Leisure is only possible when we are at one with ourselves. We tend to overwork as a means of self-escape, as a way of trying to justify our existence. ~ Josef Pieper, Leisure: The Basis of Culture, #KEYS
1131: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, #KEYS
1132:Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it." ~ Scott Hawkins, (b. 1969) author of "The Library at Mount Char", (a contemporary fantasy). See https://bit.ly/2UWyXsX, #KEYS
1133:Philosophy is a doctrine of building character, not of nourishing weakness. Strength of character comes from contact with life and not from running away. ~ Manly P. Hall (Horizon August 1941 p. 4) #KEYS
1134:Religion today is but a crutch. God made man with Himself within man, so that man might lean on Him, not on religion." ~ Sunyata, (1890- 1984) Danish mystic, "Dancing with the Void,", (2001, 2015)., #KEYS
1135:Stop, open up, surrender the beloved blind silence. Stay there until you see you're looking at the light with infinite eyes. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1136:That man whose mind attaches itself only to sensible objects, death carries away like a torrent dragging with it a sleeping village. ~ Dhammapada, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1137:The ego sense must be replaced by a oneness with the transcendental Divine and with universal being. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Liberation of the Spirit, #KEYS
1138:The Force is there waiting to be manifested, we must discover the new forms through which it can manifest. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 12 June,#KEYS
1139:...the German language associates "origin" with suddenness and discontinuity with respect to primordial events, whereas temporal inceptions are designated as "starts" or "beginnings". ~ Jean Gebser, #KEYS
1140:The reason you want to be better is the reason why you aren't, shall I put it like that? We aren't better because we want to be. Because the road to hell is paved with good intentions. ~ Alan Watts, #KEYS
1141:As Augustine says, to attain to God with the mind is a great blessing, but to comprehend Him is impossible ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on John 1, lect. 5)., #KEYS
1142:Develop a Minimum Viable Product but with Maximum Viable Planning
~ Kim's Law, https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JosephKim/20150224/237157/Mobile_Game_Design_Iteration_vs_Planning_MVP__Dangerous.php,#KEYS
1143:Even as I are these, even as they am I,-identifying himself thus with others, the wise man neither kills nor is a cause of killing. ~ Sutta Nipata, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1144:How is one to know what the Divine's Work is and how is one to work with the Divine?
You have only to unite and identify yourself with the Divine.
~ The Mother, [T5],#KEYS
1145:It is only when we no longer compulsively need someone that we can have a real relationship with them…" ~ Arthur Storr, (1920 - 2001), an English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and author, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1146:Let's not forget that what is looking out of your eyes and hearing with your ears right now is already Spirit. And that Spirit, that I AMness, is always present in all sentient beings. ~ ken-wilber, #KEYS
1147:No man has a right to constrain another to think like himself. Each must bear with patience and indulgence the beliefs of others. ~ Giordano Bruno, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1148:The gleaming stars all about the shining moon
Hide their bright faces, when full-orbed and splendid
In the sky she floats, flooding the shadowed earth
with clear silver light.
~ Sappho,#KEYS
1149:Time voyages with Thee upon its prow,—
And all the future's passionate hope is Thou. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Because Thou Art,#KEYS
1150:When the man who does good, ceases to concern himself with the result of his act, ambition and wrath are extinguished within him. ~ Lalita Vistara, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1151:Because you are with other thoughts, you call the continuity of a single thought meditation or dhyana. If that dhyana becomes effortless it will be found to be your real nature. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
1152:Can meet the same Nothing In an apparent other. This is the birth of Love. This is the pinnacle of creation." ~ Arjuna Nick Ardagh, (b. 1957), author of "How About Now: Satsang with Arjuna,", (1999)., #KEYS
1153:Happy the worlds that have not felt our fall,
Where Will is one with Truth and Good with Power; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Heavens of the Ideal,#KEYS
1154:He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins. ~ Saint Maximus the Confessor, #KEYS
1155:If one but tell a thing well, it moves on with undying voice, and over the fruitful earth and across the sea goes the bright gleam of noble deeds ever unquenchable. ~ Pindar, Isthmian Odes, IV, l. 67, #KEYS
1156:If we think of ourselves as cattle with ropes hanging from our noses, Dharma practitioners hold that rope in their own hands, whereas ordinary people are controlled by others. ~ Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, #KEYS
1157:Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendor, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. ~ Sophronius of Jerusalem, #KEYS
1158:Like a chariot drawn by wild horses is the mind, the man of knowledge should hold it in with an unswerving attention. ~ CwetawataraUpanishad. II. 9, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1159:The day is not far distant when humanity will realize that biologically it is faced with a choice between suicide and adoration. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #KEYS
1160:What is there in learning and scholarship? You can attain God by calling upon Him with a yearning heart. Knowledge of different kinds is not essential. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1161:It is impossible to maintain friendship with an evil person without becoming somewhat like him in evil ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on Nichomachean Ethics 9)., #KEYS
1162:The Serpent of the threshold hissing rose,
A fatal guardian hood with monstrous coils, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Entry into the Inner Countries,#KEYS
1163:What is man?... Thou crownedst him with glory and honour.... thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Hebrews,, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1164:3.Humankind is the only virus cursed to live with the horrifying knowledge of its hosts fragile mortality. (人类才是唯一的病毒，明智宿主的脆弱和死亡的命运，却得 ... ~ Kingsman, #KEYS
1165:At a certain stage in the path of devotion the religious man finds satisfaction in the Divinity with a form, at another stage in the formless Impersonal. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1166:Moebius for characters, Foss for ships, Syd Meade for hard SF, Barlowe for aliens, and Chesley Bonestell for the original interplanetary age optimism (could doubtless come up with more) ~ M Alan Kazlev, #KEYS
1167:O my Lord, the stars glitter
and the eyes of men are closed.
Kings have locked their doors
and each lover is alone with his beloved.
Here, I am alone with you.
~ Rabia al-Adawiyya,#KEYS
1168:Our vital being is not concerned with self-knowledge but with self-affirmation, desire, ego. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Knowledge by Identity and Separative Knowledge, #KEYS
1169:Out of the ineffable hush it hears them come
Trembling with the beauty of a wordless speech. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Paradise of the Life-Gods,#KEYS
1170:The Divine's glory transforms defeats into eternity's victories, shadows have fled before His radiant brightness.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You,#KEYS
1171:The future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with Him in the building of the civilization of love." ~ Pope John Paul II, #KEYS
1172:The self is the master of the self, what other master wouldst thou have? A self well-controlled is a master one can get with difficulty. ~ Dhammapada, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1173:You want to have a meaningful life? Everything you do matters. That's the definition of a meaningful life. But everything you do matters. You're going to have to carry that with you." ~ Jordan Peterson, #KEYS
1174:Although lustful actions may accord with the nature of man as animal, they are not fitting to it as rational ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Commentary on Colossians, ch. 3)., #KEYS
1175:If to-day when thou art with thy self, thou knowest nothing, what wilt thou know tomorrow when thou shalt have passed out of this self? ~ Omar Khayyam, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1176:In this rude combat with the fate of man
Thy smile within my heart makes all my strength; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Divine Worker,#KEYS
1177:Let my skin and sinews and bones dry up, together with all the flesh and blood of my body! I welcome it! But I will not move from this spot until I have attained the supreme and final wisdom.
~ Buddha,#KEYS
1178:Lost was the instinct's safe identity
With the arrow-point of being's inmost sight. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
1179:Sri Aurobindo is always with us, enlightening, guiding, protecting. We must answer to his grace by a perfect faithfulness.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 14 AUGUST, [T1],#KEYS
1180:the value...of life is not so much to do conspicuous things...as to do ordinary things with the perception of their enormous value. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #KEYS
1181:Unless therefore the Magician be first anointed with this Oil, all his work will be wasted and evil.
~ Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Book 4, Magick, Part II, The Holy Oil,#KEYS
1182:An attentive scrutiny of thy being will reveal to thee that it is one with the very essence of absolute perfection. ~ Buddhist Writings in the Japanese, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1183:it can only find itself in changing forms." ~ Rabindranath Tagore, (1861-1941), a Bengali poet & musician, reshaped Bengali literature & music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1184:Kama (Desire)
My desire
Takes many forms; I change and wheel and race,
And with Me runs creation. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Kama,#KEYS
1185:Mary, a proper name is taken to mean star of the sea or enlightener and lady; hence in Rev ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (12:1) she is described with the moon under her feet., #KEYS
1186:That he may vanquish hate, let the disciple live with a soul delivered from all hate and show towards all beings love and compassion. ~ Magghima Nikaya, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1187:A heretic with regard to one article has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 2-2.5.3)., #KEYS
1188:In accordance with the real nature of things, it is the human that must conform to the Divine, and not the Divine to the human. ~ Seyyed Hossein Nasr, @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1189:No act of kindness, no matter how small, is every wasted." ~ Aesop, (c. 620 - 564), a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as "Aesop's Fables," Wikipedia., #KEYS
1190:Sin poisons with its vivid flowers of joy
Or leaves a red scar burnt across the soul; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
1191:Stand firm therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ephesians,. VI. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1192:The things we cannot realise today we shall be able to realise tomorrow. The only necessity is to endure. With my Blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 20 August, [T5],#KEYS
1193:To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.
~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, [T5],#KEYS
1194:A million faces wears her knowledge here
And every face is turbaned with a doubt. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Kingdoms and Godheads of the Little Mind,#KEYS
1195:Armed with the intuition of a bliss
To which some moved tranquillity was the key, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The House of the Spirit and the New Creation,#KEYS
1196:For integral self-possession we must be one not only with the Self, with God, but with all existences. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Realisation of the Cosmic Self, #KEYS
1197:Human affection is obviously unreliable because it is so much bound up with selfishness and desire. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Human Relations and the Spiritual Life, #KEYS
1198:Keep always this awareness of my constant loving presence and all will be all right.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I, The Mother, Relations with Others, 'I am with You', [T1],#KEYS
1199:Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. ~ Saint Ignatius of Antioch, #KEYS
1200:Make a conscious effort to surround yourself with positive, nourishing, and uplifting people - people who believe in you, encourage you to go after your dreams, and applaud your victories." ~ Jack Canfield, #KEYS
1201:Oneness with others is not enough by itself, if it is a oneness with their ignorance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Origin and Remedy of Falsehood, Error, Wrong and Evil, #KEYS
1202:The greatest religious problem today is how to be both a mystic and a militant. In other words how to combine the search for an experience of inner awareness with effective social action. ~ Ursula K LeGuin, #KEYS
1203:The truth is always the One at work on itself, at play with itself, infinite in unity, infinite in multiplicity. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Release from the Ego, #KEYS
1204:The word was used as a hieratic means
For the release of the imprisoned spirit
Into communion with its comrade gods. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 4:2,#KEYS
1205:When we repeat the Name of the Mother, it begins to echo in all your consciousness, outside as well as inside you.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother, [T2],#KEYS
1206:All change must come from within with the felt or the secret support of the Divine Power. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1207:A relation also can be established on a sure basis only when it is free from attachment . ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1208:Concentrate more upon what you are to be, on the ideal, with the faith that, since it is the goal before you, it must and will come.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - IV, [T1],#KEYS
1209:Destruction is always a simultaneous or alternate element which keeps pace with creation. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Vision of the World-Spirit - Time the Destroyer, #KEYS
1210:Give me an increase of love, that I may learn to taste with the inward lips of my heart how sweet it is to love, how sweet to be dissolved in love and bathe in it. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
1211:I want to be able to feel her constantly with me.
The Mother is always there with you. You have only to throw away the forces of Ignorance to feel her with you always. ~ Sri Aurobindo, TMWLOTM,#KEYS
1212:Recite the Lord's name with all your heart, throughout the day and night, whether you are in the midst of work or not. While outwardly you are engaged in work, repeat His name inwardly. ~ Swami Vijnanananda, #KEYS
1213:The supreme duty of man is to remember the Lord always, whether one is engaged in consciously repeating His name or not. Every breath of ours should be associated with Him, in our mind. ~ Swami Vijnanananda, #KEYS
1214:Thou shalt leave behind thee the embarrassments with which wealth surrounds thee and thou shalt find the immensity of the spiritual kingdom. ~ Ahmed Halif, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1215:You must have faith and patience. You have persistently up and doing. What will you gain by dejection and moaning just because you cannot achieve anything with a little effort? ~ Manapurush Swami Shivananda, #KEYS
1216:A fatal seed was sown in life's false start
When evil twinned with good on earthly soil. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
1217:A magnanimity as of sea or sky
Enveloped with its greatness all that came
And gave a sense as of a greatened world. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Issue,#KEYS
1218:Any truth about God investigated by human reasoning would only be reached by a few, after a long time, and with a mixture of many errors ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1.1.1)., #KEYS
1219:Do not take my words for a teaching. Always they are a force in action, uttered with a definite purpose, and they lose their true power when separated from that purpose. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
1220:Giving Him the power of attorney and remaining carefree, practice spiritual discipline without pretense. If you do not double-deal with God, He will assume each of your responsibilities. ~ Swami Adbhutananda, #KEYS
1221:He was not far from it [creation] before, for no part of creation had ever been without him who, while ever abiding in union with the Father, yet fills all things that are. ~ Athanasius, On the Incarnation 8, #KEYS
1222:Men want to help each other with a motive behind or a feeling which proceeds from the ego. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1223:Mother, What is the rationale of Divine Grace? Is not the Supreme Mother always ready with Her Grace for those who can call it down?
Yes.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1224:Mysticism is the art of union with Reality." ~ Evelyn Underhill, (1875 -1941) English Anglo-Catholic author of numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1225:Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendor. ~ Sophronius of Jerusalem, #KEYS
1226:The spirit's consent is needed for each act
And Freedom walks in the same pace with Law. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
1227:Thou shalt invest thyself with her as with a raiment of glory and thou shalt put her on thy head as a crown of joy. Say unto wisdom, ... "Thou art my sister", and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ Proverbs, #KEYS
1228:Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." ~ Golda Meir, #KEYS
1229:What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #KEYS
1230:Cease to search out death with such ardour in the strayings of your life, use not the work of your hands to win that which shall destroy you. ~ Wisdom I. 12, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1231:Heroism is not what people say, it is to be completely united - and the divine help will always be with those who have, in all sincerity, resolved to be heroic. Voilà.
~ The Mother,#KEYS
1232:He whose whole play of life is with the Self and in the Self has his joy and so does actions, is the best of the knowers of the Eternal. ~ Mundaka Upanishad, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1233:If man surrenders totally to the Divine, he identifies himself with the Divine.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Elements of Yoga, Surrender to the Divine Will, Surrender, [T5],#KEYS
1234:I realized that the whole world was filled with God alone. One cannot have spiritual realization without destroying ignorance; so I would assume the attitude of a tiger and devour ignorance. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1235:It is the psychic fidelity that brings the power to stand against the Asuras and enables the Protection to work. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Dealing with Hostile Attacks, #KEYS
1236:Mind, a glorious traveller in the sky,
Walks lamely on the earth with footsteps slow. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Gospel of Death and Vanity of the Ideal,#KEYS
1237:O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me." ~ Saint Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein), #KEYS
1238:There is nothing so powerful to purify the mind as work done unselfishly with a spirit of dedication and service. That is the only way by which you can get rid of yourself of bad thoughts. ~ Swami Saradananda, #KEYS
1239:A divine knowledge and a perfect turning with adoration to this Divine is the secret of the great spiritual liberation. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Field and its Knower, #KEYS
1240:Consciousness doesn't have relationships ." ~ Rupert Spira, ((b. 1960) international teacher of Advaita Vedanta, notable English potter and studio potter with work in public and private collections, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1241:Difficult is union with God when the self is not under governance; but when the self is well-subjected, there are means to come by it. ~ Bhagavad Gita XI. 38, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1242:He sowed the desert with ruddy-hearted rose,
The sweetest voice that ever spoke in prose. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Bankim Chandra Chatterji,#KEYS
1243:Small beginnings are of the greatest importance and have to be cherished and allowed with great patience to develop. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - III, The Value of Experiences, #KEYS
1244:Study is of importance only if you study in the right way and with the turn for knowledge and mental discipline. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, The Place of Study in Sadhana, #KEYS
1245:The most beautiful ape is ugly when compared to a human. The wisest human will seem like an ape when compared to a god with respect to wisdom, beauty, and everything else. ~ Heraclitus, #KEYS
1246:The Mother does not act by the mind, so to judge her action with the mind is futile. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother, The Mother's Way of Dealing with Sadhaks, #KEYS
1247:The proud man wishes to distinguish himself from others and deprives himself thus of the best joy of life, of a free and joyful communion with men. ~ Tolstoy, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1248:We ought to be in a constant state of aspiration, but when we cannot aspire let us pray with the simplcity of a child. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 25 July,#KEYS
1249:What attitude should I keep while doing my works of daily routine? How should I act with family members, relatives and friends?
Detachment.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1250:Behind the appearance of these opposites are their truths and the truths of the Eternal are not in conflict with each other. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, Vijnana or Gnosis, #KEYS
1251:Do nothing at all without the beginning of prayer. Seal all your doings, my child, with the sign of the living cross. Do not go out the door of your house till you have signed the cross. ~ Saint Ephrem of Syria, #KEYS
1252:Don't let anything from outside approach and disturb you. What people think, do or say is of little importance. The only thing that counts is your relation with the Divine. ~ The Mother, #KEYS
1253:Every day should be regarded as a day when a descent may take place or a contact established with the higher consciousness.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Himself And The Ashram, [T5],#KEYS
1254:For millennia magicians, philosophers and scientists and various other explorers have sought The Map of reality. This map has grown exponentially larger with the passage of time.
~ Peter J Carroll, The Octavo,#KEYS
1255:[Goethe] reached out to the reconciliation of the antithesis between the senses and the intellect, an antithesis with which traditional science does not attempt to cope. ~ R D Gray, Goethe the Alchemist, 98-99., #KEYS
1256: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, #KEYS
1257:Philosophy properly speaking begins in the ninth century with John Scottus Erigena. ~ G. W. F. Hegel, Lectures on the History of Philosophy: The Lectures of 1825-1826. Volume III: Medieval and Modern Philosophy, #KEYS
1258:Strength, strength ! No weeping in a corner. Stand up, shake off all weakness. The soul is immortal; there is no sin for the soul. Whom to fear? Move on with strength. Fear not, but move on. ~ Swami Paramananda, #KEYS
1259:That man whose mind is solely attached to the objects of sense, him death drags with it as an impetuous torrent sweeps away a slumbering village. ~ Dhammapada, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1260:The proper way to deal with a wrong movement is to look quietly at it and put the consciousness right at that point. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Depression and Despondency, #KEYS
1261:There are pearls in the depths of the ocean, but one must dare all the perils of the deep to have them. So is. it with the Eternal in the world. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1262:To avoid the company of fools, to be in communion with the sages, to render honour to that which merits honor, is a great blessedness. ~ Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1263:Any truth about God investigated by human reasoning would only be reached by a few, and after a long time, and with a mixture of many errors ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ST 1.1.1)., #KEYS
1264:Fate covered with an unseen necessity
The game of chance of an omnipotent Will. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Yoga of the King, The Yoga of the Soul's Release,#KEYS
1265:Imagined scenes or great eternal worlds,
Dream-caught or sensed, they touch our hearts with their depths; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Glory and Fall of Life,#KEYS
1266:I pass beyond Time and life on measureless wings,
Yet still am one with born and unborn things. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Cosmic Consciousness,#KEYS
1267:My protection is always with you and nothing bad can happen. But you must take the decision to shake off the fear and then my force can work fully.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1268:Now that you have learned to know the truth, let your hearts henceforth enlightened take pleasure in a conduct in conformity with it. ~ Fo-sho-hing-tai ti-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1269:Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, #KEYS
1270:That is one of the many reasons why I avoid speaking as much as possible. For I always say either too much or too little, which is a terrible thing for a man with a passion for truth like mine... ~ Samuel Becket, #KEYS
1271:The breath of divine Power blows where it lists and fills today one and tomorrow another with the word or the puissance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Master of the Work, #KEYS
1272:The eternal, the divine Reality
Has faced itself with its own contraries. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 02.04#KEYS
1273:The Master has said, "To pore over mysterious things and do miracles that I may be cited with honour in future times, this is what 1 will not do." ~ Tsang-Yung, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1274:When the adverse forces are dealt with in the right way, all that is ugly and false disappears to leave place only for what is true and beautiful.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother III,#KEYS
1275:With relief, with humiliation, with terror, he understood that he too was a mere appearance, dreamt by another.~ Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths, Selected Stories and Other Writings, #KEYS
1276:Diogenes, filthily attired, paced across the splendid carpets in Plato's dwelling. Thus, said he, do I trample on the pride of Plato. Yes, Plato replied, but only with another kind of pride. ~ Georg C Lichtenberg, #KEYS
1277:Everyone who is intent upon surviving with worth and dignity, and living rather than passively accepting life, must sooner or later pass through the agonies of emergent consciousness ~ Jean Gebser, #KEYS
1278:God with form and the formless God are both equally true. One cannot keep one's mind on the formless God a long time. That is why God assumes form for His devotees. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1279:Happy is he who nourishes himself with these good words and shuts them up in his heart. He shall always be one of the wise. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ecclesiastes, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1280:Magic of percept joined with concept's art
And lent to each object an interpreting name. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Kingdoms and Godheads of the Little Mind,#KEYS
1281:Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. ~ Dr Seuss, #KEYS
1282:Philosophy dealing with the principles of things must come to perceive the Principle of all these principles. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Higher and the Lower Knowledge, #KEYS
1283:Strange and terrible books were drawn voluminously from the stack shelves and from secure places of storage; and diagrams and formulae were copied with feverish haste and in bewildering abundance. ~ H P Lovecraft, #KEYS
1284:The Society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God." ~ Our Lady of La Salette , #KEYS
1285:To Romanticize means to endow base matters with noble meaning, ordinary matters with a mysterious status, familiar matters with the dignity of the unknown, finite matter with the appearance of infinity. ~ Novalis, #KEYS
1286:With a silver cry of opening gates
Sight's lightnings leaped into the invisible. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Yoga of the King, The Yoga of the Soul's Release,#KEYS
1287:A bee-croon honey-drunk in summer isles
Ardent with ecstasy in a slumbrous noon,
Or the far anthem of a pilgrim sea. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The World-Soul,#KEYS
1288:A complete self-knowledge in all things and at all moments is the gift of the supramental gnosis and with it a complete self-mastery. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Gnostic Being, #KEYS
1289:Disquietude and depression create an unhelpful atmosphere for one who is ill or in difficulties. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1290:Errors about creatures sometimes lead one astray from the truth of faith, in so far as the errors are inconsistent with a true knowledge of God ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ScG 2.3)., #KEYS
1291:For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil that I would not, that I do.. I find then a law that, when I would dogood, evil is present with me. ~ Pascal, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1292:I've always rejected being understood. To be understood is to prostitute oneself. I prefer to be taken seriously for what I'm not, remaining humanly unknown, with naturalness and all due respect. ~ Fernando Pessoa, #KEYS
1293:Let us die and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ from this world to the Father. ~ Saint Bonaventure, #KEYS
1294:The act done under right rule, with detachment, without liking or dislike, by the man who grasps not at the fruit, that is a work of light. ~ Bhagavad Gita 18.23, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1295:The only way for us to have long-term happiness is to live by our highest ideals, to consistently act in acccordance with what we believe our life is truly about. ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, p. 345, #KEYS
1296:The perfect union is that which meets the Divine at every moment, in every action and with all the integrality of the nature. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Way and the Bhakta, #KEYS
1297:The sense of one's personal will is lost. That is enlightenment. Enlightenment means there is no "me" with a sense of personal doership. "I" can do nothing. Everything that happens is God's will. ~ Ramesh Balsekar, #KEYS
1298:When My Beloved Appears :::
When my Beloved appears,
With what eye do I see Him?
With His eye, not with mine,
For none sees Him except Himself. ~ Ibn Arabi, [T5],#KEYS
1299:After Christ's death the Apostle expresses a desire to be dissolved and be with Christ: Hence, we are told: 'Fear not them that kill the body' ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (Mt. 10:28)., #KEYS
1300:And there is no more perfect life than that which is passed in the commerce and sociely of men when it is filled with charity towards one's neighbour. ~ J. Tauler, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1301:Awakening is possible only for those who seek it and want it, for those who are ready to struggle with themselves and work on themselves for a very long time and very persistently in order to attain it. ~ Gurdjieff, #KEYS
1302:First set yourself right and then only set out to improve others.
But one must begin somewhere, and one can begin only with oneself. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Face to Face, c62,#KEYS
1303:Make speed, all of you, to one temple of God, to one altar, to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from the one and only Father, is eternally with that One, and to that One is now returned. ~ Saint Ignatius of Antioch, #KEYS
1304:Proclaim the glory of the Atman with the roar of a lion, and impart fearlessness unto all beings by saying: "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached". ~ Swami Vivekananda, #KEYS
1305:The happiness of each thing resides in its own proper perfection, and this perfection is nothing else for each individual than union with his own Cause. ~ Sallust, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1306:These limitations of his power, knowledge, life, delight of existence are the whole cause of man's dissatisfaction with himself and the universe.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga,#KEYS
1307:This is the power of Mahalakshmi and there is no aspect of the Divine Shakti more attractive to the heart of the embodied beings.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother,#KEYS
1308:All creation tends toward man, all mankind tends toward Christ, and, in turn, Christ, as he has revealed himself to us, tends to unite with all mankind, and through it with the universe. ~ Louis Bouyer, Cosmos (231), #KEYS
1309:Aloneness is a gift. A beautiful gift to the human soul. True and consistent satisfaction comes from the bond you form with yourself. Nobody else is a constant" ~ Mohadesa Najumi, for bio. see: http://bit.ly/2wWb6jH, #KEYS
1310:I am so angry with myself because I cannot do what I should like to do, and at such a moment one feels as if one were lying bound hand and foot at the bottom of a deep dark well, utterly helpless. ~ Vincent van Gogh, #KEYS
1311:If always Fate were careful to fit in
The nature with the lot! But she sometimes
Loves these strange contrasts and crude ironies. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act I,#KEYS
1312:If we want to have conversations with God (of course within us), is it possible? If yes, on what condition?
God does not indulge in conversation.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1313:The human mind is stiff in its perceptions and the human vital insistent on its own way of action. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1314:The more a man is truthful, the more he is divine; unconquerableness, immortality, the greatness of the godhead enter into a man along with truthfulness. ~ Emerson, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1315:The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them. ~ Henry David Thoreau, #KEYS
1316:We in this generation, must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves. ~ Rachel Carson, #KEYS
1317:Be extremely vigilant about avoiding positions of leadership, but should you be tried with such matters at least know your limitations. ~ Shaykh Ahmad al Zarruq], @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1318:Believe me, the Lord is always with you. If you practice a little, He will extend His helping hand to you. It is He who is protecting us all from miseries and troubles. How unbounded is His grace! ~ Swami Brahmananda, #KEYS
1319:f you succeed inconquering yourself entirely, you will conquer the rest with the greatest ease. To triumph over oneself is the perfect victory ~ Imitation of Christ, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1320:Hail to Thee, to Thee, Spirit of the Supreme Spirit, Soul of souls, to Thee, the visible and invisible, who art one with Time and with the elements. ~ Vishnu Purana, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1321:He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Revelation, 9:2, #KEYS
1322:If you give to a man all riches and all might and he looks upon himself with the same humility as before, then that man far surpasses other human beings. ~ Meng-tse, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1323:I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me! ~ Dr. Seuss, #KEYS
1324:Regarding virtue, perfection consists in man not following the passions of the body, but moderating and controlling them in accordance with reason ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ScG 2.79), #KEYS
1325:The oneness with all is an internal realisation, but it does not necessarily impose the same dealing with all. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Human Relations and the Spiritual Life, #KEYS
1326:To whatever creed you belong, be pious and charitable, for infidelity combined with virtue is better than Islam without good character." ~ Ubaydh Zakani (d.1371), @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1327:But not for self alone the Self is won:
Content abide not with one conquered realm; ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Nirvana and the Discovery of the All-Negating Absolute,#KEYS
1328:Desire the good of all and the universe will work with you. But if you want your own pleasure, you must earn it the hard way. Before desiring, deserve. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
1329:India has lived and lived richly, splendidly, greatly, but with a different will in life from Europe. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Renaissance in India, A Rationalistic Critic on Indian Culture - V, #KEYS
1330:Keep company with those who remind you of God, and seek approval of those who counsel not with the tongue of words but the tongue of deeds." ~ Ibn Khafif, (died 981/982) a Persian mystic and sufi from Iran, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1331:Myth suckled knowledge with her lustrous milk;
The infant passed from dim to radiant breasts. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Kingdoms and Godheads of the Little Mind,#KEYS
1332:The object of meditation is to open to the Mother and grow through many progressive experiences into a higher consciousness in union with the Divine.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - II,#KEYS
1333:All difficulties are solved by taking rest in the Divine's arms, for these arms are always opened with love to shelter us.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Face and Overcome Difficulties,#KEYS
1334:But you should have all the more confidence in your heavenly Mother! Look, with Me, at the times in which you are living and you will see the signs of my extraordinary intervention." ~ Our Lady to Father Stefano Gobbi , #KEYS
1335:Earth cannot long resist the man whom Heaven has chosen;
Gods with him walk; his chariot is led; his arm is assisted. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ilion,#KEYS
1336:Go on practicing Japa and meditation with great devotion, perseverance, and patience. Gradually the mind will become tranquil and meditation will deepen. You will find a craving for your meditation. ~ Swami Virajananda, #KEYS
1337:He who practises wisdom without anger or covetousness, who fulfils with fidelity his vows and lives master of himself, he is indeed a man of religion. ~ Buddhist Text, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1338:If the psychic were always there in front, the desert would be no longer a desert and the wilderness would blossom with the rose. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, The Lower Vital Being, #KEYS
1339:If thou givest thyself up to the least pride, thou art no longer master of thyself, thou losest thy understanding as if thou wert drunk with wine. ~ Attar of Nishapur, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1340:Look to me, beloved sons and you who are consecrated to me, in the great battle which you are fighting, under the orders of your heavenly Leader. I am the Woman clothed with the sun." ~ Our Lady to Father Stefano Gobbi, #KEYS
1341:Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas, and live by truth alone. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj Maharaj, #KEYS
1342:Purify thyself and thou shalt see God. Transform thy body into a temple, cast from thee evil thoughts and contemplate God with the eye of thy conscious soul. ~ Vemana, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1343:The lotus-heart of love
With all its thousand luminous buds of truth,
Which quivering sleeps veiled by apparent things. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Word of Fate,#KEYS
1344:This is why I would put to profit the present moment, penetrated with the conviction that now has come the right moment to seek for the Truth. ~ Fo-shu-hing-tsan-king, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1345:Thou shalt see in that spot the mendicant stripped of all resources but with his head troubled by a desire for the possession of the world. ~ Ahmod Halif: Mystic Odes, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1346:What should we do to remain always in contact with the Divine, so that no person or event can draw us away from this contact?
Aspiration. Sincerity.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1347:Yoga means union with the Divine, and the union is effected through offering - it is founded on the offering of yourself to the Divine. ~ The Mother, Questions And Answers 1929-1931, (28 April), #KEYS
1348:A fragile miracle of thinking clay,
Armed with illusions walks the child of Time. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Journey in Eternal Night and the Voice of the Darkness,#KEYS
1349:At a certain stage in the path of devotion the religious man finds satisfaction in the Divinity with a form, at another stage in the formless Impersonal. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1350:Awakening is possible only for those who seek it and want it, for those who are ready to struggle with themselves and work on themselves for a very long time and very persistently in order to attain it. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff, #KEYS
1351:Concentration upon oneself means decay and death. Concentration on the Divine alone brings life and growth and realisation.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You,#KEYS
1352:Leader here with his uncertain mind,
Alone who stares at the future's covered face,
Man lifted up the burden of his fate. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Symbol Dawn,#KEYS
1353:Let the superior man bear himself in the commerce of men with an always dignified deference, regarding all men that dwell in the world as his own brothers. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1354:Let your old age be childlike, and your childhood like old age; that is, so that neither may your wisdom be with pride, nor your humility without wisdom. ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo, #KEYS
1355:Son of man, thou hast crowned thy life with flowers that are scentless,
Chased the delights that wound. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Descent of Ahana,#KEYS
1356:The Divine's Presence gives us peace in strength, serenity in action and an unchanging happiness in the midst of all circumstances.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You,#KEYS
1357:The thoughts of unknown minds exalt me with their thrill;
I carry the sorrow of millions in my lonely breast. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, The Cosmic Man,#KEYS
1358:Whatever you do, you have to do with faith. Whatever is to be achieved will be achieved that way alone. Go on doing worship and japa as you have been doing. Don't make your mind restless needlessly. ~ SWAMI SUBODHANANDA, #KEYS
1359:Wisdom fears no thing, but still bows humbly to its own source, with its deeper understanding, loves all things, for it has seen the beauty, the tenderness, and the sweetness which underlie Life's mystery ~ Manly P Hall, #KEYS
1360:... with the heart concentrated by yoga, viewing all things with equal regard, beholds himself in all beings and all beings in himself. In whatever way he leads his life, that one lives in God. ~ Bhagavad Gita, 6:29, 31, #KEYS
1361:Great and glorious God, and Thou Lord Jesus, I pray you shed abroad your light in the darkness of my mind. Be found of me, Lord, so that in all things I may act only in accordance with Thy holy will. ~ Francis of Assissi, #KEYS
1362:I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live
~ Epictetus,#KEYS
1363:Our Lady received through the ineffable kindness of Jesus the strength to endure the trials of her love until the end. May you also find the strength to endure with the Lord to Calvary! " ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, #KEYS
1364:Seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. ~ Saint Bonaventure, #KEYS
1365:So long as man has not thrown from him the load of worldly desire which he carries about with him, he cannot be in tranquillity and at peace with himself. ~ Ramakrishna, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1366:The height of love is the rapturous immersion of ourselves in unity of ecstatic delight with the object of our love and adoration. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Modes of the Self, #KEYS
1367:The mind that becomes elated also is subject to depression. Don't identify yourself with either! Go beyond! Somehow touch the feet of the Lord. Then you are no longer subject to the opposites of life. ~ Swami Turiyananda, #KEYS
1368:The sorrow by which Nature's hunger is fed,
The oestrus which creates with fire of pain, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Yoga of the King, The Yoga of the Soul's Release,#KEYS
1369:When one is in the right consciousness, then there is the right movement, the right happiness, everything in harmony with the Truth. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - III, The Inward Movement, #KEYS
1370:With every inhalation, utter the Name of the Lord. With every exhalation, utter the Name of the Lord. Use this splendid and precious chance in your life to the fullest. Live in God, for Him and with Him. ~ SRI SATHYA SAI, #KEYS
1371:All philosophy is concerned with the relations between two things, the fundamental truth of existence and the forms in which existence presents itself to our experience. ~ Sri Aurobindo, #KEYS
1372:Call with Bhakti upon His Hallowed Name and the mountain of your sins shall disappear as a mountain of cotton-wool will vanish in an instant if it catches one spark of fire. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1373:One has to seek Beauty and Truth... As I always say to my pupils, you have to work to the finish. There's only one kind of painting. It is the painting that presents the eye with perfection... ~ William-Adolphe Bouguereau, #KEYS
1374:The idea of the future, pregnant with an infinity of possibilities, is thus more fruitful than the future itself, and this is why we find more charm in hope than in possession, in dreams than in reality.
~ Henri Bergson,#KEYS
1375:Thou shalt invest thyself with her as with a raiment of glory and thou shalt put her on thy head as a crown of joy. Say unto wisdom, ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Ecclesiastes, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1376:With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there's the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like, yeah, he's sure he can control the demon. Didn't work out. ~ Elon Musk, #KEYS
1377:With every increase in the degree of consciousness, and in proportion to that increase, the intensity of despair increases: the more consciousness the more intense the despair. ~ Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, #KEYS
1378:And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, 1 Corinthians,. XII. 25, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1379:He camped in the Bunker with his typewriter, his shotgun, and his overcoat. From time to time he'd slip on his coat, saunter our way, and take his place at the table we reserved for him in front of the stage. ~ Patti Smith, #KEYS
1380:He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Lord to bring it to perfection. ~ Saint Benedict of Nursia, #KEYS
1381: If taken in excess it produces hallucinations and a staggering gait. If taken over a long term, it causes one to communicate with spirits and lightens one's body. (ca. 1100 CE) ~ Zhenglei bencao, Classified Materia Medica, #KEYS
1382:It is enough to call on Him with sincerity of heart. If the devotee is sincere, then God, who is the Inner Guide of all, will certainly reveal to the devotee His true nature. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1383:It is not because of God's insufficiency that He attributes powers of action to created things, but because of His most perfect fullness, which is sufficient for sharing with all beings. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, a. 10 as 16, #KEYS
1384:So long as our mind is in this world, so long as our mind is in this body, so long as we identify ourselves with our ego, we cannot be expected to know our own Self. We cannot realize our own Self. ~ SWAMI TRIGUNATITANANDA, #KEYS
1385:If one is always in the inner consciousness, then one can be not dispersed even when doing outward things. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1386:It is good for you to spend some time with children. They will teach you to believe, to love and to play. Children will help you smile from your heart and to have that look of wonderment in your eyes. ~ MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI, #KEYS
1387:I would say, then, that you are faced with a future in which education is going to be number one amongst the great world industries. ~ R Buckminster Fuller, Education Automation: Freeing the Scholar to Return to His Studies, #KEYS
1388:Q : How can I meditate? What is meant by opening? Where should I open?
The Mother ,: An inner purity and receptivity that freely lets in the Mother's influence. Begin with the heart. ~ The Mother,#KEYS
1389:Sometimes one life is charged with earth's destiny,
It cries not for succour from the time-bound powers. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain,#KEYS
1390:The crossis always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. ~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, #KEYS
1391:The Divine is everywhere and in everything; and we are created to discover the Divine and to unite with the Divine for his manifestation.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The True Aim of Life,#KEYS
1392:The Jiva cannot really become master except in proportion as he arrives at oneness with the Divine who is his supreme Self. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Action of the Divine Shakti, #KEYS
1393:There is tremendous power in practice. Practice becomes firm and abiding if continued long and uninterruptedly with faith and devotion. Whatever you practice becomes in course of time your second nature. ~ SWAMI VIRAJANANDA, #KEYS
1394:The superior man lives in peace with all men with- out acting absolutely like them. The vulgar man acts absolutely like them without being in accord with them. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1395:With no set idea of how something is supposed to be, it is hard to get stuck on things not happening in the time frame you desired. Instead, you are just being there, open to the possibilities of your life." ~ Lodro Rinzler, #KEYS
1396:You must have learned principles so firmly that when your desires, your appetites or your fears awaken like barking dogs, the logos will speak with the voice of a master who silences the dogs by a single command. ~ Plutarch, #KEYS
1397:At the service of the Divine we are; it is the Divine who decides, ordains and puts in motion, directs and accomplishes the action. With my blessings. ~ The Mother, Mantras of the Mother, 25 December, #KEYS
1398:Inequality of feelings towards others, liking and disliking, is ingrained in the nature of the human vital. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Interactions with Others and the Practice of Yoga, #KEYS
1399:In the Divine's light we shall see, in the Divine's knowledge we shall know, in the Divine's will we shall realise. 1 October 1954
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, The Divine Is with You, [T1],#KEYS
1400: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., #KEYS
1401:On this day land and sea share between them the grace of the Saviour, and the whole world is filled with joy. Today's feast of the Epiphany manifests even more wonders than the feast of Christmas. ~ Proclus of Constantinople, #KEYS
1402:The reason that you are blessed in excess with anything is so that you can give it away to someone else in need." ~ Dee Dee M. Scott, American author that has made a name as a playwright, a film producer, and an entrepreneur, #KEYS
1403:With no mind, flowers lure the butterfly; With no mind, the butterfly visits the blossoms. Yet when flowers bloom, the butterfly comes; When the butterfly comes, the flowers bloom.
~ Taigu Ryokan, Translated by Larry Smith,#KEYS
1404:You need not worry about awakening the spiritual power called Kundalini. If you chant the name of the Lord with a steadfast mind and meditate on His blissful form, you need not bother about anything else. ~ Swami Saradananda, #KEYS
1405:All harmony proceeds upon seen or given lines and carries with it a constant pulsation and rhythmic recurrence. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Supramental Instruments - Thought-Process, #KEYS
1406:Barbarism is the state of society in which man is almost entirely preoccupied with his life and body, his economic and physical existence. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle, Civilisation and Culture, #KEYS
1407:But what a force is that of the sage who can live at peace with men without having the mobility of water and remain in the midst of them firm and incorruptible ! ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1408:He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other. ~ Francis Bacon, #KEYS
1409:He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins... ~ Maximus the Confessor, Third Century on Love no. 55, #KEYS
1410:In everyone's life - at some time - our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~ Albert Schweitzer, #KEYS
1411:... Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Escape from this earthly form,
For this body is a chain
and you are its prisoner.
Smash through the prison wall
and walk outside with the kings and princes. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi#KEYS
1412:Ordinary people are friendly with those who are outwardly similar to them. The wise are friendly with those who are inwardly similar to them." ~ Sufi saying, from "Sacred Laughter of the Sufis,", (2014), ed. Imam Jamal Rahman, #KEYS
1413:Struggle with all alien thoughts, be always mindful of what you are doing and thinking whether outwardly or inwardly. So that you may put the imprint of your immortality on every passing moment of your daily life. ~ Gujduvani, #KEYS
1414:The Creator and the creature are at ease with each other and that is the greatest satisfaction, that is salvation. ~ Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad (Allah sanctify his secret)., @Sufi_Path #KEYS
1415:Let us without feet, make the holy circuit round the door of the King, For he has come intoxicated with 'Am I not I?' and broken our door." ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, "Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi," Wikipedia., #KEYS
1416:This observe, thy task in thy destiny noble or fallen;
Time and result are the gods'; with these things be not thou troubled. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ilion,#KEYS
1417:We must fill the immense lacuna we have made,
Re-wed the closed finite's lonely consonant
With the open vowels of Infinity. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Secret Knowledge,#KEYS
1418:[A] competent magician should have the ability to stand still at a bus stop with closed eyes and have the entire universe disappear apart from a single blazing visualised sigil or muttered spell.
~ Peter J Carroll, The Octavo,#KEYS
1419:A man's mind runs after bad things. If he wants to act virtuously, the mind fails to co-operate. Therefore, if one wants to achieve something noble, he must be sincerely arduous and seized with a firm resolve. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
1420:Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. ~ Leo the Great, #KEYS
1421:Deathlessness is our real nature, and we falsely ascribe it to the body, imagining that it will live forever and losing sight of what is really immortal, simply because we identify ourselves with the body. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
1422:Desiring a state of freedom from desire will not set you free. Nothing can set you free, because you are free. See yourself with desireless clarity, that is all. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
1423:It needs the eye of genius to dispense with the necessity of experience and see truth with a single intuitive glance. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - I, The Man of the Past and the Man of the Future, #KEYS
1424:Occult masters of destiny,
They who sit in the Secrecy
And watch unmoved ever
Unto the end of all. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Winged with Dangerous Deity,#KEYS
1425:Ratio, scientific or theoretical reason, emerges from the ruins of the sophic; it becomes the lantern with which we seek the Logos in the nocturnal darkness. ~ Sergius Bulgakov, The Philosophy of Economy: The World as Household, #KEYS
1426:The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another, one which will last forever…" ~ Anatole France, (1844-1924), a French poet, journalist, and successful novelist with several best-sellers, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1427:These are they who were not defiled with women; they are virgins and these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the firstfruits of the human race for God and the Lamb." ~ Revelation 14:4, #KEYS
1428:Why does it take many people such a long time to realize Him? - MASTER: The truth is that a man doesn't feel restless for God unless he is finished with his enjoyments and duties. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
1429:Wisdom attracts him with her luminous masks,
But never has he seen the face behind:
A giant Ignorance surrounds his lore. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Vision and the Boon,#KEYS
1430:A DEVOTEE: " Sir, what is the way.? ~ MASTER: " Discrimination between the Real and the unreal. one should always discriminate to the effect that God alone is real and the world unreal. And one should pray with sincere longing.", #KEYS
1431:Analogic vision precedes all real knowledge. Only those who perceive similarities between things and events are able to work with concepts.… To grasp essential similarities means to perceive primal phenomena. ~ Robert Spaemann, #KEYS
1432:An Interview with a Carmelite Nun and Prayer as Relationship with.. ~ THIS WEEK ONLY, save 30% off the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross with the promo code CarmelCast. Mother Celine recalls that when she first read St..., #KEYS
1433:Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, #KEYS
1434:By knowledge we seek unity with the Divine in his conscious being: by works we seek also unity with the Divine in his conscious being. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Delight of the Divine, #KEYS
1435:During the period of Sadhana, keep the mind fully occupied with spiritual pursuits. Keep yourself at the farthest distance from everything that would stir up your passions. Then only you will be safe. ~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #KEYS
1436: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, #KEYS
1437:Fear, desire and sorrow are diseases of the mind; born of its sense of division and limitation, they cease with the falsehood that begot them. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, Gnosis and Ananda, #KEYS
1438:he man whose understanding is in union with the Spirit, casts from him both good doing and evil doing; get this union, it is the perfect skill in works. ~ Bhagavad Gita. II- 50, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1439:Love with my love, think with my thoughts; the rest
Leave to much older wiser men whose schemings
Have made God's world an office and a mart. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Plays and Stories, Act II,#KEYS
1440:Perform all thy actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity. [Trans. Purohit Swami]
~ Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita,#KEYS
1441:Thou art the sun, the stars, the planets, the entire world, all that is without form or endowed with form, all that is visible or invisible, Thou art all these. ~ Vishnu Purana, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1442:Truth is not compatible with falsity, as neither is whiteness with blackness. But God is not only true, He is truth itself. So there can be no falsity in Him ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ScG 1.61)., #KEYS
1443:Watch with care over your heart and give not way to heedlessness; practise conscientiously every virtue and let not there be born in you any evil inclination. ~ Buddhist Maxims, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1444:It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material posessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo, #KEYS
1445:It is nothingness and helplessness & need, When love penetrates the breast, The heart's blood seeps out through the eye. Love does not sit with ease & repose." ~ Nizami Ganjavi, (1141 - 1209), greatest poet in Persian lit., Wiki., #KEYS
1446:It is the Holy Spirit who effects with water the second birth, as a certain seed of divine generation. It is a consecration of a heavenly birth and the pledge of a promised inheritance. ~ Novation, Treatise Concerning the Trinity, #KEYS
1447:Knowledge and tapasya, whatever their force, have a less sustaining power—faith is the strongest staff for the journey. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother, The Mother's Protection, #KEYS
1448:Now I have no choice but to see with your eyes, So I am not alone, so you are not alone." ~ Yiannis Ritsos, (1909 -1990), Greek poet, left-wing activist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1449:There is an internal freedom permitted to every mental being called man to assent or not to assent to the Divine leading. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother, Surrender to the Mother, #KEYS
1450:At his hands he received the crown of martyrdom, being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord. ~ Saint Jerome, #KEYS
1451:Divine love so penetrated and filled the soul of Mary that no part of her was left untouched, so that she loved with her whole heart, with her whole soul, and her whole strength, and was full of grace. ~ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, #KEYS
1452:Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
~ Plato,#KEYS
1453:He alone knows the law of life. Whoever does not seek out clearly what is the true good, cannot correct himself with sincerity and does not arrive at true perfection. ~ Confucius, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
1454:I don't think there is such a thing as
an intelligent mega-rich
person.
For who with a fine mind can look
out upon this world and
hoard
what can nourish
a thousand
souls. ~ Kabir,#KEYS
1455:Impure, sadistic, with grimacing mouths,
Grey foul inventions gruesome and macabre
Came televisioned from the gulfs of Night. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Descent into Night,#KEYS
1456:It is not so much the act that matters, but the consciousness in which it is done. So all is well and do not torment yourself. My love is always with you.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, [T2],#KEYS
1457:True love is like some infinite way of being that we become part of: a flowing energy of willingness, an eternal yes resounding with every heartbeat." ~ Gerald G. May, (1940 - 2005) American Psychiatrist and Theologian, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1458:When Christ came, he banished the devil from our hearts, in order to build in them a temple for himself. Let us therefore do what we can with his help, so that our evil deeds will not deface that temple. ~ Saint Caesarius of Arles, #KEYS
1459:According to the nature of the action, it brings you near to the Divine or takes you away from Him, and that is the supreme consequence.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Ways of Working with the Lord,#KEYS
1460:...everything really depends on the Divine Grace and we should look towards the future with confidence and serenity, at the same time progressing as fast as we can.
~ The Mother, On Thoughts And Aphorisms,#KEYS
1461:In each human being there is a beast crouching ready to manifest at the slightest unwatchfulness. The only remedy us a constant vigilance. With my blessings.
~ The Mother, Mantras Of The Mother, 18 AUGUST,#KEYS
1462:It is appropriate to human nature that a man after coitus remain together with a woman, and not desert her right away to have such relations with another woman ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ScG 3.122)., #KEYS
1463:It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material possessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect." ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo, #KEYS
1464:Life with her wine-cup of longing under the purple of her tenture,
Death as her gate of escape and rebirth and renewal of venture. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ahana,#KEYS
1465:Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs." ~ Saint Francis de Sales, #KEYS
1466:Man and cosmos exist by virtue of God and not in themselves except in so far as their being is one with the being of God. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, The Progress to Knowledge - God, Man and Nature, #KEYS
1467:Some virtues direct the active life of man and deal with actions rather than passions: for example, truth, justice, libera-lity, magnificence, prudence, and art ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas, (ScG 1.93)., #KEYS
1468:Suddenly, the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ and all those given over to sin will perish and the earth will become desert-like. And then peace will be made, and man will be reconciled with God." ~ Our Lady of La Salette , #KEYS
1469:The boundless Nescience of the unconscious depths
Covered eternity with nothingness. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The World of Falsehood, the Mother of Evil and the Sons of Darkness,#KEYS
1470:There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have "poisoned," in a literal sense of the word, our minds with the physico-chemical effects of wrong ideas. ~ Alfred Korzybski, Manhood of Humanity, #KEYS
1471:You asked me what linguistics I find most pernicious. I started with "is". The "either/or" habit is very pernicious. It seems very pernicious to me, I mean. Two-valued situations are relatively rare, actually. ~ Robert Anton Wilson, #KEYS
1472:A living centre of the Illimitable
Widened to equate with the world's circumference, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Yoga of the King, The Yoga of the Spirit's Freedom and Greatness,#KEYS
1473:Do not speak of Jesus Christ, and yet set your desires on the world. Let not envy find a dwelling-place among you; nor even should I, when present with you, exhort you to it, be persuaded to listen to me. ~ Saint Ignatius of Antioch, #KEYS
1474:Do not take my words for a teaching. Always they are a force in action, uttered with a definite purpose, and they lose their true power when separated from that purpose.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother I,#KEYS
1475:Even with skills that are primarily mental, such as computer programming or speaking a foreign language, it remains the case that we learn best through practice and repetition-the natural learning process.
~ Robert Greene, Mastery,#KEYS
1476:One has to keep a certain balance by which the fundamental consciousness remains able to turn from one concentration to another with ease. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II, Becoming Conscious in Work, #KEYS
1477:Oneness was sovereign in that sylvan peace,
The wild beast joined in friendship with its prey;
Persuading the hatred and the strife to cease ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, The Quest,#KEYS
1478:We must be satisfied with what the Divine gives us, and do what He wants us to do without weakness, free from useless ambition.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II, Surrender to the Divine Will, Surrender,#KEYS
1479:with a radish." ~ Kobayashi Issa, (1763 - 1828) Japanese poet and lay Buddhist priest, known for his haiku poems and journals. He is better known as simply Issa, a pen name meaning Cup-of-Tea, Wikipedia., #KEYS
1480:Your hope in my heart is the rarest treasure
Your Name on my tongue is the sweetest word
My choicest hours
Are the hours I spend with You -
O God, I can't live in this world
Without remembering You ~ Rabia al-Adawiyya,#KEYS
1481:Imps with wry limbs and carved beast visages,
Sprite-prompters goblin-wizened or faery-small, ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 02.05,#KEYS
1482:I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment?
~ Epictetus,#KEYS
1483:In whatever form and with whatever spirit we approach him, in that form and with that spirit he receives the sacrifice. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Yoga of Divine Works, The Sacrifice, [T5], #KEYS
1484:Kindness is twice blessed. It blesses the one who gives it with a sense of his or her own capacity to love, and the person who receives it with a sense of the beneficence of the universe." ~ Dawna Markova. See: https://bit.ly/3iZwmrI, #KEYS
1485:Meditation in the core of the heart is advisable. But, my dear, how deep into the heart can you really enter? Our Master said meditation on his picture would be enough. Go on doing it with all your heart and soul. ~ Swami Vijnananada, #KEYS
1486:My life is a succession of events, just like yours. Only I am detached and see the passing show as a passing show, while you attach to things and move along with them. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, #KEYS
1487:Novel values furbished ancient themes
To cheat the mind with the idea of change. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, 02.06,#KEYS
1488:The hostile beings, they are always in battle with each other; but they make common cause against the Truth and Light. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, The Hostile Forces and the Difficulties of Yoga, #KEYS
1489:The knowing with which a feeling of loneliness or sorrow is known is the same knowing with which the thought of a friend, the sight of a sunset or the taste of ice cream is known." ~ Rupert Spira, "The Nature of Consciousness, (2017), #KEYS
1490:373. Shall I accept death or shall I turn and wrestle with him and conquer? That shall be as God in me chooses. For whether I live or die, I am always.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Karma, 473,#KEYS
1491:Be content with wherever and in whatever situation He places you. The goal is to call upon Him and to attain to Him. If you call upon Him, He will lead you by the hand. You will have no fear if you can depend on Him. ~ Sri Sarada Devi, #KEYS
1492:Detect first what is false or obscure in you and persistently reject it, then alone can you rightly call for the divine Power to transform you.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Mother With Letters On The Mother, [T5],#KEYS
1493:Everything seems to me to pass so quickly that we must concentrate on how to die rather than on how to live. How sweet it is to die if one has lived on the Cross with Christ. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila, #KEYS
1494:Experience never ceases to change but 'I', the knowing element in all experience, never itself changes. The knowing with which all experience is known is always the 'same' knowing." ~ Rupert Spira, "The Nature of Consciousness, (2017), #KEYS
1495:How can I meditate? What is meant by opening? Where should I open?
An inner purity and receptivity that freely lets in the Mother's influence. Begin with the heart.
~ The Mother, Words Of The Mother II,#KEYS
1496:Life in my limbs shall grow deathless, flesh with the God-glory tingle,
Lustre of Paradise, light of the earth-ways marry and mingle. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Collected Poems, Ahana,#KEYS
1497:Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. ~ Revelation 12:1-2, #KEYS
1498:The inner loneliness can only be cured by the inner experience of union with the Divine; no human association can fill the void. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - IV, Human Relations and the Spiritual Life, #KEYS
1499:Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing. . . . If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get caught up in spiritual superficialities. ~ Laozi, #KEYS
1500:Ethics deals only with the desire-soul and the active outward dynamical part of our being; its field is confined to character and action. ~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Instruments of the Spirit, #KEYS
1:Bear patiently with a rival. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 2:Do all things with love. ~ og-mandino, @wisdomtrove 3:Off with their heads! ~ lewis-carroll, @wisdomtrove 4:Load every rift with ore. ~ john-keats, @wisdomtrove 5:Be gentle with the earth. ~ dalai-lama, @wisdomtrove 6:Be satisfied with what you have. ~ aesop, @wisdomtrove 7:Meet your fears with faith. ~ max-lucado, @wisdomtrove 8:No man provokes me with impunity. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 9:Love begins with listening. ~ fred-rogers, @wisdomtrove 10:Peace beings with a smile ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 11:Peace starts with a smile ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 12:An undertaking beset with danger. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 13:Bear calamities with meekness. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 14:Burning with curiosity... ~ lewis-carroll, @wisdomtrove 15:I want to live, and die with you. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 16:One with God is a majority. ~ billy-graham, @wisdomtrove 17:Peace begins with a smile. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 18:Like I said... fine with me. ~ alice-walker, @wisdomtrove 19:Heaven means to be one with God. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 20:I can't live without you or with you. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 21:It pays to be content with your lot. ~ aesop, @wisdomtrove 22:I wisely started with a map. ~ j-r-r-tolkien, @wisdomtrove 23:I write with all my heart ~ ursula-k-le-guin, @wisdomtrove 24:Knowledge is Life with wings ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 25:Oh, I am in love with life! ~ virginia-woolf, @wisdomtrove 26:Zen has no business with ideas. ~ d-t-suzuki, @wisdomtrove 27:Don't squat with your spurs on. ~ will-rogers, @wisdomtrove 28:Pleasure bought with pain does harm. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 29:With a sort of mental squint. ~ lewis-carroll, @wisdomtrove 30:With words we govern men. ~ benjamin-disraeli, @wisdomtrove 31:Fills The air around with beauty. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 32:Freedom always comes with a price. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 33:I can connect Nothing with nothing ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 34:I'm in love with my second cousin. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 35:Possess your soul with patience. ~ john-dryden, @wisdomtrove 36:Real prayer is union with God. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 37:The dreamer is one with the dream. ~ tim-freke, @wisdomtrove 38:Youth holds no society with grief. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 39:Acquaint thyself with God. ~ aiden-wilson-tozer, @wisdomtrove 40:Hope is a thing with feathers ~ emily-dickinson, @wisdomtrove 41:To the devil with false modesty. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 42:Come back with your shield - or on it ~ plutarch, @wisdomtrove 43:Each betrayal begins with trust. ~ martin-luther, @wisdomtrove 44:Fill high the cup with Samian wine! ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 45:Intuition is seeing with the soul. ~ dean-koontz, @wisdomtrove 46:Life is so much friendlier with two. ~ a-a-milne, @wisdomtrove 47:The future is plump with promise. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 48:The true man breathes with his heels. ~ zhuangzi, @wisdomtrove 49:With a heavy load and a long journey ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 50:With children Love is spelled TIME. ~ zig-ziglar, @wisdomtrove 51:Close both eyes to see with the other eye. ~ rumi, @wisdomtrove 52:I fell in love with melancholy. ~ edgar-allan-poe, @wisdomtrove 53:Love and say it with your life. ~ saint-augustine, @wisdomtrove 54:Old words are reborn with new faces. ~ criss-jami, @wisdomtrove 55:Replace "Have to" with "Want to." ~ steve-pavlina, @wisdomtrove 56:Time has nothing to do with the matter. ~ moliere, @wisdomtrove 57:You fall in love with people's minds. ~ anais-nin, @wisdomtrove 58:A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ napoleon-hill, @wisdomtrove 59:Come, live with me and you'll know me. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 60:Enlightenment is intimacy with all things. ~ dogen, @wisdomtrove 61:Everything begins with an idea. ~ earl-nightingale, @wisdomtrove 62:Honor your commitments with integrity. ~ les-brown, @wisdomtrove 63:How can I dispose of myself with it? ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 64:Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo. ~ ambrose-bierce, @wisdomtrove 65:Respect starts with ourselves. ~ nathaniel-branden, @wisdomtrove 66:Titles do not count with posterity. ~ thomas-paine, @wisdomtrove 67:Walking with her man, Lost in a dream. ~ a-a-milne, @wisdomtrove 68:What do years have to do with age? ~ leo-buscaglia, @wisdomtrove 69:With white feet glancing light as air, ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 70:Almost anything is possible with time ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 71:A youth is to be regarded with respect. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 72:Do not spoil the wonder with haste! ~ j-r-r-tolkien, @wisdomtrove 73:Everyone is in love with his own ideas. ~ carl-jung, @wisdomtrove 74:It ends not with a bang, but a whimper. ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 75:Necessity dispenseth with decorum. ~ thomas-carlyle, @wisdomtrove 76:Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon. ~ a-a-milne, @wisdomtrove 77:Pluck with quick hand the fruit that passes. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 78:Say it with pride we are Hindus ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove 79:Sharing with Jupiter is never a dishonor. ~ moliere, @wisdomtrove 80:Things must be felt with the heart. ~ hellen-keller, @wisdomtrove 81:Action is movement with intelligence ~ b-k-s-iyengar, @wisdomtrove 82:Every journey starts with a single step. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 83:Everything is nothing, with a twist. ~ kurt-vonnegut, @wisdomtrove 84:Get bored with your past, it's over! ~ caroline-myss, @wisdomtrove 85:I don't digest things with my mind. ~ marilyn-monroe, @wisdomtrove 86:I fought with my twin, the enemy within. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 87:Much wisdom often goes with fewer words. ~ sophocles, @wisdomtrove 88:Nobody with me at sea but myself. ~ oliver-goldsmith, @wisdomtrove 89:one more creature dizzy with love ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 90:Perfect humility dispenses with modesty. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 91:Poor empty pants With nobody inside them. ~ dr-seuss, @wisdomtrove 92:Sometimes you have to fight with music. ~ bob-marley, @wisdomtrove 93:Surprise your doubts with action. ~ danielle-laporte, @wisdomtrove 94:Tell your story with your whole heart. ~ brene-brown, @wisdomtrove 95:What's wrong with assholes, baby? ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 96:Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 97:Winston was gelatinous with fatigue. ~ george-orwell, @wisdomtrove 98:With a book he was regardless of time. ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 99:With a smile we should instruct our youth. ~ moliere, @wisdomtrove 100:Don't confuse small with insignificant. ~ joel-osteen, @wisdomtrove 101:Don't operate on the heart with a hatchet. ~ jim-rohn, @wisdomtrove 102:Failure cannot cope with persistence. ~ napoleon-hill, @wisdomtrove 103:FROG, n. A reptile with edible legs. ~ ambrose-bierce, @wisdomtrove 104:God has joined the innocent with the guilty. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 105:I desired dragons with a profound desire. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 106:I had a lovers quarrel with the world. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 107:I see through my eyes, not with them. ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 108:I've decided to stick with love. ~ martin-luther-king, @wisdomtrove 109:Life is one big road with lots of signs, ~ bob-marley, @wisdomtrove 110:Never confuse motion with action. ~ benjamin-franklin, @wisdomtrove 111:Observe what is with undivided awareness. ~ bruce-lee, @wisdomtrove 112:Time spent with cats is never wasted. ~ sigmund-freud, @wisdomtrove 113:You must always be a-waggle with LOVE. ~ d-h-lawrence, @wisdomtrove 114:You're in there with me. Personally. ~ john-f-kennedy, @wisdomtrove 115:All sorrows are less with bread. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 116:An organism at war with itself is doomed. ~ carl-sagan, @wisdomtrove 117:A poem begins with a lump in the throat ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 118:Better poverty without care, than riches with. ~ aesop, @wisdomtrove 119:Compare yourself only with Jesus. ~ aiden-wilson-tozer, @wisdomtrove 120:Don't mistake activity with achievement. ~ john-wooden, @wisdomtrove 121:I listen with love to my body's messages. ~ louise-hay, @wisdomtrove 122:It's best to be ruthless with the past. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 123:I was with book, as a woman is with child. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 124:Maybe stories are just data with a soul. ~ brene-brown, @wisdomtrove 125:Never confuse movement with action. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 126:One is never alone with a rubber duck. ~ douglas-adams, @wisdomtrove 127:Surround yourself with optimistic people. ~ zig-ziglar, @wisdomtrove 128:The road to hell is paved with adverbs. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 129:Why was I born with such contemporaries? ~ oscar-wilde, @wisdomtrove 130:You defeat defeatism with confidence. ~ vince-lombardi, @wisdomtrove 131:A pilgrim is a wanderer with a purpose. ~ peace-pilgrim, @wisdomtrove 132:Don't confuse wealth with success. ~ h-jackson-brown-jr, @wisdomtrove 133:Don't fall in love with your own excuses. ~ brian-tracy, @wisdomtrove 134:Don't mess with me, man, I'm a lawyer! ~ robin-williams, @wisdomtrove 135:Every journey begins with a single step. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 136:I will go down with my colours flying. ~ virginia-woolf, @wisdomtrove 137:Light tomorrow with today! ~ elizabeth-barrett-browning, @wisdomtrove 138:One man cannot practice many arts with success. ~ plato, @wisdomtrove 139:Rich people are poor people with money. ~ george-orwell, @wisdomtrove 140:The future is bought with the present. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 141:The love affair you seek is with yourself. ~ alan-cohen, @wisdomtrove 142:What has reasoning to do with painting? ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 143:What you can't be with, won't let you be. ~ debbie-ford, @wisdomtrove 144:When strict with oneself, one rarely fails. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 145:With a smile we should instruct our youth... ~ moliere, @wisdomtrove 146:With luck, it might even snow for us. ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 147:Your success and happiness start with you. ~ zig-ziglar, @wisdomtrove 148:A man must take the fat with the lean. ~ charles-dickens, @wisdomtrove 149:And I will capture your minds with sweet novelty. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 150:And with privilege goes responsibility. ~ john-f-kennedy, @wisdomtrove 151:Armenian is the language to speak with God. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 152:Civilization begins with distillation ~ william-faulkner, @wisdomtrove 153:Doubt grows with knowledge. ~ johann-wolfgang-von-goethe, @wisdomtrove 154:Every new day begins with possibilities. ~ ronald-reagan, @wisdomtrove 155:Heaven is to be at peace with things. ~ george-santayana, @wisdomtrove 156:I have a fax machine with "fax waiting". ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 157:Inspiration is God making contact with itself. ~ ram-das, @wisdomtrove 158:I've had a lover's quarrel with the world ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 159:Never confuse activity with action. ~ f-scott-fitzgerald, @wisdomtrove 160:None but the brave can live with the fair. ~ kin-hubbard, @wisdomtrove 161:Share your joy with everyone in your world. ~ louise-hay, @wisdomtrove 162:Those who understand nature walk with God. ~ edgar-cayce, @wisdomtrove 163:Thy decay's still impregnate with divinity. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 164:What I do, I want to do with all my being. ~ elie-wiesel, @wisdomtrove 165:You and I have a rendevous with destiny. ~ ronald-reagan, @wisdomtrove 166:A bad war is fought with a good mind. ~ george-washington, @wisdomtrove 167:Conceit is incompatible with understanding. ~ leo-tolstoy, @wisdomtrove 168:Earth's crammed with Heaven. ~ elizabeth-barrett-browning, @wisdomtrove 169:Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines. ~ brian-tracy, @wisdomtrove 170:God ever works with those who work with will. ~ aeschylus, @wisdomtrove 171:Happiness is prosperity combined with virtue. ~ aristotle, @wisdomtrove 172:I am busy with my work. My path is clear. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 173:I have been one acquainted with the night. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 174:I have had a lot of success with failure. ~ thomas-edison, @wisdomtrove 175:I will greet this day with love in my heart. ~ og-mandino, @wisdomtrove 176:Just remember, it all started with a mouse. ~ walt-disney, @wisdomtrove 177:Let's not grow with our roots in the ground. ~ criss-jami, @wisdomtrove 178:Man's wonder grows with his knowledge. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 179:Morality has nothing in common with politics. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 180:Most illness begins with a negative mind. ~ napoleon-hill, @wisdomtrove 181:Never confuse activity with accomplishment. ~ john-wooden, @wisdomtrove 182:Nurture your mind with great thoughts ~ benjamin-disraeli, @wisdomtrove 183:Old maids sweeten their tea with scandal. ~ josh-billings, @wisdomtrove 184:Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud. ~ sophocles, @wisdomtrove 185:The gifts of bad men bring no good with them. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 186:The team with the most talent usually wins. ~ john-wooden, @wisdomtrove 187:The wise with hope support the pains of life. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 188:To chase the glowing hours with flying feet. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 189:Wine is a terrible foe, hard to wrestle with. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 190:With how much ease believe we what we wish! ~ john-dryden, @wisdomtrove 191:With life many things are remedied. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 192:With women, the heart argues, not the mind. ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 193:Act with kindness but do not expect gratitude. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 194:All progress means war with society. ~ george-bernard-shaw, @wisdomtrove 195:Be prepared to go mad with fixed rule and method. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 196:Either do not attempt at all or go through with it. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 197:Fufillment has nothing to do with circumstances. ~ gangaji, @wisdomtrove 198:Great battles are won with artillery. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 199:Holiness is doing God's will with a smile. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 200:I never fight with reason- I just ignore it. ~ sri-chinmoy, @wisdomtrove 201:Never ruin a good painting with the truth. ~ henri-matisse, @wisdomtrove 202:One paints with one's head, not one's hand. ~ michelangelo, @wisdomtrove 203:Overcome the devils with a thing called love. ~ bob-marley, @wisdomtrove 204:Real strength has to do with helping others. ~ fred-rogers, @wisdomtrove 205:Temperance is a mean with regard to pleasures. ~ aristotle, @wisdomtrove 206:There is no excellence uncoupled with difficulties. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 207:To change with change is the changeless state. ~ bruce-lee, @wisdomtrove 208:To hope is to see with the eye of the heart. ~ sri-chinmoy, @wisdomtrove 209:Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em. ~ john-steinbeck, @wisdomtrove 210:Virtue is choked with foul ambition. ~ william-shakespeare, @wisdomtrove 211:Waffles are like pancakes with syrup traps ~ mitch-hedberg, @wisdomtrove 212:You create your reality with your intentions. ~ gary-zukav, @wisdomtrove 213:All stress begins with one negative thought. ~ rhonda-byrne, @wisdomtrove 214:Be gentle to all and stern with yourself. ~ teresa-of-avila, @wisdomtrove 215:Creativity has got to start with humanity. ~ marilyn-monroe, @wisdomtrove 216:Don't take tomorrow to bed with you. ~ norman-vincent-peale, @wisdomtrove 217:Don't walk in my head with your dirty feet. ~ leo-buscaglia, @wisdomtrove 218:Do ordinary things with extraordinary love. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 219:Everybody has something wrong with them. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 220:Eyes bright, with many tears, behind them. ~ thomas-carlyle, @wisdomtrove 221:Get bored with your past, it's over! ~ norman-vincent-peale, @wisdomtrove 222:Give yourself time just to be with yourself. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 223:God does not play dice with the universe. ~ albert-einstein, @wisdomtrove 224:Great results, can be achieved with small forces. ~ sun-tzu, @wisdomtrove 225:I cannot say that I do not disagree with you ~ groucho-marx, @wisdomtrove 226:I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 227:I'm only confrontational with my friends. ~ chuck-palahniuk, @wisdomtrove 228:Is management candid with the shareholders? ~ warren-buffet, @wisdomtrove 229:It is with artillery that war is made. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 230:I was down in the sewer with some little lover. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 231:I write with one hand, but I fight with both. ~ victor-hugo, @wisdomtrove 232:My day begins and ends with gratitude and joy. ~ louise-hay, @wisdomtrove 233:Only longing can fill with more of itself. ~ virginia-woolf, @wisdomtrove 234:Reality can be beaten with enough imagination. ~ mark-twain, @wisdomtrove 235:Return good for good; return evil with justice. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 236:We must improve our time; time goes with rapid foot. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 237:With insufficient data it is easy to go wrong. ~ carl-sagan, @wisdomtrove 238:A leash is only a rope with a noose on both ends. ~ ayn-rand, @wisdomtrove 239:A person born with an instinct for poverty. ~ elbert-hubbard, @wisdomtrove 240:A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 241:Bologna is a deli meat for people with eyes. ~ mitch-hedberg, @wisdomtrove 242:Children spell love with four letters: T-I-M-E. ~ max-lucado, @wisdomtrove 243:Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness. ~ aesop, @wisdomtrove 244:Fame: an embalmer trembling with stage fright. ~ h-l-mencken, @wisdomtrove 245:Follow your heart, but check it with your head. ~ steve-jobs, @wisdomtrove 246:Humanity, you never had it to begin with. ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 247:I'd hate to be a giraffe with a sore throat. ~ mitch-hedberg, @wisdomtrove 248:Ill news is wing'd with fate, and flies apace. ~ john-dryden, @wisdomtrove 249:It is all ablaze with grateful adoration. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 250:It is something to hold the scepter with a firm hand. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 251:Look for companies with high profit margins. ~ warren-buffet, @wisdomtrove 252:Mighty is geometry; joined with art, resistless. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 253:Never sign a valentine with your own name. ~ charles-dickens, @wisdomtrove 254:Prospering just doesn't have to do with money. ~ joel-osteen, @wisdomtrove 255:There is a God within us and intercourse with heaven. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 256:There's only one me, and I'm stuck with him. ~ kurt-vonnegut, @wisdomtrove 257:The smiler with the knife under the cloak ~ geoffrey-chaucer, @wisdomtrove 258:The world is crammed with delightful things ~ virginia-woolf, @wisdomtrove 259:With emptie hands men may no haukes lure. ~ geoffrey-chaucer, @wisdomtrove 260:You win them to what you win them with. ~ aiden-wilson-tozer, @wisdomtrove 261:All bad writers are in love with the epic. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 262:All the power is with the sex that wears the beard. ~ moliere, @wisdomtrove 263:Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 264:Approach each asana with freshness every day. ~ b-k-s-iyengar, @wisdomtrove 265:A rut is a grave with the ends kicked out. ~ earl-nightingale, @wisdomtrove 266:A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap. ~ mitch-hedberg, @wisdomtrove 267:Do it or don't do it but get on with it. ~ jiddu-krishnamurti, @wisdomtrove 268:Every great love starts with a great story. ~ nicholas-sparks, @wisdomtrove 269:False values begin with the worship of things. ~ susan-sontag, @wisdomtrove 270:For jokes as well as justice come in with speech. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 271:He who understands nature walks close with God. ~ edgar-cayce, @wisdomtrove 272:He wins every hand who mingles profit with pleasure. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 273:I am out with lanterns, looking for myself. ~ emily-dickinson, @wisdomtrove 274:I deal with more practical issues of the Bible. ~ joel-osteen, @wisdomtrove 275:If at all possible, commune with nature daily. ~ robin-sharma, @wisdomtrove 276:I grew intoxicated with my own eloquence. ~ benjamin-disraeli, @wisdomtrove 277:I like to reminisce with people I don't know. ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 278:Illness begins with "I", Wellness begins with "we ~ sivananda, @wisdomtrove 279:I started SpaceX with the expectation of failure. ~ elon-musk, @wisdomtrove 280:Laughing stock: cattle with a sense of humor. ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 281:Love is what you make it and who you make it with. ~ mae-west, @wisdomtrove 282:Misery is the end of those with unbridled mouths. ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 283:My reputation grows with every failure. ~ george-bernard-shaw, @wisdomtrove 284:Prejudice will fall in a combat with interest. ~ thomas-paine, @wisdomtrove 285:She wished such words unsaid with all her heart ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 286:Smooth out with wine the worries of a wrinkled brow. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 287:Space ails us moderns: we are sick with space. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 288:The smylere with the knyf under the cloke. ~ geoffrey-chaucer, @wisdomtrove 289:We should not confuse information with knowledge. ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 290:You can't make a good deal with a bad person. ~ warren-buffet, @wisdomtrove 291:All communication begins with an intention, ~ danielle-laporte, @wisdomtrove 292:A lot of churches have not moved with the times. ~ joel-osteen, @wisdomtrove 293:Baseball is wrong, man with four balls cannot walk ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 294:Be at peace with your choices.They all serve you. ~ alan-cohen, @wisdomtrove 295:.. can't live with 'em... ... can't shoot 'em ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 296:Decaf is like masturbating with an oven mitt! ~ robin-williams, @wisdomtrove 297:Determine to live life with flair and laughter. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 298:Follow effective action with quiet reflection. ~ peter-drucker, @wisdomtrove 299:God always strives together with those who strive. ~ aeschylus, @wisdomtrove 300:God helps everyone with what is his own. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 301:God is with us, and His power is around us. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 302:He has the most who is most content with the least. ~ diogenes, @wisdomtrove 303:Help people with problems, your problems disappear. ~ jim-rohn, @wisdomtrove 304:I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon. ~ j-r-r-tolkien, @wisdomtrove 305:I am one who has been acquainted with the night ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 306:I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down. ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 307:I do not need a reason to be angry with God. ~ nicholas-sparks, @wisdomtrove 308:I love films that are made with almost no budget. ~ alan-moore, @wisdomtrove 309:I'm so hyper. (said with a very dull voice> ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 310:I saw a man with a wooden leg and a real foot. ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 311:Long pains, with use of bearing, are half eased. ~ john-dryden, @wisdomtrove 312:My painting carries with it the message of pain. ~ frida-kahlo, @wisdomtrove 313:No art is possible without a dance with death. ~ kurt-vonnegut, @wisdomtrove 314:No one can bother you unless you agree with them. ~ alan-cohen, @wisdomtrove 315:One must work with time and not against it. ~ ursula-k-le-guin, @wisdomtrove 316:The best leaders blend courage with compassion. ~ robin-sharma, @wisdomtrove 317:The pregnant quarry teem'd with human form. ~ oliver-goldsmith, @wisdomtrove 318:The soul is healed by being with children. ~ fyodor-dostoevsky, @wisdomtrove 319:The trouble with a mask is it never changes ~ charles-bukowski, @wisdomtrove 320:The universe is holding congress with itself. ~ frederick-lenz, @wisdomtrove 321:Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself. ~ plato, @wisdomtrove 322:Upgrade your past by seeing it with appreciation. ~ alan-cohen, @wisdomtrove 323:We must reinforce argument with results. ~ booker-t-washington, @wisdomtrove 324:When filled with holy truth the mind rests. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 325:With great victory comes great sacrifice. ~ theodore-roosevelt, @wisdomtrove 326:Ability will never catch up with the demand for it. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 327:Be courteous to all, but intimate with few. ~ george-washington, @wisdomtrove 328:Being happy is knowing how to be content with little ~ epicurus, @wisdomtrove 329:Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 330:Don't let schooling interfere with your education. ~ mark-twain, @wisdomtrove 331:Everything that begins, begins with blood. ~ f-scott-fitzgerald, @wisdomtrove 332:Flattery is useful when dealing with youngsters. ~ isaac-asimov, @wisdomtrove 333:God answers the mess of life with one word: Grace. ~ max-lucado, @wisdomtrove 334:God is on the side with the best artillery ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 335:I believe that every person is born with talent. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 336:I don't go to mythical places with strange men. ~ douglas-adams, @wisdomtrove 337:Logic is a poor guide compared with custom. ~ winston-churchill, @wisdomtrove 338:No man sympathizes with the sorrows of vanity. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 339:One filled with joy preaches without preaching. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 340:One only really sees with the heart. ~ antoine-de-saint-exupery, @wisdomtrove 341:Our problem with desire is that we want too little. ~ c-s-lewis, @wisdomtrove 342:Paradise is to love many things with a passion. ~ pablo-picasso, @wisdomtrove 343:That which you are looking for, you’re living with. ~ les-brown, @wisdomtrove 344:The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. ~ lao-tzu, @wisdomtrove 345:The journey with a 1000 miles begins with one step. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 346:The laws of a state change with the changing times. ~ aeschylus, @wisdomtrove 347:The present is big with the future. ~ gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz, @wisdomtrove 348:The problem with common sense is, it isn't. ~ benjamin-franklin, @wisdomtrove 349:To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities. ~ bruce-lee, @wisdomtrove 350:To pull off any look, wear it with confidence. ~ audrey-hepburn, @wisdomtrove 351:We cannot cure the evils of politics with politics. ~ anais-nin, @wisdomtrove 352:We loved with a love that was more than love. ~ edgar-allan-poe, @wisdomtrove 353:What can a man do with music who is not benevolent? ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 354:What has reason to do with the art of painting? ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 355:With total discipline we can solve all problems. ~ m-scott-peck, @wisdomtrove 356:Your agreement with reality defines your life. ~ steve-maraboli, @wisdomtrove 357:Ability has nothing to do with opportunity. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 358:All inquiries carry with them some element of risk. ~ carl-sagan, @wisdomtrove 359:Develop a childlike fascination with life and people. ~ jim-rohn, @wisdomtrove 360:Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on. ~ stephen-king, @wisdomtrove 361:I am a child of God. I always carry that with me. ~ maya-angelou, @wisdomtrove 362:I don’t do well with snakes, and I can’t dance. ~ robin-williams, @wisdomtrove 363:it's time to simply be with the question." ~ marianne-williamson, @wisdomtrove 364:Live as brave men and face adversity with stout hearts. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 365:Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny. ~ kin-hubbard, @wisdomtrove 366:Nothing with God can be accidental. ~ henry-wadsworth-longfellow, @wisdomtrove 367:No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself. ~ plato, @wisdomtrove 368:Now, with God's help, I shall become myself. ~ soren-kierkegaard, @wisdomtrove 369:Patience is being at peace with the process of life ~ louise-hay, @wisdomtrove 370:Power always brings with it responsibility. ~ theodore-roosevelt, @wisdomtrove 371:Seek not to inquire what the morrow will bring with it. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 372:Sometimes I get real lonely sleeping with you. ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 373:There's no taking trout with dry breeches. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 374:The road to hell is paved with good intentions. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 375:The way you make love / is the way God will be with you. ~ rumi, @wisdomtrove 376:Where God works, He works with men that work. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 377:Where is all the knowledge we lost with information? ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 378:You can reach stupidity only with a cannon ball. ~ josh-billings, @wisdomtrove 379:You have to jump into disaster with both feet. ~ chuck-palahniuk, @wisdomtrove 380:Your Vortex is pregnant with everything you want. ~ esther-hicks, @wisdomtrove 381:A cauliflower is a cabbage with a college education. ~ mark-twain, @wisdomtrove 382:A day with out sun shine is like... ... ... .night ~ steve-martin, @wisdomtrove 383:A journey to Thousand miles begins with one step ~ john-f-kennedy, @wisdomtrove 384:An Airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. ~ henry-ford, @wisdomtrove 385:Be genuine. Be remarkable. Be worth connecting with. ~ seth-godin, @wisdomtrove 386:Can I have a silk nightgown with rosebuds on it? ~ audrey-hepburn, @wisdomtrove 387:Come sit with me! Let us drink the holy wine of happiness. ~ rumi, @wisdomtrove 388:Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence. ~ aristotle, @wisdomtrove 389:Criticism is painful when it's not done with love. ~ alice-walker, @wisdomtrove 390:Don't ever confuse motion with progress. ~ robert-louis-stevenson, @wisdomtrove 391:Eternity is in love with the productions of time. ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 392:Genius is talent provided with ideals. ~ william-somerset-maugham, @wisdomtrove 393:God bears with the wicked, but not forever. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 394:I am a radiant being, filled with light and love. ~ shakti-gawain, @wisdomtrove 395:I am radically, insanely, nutty in love with Jesus! ~ joyce-meyer, @wisdomtrove 396:I love my love with a b because she is peculiar. ~ gertrude-stein, @wisdomtrove 397:My brain hums with scraps of poetry and madness. ~ virginia-woolf, @wisdomtrove 398:Never go on trips with anyone you do not love. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 399:Never test the depth of river with both the feet. ~ warren-buffet, @wisdomtrove 400:Oh Cup-bearer, set my glass afire with the light of wine! ~ hafez, @wisdomtrove 401:Old men are always young enough to learn with profit. ~ aeschylus, @wisdomtrove 402:Our responsibility begins with our imagination. ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 403:Peace with all the world, is my sincere wish. ~ george-washington, @wisdomtrove 404:Sex is a part of nature. I go along with nature. ~ marilyn-monroe, @wisdomtrove 405:tell me how does it feel with my teeth in your heart! ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 406:The path of civilization is paved with tin cans. ~ elbert-hubbard, @wisdomtrove 407:The present is great with the future. ~ gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz, @wisdomtrove 408:To feed death with her works is here life's doom. ~ sri-aurobindo, @wisdomtrove 409:Whenever a man makes haste, God too hastens with him. ~ aeschylus, @wisdomtrove 410:When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy. ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 411:Winners are people with definite purpose in life. ~ denis-waitley, @wisdomtrove 412:With out some kind of god, man is not very intresting ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 413:Women! Can't live with 'em, can't live with 'em! ~ robin-williams, @wisdomtrove 414:You cannot treat with all the world at once. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 415:An old doting fool, with one foot already in the grave. ~ plutarch, @wisdomtrove 416:A throne is only a bench covered with velvet. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 417:Come grow old with me, for the best is yet to come! ~ robert-frost, @wisdomtrove 418:He is so stupid you can't trust him with an idea. ~ john-steinbeck, @wisdomtrove 419:I am at peace with God. My conflict is with Man. ~ charlie-chaplan, @wisdomtrove 420:i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) ~ e-e-cummings, @wisdomtrove 421:I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you. ~ robin-williams, @wisdomtrove 422:I want to live like a poor man with lots of money. ~ pablo-picasso, @wisdomtrove 423:Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door. ~ vernon-howard, @wisdomtrove 424:Lead with action and let the feelings follow. ~ charles-r-swindoll, @wisdomtrove 425:Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs. ~ william-shakespeare, @wisdomtrove 426:Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 427:Sound judgement, with discernment is the best of seers ~ euripedes, @wisdomtrove 428:Take inventory of everyone with whom you have contact. ~ bruce-lee, @wisdomtrove 429:The greatest romance is with the Infinite. ~ paramahansa-yogananda, @wisdomtrove 430:The most dangerous moment comes with victory. ~ napoleon-bonaparte, @wisdomtrove 431:The past is pregnant with the present. ~ gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz, @wisdomtrove 432:There are times when even justice brings harm with it. ~ sophocles, @wisdomtrove 433:Those who gossip with you will gossip about you. ~ edgar-allan-poe, @wisdomtrove 434:To hell with luck. I'll bring the luck with me. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 435:When money is once parted with, it can never return. ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 436:With love one can live even without happiness. ~ fyodor-dostoevsky, @wisdomtrove 437:With self-discipline, all things are possible ~ theodore-roosevelt, @wisdomtrove 438:With you I should love to live, with you be ready to die. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 439:You confuse what's important with what's impressive. ~ e-m-forster, @wisdomtrove 440:You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life. ~ rumi, @wisdomtrove 441:Zen has nothing to do with letters, words, or sutras. ~ d-t-suzuki, @wisdomtrove 442:A business can be started with very little money. ~ richard-branson, @wisdomtrove 443:A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. ~ michelangelo, @wisdomtrove 444:Be patient with yourself even when you make mistakes. ~ joyce-meyer, @wisdomtrove 445:Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself. ~ marcus-aurelius, @wisdomtrove 446:Don't let your history interfere with yourdestiny. ~ steve-maraboli, @wisdomtrove 447:Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. ~ walt-disney, @wisdomtrove 448:Faith is the courage to face reality with hope. ~ robert-h-schuller, @wisdomtrove 449:Find someone who is willing to share the truth with you. ~ jim-rohn, @wisdomtrove 450:Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. ~ zhuangzi, @wisdomtrove 451:God knows I didn't mean to fall in love with her ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 452:He who has a why can deal with any what or how. ~ stephen-r-covey, @wisdomtrove 453:He who owns a hundred sheep must fight with fifty wolves ~ plutarch, @wisdomtrove 454:History, with all her volumes vast, Hath but one page. ~ lord-byron, @wisdomtrove 455:I am not bound to please thee with my answer. ~ william-shakespeare, @wisdomtrove 456:If it takes a bloodbath now let's get it over with. ~ ronald-reagan, @wisdomtrove 457:If you start with a bang, you won't end with a whimper. ~ t-s-eliot, @wisdomtrove 458:I know that living with me was not a bowl of cherries. ~ steve-jobs, @wisdomtrove 459:I love all religions, but I am in love with my own. ~ mother-teresa, @wisdomtrove 460:I'm not going to get into the ring with Tolstoy. ~ ernest-hemingway, @wisdomtrove 461:I want to die with my high heels on, still in action. ~ bette-davis, @wisdomtrove 462:I want to do everything in the world with you. ~ f-scott-fitzgerald, @wisdomtrove 463:May your life be crowded with unexpected joys. ~ h-jackson-brown-jr, @wisdomtrove 464:My sex life is like shooting pool with a rope! ~ rodney-dangerfield, @wisdomtrove 465:People with opinions just go around bothering one another. ~ buddha, @wisdomtrove 466:Regardless of the situation, react with class. ~ h-jackson-brown-jr, @wisdomtrove 467:Self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself. ~ brian-tracy, @wisdomtrove 468:So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. ~ dr-seuss, @wisdomtrove 469:Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view. ~ oliver-goldsmith, @wisdomtrove 470:Success means doing the best we can with what we have. ~ zig-ziglar, @wisdomtrove 471:The desires of man increase with his acquisitions. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 472:There are no accidents, only encounters with destiny! ~ elie-wiesel, @wisdomtrove 473:The world makes way for the man with an idea. ~ orison-swett-marden, @wisdomtrove 474:Truth is exact correspondence with reality. ~ paramahansa-yogananda, @wisdomtrove 475:We behold the face of nature bright with gladness. ~ charles-darwin, @wisdomtrove 476:We suffer most when the White House busts with ideas. ~ h-l-mencken, @wisdomtrove 477:We turn not older with years but newer every day. ~ emily-dickinson, @wisdomtrove 478:With luck on your side, you can do without brains. ~ giordano-bruno, @wisdomtrove 479:With the experience to judge, one need not pre-judge. ~ john-wooden, @wisdomtrove 480:Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them. ~ dr-seuss, @wisdomtrove 481:A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on top. ~ mark-twain, @wisdomtrove 482:A leech that will not quit the skin until sated with blood. ~ horace, @wisdomtrove 483:America is a young country with an old mentality. ~ george-santayana, @wisdomtrove 484:Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon ~ h-jackson-brown-jr, @wisdomtrove 485:A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool. ~ george-washington, @wisdomtrove 486:A wise man does not chatter with one whose mind is sick. ~ sophocles, @wisdomtrove 487:Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything. ~ aesop, @wisdomtrove 488:Cash-payment is not the sole nexus of man with man. ~ thomas-carlyle, @wisdomtrove 489:Five out of four people have trouble with fractions. ~ steven-wright, @wisdomtrove 490:God bless you all with peace, tranquility and good will. ~ bob-dylan, @wisdomtrove 491:Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach ~ hellen-keller, @wisdomtrove 492:Hiding out with the enemy brings only temporary relief. ~ max-lucado, @wisdomtrove 493:I like Kit-Kat, unless I'm with four or more people. ~ mitch-hedberg, @wisdomtrove 494:Is it possible to become friends with a butterfly? ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 495:Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 496:Let me smile with the wise, and feed with the rich. ~ samuel-johnson, @wisdomtrove 497:Nights without work I spend with whisky and books. ~ haruki-murakami, @wisdomtrove 498:One who can move mountains start with the little stones. ~ confucius, @wisdomtrove 499:Performance should be made square with promise. ~ theodore-roosevelt, @wisdomtrove 500:Start from wherever you are and with whatever you've got. ~ jim-rohn, @wisdomtrove *** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:I trust you with my life ~ J Lynn, #NFDB
2:Live with passion! ~ Tony Robbins, #NFDB
3:naked goddess with ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
4:Off with his head ~ Marissa Meyer, #NFDB
5:Stay with Emma, ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
6:Time flies with you ~ Mitch Albom, #NFDB
7:with fresh bread, ~ Marti Talbott, #NFDB
8:Bake with love.. ~ Manuela Kjeilen, #NFDB
9:Emily (with a ‘y’) ~ Emilie Autumn, #NFDB
10:firmament with ~ Washington Irving, #NFDB
11:Goal begins with "GO." ~ Bil Keane, #NFDB
12:go to schools with no ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
13:Grow with the flow ~ Timothy Leary, #NFDB
14:I feel safe with you. ~ Maya Banks, #NFDB
15:I’ll watch with you. ~ Henry James, #NFDB
16:I'm in love with Love. ~ Kat Von D, #NFDB
17:Love comes with hunger. ~ Diogenes, #NFDB
18:mother with new ~ Melanie Benjamin, #NFDB
19:Off with his head! ~ Marissa Meyer, #NFDB
20:On with the chase. ~ Gordon Korman, #NFDB
21:overtures with ~ Washington Irving, #NFDB
22:twanging with ~ Adrian Tchaikovsky, #NFDB
23:Walk with the dead ~ Philip Larkin, #NFDB
24:What is it with us? ~ Jill Shalvis, #NFDB
25:with ~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, #NFDB
26:Bear patiently with a rival. ~ Ovid, #NFDB
27:Be gentle with the young. ~ Juvenal, #NFDB
28:Dogs are miracles with paws. ~ Sark, #NFDB
29:I am two with nature. ~ Woody Allen, #NFDB
30:I met with the prisoner ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
31:I'm with you, my angel. ~ L J Smith, #NFDB
32:Morgan with big organ! ~ Vi Keeland, #NFDB
33:Move with the movers. ~ Johnny Hunt, #NFDB
34:one photo of her with ~ Terry Hayes, #NFDB
35:right with ~ Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, #NFDB
36:set up a Household with ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
37:She's coming with me. ~ Jaci Burton, #NFDB
38:Shit is wrong with me. ~ Tara Brown, #NFDB
39:Solomon smiles with us ~ N D Wilson, #NFDB
40:Think with feeling ~ Bertolt Brecht, #NFDB
41:with Authorzilla. ~ Ann Christopher, #NFDB
42:able to help you out with ~ J D Robb, #NFDB
43:Act with integrity. ~ Robin S Sharma, #NFDB
44:and lay with her father; ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
45:and with temperatures ~ Marc Headley, #NFDB
46:bars crowded with World ~ Andy Cohen, #NFDB
47:covered with a think ~ F Paul Wilson, #NFDB
48:Do with her as you will. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
49:I burn with no causes ~ Tom Stoppard, #NFDB
50:I can live with that. ~ Beth Michele, #NFDB
51:I'm in love with hope. ~ Mitch Albom, #NFDB
52:I'm on the edge with you ~ Lady Gaga, #NFDB
53:I'm pea green with envy ~ Sylvia Day, #NFDB
54:I think with my blood. ~ Cate Marvin, #NFDB
55:Off with their heads! ~ Frank Beddor, #NFDB
56:Please, stay with me. ~ Karina Halle, #NFDB
57:scene upstairs with ~ David Baldacci, #NFDB
58:standing with him. 33 As ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
59:streets with no signs, ~ Jude Watson, #NFDB
60:with every step I ~ Jessica Sorensen, #NFDB
61:With hope at last. ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
62:With the investigation, ~ Jaden Skye, #NFDB
63:With you, I breathe. ~ Ilona Andrews, #NFDB
64:You’re coming with me. ~ Holly Black, #NFDB
65:You're in love with love ~ Jenny Han, #NFDB
66:You talk with your feet. ~ A M Homes, #NFDB
67:Act now. Act with speed. ~ John Doerr, #NFDB
68:Act your part with honor. ~ Epictetus, #NFDB
69:and so it goes with God ~ Yann Martel, #NFDB
70:Are you flirting with me? ~ Meg Cabot, #NFDB
71:Be candid with everyone. ~ Jack Welch, #NFDB
72:But you belong with me. ~ Julie Berry, #NFDB
73:Do all things with love. ~ Og Mandino, #NFDB
74:Glow with the flow. ~ Jennifer Sodini, #NFDB
75:God suffers with you! ~ James Carroll, #NFDB
76:Go with your bad self. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
77:He convinces us with love, ~ Bob Goff, #NFDB
78:I am in love with Hope. ~ Mitch Albom, #NFDB
79:I burn with no causes. ~ Tom Stoppard, #NFDB
80:I grew up with artists. ~ Jason Momoa, #NFDB
81:I’m here with a business ~ Terri Reid, #NFDB
82:I toured with the Dead ~ M K Schiller, #NFDB
83:I want forever with you. ~ Maya Banks, #NFDB
84:Kiss me with your eyes. ~ Andy Warhol, #NFDB
85:Last dance with Mary Jane ~ Tom Petty, #NFDB
86:love with Flynn!" A ~ Tricia O Malley, #NFDB
87:Man with the Muckrake ~ Edmund Morris, #NFDB
88:Off with their heads! ~ Lewis Carroll, #NFDB
89:Playing with Your Food ~ Barbara Sher, #NFDB
90:Requite injury with kindness. ~ Laozi, #NFDB
91:Return animosity with virtue. ~ Laozi, #NFDB
92:sometime with them. ~ Mark T Sullivan, #NFDB
93:Suck up with subtlety. ~ Guy Kawasaki, #NFDB
94:Table with center aligned ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
95:To hell with Trish's nose! ~ Jim Ross, #NFDB
96:With one hand he put ~ Robert Pollok, #NFDB
97:You’re in love with love. ~ Jenny Han, #NFDB
98:Acquaint thyself with God. ~ A W Tozer, #NFDB
99:Act your part with honor. ~ Epictetus, #NFDB
100:and so it goes with God. ~ Yann Martel, #NFDB
101:a Nean derthal with a badge. ~ C J Box, #NFDB
102:Apologizing with grace ~ Nicole Fenton, #NFDB
103:away with the flat of her ~ Jojo Moyes, #NFDB
104:Be gentle with the earth. ~ Dalai Lama, #NFDB
105:Begin with loss and see ~ Lynn Emanuel, #NFDB
106:Be in love with yr life ~ Jack Kerouac, #NFDB
107:burning with curiosity ~ Lewis Carroll, #NFDB
108:comes with such power. ~ R A Salvatore, #NFDB
109:Dauntless flirt with death ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
110:doing with the puzzled ~ Douglas Adams, #NFDB
111:I am at two with nature. ~ Woody Allen, #NFDB
112:I'll take you with me. ~ Miyuki Miyabe, #NFDB
113:Kiss the sky with me, ~ Krista Ritchie, #NFDB
114:Load every rift with ore. ~ John Keats, #NFDB
115:metaphor be with you!— ~ Carrie Fisher, #NFDB
116:perceptibly with anger. “I ~ E L James, #NFDB
117:Please make love with me. ~ Linda Kage, #NFDB
118:start with one true thing ~ C E Murphy, #NFDB
119:The sky itself reels with Love. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
120:Was it with another chick? ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
121:With growth comes change. ~ Gayle King, #NFDB
122:Yes. But not with you. ~ Lindsay Cross, #NFDB
123:You must begin with God. ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
124:you’re stuck with me. ~ Kristen Ashley, #NFDB
125:breaks with and persistence ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
126:clarity comes with action. ~ Jeff Goins, #NFDB
127:comparing yourself with ~ Richard Dotts, #NFDB
128:Deal with him, Hemingway! ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
129:Desire Is Born With Vision ~ Zig Ziglar, #NFDB
130:Don't mess with my balloon. ~ E L James, #NFDB
131:every day with you? Come on ~ Leon Uris, #NFDB
132:Falling in love with love ~ Lorenz Hart, #NFDB
133:Get It and Go with It It ~ Nick Vujicic, #NFDB
134:Hit Me with Your Best Shot. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
135:I am in love with every church ~ Hafez, #NFDB
136:I can clap with one hand. ~ Aaron Tveit, #NFDB
137:I could be in love with you ~ T Torrest, #NFDB
138:If I hold you with my emotions, ~ Rumi, #NFDB
139:I-hate-you-with-all-my-soul ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
140:I'm in love with us Jet ~ Jay Crownover, #NFDB
141:I'm in love with you. ~ Jennifer Echols, #NFDB
142:I'm obsessed with food! ~ Sofia Vergara, #NFDB
143:I need you. Come with me? ~ Jaci Burton, #NFDB
144:I paint the walls with his blood. ~ DMX, #NFDB
145:I was stunned with outrage. ~ Tony Benn, #NFDB
146:I will hit a man with glasses. ~ Eminem, #NFDB
147:Lacey thought with ~ Mary Higgins Clark, #NFDB
148:Leaving Cahill now with ~ Daniel Judson, #NFDB
149:Making love with his ego. ~ David Bowie, #NFDB
150:man with a chinchilla beard ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
151:may the gods be with you ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
152:meeting with ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner, #NFDB
153:Never argue with what is. ~ Tyler Perry, #NFDB
154:peace begins with smile ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
155:Run with the hunted. ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
156:sails filled with the wind. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
157:Speak with the language of love. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
158:Stay with me. Always. ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
159:their arrangement with ~ Danielle Steel, #NFDB
160:Vision begins with you. ~ Carmine Gallo, #NFDB
161:We deal with them all, ~ David Baldacci, #NFDB
162:we’re gathered here with ~ Rachel Hauck, #NFDB
163:Wisdom comes with winters ~ Oscar Wilde, #NFDB
164:with renewing his offer of ~ Donna Leon, #NFDB
165:with tepid atheism. She had ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
166:with the card? Bill ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
167:With the farming of a verse ~ W H Auden, #NFDB
168:Become one with eternity. ~ Yayoi Kusama, #NFDB
169:Be satisfied with what you have. ~ Aesop, #NFDB
170:Breakin' in cribs with a crowbar ~ Big L, #NFDB
171:Cloud With Storm in Belly. ~ Erin Hunter, #NFDB
172:Come Dance with Me , come dance. ~ Hafez, #NFDB
173:Conquer with forbearance ~ Thiruvalluvar, #NFDB
174:Don’t ever flirt with sin. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
175:Fortune sides with he who dares ~ Virgil, #NFDB
176:house settled with a low ~ Melinda Leigh, #NFDB
177:I am alone with the masses. ~ Mao Zedong, #NFDB
178:I dance with the dancers. ~ Walt Whitman, #NFDB
179:I don't debate with liars. ~ Evo Morales, #NFDB
180:I dream with my eyes open. ~ Jules Verne, #NFDB
181:I have to grow with my audience. ~ Ice T, #NFDB
182:I love women with attitude. ~ Kevin Hart, #NFDB
183:I'm careful with money. ~ Craig Ferguson, #NFDB
184:I'm not easy to deal with. ~ Jaci Burton, #NFDB
185:I'm obsessed with books. ~ David Sylvian, #NFDB
186:I'm obsessed with concerts. ~ Aaron Paul, #NFDB
187:infinitesimally but with ~ Richard Price, #NFDB
188:I ran with all my might. All ~ H G Wells, #NFDB
189:keep up with him. When he ~ Jill Sanders, #NFDB
190:Meet your fears with faith. ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
191:No man provokes me with impunity. ~ Ovid, #NFDB
192:Only one way to deal with ~ Karina Bliss, #NFDB
193:Pretty please. With sugar. ~ Jim Butcher, #NFDB
194:Running GUI apps with Docker ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
195:She was wearing shoes with ~ V C Andrews, #NFDB
196:Temper justice with mercy. ~ John Milton, #NFDB
197:themselves with old ragged ~ Sharon Maas, #NFDB
198:Think with your other brain ~ Sylvia Day, #NFDB
199:verily, with hardship, there is relief ~, #NFDB
200:We are gods with anuses. ~ Ernest Becker, #NFDB
201:Why am I arguing with a computer? ~ Edge, #NFDB
202:will fight with everything ~ Miguel Ruiz, #NFDB
203:With equal pace, impartial Fate ~ Horace, #NFDB
204:with her husband as she ~ Julie Orringer, #NFDB
205:With me or without me? ~ Barbara Elsborg, #NFDB
206:With pain came insight. ~ Erica Spindler, #NFDB
207:with them”n—though they were ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
208:wrestling with the brawler’s ~ Lee Child, #NFDB
209:Your fragrance is always with me. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
210:aglow with light from Room ~ Ruth Rendell, #NFDB
211:Be content with an ordinary life. ~ Laozi, #NFDB
212:Be impeccable with your word. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
213:belief begins with the wish ~ Dave Duncan, #NFDB
214:Be with those who help your being. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
215:but with the soul athirst for ~ A W Tozer, #NFDB
216:Cheat me not with time, ~ Hilda Doolittle, #NFDB
217:Coast with us, Emerald Eyes? ~ Jay McLean, #NFDB
218:Come away with in the night ~ Norah Jones, #NFDB
219:Come with me if you want to live! ~ Moses, #NFDB
220:Compete with the immortals ~ David Ogilvy, #NFDB
221:Dark with excessive bright. ~ John Milton, #NFDB
222:Don’t screw with Baldie. ~ Kristin Hannah, #NFDB
223:Go with Mokona. Follow your fate. ~ CLAMP, #NFDB
224:He can with perfect certainty ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
225:Home is wherever I'm with you ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
226:I agreed heartily with him, ~ Bram Stoker, #NFDB
227:I always want more, with you. ~ E L James, #NFDB
228:I am fighting with you. ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
229:I am sick with caring. ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
230:I’m in love with your sex. ~ Avril Ashton, #NFDB
231:I’m wasting time with ghosts. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
232:I play well with everybody. ~ R Lee Ermey, #NFDB
233:I run with the hunted. ~ Charles Bukowski, #NFDB
234:It began with the stars. ~ Mary E Pearson, #NFDB
235:It’s okay to be alone with you. ~ E N Joy, #NFDB
236:It starts with an "I" ~ Billy Currington, #NFDB
237:I've slept with Prince. ~ Madonna Ciccone, #NFDB
238:I was in love with a ghost. ~ B J Daniels, #NFDB
239:keep in step with the Spirit. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
240:Kill them with kindness. ~ Mariana Zapata, #NFDB
241:lethargic with hopelessness ~ Jean Sasson, #NFDB
242:Life is fraught with risks, ~ Mary Balogh, #NFDB
243:Listen with your eyes. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon, #NFDB
244:Loving me with my shoes off ~ Anne Sexton, #NFDB
245:May the Force be with you. ~ George Lucas, #NFDB
246:Peace beings with a smile ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
247:Peace starts with a smile ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
248:Sheep with a nasty side. ~ Cyril Connolly, #NFDB
249:side-by-side with a similarly ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
250:Still here with my day jne niggas ~ Drake, #NFDB
251:Technology with a human face. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
252:the fields studded with sheep. ~ Jo Baker, #NFDB
253:The Force is with you. This ~ Jen Sincero, #NFDB
254:Think with your eyes open. ~ Shelly Crane, #NFDB
255:Timing has a lot to with art. ~ LL Cool J, #NFDB
256:unfocused, so heavy with ~ Monica McCarty, #NFDB
257:waved his hand palm down with ~ Leon Uris, #NFDB
258:With knowing comes caring. ~ Sylvia Earle, #NFDB
259:with static electricity ~ Debbie Macomber, #NFDB
260:you had sex with a viper, ~ Jennifer Ryan, #NFDB
261:You never can tell with bees. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
262:An undertaking beset with danger. ~ Horace, #NFDB
263:Badass with a hint of lady. ~ Belle Aurora, #NFDB
264:Bear calamities with meekness. ~ Euripides, #NFDB
265:Be gentle with the earth. ~ Dalai Lama XIV, #NFDB
266:Blind with love, my daughter ~ Anne Sexton, #NFDB
267:Come with me.” Roberto ~ Mary Pope Osborne, #NFDB
268:crowned with a spinney. More ~ Carola Dunn, #NFDB
269:Death is our wedding with eternity. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
270:Don’t be friends with jerks. ~ R J Palacio, #NFDB
271:Don't f*** with librarians. ~ Jay Kristoff, #NFDB
272:Down with Dukes of Hazzard! ~ Alec Baldwin, #NFDB
273:Fortune sides with him who dares. ~ Virgil, #NFDB
274:freedom starts with honesty. ~ Judah Smith, #NFDB
275:He hath shook hands with time. ~ John Ford, #NFDB
276:I am worn out with civility. ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
277:I don't do well with technology. ~ The Rev, #NFDB
278:I don't have beef with nobody. ~ Timbaland, #NFDB
279:I grew up with British rock. ~ Bryan Adams, #NFDB
280:I make music with no boundaries. ~ Pitbull, #NFDB
281:I'm not in love with you. ~ David Levithan, #NFDB
282:I'm very happy with my body. ~ Alicia Keys, #NFDB
283:Inter action with boldness ~ Robert Greene, #NFDB
284:I paint my life with words. ~ Blake Crouch, #NFDB
285:I tied down time with a rope ~ Anne Sexton, #NFDB
286:I want to live, and die with you. ~ Horace, #NFDB
287:I was in love with Guinevere. ~ L B Dunbar, #NFDB
288:Let deeds correspond with words. ~ Plautus, #NFDB
289:Life’s a pitch. Deal with it. ~ Mitch Joel, #NFDB
290:Like I said...fine with me. ~ Alice Walker, #NFDB
291:lookout for a retriever with ~ Dean Koontz, #NFDB
292:mad with common sense ~ F Scott Fitzgerald, #NFDB
293:Never floss with a stranger. ~ Joan Rivers, #NFDB
294:occupied with something else. ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
295:One with God is a majority. ~ Billy Graham, #NFDB
296:Peace begins with a smile. ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
297:Philosophy begins with wonder. ~ Aristotle, #NFDB
298:Pleasure bought with pains, hurts. ~ Aesop, #NFDB
299:Right there with yours. ~ Aleksandr Voinov, #NFDB
300:She was in love with love. ~ Joyce Maynard, #NFDB
301:Show the sun with a lantern. ~ Thomas More, #NFDB
302:Smith, a tall, lean man with ~ Mary Burton, #NFDB
303:Stay with me. Sleep with me. ~ Jaci Burton, #NFDB
304:The Lover is ever drunk with Love. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
305:The words ran away with me. ~ Edna O Brien, #NFDB
306:The world is alive with words ~ Amy Harmon, #NFDB
307:Victim fall in love with excuses ~ Robin S, #NFDB
308:What can we say with certainty? ~ Voltaire, #NFDB
309:What you doin' with this gun? ~ Mark Twain, #NFDB
310:Wine fills the heart with courage. ~ Plato, #NFDB
311:With death comes honesty. ~ Salman Rushdie, #NFDB
312:With maaaaaaaaaagic! ~ Lev Grossman, #NFDB
313:With Malice Towards None ~ Abraham Lincoln, #NFDB
314:with me an instant before ~ Linda Castillo, #NFDB
315:You can't deceive me with a dream. ~ CLAMP, #NFDB
316:You work with what you got. ~ Barack Obama, #NFDB
317:And starting with Extra Large. ~ Roni Loren, #NFDB
318:And with love, ambitions! ~ Thomas Keneally, #NFDB
319:Are we at war with fate? ~ Kathleen Tessaro, #NFDB
320:Art is what you get away with ~ Andy Warhol, #NFDB
321:Be clear with your desires. ~ Asa Don Brown, #NFDB
322:Begin with the end in mind. ~ Stephen Covey, #NFDB
323:Be impeccable with your word. ~ Miguel Ruiz, #NFDB
324:Be impeccable with your words ~ Miguel Ruiz, #NFDB
325:Be in love with everything . ~ Jack Kerouac, #NFDB
326:Boast quietly, with decorum. ~ Mason Cooley, #NFDB
327:Conquer a liar with truth. ~ Gautama Buddha, #NFDB
328:cover my hands with my eyes. ~ Kelly Rimmer, #NFDB
329:Creating a company with ~ Peter H Diamandis, #NFDB
330:Dare to be vulnerable with me. ~ Pam Godwin, #NFDB
331:Faced with a choice, do both. ~ Dieter Roth, #NFDB
332:Flog no one else with meat. ~ Thomas Harris, #NFDB
333:Gay isn’t synonymous with slut. ~ Cardeno C, #NFDB
334:God dances with the outcast. ~ Steven James, #NFDB
335:God shows up with surprises. ~ Pope Francis, #NFDB
336:Grilled cheese with bacon. ~ Karpov Kinrade, #NFDB
337:Hermann Buhl with K2. First ~ James M Tabor, #NFDB
338:I act with my gut instincts. ~ Alanna Ubach, #NFDB
339:I can get money with my eyes closed ~ Drake, #NFDB
340:I feel peace with the world. ~ Alice Walker, #NFDB
341:I fell in love with doing yoga. ~ Ione Skye, #NFDB
342:I find more peace with you. ~ Richelle Mead, #NFDB
343:I GO SNOWBOARDING WITH A PIG ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
344:I knew you belonged with me. ~ Brenda Novak, #NFDB
345:I love...being with you. ~ Lisa Renee Jones, #NFDB
346:I love you. Deal with it. ~ Jennifer Probst, #NFDB
347:I’m at peace with my faults. ~ Tim Marquitz, #NFDB
348:I'm on my time with everyone. ~ Kurt Cobain, #NFDB
349:I want to be alone with my thought. ~ Homer, #NFDB
350:I was wracked with insecurity. ~ Ray Romano, #NFDB
351:I would want forever with you. ~ Penny Reid, #NFDB
352:Listen with an open heart ~ William O Brien, #NFDB
353:live in harmony with nature. ~ Wayne W Dyer, #NFDB
354:Live with no time-out. ~ Simone de Beauvoir, #NFDB
355:Living with purpose was hard. ~ Jude Watson, #NFDB
356:Love God with all your mind. ~ J P Moreland, #NFDB
357:Lure with bait, strike with chaos ~ Sun Tzu, #NFDB
358:Lyricists play with words. ~ Paul McCartney, #NFDB
359:Make friends with angels. ~ Saint Augustine, #NFDB
360:Peace begins with a smile.. ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
361:Perception starts with the eye. ~ Aristotle, #NFDB
362:Play with me , Pix. Please. ~ Scarlett Cole, #NFDB
363:Rich with the spoils of time. ~ Thomas Gray, #NFDB
364:Says the girl with no thyme. ~ Sarah Dessen, #NFDB
365:Shine: clear dew aching with light. ~ Du Fu, #NFDB
366:Statues with beating hearts. ~ Markus Zusak, #NFDB
367:Stick them with the pointy end. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
368:Stuff your eyes with wonder. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
369:That Logan is in love with me. “No. ~ Tijan, #NFDB
370:Truth always rises with time. ~ Suzy Kassem, #NFDB
371:Wake up, Mr No-Maj . . . With ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
372:What has Ingeld to do with Christ? ~ Alcuin, #NFDB
373:What is it with girls and rain? ~ Jenny Han, #NFDB
374:With hope, a mind is always free. ~ Amy Tan, #NFDB
375:With Laurene Powell, 1991 ~ Walter Isaacson, #NFDB
376:With love I draw what I hate. ~ Harold Town, #NFDB
377:Yet I am always with you; you ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
378:All power comes with a tithe. ~ Jay Kristoff, #NFDB
379:A prayer is a chat with thy God. ~ Toba Beta, #NFDB
380:are obsessed with health—half ~ Ben Goldacre, #NFDB
381:Because I'm in love with you. ~ Tahereh Mafi, #NFDB
382:Begin with the End in Mind ~ L David Marquet, #NFDB
383:Begin with the end in mind ~ Stephen R Covey, #NFDB
384:Beware of a man with manners. ~ Eudora Welty, #NFDB
385:born with a book in her mouth. ~ Jean Sasson, #NFDB
386:Can you keep up with the lingo ~ Kevin Gates, #NFDB
387:Can you reason with the dead? ~ Bree Despain, #NFDB
388:Choose with no regret. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher, #NFDB
389:Come fly with me, beautiful. ~ Penelope Ward, #NFDB
390:Creation begins with vision. ~ Henri Matisse, #NFDB
391:Do not fall in love with him! ~ Belle Aurora, #NFDB
392:Don’t play with wild animals. ~ Milly Taiden, #NFDB
393:Don't read with your eyes. ~ Thomas C Foster, #NFDB
394:enthralled with the film as I ~ Karina Halle, #NFDB
395:Ethics change with technology. ~ Larry Niven, #NFDB
396:Evil is stupidity with intent. ~ Neel Burton, #NFDB
397:Fall in love with your solitude. ~ Rupi Kaur, #NFDB
398:Fate is a girl with scissors ~ Norah Labiner, #NFDB
399:Fill your life with light! ~ Seth Adam Smith, #NFDB
400:Follow peace with all men. ~ Hebrews XII. 14, #NFDB
401:Good luck with your asparagus. ~ Eric Holder, #NFDB
402:Greatness comes with patience. ~ Suzy Kassem, #NFDB
403:Heaven means to be one with God. ~ Confucius, #NFDB
404:his heart laced with regret. ~ Anthony Doerr, #NFDB
405:I am always with you, Ira. ~ Nicholas Sparks, #NFDB
406:I am not good with others. ~ Gary Shteyngart, #NFDB
407:I can’t live with or without you ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
408:I can't live without you or with you. ~ Ovid, #NFDB
409:I can touch you with a thought. ~ Kyra Davis, #NFDB
410:I deal with haters on a daily basis. ~ Kesha, #NFDB
411:I'd like to have a dog with me. ~ Aphex Twin, #NFDB
412:I'd love to...but only with you. ~ Morrissey, #NFDB
413:I enjoy flirting with death. ~ Sasha Alsberg, #NFDB
414:I love connecting with readers! ~ Sylvia Day, #NFDB
415:I'm a real rebel with a cause. ~ Nina Simone, #NFDB
416:I'm covered with loser dust. ~ Courtney Love, #NFDB
417:I'm happy to be stuck with you. ~ Huey Lewis, #NFDB
418:I'm in love with my work ~ Charice Pempengco, #NFDB
419:I’m not done with you yet. ~ Sharon C Cooper, #NFDB
420:I never pretended with you. ~ Maria V Snyder, #NFDB
421:It pays to be content with your lot. ~ Aesop, #NFDB
422:I trade with you my mind. ~ Clifford D Simak, #NFDB
423:I was born with the wrong sign ~ Martin Gore, #NFDB
424:I was madly in love with life. ~ Hedy Lamarr, #NFDB
425:I wisely started with a map. ~ J R R Tolkien, #NFDB
426:I write with all my heart ~ Ursula K Le Guin, #NFDB
427:Izabelle had taken off with ~ Betty Hechtman, #NFDB
428:Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
429:Kid with the hole in her head, ~ Apryl Baker, #NFDB
430:Knowledge is Life with wings ~ William Blake, #NFDB
431:Live for Him and live with purpose. ~ LeCrae, #NFDB
432:Look with all your eyes, look. ~ Jules Verne, #NFDB
433:Make friends with angels. ~ Saint Augustine, #NFDB
434:Meet suffering with kindness. ~ Claudia Gray, #NFDB
435:Me? With Mr. July? Oh boy… *** ~ Aileen Erin, #NFDB
436:mixing with a child like that. ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
437:Move forward with purpose ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon, #NFDB
438:My bowels are filled with mercy. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
439:My Peace I leave with you ~ John the Apostle, #NFDB
440:No one is content with his own lot. ~ Horace, #NFDB
441:Nothing is impossible with God ~ Kris Aquino, #NFDB
442:No use being angry with fools. ~ Nana Malone, #NFDB
443:Off with...Wonderland's head! ~ Frank Beddor, #NFDB
444:Oh, I am in love with life! ~ Virginia Woolf, #NFDB
445:Oh that it were with me ~ Christina Rossetti, #NFDB
446:Only dead fish go with the flow. ~ Andy Hunt, #NFDB
447:playing Chopin with your fist”). ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
448:Play is experimenting with chance. ~ Novalis, #NFDB
449:Reason thus with life: ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
450:Right comes with right timing. ~ Deb Caletti, #NFDB
451:Rose okay with closing tonight? ~ Maya Banks, #NFDB
452:serious with her. Well, if he ~ Holly Martin, #NFDB
453:She had her Kindle with her ~ Samantha Chase, #NFDB
454:So face with calm that heritage ~ Allen Tate, #NFDB
455:special trip to Japan with ~ Walter Isaacson, #NFDB
456:Start with 50 Target Customers ~ Steve Blank, #NFDB
457:Take pictures with your heart. ~ Ruth Gruber, #NFDB
458:Take thou thy arms and come with me, ~ Homer, #NFDB
459:tamales with rice and beans—and ~ Kasie West, #NFDB
460:The best of all is God with us ~ John Wesley, #NFDB
461:the bull with the human face. ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
462:The hero is the one with ideas. ~ Jack Welch, #NFDB
463:thus with a kiss I die ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
464:True heroism begins with I do! ~ Lucian Bane, #NFDB
465:We burn, you burn with us. ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
466:What is wrong with you people? ~ Aaron Tveit, #NFDB
467:window, with Rig trotting ~ Philippa Gregory, #NFDB
468:Win with me or watch me win. ~ Keshia Chante, #NFDB
469:With all this extra stressin ~ Tupac Shakur, #NFDB
470:With God all things are possible ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
471:With hurried deference, ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, #NFDB
472:with knowledge comes pain. ~ Nicholas Sparks, #NFDB
473:With numbers comes strength, ~ R A Salvatore, #NFDB
474:With questions that are orders ~ Yann Martel, #NFDB
475:with the internal paddles. It ~ Randall Wood, #NFDB
476:You cannot live with guilt. ~ Peter Eisenman, #NFDB
477:You dueled with the Dark Lord? ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
478:You'll always be safe with me. ~ Alyson Noel, #NFDB
479:You spend all this time with ~ Janelle Brown, #NFDB
480:Zen has no business with ideas. ~ D T Suzuki, #NFDB
481:Admonish your wives with kindness ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
482:A fool with a tool is still a fool. ~ Unknown, #NFDB
483:A fortune begins with a penny. ~ Julie Otsuka, #NFDB
484:All isn't well with the world. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
485:All thinking begins with wondering ~ Socrates, #NFDB
486:Always do what you do with care. ~ The Mother, #NFDB
487:Always lead with the frying pan. ~ Weike Wang, #NFDB
488:Amazon began with a math error.) ~ Brad Stone, #NFDB
489:Anecdotes came with his DNA. ~ Chris Matthews, #NFDB
490:Army life don't agree with me. ~ Eddie Slovik, #NFDB
491:at him with a frown. “But I’ve ~ Carmen Caine, #NFDB
492:Breakfast with the Borgias. ~ Agatha Christie, #NFDB
493:Do it with passion or not at all. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
494:Do not mourn the dead with the belly. ~ Homer, #NFDB
495:Don't confuse close with happy ~ Sarah Connor, #NFDB
496:Everyday is a holiday with me. ~ Mariah Carey, #NFDB
497:Everything ends with flowers. ~ Helene Cixous, #NFDB
498:Fear comes with middle age. ~ Lillian Hellman, #NFDB
499:Fear is always at war with faith. ~ Toba Beta, #NFDB
500:Fear is natural. Be with it. ~ Thomas Leonard, #NFDB
501:God has entrusted me with myself. ~ Epictetus, #NFDB
502:God holds with the strong. ~ Giuseppe Mazzini, #NFDB
503:Go. Run with it. Make trouble. ~ Siobhan Dowd, #NFDB
504:have a tug of war with cyclops ~ Pandora Pine, #NFDB
505:He enters the port with a full sail. ~ Virgil, #NFDB
506:He killed them with their love ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
507:he whispered. “Scarlet.” With ~ Marissa Meyer, #NFDB
508:I am in love with the world. ~ Maurice Sendak, #NFDB
509:I am rampant with memory. ~ Margaret Laurence, #NFDB
510:I can't be having with that ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
511:I do have trouble with titles. ~ Jim Harrison, #NFDB
512:I drag my myth around with me. ~ Orson Welles, #NFDB
513:If I burn, you burn with me ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
514:I find some unity with Ron Paul. ~ Bill Ayers, #NFDB
515:If you try to cure evil with evil ~ Sophocles, #NFDB
516:I'll fall with you forever. ~ Kyousuke Motomi, #NFDB
517:I look like a turkey with leukemia. ~ Birdman, #NFDB
518:I love you with all that I am, ~ Shelly Crane, #NFDB
519:I'm a good man with a good heart ~ John Mayer, #NFDB
520:I'm confident with my ability. ~ LeBron James, #NFDB
521:I'm fine with the life I have. ~ Chris Kattan, #NFDB
522:I'm in love with Tucker Avery. ~ Cynthia Hand, #NFDB
523:i'm in love with you, Bella ~ Stephenie Meyer, #NFDB
524:I'm never happy with anything. ~ Glenn Branca, #NFDB
525:I'm only me when I'm with you. ~ Taylor Swift, #NFDB
526:I'm so bored with it all. ~ Winston Churchill, #NFDB
527:I'm terrible with patience. ~ Katherine Heigl, #NFDB
528:Indu'd With sanctity of reason. ~ John Milton, #NFDB
529:I never worked with a stinker. ~ Mitzi Gaynor, #NFDB
530:Interviews with Steve Jobs, ~ Walter Isaacson, #NFDB
531:I want to be tantric with you. ~ Truth Devour, #NFDB
532:I want you to move in with me ~ Monica Murphy, #NFDB
533:I was born with music inside me ~ Ray Charles, #NFDB
534:I was drunk with belonging. ~ Ian Morgan Cron, #NFDB
535:Knight saved it with his back arm ~ Ian Brown, #NFDB
536:Leisure with dignity. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero, #NFDB
537:Life is filled with trapdoors. ~ Brad Meltzer, #NFDB
538:Life is fun with my husband. ~ Tassa Desalada, #NFDB
539:Loneliness comes with life. ~ Whitney Houston, #NFDB
540:Love with no feelings is a waste. ~ Jon Jones, #NFDB
541:Man is a robot with defects. ~ Emile M Cioran, #NFDB
542:Maybe, with my Southern drawl and ~ J D Vance, #NFDB
543:Never argue with an artist. ~ Albert Einstein, #NFDB
544:Never fall out of love with life ~ Judi Dench, #NFDB
545:Never work with kids or animals. ~ Cat Deeley, #NFDB
546:not. I'm not done with you. ~ Magda Alexander, #NFDB
547:of Ellasar; four kings with five. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
548:Okay is BURSTING with sensuality ~ John Green, #NFDB
549:People with money love Gershwin. ~ E Lockhart, #NFDB
550:Percy pizza with extra olives. ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
551:Pleasure bought with pain does harm. ~ Horace, #NFDB
552:Puns are incompatible with murder. ~ Stendhal, #NFDB
553:Rob a neighbour with a smile. ~ Khalil Gibran, #NFDB
554:Science begins with a vision. ~ Carlo Rovelli, #NFDB
555:Scratch my back with a hack saw! ~ Mike Lange, #NFDB
556:SHASTA FALLS IN WITH THE NARNIANS ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
557:She abounds with lucious faults. ~ Quintilian, #NFDB
558:somebody down there with you. ~ Richard Price, #NFDB
559:Start with the end in mind. ~ Stephen R Covey, #NFDB
560:Stay with me."
"Forever. ~ Mitch Albom,#NFDB
561:Talent is culture with insolence. ~ Aristotle, #NFDB
562:Tea no more! Down with bustles! ~ Nancy Moser, #NFDB
563:The gods love to fuck with us. ~ Lauren Groff, #NFDB
564:They say eyes clear with age. ~ Philip Larkin, #NFDB
565:Think with the whole body. ~ Taisen Deshimaru, #NFDB
566:Tiptoe through the tulips with me. ~ Al Dubin, #NFDB
567:to be choked with hate ~ William Butler Yeats, #NFDB
568:To live is to war with trolls. ~ Henrik Ibsen, #NFDB
569:Truth with love is a lie ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, #NFDB
570:try to keep up with the changes. ~ John Boyne, #NFDB
571:We are pregnant with freedom. ~ Assata Shakur, #NFDB
572:We are the Sun with all the different ~ Rumi, #NFDB
573:What Can I do With AWS? ~ Amazon Web Services, #NFDB
574:white with a big round head, ~ Tony Hillerman, #NFDB
575:With a sort of mental squint. ~ Lewis Carroll, #NFDB
576:With Dorothy hard at work, the ~ L Frank Baum, #NFDB
577:with green beans and rice. ~ Charlaine Harris, #NFDB
578:with my God I can scale any wall. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
579:With vision we flourish. ~ Mark Victor Hansen, #NFDB
580:With words we govern men. ~ Benjamin Disraeli, #NFDB
581:With you. I'll be with you. ~ Belinda McBride, #NFDB
582:you are one with all that is. ~ Eckhart Tolle, #NFDB
583:You look good with my sword. ~ Karpov Kinrade, #NFDB
584:You're in love with impossibility ~ Sophocles, #NFDB
585:A dream with a deadline is a goal. ~ Jay Samit, #NFDB
586:and thin, with the slight stoop ~ William Boyd, #NFDB
587:Angela’s in love with an angel. ~ Cynthia Hand, #NFDB
588:Answer suffering with kindness. ~ Claudia Gray, #NFDB
589:Ask with urgency and passion. ~ Arthur Balfour, #NFDB
590:balding man with a drooping ~ Michael Connelly, #NFDB
591:Begin with the end in mind.
~ Stephen Covey,#NFDB
592:begirt with a flowing kirtle ~ Stephen Leacock, #NFDB
593:Be in love with your heart-life. ~ Sri Chinmoy, #NFDB
594:Be patient with your impatience. ~ Roy Masters, #NFDB
595:Better be with the dead, ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
596:Be wild and crazy and drunk with Love, ~ Rumi, #NFDB
597:Blessed are those with a voice. ~ Mamoru Oshii, #NFDB
598:But you fuck with your heart. ~ Pepper Winters, #NFDB
599:Buy calmly and with meaning. ~ Sophie Kinsella, #NFDB
600:Can we come with you?” Juliet ~ Harmony Raines, #NFDB
601:ceiling was painted with colorful ~ Joan Holub, #NFDB
602:Christ, I’m so furious with you. ~ Joey W Hill, #NFDB
603:Coincidence makes sense only with you. ~ Bj rk, #NFDB
604:Contempt mates well with pity. ~ Gloria Naylor, #NFDB
605:Cover me with kisses and lies ~ George Michael, #NFDB
606:dagoes. With obscenity ~ Christopher Brookmyre, #NFDB
607:da is used with places to mean from. ~ Collins, #NFDB
608:Dally not with mony or women. ~ George Herbert, #NFDB
609:Deal-making goes on with any job. ~ Vin Diesel, #NFDB
610:Don't confuse meaning with truth. ~ Thucydides, #NFDB
611:Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer ~ Kim Carnes, #NFDB
612:Dream big with no limitations. ~ Robert Cheeke, #NFDB
613:Drugs are a bet with your mind. ~ Jim Morrison, #NFDB
614:empty place opposite with eyes too ~ Lee Child, #NFDB
615:Everybody is laden with guilt. ~ Rush Limbaugh, #NFDB
616:Everything is overflowing with Gods. ~ Proclus, #NFDB
617:Fills The air around with beauty. ~ Lord Byron, #NFDB
618:Freedom always comes with a price. ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
619:God has entrusted me with myself. ~ Epictetus, #NFDB
620:Good golf begins with a good grip. ~ Ben Hogan, #NFDB
621:Goodness had nothing to do with it. ~ Mae West, #NFDB
622:Hareem was speaking with the ~ Joseph Wambaugh, #NFDB
623:He’d fallen in love with a woman ~ Marie Force, #NFDB
624:He killed them with their love. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
625:I always wanted a dog with a bangs ~ Jenny Han, #NFDB
626:I am infected with your stupidity. ~ Ryan Dunn, #NFDB
627:I am in love with Larry David. ~ Kathy Griffin, #NFDB
628:I can connect Nothing with nothing ~ T S Eliot, #NFDB
629:I can heal a broken heart with a smile. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
630:I do enjoy working with writers. ~ Neil Jordan, #NFDB
631:I don't always argue with you. ~ Lorelei James, #NFDB
632:If We Burn, You Burn With Us ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
633:If we burn you burn with us! ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
634:If you gotta go, go with a smile ~ J D Estrada, #NFDB
635:I hate the PC, with a passion. ~ Larry Ellison, #NFDB
636:I hate traveling with amateurs. ~ Rachel Caine, #NFDB
637:I just go with what excites me. ~ Drew Goddard, #NFDB
638:I knew how to live with scars. ~ Meredith Wild, #NFDB
639:I know. Gag me with a wimple. ~ Therese Oneill, #NFDB
640:I like a woman with priorities. ~ Kyan Douglas, #NFDB
641:I love collaborating with strong women. ~ Mika, #NFDB
642:I'm a sign painter with no boss. ~ Wayne White, #NFDB
643:I'm in love with my second cousin. ~ Bob Dylan, #NFDB
644:I'm obsessed with fuzz pedals. ~ Gary Clark Jr, #NFDB
645:I'm obsessed with my children. ~ Travis Barker, #NFDB
646:I'm the one I need to work with. ~ Byron Katie, #NFDB
647:I'm thrilled to death with life. ~ Johnny Cash, #NFDB
648:I’m too drunk to deal with you, ~ Meghan March, #NFDB
649:I must not quarrel with the will ~ John Milton, #NFDB
650:I saw satan laughing with delight ~ Don McLean, #NFDB
651:I sing a lot, even with my voice. ~ Heidi Klum, #NFDB
652:I've made peace with myself. ~ Joe Abercrombie, #NFDB
653:I want a man with nuclear power. ~ Carla Bruni, #NFDB
654:I want to chase the dawn with you. ~ E L James, #NFDB
655:I was with Essien Udom in Nigeria. ~ Malcolm X, #NFDB
656:I with borrow'd silver shine, ~ Jonathan Swift, #NFDB
657:Let exercise alternate with rest. ~ Pythagoras, #NFDB
658:Living is Easy with Eyes Closed. ~ John Lennon, #NFDB
659:Living is easy with eyes closed. ~ The Beatles, #NFDB
660:Moorcroft with a small pasture ~ Lorelei James, #NFDB
661:more to be a human being with ~ Gary D Schmidt, #NFDB
662:Music is poetry with personality. ~ Ross Lynch, #NFDB
663:my life is better with you in it ~ Nicola Yoon, #NFDB
664:Nice has nothing to do with me. ~ Markus Zusak, #NFDB
665:No better love than love with no object ~ Rumi, #NFDB
666:NOBODY messes with "The Bad Guy"! ~ Scott Hall, #NFDB
667:Nothing wrong with making money. ~ Adam Levine, #NFDB
668:Oh my god what am I doing with my life? ~ El P, #NFDB
669:Oh when I was in love with you, ~ A E Housman, #NFDB
670:Only dead fish go with the flow. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
671:Our death is our wedding with eternity. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
672:Pain is a debt paid off with time. ~ Matt Haig, #NFDB
673:Payday came and with it beer ~ Rudyard Kipling, #NFDB
674:Possess your soul with patience. ~ John Dryden, #NFDB
675:Real prayer is union with God. ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
676:Return with the shield or on it ~ Frank Miller, #NFDB
677:Savage bears agree with one another. ~ Juvenal, #NFDB
678:Scare People with Sincerity ~ Patrick Lencioni, #NFDB
679:Science begins with a vision". ~ Carlo Rovelli, #NFDB
680:she’d exposed her body, with all ~ Sandra Hill, #NFDB
681:She was crushed with gratitude. ~ Lauren Groff, #NFDB
682:solitude is a deep romance with self ~ R H Sin, #NFDB
683:Some people feed you with love. ~ Graham Joyce, #NFDB
684:Stay with me.
Always. ~ Suzanne Collins,#NFDB
685:Tell me. Tell me with your eyes. ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
686:that my life was with you now. And ~ E L James, #NFDB
687:The dead are too much with us. ~ Roger Zelazny, #NFDB
688:The ego taunts truth with sarcasm. ~ T F Hodge, #NFDB
689:The god we now behold with opened eyes, ~ Ovid, #NFDB
690:The lawn was white with doctors ~ Sylvia Plath, #NFDB
691:The matter with us is you. ~ Jeffrey Eugenides, #NFDB
692:Theology is ignorance with wings. ~ Sam Harris, #NFDB
693:There is no dallying with God . ~ James Ussher, #NFDB
694:the world plays rough with fools, ~ Sarah Lark, #NFDB
695:Think with your whole body. ~ Taisen Deshimaru, #NFDB
696:us, not with her,’ she observed. ~ Betty Neels, #NFDB
697:Who rebels with mathematics? ~ Khaled Hosseini, #NFDB
698:Wisdom sails with wind and time. ~ John Florio, #NFDB
699:with a scrap of bacon on her ~ Solomon Northup, #NFDB
700:With God, all things are possible. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
701:with Julian and Henry and Miles. ~ R J Palacio, #NFDB
702:With money, who needs friends? ~ Frank Gorshin, #NFDB
703:with two statues of twin gods, ~ Bella Forrest, #NFDB
704:With your fangs of four powers ~ Thupten Jinpa, #NFDB
705:Woe is forerun with woe. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
706:You are at enmity with yourself. ~ Jakob Bohme, #NFDB
707:You are God's dream with skin on ~ Heidi Baker, #NFDB
708:You can't love nature with a gun ~ Paul Watson, #NFDB
709:You fell in love with me? ~ Elizabeth Chandler, #NFDB
710:You have to make peace with life ~ Cheryl Ladd, #NFDB
711:You never monkey with the truth. ~ Ben Bradlee, #NFDB
712:You're only popular with anorexia. ~ Tori Amos, #NFDB
713:Youth holds no society with grief. ~ Euripides, #NFDB
714:Abs are for people with no friends. ~ Eric Bana, #NFDB
715:A hunter in love with his prey. ~ Sophie Jordan, #NFDB
716:allow it to interfere with what he ~ S C Gwynne, #NFDB
717:All things come with a sacrifice. ~ Morgan Rice, #NFDB
718:Always begin with the end in mind. ~ Ellen Muth, #NFDB
719:A man with a club is a law-maker. ~ Jack London, #NFDB
720:and carpeting them with moss. ~ Carolyn Jourdan, #NFDB
721:And with courage came freedom. ~ Danielle Steel, #NFDB
722:Appetite comes with eating. ~ Francois Rabelais, #NFDB
723:At 8, I made a pact with God. ~ Taylor Caldwell, #NFDB
724:A town loved with bitter love. ~ Anna Akhmatova, #NFDB
725:Being content with what you have ~ Wayne W Dyer, #NFDB
726:Can’t stop a Nazi with a lawbook. ~ Herman Wouk, #NFDB
727:Come with me if you want to live. ~ Jim Butcher, #NFDB
728:...doing more with less. ~ R Buckminster Fuller, #NFDB
729:Don't stop with your first draft. ~ P J Plauger, #NFDB
730:Don’t tar all with the same brush ~ Kate Alcott, #NFDB
731:Do small things with great Love ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
732:Down with boredom. It has to go. ~ Elsa Maxwell, #NFDB
733:Earth is crammed with Heaven. ~ Emily Dickinson, #NFDB
734:Every answer begins with a question. ~ T A Uner, #NFDB
735:Everything is overflowing with Gods. ~ Proclus, #NFDB
736:Freedom doth with degree dispense. ~ Ben Jonson, #NFDB
737:Fresher than a pillow with a mint on it ~ Drake, #NFDB
738:Go on with a spirit that fears nothing. ~ Homer, #NFDB
739:Go with what is. Use what happens. ~ Tom Piazza, #NFDB
740:Helping begins with listening. ~ Gloria Steinem, #NFDB
741:He's not a doctor. Deal with it. ~ Sally Thorne, #NFDB
742:He was pure sex with a side of fun. ~ C D Reiss, #NFDB
743:Hope is a thing with feathers ~ Emily Dickinson, #NFDB
744:Hope' is the thing with feathers. ~ Nicola Yoon, #NFDB
745:I ain't got no beef with nobody. ~ Kevin Durant, #NFDB
746:I am quite familiar with crazy. ~ Courtney Cole, #NFDB
747:I felt caged with loneliness. ~ Rosamund Lupton, #NFDB
748:If we burn, you burn with us. ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
749:I have a rendezvous with life. ~ Countee Cullen, #NFDB
750:I keep in touch with what's real. ~ Sam Claflin, #NFDB
751:I’ll go with the bat-winged idiot. ~ Terah Edun, #NFDB
752:I loved working with Bob Dylan. ~ Benmont Tench, #NFDB
753:I love to tease men with my legs. ~ Eartha Kitt, #NFDB
754:I'm a hero with coward's legs. ~ Spike Milligan, #NFDB
755:I’m amazing. Because I’m with you ~ Celia Aaron, #NFDB
756:I’m just a Samurai with a gun. Like ~ Nick Cole, #NFDB
757:I'm obsessed with horrible movies. ~ Kreayshawn, #NFDB
758:I'm very impressed with 'Drive.' ~ Nicolas Cage, #NFDB
759:Insanity is arguing with reality. ~ Byron Katie, #NFDB
760:interfering with the digestion ~ Robert O Young, #NFDB
761:I really love things with melody. ~ Norah Jones, #NFDB
762:I struggle with racism every day ~ John Grisham, #NFDB
763:It always started with a dream. ~ Conrad Hilton, #NFDB
764:It began with a shattered dream. ~ David Goodis, #NFDB
765:I thought with joy of the morrow, ~ Henry James, #NFDB
766:It's my heart. I left it with you. ~ N R Walker, #NFDB
767:Learning starts with failure. ~ Josiah Bancroft, #NFDB
768:like a schizophrenic with an MBA. ~ Damon Suede, #NFDB
769:Live life with creative purpose. ~ Truth Devour, #NFDB
770:Live your life with purpose. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon, #NFDB
771:Living With The Dead Molly Brown I ~ Tanith Lee, #NFDB
772:Look with favor upon a bold beginning. ~ Virgil, #NFDB
773:Love and Time with reverence use, ~ John Dryden, #NFDB
774:Meetings with Remarkable Men, ~ Anthony Robbins, #NFDB
775:Memory is a dream to begin with. ~ Tobias Wolff, #NFDB
776:mom with a part-time (inching ~ Jennifer Weiner, #NFDB
777:Never fuck with the nuts too much. ~ Sarah Lotz, #NFDB
778:No one can live with nothing. ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
779:O for a horse with wings! ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
780:on patrol with the study police ~ Amanda Ripley, #NFDB
781:Our lives are rounded with a sleep. ~ John Muir, #NFDB
782:Pebble Beach is Alcatraz with grass. ~ Bob Hope, #NFDB
783:Pick your path with intent. ~ Emily Croy Barker, #NFDB
784:Reading is dreaming with open eyes. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
785:regret with dignity and grace. ~ Dalai Lama XIV, #NFDB
786:Row after row with strict impunity ~ Allen Tate, #NFDB
787:She covered her hands with her face, ~ J D Robb, #NFDB
788:Snooker is just chess with balls. ~ Clive James, #NFDB
789:Socialism with a human face. ~ Alexander Dubcek, #NFDB
790:Start off each day with a song. ~ Jimmy Durante, #NFDB
791:Still may syllables jar with time, ~ Ben Jonson, #NFDB
792:Stop touching me with your eyes. ~ Tahereh Mafi, #NFDB
793:surround yourself with the weirds. ~ Penny Reid, #NFDB
794:survive this evening with her ~ Debbie Macomber, #NFDB
795:Take what you got and fly with it. ~ Jim Henson, #NFDB
796:The big play comes with the pass. ~ Sid Gillman, #NFDB
797:Their rage supplies them with weapons. ~ Virgil, #NFDB
798:The problem with holding a grudge ~ Seth Godin, #NFDB
799:The sky is freckled with stars. ~ Swati Avasthi, #NFDB
800:The trouble with women? Elbows. ~ Michael Caine, #NFDB
801:the world won't end with friends ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
802:They sayin I'm back, I agree with that. ~ Drake, #NFDB
803:This book is concerned with fate. ~ Orhan Pamuk, #NFDB
804:This is wishing with your hands. ~ Jandy Nelson, #NFDB
805:To the devil with false modesty. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
806:Touch pain with great curiosity. ~ Jorie Graham, #NFDB
807:toward him with slumped shoulders. ~ Ay e Kulin, #NFDB
808:tray of drinks, this time with a ~ Penny Wylder, #NFDB
809:True contentment comes with empathy. ~ Tim Finn, #NFDB
810:truth comes in with darkness. ~ Herman Melville, #NFDB
811:Trying is failing with honor ~ James Arthur Ray, #NFDB
812:Violence begins with the fork. ~ Mahatma Gandhi, #NFDB
813:We are a force to be reckoned with ~ Keri Smith, #NFDB
814:We are all alchemists with amnesia. ~ Iva Kenaz, #NFDB
815:Wear those stripy legs with pride. ~ Jojo Moyes, #NFDB
816:We become who we hang out with. ~ Napoleon Hill, #NFDB
817:We can invent only with memory. ~ Alphonse Karr, #NFDB
818:What hath night to do with sleep? ~ John Milton, #NFDB
819:What's wrong with being number 2? ~ Mitch Albom, #NFDB
820:with a cluster of other servants. ~ Mary Balogh, #NFDB
821:With credibility comes influence. ~ Chad Fowler, #NFDB
822:With destruction comes renovation. ~ Wally Lamb, #NFDB
823:With flowing tail and flying mane, ~ Lord Byron, #NFDB
824:With God, all things are possible. ~ Wayne Dyer, #NFDB
825:With that, she crossed the small ~ Terri Osburn, #NFDB
826:Words make love with one another. ~ Andr Breton, #NFDB
827:You are a gut maggot with no guts. ~ Gary Busey, #NFDB
828:You cannot be in love with love. ~ Peter Kreeft, #NFDB
829:You cannot do more with less. ~ Lisa Scottoline, #NFDB
830:You don't have to go with the crowd. ~ Alek Wek, #NFDB
831:You’re in competition with everyone. ~ Tina Fey, #NFDB
832:you weren't mine to begin with. ~ Iain S Thomas, #NFDB
833:You will come to agree with me. ~ Blue Balliett, #NFDB
834:A child is fed with milk and praise. ~ Mary Lamb, #NFDB
835:Align with nature... Magic happens ~ John Friend, #NFDB
836:Always stay in with the outs. ~ David Halberstam, #NFDB
837:A man with courage has every blessing. ~ Plautus, #NFDB
838:And with madness comes the light. ~ Karina Halle, #NFDB
839:a real scholar with a bright pen, ~ Steve Martin, #NFDB
840:Art is what you can get away with. ~ Andy Warhol, #NFDB
841:At least my cage is filled with light. ~ Madonna, #NFDB
842:back. “You’re going to stay with ~ Melinda Leigh, #NFDB
843:before seen a rabbit with either ~ Lewis Carroll, #NFDB
844:Change always starts with a girl. ~ Kathy Calvin, #NFDB
845:Colour me with you're intentions. ~ Truth Devour, #NFDB
846:Come back with your shield - or on it ~ Plutarch, #NFDB
847:Continued experiment with dog today. ~ Eric Gill, #NFDB
848:Courage Is a Love Affair with the Unknown ~ Osho, #NFDB
849:Cut Men's throats with whisperings. ~ Ben Jonson, #NFDB
850:Dance with the one who brung you. ~ Randy Pausch, #NFDB
851:Don't gobblefunk around with words. ~ Roald Dahl, #NFDB
852:Don't mess with my food
-Luffy ~ Eiichiro Oda,#NFDB
853:Do small things with great love. ~ Mother Teresa, #NFDB
854:Each betrayal begins with trust. ~ Martin Luther, #NFDB
855:Earth is crammed with heavens. ~ Robert Browning, #NFDB
856:Fall in love with your own darkness. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
857:Fill high the cup with Samian wine! ~ Lord Byron, #NFDB
858:Fill your mind with compassion. ~ Gautama Buddha, #NFDB
859:Friends with benefits are neither. ~ Jason Evert, #NFDB
860:Fuck you. Fuck you with a chainsaw! ~ Alex Adams, #NFDB
861:Good luck with the world. ~ William Peter Blatty, #NFDB
862:Greatness comes with discipline. ~ Erwin McManus, #NFDB
863:green with little golden spots. ~ John Steinbeck, #NFDB
864:He drove out the spirits with a word ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
865:His smile is laced with dynamite. ~ Tahereh Mafi, #NFDB
866:History is filled with fictional people. ~ Robyn, #NFDB
867:Hope is patience with the lamp lit. ~ Tertullian, #NFDB
868:Hugs ended with screams. ~ Michaelbrent Collings, #NFDB
869:I am associated with techno epics. ~ Trevor Horn, #NFDB
870:I am obsessed with my hairstyles. ~ Raven Symone, #NFDB
871:I broke with my religion in college. ~ Anne Rice, #NFDB
872:I can be naked with the lights on. ~ Emmy Rossum, #NFDB
873:I can't go to war with paparazzi. ~ Daniel Craig, #NFDB
874:I could kill you with a pinecone. ~ Abigail Roux, #NFDB
875:I'd like to have sex with myself. ~ Eddie Izzard, #NFDB
876:I fear nothing for God is with me! ~ Joan of Arc, #NFDB
877:I fell in love with melancholy ~ Edgar Allan Poe, #NFDB
878:IF WE BURN
YOU BURN WITH US ~ Suzanne Collins,#NFDB
879:I grew up with all kinds of people. ~ Vin Diesel, #NFDB
880:I hated school with a passion. ~ Natasha Preston, #NFDB
881:I have a big problem with Islam. ~ Michel Onfray, #NFDB
882:I have nothing to do with Russia. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
883:I hear better with a pen in my hand. ~ Alan Judd, #NFDB
884:I identify with the 99 per cent. ~ Peter M Brant, #NFDB
885:I'll start with small things. ~ Vincent Van Gogh, #NFDB
886:I'm Chris Martin with down syndrome ~ Thom Yorke, #NFDB
887:I'm like a monk with a taste for hookers. ~ Moby, #NFDB
888:I'm Mozart with a focus on the tide ~ Aesop Rock, #NFDB
889:I'm not hard to get along with. ~ Jack Nicholson, #NFDB
890:Im obsessed with neon sneakers. ~ Rob Kardashian, #NFDB
891:i'm platonically in love with you ~ Alice Oseman, #NFDB
892:I'm trying to grow older with wisdom. ~ Alek Wek, #NFDB
893:In my dreams I sleep with everybody. ~ Anais Nin, #NFDB
894:Intuition is seeing with the soul. ~ Dean Koontz, #NFDB
895:I paint with my back to the world ~ Agnes Martin, #NFDB
896:• I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
897:I prefer to see with closed eyes. ~ Josef Albers, #NFDB
898:I really fell in love with Africa. ~ Jean M Auel, #NFDB
899:I try to practice with my life. ~ Herbie Hancock, #NFDB
900:It’s like Skyping with the devil ~ Douglas Wynne, #NFDB
901:It's so much more friendly with two. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
902:I want to do everything with you ~ J A Redmerski, #NFDB
903:I want to work with Johnny Depp. ~ Penelope Cruz, #NFDB
904:I will move with the wind. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher, #NFDB
905:I would trust Hagrid with my life, ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
906:Life goes on with fragile normalcy. ~ Sara Gruen, #NFDB
907:Life is so much friendlier with two. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
908:Light cannot dwell with darkness, ~ Billy Coffey, #NFDB
909:live with freedom and simplicity. ~ Wayne W Dyer, #NFDB
910:Living is easier with eyes closed. ~ The Beatles, #NFDB
911:Look at Love with the eyes of your Heart. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
912:Look with favour upon a bold beginning. ~ Virgil, #NFDB
913:May the angle ever be with you ~ Cassandra Clare, #NFDB
914:Metaraon, with his unmerciful stare, ~ S M Reine, #NFDB
915:More matter with less art. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
916:My eyebrows could do with a trim. ~ Arthur Smith, #NFDB
917:My heart is with Hillary Clinton. ~ Stevie Nicks, #NFDB
918:Never break faith with the truth. ~ George Tenet, #NFDB
919:Never compromise with honesty. ~ Stephen R Covey, #NFDB
920:Never f*!k with the ineffable. ~ Terry Pratchett, #NFDB
921:Never play leapfrog with a unicorn. ~ Benny Hill, #NFDB
922:No time spent with you is wasted. ~ S C Stephens, #NFDB
923:of paper with my name and phone ~ Susan Meissner, #NFDB
924:Older is better with wine and men ~ Shelly Crane, #NFDB
925:one cannot sass me with impunity. ~ Kevin Hearne, #NFDB
926:ONE I GO CRUISING WITH EXPLOSIVES ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
927:One man with God is a majority. ~ Brother Andrew, #NFDB
928:One must not trifle with love ~ Alfred de Musset, #NFDB
929:Only dead fish swim with the stream. ~ Ken Bruen, #NFDB
930:Patch grief with proverbs. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
931:[Pigeons are] rats with wings. ~ Ken Livingstone, #NFDB
932:pull 6E in a meeting with the DOJ. ~ Nick Bilton, #NFDB
933:Purgatory is hell with hope. ~ Philip Jos Farmer, #NFDB
934:Raw I'mma give it to ya, with no trivia. ~ U God, #NFDB
935:Rock 'n' roll. Deal with it. ~ Bret Easton Ellis, #NFDB
936:She belongs with me, not to me. ~ Madeline Ashby, #NFDB
937:Society is at odds with itself. ~ Clint Eastwood, #NFDB
938:Solitude is bearable only with God. ~ Andre Gide, #NFDB
939:spend more time with your kids, ~ Robin S Sharma, #NFDB
940:Start with scout locations first. ~ Claire Denis, #NFDB
941:Statism ends with an eye roll. ~ Stefan Molyneux, #NFDB
942:Style with substance = impact ~ Chris Guillebeau, #NFDB
943:surroundings interact with his mind. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
944:The future is plump with promise. ~ Maya Angelou, #NFDB
945:The gods play games with men as balls. ~ Plautus, #NFDB
946:The hero is the one with ideas. ~ John C Maxwell, #NFDB
947:The man who walks with Henslow. ~ Charles Darwin, #NFDB
948:The man would fight with a stump. ~ Terri Osburn, #NFDB
949:The same niggas I ball with, I fall with ~ Drake, #NFDB
950:the sky dark with wheeling birds. ~ Susan Cooper, #NFDB
951:"Think with your whole body." ~ Taisen Deshimaru, #NFDB
952:Time spent with a cat is never wasted. ~ Colette, #NFDB
953:To Be is to live with God. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
954:To hell with facts! We need stories! ~ Ken Kesey, #NFDB
955:To hell with facts! We need stories. ~ Ken Kesey, #NFDB
956:Travelling fills me with dread. ~ Tom Hodgkinson, #NFDB
957:Trust yourself. Go with your gut. ~ Mia Sheridan, #NFDB
958:Truth is a fact we fall in love with ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
959:Up, then, with speed, and work; ~ Horatius Bonar, #NFDB
960:Walk with those seeking truth... ~ Deepak Chopra, #NFDB
961:We carry our childhood with us. ~ Gary D Schmidt, #NFDB
962:we walk the plank with strangers. ~ Sylvia Plath, #NFDB
963:What are you typing with? A potato? ~ Jay McLean, #NFDB
964:what's up with that air line food ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
965:When I am with you, everything is prayer. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
966:When The Goodwill Of Hearts Is With You, ~ Rumi, #NFDB
967:where it sank with no ado at all. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
968:With a heavy load and a long journey ~ Confucius, #NFDB
969:with attachment comes pain! ~ Eric Jerome Dickey, #NFDB
970:With God, all things are possible. a ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
971:With rebellion, awareness is born ~ Albert Camus, #NFDB
972:With this life I give you courage, ~ Erin Hunter, #NFDB
973:With trust, everything is possible. ~ Mike Mason, #NFDB
974:With what we give, we make a life. ~ Arthur Ashe, #NFDB
975:Woman is in love with the devil. ~ Nikolai Gogol, #NFDB
976:Words make love with one another. ~ Andre Breton, #NFDB
977:You are yoked with a lamb, ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
978:you cannot cope with the future. ~ Eckhart Tolle, #NFDB
979:You know I’m in love with you, right? ~ R S Grey, #NFDB
980:You know, you don't see with your eyes ~ KRS One, #NFDB
981:You're a superhero. Deal with it. ~ Teresa Toten, #NFDB
982:You're really good with your hands. ~ Maya Banks, #NFDB
983:Your horse comes with AC outlets! ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
984:2: Begin with the End in Mind). ~ Stephen R Covey, #NFDB
985:A book is a machine to think with. ~ I A Richards, #NFDB
986:A fool with a tool is still a fool. ~ Grady Booch, #NFDB
987:A fusty nut with no kernel. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
988:A goal is a dream with a deadline ~ Napoleon Hill, #NFDB
989:Align yourself with the Divine. ~ Jalaluddin Rumi, #NFDB
990:All things are possible with love ~ Nichole Chase, #NFDB
991:An invisible man is a man with power. ~ H G Wells, #NFDB
992:A novice always behaves with propriety. ~ Martial, #NFDB
993:Art has got nothing to do with taste. ~ Max Ernst, #NFDB
994:Art is despair with dignity. ~ Elizabeth Mckenzie, #NFDB
995:Art is despait with dignity. ~ Elizabeth Mckenzie, #NFDB
996:Asking for help with shame says: ~ Amanda Palmer, #NFDB
997:a tongue blistered with smiling ~ Lucille Clifton, #NFDB
998:Beauty lives with kindness. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
999:Begin with the simplest examples. ~ David Hilbert, #NFDB
1000:Be impeccable with your words ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz, #NFDB
1001:Close both eyes to see with the other eye. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
1002:Cognition begins with sensation. ~ Richard Tarnas, #NFDB
1003:Communicating with Cattle by I. Ken Moo ~ Various, #NFDB
1004:Composing mortals with immortal fire. ~ W H Auden, #NFDB
1005:Courage is a love affair with the unknown. ~ Osho, #NFDB
1006:Dance with the one that brought you ~ Hannah Hart, #NFDB
1007:Don't ever go with the flow. Be the flow. ~ Jay Z, #NFDB
1008:Don’t pray for us. Pray with us. ~ Brother Andrew, #NFDB
1009:Every journey starts with fear. ~ Jake Gyllenhaal, #NFDB
1010:Everything I am familiar with is gone. ~ Marie Lu, #NFDB
1011:Everything starts with a story. ~ Joseph Campbell, #NFDB
1012:Fashion starts with fashionable people. ~ Halston, #NFDB
1013:For who is pleased with himself. ~ Samuel Johnson, #NFDB
1014:Frame your world with your words. ~ Caroline Leaf, #NFDB
1015:Funny how life messed with you. ~ Sarah Mlynowski, #NFDB
1016:Get over it. Get on with your life. ~ Sally Field, #NFDB
1017:God goes with thoughtless people. ~ Robert Walser, #NFDB
1018:God is always at war with sin ~ G Campbell Morgan, #NFDB
1019:Go forward with joyful confidence. ~ George Eliot, #NFDB
1020:Go with your love to the fields. ~ Wendell Berry, #NFDB
1021:gruff, the kind you associate with ~ Kathy Reichs, #NFDB
1022:Have you ever had sex with a horse? ~ Paul Merton, #NFDB
1023:Her blood sang with the violence. ~ Mark Lawrence, #NFDB
1024:He signed it with a little heart. ~ Rachel Gibson, #NFDB
1025:Hester beat Sophie with a pillow ~ Soman Chainani, #NFDB
1026:Home. It’s wherever I’m with you. ~ Julie Johnson, #NFDB
1027:Honestly, I grew up with Disney. ~ David Giuntoli, #NFDB
1028:Hope is the thing with feathers ~ Emily Dickinson, #NFDB
1029:Humanity is just a virus with shoes. ~ Bill Hicks, #NFDB
1030:I am at war with the obvious. ~ William Eggleston, #NFDB
1031:I am fascinated with times past. ~ Frank Darabont, #NFDB
1032:I am in love with the green earth. ~ Charles Lamb, #NFDB
1033:I can connect
Nothing with nothing ~ T S Eliot,#NFDB
1034:I could hit people with my ukulele ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
1035:I dont take pictures with Niggas ~ Michael Jordan, #NFDB
1036:If we burn... You burn with us! ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
1037:I have a hard time with free time. ~ Shia LaBeouf, #NFDB
1038:I kill with my heart, motherfucker ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
1039:I knew it had to do with engineering, ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1040:I like playing with a good crowd. ~ Sergio Garcia, #NFDB
1041:I love with the heart not the eyes. ~ Niall Horan, #NFDB
1042:I love you. Let's get this over with. ~ Kris Kidd, #NFDB
1043:I'm down for you, so ride with me. ~ Tupac Shakur, #NFDB
1044:I might have some issues with fear. ~ Rick Yancey, #NFDB
1045:I'm jus' pain covered with skin. ~ John Steinbeck, #NFDB
1046:I'm obsessed with being human. ~ Rachelle Lefevre, #NFDB
1047:Im obsessed with leather jackets! ~ Joanna Garcia, #NFDB
1048:I'm paralyzed with happiness ~ F Scott Fitzgerald, #NFDB
1049:I'm pretty good with languages. ~ Marisol Nichols, #NFDB
1050:I'm thrilled with my body of work. ~ Chris Cooper, #NFDB
1051:I'm with a crowd but oh so alone. ~ Elvis Presley, #NFDB
1052:Indians with trained monkeys, ~ Anita Amirrezvani, #NFDB
1053:I sail with you on the ocean of my dreams ~ Rumi, #NFDB
1054:It's good to be unexpected with it. ~ Noah Hawley, #NFDB
1055:I’ve done made a deal with the devil. ~ Red Adair, #NFDB
1056:I will if you go out with me, Evans ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
1057:Jay, look up funeral homes with the ~ Lola St Vil, #NFDB
1058:Kiss me with your eyelashes tonight. ~ Jason Mraz, #NFDB
1059:Let goodness go with the doing. ~ Marcus Aurelius, #NFDB
1060:Little One, to be with me is to hurt. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1061:Love and say it with your life. ~ Saint Augustine, #NFDB
1062:Love is a path lined with roses. ~ Jessica Khoury, #NFDB
1063:Marley was dead: to begin with. ~ Charles Dickens, #NFDB
1064:Mingle a dash of folly with your wisdom. ~ Horace, #NFDB
1065:Mom worked with autistic children. ~ Isabel Lucas, #NFDB
1066:my innocent angel with filthy wings ~ Ashley Jade, #NFDB
1067:Never run a bluff with a six-gun. ~ Bat Masterson, #NFDB
1068:Never work with animals or children. ~ W C Fields, #NFDB
1069:No honey for me, if it comes with a bee. ~ Sappho, #NFDB
1070:No man should be angry with what is true. ~ Plato, #NFDB
1071:Not all people with scars are evil. ~ Ally Carter, #NFDB
1072:Old words are reborn with new faces. ~ Criss Jami, #NFDB
1073:O my poor words, bear with me. ~ Theodore Roethke, #NFDB
1074:One with the law is a majority. ~ Calvin Coolidge, #NFDB
1075:Our visions begin with our desires. ~ Audre Lorde, #NFDB
1076:Pastime with good company ~ Henry VIII of England, #NFDB
1077:Perfection with an imperfect heart. ~ Tillie Cole, #NFDB
1078:Poetry is a religion with no hope. ~ Jean Cocteau, #NFDB
1079:Praying with precision is key. ~ Priscilla Shirer, #NFDB
1080:Preach the Gospel with your life. ~ Matt Chandler, #NFDB
1081:Reasoning with a drunkard is like ~ Thiruvalluvar, #NFDB
1082:Reconnecting with Compassion ~ John Philip Newell, #NFDB
1083:See with eyes unclouded by hate. ~ Hayao Miyazaki, #NFDB
1084:she touched her face with the gloves. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1085:sitting with Judith on the balcony ~ David Bergen, #NFDB
1086:Some men cannot be reasoned with. ~ Oliver Bowden, #NFDB
1087:Start small and with your own money. ~ Alan Sugar, #NFDB
1088:Stay. Stay with me. Live with me. ~ Kandi Steiner, #NFDB
1089:Stop making me fall in love with you ~ Jay McLean, #NFDB
1090:STORIES ARE JUST DATA WITH A SOUL ~ Carmine Gallo, #NFDB
1091:Stuff your brain with knowledge. ~ Karl Lagerfeld, #NFDB
1092:Surround yourself with positive people. ~ Melanie, #NFDB
1093:Tedros in the Sky with Chocolate ~ Soman Chainani, #NFDB
1094:That's my ideal day, time with my boys. ~ Kenny G, #NFDB
1095:The cute was powerful with this one. ~ Devon Monk, #NFDB
1096:The desire to write grows with writing. ~ Erasmus, #NFDB
1097:THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP ~ Arthur Conan Doyle, #NFDB
1098:The mastermind, the man with the plan ~ Mikey Way, #NFDB
1099:The only way to Cuba is with the CIA. ~ Phil Ochs, #NFDB
1100:The potter is at enmity with the potter. ~ Hesiod, #NFDB
1101:The team with the best players wins. ~ Jack Welch, #NFDB
1102:Time has nothing to do with the matter. ~ Moliere, #NFDB
1103:Time is a tree with many branches. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
1104:Time moves on, and with it all flesh. ~ Ned Hayes, #NFDB
1105:Trust is built with consistency. ~ Lincoln Chafee, #NFDB
1106:Up with skirts, down with pants!' ~ Edwin Edwards, #NFDB
1107:Utopia begins with durable goods. ~ Bryant McGill, #NFDB
1108:Victim fall in love with excuses ~ Robin S Sharma, #NFDB
1109:Walking with her man, Lost in a dream ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
1110:want you to get on with your life. ~ Gayle Forman, #NFDB
1111:Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw, ~ Tara Sivec, #NFDB
1112:WE SHALL ADVANCE WITH ABANDON. ~ Brendon Burchard, #NFDB
1113:Wit and wisdom are born with a man. ~ John Selden, #NFDB
1114:With freedom comes responsibility ~ Jesse Ventura, #NFDB
1115:with hand-painted flowers. ~ William Kent Krueger, #NFDB
1116:With more love than words can express, ~ J D Horn, #NFDB
1117:With publicity comes humiliation. ~ Tama Janowitz, #NFDB
1118:Women think with their whole bodies ~ Dorothy Day, #NFDB
1119:World peace begins with inner peace. ~ Dalai Lama, #NFDB
1120:would always want my sister with me. ~ Liz Fenton, #NFDB
1121:You are alone with everything you love. ~ Novalis, #NFDB
1122:You can heal your body with food. ~ Stacy Keibler, #NFDB
1123:You can’t be friends with a droid. ~ Chuck Wendig, #NFDB
1124:You fall in love with people's minds. ~ Anais Nin, #NFDB
1125:You'll never win anything with kids ~ Alan Hansen, #NFDB
1126:You need a man to go to hell with. ~ Tuesday Weld, #NFDB
1127:YOU NEED NO RINGS WHEN I AM WITH you, ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
1128:Your muscles can tense with hope. ~ Darin Strauss, #NFDB
1129:you to sit with the bridesmaids at ~ Barbara Park, #NFDB
1130:22 I love God’s law with all my heart. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1131:A babe is fed with milk and praise. ~ Charles Lamb, #NFDB
1132:A cause is a lie with a fan club. ~ William H Gass, #NFDB
1133:Acting with fear is called courage. ~ Ronda Rousey, #NFDB
1134:A decent boldness ever meets with friends. ~ Homer, #NFDB
1135:A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ Napoleon Hill, #NFDB
1136:All griefes with bread are lesse. ~ George Herbert, #NFDB
1137:A mystery is solved with a story. ~ Daniel Handler, #NFDB
1138:Anything with a beat is meat, ~ Seth Grahame Smith, #NFDB
1139:Art is whatever you can get away with. ~ John Cage, #NFDB
1140:Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1141:be careful of monsters with teeth ~ Harlan Ellison, #NFDB
1142:Be friendly with the cookhouse detail. ~ Lee Child, #NFDB
1143:Build something with enduring value. ~ Bill Hybels, #NFDB
1144:Chain me with roaring bears; ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
1145:Come, live with me and you'll know me. ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
1146:Compassion begins with attention. ~ Daniel Goleman, #NFDB
1147:Courage is just dreams with shoes on. ~ Reba Riley, #NFDB
1148:custody or contact with her daughter? ~ David Bell, #NFDB
1149:Dance with me, Death, I am ready. ~ Terry Goodkind, #NFDB
1150:Do not go with the flow. Be the flow. ~ Elif Safak, #NFDB
1151:Don't confuse activity with action. ~ Mark Sanborn, #NFDB
1152:Don't confuse facts with reality. ~ Robert Ballard, #NFDB
1153:Don't confuse symmetry with balance. ~ Tom Robbins, #NFDB
1154:Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt. ~ Zadie Smith, #NFDB
1155:Doubt tempers belief with sanity. ~ Barbara Kruger, #NFDB
1156:Dull people filled him with terror. ~ Thomas Wolfe, #NFDB
1157:Enlightenment is intimacy with all things. ~ Dogen, #NFDB
1158:Even the best weeks start with monday ~ Nice Peter, #NFDB
1159:Every journey begins with a single step. ~ Lao Tzu, #NFDB
1160:Everyone is in love with his own ideas ~ Carl Jung, #NFDB
1161:Every song with lyrics is lyrical. ~ Vince Staples, #NFDB
1162:Everything begins with an idea. ~ Earl Nightingale, #NFDB
1163:Everything begins with a thought. ~ John C Maxwell, #NFDB
1164:Everything’s better with cake, ~ Jacqueline Wilson, #NFDB
1165:Everything's better with chocolate. ~ Jill Shalvis, #NFDB
1166:fall
in love
with your solitude ~ Rupi Kaur,#NFDB
1167:fight authority with authority, ~ Banana Yoshimoto, #NFDB
1168:Float with me in the world of ether. ~ David Lynch, #NFDB
1169:For a chance with you, I can wait. ~ Myra McEntire, #NFDB
1170:Frenchman: Germans with good food. ~ Fran Lebowitz, #NFDB
1171:Get face time with the customers. ~ Anne M Mulcahy, #NFDB
1172:God does awesome things with us. ~ Mother Angelica, #NFDB
1173:God is with me, helping me. ~ Norman Vincent Peale, #NFDB
1174:Great. Another girl with a notebook. ~ Kami Garcia, #NFDB
1175:Guess I go harder with you.” Six ~ Santino Hassell, #NFDB
1176:HAVE A GLASS OF WINE WITH DINNER. ~ Michael Pollan, #NFDB
1177:he forgot about being cross with her ~ J K Rowling, #NFDB
1178:Here Jove with Hermes came; but in disguise ~ Ovid, #NFDB
1179:Her heart raced with joy to sleep with War ~ Homer, #NFDB
1180:he was a man on a date with destiny, ~ Kate Morton, #NFDB
1181:How can I dispose of myself with it? ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
1182:Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo. ~ Ambrose Bierce, #NFDB
1183:I always get very calm with baseball. ~ Paul Simon, #NFDB
1184:I am freighted with thought. ~ Henry David Thoreau, #NFDB
1185:I am in love with this green Earth. ~ Charles Lamb, #NFDB
1186:I came up with a story and I wrote it. ~ E L James, #NFDB
1187:I can dance with life again. ~ Jacqueline Winspear, #NFDB
1188:I can gab with pretty much anyone. ~ Kyle Chandler, #NFDB
1189:I'd like to work with Damien Hirst. ~ Steve Madden, #NFDB
1190:I'd love to work with Disney again. ~ Phil Collins, #NFDB
1191:I don't have a problem with my temper. ~ Tommy Lee, #NFDB
1192:I don't think God's through with me. ~ John Edward, #NFDB
1193:I don’t work with crazies anymore ~ Michael Pollan, #NFDB
1194:I do things with a lot of feeling. ~ Sergio Garcia, #NFDB
1195:I found the floor with my face. Blood ~ Jake Bible, #NFDB
1196:I go to bed with men, not boys. ~ Linda Fiorentino, #NFDB
1197:I had AIDS, but I beat it with Advil. ~ Jim Norton, #NFDB
1198:I had become one with the plumbing. ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
1199:I have a randezvous with life. ~ Andrew Sean Greer, #NFDB
1200:I have fallen in love with you,God. ~ Jack Kerouac, #NFDB
1201:I have no issues with my identity. ~ Rashida Jones, #NFDB
1202:I just want to go with you, Mom. ~ Kyung Sook Shin, #NFDB
1203:I love working closely with people. ~ Laura Linney, #NFDB
1204:I'm a fucking porcupine with points. ~ Chuck Hogan, #NFDB
1205:I meet with people all day long. ~ Hillary Clinton, #NFDB
1206:I'm expressin' with my full capabilities, ~ Dr Dre, #NFDB
1207:I’m going with Darrelle Revis. ~ Antonio Cromartie, #NFDB
1208:I'm happy with what I've achieved. ~ Sofia Vergara, #NFDB
1209:I’m in love with you, sweetheart. ~ Kristen Ashley, #NFDB
1210:I'm very lucky with my metabolism. ~ Shenae Grimes, #NFDB
1211:In my life, I've dealt with tragedy. ~ Leona Lewis, #NFDB
1212:In the river. With James. Swimming ~ Suzanne Young, #NFDB
1213:It’s all or nothing with Chris. ~ Lisa Renee Jones, #NFDB
1214:It's no treat being in bed with me. ~ Howard Stern, #NFDB
1215:It's okay to play with your food. ~ Emeril Lagasse, #NFDB
1216:I've always been very sensible with money. ~ Lemar, #NFDB
1217:I want to die with my blue jeans on. ~ Andy Warhol, #NFDB
1218:I wish for you to grow old with me. ~ Grace Draven, #NFDB
1219:I wish you luck with a capital F. ~ Elvis Costello, #NFDB
1220:I wonder can I carry on with the speed ~ Tite Kubo, #NFDB
1221:I work with a lot of movie stars. ~ Norman Jewison, #NFDB
1222:Jesus hung out with ragamuffins. ~ Brennan Manning, #NFDB
1223:Life goes on... with or without you. ~ Faraaz Kazi, #NFDB
1224:Like associates with like. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero, #NFDB
1225:love of others.” With ~ Miranda Beverly Whittemore, #NFDB
1226:Make deals with people, not paper. ~ Penn Jillette, #NFDB
1227:Mattie’s torso with a heavy cloth. ~ Laila Ibrahim, #NFDB
1228:Momma, I could live with the idea. ~ Carolyn Brown, #NFDB
1229:More matter with less art.60 ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
1230:Mrs. Richardson remained annoyed with ~ Celeste Ng, #NFDB
1231:My relationship with my mother is not cute. ~ Mika, #NFDB
1232:My time with my family is a priority. ~ Nick Faldo, #NFDB
1233:Never argue with a drunk or a fool. ~ Aaron Sorkin, #NFDB
1234:Never find fault with the absent. ~ Alexander Pope, #NFDB
1235:Never play cards with a man called Doc. ~ Amy Sohn, #NFDB
1236:No deals with the Tories; it's war. ~ Nigel Farage, #NFDB
1237:Nothings wrong with honest emotion. ~ Tony Goldwyn, #NFDB
1238:Obey Him with glad reckless joy. ~ Oswald Chambers, #NFDB
1239:One can always reason with reason. ~ Henri Bergson, #NFDB
1240:One cannot govern with 'buts'. ~ Charles de Gaulle, #NFDB
1241:One day with life and heart ~ James Russell Lowell, #NFDB
1242:our time loitering with someone who ~ Dana Cameron, #NFDB
1243:Poverty isn’t solved with donations. ~ Carlos Slim, #NFDB
1244:Respect starts with ourselves. ~ Nathaniel Branden, #NFDB
1245:secure with his 9-mm Beretta. Anyone ~ Vince Flynn, #NFDB
1246:See with one eye, feel with the other. ~ Paul Klee, #NFDB
1247:She looked . . . whole. With him. ~ Kiersten White, #NFDB
1248:shirt and black trousers with scuffed ~ Carol Wyer, #NFDB
1249:sit down over there with the hag! ~ M Louisa Locke, #NFDB
1250:Sleep with me sleep with my dogs- ~ Sinclair Lewis, #NFDB
1251:Some men live with an invisible limp, ~ Robert Bly, #NFDB
1252:Stop thinking with your head, Alyssa. ~ A G Howard, #NFDB
1253:Stop trying to have sex with it! ~ Dennis E Taylor, #NFDB
1254:stories are just data with a soul. ~ Carmine Gallo, #NFDB
1255:Study says dogs can be green with envy ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1256:Surround yourself with brilliance. ~ Peter Gabriel, #NFDB
1257:That man with my brother is an envoy ~ Naomi Novik, #NFDB
1258:The desire to write grows with writing.; ~ Erasmus, #NFDB
1259:The fatal problem with poetry: poems. ~ Ben Lerner, #NFDB
1260:The man with courage is a majority. ~ Andrew Young, #NFDB
1261:The problem with education is school. ~ Mark Twain, #NFDB
1262:There is/no reasoning with need. ~ Claudia Rankine, #NFDB
1263:The trouble with law is lawyers. ~ Clarence Darrow, #NFDB
1264:The world is not with us enough. ~ Denise Levertov, #NFDB
1265:Things must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller, #NFDB
1266:This was disapproval with a bite. ~ Courtney Milan, #NFDB
1267:three guys with RPGs taking aim at us ~ Chris Kyle, #NFDB
1268:Titles do not count with posterity. ~ Thomas Paine, #NFDB
1269:To hell with you all, I DO believe ~ Cecelia Ahern, #NFDB
1270:Treason seldom dwells with courage. ~ Walter Scott, #NFDB
1271:union with God -- namely, faith. ~ Juan de la Cruz, #NFDB
1272:War is pragmatism with an inhuman face ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1273:We all work with one infinite power. ~ Bob Proctor, #NFDB
1274:We are twice armed if we fight with faith. ~ Plato, #NFDB
1275:We need realism to deal with reality. ~ Slick Rick, #NFDB
1276:We were never good with good-byes. ~ Suzanne Young, #NFDB
1277:What has Athens to do with Jerusalem. ~ Tertullian, #NFDB
1278:What is the matter with you, woman?! ~ Kara Dalkey, #NFDB
1279:What's that got to do with anything? ~ Umberto Eco, #NFDB
1280:What the fuck is wrong with you? ~ Stephen Chbosky, #NFDB
1281:Whoever acts with respect will get respect. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
1282:With a whirl of thought oppressed ~ Jonathan Swift, #NFDB
1283:With enough butter, anything is good ~ Julia Child, #NFDB
1284:with honesty there came communication, ~ R J Lewis, #NFDB
1285:With the gift of faith, we move on. ~ Irvine Welsh, #NFDB
1286:With wealth comes responsibility. ~ Jonathan Sacks, #NFDB
1287:With your little claws, Lolita. ~ Vladimir Nabokov, #NFDB
1288:Wrestling is ballet with violence. ~ Jesse Ventura, #NFDB
1289:You cannot mix sports with politics. ~ Jackie Chan, #NFDB
1290:You can't argue with stupidity. ~ Jermaine Jackson, #NFDB
1291:You can't make a mistake with trifle. ~ M C Beaton, #NFDB
1292:You do not fuck with what’s mine. ~ Kristen Ashley, #NFDB
1293:You're driving with your eyes closed. ~ Don Henley, #NFDB
1294:A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ John C Maxwell, #NFDB
1295:A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ Keith Ferrazzi, #NFDB
1296:All service is the same with God. ~ Robert Browning, #NFDB
1297:all skinny guys with beards are jerks ~ Randy Quaid, #NFDB
1298:Almost anything is possible with time ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
1299:A man with perspective! That’s rare. ~ Kevin Hearne, #NFDB
1300:An ant has no quarrel with a boot. ~ Tom Hiddleston, #NFDB
1301:And if she fell, he'd fall with her. ~ Nalini Singh, #NFDB
1302:And if we burn, you burn with us. ~ Suzanne Collins, #NFDB
1303:And now we're lethal, infected with D'Evils ~ Jay Z, #NFDB
1304:and starting to stay even with ~ Mary Higgins Clark, #NFDB
1305:And then I fell deeply in love with you, ~ K M Shea, #NFDB
1306:A pool game mixes ritual with geometry. ~ Mary Karr, #NFDB
1307:are dealing with a situation of our own ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1308:Auburn, catching up with his homies. ~ Stephen King, #NFDB
1309:A woman with good shoes i never ugly! ~ Coco Chanel, #NFDB
1310:A youth is to be regarded with respect. ~ Confucius, #NFDB
1311:Beare with evill, and expect good. ~ George Herbert, #NFDB
1312:Beat a man with what he doesn't know. ~ Gene LeBell, #NFDB
1313:Be with me. Let’s fall together. ~ Kristen Callihan, #NFDB
1314:Boxing is show-business with blood. ~ David Belasco, #NFDB
1315:But, if you leave with me, you’re mine. ~ Aria Cole, #NFDB
1316:But with the freedom came a sadness. ~ Daniel Keyes, #NFDB
1317:Charge hell with a bucket of water. ~ Liz Carpenter, #NFDB
1318:confinement. We can communicate with ~ Steve Taylor, #NFDB
1319:discovery starts with anomalies. ~ Richard H Thaler, #NFDB
1320:Do not go with the flow. Be the flow. ~ Elif Shafak, #NFDB
1321:Do not spoil the wonder with haste! ~ J R R Tolkien, #NFDB
1322:Don’t confuse progress with winning. ~ Mary T Barra, #NFDB
1323:Don’t swear,” I replied with a smile. ~ Shay Savage, #NFDB
1324:Don’t toy with things that block your light. ~ Rumi, #NFDB
1325:Drop that zero and get with the hero! ~ Vanilla Ice, #NFDB
1326:Even with my limited self-awareness, ~ Rob Spillman, #NFDB
1327:Every journey begins with the first step. ~ Lao Tzu, #NFDB
1328:Every project starts with a story. ~ Colleen Atwood, #NFDB
1329:Everything change with mine, Katya. ~ Dana Stabenow, #NFDB
1330:Everything is nothing with a twist. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, #NFDB
1331:Everything starts with the customer. ~ Lou Gerstner, #NFDB
1332:Express your ideas with the world ~ Mitchel Resnick, #NFDB
1333:Faith with proof is no faith at all. ~ Patrick Ness, #NFDB
1334:Fortune is either with you or it's not. ~ Tom Araya, #NFDB
1335:Golden Ages always end with Dark ones. ~ Ada Palmer, #NFDB
1336:hair that she often pinned back with ~ Helen Thorpe, #NFDB
1337:Heaven is a house with porch lights. ~ Ray Bradbury, #NFDB
1338:he had a hot date with a polearm. By ~ Rick Riordan, #NFDB
1339:Hell is something you carry with you. ~ Neil Gaiman, #NFDB
1340:Her power with him was gone for ever. ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
1341:He walks among us, but is not with us. ~ J J Abrams, #NFDB
1342:He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; ~ Lao Tzu, #NFDB
1343:Homesickness starts with food ~ Ernesto Che Guevara, #NFDB
1344:Hunter Pence eats pizza with a fork. ~ Barack Obama, #NFDB
1345:I am a poster child with no poster ~ Jennifer Storm, #NFDB
1346:I am at one with my duality. ~ Gilbert K Chesterton, #NFDB
1347:I didn't play with other children. ~ Karl Lagerfeld, #NFDB
1348:I'd like to die with my boots on. ~ Daniel Berrigan, #NFDB
1349:I don't care who anybody sleeps with. ~ Betty White, #NFDB
1350:I don't hold water with that theory ~ Ron Greenwood, #NFDB
1351:I enjoyed working with Ted Kennedy. ~ Sam Brownback, #NFDB
1352:I get paid to make out with the hunks! ~ Kelly Ripa, #NFDB
1353:I like doing stuff with my friends. ~ Jeremy Irvine, #NFDB
1354:I'll be your number one with a bullet. ~ Pete Wentz, #NFDB
1355:I love working with Gary Sinise. ~ John Larroquette, #NFDB
1356:I'm a born librarian with a sex drive ~ David Bowie, #NFDB
1357:I make us better by competing with you. ~ Toba Beta, #NFDB
1358:I’m in love with you and Jonas.” I ~ Sloane Kennedy, #NFDB
1359:I'm not at ease with the word "love." ~ David Bowie, #NFDB
1360:I'm really obsessed with the past. ~ Fisher Stevens, #NFDB
1361:I myself am identical with nature. ~ Michael Pollan, #NFDB
1362:In vino veritas. With wine comes truth. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1363:In with spirits, out with secrets, ~ Daniel Arenson, #NFDB
1364:I own with reason: for, if men but knew ~ Lucretius, #NFDB
1365:I really don't deal with hypotheticals. ~ Spike Lee, #NFDB
1366:I smoked with a lot of college students... ~ Redman, #NFDB
1367:It All Started with a Moose ~ Nancy Temple Rodrigue, #NFDB
1368:I think I died to be reborn with you ~ Jodi Meadows, #NFDB
1369:It's fun to horse around with danger. ~ Sue Grafton, #NFDB
1370:It's time to be with my brother now ~ Veronica Roth, #NFDB
1371:I was a story riddled with plot holes. ~ John Green, #NFDB
1372:I was polluting the bed with dreams. ~ Henry Miller, #NFDB
1373:I will speak with a straight tongue. ~ Chief Joseph, #NFDB
1374:Judges live with shadows behind them. ~ Jane Gardam, #NFDB
1375:Just be comfortable with who you are. ~ Chris Pratt, #NFDB
1376:Just go with your gut and communicate. ~ Andy Cohen, #NFDB
1377:Know what’s going on with their money ~ Jen Sincero, #NFDB
1378:Lawyers do not mix with diplomacy. ~ Charles Stross, #NFDB
1379:Let’s begin with Level Flight. . . . ~ Richard Bach, #NFDB
1380:Link purchases with good experiences. ~ Meik Wiking, #NFDB
1381:Living with faith and courage is ~ Kathryn Kuhlman, #NFDB
1382:Love in a hut, with water and a crust, ~ John Keats, #NFDB
1383:Love is a fan club with only two fans. ~ Gore Vidal, #NFDB
1384:Love shouldn't come with conditions. ~ Dannika Dark, #NFDB
1385:Make me immortal with a kiss. ~ Christopher Marlowe, #NFDB
1386:Man with frailty is allied by birth. ~ Robert Lowth, #NFDB
1387:materialism with emotionalism ~ Tamal Bandyopadhyay, #NFDB
1388:Misery alternates with euphoria. ~ Patricia Gaffney, #NFDB
1389:My longest love affair: with a book. ~ Rebecca Mead, #NFDB
1390:My skull is crammed with quotations. ~ Susan Sontag, #NFDB
1391:Nature is pleased with simplicity ~ Walter Isaacson, #NFDB
1392:Necessity dispenseth with decorum. ~ Thomas Carlyle, #NFDB
1393:Need from destiny change with time. ~ Nilesh Rathod, #NFDB
1394:Never confuse activity with results. ~ Lou Gerstner, #NFDB
1395:Never confuse honor with stupidity! ~ R A Salvatore, #NFDB
1396:Never fuck someone you work with. ~ Santino Hassell, #NFDB
1397:Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon. ~ A A Milne, #NFDB
1398:No one ever died with too much money. ~ Ben Feldman, #NFDB
1399:No one's trying to get with jugglers. ~ Aziz Ansari, #NFDB
1400:Not all stories are told with words. ~ Debora Geary, #NFDB
1401:Not with Humphrey in it, you dodo. ~ Betty G Birney, #NFDB
1402:Nourish the world with your words, yo. ~ Ariel Gore, #NFDB
1403:Once I slapped a rapper with mace, ~ Pharoahe Monch, #NFDB
1404:One can always reason with reason. ~ Henri Bergson, #NFDB
1405:One faces the future with one's past ~ Pearl S Buck, #NFDB
1406:Ouch. Say it, don’t shank me with it. ~ Ella Fields, #NFDB
1407:Paralyze resistance with persistence. ~ Woody Hayes, #NFDB
1408:People who plead with you for favours ~ Sri Chinmoy, #NFDB
1409:Play with me and you play with fire. ~ Sharon Jones, #NFDB
1410:Pluck with quick hand the fruit that passes. ~ Ovid, #NFDB
1411:pouring coffee, so she went with ~ Brianna Labuskes, #NFDB
1412:Quit stalling with the good bits! ~ Jennifer DeLucy, #NFDB
1413:Rarity went hand in hand with reverence. ~ J R Ward, #NFDB
1414:Remember it with the eyes of your soul, ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1415:rendezvous with the robots after a fast ~ Greg Bear, #NFDB
1416:Rhetoric paints with a broad brush. ~ George Carlin, #NFDB
1417:Sanity begins with knowing your place. ~ C E Morgan, #NFDB
1418:Say it with pride we are Hindus ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
1419:seasoned it with some Haskell and Ruby. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1420:Sex with love is an illusion, y'know!! ~ Inio Asano, #NFDB
1421:Sharing with Jupiter is never a dishonor. ~ Moliere, #NFDB
1422:She Blinded Me with Science. ~ Rachel Ren e Russell, #NFDB
1423:She couldn’t argue with that. “I’ll ~ Beverly Lewis, #NFDB
1424:She countered Fear with Love and Hope. ~ M R Forbes, #NFDB
1425:She was naked with powerlessness. ~ Katherine Arden, #NFDB
1426:Sinks my sad soul with sorrow to the grave. ~ Homer, #NFDB
1427:students working with Professor Hinton. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
1428:Taste has nothing to do with style. ~ Robert Benton, #NFDB
1429:The appetite grows with eating. ~ Francois Rabelais, #NFDB
1430:The Art of Peace begins with you. ~ Morihei Ueshiba, #NFDB
1431:The girl with the pictures on her skin ~ Lisa Unger, #NFDB
1432:The law is an opinion with a gun. ~ Stefan Molyneux, #NFDB
1433:The love of pelf increases with the pelf. ~ Juvenal, #NFDB
1434:The past is what you take with you. ~ Kate Atkinson, #NFDB
1435:There's nothing wrong with a lisp. ~ Kiernan Shipka, #NFDB
1436:There was no arguing with blood. ~ Jonathan Franzen, #NFDB
1437:The room pulsed with feeling, ~ Leslie Marmon Silko, #NFDB
1438:The sky sparkled with dancing colors. ~ Liz Kessler, #NFDB
1439:The Virgin and Child with St. Anne ~ Hourly History, #NFDB
1440:The way is light and fluid for the man with ~ Laozi, #NFDB
1441:The words poured down with the rain. ~ Annie Proulx, #NFDB
1442:This morning, with her, having coffee ~ Johnny Cash, #NFDB
1443:to do with his natural exuberance ~ Nicholas Sparks, #NFDB
1444:to hell. You could beat up Jews with ~ Neal Pollack, #NFDB
1445:To live with glory, or with glory die, ~ Sophocles, #NFDB
1446:Victory puts us on a level with heaven. ~ Lucretius, #NFDB
1447:We are born with magic inside of us ~ James Victore, #NFDB
1448:We get to play God with our stories. ~ Larry Brooks, #NFDB
1449:We have to be honest with ourselves. ~ Donald Trump, #NFDB
1450:We live with the scars we choose. ~ Shannon L Alder, #NFDB
1451:went wrong with Celia, too, she ~ Diane Chamberlain, #NFDB
1452:What hath the night to do with sleep? ~ John Milton, #NFDB
1453:What wine goes with Captain Crunch? ~ George Carlin, #NFDB
1454:Where ever I go, God will be with me. ~ Yasiel Puig, #NFDB
1455:Whoever dies with the most stuff wins. ~ E Lockhart, #NFDB
1456:Why ruin a good story with the truth? ~ Woody Allen, #NFDB
1457:Wipe your glasses with what you know. ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
1458:Wipe your glosses with what you know. ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
1459:With a book he was regardless of time ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
1460:With age, art and life become one. ~ Georges Braque, #NFDB
1461:With an apple I will astonish Paris. ~ Paul Cezanne, #NFDB
1462:with complete ease. ~ Suman Pokhrel, 'Song of Soul', #NFDB
1463:with facts, fear grows dim ~ Ernest Agyemang Yeboah, #NFDB
1464:With music you can speak to anyone. ~ Daniel Suarez, #NFDB
1465:...with no morning the day is sold. ~ Philip Levine, #NFDB
1466:With the last remnant of his strength ~ Jack London, #NFDB
1467:With what do you fill an empty life? ~ Louise Gl ck, #NFDB
1468:With will will we withstand, withsay. ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
1469:With you-to the end of the world! ~ Rudyard Kipling, #NFDB
1470:Working with my hands keeps me sane. ~ Seamus Dever, #NFDB
1471:Work! work! and God will work with us! ~ Mark Twain, #NFDB
1472:You can never go wrong with kindness. ~ Megan Young, #NFDB
1473:You can't trust anybody with power. ~ Newt Gingrich, #NFDB
1474:You give head with that dirty mouth? ~ Pamela Clare, #NFDB
1475:You hit her with a box of donuts? ~ Kirkus MacGowan, #NFDB
1476:You stay with her. I’ll follow it in. ~ Dan Simmons, #NFDB
1477:Zombies dont mess with other zombies. ~ Bill Murray, #NFDB
1478:A boy with a ball. A boy with a dream. ~ David Peace, #NFDB
1479:Action is movement with intelligence ~ B K S Iyengar, #NFDB
1480:A flute with no holes is not a flute. ~ Matsuo Basho, #NFDB
1481:Always wanted to be with his books. ~ Brandy Colbert, #NFDB
1482:Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine ~ Elvis Presley, #NFDB
1483:An animator is an actor with a pencil. ~ Chuck Jones, #NFDB
1484:and Germans are obsessed with shit. ~ Lionel Shriver, #NFDB
1485:A novel is a book with a lot of pages. ~ Kathy Acker, #NFDB
1486:Apologies have nothing to do with you. ~ Amy Poehler, #NFDB
1487:Apple inspires. Apple starts with Why. ~ Simon Sinek, #NFDB
1488:A story is only a lie you get away with. ~ Yaa Gyasi, #NFDB
1489:Attention is the material I work with. ~ Tino Sehgal, #NFDB
1490:Away with funeral music-set ~ Robert Louis Stevenson, #NFDB
1491:Beauty draws us with a single hair. ~ Alexander Pope, #NFDB
1492:Be careful with that heart of yours ~ Jennifer Niven, #NFDB
1493:Become acquainted with every art. ~ Miyamoto Musashi, #NFDB
1494:be with him was to hurt him—inevitably. ~ John Green, #NFDB
1495:bleeding heavily, her eyes flat with ~ John Sandford, #NFDB
1496:Charity begins with a full stomach, ~ Barbara Demick, #NFDB
1497:Coffee goes great with sudden death. ~ Gillian Flynn, #NFDB
1498:Come cook food with me and do nothing. ~ Aziz Ansari, #NFDB
1499:Compared with me, a tree is immortal. ~ Sylvia Plath, #NFDB
1500:Confucius does his crossword with a pen. ~ Tori Amos, #NFDB
3669 Integral Yoga
2758 Poetry
455 Philosophy
391 Mysticism
325 Occultism
323 Fiction
195 Christianity
140 Yoga
95 Islam
93 Psychology
79 Philsophy
58 Sufism
39 Science
34 Hinduism
27 Kabbalah
27 Education
25 Zen
23 Mythology
22 Buddhism
20 Theosophy
16 Integral Theory
8 Cybernetics
6 Baha i Faith
2 Taoism
1 Thelema
1 Alchemy
2032 The Mother
1610 Sri Aurobindo
1215 Satprem
605 Nolini Kanta Gupta
308 William Wordsworth
286 Walt Whitman
219 Percy Bysshe Shelley
190 Rabindranath Tagore
175 William Butler Yeats
155 Aleister Crowley
147 H P Lovecraft
142 John Keats
116 Friedrich Schiller
95 Muhammad
92 Friedrich Nietzsche
91 Carl Jung
88 Robert Browning
79 Ralph Waldo Emerson
78 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
77 Jalaluddin Rumi
69 James George Frazer
66 Plotinus
66 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
64 Rainer Maria Rilke
62 Li Bai
57 Sri Ramakrishna
55 Edgar Allan Poe
54 Kabir
50 Jorge Luis Borges
40 Swami Vivekananda
40 Anonymous
37 Swami Krishnananda
36 Omar Khayyam
34 Saint Augustine of Hippo
33 Saint Teresa of Avila
33 Lucretius
33 Hafiz
33 Franz Bardon
33 A B Purani
30 Saint John of Climacus
29 Aldous Huxley
27 Rabbi Moses Luzzatto
25 Rudolf Steiner
22 Vyasa
21 Aristotle
20 Farid ud-Din Attar
18 Hsuan Chueh of Yung Chia
16 Ramprasad
15 Nirodbaran
15 Ibn Arabi
14 Ovid
14 Mirabai
14 Bulleh Shah
13 Taigu Ryokan
12 Swami Sivananda Saraswati
12 Plato
12 Peter J Carroll
12 Paul Richard
11 Thomas Merton
11 Sri Ramana Maharshi
11 Solomon ibn Gabirol
11 Lewis Carroll
11 Hakim Sanai
11 George Van Vrekhem
10 Saint Hildegard von Bingen
10 Lalla
9 Saint John of the Cross
9 Joseph Campbell
9 Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
8 Symeon the New Theologian
8 Norbert Wiener
8 Matsuo Basho
7 Mansur al-Hallaj
7 Jordan Peterson
7 Henry David Thoreau
7 Baha u llah
7 Alice Bailey
6 Wang Wei
6 Thubten Chodron
6 Saint Francis of Assisi
6 Namdev
6 Mechthild of Magdeburg
6 Bokar Rinpoche
6 Allama Muhammad Iqbal
6 Al-Ghazali
5 Ravidas
5 Patanjali
5 Jetsun Milarepa
5 Jayadeva
5 Ikkyu
5 Boethius
4 Saint Clare of Assisi
4 Saadi
4 Muso Soseki
4 Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
4 Ibn Ata Illah
4 Alfred Tennyson
3 William Blake
3 Vidyapati
3 Shankara
3 Saint Therese of Lisieux
3 R Buckminster Fuller
3 Rabbi Abraham Abulafia
3 Moses de Leon
3 Lu Tung Pin
3 Ken Wilber
3 Jacopone da Todi
3 Dante Alighieri
3 Dadu Dayal
2 Yuan Mei
2 Yeshe Tsogyal
2 Yannai
2 Tao Chien
2 Surdas
2 Shiwu (Stonehouse)
2 Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
2 Naropa
2 Nachmanides
2 Mahendranath Gupta
2 Kobayashi Issa
2 Kahlil Gibran
2 Judah Halevi
2 Jorge Luis Borges
2 Jean Gebser
2 Italo Calvino
2 H. P. Lovecraft
2 Hakuin
2 Genpo Roshi
2 Fukuda Chiyo-ni
2 Dogen
2 Chuang Tzu
2 Catherine of Siena
2 Baba Sheikh Farid
755 Record of Yoga
308 Wordsworth - Poems
268 Whitman - Poems
247 Prayers And Meditations
219 Shelley - Poems
192 On Thoughts And Aphorisms
177 Tagore - Poems
175 Yeats - Poems
147 Lovecraft - Poems
146 Agenda Vol 01
144 The Synthesis Of Yoga
142 Keats - Poems
121 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03
116 Schiller - Poems
115 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04
111 Agenda Vol 13
95 Quran
95 Questions And Answers 1957-1958
95 Agenda Vol 08
93 Agenda Vol 12
92 Agenda Vol 10
90 Agenda Vol 09
88 Browning - Poems
87 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02
85 Magick Without Tears
85 Letters On Yoga III
84 Agenda Vol 06
83 Agenda Vol 07
82 Agenda Vol 04
81 Thus Spoke Zarathustra
81 Agenda Vol 03
80 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01
79 Emerson - Poems
77 Agenda Vol 11
73 Agenda Vol 05
73 Agenda Vol 02
70 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05
69 The Golden Bough
64 Rilke - Poems
63 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07
62 Li Bai - Poems
59 Essays In Philosophy And Yoga
57 Collected Poems
56 The Life Divine
56 Questions And Answers 1950-1951
55 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
54 Poe - Poems
54 Goethe - Poems
52 Questions And Answers 1956
52 Liber ABA
49 Savitri
49 Letters On Yoga IV
49 Letters On Yoga II
44 Rumi - Poems
41 Questions And Answers 1953
39 Songs of Kabir
38 Mysterium Coniunctionis
37 Words Of Long Ago
37 The Study and Practice of Yoga
37 Questions And Answers 1955
36 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 08
35 Questions And Answers 1954
34 The Divine Comedy
34 Questions And Answers 1929-1931
34 Letters On Poetry And Art
33 Of The Nature Of Things
33 Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo
31 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 06
30 The Ladder of Divine Ascent
30 Essays On The Gita
30 Essays Divine And Human
29 The Perennial Philosophy
28 The Bible
27 Letters On Yoga I
27 General Principles of Kabbalah
26 Words Of The Mother II
26 On Education
26 Labyrinths
24 The Practice of Psycho therapy
24 The Human Cycle
24 Faust
24 Borges - Poems
22 Vishnu Purana
22 The Future of Man
22 Crowley - Poems
22 City of God
21 Poetics
21 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 04
21 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 01
21 Hafiz - Poems
20 Bhakti-Yoga
20 Anonymous - Poems
19 The Way of Perfection
19 Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness
19 Initiation Into Hermetics
17 Let Me Explain
16 On the Way to Supermanhood
15 Twelve Years With Sri Aurobindo
15 The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
15 Isha Upanishad
14 The Secret Of The Veda
14 The Practice of Magical Evocation
14 The Phenomenon of Man
14 The Mother With Letters On The Mother
14 Song of Myself
14 Some Answers From The Mother
14 Metamorphoses
14 Aion
13 Vedic and Philological Studies
13 Theosophy
13 The Confessions of Saint Augustine
13 Ryokan - Poems
13 Hymn of the Universe
12 Twilight of the Idols
12 Talks
12 Raja-Yoga
12 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 03
12 Plotinus - Complete Works Vol 02
12 Liber Null
11 Preparing for the Miraculous
11 Kena and Other Upanishads
11 Dark Night of the Soul
11 Arabi - Poems
10 The Problems of Philosophy
10 The Interior Castle or The Mansions
10 The Integral Yoga
10 Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
10 Amrita Gita
10 Alice in Wonderland
10 A Garden of Pomegranates - An Outline of the Qabalah
9 The Hero with a Thousand Faces
9 Hymns to the Mystic Fire
9 5.1.01 - Ilion
8 Words Of The Mother III
8 The Blue Cliff Records
8 Cybernetics
8 Basho - Poems
7 Words Of The Mother I
7 Walden
7 Maps of Meaning
7 A Treatise on Cosmic Fire
6 Writings In Bengali and Sanskrit
6 The Secret Doctrine
6 The Red Book Liber Novus
6 The Alchemy of Happiness
6 Tara - The Feminine Divine
6 How to Free Your Mind - Tara the Liberator
5 The Gateless Gate
5 Sefer Yetzirah The Book of Creation In Theory and Practice
5 Patanjali Yoga Sutras
5 Milarepa - Poems
4 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
4 Beating the Cloth Drum Letters of Zen Master Hakuin
3 The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
3 The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep
3 The Lotus Sutra
3 The Book of Certitude
3 Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking
3 Sex Ecology Spirituality
2 The Prophet
2 The Ever-Present Origin
2 The Essentials of Education
2 The Castle of Crossed Destinies
2 Talks With Sri Aurobindo
2 Symposium
2 Selected Fictions
2 Notes On The Way
2 Naropa - Poems
2 Jerusalum
2 God Exists
2 Dogen - Poems
2 Chuang Tzu - Poems
2 Agenda Vol 1
2 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2E
00.00 - Publishers Note B, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 04, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Like a perfume that rises straight upward Without wavering,
My love goes to Thee..]
00.00 - Publishers Note, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
We have pleasure in presenting the Second Volume of the Collected Works of Sri Nolini Kanta Gupta. The six books in this volume were originally published separately. The Essays are mainly concerned With Mysticism and Poetry.
We are happy to note that the Government of India have given to our Centre of Education a grant to meet the cost of publication of this volume.
0 0.01 - Introduction, #Agenda Vol 1, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
This AGENDA ... One day, another species among men will pore over this fabulous document as over the tumultuous drama that must have surrounded the birth of the first man among the hostile hordes of a great, delirious Paleozoic. A first man is the dangerous contradiction of a certain simian logic, a threat to the established order that so genteelly ran about amid the high, indefeasible ferns - and to begin With, it does not even know that it is a man. It wonders, indeed, what it is. Even to itself it is strange, distressing. It does not even know how to climb trees any longer in its usual way
- and it is terribly disturbing for all those who still climb trees in the old, millennial way. Perhaps it is even a heresy. Unless it is some cerebral disorder? A first man in his little clearing had to have a great deal of courage. Even this little clearing was no longer so sure. A first man is a perpetual question. What am I, then, in the midst of all that? And where is my law? What is the law? And what if there were no more laws? ... It is terrifying. Mathematics - out of order. Astronomy and biology, too, are beginning to respond to mysterious influences. A tiny point huddled in the center of the world's great clearing. But what is all this, what if I were 'mad'? And then, claws all around, a lot of claws against this uncommon creature. A first man ... is very much alone. He is quite unbearable for the pre-human 'reason.' And the surrounding tribes growled like red monkies in the twilight of Guiana.
One day, we were like this first man in the great, stridulant night of the Oyapock. Our heart was beating With the rediscovery of a very ancient mystery - suddenly, it was absolutely new to be a man amidst the diorite cascades and the pretty red and black coral snakes slithering beneath the leaves. It was even more extraordinary to be a man than our old confirmed tribes, With their infallible equations and imprescriptible biologies, could ever have dreamed. It was an absolutely uncertain 'quantum' that delightfully eluded whatever one thought of it, including perhaps what even the scholars thought of it. It flowed otherwise, it felt otherwise. It lived in a kind of flawless continuity With the sap of the giant balata trees, the cry of the macaws and the scintillating water of a little fountain. It 'understood' in a very different way. To understand was to be in everything. Just a quiver, and one was in the skin of a little iguana in distress. The skin of the world was very vast.
To be a man after rediscovering a million years was mysteriously like being something still other than man, a strange, unfinished possibility that could also be all kinds of other things. It was not in the dictionary, it was fluid and boundless - it had become a man through habit, but in truth, it was formidably virgin, as if all the old laws belonged to laggard barbarians. Then other moons began whirring through the skies to the cry of macaws at sunset, another rhythm was born that was strangely in tune With the rhythm of all, making one single flow of the world, and there we went, lightly, as if the body had never had any weight other than that of our human thought; and the stars were so near, even the giant airplanes roaring overhead seemed vain artifices beneath smiling galaxies. A man was the overwhelming Possible. He was even the great discoverer of the Possible.
Never had this precarious invention had any other aim through millions of species than to discover that which surpassed his own species, perhaps the means to change his species - a light and lawless species. After rediscovering a million years in the great, rhythmic night, a man was still something to be invented. It was the invention of himself, where all was not yet said and done.
--
Thus had we mused in the heart of our ancient forest while we were still hesitating between unlikely flakes of gold and a civilization that seemed to us quite toxic and obsolete, however mathematical. But other mathematics were flowing through our veins, an equation as yet unformed between this mammoth world and a little point replete With a light air and immense forebodings.
It was at this point that we met Mother, at this intersection of the anthropoid rediscovered and the 'something' that had set in motion this unfinished invention momentarily ensnared in a gilded machine. For nothing was finished, and nothing had been invented, really, that would instill peace and wideness in this heart of no species at all.
--
As for the worst, we know that it is the worst. But then we come to realize that the best is only the pretty muzzle of our worst, the same old beast defending itself, With all its claws out, With its sanctity or its electronic gadgets. Mother was there for something else.
'Something else' is ominous, perilous, disrupting - it is quite unbearable for all those who resemble the old beast. The story of the Pondicherry 'Ashram' is the story of an old clan ferociously clinging to its 'spiritual' privileges, as others clung to the muscles that had made them kings among the great apes. It is armed With all the piousness and all the reasonableness that had made logical man so 'infallible' among his less cerebral brothers. The spiritual brain is probably the worst obstacle to the new species, as were the muscles of the old orangutan for this fragile stranger who no longer climbed so well in the trees and sat, pensive, at the center of a little, uncertain clearing.
There is nothing more pious than the old species. There is nothing more legal. Mother was searching for the path of the new species as much against all the virtues of the old as against all its vices or laws. For, in truth, 'Something Else' ... is something else.
We landed there, one day in February 1954, having emerged from our Guianese forest and a certain number of dead-end peripluses; we had knocked upon all the doors of the old world before reaching that point of absolute impossibility where it was truly necessary to embark into something else or once and for all put a bullet through the brain of this slightly superior ape. The first thing that struck us was this exotic Notre Dame With its burning incense sticks, its effigies and its prostrations in immaculate white: a Church. We nearly jumped into the first train out that very evening, bound straight for the Himalayas, or the devil. But we remained near Mother for nineteen years. What was it, then, that could have held us there? We had not left Guiana to become a little saint in white or to enter some new religion. 'I did not come upon earth to found an ashram; that would have been a poor aim indeed,' She wrote in 1934. What did all this mean, then, this 'Ashram' that was already registered as the owner of a great spiritual business, and this fragile, little silhouette at the center of all these zealous worshippers? In truth, there is no better way to smother someone than to worship him: he chokes beneath the weight of worship, which moreover gives the worshipper claim to ownership. 'Why do you want to worship?' She exclaimed. 'You have but to become! It is the laziness to become that makes one worship.' She wanted so much to make them
become this 'something else,' but it was far easier to worship and quiescently remain what one was.
--
Her step by step, as one discovers a forest, or rather as one fights With it, machete in hand - and then it melts, one loves, so sublime does it become. Mother grew beneath our skin like an adventure of life and death. For seven years we fought With Her. It was fascinating, detestable, powerful and sweet; we felt like screaming and biting, fleeing and always coming back: 'Ah! You won't catch me! If you think I came here to worship you, you're wrong!' And She laughed. She always laughed.
We had our bellyful of adventure at last: if you go astray in the forest, you get delightfully lost yet still With the same old skin on your back, whereas here, there is nothing left to get lost in! It is no longer just a matter of getting lost - you have to CHANGE your skin. Or die. Yes, change species.
Or become one more nauseating little worshipper - which was not on our program. 'We are the enemy of our own conception of the Divine,' She told us one day With her mischievous little smile.
The whole time - or for seven years, in any event - we fought With our conception of God and the
'spiritual life': it was all so comfortable, for we had a supreme 'symbol' of it right there. She let us do as we pleased, She even opened up all kinds of little heavens in us, along With a few hells, since they go together. She even opened the door in us to a certain 'liberation,' which in the end was as soporific as eternity - but there was nowhere to get out: it WAS eternity. We were trapped on all sides. There was nothing left but these 4m2 of skin, the last refuge, that which we wanted to flee by way of above or below, by way of Guiana or the Himalayas. She was waiting for us just there, at the end of our spiritual or not so spiritual pirouettes. Matter was her concern. It took us seven years to understand that She was beginning there, 'where the other yogas leave off,' as Sri Aurobindo had already said twenty-five years earlier. It was necessary to have covered all the paths of the Spirit and all those of Matter, or in any case a large number geographically, before discovering, or even simply understanding, that 'something else' was really Something Else. It was not an improved
Spirit nor even an improved Matter, but ... it could be called 'nothing,' so contrary was it to all we know. For the caterpillar, a butterfly is nothing, it is not even visible and has nothing in common With caterpillar heavens nor even caterpillar matter. So there we were, trapped in an impossible adventure. One does not return from there: one must cross the bridge to the other side. Then one day in that seventh year, while we still believed in liberations and the collected Upanishads, highlighted With a few glorious visions to relieve the commonplace (which remained appallingly commonplace), while we were still considering 'the Mother of the Ashram' rather like some spiritual super-director (endowed, albeit, With a disarming yet ever so provocative smile, as though
She were making fun of us, then loving us in secret), She told us, 'I have the feeling that ALL we have lived, ALL we have known, ALL we have done is a perfect illusion ... When I had the spiritual experience that material life is an illusion, personally I found that so marvelously beautiful and happy that it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, but now it is the entire spiritual structure as we have lived it that is becoming an illusion! - Not the same illusion, but an illusion far worse. And I am no baby: I have been here for forty-seven years now!' Yes, She was eighty-three years old then. And that day, we ceased being 'the enemy of our own conception of the Divine,' for this entire Divine was shattered to pieces - and we met Mother, at last. This mystery we call
Mother, for She never ceased being a mystery right to her ninety-fifth year, and to this day still, challenges us from the other side of a wall of invisibility and keeps us floundering fully in the mystery - With a smile. She always smiles. But the mystery is not solved.
Perhaps this AGENDA is really an endeavor to solve the mystery in the company of a certain
--
Sri Aurobindo! They would be fossils. The truth is always on the move. It is With those who dare, who have courage, and above all the courage to shatter all the effigies, to de-mystify, and to go
TRULY to the conquest of the new. The 'new' is painful, discouraging, it resembles nothing we know! We cannot hoist the flag of an unconquered country - but this is what is so marvelous: it does not yet exist. We must MAKE IT EXIST. The adventure has not been carved out: it is to be carved out. Truth is not entrapped and fossilized, 'spiritualized': it is to be discovered. We are in a nothing that we must force to become a something. We are in the adventure of the new species. A new species is obviously contradictory to the old species and to the little flags of the alreadyknown. It has nothing in common With the spiritual summits of the old world, nor even With its abysms - which might be delightfully tempting for those who have had enough of the summits, but everything is the same, in black or white, it is fraternal above and below. SOMETHING ELSE is needed.
'Are you conscious of your ceils?' She asked us a short time after the little operation of spiritual demolition She had undergone. 'No? Well, become conscious of your cells, and you will see that it gives TERRESTRIAL results.' To become conscious of one's cells? ... It was a far more radical operation than crossing the Maroni With a machete in hand, for after all, trees and lianas can be cut, but what cannot be so easily uncovered are the grandfa ther and the grandmo ther and the whole atavistic pack, not to mention the animal and plant and mineral layers that form a teeming humus over this single pure little cell beneath its millennial genetic program. The grandfa thers and grandmo thers grow back again like crabgrass, along With all the old habits of being hungry, afraid, falling ill, fearing the worst, hoping for the best, which is still the best of an old mortal habit. All this is not uprooted nor entrapped as easily as celestial 'liberations,' which leave the teeming humus in peace and the body to its usual decomposition. She had come to hew a path through all that. She was the Ancient One of evolution who had come to make a new cleft in the old, tedious habit of being a man. She did not like tedious repetitions, She was the adventuress par excellence - the adventuress of the earth. She was wrenching out for man the great Possible that was already beating there, in his primeval clearing, which he believed he had momentarily trapped With a few machines.
She was uprooting a new Matter, free, free from the habit of inexorably being a man who repeats himself ad infinitum With a few improvements in the way of organ transplants or monetary exchanges. In fact, She was there to discover what would happen after materialism and after spiritualism, these prodigal twin brothers. Because Materialism is dying in the West for the same reason that Spiritualism is dying in the East: it is the hour of the new species. Man needs to awaken, not only from his demons but also from his gods. A new Matter, yes, like a new Spirit, yes, because we still know neither one nor the other. It is the hour when Science, like Spirituality, at the end of their roads, must discover what Matter TRULY is, for it is really there that a Spirit as yet unknown to us is to be found. It is a time when all the 'isms' of the old species are dying: 'The age of
Capitalism and business is drawing to its close. But the age of Communism too will pass ... 'It is the hour of a pure little cell THAT WILL HAVE TERRESTRIAL REPERCUSSIONS, infinitely more radical than all our political and scientific or spiritualistic panaceas.
This fabulous discovery is the whole story of the AGENDA. What is the passage? How is the path to the new species hewed open? ... Then suddenly, there, on the other side of this old millennial habit - a habit, nothing more than a habit! - of being like a man endowed With time and space and disease: an entire geometry, perfectly implacable and 'scientific' and medical; on the other side ... none of that at all! An illusion, a fantastic medical and scientific and genetic illusion:
death does not exist, time does not exist, disease does not exist, nor do 'scar' and 'far' - another way of being IN A BODY. For so many millions of years we have lived in a habit and put our own thoughts of the world and of Matter into equations. No more laws! Matter is FREE. It can create a little lizard, a chipmunk or a parrot - but it has created enough parrots. Now it is SOMETHING
--
Day after day, for seventeen years, She sat With us to tell us of her impossible odyssey. Ah, how well we now understand why She needed such an 'outlaw' and an incorrigible heretic like us to comprehend a little bit of her impossible odyssey into 'nothing.' And how well we now understand her infinite patience With us, despite all our revolts, which ultimately were only the revolts of the old species against itself. The final revolt. 'It is not a revolt against the British government which any one can easily do. It is, in fact, a revolt against the whole universal Nature!' Sri Aurobindo had proclaimed fifty years earlier. She listened to our grievances, we went away and we returned. We wanted no more of it and we wanted still more. It was infernal and sublime, impossible and the sole possibility in this old, asphyxiating world. It was the only place one could go to in this barbedwired, mechanized world, where Cincinnati is just as crowded and polluted as Hong Kong. The new species is the last free place in the general Prison. It is the last hope for the earth. How we listened to her little faltering voice that seemed to return from afar, afar, after having crossed spaces and seas of the mind to let its little drops of pure, crystalline words fall upon us, words that make you see. We listened to the future, we touched the other thing. It was incomprehensible and yet filled With another comprehension. It eluded us on all sides, and yet it was dazzlingly obvious. The 'other species' was really radically other, and yet it was vibrating Within, absolutely recognizable, as if it were THAT we had been seeking from age to age, THAT we had been invoking through all our illuminations, one after another, in Thebes as in Eleusis as everywhere we have toiled and grieved in the skin of a man. It was for THAT we were here, for that supreme Possible in the skin of a man at last. And then her voice grew more and more frail, her breath began gasping as though She had to traverse greater and greater distances to meet us. She was so alone to beat against the walls of the old prison. Many claws were out all around. Oh, we would so quickly have cut ourself free from all this fiasco to fly away With Her into the world's future. She was so tiny, stooped over, as if crushed beneath the 'spiritual' burden that all the old surrounding species kept heaping upon her. They didn't believe, no. For them, She was ninety-five years old + so many days. Can someone become a new species all alone? They even grumbled at Her: they had had enough of this unbearable Ray that was bringing their sordid affairs into the daylight. The Ashram was slowly closing over Her. The old world wanted to make a new, golden little Church, nice and quiet. No, no one wanted TO
BECOME. To worship was so much easier. And then they bury you, solemnly, and the matter is settled - the case is closed: now, no one need bother any more except to print some photographic haloes for the pilgrims to this brisk little business. But they are mistaken. The real business will take place Without them, the new species will fly up in their faces - it is already flying in the face of the earth, despite all its isms in black and white; it is exploding through all the pores of this battered old earth, which has had enough of shams - whether illusory little heavens or barbarous little machines.
It is the hour of the REAL Earth. It is the hour of the REAL man. We are all going there - if only we could know the path a little ...
This AGENDA is not even a path: it is a light little vibration that seizes you at any turning - and then, there it is, you are IN IT. 'Another world in the world,' She said. One has to catch the light little vibration, one has to flow With it, in a nothing that is like the only something in the midst of this great debacle. At the beginning of things, when still nothing was FIXED, when there was not yet this habit of the pelican or the kangaroo or the chimpanzee or the XXth century biologist, there was a little pulsation that beat and beat - a delightful dizziness, a joy in the world's great adventure; a little never-imprisoned spark that has kept on beating from species to species, but as if it were always eluding us, as if it were always over there, over there - as if it were something to become,
something to be played forever as the one great game of the world; a who-knows-what that left this sprig of a pensive man in the middle of a clearing; a little 'something' that beats, beats, that keeps on breathing beneath every skin that has ever been put on it - like our deepest breath, our lightest air, our air of nothing - and it keeps on going, it keeps on going. We must catch the light little breath, the little pulsation of nothing. Then suddenly, on the threshold of our clearing of concrete, our head starts spinning incurably, our eyes blink into something else, and all is different, and all seems surcharged With meaning and With life, as though we had never lived until that very minute.
Then we have caught the tail of the Great Possible, we are upon the wayless way, radically in the new, and we flow With the little lizard, the pelican, the big man, we flow everywhere in a world that has lost its old separating skin and its little baggage of habits. We begin seeing otherwise, feeling otherwise. We have opened the gate into an inconceivable clearing. Just a light little vibration that carries you away. Then we begin to understand how it CAN CHANGE, what the mechanism is - a light little mechanism and so miraculous that it looks like nothing. We begin feeling the wonder of a pure little cell, and that a sparkling of joy would be enough to turn the world inside out. We were living in a little thinking fishbowl, we were dying in an old, bottled habit. And then suddenly, all is different. The Earth is free! Who wants freedom?
It begins in a cell.
00.01 - The Approach to Mysticism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Mysticism is not only a science but also, and in a greater degree, an art. To approach it merely as a science, as the modern mind attempts to do, is to move towards futility, if not to land in positive disaster. Sufficient stress is not laid on this aspect of the matter, although the very crux of the situation lies here. The mystic domain has to be apprehended not merely by the true mind and understanding but by the right temperament and character. Mysticism is not merely an object of knowledge, a problem for inquiry and solution, it is an end, an ideal that has to be achieved, a life that has to be lived. The mystics themselves have declared long ago With no uncertain or faltering voice: this cannot be attained by intelligence or much learning, it can be seized only by a purified and clear temperament.
The warning seems to have fallen, in the modern age, on unheeding ears. For the modern mind, being pre-eminently and uncompromisingly scientific, can entertain no doubt as to the perfect competency of science and the scientific method to seize and unveil any secret of Nature. If, it is argued, mysticism is a secret, if there is at all a truth and reality in it, then it is and must be amenable to the rules and regulations of science; for science is the revealer of Nature's secrecies.
But what is not recognised in this view of things is that there are secrecies and secrecies. The material secrecies of Nature are of one category, the mystic secrecies are of another. The two are not only disparate but incommensurable. Any man With a mind and understanding of average culture can see and handle the 'scientific' forces, but not the mystic forces.
A scientist once thought that he had clinched the issue and cut the Gordian knot when he declared triumphantly With reference to spirit sances: "Very significant is the fact that spirits appear only in closed chambers, in half obscurity, to somnolent minds; they are nowhere in the open air, in broad daylight to the wide awake and vigilant intellect!" Well, if the fact is as it is stated, what does it prove? Night alone reveals the stars, during the day they vanish, but that is no proof that stars are not existent. Rather the true scientific spirit should seek to know why (or how) it is so, if it is so, and such a fact would exactly serve as a pointer, a significant starting ground. The attitude of the jesting Pilate is not helpful even to scientific inquiry. This matter of the Spirits we have taken only as an illustration and it must not be understood that this is a domain of high mysticism; rather the contrary. The spiritualists' approach to Mysticism is not the right one and is fraught With not only errors but dangers. For the spiritualists approach their subject With the entire scientific apparatus the only difference being that the scientist does not believe while the spiritualist believes.
Mystic realities cannot be reached by the scientific consciousness, because they are far more subtle than the subtlest object that science can contemplate. The neutrons and positrons are for science today the finest and profoundest object-forces; they belong, it is said, almost to a borderl and where physics ends. Nor for that reason is a mystic reality something like a mathematical abstraction, -n for example. The mystic reality is subtler than the subtlest of physical things and yet, paradoxical to say, more concrete than the most concrete thing that the senses apprehend.
Furthermore, being so, the mystic domain is of infinitely greater potency than the domain of intra-atomic forces. If one comes, all on a sudden, into contact With a force here Without the necessary preparation to hold and handle it, he may get seriously bruised, morally and physically. The adventure into the mystic domain has its own toll of casualtiesone can lose the mind, one can lose one's body even and it is a very common experience among those who have tried the path. It is not in vain and merely as a poetic metaphor that the ancient seers have said
Kurasya dhr niit duratyay1
--
The mystic forces are not only of immense potency but of a definite moral disposition and character, that is to say, they are of immense potency either for good or for evil. They are not mechanical and amoral forces like those that physical sciences deal With; they are forces of consciousness and they are conscious forces, they act With an aim and a purpose. The mystic forces are forces either of light or of darkness, either Divine or Titanic. And it is most often the powers of darkness that the naturally ignorant consciousness of man contacts when it seeks to cross the borderline Without training or guidance, by the sheer arrogant self-sufficiency of mental scientific reason.
Ignorance, certainly, is not man's ideal conditionit leads to death and dissolution. But knowledge also can be equally disastrous if it is not of the right kind. The knowledge that is born of spiritual disobedience, inspired by the Dark ones, leads to the soul's fall and its calvary through pain and suffering on earth. The seeker of true enlightenment has got to make a distinction, learn to separate the true and the right from the false and the wrong, unmask the luring Mra say clearly and unfalteringly to the dark light of Luciferapage Satana, if he is to come out into the true light and comm and the right forces. The search for knowledge alone, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, the path of pure scientific inquiry and inquisitiveness, in relation to the mystic world, is a dangerous thing. For such a spirit serves only to encourage and enhance man's arrogance and in the end not only limits but warps and falsifies the knowledge itself. A knowledge based on and secured exclusively through the reason and mental light can go only so far as that faculty can be reasonably stretched and not infinitelyto stretch it to infinity means to snap it. This is the warning that Yajnavalkya gave to Gargi when the latter started renewing her question ad infinitum Yajnavalkya said, "If you do not stop, your head will fall off."
--
For true knowledge comes of, and means, identity of being. All other knowledge may be an apprehension of things but not comprehension. In the former, the knower stands apart from the object and so can envisage only the outskirts, the contour, the surface nature; the mind is capable of this alone. But comprehension means an embracing and penetration which is possible when the knower identifies himself With the object. And when we are so identified we not merely know the object, but becoming it in our consciousness, we love it and live it.
The mystic's knowledge is a part and a formation of his life. That is why it is a knowledge not abstract and remote but living and intimate and concrete. It is a knowledge that pulsates With delight: indeed it is the radiance that is shed by the purest and intensest joy. For this reason it may be that in approaching through the heart there is a chance of one's getting arrested there and not caring for the still higher, the solar lights; but this need not be so. In the heart there is a golden door leading to the deepest delights, but there is also a diamond door opening up into the skies of the brightest luminosities.
For it must be understood that the heart, the mystic heart, is not the external thing which is the seat of emotion or passion; it is the secret heart that is behind, the inner heartantarhdaya of the Upanishadwhich is the centre of the individual consciousness, where all the divergent lines of that consciousness meet and from where they take their rise. That is what the Upanishad means when it says that the heart has a hundred channels which feed the human vehicle. That is the source, the fount and origin, the very substance of the true personality. Mystic knowledge the true mystic knowledge which saves and fulfilsbegins With the awakening or the entrance into this real being. This being is pure and luminous and blissful and sovereignly real, because it is a portion, a spark of the Divine Consciousness and Nature: a contact and communion With it brings automatically into play the light and the truth that are its substance. At the same time it is an uprising flame that reaches out naturally to higher domains of consciousness and manifests them through its translucid dynamism.
The knowledge that is obtained Without the heart's instrumentation or co-operation is liable to be what the Gita describes as Asuric. First of all, from the point of view of knowledge itself, it would be, as I have already said, egocentric, a product and agent of one's limited and isolated self, easily put at the service of desire and passion. This knowledge, whether rationalistic or occult, is, as it were, hard and dry in its constitution, and oftener than not, negative and destructivewi thering and blasting in its career like the desert simoom.
There are modes of knowledge that are occultand to that extent mystic and can be mastered by practices in which the heart has no share. But they have not the saving grace that comes by the touch of the Divine. They are not truly mystic the truly mystic belongs to the ultimate realities, the deepest and the highest,they, on the other hand, are transverse and tangential movements belonging to an intermediate region where light and obscurity are mixed up and even for the greater part the light is swallowed up in the obscurity or utilised by it.
The mystic's knowledge and experience is not only true and real: it is delightful and blissful. It has a supremely healing virtue. It brings a sovereign freedom and ease and peace to the mystic himself, but also to those around him, who come in contact With him. For truth and reality are made up of love and harmony, because truth is, in its essence, unity.
Sharp as a razor's edge, difficult of going, hard to traverse is that path!"
00.01 - The Mother on Savitri, #Sweet Mother - Harmonies of Light, #unset, #Zen
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.
--
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 brea the 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, 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
~ The Mother Sweet Mother The Mother to Mona Sarkar, [T0]
00.02 - Mystic Symbolism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The Mystics all over the world and in all ages have clothed their sayings in proverbs and parables, in figures and symbols. To speak in symbols seems to be in their very nature; it is their characteristic manner, their inevitable style. Let us see what is the reason behind it. But first who are the Mystics? They are those who are in touch With supra-sensual things, whose experiences are of a world different from the common physical world, the world of the mind and the senses.
These other worlds are constituted in other ways than ours. Their contents are different and the laws that obtain there are also different. It would be a gross blunder to attempt a chart of any of these other systems, to use an Einsteinian term, With the measures and conventions of the system to which our external waking consciousness belongs. For, there "the sun shines not, nor the moon, nor the stars, neither these lightnings nor this fire." The difficulty is further enhanced by the fact that there are very many unseen worlds and they all differ from the seen and from one another in manner and degree. Thus, for example, the Upanishads speak of the swapna, the suupta, and the turya, domains beyond the jgrat which is that where the rational being With its mind and senses lives and moves. And there are other systems and other ways in which systems exist, and they are practically innumerable.
If, however, we have to speak of these other worlds, then, since we can speak only in the terms of this world, we have to use them in a different sense from those they usually bear; we must employ them as figures and symbols. Even then they may prove inadequate and misleading; so there are Mystics who are averse to all speech and expression they are mauni; in silence they experience the inexpressible and in silence they communicate it to the few who have the capacity to receive in silence.
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We can make a distinction here between two types of expression which we have put together indiscriminately, figures and symbols. Figures, we may say, are those that are constructed by the rational mind, the intellect; they are mere metaphors and similes and are not organically related to the thing experienced, but put round it as a robe that can be dropped or changed Without affecting the experience itself. Thus, for example, when the Upanishad says, tmnam rathinam viddhi (Know that the soul is the master of the chariot who sits Within it) or indriyi haynhu (The senses, they say, are the horses), we have here only a comparison or analogy that is common and natural to the poetic manner. The particular figure or simile used is not inevitable to the idea or experience that it seeks to express, its part and parcel. On the other hand, take this Upanishadic perception: hirayamayena patrea satyasyphitam mukham (The face of the Truth lies hidden under the golden orb). Here the symbol is not mere analogy or comparison, a figure; it is one With the very substance of the experience the two cannot be separated. Or when the Vedas speak of the kindling of the Fire, the rushing of the waters or the rise of the Dawn, the images though taken from the material world, are not used for the sake of mere comparison, but they are the embodiments, the living forms of truths experienced in another world.
When a Mystic refers to the Solar Light or to the Fire the light, for example, that struck down Saul and transformed him into Saint Paul or the burning bush that visited Moses, it is not the physical or material object that he means and yet it is that in a way. It is the materialization of something that is fundamentally not material: some movement in an inner consciousness precipitates itself into the region of the senses and takes from out of the material the form commensurable With its nature that it finds there.
And there is such a commensurability or parallelism between the various levels of consciousness, in and through all the differences that separate them from one another. Thus an object or a movement apprehended on the physical plane has a sort of line of re-echoing images extended in a series along the whole gradation of the inner planes; otherwise viewed, an object or movement in the innermost consciousness translates itself in varying modes from plane to plane down to the most material, where it appears in its grossest form as a concrete three-dimensional object or a mechanical movement. This parallelism or commensurability by virtue of which the different and divergent states of consciousness can portray or represent each other is the source of all symbolism.
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Thus there is a great diversity of symbols. At the one end is the mere metaphor or simile or allegory ('figure', as we have called it) and at the other end is the symbol identical With the thing symbolized. And upon this inner character of the symbol depends also to a large extent its range and scope. There are symbols which are universal and intimately ingrained in the human consciousness itself. Mankind has used them in all ages and climes almost in the same sense and significance. There are others that are limited to peoples and ages. They are made out of forms that are of local and temporal interest and importance. Their significances vary according to time and place. Finally, there are symbols which are true of the individual consciousness only; they depend on personal peculiarities and idiosyncrasies, on one's environment and upbringing and education.
Man being an embodied soul, his external consciousness (what the Upanishad calls jgrat) is the milieu in which his soul-experiences naturally manifest and find their play. It is the forms and movements of that consciousness which clo the and give a concrete habitation and name to perceptions on the subtler ranges of the inner existence. If the experiences on these planes are to be presented to the conscious memory and to the brain-mind and made communicable to others through speech, this is the inevitable and natural process. Symbols are a translation in mental and sensual (and vocal) terms of experiences that are beyond the mind and the sense and the speech and yet throw a kind of echoing vibrations upon these lesser levels.
0 0.02 - Topographical Note, #Agenda Vol 1, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
From the time of Sri Aurobindo's departure (1950) until 1957, we have only a few notes and fragments or rare statements noted from memory. These are the only landmarks of this period, along With Mother's Questions and Answers from her talks at the Ashram Playground. A few of these conversations have been reproduced here insofar as they mark stages of the Supramental
Action.
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Algeria and in France or of her current experiences; and gradually, She opened the mind of the rebellious and materialistic Westerner that we were and made us understand the laws of the worlds, the play of forces, the working of past lives - especially this latter, which was an important factor in the difficulties With which we were struggling at that time and which periodically made us abscond.
Mother would be seated in this rather medieval-looking chair With its high, carved back, her feet on a little tabouret, while we sat on the floor, on a slightly faded carpet, conquered and seduced, revolted and never satisfied - but nevertheless, very interested. Treasures, never noted down, were lost until, With the cunning of the Sioux, we succeeded in making Mother consent to the presence of a tape recorder. But even then, and for a long time thereafter, She carefully made us erase or delete in our notes all that concerned Her rather too personally - sometimes we disobeyed Her.
But finally we were able to convince Her of the value inherent in keeping a chronicle of the route.
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Mother was patiently preparing the instrument that would be able to traverse the adventure Without breaking along the way.
From 1960, the Agenda took its final shape arid grew for thirteen years, until May 1973, filling thirteen volumes in all (some six thousand pages), With a change of setting in March 1962 at the time of the Great Turning in Mother's yoga when She permanently retired to her room upstairs, as had Sri Aurobindo in 1926. The interviews then took place high up in this large room carpeted in golden wool, like a ship's stateroom, amidst the rustling of the Copper Pod tree and the cawing of crows. Mother would sit in a low rosewood chair, her face turned towards Sri Aurobindo's tomb, as though She were wearing down the distance separating that world from our own. Her voice had become like that of a child, one could hear her laughter. She always laughed, this Mother. And then her long silences. Until the day the disciples closed her door on us. It was May 19, 1973. We did not want to believe it. She was alone, just as we were suddenly alone. Slowly, painfully, we had to discover the why of this rupture. We understood nothing of the jealousies of the old species, we did not yet realize that they were becoming the 'owners' of Mother - of the Ashram, of Auroville, of
Sri Aurobindo, of everything - and that the new world was going to be denatured into a new
00.03 - Upanishadic Symbolism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
My suggestion is that the dog is a symbol of the keen sight of Intuition, the unfailing perception of direct knowledge. With this clue the Upanishadic story becomes quite sensible and clear and not mere abracadabra. To the aspirant for Knowledge came first a purified power of direct understanding, an Intuition of fundamental value, and this brought others of the same species in its train. They were all linked together organically that is the significance of the circle, and formed a rhythmic utterance and expression of the supreme truth (Om). It is also to be noted that they came and met at dawn to chant, the Truth. Dawn is the opening and awakening of the consciousness to truths that come from above and beyond.
It may be asked why the dog has been chosen as the symbol of Intuition. In the Vedas, the cow and the horse also play a large part; even the donkey and the frog have their own assigned roles. These objects are taken from the environment of ordinary life, and are those that are most familiar to the external consciousness, through which the inner experiences have to express themselves, if they are to be expressed at all. These material objects represent various kinds of forces and movements and subtle and occult and spiritual dynamisms. Strictly speaking, however, symbols are not chosen in a subtle or spiritual experience, that is to say, they are not arbitrarily selected and constructed by the conscious intelligence. They form part of a dramatization (to use a term of the Freudian psychology of dreams), a psychological alchemy, whose method and process and rationale are very obscure, which can be penetrated only by the vision of a third eye.
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First of all, he has the Sun; it is the primary light by which he lives and moves. When the Sun sets, the Moon rises to replace it. When both the Sun and the Moon set, he has recourse to the Fire. And when the Fire, too, is extinguished, there comes the Word. In the end, when the Fire is quieted and the Word silenced, man is lighted by the Light of the Atman. This Atman is All-Knowledge; it is secreted Within the life, Within the heart: it is selfluminous Vijnamaya preu rdyantar jyoti..
The progression indicated by the order of succession points to a gradual Withdrawal from the outer to the inner light, from the surface to the deep, from the obvious to the secret, from the actual and derivative to the real and original. We begin by the senses and move towards the Spirit.
The Sun is the first and the most immediate source of light that man has and needs. He is the presiding deity of our waking consciousness and has his seat in the eyecakusa ditya, ditya caku bhtvakii prviat. The eye is the representative of the senses; it is the sense par excellence. In truth, sense-perception is the initial light With which we have to guide us, it is the light With which we start on the way. A developed stage comes when the Sun sets for us, that is to say, when we retire from the senses and rise into the mind, whose divinity is the Moon. It is the mental knowledge, the light of reason and intelligence, of reflection and imagination that govern our consciousness. We have to proceed farther and get beyond the mind, exceed the derivative light of the Moon. So when the Moon sets, the Fire is kindled. It is the light of the ardent and aspiring heart, the glow of an inner urge, the instincts and inspirations of our secret life-will. Here we come into touch With a source of knowledge and realization, a guidance more direct than the mind and much deeper than the sense-perception. Still this light partakes more of heat than of pure luminosity; it is, one may say, incandescent feeling, but not vision. We must probe deeper, mount higherreach heights and profundities that are serene and transparent. The Fire is to be quieted and silenced, says the Upanishad. Then we come nearer, to the immediate vicinity of the Truth: an inner hearing opens, the direct voice of Truth the Wordreaches us to lead and guide. Even so, however, we have not come to the end of our journey; the Word of revelation is not the ultimate Light. The Word too is clothing, though a luminous clothinghiramayam ptram When this last veil dissolves and disappears, when utter silence, absolute calm and quietude reign in the entire consciousness, when no other lights trouble or distract our attention, there appears the Atman in its own body; we stand face to face With the source of all lights, the self of the Light, the light of the Self. We are that Light and we become that Light.
II. The Four Oblations
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With this sacrifice nourish the Gods, that the Gods may nourish you; thus mutually nourishing ye shall obtain the highest felicity3 is the very secret of the cosmic play, the basis of the spiritual evolution in the universal existence.
The Gods are the formations or particularisations of the Truth-consciousness, the multiple individualisations of the One spirit. The Pitris are the Divine Fathers, that is to say, souls that once laboured and realised here below, and now have passed beyond. They dwell in another world, not too far removed from the earth, and from there, With the force of their Realisation, lend a more concrete help and guidance to the destiny that is being worked out upon earth. They are forces and formations of consciousness in an intermediate region between Here and There (antarika), and serve to bring men and gods nearer to each other, inasmuch as they belong to both the categories, being a divinised humanity or a humanised divinity. Each fixation of the Truth-consciousness in an earthly mould is a thing of joy to the Pitris; it is the Svadh or food by which they live and grow, for it is the consolidation and also the resultant of their own realisation. The achievements of the sons are more easily and securely reared and grounded upon those of the forefa thers, whose formative powers we have to invoke, so that we may pass on to the realisation, the firm embodiment of higher and greater destinies.
III. The Path of the Fathers and the Path of the Gods
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The one, however, is not completely divorced from the other. The apparent, the inferior nature is only a preparation for the real, the superior nature. The Path of the Fathers concerns itself With man as a mental being and seeks so to ordain and accomplish its duties and ideals as to lead him on to the Path of the Gods; the mind, the life, and the body consciousness should be so disciplined, educated, purified, they should develop along such a line and gradually rise to such a stage as to make them fit to receive the light which belongs to the higher level, so allowing the human soul imbedded in them to extricate itself and pass on to the Immortal Life.
And they who are thus lifted up into the Higher Orbit are freed from the bondage to the cycle of rebirth. They enjoy the supreme Liberation that is of the Spirit; and even when they descend into the Inferior Path, it is to work out as free agents, as vehicles of the Divine, a special purpose, to bring down something of the substance and nature of the Solar reality into the lower world, enlighten and elevate the lower, as far as it is allowed, into the higher.
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The Science of the Five Agnis (Fires), as propounded by Pravahan, explains and illustrates the process of the birth of the body, the passage of the soul into earth existence. It describes the advent of the child, the building of the physical form of the human being. The process is conceived of as a sacrifice, the usual symbol With the Vedic Rishis for the expression of their vision and perception of universal processes of Nature, physical and psychological. Here, the child IS said to be the final fruit of the sacrifice, the different stages in the process being: (i) Soma, (ii) Rain, (iii) Food, (iv) Semen, (v) Child. Soma means Rasaphysically the principle of water, psychologically the 'principle of delightand symbolises and constitutes the very soul and substance of life. Now it is said that these five principles the fundamental and constituent elementsare born out of the sacrifice, through the oblation or offering to the five Agnis. The first Agni is Heaven or the Sky-God, and by offering to it one's faith and one's ardent desire, one calls into manifestation Soma or Rasa or Water, the basic principle of life. This water is next offered to the second Agni, the Rain-God, who sends down Rain. Rain, again, is offered to the third Agni, the Earth, who brings forth Food. Food is, in its turn, offered to the fourth Agni, the Father or Male, who elaborates in himself the generating fluid.
Finally, this fluid is offered to the fifth Agni, the Mother or the Female, who delivers the Child.
The biological process, described in what may seem to be crude and mediaeval terms, really reflects or echoes a more subtle and psychological process. The images used form perhaps part of the current popular notion about the matter, but the esoteric sense goes beyond the outer symbols. The sky seems to be the far and tenuous region where the soul rests and awaits its next birthit is the region of Soma, the own Home of Bliss and Immortality. Now when the time or call comes, the soul stirs and journeys down that is the Rain. Next, it enters the earth atmosphere and clothes itself With the earth consciousness. Then it waits and calls for the formation of the material body, first by the contri bution of the father and then by that of the mother; when these two unite and the material body is formed, the soul incarnates.
Apart from the question whether the biological phenomenon described is really a symbol and a cloak for another order of reality, and even taking it at its face value, what is to be noted here is the idea of a cosmic cycle, and a cosmic cycle that proceeds through the principle of sacrifice. If it is asked what there is wonderful or particularly spiritual in this rather naf description of a very commonplace happening that gives it an honoured place in the Upanishads, the answer is that it is wonderful to see how the Upanishadic Rishi takes from an event its local, temporal and personal colour and incorporates it in a global movement, a cosmic cycle, as a limb of the Universal Brahman. The Upanishads contain passages which a puritanical mentality may perhaps describe as 'pornographic'; these have in fact been put by some on the Index expurgatorius. But the ancients saw these matters With other eyes and through another consciousness.
We have, in modern times, a movement towards a more conscious and courageous, knowledge of things that were taboo to puritan ages. Not to shut one's eyes to the lower, darker and hidden strands of our nature, but to bring them out into the light of day and to face them is the best way of dealing With such elements, which otherwise, if they are repressed, exert an unhealthy influence on the mind and nature. The Upanishadic view runs on the same lines, but, With the unveiling and the natural and not merely naturalisticdelineation of these under-worlds (concerning sex and food), it endows them With a perspective sub specie aeternitatis. The sexual function, for example, is easily equated to the double movement of ascent and descent that is secreted in nature, or to the combined action of Purusha and Prakriti in the cosmic Play, or again to the hidden fount of Delight that holds and moves the universe. In this view there is nothing merely secular and profane, but all is woven into the cosmic spiritual whole; and man is taught to consider and to mould all his movementsof soul and mind and bodyin the light and rhythm of that integral Reality.11
The central secret of the transfigured consciousness lies, as we have already indicated, in the mystic rite or law of Sacrifice. It is the one basic, fundamental, universal Law that upholds and explains the cosmic movement, conformity to which brings to the thrice-bound human being release and freedom. Sacrifice consists essentially of two elements or processes: (i) The offering or self giving of the lower reality to the higher, and, as a consequence, an answering movement of (ii) the descent of the higher into the lower. The lower offered to the higher means the lower sublimated and integrated into the higher; and the descent of the higher into the lower means the incarnation of the former and the fulfilment of the latter. The Gita elaborates the same idea when it says that by Sacrifice men increase the gods and the gods increase men and by so increasing each other they attain the supreme Good. Nothing is, nothing is done, for its own sake, for an egocentric satisfaction; all, even movements relating to food and to sex should be dedicated to the Cosmic BeingVisva Purusha and that alone received which comes from Him.
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TheChhandyogya12 gives a whole typal scheme of this universal reality and explains how to realise it and what are the results of the experience. The Universal Brahman means the cosmic movement, the cyclic march of things and events taken in its global aspect. The typical movement that symbolises and epitomises the phenomenon, embodies the truth, is that of the sun. The movement consists of five stages which are called the fivefold sma Sma means the equal Brahman that is ever present in all, the Upanishad itself says deriving the word from sama It is Sma also because it is a rhythmic movement, a cadencea music of the spheres. And a rhythmic movement, in virtue of its being a wave, consists of these five stages: (i) the start, (ii) the rise, (iii) the peak, (iv) the decline and (v) the fall. Now the sun follows this curve and marks out the familiar divisions of the day: dawn, forenoon, noon, afternoon and sunset. Sometimes two other stages are added, one at each end, one of preparation and another of final lapse the twilights With regard to the sun and then ,we have seven instead of five smas Like the Sun, the Fire that is to say, the sacrificial Firecan also be seen in its fivefold cyclic movement: (i) the lighting, (ii) the smoke, (iii) the flame, (iv) smouldering and finally (v) extinction the fuel as it is rubbed to produce the fire and the ashes may be added as the two supernumerary stages. Or again, we may take the cycle of five seasons or of the five worlds or of the deities that control these worlds. The living wealth of this earth is also symbolised in a quintetgoat and sheep and cattle and horse and finally man. Coming to the microcosm, we have in man the cycle of his five senses, basis of all knowledge and activity. For the macrocosm, to I bring out its vast extra-human complexity, the Upanishad refers to a quintet, each term of which is again a trinity: (i) the threefold Veda, the Divine Word that is the origin of creation, (ii) the three worlds or fieldsearth, air-belt or atmosphere and space, (iii) the three principles or deities ruling respectively these worldsFire, Air and Sun, (iv) their expressions, emanations or embodimentsstars and birds and light-rays, and finally, (v) the original inhabitants of these worldsto earth belong the reptiles, to the mid-region the Gandharvas and to heaven the ancient Fathers.
Now, this is the All, the Universal. One has to realise it and possess in one's consciousness. And that can be done only in one way: one has to identify oneself With it, be one With it, become it. Thus by losing one's individuality one lives the life universal; the small lean separate life is enlarged and moulded in the rhythm of the Rich and the Vast. It is thus that man shares in the consciousness and energy that inspire and move and sustain the cosmos. The Upanishad most emphatically enjoins that one must not decry this cosmic godhead or deny any of its elements, not even such as are a taboo to the puritan mind. It is in and through an unimpaired global consciousness that one attains the All-Life and lives uninterruptedly and perennially: Sarvamanveti jyok jvati.
Still the Upanishad says this is not the final end. There is yet a higher status of reality and consciousness to which one has to rise. For beyond the Cosmos lies the Transcendent. The Upanishad expresses this truth and experience in various symbols. The cosmic reality, we have seen, is often conceived as a septenary, a unity of seven elements, principles and worlds. Further to give it its full complex value, it is considered not as a simple septet, but a threefold heptad the whole gamut, as it were, consisting of 21 notes or syllables. The Upanishad says, this number does not exhaust the entire range; I for there is yet a 22nd place. This is the world beyond the Sun, griefless and deathless, the supreme Selfhood. The Veda I also sometimes speaks of the integral reality as being represented by the number 100 which is 99 + I; in other words, 99 represents the cosmic or universal, the unity being the reality beyond, the Transcendent.
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Some Western and Westernised scholars have tried to show that the phenomenon described here is an exclusively natural phenomenon, actually visible in the polar region where the sun never sets for six months and moves in a circle whose plane is parallel to the plane of the horizon on the summer solstice and is gradually inclined as the sun regresses towards the equinox (on which day just half the solar disc is visible above the horizon). The sun may be said there to move in the direction East-South-West-North and again East. Indeed the Upanishad mentions the positions of the sun in that order and gives a character to each successive station. The Ray from the East is red, symbolising the Rik, the Southern Ray is white, symbolising the Yajur, the Western Ray is black symbolising the Atharva. The natural phenomenon, however, might have been or might not have been before the mind's eye of the Rishi, but the symbolism, the esotericism of it is clear enough in the way the Rishi speaks of it. Also, apart from the first four movements (which it is already sufficiently difficult to identify completely With what is visible), the fifth movement, as a separate descending movement from above appears to be a foreign element in the context. And although, With regard to the sixth movement or status, the sun is visible as such exactly from the point of the North Pole for a while, the ring of the Rishi's utterance is unmistakably spiritual, it cannot but refer to a fact of inner consciousness that is at least what the physical fact conveys to the Rishi and what he seeks to convey and express primarily.
Now this is what is sought to be conveyed and expressed. The five movements of the sun here also are nothing but the five smas and they refer to the cycle of the Cosmic or Universal Brahman. The sixth status where all movements cease, where there is no rising and setting, no ebb and flow, no waxing and waning, where there is the immutable, the ever-same unity, is very evidently the Transcendental Brahman. It is That to which the Vedic Rishi refers when he prays for a constant and fixed vision of the eternal Sunjyok ca sryam drie.
It would be interesting to know what the five ranges or levels or movements of consciousness exactly are that make up the Universal Brahman described in this passage. It is the mystic knowledge, the Upanishad says, of the secret delight in thingsmadhuvidy. The five ranges are the five fundamental principles of delightimmortalities, the Veda would say that form the inner core of the pyramid of creation. They form a rising tier and are ruled respectively by the godsAgni, Indra, Varuna, Soma and Brahma With their emanations and instrumental personalities the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, the Maruts and the Sadhyas. We suggest that these refer to the five well-known levels of being, the modes or nodi of consciousness or something very much like them. The Upanishad speaks elsewhere of the five sheaths. The six Chakras of Tantric system lie in the same line. The first and the basic mode is the physical and the ascent from the physical: Agni and the Vasus are always intimately connected With the earth and -the earth-principles (it can be compared With the Muladhara of the Tantras). Next, second in the line of ascent is the Vital, the centre of power and dynamism of which the Rudras are the deities and Indra the presiding God (cf. Swadhishthana of the Tantras the navel centre). Indra, in the Vedas, has two aspects, one of knowledge and vision and the other of dynamic force and drive. In the first aspect he is more often considered as the Lord of the Mind, of the Luminous Mind. In the present passage, Indra is taken in his second aspect and instead of the Maruts With whom he is usually invoked has the Rudras as his agents and associates.
The third in the line of ascension is the region of Varuna and the Adityas, that is to say, of the large Mind and its lightsperhaps it can be connected With Tantric Ajnachakra. The fourth is the domain of Soma and the Marutsthis seems to be the inner heart, the fount of delight and keen and sweeping aspirations the Anahata of the Tantras. The fifth is the region of the crown of the head, the domain of Brahma and the Sadhyas: it is the Overmind status from where comes the descending inflatus, the creative Maya of Brahma. And when you go beyond, you pass into the ultimate status of the Sun, the reality absolute, the Transcendent which is indescribable, unseizable, indeterminate, indeterminable, incommensurable; and once there, one never returns, neverna ca punarvartate na ca punarvartate.
VIII. How Many Gods?
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The number of gods depends on the level of consciousness on which we stand. On this material plane there are as many gods as there are bodies or individual forms (adhar). And on the supreme height there is only one God Without a second. In between there are gradations of types and sub-types whose number and function vary according to the aspect of consciousness that reveals itself.
IX. Nachiketas' Three Boons
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Nachiketas is the young aspiring human being still in the Ignorancenaciketa, meaning one Without consciousness or knowledge. The three boons he asks for are in reference to the three fundamental modes of being and consciousness that are at the very basis, forming, as it were, the ground-plan of the integral reality. They are (i) the individual, (ii) the universal or cosmic and (iii) the transcendental.
The first boon regards the individual, that is to say, the individual identity and integrity. It asks for the maintenance of that individuality so that it may be saved from the dissolution that Death brings about. Death, of course, means the dissolution of the body, but it represents also dissolution pure and simple. Indeed death is a process which does not stop With the physical phenomenon, but continues even after; for With the body gone, the other elements of the individual organism, the vital and the mental too gradually fall off, fade and dissolve. Nachiketas wishes to secure from Death the safety and preservation of the earthly personality, the particular organisation of mind and vital based upon a recognisable physical frame. That is the first necessity for the aspiring mortalfor, it is said, the body is the first instrument for the working out of one's life ideal. But man's true personality, the real individuality lies beyond, beyond the body, beyond the life, beyond the mind, beyond the triple region that Death lords it over. That is the divine world, the Heaven of the immortals, beyond death and beyond sorrow and grief. It is the hearth secreted in the inner heart where burns the Divine Fire, the God of Life Everlasting. And this is the nodus that binds together the threefold status of the manifested existence, the body, the life and the mind. This triplicity is the structure of name and form built out of the bricks of experience, the kiln, as it were, Within which burns the Divine Agni, man's true soul. This soul can be reached only when one exceeds the bounds and limitations of the triple cord and experiences one's communion and identity With all souls and all existence. Agni is the secret divinity Within, Within the individual and Within the world; he is the Immanent Divine, the cosmic godhead that holds together and marshals all the elements and components, all the principles that make up the manifest universe. He it is that has entered into the world and created facets of his own reality in multiple forms: and it is he that lies secret in the human being as the immortal soul through all its adventure of life and death in the series of incarnations in terrestrial evolution. The adoration and realisation of this Immanent Divinity, the worship of Agni taught by Yama in the second boon, consists in the triple sacrifice, the triple work, the triple union in the triple status of the physical, the vital and the mental consciousness, the mastery of which leads one to the other shore, the abode of perennial existence where the human soul enjoys its eternity and unending continuity in cosmic life. Therefore, Agni, the master of the psychic being, is called jtaveds, he who knows the births, all the transmigrations from life to life.
The third boon is the secret of secrets, for it is the knowledge and realisation of Transcendence that is sought here. Beyond the individual lies the universal; is there anything beyond the universal? The release of the individual into the cosmic existence gives him the griefless life eternal: can the cosmos be rolled up and flung into something beyond? What would be the nature of that thing? What is there outside creation, outside manifestation, outside Maya, to use a latter day term? Is there existence or non-existence (utter dissolution or extinctionDeath in his supreme and absolute status)? King Yama did not choose to answer immediately and even endeavoured to dissuade Nachiketas from pursuing the question over which people were confounded, as he said. Evidently it was a much discussed problem in those days. Buddha was asked the same question and he evaded it, saying that the pragmatic man should attend to practical and immediate realities and not, waste time and energy in discussing things ultimate and beyond that have hardly any relation to the present and the actual.
But Yama did answer and unveil the mystery and impart the supreme secret knowledge the knowledge of the Transcendent Brahman: it is out of the transcendent reality that the immanent deity takes his birth. Hence the Divine Fire, the Lord of creation and the Inner Mastersarvabhtntartm, antarymis called brahmajam, born of the Brahman. Yama teaches the process of transcendence. Apart from the knowledge and experience first of the individual and then of the cosmic Brahman, there is a definite line along which the human consciousness (or unconsciousness, as it is at present) is to ascend and evolve. The first step is to learn to distinguish between the Good and the Pleasurable (reya and preya). The line of pleasure leads to the external, the superficial, the false: while the other path leads towards the inner and the higher truth. So the second step is the gradual Withdrawal of the consciousness from the physical and the sensual and even the mental preoccupation and focussing it upon what is certain and permanent. In the midst of the death-ridden consciousness in the heart of all that is unstable and fleetingone has to look for Agni, the eternal godhead, the Immortal in mortality, the Timeless in time through whom lies the passage to Immortality beyond Time.
Man has two souls corresponding to his double status. In the inferior, the soul looks downward and is involved in the current of Impermanence and Ignorance, it tastes of grief and sorrow and suffers death and dissolution: in the higher it looks upward and communes and joins With the Eternal (the cosmic) and then With the Absolute (the transcendent). The lower is a reflection of the higher, the higher comes down in a diminished and hence tarnished light. The message is that of deliverance, the deliverance and reintegration of the lower soul out of its bondage of worldly ignorant life into the freedom and immortality first of its higher and then of its highest status. It is true, however, that the Upanishad does not make a trenchant distinction between the cosmic and the transcendent and often it speaks of both in the same breath, as it were. For in fact they are realities involved in each other and interwoven. Indeed the triple status, including the Individual, forms one single totality and the three do not exclude or cancel each other; on the contrary, they combine and may be said to enhance each other's reality. The Transcendence expresses or deploys itself in the cosmoshe goes abroad,sa paryagt: and the cosmic individualises, concretises itself in the particular and the personal. The one single spiritual reality holds itself, aspects itself in a threefold manner.
The teaching of Yama in brief may be said to be the gospel of immortality and it consists of the knowledge of triple immortality. And who else can be the best teacher of immortality than Death himself, as Nachiketas pointedly said? The first immortality is that of the physical existence and consciousness, the preservation of the personal identity, the individual name and formthis being in itself as expression and embodiment and instrument of the Inner Reality. This inner reality enshrines the second immortality the eternity and continuity of the soul's life through its incarnations in time, the divine Agni lit for ever and ever growing in flaming consciousness. And the third and final immortality is in the being and consciousness beyond time, beyond all relativities, the absolute and self-existent delight.
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The secularisation of man's vital functions in modem ages has not been a success. It has made him more egocentric and blatantly hedonistic. From an occult point of view he has in this way subjected himself to the influences of dark and undesirable world-forces, has made an opening, to use an Indian symbolism, for Kali (the Spirit of the Iron Age) to enter into him. The sex-force is an extremely potent agent, but it is extremely fluid and elusive and uncontrollable. It was for this reason that the ancients always sought to give it a proper mould, a right continent, a fixed and definite channel; the moderns, on the other hand, allow it to run free and play With it recklessly. The result has been, in the life of those born under such circumstances, a growing lack of poise and balance and a corresponding incidence of neuras thenia, hysteria and all abnormal pathological conditions.
Chhandyogya, II, III.
00.04 - The Beautiful in the Upanishads, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The white Mother comes reddening With the ruddy child; the dark Mother opens wide her chambers, the feeling and the expression of the beautiful raise no questioning; they are au thentic as well as evident. All will recognise at once t at we have here beautiful things said in a beautiful way. No less au thentic however is the sense of the beautiful that underlies these Upanishadic lines:
na tatra sryo bhti na candratrakam
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Its figure does not lie in the field of vision, none can see it With the eye
The form of a thing can be beautiful; but the formless too has its beauty. Indeed, the beauty of the formless, that is to say, the very sum and substance, the ultimate essence, the soul of beauty that is what suffuses, With in-gathered colour and enthusiasm, the realisation and poetic creation of the Upanishadic seer. All the forms that are scattered abroad in their myriad manifest beauty hold Within themselves a secret Beauty and are reflected or projected out of it. This veiled Name of Beauty can be compared to nothing on the phenomenal hemisphere of Nature; it has no adequate image or representation below:
na tasya pratimsti
it cannot be defined or figured in the terms of the phenomenal consciousness. In speaking of it, however, the Upanishads invariably and repeatedly refer to two attributes that characterise its fundamental nature. These two aspects have made such an impression upon the consciousness of the Upanishadic seer that his enthusiasm almost wholly plays about them and is centred on them. When he contemplates or communes With the Supreme Object, these seem to him to be the mark of its au thenticity, the seal of its high status and the reason of all the charm and magic it possesses. The first aspect or attri bute is that of light the brilliance, the solar effulgenceravituly-arpa the bright, clear, shadow less Light of lightsvirajam ubhram jyotim jyoti The second aspect is that of delight, the bliss, the immortality inherent in that wide effulgencenandarpam amtam yad vibhti.
And what else is the true character, the soul of beauty than light and delight? "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." And a thing of joy is a thing of light. Joy is the radiance rippling over a thing of beauty. Beauty is always radiant: the charm, the loveliness of an object is but the glow of light that it emanates. And it would not be a very incorrect mensuration to measure the degree of beauty by the degree of light radiated. The diamond is not only a thing of value, but a thing of beauty also, because of the concentrated and undimmed light that it enshrines Within itself. A dark, dull and dismal thing, devoid of interest and attraction becomes aesthetically precious and significant as soon as the artist presents it in terms of the values of light. The entire art of painting is nothing but the expression of beauty, in and through the modalities of light.
And where there is light, there is cheer and joy. Rasamaya and jyotirmayaare thus the two conjoint characteristics fundamental to the nature of the ultimate reality. Sometimes these two are named as the 'solar and the lunar aspect. The solar aspect refers obviously to the Light, that is to say, to the Truth; the lunar aspect refers to the rasa (Soma), to Immortality, to Beauty proper,
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The perception of beauty in the Upanishadic consciousness is something elemental-of concentrated essence. It silhouettes the main contour, outlines the primordial gestures. Pregnant and pulsating With the burden of beauty, the mantra here reduces its external expression to a minimum. The body is bare and unadorned, and even in its nakedness, it has not the emphatic and vehement musculature of an athlete; rather it tends to be slim and slender and yet vibrant With the inner nervous vigour and glow. What can be more bare and brief and full to the brim of a self-gathered luminous energy than, for example:
yat prena na praiti yena pra
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The rich and sensuous beauty luxuriating in high colour and ample decoration that one meets often in the creation of the earlier Vedic seers returned again, in a more chiselled and polished and stylised manner, in the classical poets. The Upanishads in this respect have a certain kinship With the early poets of the intervening ageVyasa and Valmiki. Upam KlidsasyaKalidasa revels in figures and images; they are profusely heaped on one another and usually possess a complex and composite texture. Valmiki's images are simple and elemental, brief and instinct With a vast resonance, spare and full of power. The same brevity and simplicity, vibrant With an extraordinary power of evocation, are also characteristic of the Upanishadic mantra With Valmiki's
kamiva dupram
00.05 - A Vedic Conception of the Poet, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
'Kavi' is an invariable epithet of the gods. The Vedas mean by this attribute to bring out a most fundamental character, an inalienable dharma of the heavenly host. All the gods are poets; and a human being can become a poet only in so far as he attains to the nature and status of a god. Who is then a kavi? The Poet is he who by his poetic power raises forms of beauty in heavenkavi kavitv divi rpam sajat.1Thus the essence of poetic power is to fashion divine Beauty, to reveal heavenly forms. What is this Heaven whose forms the Poet discovers and embodies? HeavenDyaushas a very definite connotation in the Veda. It means the luminous or divine Mind 2the mind purified of its obscurity and limitations, due to subjection to the external senses, thus opening to the higher Light, receiving and recording faithfully the deeper and vaster movements and vibrations of the Truth, giving them a form, a perfect body of the right thought and the right word. Indra is the lord of this world and he can be approached only With an enkindled intelligence, ddhay man,3a faultless understanding, sumedh. He is the supreme Artisan of the poetic power,Tash, the maker of perfect forms, surpa ktnum.4 All the gods turn towards Indra and become gods and poets, attain their Great Names of Supreme Beauty.5 Indra is also the master of the senses, indriyas, who are his hosts. It is through this mind and the senses that the poetic creation has to be manifested. The mind spreads out wide the Poet's weaving;6 the poet is the priest who calls down and works out the right thinking in the sacrificial labour of creation.7 But that creation is made in and through the inner mind and the inner senses that are alive to the subtle formation of a vaster knowledge.8 The poet envisages the golden forms fashioned out of the very profundity of the consciousness.9 For the substance, the material on which the Poet works, is Truth. The seat of the Truth the poets guard, they uphold the supreme secret Names.10 The poet has the expressive utterance, the creative word; the poet is a poet by his poetic creation-the shape faultlessly wrought out that unveils and holds the Truth.11The form of beauty is the body of the Truth.
The poet is a trinity in himself. A triune consciousness forms his personality. First of all, he is the Knower-the Seer of the Truth, kavaya satyadrara. He has the direct vision, the luminous intelligence, the immediate perception.12 A subtle and profound and penetrating consciousness is his,nigam, pracetas; his is the eye of the Sun,srya caku.13 He secures an increased being through his effulgent understanding.14 In the second place, the Poet is not only Seer but Doer; he is knower as well as creator. He has a dynamic knowledge and his vision itself is power, ncak;15 he is the Seer-Will,kavikratu.16 He has the blazing radiance of the Sun and is supremely potent in his self-Iuminousness.17 The Sun is the light and the energy of the Truth. Even like the Sun the Poet gives birth to the Truth, srya satyasava, satyya satyaprasavya. But the Poet as Power is not only the revealer or creator,savit, he is also the builder or fashioner,ta, and he is the organiser,vedh is personality. First of all, he is the Knower-the Seer of the Truth, kavaya satyadrara, of the Truth.18 As Savita he manifests the Truth, as Tashta he gives a perfected body and form to the Truth, and as Vedha he maintains the Truth in its dynamic working. The effective marshalling and organisation of the Truth is what is called Ritam, the Right; it is also called Dharma,19 the Law or the Rhythm, the ordered movement and invincible execution of the Truth. The Poet pursues the Path of the Right;20 it is he who lays out the Path for the march of the Truth, the progress of the Sacrifice.21 He is like a fast steed well-yoked, pressing forward;22 he is the charger that moves straight and unswerving and carries us beyond 23into the world of felicity.
Indeed delight is the third and the supremely intimate element of the poetic personality. Dear and delightful is the poet, dear and delightful his works, priya, priyi His hand is dripping With sweetness,kavir hi madhuhastya.24 The Poet-God shines in his pristine beauty and is showering delight.25 He is filled With utter ecstasy so that he may rise to the very source of the luminous Energy.26? Pure is the Divine Joy and it enters and purifies all forms as it moves to the seat of the Immortals.27Indeed this sparkling Delight is the Poet-Seer and it is that that brings forth the creative word, the utterance of Indra.28
The solar vision of the Poet encompasses in its might the wide Earth and Heaven, fuses them in supreme Delight in the womb of the Truth.29 The Earth is lifted up and given in marriage to Heaven in the home of Truth, for the creation and expression of the Truth in its varied beauty,cru citram.
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On this Earth they hold everywhere in themselves all the secrets. They make Earth and Heaven move together, so that they may realise their heroic strength. They measure them With their rhythmic measurings, they hold in their controlled grasp the vast and great twins, and unite them and establish between them the mid-world of Delight for the perfect poise.30
All the gods are poetstheir forms are perfect, surpa, suda, their Names full of beauty,cru devasya nma.31 This means also that the gods embody the different powers that constitute the poetic consciousness. Agni is the Seer-Will, the creative vision of the Poet the luminous energy born of an experience by identity With the Truth. Indra is the Idea-Form, the architectonic conception of the work or achievement. Mitra and Varuna are the large harmony, the vast cadence and sweep of movement. The Aswins, the Divine Riders, represent the intense zest of well-yoked Life-Energy. Soma is Rasa, Ananda, the Supreme Bliss and Delight.
The Vedic Poet is doubtless the poet of Life, the architect of Divinity in man, of Heaven upon earth. But what is true of Life is fundamentally true of Art tooat least true of the Art as it was conceived by the ancient seers and as it found expression at their hands.32
0.00a - Introduction, #A Garden of Pomegranates - An Outline of the Qabalah, #Israel Regardie, #Occultism
The Qabalah is a trustworthy guide, leading to a comprehension both of the Universe and one's own Self. Sages have long taught that Man is a miniature of the Universe, containing Within himself the diverse elements of that macrocosm of which he is the microcosm. Within the Qabalah is a glyph called the Tree of Life which is at once a symbolic map of the Universe in its major aspects, and also of its smaller counterpart, Man.
Manly P. Hall, in The Secret Teachings of All Ages, deplores the failure of modern science to "sense the profundity of these philosophical deductions of the ancients." Were they to do so, he says, they "would realize those who fabricated the structure of the Qabalah possessed a knowledge of the celestial plan comparable in every respect With that of the modern savant."
Fortunately many scientists in the field of psycho therapy are beginning to sense this correlation. In Francis G. Wickes' The Inner World of Choice reference is made to "the existence in every person of a galaxy of potentialities for growth marked by a succession of personalogical evolution and interaction With environments." She points out that man is not only an individual particle but "also a part of the human stream, governed by a Self greater than his own individual self."
The Book of the Law states simply, "Every man and every woman is a star." This is a startling thought for those who considered a star a heavenly body, but a declaration subject to proof by anyone who will venture into the realm of his own Unconscious. This realm, he will learn if he persists, is not hemmed in by the boundaries of his physical body but is one With the boundless reaches of outer space.
Those who, armed With the tools provided by the Qabalah, have made the journey Within and crossed beyond the barriers of illusion, have returned With an impressive quantity of knowledge which conforms strictly to the definition of "science" in Winston's College Dictionary: "Science: a body of knowledge, general truths of particular facts, obtained and shown to be correct by accurate observation and thinking; knowledge condensed, arranged and systematized With reference to general truths and laws."
Over and over their findings have been confirmed, proving the Qabalah contains Within it not only the elements of the science itself but the method With which to pursue it.
When planning to visit a foreign country, the wise traveler will first familiarize himself With its language. In studying music, chemistry or calculus, a specific terminology is essential to the understanding of each subject. So a new set of symbols is necessary when undertaking a study of the Universe, whether Within or Without. The Qabalah provides such a set in unexcelled fashion.
But the Qabalah is more. It also lays the foundation on which rests another archaic science- Magic. Not to be confused With the conjurer's sleight-of-hand, Magic has been defined by Aleister Crowley as "the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity With will." Dion Fortune qualifies this nicely With an added clause, "changes in consciousness."
The Qabalah reveals the nature of certain physical and psychological phenomena. Once these are apprehended, understood and correlated, the student can use the principles of Magic to exercise control over life's conditions and circumstances not otherwise possible. In short. Magic provides the practical application of the theories supplied by the Qabalah.
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Each letter of the Qabalistic alphabet has a number, color, many symbols and a Tarot card attributed to it. The Qabalah not only aids in an understanding of the Tarot, but teaches the student how to classify and organize all such ideas, numbers and symbols. Just as a knowledge of Latin will give insight into the meaning of an unfamiliar English word With a Latin root, so the knowledge of the Qabalah With the various attri butions to each character in its alphabet will enable the student to understand and correlate ideas and concepts which otherwise would have no apparent relation.
A simple example is the concept of the Trinity in the Christian religion. The student is frequently amazed to learn through a study of the Qabalah that Egyptian mythology followed a similar concept With its trinity of gods, Osiris the father, Isis the virgin-mother, and Horus the son. The Qabalah indicates similar correspondences in the pantheon of Roman and Greek deities, proving the father-mother (Holy Spirit) - son principles of deity are primordial archetypes of man's psyche, rather than being, as is frequently and erroneously supposed a development peculiar to the Christian era.
At this juncture let me call attention to one set of attri butions by Rittangelius usually found as an appendix attached to the Sepher Yetzirah. It lists a series of "Intelligences" for each one of the ten Sephiros and the twenty-two Paths of the Tree of Life. It seems to me, after prolonged meditation, that the common attri butions of these Intelligences is altogether arbitrary and lacking in serious meaning.
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A good many attri butions in other symbolic areas, I feel are subject to the same criticism. The Egyptian Gods have been used With a good deal of carelessness, and Without sufficient explanation of motives in assigning them as I did. In a recent edition of Crowley's masterpiece Liber 777 (which au fond is less a reflection of Crowley's mind as a recent critic claimed than a tabulation of some of the material given piecemeal in the Golden Dawn knowledge lectures), he gives for the first time brief explanations of the motives for his attri butions. I too should have been far more explicit in the explanations I used in the case of some of the Gods whose names were used many times, most inadequately, where several paths were concerned. While it is true that the religious coloring of the Egyptian Gods differed from time to time during Egypt's turbulent history, nonetheless a word or two about just that one single point could have served a useful purpose.
Some of the passages in the book force me today to emphasize that so far as the Qabalah is concerned, it could and should be employed Without binding to it the partisan qualities of any one particular religious faith. This goes as much for Judaism as it does for Christianity. Neither has much intrinsic usefulness where this scientific scheme is concerned. If some students feel hurt by this statement, that cannot be helped. The day of most contemporary faiths is over; they have been more of a curse than a boon to mankind. Nothing that I say here, however, should reflect on the peoples concerned, those who accept these religions. They are merely unfortunate. The religion itself is worn out and indeed is dying.
The Qabalah has nothing to do With any of them. Attempts on the part of cultish-partisans to impart higher mystical meanings, through the Qabalah, etc., to their now sterile faiths is futile, and will be seen as such by the younger generation. They, the flower and love children, will have none of this nonsense.
I felt this a long time ago, as I still do, but even more so. The only way to explain the partisan Jewish attitude demonstrated in some small sections of the book can readily be explained. I had been reading some writings of Arthur Edward Waite, and some of his pomposity and turgidity stuck to my mantle. I disliked his patronising Christian attitude, and so swung all the way over to the other side of the pendulum. Actually, neither faith is particularly important in this day and age. I must be careful never to read Waite again before embarking upon literary work of my own.
--
The tragedy of civilized man is that he is cut off from awareness of his own instincts. The Qabalah can help him achieve the necessary understanding to effect a reunion With them, so that rather than being driven by forces he does not understand, he can harness for his conscious use the same power that guides the homing pigeon, teaches the beaver to build a dam and keeps the planets revolving in their appointed orbits about the sun.
I began the study of the Qabalah at an early age. Two books I read then have played unconsciously a prominent part in the writing of my own book. One of these was "Q.B.L. or the Bride's Reception" by Frater Achad (Charles Stansfeld Jones), which I must have first read around 1926. The other was "An Introduction to the Tarot" by Paul Foster Case, published in the early 1920's. It is now out of print, superseded by later versions of the same topic. But as I now glance through this slender book, I perceive how profoundly even the format of his book had influenced me, though in these two instances there was not a trace of plagiarism. It had not consciously occurred to me until recently that I owed so much to them. Since Paul Case passed away about a decade or so ago, this gives me the opportunity to thank him, overtly, wherever he may now be.
--
All sorts of books have been written on the Qabalah, some poor, some few others extremely good. But I came to feel the need for what might be called a sort of Berlitz handbook, a concise but comprehensive introduction, studded With diagrams and tables of easily understood definitions and correspondences to simplify the student's grasp of so complicated and abstruse a subject.
During a short retirement in North Devon in 1931, I began to amalgamate my notes. It was out of these that A Garden of Pomegranates gradually emerged. I unashamedly admit that my book contains many direct plagiarisms from Crowley, Waite, Eliphas Levi, and D. H. Lawrence. I had incorporated numerous fragments from their works into my notebooks Without citing individual references to the various sources from which I condensed my notes.
Prior to the closing down of the Mandrake Press in London about 1930-31, I was employed as company secretary for a while. Along With several Crowley books, the Mandrake Press published a lovely little monogram by D. H. Lawrence entitled "Apropos of Lady Chatterley's Lover." My own copy accompanied me on my travels for long years. Only recently did I discover that it had been lost. I hope that any one of my former patients who had borrowed it will see fit to return it to me forth With.
The last chapter of A Garden deals With the Way of Return. It used almost entirely Crowley's concept of the Path as described in his superb essay "One Star in Sight." In addition to this, I borrowed extensively from Lawrence's Apropos. Somehow, they all fitted together very nicely. In time, all these variegated notes were incorporated into the text Without acknowledgment, an oversight which I now feel sure would be forgiven, since I was only twenty-four at the time.
Some modern Nature-worshippers and members of the newly-washed and redeemed witch-cult have complimented me on this closing chapter which I entitled 'The Ladder." I am pleased about this. For a very long time I was not at all familiar With the topic of witchcraft. I had avoided it entirely, not being attracted to its literature in any way. In fact, I only became slightly conversant With its theme and literature just a few years ago, after reading "The Anatomy of Eve" written by Dr. Leopold Stein, a Jungian analyst. In the middle of his study of four cases, he included a most informative chapter on the subject. This served to stimulate me to wider reading in that area.
In 1932, at the suggestion of Thomas Burke, the novelist, I submitted my manuscript to one of his publishers, Messrs. Constable in London. They were unable to use it, but made some encouraging comments and advised me to submit it to Riders. To my delight and surprise, Riders published it, and throughout the years the reaction it has had indicated other students found it also fulfilled their need for a condensed and simplified survey of such a vast subject as the Qabalah.
--
May everyone who reads this new edition of A Garden of Pomegranates be encouraged and inspired to light his own candle of inner vision and begin his journey into the boundless space that lies Within himself. Then, through realization of his true identity, each student can become a lamp unto his own path. And more. Awareness of the Truth of his being will rip asunder the veil of unknowing that has heretofore enshrouded the star he already is, permitting the brilliance of his light to illumine the darkness of that part of the Universe in which he abides.
0.00a - Participants in the Evening Talks, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
000 - Humans in Universe, #Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, #R Buckminster Fuller, #Science
000.101 The combined land areas of Africa, Europe, and Asia embrace Within
their perimeters the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, Aral, China, Arabian, Red,
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1500 lay well Within that "known" flat world: it was and as yet remains the
spontaneous theater of popular historical conceptioning.
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facilitated division and multiplication. Imagine trying to multiply or divide With
Roman numerals . . . impossible! The Renaissance began With the new calculating
facility introduced by the cipher. The cipher was not only an essential tool in the
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great ships. With more powerfully engineered ships, humans emerged westward
through Gibraltar to explore the Atlantic, to sail around Africa, to reach the Orient
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monarchs and merchants realized that, Within that closed system, whoever
commanded the line of most efficient high seas supply would become the masters
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to survival of only the fittest species (and individuals Within species). Though he
denied there was any economic significance in his theory of evolution, the
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logical, and ingenious method of coping With the inherent inadequacy of terrestrial
life support, but since there are others who disagree diametrically about the best
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national departments of defense With their priority of access to the most advanced
science and technology. The military took command of all the highest performance
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became invisible With the introduction of an era of electronics, electromagnetics,
and atomics. These invisible micro- and macro-exploring cosmic instruments
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combined With the human discovery of the intertrussing principles of structuring
and the low overall displacement weights involved, made possible for humans to
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millions of years of exclusive compressional supremacy. With far higher tensile
strength per weight than wood, steel made possible even more powerful watertight,
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horizontal and ever more steeply aloft. With the advent of successively higher
strength-to-weight ratios of metal alloys and glass-reinforced plastic materials, ever
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feasible to retool and redirect world industry in such a manner that Within 10 years
we can have all of humanity enjoying a sustainably higher standard of living- With
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time-size tetrahedron's volume taken as unity 1, With its six unit-vector-edge
structure, the always conceptual-independent-of-size family of primitive, pre-time-
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were given their minds With which to discover and employ the generalized laws
governing all physical and metaphysical, omniinteraccommodative, ceaseless
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money With money by making it scarce. As of the 1970s muscle, guns, and
intellectual cunning are ruling world affairs and keeping them competitive by
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into supreme power Within a decade, humanity will exercise its option of a design
revolution and will enter a new and-lasting epoch of physical success for all. If not,
it will be curtains for all humanity Within this century.
000.131 In complement With Synergetics 1 and 2 the posters at color plates 1-10
may clarify for everyone the few scientific conceptions and mathematical tools
0.00 - INTRODUCTION, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
IN COMMUNION With THE DIVINE BELOVED
VEDANTA
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RELATION With HIS WIFE
THE "EGO" OF THE MASTER
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Gadadhar grew up into a healthy and restless boy, full of fun and sweet mischief. He was intelligent and precocious and endowed With a prodigious memory. On his father's lap he learnt by heart the names of his ancestors and the hymns to the gods and goddesses, and at the village school he was taught to read and write. But his greatest delight was to listen to recitations of stories from Hindu mythology and the epics. These he would afterwards recount from memory, to the great joy of the villagers. Painting he enjoyed; the art of moulding images of the gods and goddesses he learnt from the potters. But arithmetic was his great aversion.
At the age of six or seven Gadadhar had his first experience of spiritual ecstasy. One day in June or July, when he was walking along a narrow path between paddy-fields, eating the puffed rice that he carried in a basket, he looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful, dark thunder-cloud. As it spread, rapidly enveloping the whole sky, a flight of snow-white cranes passed in front of it. The beauty of the contrast overwhelmed the boy. He fell to the ground, unconscious, and the puffed rice went in all directions. Some villagers found him and carried him home in their arms. Gadadhar said later that in that state he had experienced an indescribable joy.
Gadadhar was seven years old when his father died. This incident profoundly affected him. For the first time the boy realized that life on earth was impermanent. Unobserved by others, he began to slip into the mango orchard or into one of the cremation grounds, and he spent hours absorbed in his own thoughts. He also became more helpful to his mother in the discharge of her household duties. He gave more attention to reading and hearing the religious stories recorded in the Puranas. And he became interested in the wandering monks and pious pilgrims who would stop at Kamarpukur on their way to Puri. These holy men, the custodians of India's spiritual heritage and the living witnesses of the ideal of renunciation of the world and all-absorbing love of God, entertained the little boy With stories from the Hindu epics, stories of saints and prophets, and also stories of their own adventures. He, on his part, fetched their water and fuel and
served them in various ways. Meanwhile, he was observing their meditation and worship.
At the age of nine Gadadhar was invested With the sacred thread. This ceremony conferred upon him the privileges of his brahmin lineage, including the worship of the Family Deity, Raghuvir, and imposed upon him the many strict disciplines of a brahmin's life. During the ceremony of investiture he shocked his relatives by accepting a meal cooked by his nurse, a sudra woman. His father would never have dreamt of doing such a thing But in a playful mood Gadadhar had once promised this woman that he would eat her food, and now he fulfilled his plighted word. The woman had piety and religious sincerity, and these were more important to the boy than the conventions of society.
Gadadhar was now permitted to worship Raghuvir. Thus began his first training in meditation. He so gave his heart and soul to the worship that the stone image very soon appeared to him as the living Lord of the Universe. His tendency to lose himself in contemplation was first noticed at this time. Behind his boyish light-heartedness was seen a deepening of his spiritual nature.
About this time, on the Sivaratri night, consecrated to the worship of Siva, a dramatic performance was arranged. The principal actor, who was to play the part of Siva, suddenly fell ill, and Gadadhar was persuaded to act in his place. While friends were dressing him for the role of Siva — smearing his body With ashes, matting his locks, placing a trident in his hand and a string of rudraksha beads around his neck — the boy appeared to become absent-minded. He approached the stage With slow and measured step, supported by his friends. He looked the living image of Siva. The audience loudly applauded what it took to be his skill as an actor, but it was soon discovered that he was really lost in meditation. His countenance was radiant and tears flowed from his eyes. He was lost to the outer world. The effect of this scene on the audience was tremendous. The people felt blessed as by a vision of Siva Himself. The performance had to be stopped, and the boy's mood lasted till the following morning.
Gadadhar himself now organized a dramatic company With his young friends. The stage was set in the mango orchard. The themes were selected from the stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Gadadhar knew by heart almost all the roles, having heard them from professional actors. His favourite theme was the Vrindavan episode of Krishna's life, depicting those exquisite love-stories of Krishna and the milkmaids and the cowherd boys. Gadadhar would play the parts of Radha or Krishna and would often lose himself in the character he was portraying. His natural feminine grace heightened the dramatic effect. The mango orchard would ring With the loud kirtan of the boys. Lost in song and merry-making, Gadadhar became indifferent to the routine of school.
In 1849 Ramkumar, the eldest son, went to Calcutta to improve the financial condition of the family.
Gadadhar was on the threshold of youth. He had become the pet of the women of the village. They loved to hear him talk, sing, or recite from the holy books. They enjoyed his knack of imitating voices. Their woman's instinct recognized the innate purity and guilelessness of this boy of clear skin, flowing hair, beaming eyes, smiling face, and inexhaustible fun. The pious elderly women looked upon him as Gopala, the Baby Krishna, and the younger ones saw in him the youthful Krishna of Vrindavan. He himself so idealized the love of the gopis for Krishna that he sometimes yearned to be born as a woman, if he must be born again, in order to be able to love Sri Krishna With all his heart and soul.
--- COMING TO CALCUTTA
At the age of sixteen Gadadhar was summoned to Calcutta by his elder brother Ramkumar, who wished assistance in his priestly duties. Ramkumar had opened a Sanskrit academy to supplement his income, and it was his intention gradually to turn his younger brother's mind to education. Gadadhar applied himself heart and soul to his new duty as family priest to a number of Calcutta families. His worship was very different from that of the professional priests. He spent hours decorating the images and singing hymns and devotional songs; he performed With love the other duties of his office. People were impressed With his ardour. But to his studies he paid scant attention.
Ramkumar did not at first oppose the ways of his temperamental brother. He wanted Gadadhar to become used to the conditions of city life. But one day he decided to warn the boy about his indifference to the world. After all, in the near future Gadadhar must, as a householder, earn his livelihood through the performance of his brahminical duties; and these required a thorough knowledge of Hindu law, astrology, and kindred subjects. He gently admonished Gadadhar and asked him to pay more attention to his studies. But the boy replied spiritedly: "Brother, what shall I do With a mere bread-winning education? I would rather acquire that wisdom which will illumine my heart and give me satisfaction for ever."
--- BREAD-WINNING EDUCATION
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The first effect of the draught on the educated Hindus was a complete effacement from their minds of the time-honoured beliefs and traditions of Hindu society. They came to believe that there was no transcendental Truth; The world perceived by the senses was all that existed. God and religion were illusions of the untutored mind. True knowledge could be derived only from the analysis of nature. So atheism and agnosticism became the fashion of the day. The youth of India, taught in English schools, took malicious delight in openly breaking the customs and traditions of their society. They would do away With the caste-system and remove the discriminatory laws about food. Social reform, the spread of secular education, widow remarriage, abolition of early marriage — they considered these the panacea for the degenerate condition of Hindu society.
The Christian missionaries gave the finishing touch to the process of transformation. They ridiculed as relics of a barbarous age the images and rituals of the Hindu religion. They tried to persuade India that the teachings of her saints and seers were the cause of her downfall, that her Vedas, Puranas, and other scriptures were filled With superstition. Christianity, they maintained, had given the white races position and power in this world and assurance of happiness in the next; therefore Christianity was the best of all religions. Many intelligent young Hindus became converted. The man in the street was confused. The majority of the educated grew materialistic in their mental outlook. Everyone living near Calcutta or the other strong-holds of Western culture, even those who attempted to cling to the orthodox traditions of Hindu society, became infected by the new uncertainties and the new beliefs.
But the soul of India was to be resuscitated through a spiritual awakening. We hear the first call of this renascence in the spirited retort of the young Gadadhar: "Brother, what shall I do With a mere bread-winning education?"
Ramkumar could hardly understand the import of his young brother's reply. He described in bright colours the happy and easy life of scholars in Calcutta society. But Gadadhar intuitively felt that the scholars, to use one of his own vivid illustrations, were like so many vultures, soaring high on the wings of their uninspired intellect, With their eyes fixed on the charnel-pit of greed and lust. So he stood firm and Ramkumar had to give way.
--- KALI TEMPLE AT DAKSHINESWAR
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The temple garden stands directly on the east bank of the Ganges. The northern section of the land and a portion to the east contain an orchard, flower gardens, and two small reservoirs. The southern section is paved With brick and mortar. The visitor arriving by boat ascends the steps of an imposing bathing-ghat which leads to the chandni, a roofed terrace, on either side of which stand in a row six temples of Siva. East of the terrace and the Siva temples is a large court, paved, rectangular in shape, and running north and south. Two temples stand in the centre of this court, the larger one, to the south and facing south, being dedicated to Kali, and the smaller one, facing the Ganges, to Radhakanta, that is, Krishna, the Consort of Radha. Nine domes With spires surmount the temple of Kali, and before it stands the spacious natmandir, or music hall, the terrace of which is sup- ported by stately pillars. At the northwest and southwest
corners of the temple compound are two nahabats, or music towers, from which music flows at different times of day, especially at sunup, noon, and sundown, when the worship is performed in the temples. Three sides of the paved courtyard — all except the west — are lined With rooms set apart for kitchens, store-rooms, dining-rooms, and quarters for the temple staff and guests. The chamber in the northwest angle, just beyond the last of the Siva temples, is of special interest to us; for here Sri Ramakrishna was to spend a considerable part of his life. To the west of this chamber is a semicircular porch overlooking the river. In front of the porch runs a foot-path, north and south, and beyond the path is a large garden and, below the garden, the Ganges. The orchard to the north of the buildings contains the Panchavati, the banyan, and the bel-tree, associated With Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual practices. Outside and to the north of the temple compound proper is the kuthi, or bungalow, used by members of Rani Rasmani's family visiting the garden. And north of the temple garden, separated from it by a high wall, is a powder-magazine belonging to the British Government.
--- SIVA
In the twelve Siva temples are installed the emblems of the Great God of renunciation in His various aspects, worshipped daily With proper rites. Siva requires few articles of worship. White flowers and bel-leaves and a little Ganges water offered With devotion are enough to satisfy the benign Deity and win from Him the boon of liberation.
--- RADHAKANTA
The temple of Radhakanta, also known as the temple of Vishnu, contains the images of Radha and Krishna, the symbol of union With God through ecstatic love. The two images stand on a pedestal facing the west. The floor is paved With marble. From the ceiling of the porch hang chandeliers protected from dust by coverings of red cloth. Canvas screens shield the images from the rays of the setting sun. Close to the threshold of the inner shrine is a small brass cup containing holy water. Devoted visitors reverently drink a few drops from the vessel.
--- KALI
The main temple is dedicated to Kali, the Divine Mother, here worshipped as Bhavatarini, the Saviour of the Universe. The floor of this temple also is paved With marble. The basalt image of the Mother, dressed in gorgeous gold brocade, stands on a white marble image of the prostrate body of Her Divine Consort, Siva, the symbol of the Absolute. On the feet of the Goddess are, among other ornaments, anklets of gold. Her arms are decked With jewelled ornaments of gold. She wears necklaces of gold and pearls, a golden garland of human heads, and a girdle of human arms. She wears a golden crown, golden ear-rings, and a golden nose-ring With a pearl-drop. She has four arms. The lower left hand holds a severed human head and the upper grips a blood-stained sabre. One right hand offers boons to Her children; the other allays their fear. The majesty of Her posture can hardly be described. It combines the terror of destruction With the reassurance of motherly tenderness. For She is the Cosmic Power, the totality of the universe, a glorious harmony of the pairs of opposites. She deals out death, as She creates and preserves. She has three eyes, the third being the symbol of Divine Wisdom; they strike dismay into the wicked, yet pour out affection for Her devotees.
The whole symbolic world is represented in the temple garden — the Trinity of the Nature Mother (Kali), the Absolute (Siva), and Love (Radhakanta), the Arch spanning heaven and earth. The terrific Goddess of the Tantra, the soul-enthralling Flute-Player of the Bhagavata, and the Self-absorbed Absolute of the Vedas live together, creating the greatest synthesis of religions. All aspects of Reality are represented there. But of this divine household, Kali is the pivot, the sovereign Mistress. She is Prakriti, the Procreatrix, Nature, the Destroyer, the Creator. Nay, She is something greater and deeper still for those who have eyes to see. She is the Universal Mother, "my Mother" as Ramakrishna would say, the All-powerful, who reveals Herself to Her children under different aspects and Divine Incarnations, the Visible God, who leads the elect to the Invisible Reality; and if it so pleases Her, She takes away the last trace of ego from created beings and merges it in the consciousness of the Absolute, the undifferentiated God. Through Her grace "the finite ego loses itself in the illimitable Ego — Atman — Brahman". (Romain Holland, Prophets of the New India, p. 11.)
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Sri Ramakrishna — henceforth we shall call Gadadhar by this familiar name —1 came to the temple garden With his elder brother Ramkumar, who was appointed priest of the Kali temple. Sri Ramakrishna did not at first approve of Ramkumar's working for the sudra Rasmani. The example of their orthodox father was still fresh in Sri Ramakrishna's mind. He objected also to the eating of the cooked offerings of the temple, since, according to orthodox Hindu custom, such food can be offered to the Deity only in the house of a brahmin. But the holy atmosphere of the temple grounds, the solitude of the surrounding wood, the loving care of his brother, the respect shown him by Rani Rasmani and Mathur Babu, the living presence of the Goddess Kali in the temple, and; above all, the proximity of the sacred Ganges, which Sri Ramakrishna always held in the highest respect, gradually overcame his disapproval, and he began to feel at home.
Within a very short time Sri Ramakrishna attracted the notice of Mathur Babu, who was impressed by the young man's religious fervour and wanted him to participate in the worship in the Kali temple. But Sri Ramakrishna loved his freedom and was indifferent to any worldly career. The profession of the priesthood in a temple founded by a rich woman did not appeal to his mind. Further, he hesitated to take upon himself the responsibility for the ornaments and jewelry of the temple. Mathur had to wait for a suitable occasion.
At this time there came to Dakshineswar a youth of sixteen, destined to play an important role in Sri Ramakrishna's life. Hriday, a distant nephew2 of Sri Ramakrishna, hailed from Sihore, a village not far from Kamarpukur, and had been his boyhood friend. Clever, exceptionally energetic, and endowed With great presence of mind, he moved, as will be seen later, like a shadow about his uncle and was always ready to help him, even at the sacrifice of his personal comfort. He was destined to be a mute witness of many of the spiritual experiences of Sri Ramakrishna and the caretaker of his body during the stormy days of his spiritual practice. Hriday came to Dakshineswar in search of a job, and Sri Ramakrishna was glad to see him.
Unable to resist the persuasion of Mathur Babu, Sri Ramakrishna at last entered the temple service, on condition that Hriday should be asked to assist him. His first duty was to dress and decorate the image of Kali.
One day the priest of the Radhakanta temple accidentally dropped the image of Krishna on the floor, breaking one of its legs. The pundits advised the Rani to install a new image, since the worship of an image With a broken limb was against the scriptural injunctions. But the Rani was fond of the image, and she asked Sri Ramakrishna's opinion. In an abstracted mood, he said: "This solution is ridiculous. If a son-in-law of the Rani broke his leg, would she discard him and put another in his place? Wouldn't she rather arrange for his treatment? Why should she not do the same thing in this case too? Let the image be repaired and worshipped as before." It was a simple, straightforward solution and was accepted by the Rani. Sri Ramakrishna himself mended the break. The priest was dismissed for his carelessness, and at Mathur Babu's earnest request Sri Ramakrishna accepted the office of priest in the Radhakanta temple.
^No definite information is available as to the origin of this name. Most probably it was given by Mathur Babu, as Ramlal, Sri Ramakrishna's nephew, has said, quoting the authority of his uncle himself.
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Born in an orthodox brahmin family, Sri Ramakrishna knew the formalities of worship, its rites and rituals. The innumerable gods and goddesses of the Hindu religion are the human aspects of the indescribable and incomprehensible Spirit, as conceived by the finite human mind. They understand and appreciate human love and emotion, help men to realize their secular and spiritual ideals, and ultimately enable men to attain liberation from the miseries of phenomenal life. The Source of light, intelligence, wisdom, and strength is the One alone from whom comes the fulfilment of desire. Yet, as long as a man is bound by his human limitations, he cannot but worship God through human forms. He must use human symbols. Therefore Hinduism asks the devotees to look on God as the ideal father, the ideal mother, the ideal husband, the ideal son, or the ideal friend. But the name ultimately leads to the Nameless, the form to the Formless, the word to the Silence, the emotion to the serene realization of Peace in Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. The gods gradually merge in the one God. But until that realization is achieved, the devotee cannot dissociate human factors from his worship. Therefore the Deity is bathed and clothed and decked With ornaments. He is fed and put to sleep. He is propitiated With hymns, songs, and prayers. And there are appropriate rites connected With all these functions. For instance, to secure for himself external purity, the priest bathes himself in holy water and puts on a holy cloth. He purifies the mind and the sense-organs by appropriate meditations. He fortifies the place of worship against evil forces by drawing around it circles of fire and water. He awakens the different spiritual centres of the body and invokes the Supreme Spirit in his heart. Then he transfers the Supreme Spirit to the image before him and worships the image, regarding it no longer as clay or stone, but as the embodiment of Spirit, throbbing With Life and Consciousness. After the worship the Supreme Spirit is recalled from the image to Its true sanctuary, the heart of the priest. The real devotee knows the absurdity of worshipping the Transcendental Reality With material articles — clothing That which pervades the whole universe and the beyond, putting on a pedestal That which cannot be limited by space, feeding That which is disembodied and incorporeal, singing before That whose glory the music of the spheres tries vainly to proclaim. But through these rites the devotee aspires to go ultimately beyond rites and rituals, forms and names, words and praise, and to realize God as the All-pervading Consciousness.
Hindu priests are thoroughly acquainted With the rites of worship, but few of them are aware of their underlying significance. They move their hands and limbs mechanically, in obedience to the letter of the scriptures, and repeat the holy mantras like parrots. But from the very beginning the inner meaning of these rites was revealed to Sri Ramakrishna. As he sat facing the image, a strange transformation came over his mind. While going through the prescribed ceremonies, he would actually find himself encircled by a wall of fire protecting him and the place of worship from unspiritual vibrations, or he would feel the rising of the mystic Kundalini through the different centres of the body. The glow on his face, his deep absorption, and the intense atmosphere of the temple impressed everyone who saw him worship the Deity.
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.
--
And, indeed, he soon discovered what a strange Goddess he had chosen to serve. He became gradually enmeshed in the web of Her all-pervading presence. To the ignorant She is, to be sure, the image of destruction; but he found in Her the benign, all-loving Mother. Her neck is encircled With a garland of heads, and Her waist With a girdle of human arms, and two of Her hands hold weapons of death, and Her eyes dart a glance of fire; but, strangely enough, Ramakrishna felt in Her breath the soothing touch of tender love and saw in Her the Seed of Immortality. She stands on the bosom of Her Consort, Siva; it is because She is the Sakti, the Power, inseparable from the Absolute. She is surrounded by jackals and other unholy creatures, the denizens of the cremation ground. But is not the Ultimate Reality above holiness and unholiness? She appears to be reeling under the spell of wine. But who would create this mad world unless under the influence of a divine drunkenness? She is the highest symbol of all the forces of nature, the synthesis of their antinomies, the Ultimate Divine in the form of woman. She now became to Sri Ramakrishna the only Reality, and the world became an unsubstantial shadow. Into Her worship he poured his soul. Before him She stood as the transparent portal to the shrine of Ineffable Reality.
The worship in the temple intensified Sri Ramakrishna's yearning for a living vision of the Mother of the Universe. He began to spend in meditation the time not actually employed in the temple service; and for this purpose he selected an extremely solitary place. A deep jungle, thick With underbrush and prickly plants, lay to the north of the temples. Used at one time as a burial ground, it was shunned by people even during the day-time for fear of ghosts. There Sri Ramakrishna began to spend the whole night in meditation, returning to his room only in the morning With eyes swollen as though from much weeping. While meditating, he would lay aside his cloth and his brahminical thread. Explaining this strange conduct, he once said to Hriday: "Don't you know that when one thinks of God one should be freed from all ties? From our very birth we have the eight fetters of hatred, shame, lineage, pride of good conduct, fear, secretiveness, caste, and grief. The sacred thread reminds me that I am a brahmin and therefore superior to all. When calling on the Mother one has to set aside all such ideas." Hriday thought his uncle was becoming insane.
As his love for God deepened, he began either to forget or to drop the formalities of worship. Sitting before the image, he would spend hours singing the devotional songs of great devotees of the Mother, such as Kamalakanta and Ramprasad. Those rhapsodical songs, describing the direct vision of God, only intensified Sri Ramakrishna's longing. He felt the pangs of a child separated from its mother. Sometimes, in agony, he would rub his face against the ground and weep so bitterly that people, thinking he had lost his earthly mother, would sympathize With him in his grief. Sometimes, in moments of scepticism, he would cry: "Art Thou true, Mother, or is it all fiction — mere poetry Without any reality? If Thou dost exist, why do I not see Thee? Is religion a mere fantasy and art Thou only a figment of man's imagination?" Sometimes he would sit on the prayer carpet for two hours like an inert object. He began to behave in an abnormal manner
, most of the time unconscious of the world. He almost gave up food; and sleep left him altogether.
But he did not have to wait very long. He has thus described his first vision of the Mother: "I felt as if my heart were being squeezed like a wet towel. I was overpowered With a great restlessness and a fear that it might not be my lot to realize Her in this life. I could not bear the separation from Her any longer. Life seemed to be not worth living. Suddenly my glance fell on the sword that was kept in the Mother's temple. I determined to put an end to my life. When I jumped up like a madman and seized it, suddenly the blessed Mother revealed Herself. The buildings With their different parts, the temple, and everything else vanished from my sight, leaving no trace whatsoever, and in their stead I saw a limitless, infinite, effulgent Ocean of Consciousness. As far as the eye could see, the shining billows were madly rushing at me from all sides With a terrific noise, to swallow me up! I was panting for breath. I was caught in the rush
and collapsed, unconscious. What was happening in the outside world I did not know; but Within me there was a steady flow of undiluted bliss, altogether new, and I felt the presence of the Divine Mother." On his lips when he regained consciousness of the world was the word "Mother".
--- GOD-INTOXICATED STATE
Yet this was only a foretaste of the intense experiences to come. The first glimpse of the Divine Mother made him the more eager for Her uninterrupted vision. He wanted to see Her both in meditation and With eyes open. But the Mother began to play a teasing game of hide-and-seek With him, intensifying both his joy and his suffering. Weeping bitterly during the moments of separation from Her, he would pass into a trance and then find Her standing before him, smiling, talking, consoling, bidding him be of good cheer, and instructing him. During this period of spiritual practice he had many uncommon experiences. When he sat to meditate, he would hear strange clicking sounds in the joints of his legs, as if someone were locking them up, one after the other, to keep him motionless; and at the conclusion of his meditation he would again hear the same sounds, this time unlocking them and leaving him free to move about. He would see flashes like a swarm of fire-flies floating before his eyes, or a sea of deep mist around him, With luminous waves of molten silver. Again, from a sea of translucent mist he would behold the Mother rising, first Her feet, then Her waist, body, face, and head, finally Her whole person; he would feel Her breath and hear Her voice. Worshipping in the temple, sometimes he would become exalted, sometimes he would remain motionless as stone, sometimes he would almost collapse from excessive emotion. Many of his actions, contrary to all tradition, seemed sacrilegious to the people. He would take a flower and touch it to his own head, body, and feet, and then offer it to the Goddess. Or, like a drunkard, he would reel to the throne of the Mother, touch Her chin by way of showing his affection for Her, and sing, talk, joke, laugh, and dance. Or he would take a morsel of food from the plate and hold it to Her mouth, begging Her to eat it, and would not be satisfied till he was convinced that She had really eaten. After the Mother had been put to sleep at night, from his own room he would hear Her ascending to the upper storey of the temple With the light steps of a happy girl, Her anklets jingling. Then he would discover Her standing With flowing hair. Her black form silhouetted against the sky of the night, looking at the Ganges or at the distant lights of Calcutta.
Naturally the temple officials took him for an insane person. His worldly well-wishers brought him to skilled physicians; but no-medicine could cure his malady. Many a time he doubted his sanity himself. For he had been sailing across an uncharted sea, With no earthly guide to direct him. His only haven of security was the Divine Mother Herself. To Her he would pray: "I do not know what these things are. I am ignorant of mantras and the scriptures. Teach me, Mother, how to realize Thee. Who else can help me? Art Thou not my only refuge and guide?" And the sustaining presence of the Mother never failed him in his distress or doubt. Even those who criticized his conduct were greatly impressed With his purity, guilelessness, truthfulness, integrity, and holiness. They felt an uplifting influence in his presence.
It is said that samadhi, or trance, no more than opens the portal of the spiritual realm. Sri Ramakrishna felt an unquenchable desire to enjoy God in various ways. For his meditation he built a place in the northern wooded section of the temple garden. With Hriday's help he planted there five sacred trees. The spot, known as the Panchavati, became the scene of many of his visions.
As his spiritual mood deepened he more and more felt himself to be a child of the Divine Mother. He learnt to surrender himself completely to Her will and let Her direct him.
--
Sri Ramakrishna one day fed a cat With the food that was to be offered to Kali. This was too much for the manager of the temple garden, who considered himself responsible for the proper conduct of the worship. He reported Sri Ramakrishna's insane behaviour to Mathur Babu.
Sri Ramakrishna has described the incident: "The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kali temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The image was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water-vessels were Consciousness, the door-sill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness — all was Consciousness. I found everything inside the room soaked, as it were, in Bliss — the Bliss of God. I saw a wicked man in front of the Kali temple; but in him also I saw the power of the Divine Mother vibrating. That was why I fed a cat With the food that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I clearly perceived that all this was the Divine Mother — even the cat. The manager of the temple garden wrote to Mathur Babu saying that I was feeding the cat With the offering intended for the Divine Mother. But Mathur Babu had insight into the state of my mind. He wrote back to the manager: 'Let him do whatever he likes. You must not say anything to him.'"
One of the painful ailments from which Sri Ramakrishna suffered at this time was a burning sensation in his body, and he was cured by a strange vision. During worship in the temple, following the scriptural injunctions, he would imagine the presence of the "sinner" in himself and the destruction of this "sinner". One day he was meditating in the Panchavati, when he saw come out of him a red-eyed man of black complexion, reeling like a drunkard. Soon there emerged from him another person, of serene countenance, wearing the ochre cloth of a sannyasi and carrying in his hand a trident. The second person attacked the first and killed him With the trident. Thereafter Sri Ramakrishna was free of his pain.
About this time he began to worship God by assuming the attitude of a servant toward his master. He imitated the mood of Hanuman, the monkey chieftain of the Ramayana, the ideal servant of Rama and traditional model for this self-effacing form of devotion. When he meditated on Hanuman his movements and his way of life began to resemble those of a monkey. His eyes became restless. He lived on fruits and roots. With his cloth tied around his waist, a portion of it hanging in the form of a tail, he jumped from place to place instead of walking. And after a short while he was blessed With a vision of Sita, the divine consort of Rama, who entered his body and disappeared there With the words, "I bequeath to you my smile."
Mathur had faith in the sincerity of Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual zeal, but began now to doubt his sanity. He had watched him jumping about like a monkey. One day, when Rani Rasmani was listening to Sri Ramakrishna's singing in the temple, the young priest abruptly turned and slapped her. Apparently listening to his song, she had actually been thinking of a law-suit. She accepted the punishment as though the Divine Mother Herself had imposed it; but Mathur was distressed. He begged Sri Ramakrishna to keep his feelings under control and to heed the conventions of society. God Himself, he argued, follows laws. God never permitted, for instance, flowers of two colours to grow on the same stalk. The following day Sri Ramakrishna presented Mathur Babu With two hibiscus flowers growing on the same stalk, one red and one white.
Mathur and Rani Rasmani began to ascribe the mental ailment of Sri Ramakrishna in part, at least, to his observance of rigid continence. Thinking that a natural life would relax the tension of his nerves, they engineered a plan With two women of ill fame. But as soon as the women entered his room, Sri Ramakrishna beheld in them the manifestation of the Divine Mother of the Universe and went into samadhi uttering Her name.
--- HALADHARI
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One day Haladhari upset Sri Ramakrishna With the statement that God is incomprehensible to the human mind. Sri Ramakrishna has described the great moment of doubt when he wondered whether his visions had really misled him: " With sobs I prayed to the Mother, 'Canst Thou have the heart to deceive me like this because I am a fool?' A stream of tears flowed from my eyes. Shortly afterwards I saw a volume of mist rising from the floor and filling the space before me. In the midst of it there appeared a face With flowing beard, calm, highly expressive, and fair. Fixing its gaze steadily upon me, it said solemnly, 'Remain in bhavamukha, on the threshold of relative consciousness.' This it repeated three times and then it gently disappeared in the mist, which itself dissolved. This vision reassured me."
A garbled report of Sri Ramakrishna's failing health, indifference to worldly life, and various abnormal activities reached Kamarpukur and filled the heart of his poor mother With anguish. At her repeated request he returned to his village for a change of air. But his boyhood friends did not interest him any more. A divine fever was consuming him. He spent a great part of the day and night in one of the cremation grounds, in meditation. The place reminded him of the impermanence of the human body, of human hopes and achievements. It also reminded him of Kali, the Goddess of destruction.
--- MARRIAGE AND AFTER
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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.
--- THE BRAHMANI
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Sri Ramakrishna welcomed the visitor With great respect, described to her his experiences and visions, and told her of people's belief that these were symptoms of madness. She listened to him attentively and said: "My son, everyone in this world is mad. Some are mad for money, some for creature comforts, some for name and fame; and you are mad for God." She assured him that he was passing through the almost unknown spiritual experience described in the scriptures as mahabhava, the most exalted rapture of divine love. She told him that this extreme exaltation had been described as manifesting itself through nineteen physical symptoms, including the shedding of tears, a tremor of the body, horripilation, perspiration, and a burning sensation. The Bhakti scriptures, she declared, had recorded only two instances of the experience, namely, those of Sri Radha and Sri Chaitanya.
Very soon a tender relationship sprang up between Sri Ramakrishna and the Brahmani, she looking upon him as the Baby Krishna, and he upon her as mother. Day after day she watched his ecstasy during the kirtan and meditation, his samadhi, his mad yearning; and she recognized in him a power to transmit spirituality to others. She came to the conclusion that such things were not possible for an ordinary devotee, not even for a highly developed soul. Only an Incarnation of God was capable of such spiritual manifestations. She proclaimed openly that Sri Ramakrishna, like Sri Chaitanya, was an Incarnation of God.
When Sri Ramakrishna told Mathur what the Brahmani had said about him, Mathur shook his head in doubt. He was reluctant to accept him as an Incarnation of God, an Avatar comparable to Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Chaitanya, though he admitted Sri Ramakrishna's extraordinary spirituality. Whereupon the Brahmani asked Mathur to arrange a conference of scholars who should discuss the matter With her. He agreed to the proposal and the meeting was arranged. It was to be held in the natmandir in front of the Kali temple.
Two famous pundits of the time were invited: Vaishnavcharan, the leader of the Vaishnava society, and Gauri. The first to arrive was Vaishnavcharan, With a distinguished company of scholars and devotees. The Brahmani, like a proud mother, proclaimed her view before him and supported it With quotations from the scriptures. As the pundits discussed the deep theological question, Sri Ramakrishna, perfectly indifferent to everything happening around him, sat in their midst like a child, immersed in his own thoughts, sometimes smiling, sometimes chewing a pinch of spices from a pouch, or again saying to Vaishnavcharan With a nudge: "Look here. Sometimes I feel like this, too." Presently Vaishnavcharan arose to declare himself in total agreement With the view of the Brahmani. He declared that Sri Ramakrishna had undoubtedly experienced mahabhava and that this was the certain sign of the rare manifestation of God in a man. The people assembled
there, especially the officers of the temple garden, were struck dumb. Sri Rama- krishna said to Mathur, like a boy: "Just fancy, he too says so! Well, I am glad to learn that after all it is not a disease."
When, a few days later, Pundit Gauri arrived, another meeting was held, and he agreed With the view of the Brahmani and Vaishnavcharan. To Sri Ramakrishna's remark that Vaishnavcharan had declared him to be an Avatar, Gauri replied: "Is that all he has to say about you? Then he has said very little. I am fully convinced that you are that Mine of Spiritual Power, only a small fraction of which descends on earth, from time to time, in the form of an Incarnation."
"Ah!" said Sri Ramakrishna With a smile, "you seem to have quite outbid Vaishnavcharan in this matter. What have you found in me that makes you entertain such an idea?"
Gauri said: "I feel it in my heart and I have the scriptures on my side. I am ready to prove it to anyone who challenges me."
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Thus the insane priest was by verdict of the great scholars of the day proclaimed a Divine Incarnation. His visions were not the result of an over-heated brain; they had precedent in spiritual history. And how did the proclamation affect Sri Ramakrishna himself? He remained the simple child of the Mother that he had been since the first day of his life. Years later, when two of his householder disciples openly spoke of him as a Divine Incarnation and the matter was reported to him, he said With a touch of sarcasm: "Do they think they will enhance my glory that way? One of them is an actor on the stage and the other a physician. What do they know about Incarnations? Why, years ago pundits like Gauri and Vaishnavcharan declared me to be an Avatar. They were great scholars and knew what they said. But that did not make any change in my mind."
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.
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According to the Tantra, the Ultimate Reality is Chit, or Consciousness, which is identical With Sat, or Being, and With Ananda, or Bliss. This Ultimate Reality, Satchidananda, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, is identical With the Reality preached in the Vedas. And man is identical With this Reality; but under the influence of maya, or illusion, he has forgotten his true nature. He takes to be real a merely apparent world of subject and object, and this error is the cause of his bondage and suffering. The goal of spiritual discipline is the rediscovery of his true identity With the divine Reality.
For the achievement of this goal the Vedanta prescribes an austere negative method of discrimination and renunciation, which can be followed by only a few individuals endowed With sharp intelligence and unshakable will-power. But Tantra takes into consideration the natural weakness of human beings, their lower appetites, and their love for the concrete. It combines philosophy With rituals, meditation With ceremonies, renunciation With enjoyment. The underlying purpose is gradually to train the aspirant to meditate on his identity With the Ultimate.
The average man wishes to enjoy the material objects of the world. Tantra bids him enjoy these, but at the same time discover in them the presence of God. Mystical rites are prescribed by which, slowly, the sense-objects become spiritualized and sense attraction is transformed into a love of God. So the very "bonds" of man are turned into "releasers". The very poison that kills is transmuted into the elixir of life. Outward renunciation is not necessary. Thus the aim of Tantra is to sublimate bhoga, or enjoyment into yoga, or union With Consciousness. For, according to this philosophy, the world With all its manifestations is nothing but the sport of Siva and Sakti, the Absolute and Its inscrutable Power.
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.
But the most remarkable experience during this period was the awakening of the Kundalini Sakti, the "Serpent Power". He actually saw the Power, at first lying asleep at the bottom of the spinal column, then waking up and ascending along the mystic Sushumna canal and through its six centres, or lotuses, to the Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus in the top of the head. He further saw that as the Kundalini went upward the different lotuses bloomed. And this phenomenon was accompanied by visions and trances. Later on he described to his disciples and devotees the various movements of the Kundalini: the fishlike, birdlike, monkeylike, and so on. The awaken- ing of the Kundalini is the beginning of spiritual consciousness, and its union With Siva in the Sahasrara, ending in samadhi, is the consummation of the Tantrik disciplines.
About this time it was revealed to him that in a short while many devotees would seek his guidance.
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After completing the Tantrik sadhana Sri Ramakrishna followed the Brahmani in the disciplines of Vaishnavism. The Vaishnavas are worshippers of Vishnu, the "All-pervading", the Supreme God, who is also known as Hari and Narayana. Of Vishnu's various Incarnations the two With the largest number of followers are Rama and Krishna.
Vaishnavism is exclusively a religion of bhakti. Bhakti is intense love of God, attachment to Him alone; it is of the nature of bliss and bestows upon the lover immortality and liberation. God, according to Vaishnavism, cannot be realized through logic or reason; and, Without bhakti, all penances, austerities and rites are futile. Man cannot realize God by self-exertion alone. For the vision of God His grace is absolutely necessary, and this grace is felt by the pure of heart. The mind is to be purified through bhakti. The pure mind then remains for ever immersed in the ecstasy of God-vision. It is the cultivation of this divine love that is the chief concern of the Vaishnava religion.
There are three kinds of formal devotion: tamasic, rajasic, and sattvic. If a person, while showing devotion, to God, is actuated by malevolence, arrogance, jealousy, or anger, then his devotion is tamasic, since it is influenced by tamas, the quality of inertia. If he worships God from a desire for fame or wealth, or from any other worldly ambition, then his devotion is rajasic, since it is influenced by rajas, the quality of activity. But if a person loves God Without any thought of material gain, if he performs his duties to please God alone and maintains toward all created beings the attitude of friendship, then his devotion is called sattvic, since it is influenced by sattva, the quality of harmony. But the highest devotion transcends the three gunas, or qualities, being a spontaneous, uninterrupted inclination of the mind toward God, the Inner Soul of all beings; and it wells up in the heart of a true devotee as soon as he hears the name of God or mention of God's attributes. A devotee possessed of this love would not accept the happiness of heaven if it were offered him. His one desire is to love God under all conditions — in pleasure and pain, life and death, honour and dishonour, prosperity and adversity.
There are two stages of bhakti. The first is known as vaidhi-bhakti, or love of God qualified by scriptural injunctions. For the devotees of this stage are prescribed regular and methodical worship, hymns, prayers, the repetition of God's name, and the chanting of His glories. This lower bhakti in course of time matures into para-bhakti, or supreme devotion, known also as prema, the most intense form of divine love. Divine love is an end in itself. It exists potentially in all human hearts, but in the case of bound creatures it is misdirected to earthly objects.
To develop the devotee's love for God, Vaishnavism humanizes God. God is to be regarded as the devotee's Parent, Master, Friend, Child, Husband, or Sweetheart, each succeeding relationship representing an intensification of love. These bhavas, or attitudes toward God, are known as santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and madhur. The rishis of the Vedas, Hanuman, the cow-herd boys of Vrindavan, Rama's mother Kausalya, and Radhika, Krishna's sweetheart, exhibited, respectively, the most perfect examples of these forms. In the ascending scale the-glories of God are gradually forgotten and the devotee realizes more and more the intimacy of divine communion. Finally he regards himself as the mistress of his Beloved, and no artificial barrier remains to separate him from his Ideal. No social or moral obligation can bind to the earth his soaring spirit. He experiences perfect union With the Godhead. Unlike the Vedantist, who strives to transcend all varieties of the subject-object relationship, a devotee of the Vaishnava path wishes to retain both his own individuality and the personality of God. To him God is not an intangible Absolute, but the Purushottama, the Supreme Person.
While practising the discipline of the madhur bhava, the male devotee often regards himself as a woman, in order to develop the most intense form of love for Sri Krishna, the only purusha, or man, in the universe. This assumption of the attitude of the opposite sex has a deep psychological significance. It is a matter of common experience that an idea may be cultivated to such an intense degree that every idea alien to it is driven from the mind. This peculiarity of the mind may be utilized for the subjugation of the lower desires and the development of the spiritual nature. Now, the idea which is the basis of all desires and passions in a man is the conviction of his indissoluble association With a male body. If he can inoculate himself thoroughly With the idea that he is a woman, he can get rid of the desires peculiar to his male body. Again, the idea that he is a woman may in turn be made to give way to another higher idea, namely, that he is neither man nor woman, but the Impersonal Spirit. The Impersonal Spirit alone can enjoy real communion With the Impersonal God. Hence the highest est realization of the Vaishnava draws close to the transcendental experience of the Vedantist.
A beautiful expression of the Vaishnava worship of God through love is to be found in the Vrindavan episode of the Bhagavata. The gopis, or milk-maids, of Vrindavan regarded the six-year-old Krishna as their Beloved. They sought no personal gain or happiness from this love. They surrendered to Krishna their bodies, minds, and souls. Of all the gopis, Radhika, or Radha, because of her intense love for Him, was the closest to Krishna. She manifested mahabhava and was united With her Beloved. This union represents, through sensuous language, a supersensuous experience.
Sri Chaitanya, also known as Gauranga, Gora, or Nimai, born in Bengal in 1485 and regarded as an Incarnation of God, is a great prophet of the Vaishnava religion. Chaitanya declared the chanting of God's name to be the most efficacious spiritual discipline for the Kaliyuga.
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About the year 1864 there came to Dakshineswar a wandering Vaishnava monk, Jatadhari, whose Ideal Deity was Rama. He always carried With him a small metal image of the Deity, which he called by the endearing name of Ramlala, the Boy Rama. Toward this little image he displayed the tender affection of Kausalya for her divine Son, Rama. As a result of lifelong spiritual practice he had actually found in the metal image the presence of his Ideal. Ramlala was no longer for him a metal image, but the living God. He devoted himself to nursing Rama, feeding Rama, playing With Rama, taking Rama for a walk, and bathing Rama. And he found that the image responded to his love.
Sri Ramakrishna, much impressed With his devotion, requested Jatadhari to spend a few days at Dakshineswar. Soon Ramlala became the favourite companion of Sri Ramakrishna too. Later on he described to the devotees how the little image would dance gracefully before him, jump on his back, insist on being taken in his arms, run to the fields in the sun, pluck flowers from the bushes, and play pranks like a naughty boy. A very sweet relationship sprang up between him and Ramlala, for whom he felt the love of a mother.
One day Jatadhari requested Sri Ramakrishna to keep the image and bade him adieu With tearful eyes. He declared that Ramlala had fulfilled his innermost prayer and that he now had no more need of formal worship. A few days later Sri Ramakrishna was blessed through Ramlala With a vision of Ramachandra, whereby he realized that the Rama of the Ramayana, the son of Dasaratha, pervades the whole universe as Spirit and Consciousness; that He is its Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer; that, in still another aspect, He is the transcendental Brahman, Without form, attribute, or name.
While worshipping Ramlala as the Divine Child, Sri Ramakrishna's heart became filled With motherly tenderness, and he began to regard himself as a woman. His speech and gestures changed. He began to move freely With the ladies of Mathur's family, who now looked upon him as one of their own sex. During this time he worshipped the Divine Mother as Her companion or handmaid.
--- IN COMMUNION With THE DIVINE BELOVED
Sri Ramakrishna now devoted himself to scaling the most inaccessible and dizzy heights of dualistic worship, namely, the complete union With Sri Krishna as the Beloved of the heart. He regarded himself as one of the gopis of Vrindavan, mad With longing for her divine Sweetheart. At his request Mathur provided him With woman's dress and jewelry. In this love-pursuit, food and drink were forgotten. Day and night he wept bitterly. The yearning turned into a mad frenzy; for the divine Krishna began to play With him the old tricks He had played With the gopis. He would tease and taunt, now and then revealing Himself, but always keeping at a distance. Sri Ramakrishna's anguish brought on a return of the old physical symptoms: the burning sensation, an oozing of blood through the pores, a loosening of the joints, and the stopping of physiological functions.
The Vaishnava scriptures advise one to propitiate Radha and obtain her grace in order to realize Sri Krishna. So the tortured devotee now turned his prayer to her. Within a short time he enjoyed her blessed vision. He saw and felt the figure of Radha disappearing into his own body.
He said later on: "It is impossible to describe the heavenly beauty and sweetness of Radha. Her very appearance showed that she had completely forgotten herself in her passionate attachment to Krishna. Her complexion was a light yellow."
Now one With Radha, he manifested the great ecstatic love, the mahabhava, which had found in her its fullest expression. Later Sri Ramakrishna said: "The manifestation in the same individual of the nineteen different kinds of emotion for God is called, in the books on bhakti, mahabhava. An ordinary man takes a whole lifetime to express even a single one of these. But in this body [meaning himself] there has been a complete manifestation of all nineteen."
The love of Radha is the precursor of the resplendent vision of Sri Krishna, and Sri Ramakrishna soon experienced that vision. The enchanting ing form of Krishna appeared to him and merged in his person. He became Krishna; he totally forgot his own individuality and the world; he saw Krishna in himself and in the universe. Thus he attained to the fulfilment of the worship of the Personal God. He drank from the fountain of Immortal Bliss. The agony of his heart vanished forever. He realized Amrita, Immortality, beyond the shadow of death.
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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
is, ultimately speaking, as illusory as the experience of any other object. Man attains his liberation, therefore, by piercing the veil of maya and rediscovering his total identity With Brahman. Knowing himself to be one With the Universal Spirit, he realizes ineffable Peace. Only then does he go beyond the fiction of birth and death; only then does he become immortal. 'And this is the ultimate goal of all religions — to dehypnotize the soul now hypnotized by its own ignorance.
The path of the Vedantic discipline is the path of negation, "neti", in which, by stern determination, all that is unreal is both negated and renounced. It is the path of jnana, knowledge, the direct method of realizing the Absolute. After the negation of everything relative, including the discriminating ego itself, the aspirant merges in the One Without a Second, in the bliss of nirvikalpa samadhi, where subject and object are alike dissolved. The soul goes beyond the realm of thought. The domain of duality is transcended. Maya is left behind With all its changes and modifications. The Real Man towers above the delusions of creation, preservation, and destruction. An avalanche of indescribable Bliss sweeps away all relative ideas of pain and pleasure, good and evil. There shines in the heart the glory of the Eternal Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Knower, knowledge, and known are dissolved in the Ocean of one eternal Consciousness; love, lover, and beloved merge in the unbounded Sea of supreme Felicity; birth, growth, and death vanish in infinite Existence. All doubts and misgivings are quelled for ever; the oscillations of the mind are stopped; the momentum of past actions is exhausted. Breaking down the ridge-pole of the tabernacle in which the soul has made its abode for untold ages, stilling the body, calming the mind, drowning the ego, the sweet joy of Brahman wells up in that superconscious state. Space disappears into nothingness, time is swallowed in eternity, and causation becomes a dream of the past. Only Existence is. Ah! Who can describe what the soul then feels in its communion With the Self?
Even when man descends from this dizzy height, he is devoid of ideas of "I" and "mine"; he looks on the body as a mere shadow, an outer sheath encasing the soul. He does not dwell on the past, takes no thought for the future, and looks With indifference on the present. He surveys everything in the world With an eye of equality; he is no longer touched by the infinite variety of phenomena; he no longer reacts to pleasure and pain. He remains unmoved whether he — that is to say, his body — is worshipped by the good or tormented by the wicked; for he realizes that it is the one Brahman that manifests Itself through everything. The impact of such an experience devastates the body and mind. Consciousness becomes blasted, as it were, With an excess of Light. In the Vedanta books it is said that after the experience of nirvikalpa samadhi the body drops off like a dry leaf. Only those who are born With a special mission for the world can return
from this height to the valleys of normal life. They live and move in the world for the welfare of mankind. They are invested With a supreme spiritual power. A divine glory shines through them.
--- TOTAPURI
Totapuri arrived at the Dakshineswar temple garden toward the end of 1864. Perhaps born in the Punjab, he was the head of a monastery in that province of India and claimed leadership of seven hundred sannyasis. Trained from early youth in the disciplines of the Advaita Vedanta, he looked upon the world as an illusion. The gods and goddesses of the dualistic worship were to him mere fantasies of the deluded mind. Prayers, ceremonies, rites, and rituals had nothing to do With true religion, and about these he was utterly indifferent. Exercising self-exertion and unshakable will-power, he had liberated himself from attachment to the sense-objects of the relative universe. For forty years he had practised austere discipline on the bank of the sacred Narmada and had finally realized his identity With the Absolute. Thenceforward he roamed in the world as an unfettered soul, a lion free from the cage. Clad in a loin-cloth, he spent his days under the canopy of the sky alike in storm and sunshine, feeding his body on the slender pittance of alms. He had been visiting the estuary of the Ganges. On his return journey along the bank of the sacred river, led by the inscrutable Divine Will, he stopped at Dakshineswar.
Totapuri, discovering at once that Sri Ramakrishna was prepared to be a student of Vedanta, asked to initiate him into its mysteries. With the permission of the Divine Mother, Sri Ramakrishna agreed to the proposal. But Totapuri explained that only a sannyasi could receive the teaching of Vedanta. Sri Ramakrishna agreed to renounce the world, but With the stipulation that the ceremony of his initiation into the monastic order be performed in secret, to spare the feelings of his old mother, who had been living With him at Dakshineswar.
On the appointed day, in the small hours of the morning, a fire was lighted in the Panchavati. Totapuri and Sri Ramakrishna sat before it. The flame played on their faces. "Ramakrishna was a small brown man With a short beard and beautiful eyes, long dark eyes, full of light, obliquely set and slightly veiled, never very wide open, but seeing half-closed a great distance both outwardly and inwardly. His mouth was open over his white teeth in a bewitching smile, at once affectionate and mischievous. Of medium height, he was thin to emaciation and extremely delicate. His temperament was high-strung, for he was supersensitive to all the winds of joy and sorrow, both moral and physical. He was indeed a living reflection of all that happened before the mirror of his eyes, a two-sided mirror, turned both out and in." (Romain Rolland, Prophets of the New India, pp. 38-9.) Facing him, the other rose like a rock. He was very tall and robust, a sturdy and tough oak. His constitution and mind were of iron. He was the strong leader of men.
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.
"Brahman", he said, "is the only Reality, ever pure, ever illumined, ever free, beyond the limits of time, space, and causation. Though apparently divided by names and forms through the inscrutable power of maya, that enchantress who makes the impossible possible, Brahman is really One and undivided. When a seeker merges in the beatitude of samadhi, he does not perceive time and space or name and form, the offspring of maya. Whatever is Within the domain of maya is unreal. Give it up. Destroy the prison-house of name and form and rush out of it With the strength of a lion. Dive deep in search of the Self and realize It through samadhi. You will find the world of name and form vanishing into void, and the puny ego dissolving in Brahman-Consciousness. You will realize your identity With Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute." Quoting the Upanishad, Totapuri said: "That knowledge is shallow by which one sees or hears or knows another
. What is shallow is worthless and can never give real felicity. But the Knowledge by which one does not see another or hear another or know another, which is beyond duality, is great, and through such Knowledge one attains the Infinite Bliss. How can the mind and senses grasp That which shines in the heart of all as the Eternal Subject?"
Totapuri asked the disciple to Withdraw his mind from all objects of the relative world, including the gods and goddesses, and to concentrate on the Absolute. But the task was not easy even for Sri Ramakrishna. He found it impossible to take his mind beyond Kali, the Divine Mother of the Universe. "After the initiation", Sri Ramakrishna once said, describing the event, "Nangta began to teach me the various conclusions of the Advaita Vedanta and asked me to Withdraw the mind completely from all objects and dive deep into the Atman. But in spite of all my attempts I could not altogether cross the realm of name and form and bring my mind to the unconditioned state. I had no difficulty in taking the mind from all the objects of the world. But the radiant and too familiar figure of the Blissful Mother, the Embodiment of the essence of Pure Consciousness, appeared before me as a living reality. Her bewitching smile prevented me from passing into the Great Beyond. Again and again I tried, but She stood in my way every time. In despair I said to Nangta: 'It is hopeless. I cannot raise my mind to the unconditioned state and come face to face With Atman.' He grew excited and sharply said: 'What? You can't do it? But you have to.' He cast his eyes around. Finding a piece of glass he took it up and stuck it between my eyebrows. 'Concentrate the mind on this point!' he thundered. Then With stern determination I again sat to meditate. As soon as the gracious form of the Divine Mother appeared before me, I used my discrimination as a sword and With it clove Her in two. The last barrier fell. My spirit at once soared beyond the relative plane and I lost myself in samadhi."
Sri Ramakrishna remained completely absorbed in samadhi for three days. "Is it really true?" Totapuri cried out in astonishment. "Is it possible that he has attained in a single day what it took me forty years of strenuous practice to achieve? Great God! It is nothing short of a miracle!" With the help of Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna's mind finally came down to the relative plane.
Totapuri, a monk of the most orthodox type, never stayed at a place more than three days. But he remained at Dakshineswar eleven months. He too had something to learn.
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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.
The Divine Mother asked Sri Ramakrishna not to be lost in the featureless Absolute but to remain, in bhavamukha, on the threshold of relative consciousness, the border line between the Absolute and the Relative. He was to keep himself at the "sixth centre" of Tantra, from which he could see not only the glory of the seventh, but also the divine manifestations of the Kundalini in the lower centres. He gently oscillated back and forth across the dividing line. Ecstatic devotion to the Divine Mother alternated With serene absorption in the Ocean of Absolute Unity. He thus bridged the gulf between the Personal and the Impersonal, the immanent and the transcendent aspects of Reality. This is a unique experience in the recorded spiritual history of the world.
--- TOTAPURI'S LESSON
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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.
Totapuri returned to Dakshineswar and spent the remaining hours of the night meditating on the Divine Mother. In the morning he went to the Kali temple With Sri Ramakrishna and prostrated himself before the image of the Mother. He now realized why he had spent eleven months at Dakshineswar. Bidding farewell to the disciple, he continued on his way, enlightened.
Sri Ramakrishna later described the significance of Totapuri's lessons:
"When I think of the Supreme Being as inactive — neither creating nor preserving nor destroying —, I call Him Brahman or Purusha, the Impersonal God. When I think of Him as active — creating, preserving, and destroying —, I call Him Sakti or Maya or Prakriti, the Personal God. But the distinction between them does not mean a difference. The Personal and the Impersonal are the same thing, like milk and its whiteness, the diamond and its lustre, the snake and its wriggling motion. It is impossible to conceive of the one Without the other. The Divine Mother and Brahman are one."
After the departure of Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna remained for six months in a state of absolute identity With Brahman. "For six months at a stretch", he said, "I remained in that state from which ordinary men can never return; generally the body falls off, after three weeks, like a sere leaf. I was not conscious of day and night. Flies would enter my mouth and nostrils just as they do a dead body's, but I did not feel them. My hair became matted With dust."
His body would not have survived but for the kindly attention of a monk who happened to be at Dakshineswar at that time and who somehow realized that for the good of humanity Sri Ramakrishna's body must be preserved. He tried various means, even physical violence, to recall the fleeing soul to the prison-house of the body, and during the resultant fleeting moments of consciousness he would push a few morsels of food down Sri Ramakrishna's throat. Presently Sri Ramakrishna received the command of the Divine Mother to remain on the threshold of relative consciousness. Soon there-after after he was afflicted With a serious attack of dysentery. Day and night the pain tortured him, and his mind gradually came down to the physical plane.
--- COMPANY OF HOLY MEN AND DEVOTEES
From now on Sri Ramakrishna began to seek the company of devotees and holy men. He had gone through the storm and stress of spiritual disciplines and visions. Now he realized an inner calmness and appeared to others as a normal person. But he could not bear the company of worldly people or listen to their talk. Fortunately the holy atmosphere of Dakshineswar and the liberality of Mathur attracted monks and holy men from all parts of the country. Sadhus of all denominations — monists and dualists, Vaishnavas and Vedantists, Saktas and worshippers of Rama — flocked there in ever increasing numbers. Ascetics and visionaries came to seek Sri Ramakrishna's advice. Vaishnavas had come during the period of his Vaishnava sadhana, and Tantriks when he practised the disciplines of Tantra. Vedantists began to arrive after the departure of Totapuri. In the room of Sri Ramakrishna, who was then in bed With dysentery, the Vedantists engaged in scriptural discussions, and, forgetting his own physical suffering, he solved their doubts by referring directly to his own experiences. Many of the visitors were genuine spiritual souls, the unseen pillars of Hinduism, and their spiritual lives were quickened in no small measure by the sage of Dakshineswar. Sri Ramakrishna in turn learnt from them anecdotes concerning the ways and the conduct of holy men, which he subsequently narrated to his devotees and disciples. At his request Mathur provided him With large stores of food-stuffs, clothes, and so forth, for distribution among the wandering monks.
"Sri Ramakrishna had not read books, yet he possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of religions and religious philosophies. This he acquired from his contacts With innumerable holy men and scholars. He had a unique power of assimilation; through meditation he made this knowledge a part of his being. Once, when he was asked by a disciple about the source of his seemingly inexhaustible knowledge, he replied; "I have not read; but I have heard the learned. I have made a garland of their knowledge, wearing it round my neck, and I have given it as an offering at the feet of the Mother."
Sri Ramakrishna used to say that when the flower blooms the bees come to it for honey of their own accord. Now many souls began to visit Dakshineswar to satisfy their spiritual hunger. He, the devotee and aspirant, became the Master. Gauri, the great scholar who had been one of the first to proclaim Sri Ramakrishna an Incarnation of God, paid the Master a visit in 1870 and With the Master's blessings renounced the world. Narayan Shastri, another great pundit, who had mastered the six systems of Hindu philosophy and had been offered a lucrative post by the Maharaja of Jaipur, met the Master and recognized in him one who had realized in life those ideals which he himself had encountered merely in books. Sri Ramakrishna initiated Narayan Shastri, at his earnest request, into the life of sannyas. Pundit Padmalochan, the court pundit of the Maharaja of Burdwan, well known for his scholarship in both the Vedanta and the Nyaya systems of philosophy, accepted the Master as an Incarnation of God. Krishnakishore, a Vedantist scholar, became devoted to the Master. And there arrived Viswanath Upadhyaya, who was to become a favourite devotee; Sri Ramakrishna always addressed him as "Captain". He was a high officer of the King of Nepal and had received the title of Colonel in recognition of his merit. A scholar of the Gita, the Bhagavata, and the Vedanta philosophy, he daily performed the worship of his Chosen Deity With great devotion. "I have read the Vedas and the other scriptures", he said. "I have also met a good many monks and devotees in different places. But it is in Sri Ramakrishna's presence that my spiritual yearnings have been fulfilled. To me he seems to be the embodiment of the truths of the scriptures."
The Knowledge of Brahman in nirvikalpa samadhi had convinced Sri Ramakrishna that the gods of the different religions are but so many readings of the Absolute, and that the Ultimate Reality could never be expressed by human tongue. He understood that all religions lead their devotees by differing paths to one and the same goal. Now he became eager to explore some of the alien religions; for With him understanding meant actual experience.
--- ISLAM
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
Eight years later, some time in November 1874, Sri Ramakrishna was seized With an irresistible desire to learn the truth of the Christian religion. He began to listen to readings from the Bible, by Sambhu Charan Mallick, a gentleman of Calcutta and a devotee of the Master. Sri Ramakrishna became fascinated by the life and teachings of Jesus. One day he was seated in the parlour of Jadu Mallick's garden house (This expression is used throughout to translate the Bengali word denoting a rich man's country house set in a garden.) at Dakshineswar, when his eyes became fixed on a painting of the Madonna and Child. Intently watching it, he became gradually overwhelmed With divine emotion. The figures in the picture took on life, and the rays of light emanating from them entered his soul. The effect of this experience was stronger than that of the vision of Mohammed. In dismay he cried out, "O Mother! What are You doing to me?" And, breaking through the barriers of creed and religion, he entered a new realm of ecstasy. Christ possessed his soul. For three days he did not set foot in the Kali temple. On the fourth day, in the afternoon, as he was walking in the Panchavati, he saw coming toward him a person With beautiful large eyes, serene countenance, and fair skin. As the two faced each other, a voice rang out in the depths of Sri Ramakrishna's soul: "Behold the Christ, who shed His heart's blood for the redemption of the world, who suffered a sea of anguish for love of men. It is He, the Master Yogi, who is in eternal union With God. It is Jesus, Love Incarnate." The Son of Man embraced the Son of the Divine Mother and merged in him. Sri Ramakrishna krishna realized his identity With Christ, as he had already realized his identity With Kali, Rama, Hanuman, Radha, Krishna, Brahman, and Mohammed. The Master went into samadhi and communed With the Brahman With attributes. Thus he experienced the truth that Christianity, too, was a path leading to God-Consciousness. Till the last moment of his life he believed that Christ was an Incarnation of God. But Christ, for him, was not the only Incarnation; there were others — Buddha, for instance, and Krishna.
--- ATTITUDE TOWARD DIFFERENT RELIGIONS
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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."
In 1867 Sri Ramakrishna returned to Kamarpukur to recuperate from the effect of his austerities. The peaceful countryside, the simple and artless companions of his boyhood, and the pure air did him much good. The villagers were happy to get back their playful, frank, witty, kind-hearted, and truthful Gadadhar, though they did not fail to notice the great change that had come over him during his years in Calcutta. His wife, Sarada Devi, now fourteen years old, soon arrived at Kamarpukur. Her spiritual development was much beyond her age and she was able to understand immediately her husband's state of mind. She became eager to learn from him about God and to live With him as his attendant. The Master accepted her cheerfully both as his disciple and as his spiritual companion. Referring to the experiences of these few days, she once said: "I used to feel always as if a pitcher full of bliss were placed in my heart. The joy was indescribable."
--- PILGRIMAGE
On January 27, 1868, Mathur Babu With a party of some one hundred and twenty-five persons set out on a pilgrimage to the sacred places of northern India. At Vaidyanath in Behar, when the Master saw the inhabitants of a village reduced by poverty and starvation to mere skeletons, he requested his rich patron to feed the people and give each a piece of cloth. Mathur demurred at the added expense. The Master declared bitterly that he would not go on to Benares, but would live With the poor and share their miseries. He actually left Mathur and sat down With the villagers. Whereupon Mathur had to yield. On another occasion, two years later, Sri Ramakrishna showed a similar sentiment for the poor and needy. He accompanied Mathur on a tour to one of the latter's estates at the time of the collection of rents. For two years the harvests had failed and the tenants were in a state of extreme poverty. The Master asked Mathur to remit their rents, distribute help to them, and in addition give the hungry people a sumptuous feast. When Mathur grumbled, the Master said: "You are only the steward of the Divine Mother. They are the Mother's tenants. You must spend the Mother's money. When they are suffering, how can you refuse to help them? You must help them." Again Mathur had to give in. Sri Ramakrishna's sympathy for the poor sprang from his perception of God in all created beings. His sentiment was not that of the humanist or philanthropist. To him the service of man was the same as the worship of God.
The party entered holy Benares by boat along the Ganges. When Sri Ramakrishna's eyes fell on this city of Siva, where had accumulated for ages the devotion and piety of countless worshippers, he saw it to be made of gold, as the scriptures declare. He was visibly moved. During his stay in the city he treated every particle of its earth With utmost respect. At the Manikarnika Ghat, the great cremation ground of the city, he actually saw Siva, With ash-covered body and tawny matted hair, serenely approaching each funeral pyre and breathing into the ears of the corpses the mantra of liberation; and then the Divine Mother removing from the dead their bonds. Thus he realized the significance of the scriptural statement that anyone dying in Benares attains salvation through the grace of Siva. He paid a visit to Trailanga Swami, the celebrated monk, whom he later declared to be a real paramahamsa, a veritable image of Siva.
Sri Ramakrishna visited Allahabad, at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jamuna, and then proceeded to Vrindavan and Mathura, hallowed by the legends, songs, and dramas about Krishna and the gopis. Here he had numerous visions and his heart overflowed With divine emotion. He wept and said: "O Krishna! Everything here is as it was in the olden days. You alone are absent." He visited the great woman saint, Gangamayi, regarded by Vaishnava devotees as the reincarnation of an intimate attendant of Radha. She was sixty years old and had frequent trances. She spoke of Sri Ramakrishna as an incarnation of Radha. With great difficulty he was persuaded to leave her.
On the return journey Mathur wanted to visit Gaya, but Sri Ramakrishna declined to go. He recalled his father's vision at Gaya before his own birth and felt that in the temple of Vishnu he would become permanently absorbed in God. Mathur, honouring the Master's wish, returned With his party to Calcutta.
From Vrindavan the Master had brought a handful of dust. Part of this he scattered in the Panchavati; the rest he buried in the little hut where he had practised meditation. "Now this place", he said, "is as sacred as Vrindavan."
In 1870 the Master went on a pilgrimage to Nadia, the birth-place of Sri Chaitanya. As the boat by which he travelled approached the sand-bank close to Nadia, Sri Ramakrishna had a vision of the "two brothers", Sri Chaitanya and his companion Nityananda, "bright as molten gold" and With haloes, rushing to greet him With uplifted hands. "There they come! There they come!" he cried. They entered his body and he went into a deep trance.
--- RELATION With HIS WIFE
In 1872 Sarada Devi paid her first visit to her husband at Dakshineswar. Four years earlier she had seen him at Kamarpukur and had tasted the bliss of his divine company. Since then she had become even more gentle, tender, introspective, serious, and unselfish. She had heard many rumours about her husband's insanity. People had shown her pity in her misfortune. The more she thought, the more she felt that her duty was to be With him, giving him, in whatever measure she could, a wife's devoted service. She was now eighteen years old. Accompanied by her father, she arrived at Dakshineswar, having come on foot the distance of eighty miles. She had had an attack of fever on the way. When she arrived at the temple garden the Master said sorrowfully: "Ah! You have come too late. My Mathur is no longer here to look after you." Mathur had passed away the previous year.
The Master took up the duty of instructing his young wife, and this included everything from housekeeping to the Knowledge of Brahman. He taught her how to trim a lamp, how to behave toward people according to their differing temperaments, and how to conduct herself before visitors. He instructed her in the mysteries of spiritual life — prayer, meditation, japa, deep contemplation, and samadhi. The first lesson that Sarada Devi received was: "God is everybody's Beloved, just as the moon is dear to every child. Everyone has the same right to pray to Him. Out of His grace He reveals Himself to all who call upon Him. You too will see Him if you but pray to Him."
Totapuri, coming to know of the Master's marriage, had once remarked: "What does it matter? He alone is firmly established in the Knowledge of Brahman who can adhere to his spirit of discrimination and renunciation even while living With his wife. He alone has attained the supreme illumination who can look on man and woman alike as Brahman. A man With the idea of sex may be a good aspirant, but he is still far from the goal." Sri Ramakrishna and his wife lived together at Dakshineswar, but their minds always soared above the worldly plane. A few months after Sarada Devi's arrival Sri Ramakrishna arranged, on an auspicious day, a special worship of Kali, the Divine Mother. Instead of an image of the Deity, he placed on the seat the living image, Sarada Devi herself. The worshipper and the worshipped went into deep samadhi and in the transcendental plane their souls were united. After several hours Sri Ramakrishna came down again to the relative plane, sang a hymn to the Great Goddess, and surrendered, at the feet of the living image, himself, his rosary, and the fruit of his life-long sadhana. This is known in Tantra as the Shorasi Puja, the "Adoration of Woman". Sri Ramakrishna realized the significance of the great statement of the Upanishad: "O Lord, Thou art the woman. Thou art the man; Thou art the boy. Thou art the girl; Thou art the old, tottering on their crutches. Thou pervadest the universe in its multiple forms."
By his marriage Sri Ramakrishna admitted the great value of marriage in man's spiritual evolution, and by adhering to his monastic vows he demonstrated the imperative necessity of self-control, purity, and continence, in the realization of God. By this unique spiritual relationship With his wife he proved that husband and wife can live together as spiritual companions. Thus his life is a synthesis of the ways of life of the householder and the monk.
--- THE "EGO" OF THE MASTER
In the nirvikalpa samadhi Sri Ramakrishna had realized that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. By keeping his mind six months on the plane of the non-dual Brahman, he had attained to the state of the vijnani, the knower of Truth in a special and very rich sense, who sees Brahman not only in himself and in the transcendental Absolute, but in everything of the world. In this state of vijnana, sometimes, bereft of body-consciousness, he would regard himself as one With Brahman; sometimes, conscious of the dual world, he would regard himself as God's devotee, servant, or child. In order to enable the Master to work for the welfare of humanity, the Divine Mother had kept in him a trace of ego, which he described — according to his mood — as the "ego of Knowledge", the "ego of Devotion", the "ego of a child", or the "ego of a servant". In any case this ego of the Master, consumed by the fire of the Knowledge of Brahman, was an appearance only, like a burnt string. He often referred to this ego as the "ripe ego" in contrast With the ego of the bound soul, which he described as the "unripe" or "green" ego. The ego of the bound soul identifies itself With the body, relatives, possessions, and the world; but the "ripe ego", illumined by Divine Knowledge, knows the body, relatives, possessions, and the world to be unreal and establishes a relationship of love With God alone. Through this "ripe ego" Sri Ramakrishna dealt With the world and his wife. One day, while stroking his feet, Sarada Devi asked the Master, "What do you think of me?" Quick came the answer: "The Mother who is worshipped in the temple is the mother who has given birth to my body and is now living in the nahabat, and it is She again who is stroking my feet at this moment. Indeed, I always look on you as the personification of the Blissful Mother Kali."
Sarada Devi, in the company of her husband, had rare spiritual experiences. She said: "I have no words to describe my wonderful exaltation of spirit as I watched him in his different moods. Under the influence of divine emotion he would sometimes talk on abstruse subjects, sometimes laugh, sometimes weep, and sometimes become perfectly motionless in samadhi. This would continue throughout the night. There was such an extraordinary divine presence in him that now and then I would shake With fear and wonder how the night would pass. Months went by in this way. Then one day he discovered that I had to keep awake the whole night lest, during my sleep, he should go into samadhi — for it might happen at any moment —, and so he asked me to sleep in the nahabat."
--- SUMMARY OF THE MASTER'S SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
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Third, he came to foresee the time of his death. His words With respect to this matter were literally fulfilled.
About spirituality in general the following were his conclusions: First, he was firmly convinced that all religions are true, that every doctrinal system represents a path to God. He had followed all the main paths and all had led him to the same goal. He was the first religious prophet recorded in history to preach the harmony of religions.
Second, the three great systems of thought known as Dualism, Qualified Non-dualism, and Absolute Non-dualism — Dvaita, Visishtadvaita, and Advaita — he perceived to represent three stages in man's progress toward the Ultimate Reality. They were not contradictory but complementary and suited to different temperaments. For the ordinary man With strong attachment to the senses, a dualistic form of religion, prescribing a certain amount of material support, such as music and other symbols, is useful. A man of God-realization transcends the idea of worldly duties, but the ordinary mortal must perform his duties, striving to be unattached and to surrender the results to God. The mind can comprehend and describe the range of thought and experience up to the Visishtadvaita, and no further. The Advaita, the last word in spiritual experience, is something to be felt in samadhi. for it transcends mind and speech. From the highest standpoint, the Absolute and Its manifestation are equally real — the Lord's Name, His Abode, and the Lord Himself are of the same spiritual Essence. Everything is Spirit, the difference being only in form.
Third, Sri Ramakrishna realized the wish of the Divine Mother that through him She should found a new Order, consisting of those who would uphold the universal doctrines illustrated in his life.
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During this period Sri Ramakrishna suffered several bereavements. The first was the death of a nephew named Akshay. After the young man's death Sri Ramakrishna said: "Akshay died before my very eyes. But it did not affect me in the least. I stood by and watched a man die. It was like a sword being drawn from its scabbard. I enjoyed the scene, and laughed and sang and danced over it. They removed the body and cremated it. But the next day as I stood there (pointing to the southeast verandah of his room), I felt a racking pain for the loss of Akshay, as if somebody were squeezing my heart like a wet towel. I wondered at it and thought that the Mother was teaching me a lesson. I was not much concerned even With my own body — much less With a relative. But if such was my pain at the loss of a nephew, how much more must be the grief of the householders at the loss of their near and dear ones!" In 1871 Mathur died, and some five years later Sambhu Mallick — who, after Mathur's passing away, had taken care of the Master's comfort. In 1873 died his elder brother Rameswar, and in 1876, his beloved mother. These bereavements left their imprint on the tender human heart of Sri Ramakrishna, albeit he had realized the immortality of the soul and the illusoriness of birth and death.
In March 1875, about a year before the death of his mother, the Master met Keshab Chandra Sen. The meeting was a momentous event for both Sri Ramakrishna and Keshab. Here the Master for the first time came into actual, contact With a worthy representative of modern India.
--- BRAHMO SAMAJ
Keshab was the leader of the Brahmo Samaj, one of the two great movements that, during the latter part of the nineteenth century, played an important part in shaping the course of the renascence of India. The founder of the Brahmo movement had been the great Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833). Though born in an orthodox brahmin family, Rammohan Roy had shown great sympathy for Islam and Christianity. He had gone to Tibet in search of the Buddhist mysteries. He had extracted from Christianity its ethical system, but had rejected the divinity of Christ as he had denied the Hindu Incarnations. The religion of Islam influenced him, to a great extent, in the formulation of his monotheistic doctrines. But he always went back to the Vedas for his spiritual inspiration. The Brahmo Samaj, which he founded in 1828, was dedicated to the "worship and adoration of the Eternal, the Unsearchable, the Immutable Being, who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe". The Samaj was open to all Without distinction of colour, creed, caste, nation, or religion.
The real organizer of the Samaj was Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905), the father of the poet Rabindranath. His physical and spiritual beauty, aristocratic aloofness, penetrating intellect, and poetic sensibility made him the foremost leader of the educated Bengalis. These addressed him by the respectful epithet of Maharshi, the "Great Seer". The Maharshi was a Sanskrit scholar and, unlike Raja Rammohan Roy, drew his inspiration entirely from the Upanishads. He was an implacable enemy of image worship ship and also fought to stop the infiltration of Christian ideas into the Samaj. He gave the movement its faith and ritual. Under his influence the Brahmo Samaj professed One Self-existent Supreme Being who had created the universe out of nothing, the God of Truth, Infinite Wisdom, Goodness, and Power, the Eternal and Omnipotent, the One Without a Second. Man should love Him and do His will, believe in Him and worship Him, and thus merit salvation in the world to come.
By far the ablest leader of the Brahmo movement was Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884). Unlike Raja Rammohan Roy and Devendranath Tagore, Keshab was born of a middle-class Bengali family and had been brought up in an English school. He did not know Sanskrit and very soon broke away from the popular Hindu religion. Even at an early age he came under the spell of Christ and professed to have experienced the special favour of John the Baptist, Christ, and St. Paul. When he strove to introduce Christ to the Brahmo Samaj, a rupture became inevitable With Devendranath. In 1868 Keshab broke With the older leader and founded the Brahmo Samaj of India, Devendra retaining leadership of the first Brahmo Samaj, now called the Adi Samaj.
Keshab possessed a complex nature. When passing through a great moral crisis, he spent much of his time in solitude and felt that he heard the voice of God, When a devotional form of worship was introduced into the Brahmo Samaj, he spent hours in singing kirtan With his followers. He visited England land in 1870 and impressed the English people With his musical voice, his simple English, and his spiritual fervour. He was entertained by Queen Victoria. Returning to India, he founded centres of the Brahmo Samaj in various parts of the country. Not unlike a professor of comparative religion in a European university, he began to discover, about the time of his first contact With Sri Ramakrishna, the harmony of religions. He became sympathetic toward the Hindu gods and goddesses, explaining them in a liberal fashion. Further, he believed that he was called by God to dictate to the world God's newly revealed law, the New Dispensation, the Navavidhan.
In 1878 a schism divided Keshab's Samaj. Some of his influential followers accused him of infringing the Brahmo principles by marrying his daughter to a wealthy man before she had attained the marriageable age approved by the Samaj. This group seceded and established the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Keshab remaining the leader of the Navavidhan. Keshab now began to be drawn more and more toward the Christ ideal, though under the influence of Sri Ramakrishna his devotion to the Divine Mother also deepened. His mental oscillation between Christ and the Divine Mother of Hinduism found no position of rest. In Bengal and some other parts of India the Brahmo movement took the form of unitarian Christianity, scoffed at Hindu rituals, and preached a crusade against image worship. Influenced by Western culture, it declared the supremacy of reason, advocated the ideals of the French Revolution, abolished the caste-system among its own members, stood for the emancipation of women, agitated for the abolition of early marriage, sanctioned the remarriage of widows, and encouraged various educational and social-reform movements. The immediate effect of the Brahmo movement in Bengal was the checking of the proselytizing activities of the Christian missionaries. It also raised Indian culture in the estimation of its English masters. But it was an intellectual and eclectic religious ferment born of the necessity of the time. Unlike Hinduism, it was not founded on the deep inner experiences of sages and prophets. Its influence was confined to a comparatively few educated men and women of the country, and the vast masses of the Hindus remained outside it. It sounded monotonously only one of the notes in the rich gamut of the Eternal Religion of the Hindus.
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The other movement playing an important part in the nineteenth-century religious revival of India was the Arya Samaj. The Brahmo Samaj, essentially a movement of compromise With European culture, tacitly admitted the superiority of the West. But the founder of the Arya Samaj was a ' pugnacious Hindu sannyasi who accepted the challenge of Islam and Christianity and was resolved to combat all foreign influence in India. Swami Dayananda (1824-1883) launched this movement in Bombay in 1875, and soon its influence was felt throughout western India. The Swami was a great scholar of the Vedas, which he explained as being strictly monotheistic. He preached against the worship of images and re-established the ancient Vedic sacrificial rites. According to him the Vedas were the ultimate authority on religion, and he accepted every word of them as literally true. The Arya Samaj became a bulwark against the encroachments of Islam and Christianity, and its orthodox flavour appealed to many Hindu minds. It also assumed leadership in many movements of social reform. The caste-system became a target of its attack. Women it liberated from many of their social disabilities. The cause of education received from it a great impetus. It started agitation against early marriage and advocated the remarriage of Hindu widows. Its influence was strongest in the Punjab, the battle-ground of the Hindu and Islamic cultures. A new fighting attitude was introduced into the slumbering Hindu society. Unlike the Brahmo Samaj, the influence of the Arya Samaj was not confined to the intellectuals. It was a force that spread to the masses. It was a dogmatic movement intolerant of those who disagreed With its views, and it emphasized only one way, the Arya Samaj way, to the realization of Truth. Sri Ramakrishna met Swami Dayananda when the latter visited Bengal.
--- KESHAB CHANDRA SEN
Keshab Chandra Sen and Sri Ramakrishna met for the first time in the garden house of Jaygopal Sen at Belgharia, a few miles from Dakshineswar, where the great Brahmo leader was staying With some of his disciples. In many respects the two were poles apart, though an irresistible inner attraction was to make them intimate friends. The Master had realized God as Pure Spirit and Consciousness, but he believed in the various forms of God as well. Keshab, on the other hand, regarded image worship as idolatry and gave allegorical explanations of the Hindu deities. Keshab was an orator and a writer of books and magazine articles; Sri Ramakrishna had a horror of lecturing and hardly knew how to write his own name, Keshab's fame spread far and wide, even reaching the distant shores of England; the Master still led a secluded life in the village of Dakshineswar. Keshab emphasized social reforms for India's regeneration; to Sri Ramakrishna God-realization was the only goal of life. Keshab considered himself a disciple of Christ and accepted in a diluted form the Christian sacraments and Trinity; Sri Ramakrishna was the simple child of Kali, the Divine Mother, though he too, in a different way, acknowledged Christ's divinity. Keshab was a householder holder and took a real interest in the welfare of his children, whereas Sri Ramakrishna was a paramahamsa and completely indifferent to the life of the world. Yet, as their acquaintance ripened into friendship, Sri Ramakrishna and Keshab held each other in great love and respect. Years later, at the news of Keshab's death, the Master felt as if half his body had become paralyzed. Keshab's concepts of the harmony of religions and the Motherhood of God were deepened and enriched by his contact With Sri Ramakrishna.
Sri Ramakrishna, dressed in a red-bordered dhoti, one end of which was carelessly thrown over his left shoulder, came to Jaygopal's garden house accompanied by Hriday. No one took notice of the unostentatious visitor. Finally the Master said to Keshab, "People tell me you have seen God; so I have come to hear from you about God." A magnificent conversation followed. The Master sang a thrilling song about Kali and forth With went into samadhi. When Hriday uttered the sacred "Om" in his ears, he gradually came back to consciousness of the world, his face still radiating a divine brilliance. Keshab and his followers were amazed. The contrast between Sri Ramakrishna and the Brahmo devotees was very interesting. There sat this small man, thin and extremely delicate. His eyes were illumined With an inner light. Good humour gleamed in his eyes and lurked in the corners of his mouth. His speech was Bengali of a homely kind With a slight, delightful stammer, and his words held men enthralled by their wealth of spiritual experience, their inexhaustible store of simile and metaphor, their power of observation, their bright and subtle humour, their wonderful catholicity, their ceaseless flow of wisdom. And around him now were the sophisticated men of Bengal, the best products of Western education, With Keshab, the idol of young Bengal, as their leader.
Keshab's sincerity was enough for Sri Ramakrishna. Henceforth the two saw each other frequently, either at Dakshineswar or at the temple of the Brahmo Samaj. Whenever the Master was in the temple at the time of divine service, Keshab would request him to speak to the congregation. And Keshab would visit the saint, in his turn, With offerings of flowers and fruits.
--- OTHER BRAHMO LEADERS
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Shivanath, one day, was greatly impressed by the Master's utter simplicity and abhorrence of praise. He was seated With Sri Ramakrishna in the latter's room when several rich men of Calcutta arrived. The Master left the room for a few minutes. In the mean time Hriday, his nephew, began to describe his samadhi to the visitors. The last few words caught the Master's ear as he entered the room. He said to Hriday: "What a mean-spirited fellow you must be to extol me thus before these rich men! You have seen their costly apparel and their gold watches and chains, and your object is to get from them as much money as you can. What do I care about what they think of me? (Turning to the gentlemen) No, my friends, what he has told you about me is not true. It was not love of God that made me absorbed in God and indifferent to external life. I became positively insane for some time. The sadhus who frequented this temple told me to practise many things. I tried to follow them, and the consequence was that my austerities drove me to insanity." This is a quotation from one of Shivanath's books. He took the Master's words literally and failed to see their real import.
Shivanath vehemently criticized the Master for his other-worldly attitude toward his wife. He writes: "Ramakrishna was practically separated from his wife, who lived in her village home. One day when I was complaining to some friends about the virtual widowhood of his wife, he drew me to one side and whispered in my ear: 'Why do you complain? It is no longer possible; it is all dead and gone.' Another day as I was inveighing against this part of his teaching, and also declaring that our program of work in the Brahmo Samaj includes women, that ours is a social and domestic religion, and that we want to give education and social liberty to women, the saint became very much excited, as was his way when anything against his settled conviction was asserted — a trait we so much liked in him — and exclaimed, 'Go, thou fool, go and perish in the pit that your women will dig for you.' Then he glared at me and said: 'What does a gardener do With a young plant? Does he not surround it With a fence, to protect it from goats and cattle? And when the young plant has grown up into a tree and it can no longer be injured by cattle, does he not remove the fence and let the tree grow freely?' I replied, 'Yes, that is the custom With gardeners.' Then he remarked, 'Do the same in your spiritual life; become strong, be full-grown; then you may seek them.' To which I replied, 'I don't agree With you in thinking that women's work is like that of cattle, destructive; they are our associates and helpers in our spiritual struggles and social progress' — a view With which he could not agree, and he marked his dissent by shaking his head. Then referring to the lateness of the hour he jocularly remarked, 'It is time for you to depart; take care, do not be late; otherwise your woman will not admit you into her room.' This evoked hearty laughter."
Pratap Chandra Mazumdar, the right-hand man of Keshab and an accomplished Brahmo preacher in Europe and America, bitterly criticized Sri Ramakrishna's use of uncultured language and also his austere attitude toward his wife. But he could not escape the spell of the Master's personality. In the course of an article about Sri Ramakrishna, Pratap wrote in the "Theistic Quarterly Review": "What is there in common between him and me? I, a Europeanized, civilized, self-centred, semi-sceptical, so-called educated reasoner, and he, a poor, illiterate, unpolished, half-idolatrous, friendless Hindu devotee? Why should I sit long hours to attend to him, I, who have listened to Disraeli and Fawcett, Stanley and Max Muller, and a whole host of European scholars and divines? . . . And it is not I only, but dozens like me, who do the same. . . . He worships Siva, he worships Kali, he worships Rama, he worships Krishna, and is a confirmed advocate of Vedantic doctrines. . . . He is an idolater, yet is a faithful and most devoted meditator on the perfections of the One Formless, Absolute, Infinite Deity. . . . His religion is ecstasy, his worship means transcendental insight, his whole nature burns day and night With a permanent fire and fever of a strange faith and feeling. . . . So long as he is spared to us, gladly shall we sit at his feet to learn from him the sublime precepts of purity, unworldliness, spirituality, and inebriation in the love of God. . . . He, by his childlike bhakti, by his strong conceptions of an ever-ready Motherhood, helped to unfold it [God as our Mother] in our minds wonderfully. . . . By associating With him we learnt to realize better the divine attributes as scattered over the three hundred and thirty millions of deities of mythological India, the gods of the Puranas."
The Brahmo leaders received much inspiration from their contact With Sri Ramakrishna. It broadened their religious views and kindled in their hearts the yearning for God-realization; it made them understand and appreciate the rituals and symbols of Hindu religion, convinced them of the manifestation of God in diverse forms, and deepened their thoughts about the harmony of religions. The Master, too, was impressed by the sincerity of many of the Brahmo devotees. He told them about his own realizations and explained to them the essence of his teachings, such as the necessity of renunciation, sincerity in the pursuit of one's own course of discipline, faith in God, the performance of one's duties Without thought of results, and discrimination between the Real and the unreal.
This contact With the educated and progressive Bengalis opened Sri Ramakrishna's eyes to a new realm of thought. Born and brought up in a simple village, Without any formal education, and taught by the orthodox holy men of India in religious life, he had had no opportunity to study the influence of modernism on the thoughts and lives of the Hindus. He could not properly estimate the result of the impact of Western education on Indian culture. He was a Hindu of the Hindus, renunciation being to him the only means to the realization of God in life. From the Brahmos he learnt that the new generation of India made a compromise between God and the world. Educated young men were influenced more by the Western philosophers than by their own prophets. But Sri Ramakrishna was not dismayed, for he saw in this, too, the hand of God. And though he expounded to the Brahmos all his ideas about God and austere religious disciplines, yet he bade them accept from his teachings only as much as suited their tastes and temperaments.
^The term "woman and gold", which has been used throughout in a collective sense, occurs again and again in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna to designate the chief impediments to spiritual progress. This favourite expression of the Master, "kaminikanchan", has often been misconstrued. By it he meant only "lust and greed", the baneful influence of which retards the aspirant's spiritual growth. He used the word "kamini", or "woman", as a concrete term for the sex instinct when addressing his man devotees. He advised women, on the other hand, to shun "man". "Kanchan", or "gold", symbolizes greed, which is the other obstacle to spiritual life.
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Contact With the Brahmos increased Sri Ramakrishna's longing to encounter aspirants who would be able to follow his teachings in their purest form. "There was no limit", he once declared, "to the longing I felt at that time. During the day-time I somehow managed to control it. The secular talk of the worldly-minded was galling to me, and I would look wistfully to the day when my own beloved companions would come. I hoped to find solace in conversing With them and relating to them my own realizations. Every little incident would remind me of them, and thoughts of them wholly engrossed me. I was already arranging in my mind what I should say to one and give to another, and so on. But when the day would come to a close I would not be able to curb my feelings. The thought that another day had gone by, and they had not come, oppressed me. When, during the evening service, the temples rang With the sound of bells and conch-shells, I would climb to the roof of the kuthi in the garden and, writhing in anguish of heart, cry at the top of my voice: 'Come, my children! Oh, where are you? I cannot bear to live Without you.' A mother never longed so intensely for the sight of her child, nor a friend for his companions, nor a lover for his sweetheart, as I longed for them. Oh, it was indescribable! Shortly after this period of yearning the devotees1 began to come."
In the year 1879 occasional writings about Sri Ramakrishna by the Brahmos, in the Brahmo magazines, began to attract his future disciples from the educated middle-class Bengalis, and they continued to come till 1884. But others, too, came, feeling the subtle power of his attraction. They were an ever shifting crowd of people of all castes and creeds: Hindus and Brahmos, Vaishnavas and Saktas, the educated With university degrees and the illiterate, old and young, maharajas and beggars, journalists and artists, pundits and devotees, philosophers and the worldly-minded, jnanis and yogis, men of action and men of faith, virtuous women and prostitutes, office-holders and vagabonds, philanthropists and self-seekers, dramatists and drunkards, builders-up and pullers-down. He gave to them all, Without stint, from his illimitable store of realization. No one went away empty-handed. He taught them the lofty .knowledge of the Vedanta and the soul
-melting love of the Purana. Twenty hours out of twenty-four he would speak Without out rest or respite. He gave to all his sympathy and enlightenment, and he touched them With that strange power of the soul which could not but melt even the most hardened. And people understood him according to their powers of comprehension.
^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.
Through all this fun and frolic, this merriment and frivolity, he always kept before them the shining ideal of God-Consciousness and the path of renunciation. He prescribed ascents steep or graded according to the powers of the climber. He permitted no compromise With the basic principles of purity. An aspirant had to keep his body, mind, senses, and soul unspotted; had to have a sincere love for God and an ever mounting spirit of yearning. The rest would be done by the Mother.
His disciples were of two kinds: the householders, and the young men, some of whom were later to become monks. There was also a small group of women devotees.
--
For the householders Sri Ramakrishna did not prescribe the hard path of total renunciation. He wanted them to discharge their obligations to their families. Their renunciation was to be mental. Spiritual life could not be acquired by flying away from responsibilities. A married couple should live like brother and sister after the birth of one or two children, devoting their time to spiritual talk and contemplation. He encouraged the householders, saying that their life was, in a way, easier than that of the monk, since it was more advantageous to fight the enemy from inside a fortress than in an open field. He insisted, however, on their repairing into solitude every now and then to strengthen their devotion and faith in God through prayer, japa, and meditation. He prescribed for them the companionship of sadhus. He asked them to perform their worldly duties With one hand, while holding to God With the other, and to pray to God to make their duties fewer and fewer so that in the end they might cling to Him With both hands. He would discourage in both the householders and the celibate youths any lukewarmness in their spiritual struggles. He would not ask them to follow indiscriminately the ideal of non-resistance, which ultimately makes a coward of the unwary.
--- FUTURE MONKS
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Manomohan at first met With considerable opposition from his wife and other relatives, who resented his visits to Dakshineswar. But in the end the unselfish love of the Master triumphed over worldly affection. It was Manomohan who brought Rakhal to the Master.
--- SURENDRA
Suresh Mitra, a beloved disciple whom the Master often addressed as Surendra, had received an English education and held an important post in an English firm. Like many other educated young men of the time, he prided himself on his atheism and led a Bohemian life. He was addicted to drinking. He cherished an exaggerated notion about man's free will. A victim of mental depression, he was brought to Sri Ramakrishna by Ramchandra chandra Dutta. When he heard the Master asking a disciple to practise the virtue of self-surrender to God, he was impressed. But though he tried thenceforth to do so, he was unable to give up his old associates and his drinking. One day the Master said in his presence, "Well, when a man goes to an undesirable place, why doesn't he take the Divine Mother With him?" And to Surendra himself Sri Ramakrishna said: "Why should you drink wine as wine? Offer it to Kali, and then take it as Her prasad, as consecrated drink
. But see that you don't become intoxicated; you must not reel and your thoughts must not wander. At first you will feel ordinary excitement, but soon you will experience spiritual exaltation." Gradually Surendra's entire life was changed. The Master designated him as one of those commissioned by the Divine Mother to defray a great part of his expenses. Surendra's purse was always open for the Master's comfort.
--
Kedarnath Chatterji was endowed With a spiritual temperament and had tried various paths of religion, some not very commendable. When he met the Master at Dakshineswar he understood the true meaning of religion. It is said that the Master, weary of instructing devotees who were coming to him in great numbers for guidance, once prayed to the Goddess Kali: "Mother, I am tired of speaking to people. Please give power to Kedar, Girish, Ram, Vijay, and Mahendra to give them the preliminary instruction, so that just a little teaching from me will be enough." He was aware, however, of Kedar's lingering attachment to worldly things and often warned him about it.
--- HARISH
Harish, a young man in affluent circumstances, renounced his family and took shelter With the Master, who loved him for his sincerity, singleness of purpose, and quiet nature. He spent his leisure time in prayer and meditation, turning a deaf ear to the entreaties and threats of his relatives. Referring to his undisturbed peace of mind, the Master would say: "Real men are dead to the world though living. Look at Harish. He is an example." When one day the Master asked him to be a little kind to his wife, Harish said: "You must excuse me on this point. This is not the place to show kindness. If I try to be sympathetic to her, there is a possibility of my forgetting the ideal and becoming entangled in the world."
--- BHAVANATH
Bhavanath Chatterji visited the Master while he was still in his teens. His parents and relatives regarded Sri Ramakrishna as an insane person and tried their utmost to prevent him from becoming intimate With the Master. But the young boy was very stubborn and often spent nights at Dakshineswar. He was greatly attached to Narendra, and the Master encouraged their friendship. The very sight of him often awakened Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual emotion.
--- BALARAM BOSE
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Mahendranath Gupta, better known as "M.", arrived at Dakshineswar in March 1882. He belonged to the Brahmo Samaj and was headmaster of the Vidyasagar High School at Syambazar, Calcutta. At the very first sight the Master recognized him as one of his "marked" disciples. Mahendra recorded in his diary Sri Ramakrishna's conversations With his devotees. These are the first directly recorded words, in the spiritual history of the world, of a man recognized as belonging in the class of Buddha and Christ. The present volume is a translation of this diary. Mahendra was instrumental, through his personal contacts, in spreading the Master's message among many young and aspiring souls.
--- NAG MAHASHAY
Durgacharan Nag, also known as Nag Mahashay, was the ideal householder among the lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. He was the embodiment of the Master's ideal of life in the world, unstained by worldliness. In spite of his intense desire to become a sannyasi, Sri Ramakrishna asked him to live in the world in the spirit of a monk, and the disciple truly carried out this injunction. He was born of a poor family and even during his boyhood often sacrificed everything to lessen the sufferings of the needy. He had married at an early age and after his wife's death had married a second time to obey his father's command. But he once said to his wife: "Love on the physical level never lasts. He is indeed blessed who can give his love to God With his whole heart. Even a little attachment to the body endures for several births. So do not be attached to this cage of bone and flesh. Take shelter at the feet of the Mother and think of Her alone. Thus your life here and hereafter will be ennobled." The Master spoke of him as a "blazing light". He received every word of Sri Ramakrishna in dead earnest. One day he heard the Master saying that it was difficult for doctors, lawyers, and brokers to make much progress in spirituality. Of doctors he said, "If the mind clings to the tiny drops of medicine, how can it conceive of the Infinite?" That was the end of Durgacharan's medical practice and he threw his chest of medicines into the Ganges. Sri Ramakrishna assured him that he would not lack simple food and clothing. He bade him serve holy men. On being asked where he would find real holy men, the Master said that the sadhus themselves would seek his company. No sannyasi could have lived a more austere life than Durgacharan.
--- GIRISH GHOSH
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.
The householder devotees generally visited Sri Ramakrishna on Sunday afternoons and other holidays. Thus a brotherhood was gradually formed, and the Master encouraged their fraternal feeling. Now and then he would accept an invitation to a devotee's home, where other devotees would also be invited. Kirtan would be arranged and they would spend hours in dance and devotional music. The Master would go into trances or open his heart in religious discourses and in the narration of his own spiritual experiences. Many people who could not go to Dakshineswar participated in these meetings and felt blessed. Such an occasion would be concluded With a sumptuous feast.
But it was in the company of his younger devotees, pure souls yet unstained by the touch of worldliness, that Sri Ramakrishna took greatest joy. Among the young men who later embraced the householder's life were Narayan, Paitu, the younger Naren, Tejchandra, and Purna. These visited the Master sometimes against strong opposition from home.
--
Purna was a lad of thirteen, whom Sri Ramakrishna described as an Isvarakoti, a soul born With special spiritual qualities. The Master said that Purna was the last of the group of brilliant devotees who, as he once had seen in a trance, would come to him for spiritual illumination. Purna said to Sri Ramakrishna during their second meeting, "You are God Himself incarnated in flesh and blood." Such words coming from a mere youngster proved of what stuff the boy was made.
--- MAHIMACHARAN AND PRATAP HAZRA
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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.
--- SOME NOTED MEN
Sri Ramakrishna also became acquainted With a number of people whose scholarship or wealth entitled them everywhere to respect. He had met, a few years before, Devendranath Tagore, famous all over Bengal for his wealth, scholarship, saintly character, and social position. But the Master found him disappointing; for, whereas Sri Ramakrishna expected of a saint complete renunciation of the world, Devendranath combined With his saintliness a life of enjoyment. Sri Ramakrishna met the great poet Michael Madhusudan, who had embraced Christianity "for the sake of his stomach". To him the Master could not impart instruction, for the Divine Mother "pressed his tongue". In addition he met Maharaja Jatindra Mohan Tagore, a titled aristocrat of Bengal; Kristodas Pal, the editor, social reformer, and patriot; Iswar Vidyasagar, the noted philanthropist and educator; Pundit Shashadhar, a great champion of Hindu orthodoxy; Aswini Kumar Dutta, a headmaster, moralist, and leader of Indian Nationalism; and Bankim Chatterji, a deputy magistrate, novelist, and essayist, and one of the fashioners of modern Bengali prose. Sri Ramakrishna was not the man to be dazzled by outward show, glory, or eloquence. A pundit Without discrimination he regarded as a mere straw. He would search people's hearts for the light of God, and if that was missing he would have nothing to do With them.
--- KRISTODAS PAL
The Europeanized Kristodas Pal did not approve of the Master's emphasis on renunciation and said; "Sir, this cant of renunciation has almost ruined the country. It is for this reason that the Indians are a subject nation today. Doing good to others, bringing education to the door of the ignorant, and above all, improving the material conditions of the country — these should be our duty now. The cry of religion and renunciation would, on the contrary, only weaken us. You should advise the young men of Bengal to resort only to such acts as will uplift the country." Sri Ramakrishna gave him a searching look and found no divine light Within, "You man of poor understanding!" Sri Ramakrishna said sharply. "You dare to slight in these terms renunciation and piety, which our scriptures describe as the greatest of all virtues! After reading two pages of English you think you have come to know the world! You appear to think you are omniscient. Well, have you seen those tiny crabs that are born in the Ganges just when the rains set in? In this big universe you are even less significant than one of those small creatures. How dare you talk of helping the world? The Lord will look to that. You haven't the power in you to do it." After a pause the Master continued: "Can you explain to me how you can work for others? I know what you mean by helping them. To feed a number of persons, to treat them when they are sick, to construct a road or dig a well — isn't that all? These, are good deeds, no doubt, but how trifling in comparison With the vastness of the universe! How far can a man advance in this line? How many people can you save from famine? Malaria has ruined a whole province; what could you do to stop its onslaught? God alone looks after the world. Let a man first realize Him. Let a man get the authority from God and be endowed With His power; then, and then alone, may he think of doing good to others. A man should first be purged of all egotism. Then alone will the Blissful Mother ask him to work for the world." Sri Ramakrishna mistrusted philanthropy that presumed to pose as charity. He warned people against it. He saw in most acts of philanthropy nothing but egotism, vanity, a desire for glory, a barren excitement to kill the boredom of life, or an attempt to soothe a guilty conscience. True charity, he taught, is the result of love of God — service to man in a spirit of worship.
--- MONASTIC DISCIPLES
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The first of these young men to come to the Master was Latu. Born of obscure parents, in Behar, he came to Calcutta in search of work and was engaged by Ramchandra Dutta as house-boy. Learning of the saintly Sri Ramakrishna, he visited the Master at Dakshineswar and was deeply touched by his cordiality. When he was about to leave, the Master asked him to take some money and return home in a boat or carriage. But Latu declared he had a few pennies and jingled the coins in his pocket. Sri Ramakrishna later requested Ram to allow Latu to stay With him permanently. Under Sri Ramakrishna's guidance Latu made great progress in meditation and was blessed With ecstatic visions, but all the efforts of the Master to give him a smattering of education failed. Latu was very fond of kirtan and other devotional songs but remained all his life illiterate.
--- RAKHAL
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
Gopal Sur of Sinthi came to Dakshineswar at a rather advanced age and was called the elder Gopal. He had lost his wife, and the Master assuaged his grief. Soon he renounced the world and devoted himself fully to meditation and prayer. Some years later Gopal gave the Master the ochre cloths With which the latter initiated several of his disciples into monastic life.
--- NARENDRA
To spread his message to the four corners of the earth Sri Ramakrishna needed a strong instrument. With his frail body and delicate limbs he could not make great journeys across wide spaces. And such an instrument was found in Narendranath Dutta, his beloved Naren, later known to the world as Swami Vivekananda. Even before meeting Narendranath, the Master had seen him in a vision as a sage, immersed in the meditation of the Absolute, who at Sri Ramakrishna's request had agreed to take human birth to assist him in his work.
Narendra was born in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, of an aristocratic kayastha family. His mother was steeped in the great Hindu epics, and his father, a distinguished attorney of the Calcutta High Court, was an agnostic about religion, a friend of the poor, and a mocker at social conventions. Even in his boyhood and youth Narendra possessed great physical courage and presence of mind, a vivid imagination, deep power of thought, keen intelligence, an extraordinary memory, a love of truth, a passion for purity, a spirit of independence, and a tender heart. An expert musician, he also acquired proficiency in physics, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, history, and literature. He grew up into an extremely handsome young man. Even as a child he practised meditation and showed great power of concentration. Though free and passionate in word and action, he took the vow of austere religious chastity and never allowed the fire of purity to be extinguished by the slightest defilement of body or soul.
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?"
When they returned to the room and Narendra heard the Master speaking to others, he was surprised to find in his words an inner logic, a striking sincerity, and a convincing proof of his spiritual nature. In answer to Narendra's question, "Sir, have you seen God?" the Master said: "Yes, I have seen God. I have seen Him more tangibly than I see you. I have talked to Him more intimately than I am talking to you." Continuing, the Master said: "But, my child, who wants to see God? People shed jugs of tears for money, wife, and children. But if they would weep for God for only one day they would surely see Him." Narendra was amazed. These words he could not doubt. This was the first time he had ever heard a man saying that he had seen God. But he could not reconcile these words of the Master With the scene that had taken place on the verandah only a few minutes before. He concluded that Sri Ramakrishna was a monomaniac, and returned home rather puzzled in mind.
During his second visit, about a month later, suddenly, at the touch of the Master, Narendra felt overwhelmed and saw the walls of the room and everything around him whirling and vanishing. "What are you doing to me?" he cried in terror. "I have my father and mother at home." He saw his own ego and the whole universe almost swallowed in a nameless void. With a laugh the Master easily restored him. Narendra thought he might have been hypnotized, but he could not understand how a monomaniac could cast a spell over the mind of a strong person like himself. He returned home more confused than ever, resolved to be henceforth on his guard before this strange man.
But during his third visit Narendra fared no better. This time, at the Master's touch, he lost consciousness entirely. While he was still in that state, Sri Ramakrishna questioned him concerning his spiritual antecedents and whereabouts, his mission in this world, and the duration of his mortal life. The answers confirmed what the Master himself had known and inferred. Among other things, he came to know that Narendra was a sage who had already attained perfection, and that the day he learnt his real nature he would give up his body in yoga, by an act of will.
--
The Master wanted to train Narendra in the teachings of the non-dualistic Vedanta philosophy. But Narendra, because of his Brahmo upbringing, considered it wholly blasphemous to look on man as one With his Creator. One day at the temple garden he laughingly said to a friend: "How silly! This jug is God! This cup is God! Whatever we see is God! And we too are God! Nothing could be more absurd." Sri Ramakrishna came out of his room and gently touched him. Spellbound, he immediately perceived that everything in the world was indeed God. A new universe opened around him. Returning home in a dazed state, he found there too that the food, the plate, the eater himself, the people around him, were all God. When he walked in the street, he saw that the cabs, the horses, the streams of people, the buildings, were all Brahman. He could hardly go about his day's business. His parents became anxious about him and thought him ill. And when the intensity of the experience abated a little, he saw the world as a dream. Walking in the public square, he would strike his head against the iron railings to know whether they were real. It took him a number of days to recover his normal self. He had a foretaste of the great experiences yet to come and realized that the words of the Vedanta were true.
At the beginning of 1884 Narendra's father suddenly died of heart-failure, leaving the family in a state of utmost poverty. There were six or seven mouths to feed at home. Creditors were knocking at the door. Relatives who had accepted his father's unstinted kindness now became enemies, some even bringing suit to deprive Narendra of his ancestral home. Actually starving and barefoot, Narendra searched for a job, but Without success. He began to doubt whether anywhere in the world there was such a thing as unselfish sympathy. Two rich women made evil proposals to him and promised to put an end to his distress; but he refused them With contempt.
Narendra began to talk of his doubt of the very existence of God. His friends thought he had become an atheist, and piously circulated gossip adducing unmentionable motives for his unbelief. His moral character was maligned. Even some of the Master's disciples partly believed the gossip, and Narendra told these to their faces that only a coward believed in God through fear of suffering or hell. But he was distressed to think that Sri Ramakrishna, too, might believe these false reports. His pride revolted. He said to himself: "What does it matter? If a man's good name rests on such slender foundations, I don't care." But later on he was amazed to learn that the Master had never lost faith in him. To a disciple who complained about Narendra's degradation, Sri Ramakrishna replied: "Hush, you fool! The Mother has told me it can never be so. I won't look at you if you speak that way again."
The moment came when Narendra's distress reached its climax. He had gone the whole day Without food. As he was returning home in the evening he could hardly lift his tired limbs. He sat down in front of a house in sheer exhaustion, too weak even to think. His mind began to wander. Then, suddenly, a divine power lifted the veil over his soul. He found the solution of the problem of the coexistence of divine justice and misery, the presence of suffering in the creation of a blissful Providence. He felt bodily refreshed, his soul was bathed in peace, and he slept serenely.
Narendra now realized that he had a spiritual mission to fulfil. He resolved to renounce the world, as his grandfather had renounced it, and he came to Sri Ramakrishna for his blessing. But even before he had opened his mouth, the Master knew what was in his mind and wept bitterly at the thought of separation. "I know you cannot lead a worldly life," he said, "but for my sake live in the world as long as I live."
--
This was a very rich and significant experience for Narendra. It taught him that Sakti, the Divine Power, cannot be ignored in the world and that in the relative plane the need of worshipping a Personal God is imperative. Sri Ramakrishna was overjoyed With the conversion. The next day, sitting almost on Narendra's lap, he said to a devotee, pointing first to himself, then to Narendra: "I see I am this, and again that. Really I feel no difference. A stick floating in the Ganges seems to divide the water; But in reality the water is one. Do you see my point? Well, whatever is, is the Mother — isn't that so?" In later years Narendra would say: "Sri Ramakrishna was the only person who, from the time he met me, believed in me uniformly throughout. Even my mother and brothers did not. It was his unwavering trust and love for me that bound me to him for ever. He alone knew how to love. Worldly people, only make a show of love for selfish ends.
--- TARAK
--
Baburam Ghosh came to Dakshineswar accompanied by Rakhal, his classmate. The Master, as was often his custom, examined the boy's physiognomy and was satisfied about his latent spirituality. At the age of eight Baburam had thought of leading a life of renunciation, in the company of a monk, in a hut shut out from the public view by a thick wall of trees. The very sight of the Panchavati awakened in his heart that dream of boyhood. Baburam was tender in body and soul. The Master used to say that he was pure to his very bones. One day Hazra in his usual mischievous fashion advised Baburam and some of the other young boys to ask Sri Ramakrishna for some spiritual powers and not waste their life in mere gaiety and merriment. The Master, scenting mischief, called Baburam to his side and said: "What can you ask of me? Isn't everything that I have already yours? Yes, everything I have earned in the shape of realizations is for the sake of you all. So get rid of the idea of begging, which alienates by creating a distance. Rather realize your kinship With me and gain the key to all the treasures.
--- NIRANJAN
Nitya Niranjan Sen was a disciple of heroic type. He came to the Master when he was eighteen years old. He was a medium for a group of spiritualists. During his first visit the Master said to him: "My boy, if you think always of ghosts you will become a ghost, and if you think of God you will become God. Now, which do you prefer?" Niranjan severed all connexions With the spiritualists. During his second visit the Master embraced him and said warmly: "Niranjan, my boy, the days are flitting away. When will you realize God? This life will be in vain if you do not realize Him. When will you devote your mind wholly to God?" Niranjan was surprised to see the Master's great anxiety for his spiritual welfare. He was a young man endowed With unusual spiritual parts. He felt disdain for worldly pleasures and was totally guileless, like a child. But he had a violent temper. One day, as he was coming in a country boat to Dakshineswar, some of his fellow passengers began to speak ill of the Master. Finding his protest futile, Niranjan began to rock the boat, threatening to sink it in mid stream. That silenced the offenders. When he reported the incident to the Master, he was rebuked for his inability to curb his anger.
--- JOGINDRA
--
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.
Sri Ramakrishna employed a ruse to bring Jogindra to him. As soon as the disciple entered the room, the Master rushed forward to meet the young man. Catching hold of the disciple's hand, he said: "What if you have married? Haven't I too married? What is there to be afraid of in that?" Touching his own chest he said: "If this [meaning himself] is propitious, then even a hundred thousand marriages cannot injure you. If you desire to lead a householder's life, then bring your wife here one day, and I shall see that she becomes a real companion in your spiritual progress. But if you want to lead a monastic life, then I shall eat up your attachment to the world." Jogin was dumbfounded at these words. He received new strength, and his spirit of renunciation was re-established.
--
Sashi and Sarat were two cousins who came from a pious brahmin family of Calcutta. At an early age they had joined the Brahmo Samaj and had come under the influence of Keshab Sen. The Master said to them at their first meeting: "If bricks and tiles are burnt after the trade-mark has been stamped on them, they retain the mark for ever. Similarly, man should be stamped With God before entering the world. Then he will not become attached to worldliness." Fully aware of the future course of their life, he asked them not to marry. The Master asked Sashi whether he believed in God With form or in God Without form. Sashi replied that he was not even sure about the existence of God; so he could not speak one way or the other. This frank answer very much pleased the Master.
Sarat's soul longed for the all-embracing realization of the Godhead. When the Master inquired whether there was any particular form of God he wished to see, the boy replied that he would like to see God in all the living beings of the world. "But", the Master demurred, "that is the last word in realization. One cannot have it at the very outset." Sarat stated calmly: "I won't be satisfied With anything short of that. I shall trudge on along the path till I attain that blessed state." Sri Ramakrishna was very much pleased.
--- HARINATH
--
The Master knew Hari's passion for Vedanta. But he did not wish any of his disciples to become a dry ascetic or a mere bookworm. So he asked Hari to practise Vedanta in life by giving up the unreal and following the Real. "But it is not so easy", Sri Ramakrishna said, "to realize the illusoriness of the world. Study alone does not help one very much. The grace of God is required. Mere personal effort is futile. A man is a tiny creature after all, With very limited powers. But he can achieve the impossible if he prays to God for His grace." Whereupon the Master sang a song in praise of grace. Hari was profoundly moved and shed tears. Later in life Hari achieved a wonderful synthesis of the ideals of the Personal God and the Impersonal Truth.
--- GANGADHAR
--
Two more young men, Sarada Prasanna and Tulasi, complete the small band of the Master's disciples later to embrace the life of the wandering monk. With the exception of the elder Gopal, all of them were in their teens or slightly over. They came from middle-class Bengali families, and most of them were students in school or college. Their parents and relatives had envisaged for them bright worldly careers. They came to Sri Ramakrishna With pure bodies, vigorous minds, and uncontaminated souls. All were born With unusual spiritual attributes. Sri Ramakrishna accepted them, even at first sight, as his children, relatives, friends, and companions. His magic touch unfolded them. And later each according to his measure reflected the life of the Master, becoming a torch-bearer of his message across land and sea.
--- WOMAN DEVOTEES
With his woman devotees Sri Ramakrishna established a very sweet relationship. He himself embodied the tender traits of a woman: he had dwelt on the highest plane of Truth, where there is not even the slightest trace of sex; and his innate purity evoked only the noblest emotion in men and women alike. His woman devotees often said: "We seldom looked on Sri Ramakrishna as a member of the male sex. We regarded him as one of us. We never felt any constraint before him. He was our best confidant." They loved him as their child, their friend, and their teacher. In spiritual discipline he advised them to renounce lust and greed and especially warned them not to fall into the snares of men.
--- GOPAL MA
Unsurpassed among the woman devotees of the Master in the richness of her devotion and spiritual experiences was Aghoremani Devi, an orthodox brahmin woman. Widowed at an early age, she had dedicated herself completely to spiritual pursuits. Gopala, the Baby Krishna, was her Ideal Deity, whom she worshipped following the vatsalya attitude of the Vaishnava religion, regarding Him as her own child. Through Him she satisfied her unassuaged maternal love, cooking for Him, feeding Him, bathing Him, and putting Him to bed. This sweet intimacy With Gopala won her the sobriquet of Gopal Ma, or Gopala's Mother. For forty years she had lived on the bank of the Ganges in a small, bare room, her only companions being a threadbare copy of the Ramayana and a bag containing her rosary. At the age of sixty, in 1884, she visited Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. During the second visit, as soon as the Master saw her, he said: "Oh, you have come! Give me something to eat." With great hesitation she gave him some ordinary sweets that she had purchased for him on the way. The Master ate them With relish and asked her to bring him simple curries or sweets prepared by her own hands. Gopal Ma thought him a queer kind of monk, for, instead of talking of God, he always asked for food. She did not want to visit him again, but an irresistible attraction brought her back to the temple garden; She carried With her some simple curries that she had cooked herself.
One early morning at three o'clock, about a year later, Gopal Ma was about to finish her daily devotions, when she was startled to find Sri Ramakrishna sitting on her left, With his right hand clenched, like the hand of the image of Gopala. She was amazed and caught hold of the hand, whereupon the figure vanished and in its place appeared the real Gopala, her Ideal Deity. She cried aloud With joy. Gopala begged her for butter. She pleaded her poverty and gave Him some dry coconut candies. Gopala, sat on her lap, snatched away her rosary, jumped on her shoulders, and moved all about the room. As soon as the day broke she hastened to Dakshineswar like an insane woman. Of course Gopala accompanied her, resting His head on her shoulder. She clearly saw His tiny ruddy feet hanging over her breast. She entered Sri Ramakrishna's room. The Master had fallen into samadhi. Like a child, he sat on her lap, and she began to feed him With butter, cream, and other delicacies. After some time he regained consciousness and returned to his bed. But the mind of Gopala's Mother was still roaming in another plane. She was steeped in bliss. She saw Gopala frequently entering the Master's body and again coming out of it. When she returned to her hut, still in a dazed condition, Gopala accompanied her.
She spent about two months in uninterrupted communion With God, the Baby Gopala never leaving her for a moment. Then the intensity of her vision was lessened; had it not been, her body would have perished. The Master spoke highly of her exalted spiritual condition and said that such vision of God was a rare thing for ordinary mortals. The fun-loving Master one day confronted the critical Narendranath With this simple-minded woman. No two could have presented a more striking contrast. The Master knew of Narendra's lofty contempt for all visions, and he asked the old lady to narrate her experiences to Narendra. With great hesitation she told him her story. Now and then she interrupted her maternal chatter to ask Narendra: "My son, I am a poor ignorant woman. I don't understand anything. You are so learned. Now tell me if these visions of Gopala are true." As Narendra listened to the story he was profoundly moved. He said, "Yes, mother, they are quite true." Behind his cynicism Narendra, too, possessed a heart full of love and tenderness.
--- THE MARCH OF EVENTS
In 1881 Hriday was dismissed from service in the Kali temple, for an act of indiscretion, and was ordered by the authorities never again to enter the garden. In a way the hand of the Divine Mother may be seen even in this. Having taken care of Sri Ramakrishna during the stormy days of his spiritual discipline, Hriday had come naturally to consider himself the sole guardian of his uncle. None could approach the Master Without his knowledge. And he would be extremely jealous if Sri Ramakrishna paid attention to anyone else. Hriday's removal made it possible for the real devotees of the Master to approach him freely and live With him in the temple garden.
During the week-ends the householders, enjoying a respite from their office duties, visited the Master. The meetings on Sunday afternoons were of the nature of little festivals. Refreshments were often served. Professional musicians now and then sang devotional songs. The Master and the devotees sang and danced, Sri Ramakrishna frequently going into ecstatic moods. The happy memory of such a Sunday would linger long in the minds of the devotees. Those whom the Master wanted for special instruction he would ask to visit him on Tuesdays and Saturdays. These days were particularly auspicious for the worship of Kali.
--
Finally, there was a handful of fortunate disciples, householders as well as youngsters, who were privileged to spend nights With the Master in his room. They would see him get up early in the morning and walk up and down the room, singing in his sweet voice and tenderly communing With the Mother.
--- INJURY TO THE MASTER'S ARM
One day, in January 1884, the Master was going toward the pine-grove when he went into a trance. He was alone. There was no one to support him or guide his footsteps. He fell to the ground and dislocated a bone in his left arm. This accident had a significant influence on his mind, the natural inclination of which was to soar above the consciousness of the body. The acute pain in the arm forced his mind to dwell on the body and on the world outside. But he saw even in this a divine purpose; for, With his mind compelled to dwell on the physical plane, he realized more than ever that he was an instrument in the hand of the Divine Mother, who had a mission to fulfil through his human body and mind. He also distinctly found that in the phenomenal world God manifests Himself, in an inscrutable way, through diverse human beings, both good and evil. Thus he would speak of God in the guise of the wicked, God in the guise of the pious. God in the guise of the hypocrite, God in the guise of the lewd. He began to take a special delight in watching the divine play in the relative world. Sometimes the sweet human relationship With God would appear to him more appealing than the all-effacing Knowledge of Brahman. Many a time he would pray: "Mother, don't make me unconscious through the Knowledge of Brahman. Don't give me Brahmajnana, Mother. Am I not Your child, and naturally timid? I must have my Mother. A million salutations to the Knowledge of Brahman! Give it to those who want it." Again he prayed: "O Mother let me remain in contact With men! Don't make me a dried-up ascetic. I want to enjoy Your sport in the world." He was able to taste this very rich divine experience and enjoy the love of God and the company of His devotees because his mind, on account of the injury to his arm, was forced to come down to the consciousness of the body. Again, he would make fun of people who proclaimed him as a Divine Incarnation, by pointing to his broken arm. He would say, "Have you ever heard of God breaking His arm?" It took the arm about five months to heal.
--- BEGINNING OF HIS ILLNESS
In April 1885 the Master's throat became inflamed. Prolonged conversation or absorption in samadhi, making the blood flow into the throat, would aggravate the pain. Yet when the annual Vaishnava festival was celebrated at Panihati, Sri Ramakrishna attended it against the doctor's advice. With a group of disciples he spent himself in music, dance, and ecstasy. The illness took a turn for the worse and was diagnosed as "clergyman's sore throat". The patient was cautioned against conversation and ecstasies. Though he followed the physician's directions regarding medicine and diet, he could neither control his trances nor Withhold from seekers the solace of his advice. Sometimes, like a sulky child, he would complain to the Mother about the crowds, who gave him no rest day or night. He was overheard to say to Her; "Why do You bring here all these worthless people, who are like milk diluted With five times its own quantity of water? My eyes are almost destroyed With blowing the fire to dry up the water. My health is gone. It is beyond my strength. Do it Yourself, if You want it done. This (pointing to his own body) is but a perforated drum, and if you go on beating it day in and day out, how long will it last?"
But his large heart never turned anyone away. He said, "Let me be condemned to be born over and over again, even in the form of a dog, if I can be of help to a single soul." And he bore the pain, singing cheerfully, "Let the body be preoccupied With illness, but, O mind, dwell for ever in God's Bliss!"
One night he had a hemorrhage of the throat. The doctor now diagnosed the illness as cancer. Narendra was the first to break this heart-rending news to the disciples. Within three days the Master was removed to Calcutta for better treatment. At Balaram's house he remained a week until a suitable place could be found at Syampukur, in the northern section of Calcutta. During this week he dedicated himself practically Without respite to the instruction of those beloved devotees who had been unable to visit him oftener at Dakshineswar. Discourses incessantly flowed from his tongue, and he often went into samadhi. Dr. Mahendra Sarkar, the celebrated homeopath of Calcutta, was invited to undertake his treatment.
--- SYAMPUKUR
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.
At Syampukur the devotees led an intense life. Their attendance on the Master was in itself a form of spiritual discipline. His mind was constantly soaring to an exalted plane of consciousness. Now and then they would catch the contagion of his spiritual fervour. They sought to divine the meaning of this illness of the Master, whom most of them had accepted as an Incarnation of God. One group, headed by Girish With his robust optimism and great power of imagination, believed that the illness was a mere pretext to serve a deeper purpose. The Master had willed his illness in order to bring the devotees together and promote solidarity among them. As soon as this purpose was served, he would himself get rid of the disease. A second group thought that the Divine Mother, in whose hand the Master was an instrument, had brought about this illness to serve Her own mysterious ends. But the young rationalists, led by Narendra, refused to ascribe a
supernatural cause to a natural phenomenon. They believed that the Master's body, a material thing, was subject, like all other material things, to physical laws. Growth, development, decay, and death were laws of nature to which the Master's body could not but respond. But though holding differing views, they all believed that it was to him alone that they must look for the attainment of their spiritual goal.
--
The more the body was devastated by illness, the more it became the habitation of the Divine Spirit. Through its transparency the gods and goddesses began to shine With ever increasing luminosity. On the day of the Kali Puja the devotees clearly saw in him the manifestation of the Divine Mother.
It was noticed at this time that some of the devotees were making an unbridled display of their emotions. A number of them, particularly among the householders, began to cultivate, though at first unconsciously, the art of shedding tears, shaking the body, contorting the face, and going into trances, attempting thereby to imitate the Master. They began openly to declare Sri Ramakrishna a Divine Incarnation and to regard themselves as his chosen people, who could neglect religious disciplines With impunity. Narendra's penetrating eye soon sized up the situation. He found out that some of these external manifestations were being carefully practised at home, while some were the outcome of malnutrition, mental weakness, or nervous debility. He mercilessly exposed the devotees who were pretending to have visions, and asked all to develop a healthy religious spirit. Narendra sang inspiring songs for the younger devotees, read With them the Imitation of Christ and the Gita, and held before them the positive ideals of spirituality.
--- LAST DAYS AT COSSIPORE
--
It was at Cossipore that the curtain fell on the varied activities of the Master's life on the physical plane. His soul lingered in the body eight months more. It was the period of his great Passion, a constant crucifixion of the body and the triumphant revelation of the Soul. Here one sees the humanity and divinity of the Master passing and repassing across a thin border line. Every minute of those eight months was suffused With touching tenderness of heart and breath-taking elevation of spirit. Every word he uttered was full of pathos and sublimity.
It took the group only a few days to become adjusted to the new environment. The Holy Mother, assisted by Sri Ramakrishna's niece, Lakshmi Devi, and a few woman devotees, took charge of the cooking for the Master and his attendants. Surendra willingly bore the major portion of the expenses, other householders contributing according to their means. Twelve disciples were constant attendants of the Master: Narendra, Rakhal, Baburam, Niranjan, Jogin, Latu, Tarak, the-elder Gopal, Kali, Sashi, Sarat, and the younger Gopal. Sarada, Harish, Hari, Gangadhar, and Tulasi visited the Master from time to time and practised sadhana at home. Narendra, preparing for his law examination, brought his books to the garden house in order to continue his studies during the infrequent spare moments. He encouraged his brother disciples to intensify their meditation, scriptural studies, and other spiritual disciplines. They all forgot their relatives and their
--
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."
NARENDRA: "Then please pray to Her. She must listen to you."
--
"I shall make the whole thing public before I go", the Master had said some time before. On January 1, 1886, he felt better and came down to the garden for a little stroll. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. Some thirty lay disciples were in the hall or sitting about under the trees. Sri Ramakrishna said to Girish, "Well, Girish, what have you seen in me, that you proclaim me before everybody as an Incarnation of God?" Girish was not the man to be taken by surprise. He knelt before the Master and said, With folded hands, "What can an insignificant person like myself say about the One whose glory even sages like Vyasa and Valmiki could not adequately measure?" The Master was profoundly moved. He said: "What more shall I say? I bless you all. Be illumined!" He fell into a spiritual mood. Hearing these words the devotees, one and all, became overwhelmed With emotion. They rushed to him and fell at his feet. He touched them all, and each received an appropriate benediction. Each of them, at the touch of the Master, experienced ineffable bliss. Some laughed, some wept, some sat down to meditate, some began to pray. Some saw light, some had visions of their Chosen Ideals, and some felt Within their bodies the rush of spiritual power.
Narendra, consumed With a terrific fever for realization, complained to the Master that all the others had attained peace and that he alone was dissatisfied. The Master asked what he wanted. Narendra begged for samadhi, so that he might altogether forget the world for three or four days at a time. "You are a fool", the Master rebuked him. "There is a state even higher than that. Isn't it you who sing, 'All that exists art Thou'? First of all settle your family affairs and then come to me. You will experience a state even higher than samadhi."
The Master did not hide the fact that he wished to make Narendra his spiritual heir. Narendra was to continue the work after Sri Ramakrishna's passing. Sri Ramakrishna said to him: "I leave these young men in your charge. See that they develop their spirituality and do not return home." One day he asked the boys, in preparation for a monastic life, to beg their food from door to door Without thought of caste. They hailed the Master's order and went out With begging-bowls. A few days later he gave the ochre cloth of the sannyasi to each of them, including Girish, who was now second to none in his spirit of renunciation. Thus the Master himself laid the foundation of the future Ramakrishna Order of monks.
Sri Ramakrishna was sinking day by day. His diet was reduced to a minimum and he found it almost impossible to swallow. He whispered to M.: "I am bearing all this cheerfully, for otherwise you would be weeping. If you all say that it is better that the body should go rather than suffer this torture, I am willing." The next morning he said to his depressed disciples seated near the bed: "Do you know what I see? I see that God alone has become everything. Men and animals are only frameworks covered With skin, and it is He who is moving through their heads and limbs. I see that it is God Himself who has become the block, the executioner, and the victim for the sacrifice.' He fainted With emotion. Regaining partial consciousness, he said: "Now I have no pain. I am very well." Looking at Latu he said: "There sits Latu resting his head on the palm of his hand. To me it is the Lord who is seated in that posture."
The words were tender and touching. Like a mother he caressed Narendra and Rakhal, gently stroking their faces. He said in a half whisper to M., "Had this body been allowed to last a little longer, many more souls would have been illumined." He paused a moment and then said: "But Mother has ordained otherwise. She will take me away lest, finding me guileless and foolish, people should take advantage of me and persuade me to bestow on them the rare gifts of spirituality." A few minutes later he touched his chest and said: "Here are two beings. One is She and the other is Her devotee. It is the latter who broke his arm, and it is he again who is now ill. Do you understand me?" After a pause he added: "Alas! To whom shall I tell all this? Who will understand me?" "Pain", he consoled them again, 'is unavoidable as long as there is a body. The Lord takes on the body for the sake of His devotees."
Yet one is not sure whether the Master's soul actually was tortured by this agonizing disease. At least during his moments of spiritual exaltation — which became almost constant during the closing days of his life on earth — he lost all consciousness of the body, of illness and suffering. One of his attendants (Latu, later known as Swami Adbhutananda.) said later on: "While Sri Ramakrishna lay sick he never actually suffered pain. He would often say: 'O mind! Forget the body, forget the sickness, and remain merged in Bliss.' No, he did not really suffer. At times he would be in a state when the thrill of joy was clearly manifested in his body. Even when he could not speak he would let us know in some way that there was no suffering, and this fact was clearly evident to all who watched him. People who did not understand him thought that his suffering was very great. What spiritual joy he transmitted to us at that time! Could such a thing have been possible if he had 'been suffering physically? It was during this period that he taught us again these truths: 'Brahman is always unattached. The three gunas are in It, but It is unaffected by them, just as the wind carries odour yet remains odourless.' 'Brahman is Infinite Being, Infinite Wisdom, Infinite Bliss. In It there exist no delusion, no misery, no disease, no death, no growth, no decay.' 'The Transcendental Being and the being Within are one and the same. There is one indivisible Absolute Existence.'"
The Holy Mother secretly went to a Siva temple across the Ganges to intercede With the Deity for the Master's recovery. In a revelation she was told to prepare herself for the inevitable end.
One day when Narendra was on the ground floor, meditating, the Master was lying awake in his bed upstairs. In the depths of his meditation Narendra felt as though a lamp were burning at the back of his head. Suddenly he lost consciousness. It was the yearned-for, all-effacing experience of nirvikalpa samadhi, when the embodied soul realizes its unity With the Absolute. After a very long time he regained partial consciousness but was unable to find his body. He could see only his head. "Where is my body?" he cried. The elder Gopal entered the room and said, "Why, it is here, Naren!" But Narendra could not find it. Gopal, frightened, ran upstairs to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna only said: "Let him stay that way for a time. He has worried me long enough."
After another long period Narendra regained full consciousness. Bathed in peace, he went to the Master, who said: "Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this revelation will remain under lock and key, and I shall keep the key. When you have accomplished the Mother's work you will find the treasure again."
Some days later, Narendra being alone With the Master, Sri Ramakrishna looked at him and went into samadhi. Narendra felt the penetration of a subtle force and lost all outer consciousness. Regaining presently the normal mood, he found the Master weeping.
Sri Ramakrishna said to him: "Today I have given you my all and I am now only a poor fakir, possessing nothing. By this power you will do immense good in the world, and not until it is accomplished will you return." Henceforth the Master lived in the disciple.
Doubt, however, dies hard. After one or two days Narendra said to himself, "If in the midst of this racking physical pain he declares his Godhead, then only shall I accept him as an Incarnation of God." He was alone by the bedside of the Master. It was a passing thought, but the Master smiled. Gathering his remaining strength, he distinctly said, "He who was Rama and Krishna is now, in this body, Ramakrishna — but not in your Vedantic sense." Narendra was stricken With shame.
--- MAHASAMADHI
Sunday, August 15, 1886. The Master's pulse became irregular. The devotees stood by the bedside. Toward dusk Sri Ramakrishna had difficulty in breathing. A short time afterwards he complained of hunger. A little liquid food was put into his mouth; some of it he swallowed, and the rest ran over his chin. Two attendants began to fan him. All at once he went into samadhi of a rather unusual type. The body became stiff. Sashi burst into tears. But after midnight the Master revived. He was now very hungry and helped himself to a bowl of porridge. He said he was strong again. He sat up against five or six pillows, which were supported by the body of Sashi, who was fanning him. Narendra took his feet on his lap and began to rub them. Again and again the Master repeated to him, "Take care of these boys." Then he asked to lie down. Three times in ringing tone's he cried the name of Kali, his life's Beloved, and lay back. At two minutes past one there was a low sound in his throat and he fell a little to one side. A thrill passed over his body. His hair stood on end. His eyes became fixed on the tip of his nose. His face was lighted With a smile. The final ecstasy began. It was mahasamadhi, total absorption, from which his mind never returned. Narendra, unable to bear it, ran downstairs.
Dr. Sarkar arrived the following noon and pronounced that life had departed not more than half an hour before. At five o'clock the Masters body was brought downstairs, laid on a cot, dressed in ochre clothes, and decorated With sandal-paste and flowers. A procession was formed. The passers-by wept as the body was taken to the cremation ground at the Baranagore Ghat on the Ganges.
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 - Publishers Note C, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The present volume consists of three books: Light of Lights, Eight Talks and Sweet Mother; there are also translations from Sanskrit, Pali, Bengali and French. These, along With the translations of the Dhammapada and Charyapada, have been mostly serialised in Ashram journals.
His original writings in French have also been included here. We are grateful to the Government of India for a grant towards meeting the cost of publication of this volume.
0.00 - The Book of Lies Text, #The Book of Lies, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
With an additional commentary to each chapter.
"Break, break, break
--
persion, so as to correspond With the title, "Breaks"
and "Lies".
--
long been out of print. Its re-issue With the author's
own Commentary gives occasion for a few notes. We
--
respectively With a note of interrogation and a mark of
exclamation. The other chapters contain sometimes a
--
ritual of the Pentagram; 72 is a rondel With the refrain
~Shemhamphorash', the Divine name of 72 letters;
--
"...My association With Free Masonry was there-
fore destined to be more fertile that almost any other
--
be pertinent With regard to the question of secrecy.
It has become difficult for me to take this matter
--
do so Without doing much harm. For it cannot be used
indiscriminately...I have found in practice that the
--
invoked Dionysus With particular fervour, but still
Without success. I went off in desperation to `change
my luck', by doing something entirely contrary to
--
I was acquainted With the supreme secret of the
Order, I must be allowed the IX {degree} and obligated in
--
Those familiar With that system will recognise Kether,
Chokmah, Binah, in the First Triad; Daath, in the Abyss; Chesed,
--
The chapter begins With a repetition of O! referred
to in the previous chapter. It is explained that this triad
--
called N.O.X., and this O is identified With the O in
this word. N is the Tarot symbol, Death; and the X
--
The chapter begins With a comment on Liber Legis
III, 49.
--
identified With the four possible modes of conceiving the
universe; Horus unites these.
--
to Horus. Compare this With the version in Chapter 44.
There are ten sections in this prayer, and, as the prayer
--
This may be compared With the Qabalistic doctrine
of the Ten Sephiroth as an expression of Tetra-
--
numbered 1, again connecting all these symbols With
the Phallus.
--
The Brothers of A.'.A.'. are one With the Mother of
the Child.(4)
--
The Man delights in uniting With the Woman; the
Woman in parting from the Child.
--
yet let them breed Within thee. The least of the
impressions, come to its perfection, is Pan.
--
In line 1, Being is identified With Not-Being.
In line 2, Speech With Silence.
In line 3, the Logos is declared as the Negative.
--
We then see what different classes of people do With
the many.
--
Wherefore hath Being clothed itself With Form?
Wherefore hath Matter manifested itself in Motion?
--
thus identified With consciousness, the many, and both;
but Within this is a secret unity which rejoices; this
unit being far beyond any conception.
--
degree of rapture, With ever sentence, until his armoury
is exhausted, and, With the word Amen, he enters the
supreme state.
--
Without all, there is joy, joy, joy that is but one
facet of a diamond, every other facet whereof is
--
of the Yoni. This again connects With the IO and OI
of paragraph 1, and of course IO is the rapture-cry of
--
seed thereof is That which I have borne Within me
from Eternity; and it is lost Within the Body of
Our Lady of the Stars.
--
is here identified With the will. The Greek word
{Pi-upsilon-rho-alpha-mu-iota-sigma}
--
thou to do With death?
The bird of individuality is ecstasy; so also is its
--
(11) This chapter must be read in connection With
Wagner's "Parsifal".
--
The chapter must be read in connection With
Chapters 1 and 16.
--
With Amrita, and in the last paragraph the disciple is
charged to let it have its own way. It has a will of its
own, which is more in accordance With the Cosmic Will,
than that of the man who is its guardian and servant.
--
Without it, though his force be but a feather, can
overturn the Universe.
Be not caught Within that web, O child of Freedom!
Be not entangled in the universal lie, O child of
--
Let us create therefore Without fear; for we can
create nothing that is not GOD.
--
fatal, and Without intelligence. Even so, it may be
delightful to the creator.
--
With profound respect. Thus they have flattered
me into praising them thus publicly.
--
identical With IAO.
The rest of the chapter is clear, for the note.
--
breath, closing thy mouth With thy right fore-
finger prest against thy lower lip. Then dashing
down the hand With a great sweep back and out,
expelling forcibly thy breath, cry: {Alpha-Pi-Omicron
--
With the same forefinger touch thy forehead, and
say {C?-Omicron-Iota}, thy member, and say {Omega-Phi-Alpha-
--
centre, and raise thy voice in the Paian, With these
words {Iota-Omicron Pi-Alpha-Nu} With the signs of N.O.X.
Extend the arms in the form of a Tau, and say low
--
With our previous remarks upon the number 91.
The number of the chapter, 26, is that of Tetra-
--
the square Within the hexagram, the universe enclosed
in the law of Lingam-Yoni.
--
And With all this he was but himself.
Alas!
--
The Sorcerer is to be identified With The Brother of
the Left Hand Path.
--
The wings of love droop not With time, nor slacken
for life or for death.
Love destroyeth self, uniting self With that which is
not-self, so that Love breedeth All and None in
--
The author begins to identify the Beloved With the
N.O.X. previously spoken of.
--
Dreams are Without proportion, Without good
sense, Without truth; so also is consciousness.
Awake from dream, the truth is known:(16) awake
--
This chapter is to read in connection With Chapter 8,
and also With those previous chapters in which the
reason is attacked.
--
Samadhi is a favourite analogy With Frater P.,
who frequently employs it in his holy discourse.
--
all Relation even With ITSELF.
All this is true and false; and it is true and false to
--
This chapter should be compared With Chapter 11;
that method of destroying the reason by formulating
--
situated, and flood it With the ineffable light.
[73]
--
All that moves well moves Without will.
All skillfulness, all strain, all intention is contrary to
--
from rock to rock of the moraine Without ever
casting his eyes upon the ground.
--
This chapter should be read in conjunction With
Chapters 8 and 30.
--
Frater P. With a bird, which is master of the four
elements, and therefore of the name Tetragrammaton.
--
With the Hawk previously spoken of.
It is perhaps the Sun, the exoteric object of worship
of all sensible cults; it is not to be confused With other
objects of the mystic aviary, such as the swan, phoenix,
--
Thus shall His laughter be thrilled through With
Ecstasy.
--
This chapter must be read in connection With
Chapters 1, 3, 4, 8, 15, 16, 18, 24, 28, 29.
The last sentence of paragraph 4 also connects With
the first paragraph of Chapter 26.
--
Let the Adept be armed With his Magick Rood [and
provided With his Mystic Rose].
In the centre, let him give the L.V.X. signs; or if
--
The Star Sapphire corresponds With the Star-Ruby
of Chapter 25; 36 being the square of 6, as 25 is of %.
--
But Without the Experience these words are the
Lies of a Looby.
--
as the HIMOG is All-glorious Within?
It may be so.
--
rather, With the task of getting rid of his personality;
this, and not criticism of his holy Guru, should be the
--
way, Without any mystical sense.
V.V.V.V.V. is the motto of a Master of the Temple
--
ment which has been associated With the publication of
THE EQUINOX; and His utterance is enshrined in
--
The chapter should be read most carefully in connection With
the 10th Aethyr. It is to that dramatic experience that it refers.
--
a spiral force. It will be difficult to understand this chapter With-
out some experience in the transvaluation of values, which occurs
--
With Light and Musick in mine hand!
He strikes Eleven times upon the Bell 3 3 3-5 5 5 5 5-
--
Eleven times upon the Bell. With the Burin he then
makes upon his breast the proper sign.
--
Gashed With the sacramental sign!
He puts the second Cake to the wound.
--
As I enflame myself With prayer:
"There is no grace: there is no guilt:
--
I entered in With woe; With mirth
I now go forth, and With thanksgiving,
To do my pleasure on the earth
--
I slept With Faith, and found a corpse in my arms on
awaking; I drank and danced all night With Doubt,
and found her a virgin in the morning.
--
not concern himself With facts; he does not care whether
a thing is true or not: he uses truth and falsehood in-
--
may be connected With the penultimate paragraph.
The chapter consists of two points of view from which
--
Seven eunuchs guard Her With drawn swords; No
Man may come nigh unto Her.
--
The chapter should be read in connection With Chapter 31
for IT now reappears.
--
With Chapters 28 and 29; but this is only an allusion, for
the subject of the chapter is OUR LADY BABALON,
--
This does not agree very well With the common or orthodox
theogony of Chapter 11; but it is to be explained by the
--
self With the BEAST referred to in the book, and in the
Apocalypse, and in LIBER LEGIS. In paragraph 6 the
--
of IT. This identifies further the symbol With itself.
It will be noticed that this seal, except for the absence of
--
In connection With the number 49, see Liber 418, the
22nd Aethyr, as well as the usual authorities.
--
But the leaves of the forest rustled With the laughter
of the wind.
--
The Stag-beetle must not be identified With the one
in Chapter 16. It is a merely literary touch.
--
This chapter should be read in connection With "The
Soldier and the Hunchback" of which it is in some sort
--
Soldier With the Hunchback has reached such a pitch
that the symbols are interchanged, enthusiasm being
--
Redeemer, With whom the Master (Fra. P.) identifies
himself. he permits himself for a moment the pleasure
--
gores it With his horns.
The fourscore-and-eleven books do not, we think,
--
A dowser is one who practises divination, usually With
the object of finding water or minerals, by means of the
--
place of life, With the result that the horse, who represents
ordinary animal life, becomes the divine horse Pegasus.
In paragraph 6 we see this spring identified With the
phallus, for it is not only a source of water, but highly
--
souls, is identified With the toad, which
"Ugly and venomous,
--
This "toad" and "jewel" are further identified With the
Lotus and jewel of the well-known Buddhist phrase and
--
Yet With all this went The Work awry; for THE
WORD OF THE LAW IS {Theta-Epsilon-Lambda-Eta-Mu-Alpha}.
--
Problem. {Aleph} is identified With the Yoni, for all the
symbols connected With it in this place are feminine,
but {Aleph} is also a number of Samadhi and mysticism, and
--
Breaks on thine arm With a pole-axe!
[120]
--
should then be read in connection With Chapters 28, 29,
49.
--
TROUBLE With TWINS
Holy, holy, holy, unto Five Hundred and Fifty Five
--
The Rose uncrucified droppeth its petals; Without
the Rose the Cross is a dry stick.
--
With Sir Wm. Hamilton's qualification (or quantifica-
tion (?)) of the predicate may be taken as intervening,
--
Agony! Agony! the Light Within me breeds veils; the
song Within be dumbness.
God! in what prism may any man analyse my Light?
--
How Buddhahood would battle With The Booze!
My certainty that destiny is "good"
--
does not agree With Doctor Pangloss, that "all is for
the best in the best of all possible worlds". Nor does the
--
The dead dog floats With the stream; in puritan
France the best women are harlots; in vicious
--
The chapter consists of a series of complicated puns on 1 and I, With regard
to
--
The doctrine is that the Great Work should be accomplished Without creating n
ew
--
Tarot has a crosspiece. This is in connection With the Hindu doctrine, express
ed
--
either a credit or a debit, you are still in account With the universe.
(N.B. Frater P. wrote this chapter-61-while dining With friends, in about a
minute and a half. That is how you must know the Qabalah.)
--
He summons the Universe, and crowns it With
MAGICK Light to replace the sun of natura light.
--
The second, mixt With his life's blood and eaten,
illustrates the use of the lower life to feed the
--
I was discussing oysters With a crony:
GOD sent to me the angels DIN and DONI.
--
"And though I sleep With Janefore and Eleanor
"And Julian only fixes in my mind
--
lotus of the Sahasrara. "Lily" is spelt With a capital to
connect With Laylah.
[141]
--
identified With N.O.X. by the quotation from Liber 65.
NOTES
--
With other things, but you will only increase your
bitterness, rivet the chains still on your feet.
--
Also there are little meringues With cream and
chestnut-pulp, very velvety seductions.
Sail I not toward LAYLAH Within seven days?
Be not sad at heart, O prophet; the babble of the
--
mankind, but comforts himself With the following
reflections:
--
Plunge from the height, O God, and interlock With
Man!
Plunge from the height, O Man, and interlock With
Beast!
--
sigil of Cancer links up this symbolism With the number
of the chapter.
--
In Egyptian and Gnostic magick we meet With pylons
and Aeons, which only open on the utterance of the
--
universe is identical With one of that." Vain word!
The logician and his logic are alike involved in the
--
thou go With water in thy belly? Thou shalt go
twenty more With a firebrand at thy rump!
Ay! all thine aspiration is to death: death is the
--
allude merely to the tradition about the camel, that he can go ten days Without
water.
Paragraph 4 identifies the reward of initiation With death; it is a cessation
of all that we call life, in a way in which what we call death is not. 3, silv
--
ear, identifying the vastness of the Most Holy With the obscene worm that
gnaws the bowels of the damned.
--
on thee With favour. [157]
74
--
With this gift a man can spend his seventy years in
peace.
--
With the early strawberry.
Paragraph 1 means that change of diet is pleasant;
--
No, the refusal to be content With any of this.
But all this is again only a glamour of Maya, as previously observed in the
--
point where it explodes With violence and for ever.
A study of this chapter is probably the best short cut to Nibbana.
--
silence which results when they are all done With.
The word "neigh" is a pun on "nay", which refers to the negative conception
--
humbly, yet With confidence-as a means of redemption to
the world of sorrowing men.
The name With full-stops: L.A.Y.L.A.H. represents an
analysis of the name, which may be left to the ingenium of
--
With the bloody English!
"O FRATER PERDURABO, how unworthy are
--
any man With ideals less than Shelley's and self-
discipline less than Loyola's-in short, any man
--
Nor does he agree even With the aim of the Anarchists,
since, although Anarchists themselves need no restraint,
--
creation of a class With the true patriarchal feeling,
and the manners and obligations of chivalry.
--
Hear then the Oath, With-moon of blood, dread
moon!
--
PG being "Pig" Without an "i".
The subject of the chapter is consequently corollary
--
Paragraph 6. With this commentary there is no
further danger, and the warning becomes superfluous.
--
(41) {Pi-Upsilon} = PG = Pig Without an I = Blind Pig.
[177]
--
weight of the Karma of the Infinite is With him.
Therefore is he glad indeed; for he hath finished THE
--
in tune With his; identify yourself With him as he
seeks to identify himself With the Intelligence that
communicates to him the Holy Books.
--
Yet these are often beautiful, and may be true Within
the circle of the conditions of the speaker.
--
With Chapter 8 ({Eta}).
The chapter is perfectly simple and needs no com-
--
H. the interpenetrating Spirit, Without and Within.
Is not its name ABRAHADABRA?
--
in conjunction With the Yoni.
This word {Alpha-Iota-Theta-Eta-Rho} (Aethyr) is therefore a perfect hierogly
--
a post-card With these words: "Do as I do."
The word "sucker" is borrowed from American
--
I, v. Reprint, Barstow, Cal., 1952, With Com-
mentary.
--
777, London 1909. Reprint With Commentary,
London, 1955.
--
56. Trouble With Twins.
57. The Duck-Billed Platypus.
0.00 - THE GOSPEL PREFACE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"M", as the author modestly styles himself, was peculiarly qualified for his task. To a reverent love for his master, to a deep and experiential knowledge of that master's teaching, he added a prodigious memory for the small happenings of each day and a happy gift for recording them in an interesting and realistic way. Making good use of his natural gifts and of the circumstances in which he found himself, "M" produced a book unique, so far as my knowledge goes, in the literature of hagiography. No other saint has had so able and indefatigable a Boswell. Never have the small events of a contemplative's daily life been described With such a wealth of intimate detail. Never have the casual and unstudied utterances of a great religious teacher been set down With so minute a fidelity. To Western readers, it is true, this fidelity and this wealth of detail are sometimes a trifle disconcerting; for the social, religious and intellectual frames of reference Within which Sri Ramakrishna did his thinking and expressed his feelings were entirely Indian. But after the first few surprises and bewilderments, we begin to find something peculiarly stimulating and instructive about the very strangeness and, to our eyes, the eccentricity of the man revealed to us in "M's" narrative. What a scholastic philosopher would call the "accidents" of Ramakrishna's life were intensely Hindu and therefore, so far as we in the West are concerned, unfamiliar and hard to understand; its "essence", however, was intensely mystical and therefore universal. To read through these conversations in which mystical doctrine alternates With an unfamiliar kind of humour, and where discussions of the oddest aspects of Hindu mythology give place to the most profound and subtle utterances about the nature of Ultimate Reality, is in itself a liberal, education in humility, tolerance and suspense of judgment. We must be grateful to the translator for his excellent version of a book so curious and delightful as a biographical document, so precious, at the same time, for what it teaches us of the life of the spirit.
--------------------
--
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is the English translation of the Sri Sri Rmakrishna Kathmrita, the conversations of Sri Ramakrishna With his disciples, devotees, and visitors, recorded by Mahendranth Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M." The conversations in Bengali fill five volumes, the first of which was published in 1897 and the last shortly after M.'s death in 1932. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, has published in two volumes an English translation of selected chapters from the monumental Bengali work. I have consulted these while preparing my translation.
M., one of the intimate disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, was present during all the conversations recorded in the main body of the book and noted them down in his diary.
They therefore have the value of almost stenographic records. In Appendix A are given several conversations which took place in the absence of M., but of which he received a first-hand record from persons concerned. The conversations will bring before the reader's mind an intimate picture of the Master's eventful life from March 1882 to April 24, 1886, only a few months before his passing away. During this period he came in contact chiefly With English-educated Benglis; from among them he selected his disciples and the bearers of his message, and With them he shared his rich spiritual experiences.
I have made a literal translation, omitting only a few pages of no particular interest to English-speaking readers. Often literary grace has been sacrificed for the sake of literal translation. No translation can do full justice to the original. This difficulty is all the more felt in the present work, whose contents are of a deep mystical nature and describe the inner experiences of a great seer. Human language is an altogether inadequate vehicle to express supersensuous perception. Sri Ramakrishna was almost illiterate. He never clothed his thoughts in formal language. His words sought to convey his direct realization of Truth. His conversation was in a village patois. Therein lies its charm. In order to explain to his listeners an abstruse philosophy, he, like Christ before him, used With telling effect homely parables and illustrations, culled from his observation of the daily life around him.
The reader will find mentioned in this work many visions and experiences that fall outside the ken of physical science and even psychology. With the development of modern knowledge the border line between the natural and the supernatural is ever shifting its position. Genuine mystical experiences are not as suspect now as they were half a century ago. The words of Sri Ramakrishna have already exerted a tremendous influence in the land of his birth. Savants of Europe have found in his words the ring of universal truth.
But these words were not the product of intellectual cogitation; they were rooted in direct experience. Hence, to students of religion, psychology, and physical science, these experiences of the Master are of immense value for the understanding of religious phenomena in general. No doubt Sri Ramakrishna was a Hindu of the Hindus; yet his experiences transcended the limits of the dogmas and creeds of Hinduism. Mystics of religions other than Hinduism will find in Sri Ramakrishna's experiences a corroboration of the experiences of their own prophets and seers. And this is very important today for the resuscitation of religious values. The sceptical reader may pass by the supernatural experiences; he will yet find in the book enough material to provoke his serious thought and solve many of his spiritual problems.
There are repetitions of teachings and parables in the book. I have kept them purposely. They have their charm and usefulness, repeated as they were in different settings. Repetition is unavoidable in a work of this kind. In the first place, different seekers come to a religious teacher With questions of more or less identical nature; hence the answers will be of more or less identical pattern. Besides, religious teachers of all times and climes have tried, by means of repetition, to hammer truths into the stony soil of the recalcitrant human mind. Finally, repetition does not seem tedious if the ideas repeated are dear to a man's heart.
I have thought it necessary to write a rather lengthy Introduction to the book. In it I have given the biography of the Master, descriptions of people who came in contact With him, short explanations of several systems of Indian religious thought intimately connected With Sri Ramakrishna's life, and other relevant matters which, I hope, will enable the reader better to understand and appreciate the unusual contents of this book. It is particularly important that the Western reader, unacquainted With Hindu religious thought, should first read carefully the introductory chapter, in order that he may fully enjoy these conversations. Many Indian terms and names have been retained in the book for want of suitable English equivalents. Their meaning is given either in the Glossary or in the foot-notes. The Glossary also gives explanations of a number of expressions unfamiliar to Western readers. The diacritical marks are explained under Notes on Pronunciation.
In the Introduction I have drawn much material from the Life of Sri Ramakrishna, published by the Advaita Ashrama, Myvati, India. I have also consulted the excellent article on Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nirvednanda, in the second volume of the Cultural Heritage of India.
--
In the spiritual firmament Sri Ramakrishna is a waxing crescent. Within one hundred years of his birth and fifty years of his death his message has spread across land and sea. Romain Rolland has described him as the fulfilment of the spiritual aspirations of the three hundred millions of Hindus for the last two thousand years. Mahatma Gandhi has written: "His life enables us to see God face to face. . . . Ramakrishna was a living embodiment of godliness." He is being recognized as a compeer of Krishna, Buddha, and Christ.
The life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna have redirected the thoughts of the denationalized Hindus to the spiritual ideals of their forefa thers. During the latter part of the nineteenth century his was the time-honoured role of the Saviour of the Eternal Religion of the Hindus. His teachings played an important part in liberalizing the minds of orthodox pundits and hermits. Even now he is the silent force that is moulding the spiritual destiny of India. His great disciple, Swami Vivekananda, was the first Hindu missionary to preach the message of Indian culture to the enlightened minds of Europe and America. The full consequence of Swami Vivekn and work is still in the womb of the future.
--
In the life of the great Saviours and Prophets of the world it is often found that they are accompanied by souls of high spiritual potency who play a conspicuous part in the furtherance of their Master's mission. They become so integral a part of the life and work of these great ones that posterity can think of them only in mutual association. Such is the case With Sri Ramakrishna and M., whose diary has come to be known to the world as the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in English and as Sri Rmakrishna Kathmrita in the original Bengali version.
Sri Mahendra Nath Gupta, familiary known to the readers of the Gospel by his pen name M., and to the devotees as Master Mahashay, was born on the 14th of July, 1854 as the son of Madhusudan Gupta, an officer of the Calcutta High Court, and his wife, Swarnamayi Devi. He had a brilliant scholastic career at Hare School and the Presidency College at Calcutta. The range of his studies included the best that both occidental and oriental learning had to offer. English literature, history, economics, western philosophy and law on the one hand, and Sanskrit literature and grammar, Darsanas, Puranas, Smritis, Jainism, Buddhism, astrology and Ayurveda on the other were the subjects in which he attained considerable proficiency.
He was an educationist all his life both in a spiritual and in a secular sense. After he passed out of College, he took up work as headmaster in a number of schools in succession Narail High School, City School, Ripon College School, Metropolitan School, Aryan School, Oriental School, Oriental Seminary and Model School. The causes of his migration from school to school were that he could not get on With some of the managements on grounds of principles and that often his spiritual mood drew him away to places of pilgrimage for long periods. He worked With some of the most noted public men of the time like Iswar Chandra Vidysgar and Surendranath Banerjee. The latter appointed him as a professor in the City and Ripon Colleges where he taught subjects like English, philosophy, history and economics. In his later days he took over the Morton School, and he spent his time in the staircase room of the third floor of it, administering the school and preaching the message of the Master. He was much respected in educational circles where he was usually referred to as Rector Mahashay. A teacher who had worked under him writes thus in warm appreciation of his teaching methods: "Only when I worked With him in school could I appreciate what a great educationist he was. He would come down to the level of his students when teaching, though he himself was so learned, so talented. Ordinarily teachers confine their instruction to what is given in books Without much thought as to whether the student can accept it or not. But M., would first of all gauge how much the student could take in and by what means. He would employ aids to teaching like maps, pictures and diagrams, so that his students could learn by seeing. Thirty years ago (from 1953) when the question of imparting education through the medium of the mother tongue was being discussed, M. had already employed Bengali as the medium of instruction in the Morton School." (M The Apostle and the Evangelist by Swami Nityatmananda Part I. P. 15.)
Imparting secular education was, however, only his profession ; his main concern was With the spiritual regeneration of man a calling for which Destiny seems to have chosen him. From his childhood he was deeply pious, and he used to be moved very much by Sdhus, temples and Durga Puja celebrations. The piety and eloquence of the great Brahmo leader of the times, Keshab Chander Sen, elicited a powerful response from the impressionable mind of Mahendra Nath, as it did in the case of many an idealistic young man of Calcutta, and prepared him to receive the great Light that was to dawn on him With the coming of Sri Ramakrishna into his life.
This epoch-making event of his life came about in a very strange way. M. belonged to a joint family With several collateral members. Some ten years after he began his career as an educationist, bitter quarrels broke out among the members of the family, driving the sensitive M. to despair and utter despondency. He lost all interest in life and left home one night to go into the wide world With the idea of ending his life. At dead of night he took rest in his sister's house at Baranagar, and in the morning, accompanied by a nephew Siddheswar, he wandered from one garden to another in Calcutta until Siddheswar brought him to the Temple Garden of Dakshineswar where Sri Ramakrishna was then living. After spending some time in the beautiful rose gardens there, he was directed to the room of the Paramahamsa, where the eventful meeting of the Master and the disciple took place on a blessed evening (the exact date is not on record) on a Sunday in March 1882. As regards what took place on the occasion, the reader is referred to the opening section of the first chapter of the Gospel.
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.)
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It did not take much time for M. to become very intimate With the Master, or for the Master to recognise in this disciple a divinely commissioned partner in the fulfilment of his spiritual mission. When M. was reading out the Chaitanya Bhagavata, the Master discovered that he had been, in a previous birth, a disciple and companion of the great Vaishnava Teacher, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Master even saw him ' With his naked eye' participating in the ecstatic mass-singing of the Lord's name under the leadership of that Divine personality. So the Master told M, "You are my own, of the same substance as the father and the son," indicating thereby that M. was one of the chosen few and a part and parcel of his Divine mission.
There was an urge in M. to abandon the household life and become a Sannysin. When he communicated this idea to the Master, he forbade him saying," Mother has told me that you have to do a little of Her work you will have to teach Bhagavata, the word of God to humanity. The Mother keeps a Bhagavata Pandit With a bondage in the world!"
( Ibid P.36.)
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Sri Ramakrishna was a teacher for both the Orders of mankind, Sannysins and householders. His own life offered an ideal example for both, and he left behind disciples who followed the highest traditions he had set in respect of both these ways of life. M., along With Nag Mahashay, exemplified how a householder can rise to the highest level of sagehood. M. was married to Nikunja Devi, a distant relative of Keshab Chander Sen, even when he was reading at College, and he had four children, two sons and two daughters. The responsibility of the family, no doubt, made him dependent on his professional income, but the great devotee that he was, he never compromised With ideals and principles for this reason. Once when he was working as the headmaster in a school managed by the great Vidysgar, the results of the school at the public examination happened to be rather poor, and Vidysgar attri buted it to M's preoccupation With the Master and his consequent failure to attend adequately to the school work. M. at once resigned his post Without any thought of the morrow. Within a fortnight the family was in poverty, and M. was one day pacing up and down the verandah of his house, musing how he would feed his children the next day. Just then a man came With a letter addressed to 'Mahendra Babu', and on opening it, M. found that it was a letter from his friend Sri Surendra Nath Banerjee, asking whether he would like to take up a professorship in the Ripon College. In this way three or four times he gave up the job that gave him the where Withal to support the family, either for upholding principles or for practising spiritual Sadhanas in holy places, Without any consideration of the possible dire worldly consequences; but he was always able to get over these difficulties somehow, and the interests of his family never suffered. In spite of his disregard for worldly goods, he was, towards the latter part of his life, in a fairly flourishing condition as the proprietor of the Morton School which he developed into a noted educational institution in the city. The Lord has said in the Bhagavad Git that in the case of those who think of nothing except Him, He Himself would take up all their material and spiritual responsibilities. M. was an example of the truth of the Lord's promise.
Though his children received proper attention from him, his real family, both during the Master's lifetime and after, consisted of saints, devotees, Sannysins and spiritual aspirants. His life exemplifies the Master's teaching that an ideal householder must be like a good maidservant of a family, loving and caring properly for the children of the house, but knowing always that her real home and children are elsewhere. During the Master's lifetime he spent all his Sundays and other holidays With him and his devotees, and besides listening to the holy talks and devotional music, practised meditation both on the Personal and the Impersonal aspects of God under the direct guidance of the Master. In the pages of the Gospel the reader gets a picture of M.'s spiritual relationship With the Master how from a hazy belief in the Impersonal God of the Brahmos, he was step by step brought to accept both Personality and Impersonality as the two aspects of the same Non-dual Being, how he was convinced of the manifestation of that Being as Gods, Goddesses and as Incarnations, and how he was established in a life that was both of a Jnni and of a Bhakta. This Jnni-Bhakta outlook and way of living became so dominant a feature of his life that Swami Raghavananda, who was very closely associated With him during his last six years, remarks: "Among those who lived With M. in latter days, some felt that he always lived in this constant and conscious union With God even With open eyes (i.e., even in waking consciousness)." (Swami Raghavananda's article on M. in Prabuddha Bharata vol. XXXVII. P. 442.)
Besides undergoing spiritual disciplines at the feet of the Master, M. used to go to holy places during the Master's lifetime itself and afterwards too as a part of his Sdhan.
He was one of the earliest of the disciples to visit Kamarpukur, the birthplace of the Master, in the latter's lifetime itself; for he wished to practise contemplation on the Master's early life in its true original setting. His experience there is described as follows by Swami Nityatmananda: "By the grace of the Master, he saw the entire Kamarpukur as a holy place bathed in an effulgent Light. Trees and creepers, beasts and birds and men all were made of effulgence. So he prostrated to all on the road. He saw a torn cat, which appeared to him luminous With the Light of Consciousness. Immediately he fell to the ground and saluted it" (M The Apostle and the Evangelist by Swami Nityatmananda vol. I. P. 40.) He had similar experience in Dakshineswar also. At the instance of the Master he also visited Puri, and in the words of Swami Nityatmananda, " With indomitable courage, M. embraced the image of Jagannath out of season."
The life of Sdhan and holy association that he started on at the feet of the Master, he continued all through his life. He has for this reason been most appropriately described as a Grihastha-Sannysi (householder-Sannysin). Though he was forbidden by the Master to become a Sannysin, his reverence for the Sannysa ideal was whole-hearted and was Without any reservation. So after Sri Ramakrishna's passing away, while several of the Master's householder devotees considered the young Sannysin disciples of the Master as inexperienced and inconsequential, M. stood by them With the firm faith that the Master's life and message were going to be perpetuated only through them. Swami Vivekananda wrote from America in a letter to the inmates of the Math: "When Sri Thkur (Master) left the body, every one gave us up as a few unripe urchins. But M. and a few others did not leave us in the lurch. We cannot repay our debt to them." (Swami Raghavananda's article on M. in Prabuddha Bharata vol. XXX P. 442.)
M. spent his weekends and holidays With the monastic brethren who, after the Master's demise, had formed themselves into an Order With a Math at Baranagore, and participated in the intense life of devotion and meditation that they followed. At other times he would retire to Dakshineswar or some garden in the city and spend several days in spiritual practice taking simple self-cooked food. In order to feel that he was one With all mankind he often used to go out of his home at dead of night, and like a wandering Sannysin, sleep With the waifs on some open verandah or footpath on the road.
After the Master's demise, M. went on pilgrimage several times. He visited Banras, Vrindvan, Ayodhy and other places. At Banras he visited the famous Trailinga Swmi and fed him With sweets, and he had long conversations With Swami Bhaskarananda, one of the noted saintly and scholarly Sannysins of the time. In 1912 he went With the Holy Mother to Banras, and spent about a year in the company of Sannysins at Banras, Vrindvan, Hardwar, Hrishikesh and Swargashram. But he returned to Calcutta, as that city offered him the unique opportunity of associating himself With the places hallowed by the Master in his lifetime. Afterwards he does not seem to have gone to any far-off place, but stayed on in his room in the Morton School carrying on his spiritual ministry, speaking on the Master and his teachings to the large number of people who flocked to him after having read his famous Kathmrita known to English readers as The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
This brings us to the circumstances that led to the writing and publication of this monumental work, which has made M. one of the immortals in hagiographic literature.
While many educated people heard Sri Ramakrishna's talks, it was given to this illustrious personage alone to leave a graphic and exact account of them for posterity, With details like date, hour, place, names and particulars about participants. Humanity owes this great book to the ingrained habit of diary-keeping With which M. was endowed.
Even as a boy of about thirteen, while he was a student in the 3rd class of the Hare School, he was in the habit of keeping a diary. "Today on rising," he wrote in his diary, "I greeted my father and mother, prostrating on the ground before them" (Swami Nityatmananda's 'M The Apostle and the Evangelist' Part I. P 29.) At another place he wrote, "Today, while on my way to school, I visited, as usual, the temples of Kli, the Mother at Tharitharia, and of Mother Sitala, and paid my obeisance to them." About twenty-five years after, when he met the Great Master in the spring of 1882, it was the same instinct of a born diary-writer that made him begin his book, 'unique in the literature of hagiography', With the memorable words: "When hearing the name of Hari or Rma once, you shed tears and your hair stands on end, then you may know for certain that you do not have to perform devotions such as Sandhya any more."
In addition to this instinct for diary-keeping, M. had great endowments contri buting to success in this line. Writes Swami Nityatmananda who lived in close association With M., in his book entitled M - The Apostle and Evangelist: "M.'s prodigious memory combined With his extraordinary power of imagination completely annihilated the distance of time and place for him. Even after the lapse of half a century he could always visualise vividly, scenes from the life of Sri Ramakrishna. Superb too was his power to portray pictures by words."
Besides the prompting of his inherent instinct, the main inducement for M. to keep this diary of his experiences at Dakshineswar was his desire to provide himself With a means for living in holy company at all times. Being a school teacher, he could be With the Master only on Sundays and other holidays, and it was on his diary that he depended for 'holy company' on other days. The devotional scriptures like the Bhagavata say that holy company is the first and most important means for the generation and growth of devotion. For, in such company man could hear talks on spiritual matters and listen to the glorification of Divine attri butes, charged With the fervour and conviction emanating from the hearts of great lovers of God. Such company is therefore the one certain means through which Sraddha (Faith), Rati (attachment to God) and Bhakti (loving devotion) are generated. The diary of his visits to Dakshineswar provided M. With material for re-living, through reading and contemplation, the holy company he had had earlier, even on days when he was not able to visit Dakshineswar. The wealth of details and the vivid description of men and things in the midst of which the sublime conversations are set, provide excellent material to re-live those experiences for any one With imaginative powers. It was observed by M.'s disciples and admirers that in later life also whenever he was free or alone, he would be pouring over his diary, transporting himself on the wings of imagination to the glorious days he spent at the feet of the Master.
During the Master's lifetime M. does not seem to have revealed the contents of his diary to any one. There is an unconfirmed tradition that when the Master saw him taking notes, he expressed apprehension at the possibility of his utilising these to publicise him like Keshab Sen; for the Great Master was so full of the spirit of renunciation and humility that he disliked being lionised. It must be for this reason that no one knew about this precious diary of M. for a decade until he brought out selections from it as a pamphlet in English in 1897 With the Holy Mother's blessings and permission. The Holy Mother, being very much pleased to hear parts of the diary read to her in Bengali, wrote to M.: "When I heard the Kathmrita, (Bengali name of the book) I felt as if it was he, the Master, who was saying all that." ( Ibid Part I. P 37.)
The two pamphlets in English entitled the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna appeared in October and November 1897. They drew the spontaneous acclamation of Swami Vivekananda, who wrote on 24th November of that year from Dehra Dun to M.:"Many many thanks for your second leaflet. It is indeed wonderful. The move is quite original, and never was the life of a Great Teacher brought before the public untarnished by the writer's mind, as you are doing. The language also is beyond all praise, so fresh, so pointed, and Withal so plain and easy. I cannot express in adequate terms how I have enjoyed them. I am really in a transport when I read them. Strange, isn't it? Our Teacher and Lord was so original, and each one of us will have to be original or nothing.
I now understand why none of us attempted His life before. It has been reserved for you, this great work. He is With you evidently." ( Vednta Kesari Vol. XIX P. 141. Also given in the first edition of the Gospel published from Ramakrishna Math, Madras in 1911.)
And Swamiji added a post script to the letter: "Socratic dialogues are Plato all over you are entirely hidden. Moreover, the dramatic part is infinitely beautiful. Everybody likes it here or in the West." Indeed, in order to be unknown, Mahendranath had used the pen-name M., under which the book has been appearing till now. But so great a book cannot remain obscure for long, nor can its author remain unrecognised by the large public in these modern times. M. and his book came to be widely known very soon and to meet the growing demand, a full-sized book, Vol. I of the Gospel, translated by the author himself, was published in 1907 by the Brahmavadin Office, Madras. A second edition of it, revised by the author, was brought out by the Ramakrishna Math, Madras in December 1911, and subsequently a second part, containing new chapters from the original Bengali, was published by the same Math in 1922. The full English translation of the Gospel by Swami Nikhilananda appeared first in 1942.
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It looks as if M. was brought to the world by the Great Master to record his words and transmit them to posterity. Swami Sivananda, a direct disciple of the Master and the second President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, says on this topic: "Whenever there was an interesting talk, the Master would call Master Mahashay if he was not in the room, and then draw his attention to the holy words spoken. We did not know then why the Master did so. Now we can realise that this action of the Master had an important significance, for it was reserved for Master Mahashay to give to the world at large the sayings of the Master." ( Vednta Kesari Vol. XIX P 141.) Thanks to M., we get, unlike in the case of the great teachers of the past, a faithful record With date, time, exact report of conversations, description of concerned men and places, references to contemporary events and personalities and a hundred other details for the last four years of the Master's life (1882-'86), so that no one can doubt the historicity of the Master and his teachings at any time in the future.
M. was, in every respect, a true missionary of Sri Ramakrishna right from his first acquaintance With him in 1882. As a school teacher, it was a practice With him to direct to the Master such of his students as had a true spiritual disposition. Though himself prohibited by the Master to take to monastic life, he encouraged all spiritually inclined young men he came across in his later life to join the monastic Order. Swami Vijnanananda, a direct Sannysin disciple of the Master and a President of the Ramakrishna Order, once remarked to M.: "By enquiry, I have come to the conclusion that eighty percent and more of the Sannysins have embraced the monastic life after reading the Kathmrita (Bengali name of the book) and coming in contact With you." ( M
The Apostle and the Evangelist by Swami Nityatmananda Part I, P 37.)
In 1905 he retired from the active life of a Professor and devoted his remaining twenty-seven years exclusively to the preaching of the life and message of the Great Master. He bought the Morton Institution from its original proprietors and shifted it to a commodious four-storeyed house at 50 Amherst Street, where it flourished under his management as one of the most efficient educational institutions in Calcutta. He generally occupied a staircase room at the top of it, cooking his own meal which consisted only of milk and rice Without variation, and attended to all his personal needs himself. His dress also was the simplest possible. It was his conviction that limitation of personal wants to the minimum is an important aid to holy living. About one hour in the morning he would spend in inspecting the classes of the school, and then retire to his staircase room to pour over his diary and live in the divine atmosphere of the earthly days of the Great Master, unless devotees and admirers had already gathered in his room seeking his holy company.
In appearance, M. looked a Vedic Rishi. Tall and stately in bearing, he had a strong and well-built body, an unusually broad chest, high forehead and arms extending to the knees. His complexion was fair and his prominent eyes were always tinged With the expression of the divine love that filled his heart. Adorned With a silvery beard that flowed luxuriantly down his chest, and a shining face radiating the serenity and gravity of holiness, M. was as imposing and majestic as he was handsome and engaging in appearance. Humorous, sweet-tongued and eloquent when situations required, this great Maharishi of our age lived only to sing the glory of Sri Ramakrishna day and night.
Though a very well versed scholar in the Upanishads, Git and the philosophies of the East and the West, all his discussions and teachings found their culmination in the life and the message of Sri Ramakrishna, in which he found the real explanation and illustration of all the scriptures. Both consciously and unconsciously, he was the teacher of the Kathmrita the nectarine words of the Great Master.
Though a much-sought-after spiritual guide, an educationist of repute, and a contemporary and close associate of illustrious personages like Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Keshab Chander Sen and Iswar Chander Vidysgar, he was always moved by the noble humanity of a lover of God, which consists in respecting the personalities of all as receptacles of the Divine Spirit. So he taught Without the consciousness of a teacher, and no bar of superiority stood in the way of his doing the humblest service to his students and devotees. "He was a commission of love," writes his close devotee, Swami Raghavananda, "and yet his soft and sweet words would pierce the stoniest heart, make the worldly-minded weep and repent and turn Godwards."
( Prabuddha Bharata Vol. XXXVII P 499.)
As time went on and the number of devotees increased, the staircase room and terrace of the 3rd floor of the Morton Institution became a veritable Naimisaranya of modern times, resounding during all hours of the day, and sometimes of night, too, With the word of God coming from the Rishi-like face of M. addressed to the eager God-seekers sitting around. To the devotees who helped him in preparing the text of the Gospel, he would dictate the conversations of the Master in a meditative mood, referring now and then to his diary. At times in the stillness of midnight he would awaken a nearby devotee and tell him: "Let us listen to the words of the Master in the depths of the night as he explains the truth of the Pranava." ( Vednta Kesari XIX P. 142.) Swami Raghavananda, an intimate devotee of M., writes as follows about these devotional sittings: "In the sweet and warm months of April and May, sitting under the canopy of heaven on the roof-garden of 50 Amherst Street, surrounded by shrubs and plants, himself sitting in their midst like a Rishi of old, the stars and planets in their courses beckoning us to things infinite and sublime, he would speak to us of the mysteries of God and His love and of the yearning that would rise in the human heart to solve the Eternal Riddle, as exemplified in the life of his Master. The mind, melting under the influence of his soft sweet words of light, would almost transcend the frontiers of limited existence and dare to peep into the infinite. He himself would take the influence of the setting and say,'What a blessed privilege it is to sit in such a setting (pointing to the starry heavens), in the company of the devotees discoursing on God and His love!' These unforgettable scenes will long remain imprinted on the minds of his hearers." (Prabuddha Bharata Vol XXXVII P 497.)
About twenty-seven years of his life he spent in this way in the heart of the great city of Calcutta, radiating the Master's thoughts and ideals to countless devotees who flocked to him, and to still larger numbers who read his Kathmrita (English Edition : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna), the last part of which he had completed before June 1932 and given to the press. And miraculously, as it were, his end also came immediately after he had completed his life's mission. About three months earlier he had come to stay at his home at 13/2 Gurdasprasad Chaudhuary Lane at Thakur Bari, where the Holy Mother had herself installed the Master and where His regular worship was being conducted for the previous 40 years. The night of 3rd June being the Phalahrini Kli Pooja day, M.
had sent his devotees who used to keep company With him, to attend the special worship at Belur Math at night. After attending the service at the home shrine, he went through the proof of the Kathmrita for an hour. Suddenly he got a severe attack of neuralgic pain, from which he had been suffering now and then, of late. Before 6 a.m. in the early hours of 4th June 1932 he passed away, fully conscious and chanting: 'Gurudeva-Ma, Kole tule na-o (Take me in your arms! O Master! O Mother!!)'
SWMI TAPASYNANDA
0.00 - The Wellspring of Reality, #Synergetics - Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, #R Buckminster Fuller, #Science
There is an inherently minimum set of essential concepts and current information, cognizance of which could lead to our operating our planet Earth to the lasting satisfaction and health of all humanity. With this objective, we set out on our review of the spectrum of significant experiences and seek therein for the greatest meanings as well as for the family of generalized principles governing the realization of their optimum significance to humanity aboard our Sun circling planet Earth.
We must start With scientific fundamentals, and that means With the data of experiments and not With assumed axioms predicated only upon the misleading nature of that which only superficially seems to be obvious. It is the consensus of great scientists that science is the attempt to set in order the facts of experience.
Holding Within their definition, we define Universe as the aggregate of allhumanity's consciously apprehended and communicated, nonsimultaneous, and only partially overlapping experiences. An aggregate of finites is finite. Universe is a finite but nonsimultaneously conceptual scenario.
The human brain is a physical mechanism for storing, retrieving, and re-storing again, each special-case experience. The experience is often a packaged concept.
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Mind is the weightless and uniquely human faculty that surveys the ever larger inventory of special-case experiences stored in the brain bank and, seeking to identify their intercomplementary significance, from time to time discovers one of the rare scientifically generalizable principles running consistently through all the relevant experience set. The thoughts that discover these principles are weightless and tentative and may also be eternal. They suggest eternity but do not prove it, even though there have been no experiences thus far that imply exceptions to their persistence. It seems also to follow that the more experiences we have, the more chances there are that the mind may discover, on the one hand, additional generalized principles or, on the other hand, exceptions that disqualify one or another of the already catalogued principles that, having heretofore held "true" Without contradiction for a long time, had been tentatively conceded to be demonstrating eternal persistence of behavior. Mind's relentless reviewing of the comprehensive brain bank's storage of all our special-case experiences tends both to progressive enlargement and definitive refinement of the catalogue of generalized principles that interaccommodatively govern all transactions of Universe.
It follows that the more specialized society becomes, the less attention does it pay to the discoveries of the mind, which are intuitively beamed toward the brain, there to be received only if the switches are "on." Specialization tends to shut off the wide-band tuning searches and thus to preclude further discovery of the all-powerful generalized principles. Again we see how society's perverse fixation on specialization leads to its extinction. We are so specialized that one man discovers empirically how to release the energy of the atom, while another, unbeknownst to him, is ordered by his political factotum to make an atomic bomb by use of the secretly and anonymously published data. That gives much expedient employment, which solves the politician's momentary problem, but requires that the politicians keep on preparing for further warring With other political states to keep their respective peoples employed. It is also mistakenly assumed that employment is the only means by which humans can earn the right to live, for politicians have yet to discover how much wealth is available for distribution. All this is rationalized on the now scientifically discredited premise that there can never be enough life support for all. Thus humanity's specialization leads only toward warring and such devastating tools, both, visible and invisible, as ultimately to destroy all Earthians.
Only a comprehensive switch from the narrowing specialization and toward an evermore inclusive and refining comprehension by all humanity-regarding all the factors governing omnicontinuing life aboard our spaceship Earth-can bring about reorientation from the self-extinction-bound human trending, and do so Within the critical time remaining before we have passed the point of chemical process irretrievability.
Quite clearly, our task is predominantly metaphysical, for it is how to get all of humanity to educate itself swiftly enough to generate spontaneous social behaviors that will avoid extinction.
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Anticipating, cooperating With, and employing the forces of nature can be accomplished only by the mind. The wisdom manifest in the omni-interorderliness of the family of generalized principles operative in Universe can be employed only by the highest integrity of engagement of the mind's metaphysical intuiting and formulating capabilities.
We are able to assert that this rationally coordinating system bridge has been established between science and the humanities because we have made adequate experimental testing of it in a computerized world-resource-use-exploration system, which by virtue of the proper inclusion of all the parameters-as guaranteed by the synergetic start With Universe and the progressive differentiation out of all the parts-has demonstrated a number of alternate ways in which it is eminently feasible not only to provide full life support for all humans but also to permit all humans' individual enjoyment of all the Earth Without anyone profiting at the expense of another and Without any individuals interfering With others.
While it takes but meager search to discover that many well-known concepts are false, it takes considerable search and even more careful examination of one's own personal experiences and inadvertently spontaneous reflexing to discover that there are many popularly and even professionally unknown, yet nonetheless fundamental, concepts to hold true in all cases and that already have been discovered by other as yet obscure individuals. That is to say that many scientific generalizations have been discovered but have not come to the attention of what we call the educated world at large, thereafter to be incorporated tardily Within the formal education processes, and even more tardily, in the ongoing political-economic affairs of everyday life. Knowledge of the existence and comprehensive significance of these as yet popularly unrecognized natural laws often is requisite to the solution of many of the as yet unsolved problems now confronting society. Lack of knowledge of the solution's existence often leaves humanity confounded when it need not be.
Intellectually advantaged With no more than the child's facile, lucid eagerness to understand constructively and usefully the major transformational events of our own times, it probably is synergetically advantageous to review swiftly the most comprehensive inventory of the most powerful human environment transforming events of our totally known and reasonably extended history. This is especially useful in winnowing out and understanding the most significant of the metaphysical revolutions now recognized as swiftly tending to reconstitute history. By such a comprehensively schematic review, we might identify also the unprecedented and possibly heretofore overlooked pivotal revolutionary events not only of today but also of those trending to be central to tomorrow's most cataclysmic changes.
It is synergetically reasonable to assume that relativistic evaluation of any of the separate drives of art, science, education, economics, and ideology, and their complexedly interacting trends Within our own times, may be had only through the most comprehensive historical sweep of which we are capable.
There could be produced a synergetic understanding of humanity's cosmic functioning, which, until now, had been both undiscovered and unpredictable due to our deliberate and exclusive preoccupation only With the separate statistics of separate events. As a typical consequence of the latter, we observe our society's persistent increase of educational and employment specialization despite the already mentioned, well-documented scientific disclosure that the extinctions of biological species are always occasioned by overspecialization. Specialization's preoccupation With parts deliberately forfeits the opportunity to apprehend and comprehend what is provided exclusively by synergy.
Today's news consists of aggregates of fragments. Anyone who has taken part in any event that has subsequently appeared in the news is aware of the gross disparity between the actual and the reported events. The insistence by reporters upon having advance "releases" of what, for instance, convocation speakers are supposedly going to say but in fact have not yet said, automatically discredits the value of the largely prefabricated news. We also learn frequently of prefabricated and prevaricated events of a complex nature purportedly undertaken for purposes either of suppressing or rigging the news, which in turn perverts humanity's tactical information resources. All history becomes suspect. Probably our most polluted resource is the tactical information to which humanity spontaneously reflexes.
Furthermore, today's hyperspecialization in socioeconomic functioning has come to preclude important popular philosophic considerations of the synergetic significance of, for instance, such historically important events as the discovery Within the general region of experimental inquiry known as virology that the as-yet popularly assumed validity of the concepts of animate and inanimate phenomena have been experimentally invalidated. Atoms and crystal complexes of atoms were held to be obviously inanimate; the protoplasmic cells of biological phenomena were held to be obviously animate. It was deemed to be common sense that warm- blooded, moist, and soft-skinned humans were clearly not to be confused With hard, cold granite or steel objects. A clear-cut threshold between animate and inanimate was therefore assumed to exist as a fundamental dichotomy of all physical phenomena. This seemingly placed life exclusively Within the bounds of the physical.
The supposed location of the threshold between animate and inanimate was methodically narrowed down by experimental science until it was confined specifically Within the domain of virology. Virologists have been too busy, for instance, With their DNA-RNA genetic code isolatings, to find time to see the synergetic significance to society of the fact that they have found that no physical threshold does in fact exist between animate and inanimate. The possibility of its existence vanished because the supposedly unique physical qualities of both animate and inanimate have persisted right across yesterday's supposed threshold in both directions to permeate one another's-previously perceived to be exclusive- domains. Subsequently, what was animate has become foggier and foggier, and what is inanimate clearer and clearer. All organisms consist physically and in entirety of inherently inanimate atoms. The inanimate alone is not only omnipresent but is alone experimentally demonstrable. Belated news of the elimination of this threshold must be interpreted to mean that whatever life may be, it has not been isolated and thereby identified as residual in the biological cell, as had been supposed by the false assumption that there was a separate physical phenomenoncalled animate Within which life existed. No life per se has been isolated. The threshold between animate and inanimate has vanished. Those chemists who are preoccupied in synthesizing the particular atomically structured molecules identified as the prime constituents of humanly employed organisms will, even if they are chemically successful, be as remote from creating life as are automobile manufacturers from creating the human drivers of their automobiles. Only the physical connections and development complexes of distinctly "nonlife" atoms into molecules, into cells, into animals, has been and will be discovered. The genetic coding of the design controls of organic systems offers no more explanation of life than did the specifications of the designs of the telephone system's apparatus and operation explain the nature of the life that communicates weightlessly to life over the only physically ponderable telephone system. Whatever else life may be, we know it is weightless. At the moment of death, no weight is lost. All the chemicals, including the chemist's life ingredients, are present, but life has vanished. The physical is inherently entropic, giving off energy in ever more disorderly ways. The metaphysical is antientropic, methodically marshalling energy. Life is antientropic.
It is spontaneously inquisitive. It sorts out and endeavors to understand.
--
Where else might society turn for advice? Unguided by science, society is allowed to go right on filling its childrens' brain banks With large inventories of competence-devastating misinformation. In order to emerge from its massive ignorance, society will probably have to rely exclusively upon its individuals' own minds to survey the pertinent experimental data-as do all great scientist-artists. This, in effect, is what the intuition of world-around youth is beginning to do. Mind can see that reality is evoluting into weightless metaphysics. The wellspring of reality is the family of weightless generalized principles.
It is essential to release humanity from the false fixations of yesterday, which seem now to bind it to a rationale of action leading only to extinction.
--
And whence will come the wealth With which we may undertake to lead world man into his new and validly hopeful life? From the wealth of the minds of world man-whence comes all wealth. Only mind can discover how to do so much With so little as forever to be able to sustain and physically satisfy all humanity.
0.00 - To the Reader, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
0.01f - FOREWARD, #The Phenomenon of Man, #Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, #Christianity
upon us, when he is placed fairly and squarely Within the frame-
work of phenomenon and appearance.
--
of ever more perfect eyes Within a cosmos in which there is
always something more to be seen. After all, do we not judge
--
which their consciousness could penetrate Without being sub-
mitted to it or changing it. They are now beginning to realise
--
cannot tell With any certainty whether the structure they have
reached is the essence of the matter they are studying, or the
--
fettered, to be obliged to carry With him everywhere the centre
of the landscape he is crossing. But what happens when chance
--
radiate? In that event the subjective viewpoint coincides With
the way things are distributed objectively, and perception reaches
--
of the cosmos that is at present Within reach of our experience.
Man, the centre of perspective, is at the same time the centre of
--
articulating and spacing out, Within a sphere of indefinite radius,
the orbits of the objects which press round us ;
--
nature certain absolute stages of perfection and growth, Without
upsetting the physical unity of the world ;
--
least partially) Within the scope of the requirements and methods
of science ;
0.01 - I - Sri Aurobindos personality, his outer retirement - outside contacts after 1910 - spiritual personalities- Vibhutis and Avatars - transformtion of human personality, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
But those who knew him during the days of the national awakening from 1900 to 1910 could not have these doubts. And even these initial misunderstandings and false notions of others began to evaporate With the growth of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram from 1927 onwards. The large number of books published by the Ashram also tended to remove the idea of the other-worldliness of his Yoga and the absence of any good by it to mankind.
This period of outer retirement was one of intense Sadhana and of intellectual activity it was also one during which he acted on external events, though he was not dedicated outwardly to a public cause. About his own retirement he writes: "But this did not mean, as most people supposed, that he [Sri Aurobindo] had retired into some height of spiritual experience devoid of any further interest in the world or in the fate of India. It could not mean that, for the very principle of his Yoga was not only to realise the Divine and attain to a complete spiritual consciousness, but also to take all life and all world activity into the scope of this spiritual consciousness and action and to base life on the Spirit and give it a spiritual meaning. In his retirement Sri Aurobindo kept a close watch on all that was happening in the world and in India and actively intervened, whenever necessary, but solely With a spiritual force and silent spiritual action; for it is part of the experience of those who have advanced in yoga that besides the ordinary forces and activities of the mind and life and body in Matter, there are other forces and powers that can and do act from behind and from above; there is also a spiritual dynamic power which can be possessed by those who are advanced in spiritual consciousness, though all do not care to possess or, possessing, to use it and this power is greater than any other and more effective. It was this force which, as soon as he attained to it, he used at first only in a limited field of personal work, but afterwards in a constant action upon the world forces."[1]
Twice he found it necessary to go out of his way to make public pronouncements on important world-issues, which shows distinctly that renunciation of life is not a part of his Yoga. "The first was in relation to the Second World War. At the beginning he did not actively concern himself With it, but when it appeared as if Hitler would crush all the forces opposed to him and Nazism dominate the world, he began to intervene."[2]
The second was With regard to Sir Stafford Cripps' proposal for the transfer of power to India.
Over and above Sadhana, writing work and rendering spiritual help to the world during his apparent retirement there were plenty of other activities of which the outside world has no knowledge. Many prominent as well as less known persons sought and obtained interviews With him during these years. Thus, among well-known persons may be mentioned C.R. Das, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sarala Devi, Dr. Munje, Khasirao Jadhav, Tagore, Sylvain Levy. The great national poet of Tamil Nadu, S. Subramanya Bharati, was in contact With Sri Aurobindo for some years during his stay at Pondicherry; so was V.V.S. Aiyar. The famous V. Ramaswamy Aiyangar Va Ra of Tamil literature[3] stayed With Sri Aurobindo for nearly three years and was influenced by him. Some of these facts have been already mentioned in The Life of Sri Aurobindo.
Jung has admitted that there is an element of mystery, something that baffles the reason, in human personality. One finds that the greater the personality the greater is the complexity. And this is especially so With regard to spiritual personalities whom the Gita calls Vibhutis and Avatars.
Sri Aurobindo has explained the mystery of personality in some of his writings. Ordinarily by personality we mean something which can be described as "a pattern of being marked out by a settled combination of fixed qualities, a determined character.... In one view personality is regarded as a fixed structure of recognisable qualities expressing a power of being"; another idea regards "personality as a flux of self-expressive or sensitive and responsive being.... But flux of nature and fixity of nature" which some call character "are two aspects of being neither of which, nor indeed both together, can be a definition of personality.... But besides this flux and this fixity there is also a third and occult element, the Person behind of whom the personality is a self-expression; the Person puts forward the personality as his role, character, persona, in the present act of his long drama of manifested existence. But the Person is larger than his personality, and it may happen that this inner largeness overflows into the surface formation; the result is a self-expression of being which can no longer be described by fixed qualities, normalities of mood, exact lineaments, or marked out by structural limits."[4]
The gospel of the Supermind which Sri Aurobindo brought to man envisages a new level of consciousness beyond Mind. When this level is attained it imposes a complete and radical reintegration of the human personality. Sri Aurobindo was not merely the exponent but the embodiment of the new, dynamic truth of the Supermind. While exploring and sounding the tremendous possibilities of human personality in his intense spiritual Sadhana, he has shown us that practically there are no limits to its expansion and ascent. It can reach in its growth what appears to man at present as a 'divine' status. It goes Without saying that this attainment is not an easy task; there are conditions to be fulfilled for the transformation from the human to the divine.
The Gita in its chapters on the Vibhuti and the Avatar takes in general the same position. It shows that the present formula of our nature, and therefore the mental personality of man, is not final. A Vibhuti embodies in a human manifestation a certain divine quality and thus demonstrates the possibility of overcoming the limits of ordinary human personality. The Vibhuti the embodiment of a divine quality or power, and the Avatar the divine incarnation, are not to be looked upon as supraphysical miracles thrown at humanity Without regard to the process of evolution; they are, in fact, indications of human possibility, a sign that points to the goal of evolution.
In his Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo says about the Avatar: "He may, on the other hand, descend as an incarnation of divine life, the divine personality and power in its characteristic action, for a mission ostensibly social, ethical and political, as is represented in the story of Rama or Krishna; but always then this descent becomes in the soul of the race a permanent power for the inner living and the spiritual rebirth."[5]
--
One feels that he was describing the feeling of some of us, his disciples, With regard to him in his inimitable way.
This transformation of the human personality into the Divine perhaps even the mere connection of the human With the Divine is probably regarded as a chimera by the modern mind. To the modern mind it would appear as the apotheosis of a human personality which is against its idea of equality of men. Its difficulty is partly due to the notion that the Divine is unlimited and illimitable while a 'personality', however high and grand, seems to demand imposition, or assumption, of limitation. In this connection Sri Aurobindo said during an evening talk that no human manifestation can be illimitable and unlimited, but the manifestation in the limited should reflect the unlimited, the Transcendent Beyond.
This possibility of the human touching and manifesting the Divine has been realised during the course of human history whenever a great spiritual Light has appeared on earth. One of the purposes of this book is to show how Sri Aurobindo himself reflected the unlimited Beyond in his own self.
0.01 - Letters from the Mother to Her Son, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
are coming from all parts of the world. With this expansion,
new activities are being created, new needs are arising which
--
and contains several buildings With courtyards and gardens. We
have just bought, repaired and comfortably furnished one of
--
We have joined the houses together With openings in some
of the outer walls and outbuildings, so that I may walk freely in
our little realm Without having to go out into the street - this is
rather nice. But I am busier than ever now, and I can say that at
--
Written in connection With a newspaper article in which it was stated that the Mother
had not slept for several months.
--
neglected which could have been examined With interest - that
will be for another time.
--
but they are imprisoned Within the four walls of a few narrow
ideas and a limited mind.
--
ruling the world With its law of darkness! I believe that its reign
has lasted long enough; this is the master we must now refuse
--
legal technicalities; but it goes Without saying that I do not own
them. I think I have already explained the situation to you and
--
it. The Ashram With all its real estate and moveable property
belongs to Sri Aurobindo, it is his money that enables me to
--
and making threats With the intention of intimidating those to
whom one is talking and obtaining as much as one can. Tactics
0.01 - Life and Yoga, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
the profoundest reason of its being in that general truth and that unceasing aim of Nature which it represents, and find by virtue of this new self-knowledge and self-appreciation its own recovered and larger synthesis. Reorganising itself, it will enter more easily and powerfully into the reorganised life of the race which its processes claim to lead Within into the most secret penetralia and upward to the highest altitudes of existence and personality.
In the right view both of life and of Yoga all life is either consciously or subconsciously a Yoga. For we mean by this term a methodised effort towards self-perfection by the expression of the secret potentialities latent in the being and - highest condition of victory in that effort - a union of the human individual With the universal and transcendent Existence we see partially expressed in man and in the Cosmos. But all life, when we look behind its appearances, is a vast Yoga of Nature who attempts in the conscious and the subconscious to realise her perfection in an ever-increasing expression of her yet unrealised potentialities and to unite herself With her own divine reality. In man, her thinker, she for the first time upon this Earth devises selfconscious means and willed arrangements of activity by which this great purpose may be more swiftly and puissantly attained.
Yoga, as Swami Vivekananda has said, may be regarded as a means of compressing one's evolution into a single life or a few years or even a few months of bodily existence. A given system of Yoga, then, can be no more than a selection or a compression, into narrower but more energetic forms of intensity, of the general methods which are already being used loosely, largely, in a leisurely movement, With a profuser apparent waste of material and energy but With a more complete combination by the great
Mother in her vast upward labour. It is this view of Yoga that can alone form the basis for a sound and rational synthesis of Yogic methods. For then Yoga ceases to appear something mystic and abnormal which has no relation to the ordinary processes of the World-Energy or the purpose she keeps in view in her two great movements of subjective and objective selffulfilment; it reveals itself rather as an intense and exceptional use of powers that she has already manifested or is progressively
--
Rajayoga, for instance, depends on this perception and experience that our inner elements, combinations, functions, forces, can be separated or dissolved, can be new-combined and set to novel and formerly impossible workings or can be transformed and resolved into a new general synthesis by fixed internal processes. Hathayoga similarly depends on this perception and experience that the vital forces and functions to which our life is normally subjected and whose ordinary operations seem set and indispensable, can be mastered and the operations changed or suspended With results that would otherwise be impossible and that seem miraculous to those who have not seized the rationale of their process. And if in some other of its forms this character of Yoga is less apparent, because they are more intuitive and less mechanical, nearer, like the Yoga of Devotion, to a supernal ecstasy or, like the Yoga of Knowledge, to a supernal infinity of consciousness and being, yet they too start from the use of some principal faculty in us by ways and for ends not contemplated in its everyday spontaneous workings. All methods grouped under the common name of Yoga are special psychological processes founded on a fixed truth of Nature and developing, out of normal functions, powers and results which were always latent but which her ordinary movements do not easily or do not often manifest.
But as in physical knowledge the multiplication of scientific processes has its disadvantages, as that tends, for instance, to develop a victorious artificiality which overwhelms our natural human life under a load of machinery and to purchase certain forms of freedom and mastery at the price of an increased servitude, so the preoccupation With Yogic processes and their exceptional results may have its disadvantages and losses. The
The Conditions of the Synthesis
--
Yoga in man becomes, like the subconscious Yoga in Nature, outwardly conterminous With life itself and we can once more, looking out both on the path and the achievement, say in a more perfect and luminous sense: "All life is Yoga."
0.02 - II - The Home of the Guru, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
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.
***
0.02 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
You are expecting those who are working With you to be geniuses. It is not quite fair.
I have seen your chit for washing soap. You got the last one on
--
soap, and I have no intention of providing him With washing
soap. Some device must be found to check him; words are of no
--
Go and see With no preconceived idea.
Go and see honestly, carefully, all round the place; consider
that thirty people or so are taking their meals there and if anything happened what a horrible thing it would be - and, With
the sense of your full responsibility, come tomorrow morning,
--
roofbeam. Two of them got drenched With solignum.2
What a pity! The bats eat the white ants!
--
Not exact in all cases and especially not With everybody.
My explanation, based on my own experience, is this:
--
Mother is training us by making us ask With joy.
It is not quite that. In each case there is, probably, a special
--
Why was my stool at all painted With gris entretien? I did
not ask for the grey paint as far as I remember.
--
"To turn towards Thee, unite With Thee, live in Thee and
for Thee, is supreme happiness, unmixed joy, immutable
--
Break this resistance which fills me With anguish.
Why, why this night?"5
--
I am weeping Without knowing why.
Weep if you like, but do not worry. After the rain the sun shines
--
during the last four hours. I was stiff, I was burning With
heat, all was gloom.
--
Sleep, child, sleep, With sweet Mother in your heart!
Awake, child, awake, With sweet Mother in your heart!
21 July 1932
--
I open myself to Thee and I would obey Thee With an absolute
faithfulness.
--
deals With others.
29 July 1932
--
as I am not dealing With everybody in the same way, and what
I can say to one I would not say to another.
--
one With Thee.
This thirst shall be quenched when this ("O Sweet Mother, I
become one With Thee") is psychologically realised.
2 August 1932
--
I prayed With concentration that each workman might
become conscious that he was working for Mother and
--
said Yes. In fact, I expected it to be finished Within a
month. Two conflicting thoughts passed rapidly through
--
when you can no more get into fits of anger Without feeling the
results of it. You must, once for all, take the resolution - and
--
found, With some discomfort, that not a single one is closing
properly. Unless you are a Hercules and a wrestler you have no
--
because you are not With the workmen all the time. This
morning you were missing from your post from 9:30 to
--
Then the desire gets exacerbated and the request is made With a
kind of sour rage.
--
it, Without thinking or putting it off - but I don't dare
adopt this method.
--
me one, for it would cover me With shame and embarrassment.
Such ignorant and obstinate desires are unworthy of a child of
--
the job of making rods for X's embroidery frame Without
first having spoken to You about it and the accident that
--
for a frame Without any exact knowledge of how the frame has
to be made) and they develop Without harmony, in disorder and
confusion, sometimes producing the most unfortunate results as
--
I have started examining the details of the work With
a critical eye and everything goes to prove that in reality I
--
It may be that physical appearance has something to do With it,
but truly speaking it does not count for much. I believe rather
--
(The sadhak then related his heated conversation With
someone.) I regret having lost my temper while pronouncing these last sentences. I have noticed that even
--
ground, so that the vessels can be raised and lowered Without
danger.
--
(The sadhak recounted his conversation With Mr. Z, a
local French official. The conversation ends:)
--
Mr. Z: But even so, can He communicate With someone in Calcutta?
Sadhak: Yes, if the other person is receptive. Suppose I have difficultes in my work. There is no way of
communicating With Mother. I can't find the solution.
I concentrate on Mother, ask Her to guide me and find
--
Sadhak: No, we meditate With Mother.
Mr. Z: On what do you meditate?
--
Does this imply that the report of your conversation With Mr. Z
is inaccurate? This is very serious - you should not put words
--
satisfied With knowing it is there?
16 April 1934
--
your relationships With one another, have much to change and
much to learn.
--
well as I could With my short and limited foresight. I
was completely dejected. What should I do?
--
call you one morning alone With X into my little room, and we
shall discuss the matter quietly. When will you learn not to lose
--
But when we came to the details of carrying this out, we always found ourselves confronted With the same difficulty: whom
to dismiss? And according to your answers the difficulty seemed
--
am obliged to part With a certain number of them (you give the
number), and since they have all been hardworking and faithful,
--
reservations With regard to Sweet Mother. Is my diagnosis correct? If so, how can I do away With these
reservations Without seeming to contradict or embarrass
Sweet Mother?
--
at the clock With my inner sight and told Z, "To make it go
slower, you have to shorten the pendulum." He looked at me
--
times With the inner eye and I saw this: brush the walls With a
metal brush so that whatever is loose falls off and cover the rest
--
and limited consciousness compared With mine, but Within its
limits, I have the illusion that its nature is similar to mine, and
--
itself Without my needing to speak about it, and in fact this often
happens - it is only when the mind and vital get in the way, for
--
ask you to read it from the place I have marked With a red cross,
for I think it may be useful to everyone there. I shall probably
--
May Peace be With you - I bless you.
7 June 1934
--
of keeping all materials Without throwing anything away
is not above reproach. The good materials get spoiled
--
of the bad things. But this should be done With great care so as
not to go to the other extreme and throw away things that may
--
X sent me a mason With a dismissal note this morning. Later, I learnt from X that the mason had laughed
when X told him he was not satisfied With the work he
had done. How should one determine a worker's fate in
--
myself With the roof? Is there a definite method? Is this
method easier and more certain than the mental process
--
I sing Your praises. I will never forget how You respond when one calls You With intensity, nor the marvel
of Your presence which changes the attitude of others
--
Yes, I am always With you, but you must never forget to call me,
for it is by calling me that the presence becomes effective.
--
With great calm, but also With great determination.
25 December 1934
--
(The sadhak suffered a headache after contact With a
fellow-worker.) I don't understand these two completely
--
avoid all contact With X, direct or indirect, and (2) the
other which sees any harmonious dealings between us
--
is the cause of the headache. No. 1 wants peace With a minimum
of effort. No. 2 wants to conquer the difficulty, not run away
from it. I suggest that for the time being you avoid contact With
X as far as possible. But if contact is established, beware of
--
very good. If he doesn't, I shall keep silent, Without arguing, and let him do as he likes. Is this attitude correct?
No, it is not correct - and I see that you have not understood the
--
aware. Do not Withdraw from me when You see me sad.
O Sweet Mother, I assure You, I promise You, that With
Your Grace I will be myself again Within a short time.
I aspire for the blessed day when the conflict, the
--
My blessings are With you.
16 July 1935
--
blame me Without even asking me for an explanation?
Always the same mistake - you think that I judge by what
people tell me! Whenever I am confronted With a fact, either
directly or indirectly, I look and judge for myself Without the
intervention of anyone's opinion.
--
Perhaps Sweet Mother is displeased With me about something? I have no peace.
I am not at all displeased. But what a strange idea to let yourself
--
building work Without offending anyone. How should I
go about it? How can I wash away the past?
--
persist in your attempt at friendly relations With him, for it only
increases his sense of importance.
--
one always says far more than is necessary and that it is not With
words that good work gets done.
--
and you ought to have them since my blessings are With you.
10 October 1939
--
My blessings are With you.
15 October 1940
0.02 - The Three Steps of Nature, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
displayed, if not constantly, then occasionally or With some regularity of recurrence, in primary formations or in others more developed and, it may well be, even in some, however rare, that are near to the highest possible realisation of our present humanity. For the march of Nature is not drilled to a regular and mechanical forward stepping. She reaches constantly beyond herself even at the cost of subsequent deplorable retreats.
She has rushes; she has splendid and mighty outbursts; she has immense realisations. She storms sometimes passionately forward hoping to take the kingdom of heaven by violence.
--
of noxious activities. Their purification, not their destruction, - their transformation, control and utilisation is the aim in view With which they have been created and developed in us.
If the bodily life is what Nature has firmly evolved for us as her base and first instrument, it is our mental life that she is evolving as her immediate next aim and superior instrument. This in her ordinary exaltations is the lofty preoccupying thought in her; this, except in her periods of exhaustion and recoil into a reposeful and recuperating obscurity, is her constant pursuit wherever she can get free from the trammels of her first vital and physical realisations. For here in man we have a distinction which is of the utmost importance. He has in him not a single mentality, but a double and a triple, the mind material and nervous, the pure intellectual mind which liberates itself from the illusions of the body and the senses, and a divine mind above intellect which in its turn liberates itself from the imperfect modes of the logically discriminative and imaginative reason. Mind in man is first emmeshed in the life of the body, where in the plant it is entirely involved and in animals always imprisoned. It accepts this life as not only the first but the whole condition of its activities and serves its needs as if they were the entire aim of existence. But the bodily life in man is a base, not the aim, his first condition and not his last determinant. In the just idea of the ancients man is essentially the thinker, the Manu, the mental being who leads the life and the body,3 not the animal who is led by them. The true human existence, therefore, only begins when the intellectual mentality emerges out of the material and we begin more and more to live in the mind independent of the nervous and physical obsession and in the measure of that liberty are able to accept rightly and rightly to use the life of the body. For freedom and not a skilful subjection is the true means of mastery. A free, not a compulsory acceptance of the conditions, the enlarged and sublimated conditions of our physical being, is the high human ideal. But beyond this intellectual mentality is the divine.
--
Certainly, the mental life is not a finished evolution of Nature; it is not yet firmly founded in the human animal. The sign is that the fine and full equilibrium of vitality and matter, the sane, robust, long-lived human body is ordinarily found only in races or classes of men who reject the effort of thought, its disturbances, its tensions, or think only With the material mind.
Civilised man has yet to establish an equilibrium between the fully active mind and the body; he does not normally possess it.
Indeed, the increasing effort towards a more intense mental life seems to create, frequently, an increasing disequilibrium of the human elements, so that it is possible for eminent scientists to describe genius as a form of insanity, a result of degeneration, a pathological morbidity of Nature. The phenomena which are used to justify this exaggeration, when taken not separately, but in connection With all other relevant data, point to a different truth. Genius is one attempt of the universal Energy to so quicken and intensify our intellectual powers that they shall be prepared for those more puissant, direct and rapid faculties which constitute the play of the supra-intellectual or divine mind. It is not, then, a freak, an inexplicable phenomenon, but a perfectly natural next step in the right line of her evolution.
She has harmonised the bodily life With the material mind, she is harmonising it With the play of the intellectual mentality; for that, although it tends to a depression of the full animal and vital vigour, need not produce active disturbances. And she is shooting yet beyond in the attempt to reach a still higher level.
Nor are the disturbances created by her process as great as is often represented. Some of them are the crude beginnings of new manifestations; others are an easily corrected movement of disintegration, often fruitful of fresh activities and always a small price to pay for the far-reaching results that she has in view.
--
to this conclusion that mental life, far from being a recent appearance in man, is the swift repetition in him of a previous achievement from which the Energy in the race had undergone one of her deplorable recoils. The savage is perhaps not so much the first forefa ther of civilised man as the degenerate descendant of a previous civilisation. For if the actuality of intellectual achievement is unevenly distributed, the capacity is spread everywhere. It has been seen that in individual cases even the racial type considered by us the lowest, the negro fresh from the perennial barbarism of Central Africa, is capable, Without admixture of blood, Without waiting for future generations, of the intellectual culture, if not yet of the intellectual accomplishment of the dominant European. Even in the mass men seem to need, in favourable circumstances, only a few generations to cover ground that ought apparently to be measured in the terms of millenniums. Either, then, man by his privilege as a mental being is exempt from the full burden of the tardy laws of evolution or else he already represents and With helpful conditions and in the right stimulating atmosphere can always display a high level of material capacity for the activities of the intellectual life.
It is not mental incapacity, but the long rejection or seclusion from opportunity and Withdrawal of the awakening impulse that creates the savage. Barbarism is an intermediate sleep, not an original darkness.
Moreover the whole trend of modern thought and modern endeavour reveals itself to the observant eye as a large conscious effort of Nature in man to effect a general level of intellectual equipment, capacity and farther possibility by universalising the opportunities which modern civilisation affords for the mental life. Even the preoccupation of the European intellect, the protagonist of this tendency, With material Nature and the externalities of existence is a necessary part of the effort. It seeks to prepare a sufficient basis in man's physical being and vital energies and in his material environment for his full mental possibilities. By the spread of education, by the advance of the backward races, by the elevation of depressed classes, by the multiplication of labour-saving appliances, by the movement
The Three Steps of Nature
--
But what then constitutes this higher or highest existence to which our evolution is tending? In order to answer the question we have to deal With a class of supreme experiences, a class of unusual conceptions which it is difficult to represent accurately in any other language than the ancient Sanskrit tongue in which alone they have been to some extent systematised.
The only approximate terms in the English language have other associations and their use may lead to many and even serious inaccuracies. The terminology of Yoga recognises besides the status of our physical and vital being, termed the gross body and doubly composed of the food sheath and the vital vehicle, besides the status of our mental being, termed the subtle body and singly composed of the mind sheath or mental vehicle,5 a third, supreme and divine status of supra-mental being, termed the causal body and composed of a fourth and a fifth vehicle6 which are described as those of knowledge and bliss. But this knowledge is not a systematised result of mental questionings and reasonings, not a temporary arrangement of conclusions and opinions in the terms of the highest probability, but rather a pure self-existent and self-luminous Truth. And this bliss is not a supreme pleasure of the heart and sensations With the experience of pain and sorrow as its background, but a delight also selfexistent and independent of objects and particular experiences, a self-delight which is the very nature, the very stuff, as it were, of a transcendent and infinite existence.
antah.karan.a.
0.03 - III - The Evening Sittings, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Sri Aurobindo was never a social man in the current sense of the term and definitely he was not a man of the crowd. This was due to his grave temperament, not to any feeling of superiority or to repulsion for men. At Baroda there was an Officers' Club which was patronised by the Maharajah and though Sri Aurobindo enrolled himself as a member he hardly went to the Club even on special occasions. He rather liked a small congenial circle of friends and spent most of his evenings With them whenever he was free and not occupied With his studies or other works. After Baroda when he went to Calcutta there was hardly any time in the storm and stress of revolutionary politics to permit him to lead a 'social life'. What little time he could spare from his incessant activities was spent in the house of Raja Subodh Mallick or at the Grey Street house. In the Karmayogin office he used to sit after the office hours till late chatting With a few persons or trying automatic writing. Strange dictations used to be received sometimes: one of them was the following: "Moni [Suresh Chakravarty] will bomb Sir Edward Grey when he will come as the Viceroy of India." In later years at Pondicherry there used to be a joke that Sir Edward took such a fright at the prospect of Moni's bombing him that he never came to India!
After Sri Aurobindo had come to Pondicherry from Chandernagore, he entered upon an intense period of Sadhana and for a few months he refused to receive anyone. After a time he used to sit down to talk in the evening and on some days tried automatic writing. Yogic Sadhan, a small book, was the result. In 1913 Sri Aurobindo moved to Rue Franois Martin No. 41 where he used to receive visitors at fixed times. This was generally in the morning between 9 and 10.30.
But, over and above newcomers, some local people and the few inmates of the house used to have informal talks With Sri Aurobindo in the evening. In the beginning the inmates used to go out for playing football, and during their absence known local individuals would come in and wait for Sri Aurobindo. Afterwards regular meditations began at about 4 p.m. in which practically all the inmates participated. After the meditation all of the members and those who were permitted shared in the evening sitting. This was a very informal gathering depending entirely upon Sri Aurobindo's leisure.
When Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved to No. 9 Rue de la Marine in 1922 the same routine of informal evening sittings after meditation continued. I came to Pondicherry for Sadhana in the beginning of 1923. I kept notes of the important talks I had With the four or five disciples who were already there. Besides, I used to take detailed notes of the Evening Talks which we all had With the Master. They were not intended by him to be noted down. I took them down because of the importance I felt about everything connected With him, no matter how insignificant to the outer view. I also felt that everything he did would acquire for those who would come to know his mission a very great significance.
As years passed the evening sittings went on changing their time and often those disciples who came from outside for a temporary stay for Sadhana were allowed to join them. And, as the number of sadhaks practising the Yoga increased, the evening sittings also became more full, and the small verandah upstairs in the main building was found insufficient. Members of the household would gather every day at the fixed time With some sense of expectancy and start chatting in low tones. Sri Aurobindo used to come last and it was after his coming that the session would really commence.
He came dressed as usual in dhoti, part of which was used by him to cover the upper part of his body. Very rarely he came out With chaddar or shawl and then it was "in deference to the climate" as he sometimes put it. At times for minutes he would be gazing at the sky from a small opening at the top of the grass-curtains that covered the verandah upstairs in No. 9, Rue de la Marine. How much were these sittings dependent on him may be gathered from the fact that there were days when more than three-fourths of the time passed in complete silence Without any outer suggestion from him, or there was only an abrupt "Yes" or "No" to all attempts at drawing him out in conversation. And even when he participated in the talk one always felt that his voice was that of one who does not let his whole being flow into his words; there was a reserve and what was left unsaid was perhaps more than what was spoken. What was spoken was what he felt necessary to speak.
Very often some news-item in the daily newspaper, town-gossip, or some interesting letter received either by him or by a disciple, or a question from one of the gathering, occasionally some remark or query from himself would set the ball rolling for the talk. The whole thing was so informal that one could never predict the turn the conversation would take. The whole house therefore was in a mood to enjoy the freshness and the delight of meeting the unexpected. There were peals of laughter and light talk, jokes and criticism which might be called personal, there was seriousness and earnestness in abundance.
These sittings, in fact, furnished Sri Aurobindo With an occasion to admit and feel the outer atmosphere and that of the group living With him. It brought to him the much-needed direct contact of the mental and vital make-up of the disciples, enabling him to act on the atmosphere in general and on the individual in particular. He could thus help to remould their mental make-up by removing the limitations of their minds and opinions, and correct temperamental tendencies and formations. Thus, these sittings contributed at least partly to the creation of an atmosphere amenable to the working of the Higher Consciousness. Far more important than the actual talk and its content was the personal contact, the influence of the Master, and the divine atmosphere he emanated; for through his outer personality it was the Divine Consciousness that he allowed to act. All along behind the outer manifestation that appeared human, there was the influence and presence of the Divine.
What was talked in the small group informally was not intended by Sri Aurobindo to be the independent expression of his views on the subjects, events or the persons discussed. Very often what he said was in answer to the spiritual need of the individual or of the collective atmosphere. It was like a spiritual remedy meant to produce certain spiritual results, not a philosophical or metaphysical pronouncement on questions, events or movements. The net result of some talks very often was to point out to the disciple the inherent incapacity of the human intellect and its secondary place in the search for the ultimate Reality.
But there were occasions when he did give his independent, personal views on some problems, on events or other subjects. Even then it was never an authoritarian pronouncement. Most often it appeared to be a logically worked out and almost inevitable conclusion expressed quite impersonally though With firm and sincere conviction. This impersonality was such a prominent trait of his personality! Even in such matters as dispatching a letter or a telegram it would not be a command from him to a disciple to carry out the task. Most often during his usual passage to the dining room he would stop on the way, drop in on the company of four or five disciples and, holding out the letter or the telegram, would say in the most amiable and yet the most impersonal way: "I suppose this has to be sent." And it would be for someone in the group instantly to volunteer and take it. The expression he very often used was "It was done" or "It happened", not "I did."
From 1918 to 1922, we gathered at No. 41, Rue Franois Martin, called the Guest House, upstairs, on a broad verandah into which four rooms opened and whose main piece of furniture was a small table 3' x 1' covered With a blue cotton cloth. That is where Sri Aurobindo used to sit in a hard wooden chair behind the table With a few chairs in front for the visitors or for the disciples.
From 1922 to 1926, No. 9, Rue de la Marine, where he and the Mother had shifted, was the place where the sittings were held. There, also upstairs, was a less broad verandah than at the Guest House, a little bigger table in front of the central door out of three, and a broad Japanese chair, the table covered With a better cloth than the one in the Guest House, a small flower vase, an ash-tray, a block calendar indicating the date and an ordinary time-piece, and a number of chairs in front in a line. The evening sittings used to be after meditation at 4 or 4.30 p.m. After 24 November 1926, the sittings began to get later and later, till the limit of 1 o'clock at night was reached. Then the curtain fell. Sri Aurobindo retired completely after December 1926, and the evening sittings came to a close.
On 8 February 1927, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved to No. 28, Rue Franois Martin, a house on the north-east of the same block as No. 9, Rue de la Marine.
Then, on 23 November 1938, I got up at 2 o'clock to prepare hot water for the Mother's early bath because the 24th was Darshan day. Between 2.20 and 2.30 the Mother rang the bell. I ran up the staircase to be told about an accident that had happened to Sri Aurobindo's thigh and to be asked to fetch the doctor. This accident brought about a change in his complete retirement, and rendered him available to those who had to attend on him. This opened out a long period of 12 years during which his retirement was modified owing to circumstances, inner and outer, that made it possible for him to have direct physical contacts With the world outside.
The long period of the Second World War With all its vicissitudes passed through these years. It was a priceless experience to see how he devoted his energies to the task of saving humanity from the threatened reign of Nazism. It was a practical lesson of solid work done for humanity Without any thought of return or reward, Without even letting humanity know what he was doing for it! Thus he lived the Divine and showed us how the Divine cares for the world, how He comes down and works for man. I shall never forget how he who was at one time in his own words "not merely a non-co-operator but an enemy of British Imperialism" bestowed such anxious care on the health of Churchill, listening carefully to the health-bulletins! It was the work of the Divine, it was the Divine's work for the world.
There were no formal evening sittings during these years, but what appeared to me important in our informal talks was recorded and has been incorporated in this book.
0.03 - Letters to My little smile, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
child or an animal is confident and happy Without knowing why.
Now you must learn to be happy and confident while knowing
--
You should not listen to the criticism of people Without taste
or sufficient education.
--
I accept the rupee and send to my dear little child, along With
my blessings, my congratulations for the manner in which she
--
small, and it is only by identification With the Divine Consciousness that one can attain and preserve the true unchanging
happiness.
--
2) The Infinite is the river that flows Without cease; the
individual is the little pond that dries up slowly in the sun.
--
detach one's consciousness from it and let it run by itself Without
running With it. Then it finds this less enjoyable and after some
time it becomes quieter.
--
nothing to do With her and it is not good to talk about
these things to people because they cannot do anything
--
I had an imaginary conversation in my head With X.
I was not paying attention, but at one moment it came
--
It is not so terrible - the mind likes to be busy With something
always, and making up stories (even when one knows that these
--
and more; it is never satisfied With what You give it.
My child, I am going to reveal something that you will try to
--
I don't understand what you mean. My help is always With
you, as complete as it can be; it is up to you to open yourself
--
knew how to work With courage and steadiness, and in this
you were exceptional. But you have followed the example of
--
and With it your faith and confidence in me; in this condition, if
all the divine forces were to concentrate on you, it would be in
--
because Your help is always With me. But I do not know
when I will open myself to You. I am as hard as a stone.
--
things. Mother, please do not be angry With me, I have
nobody except You.
--
is necessary? Am I not here With You? Am I so far
away? Then why should I have to listen to the advice of
--
When With all my will I am working for the disappearance
of suffering from the world, how could I want, much less like,
--
effortlessly, when you felt satisfied With your work, happy to
be near me, and trusting and simple enough not to put a false
--
And never doubt my affection, which is always With you to
help you make this indispensable progress.
--
I write (in order, as You said, to keep the contact With
You)?
--
Well, it is a success! It is a good account With hardly any mistakes, and I am glad to know exactly how you spent your day.
It will be good to continue like this.
--
Today I prayed to You With my body2 for ten hours.
Next time I see You, I shall explain how embroiderers fix the sari on the frame. The frame has to be as big
--
To pray With the body: to do one's work as an offering to the Divine. The Mother has
written: "To work for the Divine is to pray With the body." Words of the Mother - II,
CWM, Vol. 14, p. 299.
--
have written Without making a single mistake!
14 February 1933
--
Today I prayed to You With my body for nine hours.
Now I have become regular again in all my work as
--
It means the consciousness that is not filled With the activities and influences of ordinary life, but is concentrated in an
aspiration towards the divine light, force, knowledge, joy.
--
Today I prayed to You With my body for nine hours.
Mother, for the past two days I have been feeling a
--
You With my body for ten hours.
Then use Coué's method5 and repeat, "I am not tired, I cannot
--
the Japanese cover the walls of their rooms With embroidered curtains.
You are right; nothing is better than to realise our most beautiful
--
blouses Without spoiling them? This is the first time I
have ironed a blouse. Mother, give me a "bravo" for
--
literally filled With admiration. It is magnificent - the birds are
so beautiful and so very alive; I found their little heads With the
lovely little silver crests very beautiful, far more beautiful than
--
You must wash your eye With very warm boric water thrice a
day and do less embroidery for two or three days. Do just as I
--
sew With the sewing machine until 10:15. Then I worked
With the sewing machine until 11:45; then I did a bit of
--
child all day With the marvellous playthings my Mother
has given me to play With all day. I don't know how to
write in any other way and that is why I write to You "I
--
I was first and I took my seat With a place on either side
of me. I thought X would sit on one side and Y on the
--
her to sit somewhere else and she got angry With me.
At that moment X and Y came and, seeing that Z was
angry With me, they did not sit With me. I was very hurt
because they did not sit With me.
Do not torment yourself, my little smile; all this has come to
--
throw it out by mixing and talking With others. The experiences
November 24th, a Darshan day. On the three (later four) Darshan days each year,
--
Poor little X has become very sad... Are you so serious With her?
27 November 1933
--
I am not angry With X. I always try to keep silent;
so I speak only about important things, With her as well
as With others; that is to say, if she asks me something I
answer her and I show her the work to be done.
--
where I can live constantly With X and With all who love
You.
--
Once Sri Aurobindo wrote me something With some
words that I couldn't read. I asked X to read them;
--
What can I say? - that I am always With you in your work and
your rest, your sleep and your waking.
--
I shall always be With you, my dear little child, in the struggle
and in the victory.
--
You know that all my love is always With you as well as my best
will to help you out of your difficulties.
--
and they will surely win the victory. I am With you always, in
the struggle and in the victory.
--
embroidered With silver thread. This blouse is very, very
beautiful. The sari too will be the most beautiful one in
--
disappear. I am fully With you in this determination and I am
sure that you will triumph.
--
I mean that instead of living in the perceptions of the senseorgans, which are exclusively occupied With outward things,
you should concentrate in the inner being, which has a life
--
wrote to me) after I sent it to You this morning With my
letter?
--
to Sri Aurobindo along With your letter of this morning. I am
returning it to you in this notebook.
--
of matter, this stream of life is freed only With difficulty and can
hardly emerge into the light. But With a little concentration and
insistence, the resistance of matter lessens and the life-forces are
--
of water and underline them With a fine gold thread; then it will
look as if it were done deliberately and it will be even lovelier.
--
I would rather start on the green sari With gold and
silver dragons, for 21 February 1935 - if You ask someone to do the drawing. Because the green cloth and the
--
difficult to reason With them. Now if you want me to tell you
what I think, it is this: Y has taken a lot of trouble and made
--
beautiful than we had thought, and yet Without considering you
write in a fit of bad temper: "I don't want to do this sari any
--
sent me the design of the crown With fishes. It is very, very pretty.
And if you want my opinion, I suggest that you first take up the
--
Put yourself in my arms Without fear and be sure that nothing can harm you. My force and my protection are always With
you.
--
It goes Without saying that our help is always With you to
bring you peace and silence, and it is absolutely certain that
--
For years I was perfectly satisfied With two saris a year - but I
am proud of the beautiful things my dear children make for me
and I wear them With affection and joy.
My blessings and my love are always With you.
10 December 1935
--
it for You" was always With me.
Now I find that I have lost this feeling.
--
but simply aspire With calm and perseverance for the light to
reappear. My love is always With you to help you go through
this bad moment.
--
vacations and I shall then wear the embroidered saris With the
greatest pleasure since the season is a bit cooler.
--
belittle the Divine's love, because Without it nothing is worth
living for.
0.03 - The Threefold Life, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
NATURE, then, is an evolution or progressive self-manifestation of an eternal and secret existence, With three successive forms as her three steps of ascent. And we have consequently as the condition of all our activities these three mutually interdependent possibilities, the bodily life, the mental existence and the veiled spiritual being which is in the involution the cause of the others and in the evolution their result. Preserving and perfecting the physical, fulfilling the mental, it is Nature's aim and it should be ours to unveil in the perfected body and mind the transcendent activities of the Spirit. As the mental life does not abrogate but works for the elevation and better utilisation of the bodily existence, so too the spiritual should not abrogate but transfigure our intellectual, emotional, aesthetic and vital activities.
For man, the head of terrestrial Nature, the sole earthly frame in which her full evolution is possible, is a triple birth. He has been given a living frame in which the body is the vessel and life the dynamic means of a divine manifestation. His activity is centred in a progressive mind which aims at perfecting itself as well as the house in which it dwells and the means of life that it uses, and is capable of awaking by a progressive self-realisation to its own true nature as a form of the Spirit. He culminates in what he always really was, the illumined and beatific spirit which is intended at last to irradiate life and mind With its now concealed splendours.
Since this is the plan of the divine Energy in humanity, the whole method and aim of our existence must work by the interaction of these three elements in the being. As a result of their separate formulation in Nature, man has open to him a choice between three kinds of life, the ordinary material existence, a life of mental activity and progress and the unchanging spiritual beatitude. But he can, as he progresses, combine these three forms, resolve their discords into a harmonious rhythm and so create in himself the whole godhead, the perfect Man.
--
In each of these forms Nature acts both individually and collectively; for the Eternal affirms Himself equally in the single form and in the group-existence, whether family, clan and nation or groupings dependent on less physical principles or the supreme group of all, our collective humanity. Man also may seek his own individual good from any or all of these spheres of activity, or identify himself in them With the collectivity and live for it, or, rising to a truer perception of this complex universe, harmonise the individual realisation With the collective aim. For as it is the right relation of the soul With the Supreme, while it is in the universe, neither to assert egoistically its separate being nor to blot itself out in the Indefinable, but to realise its unity With the Divine and the world and unite them in the individual, so the right relation of the individual With the collectivity is neither to pursue egoistically his own material or mental progress or spiritual salvation Without regard to his fellows, nor for the sake of the community to suppress or maim his proper development, but to sum up in himself all its best and completest possibilities and pour them out by thought, action and all other means on his surroundings so that the whole race may approach nearer to the attainment of its supreme personalities.
It follows that the object of the material life must be to fulfil, above all things, the vital aim of Nature. The whole aim of the material man is to live, to pass from birth to death With as much comfort or enjoyment as may be on the way, but anyhow to live.
He can subordinate this aim, but only to physical Nature's other instincts, the reproduction of the individual and the conservation of the type in the family, class or community. Self, domesticity, the accustomed order of the society and of the nation are the constituents of the material existence. Its immense importance in the economy of Nature is self-evident, and commensurate is the importance of the human type which represents it. He assures her of the safety of the framework she has made and of the orderly continuance and conservation of her past gains.
But by that very utility such men and the life they lead are condemned to be limited, irrationally conservative and earthbound. The customary routine, the customary institutions, the inherited or habitual forms of thought, - these things are the life-breath of their nostrils. They admit and jealously defend the changes compelled by the progressive mind in the past, but combat With equal zeal the changes that are being made by it in the present. For to the material man the living progressive thinker is an ideologue, dreamer or madman. The old Semites who stoned the living prophets and adored their memories when dead, were the very incarnation of this instinctive and unintelligent principle in Nature. In the ancient Indian distinction between the once born and the twice born, it is to this material man that the former description can be applied. He does Nature's inferior works; he assures the basis for her higher activities; but not to him easily are opened the glories of her second birth.
Yet he admits so much of spirituality as has been enforced on his customary ideas by the great religious outbursts of the past and he makes in his scheme of society a place, venerable though not often effective, for the priest or the learned theologian who can be trusted to provide him With a safe and ordinary spiritual pabulum. But to the man who would assert for himself the liberty of spiritual experience and the spiritual life, he assigns, if he admits him at all, not the vestment of the priest but the robe of the Sannyasin. Outside society let him exercise his dangerous freedom. So he may even serve as a human lightning-rod receiving the electricity of the Spirit and turning it away from the social edifice.
Nevertheless it is possible to make the material man and his life moderately progressive by imprinting on the material mind the custom of progress, the habit of conscious change, the fixed idea of progression as a law of life. The creation by this means of progressive societies in Europe is one of the greatest triumphs of Mind over Matter. But the physical nature has its revenge; for the progress made tends to be of the grosser and more outward kind and its attempts at a higher or a more rapid movement bring about great wearinesses, swift exhaustions, startling recoils.
--
The mental life concentrates on the aesthetic, the ethical and the intellectual activities. Essential mentality is idealistic and a seeker after perfection. The subtle self, the brilliant Atman,1 is ever a dreamer. A dream of perfect beauty, perfect conduct, perfect Truth, whether seeking new forms of the Eternal or revitalising the old, is the very soul of pure mentality. But it knows not how to deal With the resistance of Matter. There it is hampered and inefficient, works by bungling experiments and has either to Withdraw from the struggle or submit to the grey actuality. Or else, by studying the material life and accepting the conditions of the contest, it may succeed, but only in imposing temporarily some artificial system which infinite Nature either rends and casts aside or disfigures out of recognition or by Withdrawing her assent leaves as the corpse of a dead ideal. Few and far between have been those realisations of the dreamer in Man which the world has gladly accepted, looks back to With a fond memory and seeks, in its elements, to cherish.
1 Who dwells in Dream, the inly conscious, the enjoyer of abstractions, the Brilliant.
--
When the gulf between actual life and the temperament of the thinker is too great, we see as the result a sort of Withdrawing of the Mind from life in order to act With a greater freedom in its own sphere. The poet living among his brilliant visions, the artist absorbed in his art, the philosopher thinking out the problems of the intellect in his solitary chamber, the scientist, the scholar caring only for their studies and their experiments, were often in former days, are even now not unoften the Sannyasins of the intellect. To the work they have done for humanity, all its past bears record.
But such seclusion is justified only by some special activity.
Mind finds fully its force and action only when it casts itself upon life and accepts equally its possibilities and its resistances as the means of a greater self-perfection. In the struggle With the difficulties of the material world the ethical development of the individual is firmly shaped and the great schools of conduct are formed; by contact With the facts of life Art attains to vitality, Thought assures its abstractions, the generalisations of the philosopher base themselves on a stable foundation of science and experience.
This mixing With life may, however, be pursued for the sake of the individual mind and With an entire indifference to the forms of the material existence or the uplifting of the race. This indifference is seen at its highest in the Epicurean discipline and is not entirely absent from the Stoic; and even altruism does the works of compassion more often for its own sake than for the sake of the world it helps. But this too is a limited fulfilment. The progressive mind is seen at its noblest when it strives to elevate the whole race to its own level whether by sowing broadcast the image of its own thought and fulfilment or by changing the material life of the race into fresh forms, religious, intellectual, social or political, intended to represent more nearly that ideal of truth, beauty, justice, righteousness With which the man's own soul is illumined. Failure in such a field matters little; for the mere attempt is dynamic and creative. The struggle of Mind to elevate life is the promise and condition of the conquest of life by that which is higher even than Mind.
That highest thing, the spiritual existence, is concerned With what is eternal but not therefore entirely aloof from the transient. For the spiritual man the mind's dream of perfect beauty is realised in an eternal love, beauty and delight that has no dependence and is equal behind all objective appearances; its dream of perfect Truth in the supreme, self-existent, self-apparent and eternal Verity which never varies, but explains and is the secret of all variations and the goal of all progress; its dream of perfect action in the omnipotent and self-guiding Law that is inherent for ever in all things and translates itself here in the rhythm of the worlds. What is fugitive vision or constant effort of creation in the brilliant Self is an eternally existing Reality in the Self that knows2 and is the Lord.
But if it is often difficult for the mental life to accommodate itself to the dully resistant material activity, how much more difficult must it seem for the spiritual existence to live on in a world that appears full not of the Truth but of every lie and illusion, not of Love and Beauty but of an encompassing discord and ugliness, not of the Law of Truth but of victorious selfishness and sin? Therefore the spiritual life tends easily in the saint and Sannyasin to Withdraw from the material existence and reject it either wholly and physically or in the spirit. It sees this world as the kingdom of evil or of ignorance and the eternal and divine either in a far-off heaven or beyond where there is no world and no life. It separates itself inwardly, if not also physically, from the world's impurities; it asserts the spiritual reality in a spotless isolation. This Withdrawal renders an invaluable service to the material life itself by forcing it to regard and even to bow down to something that is the direct negation of its own petty ideals, sordid cares and egoistic self-content.
But the work in the world of so supreme a power as spiritual force cannot be thus limited. The spiritual life also can return upon the material and use it as a means of its own greater fullness. Refusing to be blinded by the dualities, the appearances, it can seek in all appearances whatsoever the vision of the same Lord, the same eternal Truth, Beauty, Love, Delight. The
--
But the spiritual life, like the mental, may thus make use of this outward existence for the benefit of the individual With a perfect indifference to any collective uplifting of the merely symbolic world which it uses. Since the Eternal is for ever the same in all things and all things the same to the Eternal, since the exact mode of action and the result are of no importance compared With the working out in oneself of the one great realisation, this spiritual indifference accepts no matter what environment, no matter what action, dispassionately, prepared to retire as soon as its own supreme end is realised. It is so that many have understood the ideal of the Gita. Or else the inner love and bliss may pour itself out on the world in good deeds, in service, in compassion, the inner Truth in the giving of knowledge, Without therefore attempting the transformation of a world which must by its inalienable nature remain a battlefield of the dualities, of sin and virtue, of truth and error, of joy and suffering.
But if Progress also is one of the chief terms of worldexistence and a progressive manifestation of the Divine the true sense of Nature, this limitation also is invalid. It is possible for the spiritual life in the world, and it is its real mission, to change the material life into its own image, the image of the Divine. Therefore, besides the great solitaries who have sought and attained their self-liberation, we have the great spiritual teachers who have also liberated others and, supreme of all, the great dynamic souls who, feeling themselves stronger in the might of the Spirit than all the forces of the material life banded together, have thrown themselves upon the world, grappled With it in a loving wrestle and striven to compel its consent to its own transfiguration. Ordinarily, the effort is concentrated on a mental and moral change in humanity, but it may extend itself also to the alteration of the forms of our life and its institutions so that they too may be a better mould for the inpourings of the Spirit. These attempts have been the supreme landmarks in the progressive development of human ideals and the divine preparation of the race. Every one of them, whatever its outward results, has left Earth more capable of Heaven and quickened in its tardy movements the evolutionary Yoga of Nature.
In India, for the last thousand years and more, the spiritual life and the material have existed side by side to the exclusion of the progressive mind. Spirituality has made terms for itself With Matter by renouncing the attempt at general progress. It has obtained from society the right of free spiritual development for all who assume some distinctive symbol, such as the garb of the Sannyasin, the recognition of that life as man's goal and those who live it as worthy of an absolute reverence, and the casting of society itself into such a religious mould that its most customary acts should be accompanied by a formal reminder of the spiritual symbolism of life and its ultimate destination. On the other hand, there was conceded to society the right of inertia and immobile self-conservation. The concession destroyed much of the value of the terms. The religious mould being fixed, the formal reminder tended to become a routine and to lose its living sense. The constant attempts to change the mould by new sects and religions ended only in a new routine or a modification of the old; for the saving element of the free and active mind had been exiled. The material life, handed over to the Ignorance, the purposeless and endless duality, became a leaden and dolorous yoke from which flight was the only escape.
The schools of Indian Yoga lent themselves to the compromise. Individual perfection or liberation was made the aim, seclusion of some kind from the ordinary activities the condition, the renunciation of life the culmination. The teacher gave his knowledge only to a small circle of disciples. Or if a wider movement was attempted, it was still the release of the individual soul that remained the aim. The pact With an immobile society was, for the most part, observed.
The utility of the compromise in the then actual state of the world cannot be doubted. It secured in India a society which lent itself to the preservation and the worship of spirituality, a country apart in which as in a fortress the highest spiritual ideal could maintain itself in its most absolute purity unoverpowered by the siege of the forces around it. But it was a compromise, not an absolute victory. The material life lost the divine impulse to growth, the spiritual preserved by isolation its height and purity, but sacrificed its full power and serviceableness to the world. Therefore, in the divine Providence the country of the Yogins and the Sannyasins has been forced into a strict and imperative contact With the very element it had rejected, the element of the progressive Mind, so that it might recover what was now wanting to it.
We have to recognise once more that the individual exists not in himself alone but in the collectivity and that individual perfection and liberation are not the whole sense of God's intention in the world. The free use of our liberty includes also the liberation of others and of mankind; the perfect utility of our perfection is, having realised in ourselves the divine symbol, to reproduce, multiply and ultimately universalise it in others.
--
But what Nature aims at for the mass in a slow evolution, Yoga effects for the individual by a rapid revolution. It works by a quickening of all her energies, a sublimation of all her faculties. While she develops the spiritual life With difficulty and has constantly to fall back from it for the sake of her lower realisations, the sublimated force, the concentrated method of Yoga can attain directly and carry With it the perfection of the mind and even, if she will, the perfection of the body. Nature seeks the Divine in her own symbols: Yoga goes beyond Nature to the Lord of Nature, beyond universe to the Transcendent and can return With the transcendent light and power, With the fiat of the Omnipotent.
But their aim is one in the end. The generalisation of Yoga in humanity must be the last victory of Nature over her own delays and concealments. Even as now by the progressive mind in Science she seeks to make all mankind fit for the full development of the mental life, so by Yoga must she inevitably seek to make all mankind fit for the higher evolution, the second birth, the spiritual existence. And as the mental life uses and perfects the material, so will the spiritual use and perfect the material and the mental existence as the instruments of a divine self-expression.
0.04 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
As there is no better man I am trying to get on With
him.
--
not like his way of dealing With the bullocks.
I object strongly to his way of twisting the tails of the beasts.
--
I have watched the thing from the roof, and saw With the inner
sight also. There is absolutely no doubt about what is happening
--
other bullocks so closely). The truth is that they dislike and distrust the present driver, and not Without reason. When they were
working under the previous one they were happy and cheerful
--
I can tell you this to finish With the subject, that from the
roof I concentrated the power on the bullocks ordering them to
--
peaceful in dealing With the bullocks they would surely work
much more willingly.
--
I will explain what happened. X was With the cart, but as
he himself says, he was fully merged in solving a problem
--
I do not see what a chess problem has to do either With work or
With sadhana. Is X here to solve chess problems? He could do it
--
no reason he has beaten Ra With the back of his sandal in
her shed at 5.10 p.m. I saw it from Ba's shed. He removed
--
tell me that he has beaten Ra like that With a sandal
before too and it seems he wants to control her like that.
--
time, so that he may have air, sun and movement Without doing
work. This question must be put clearly to the doctor asking for
--
dog is likely to do the same With the cow and calf.
This boy has been dismissed by my orders and will not be
--
A man who is cruel With beasts is worse than a beast.
2 April 1934
0.04 - The Systems of Yoga, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Yet it is always through something which she has formed in her evolution that Nature thus overpasses her evolution. It is the individual heart that by sublimating its highest and purest emotions attains to the transcendent Bliss or the ineffable Nirvana, the individual mind that by converting its ordinary functionings into a knowledge beyond mentality knows its oneness With the
Ineffable and merges its separate existence in that transcendent unity. And always it is the individual, the Self conditioned in its experience by Nature and working through her formations, that attains to the Self unconditioned, free and transcendent.
--
Bhakta seeks and yearns after Bhagavan, Bhagavan also seeks and yearns after the Bhakta.1 There can be no Yoga of knowledge Without a human seeker of the knowledge, the supreme subject of knowledge and the divine use by the individual of the universal faculties of knowledge; no Yoga of devotion Without the human God-lover, the supreme object of love and delight and the divine use by the individual of the universal faculties of spiritual, emotional and aesthetic enjoyment; no Yoga of works Without the human worker, the supreme Will, Master of all works and sacrifices, and the divine use by the individual of the universal faculties of power and action. However Monistic may be our intellectual conception of the highest truth of things, in practice we are compelled to accept this omnipresent Trinity.
For the contact of the human and individual consciousness With the divine is the very essence of Yoga. Yoga is the union of that which has become separated in the play of the universe With its own true self, origin and universality. The contact may take place at any point of the complex and intricately organised consciousness which we call our personality. It may be effected in the physical through the body; in the vital through the action of
Bhakta, the devotee or lover of God; Bhagavan, God, the Lord of Love and Delight.
--
Self. Hathayoga selects the body and the vital functionings as its instruments of perfection and realisation; its concern is With the gross body. Rajayoga selects the mental being in its different parts as its lever-power; it concentrates on the subtle body. The triple Path of Works, of Love and of Knowledge uses some part of the mental being, will, heart or intellect as a starting-point and seeks by its conversion to arrive at the liberating Truth,
Beatitude and Infinity which are the nature of the spiritual life.
--
By its numerous asanas or fixed postures it first cures the body of that restlessness which is a sign of its inability to contain Without working them off in action and movement the vital forces poured into it from the universal Life-Ocean, gives to it an extraordinary health, force and suppleness and seeks to liberate it from the habits by which it is subjected to ordinary physical
Nature and kept Within the narrow bounds of her normal operations. In the ancient tradition of Hathayoga it has always been supposed that this conquest could be pushed so far even as to conquer to a great extent the force of gravitation. By various subsidiary but elaborate processes the Hathayogin next contrives to keep the body free from all impurities and the nervous system unclogged for those exercises of respiration which are his most important instruments. These are called pran.ayama, the control of the breath or vital power; for breathing is the chief physical functioning of the vital forces. Pranayama, for the Hathayogin, serves a double purpose. First, it completes the perfection of the body. The vitality is liberated from many of the ordinary necessities of physical Nature; robust health, prolonged youth, often an extraordinary longevity are attained.
On the other hand, Pranayama awakens the coiled-up serpent of the Pranic dynamism in the vital sheath and opens to the Yogin fields of consciousness, ranges of experience, abnormal faculties denied to the ordinary human life while it puissantly intensifies such normal powers and faculties as he already possesses.
--
The results of Hathayoga are thus striking to the eye and impose easily on the vulgar or physical mind. And yet at the end we may ask what we have gained at the end of all this stupendous labour. The object of physical Nature, the preservation of the mere physical life, its highest perfection, even in a certain sense the capacity of a greater enjoyment of physical living have been carried out on an abnormal scale. But the weakness of Hathayoga is that its laborious and difficult processes make so great a demand on the time and energy and impose so complete a severance from the ordinary life of men that the utilisation of its results for the life of the world becomes either impracticable or is extraordinarily restricted. If in return for this loss we gain another life in another world Within, the mental, the dynamic, these results could have been acquired through other systems, through Rajayoga, through Tantra, by much less laborious methods and held on much less exacting terms. On the other hand the physical results, increased vitality, prolonged youth, health, longevity are of small avail if they must be held by us as misers of ourselves, apart from the common life, for their own sake, not utilised, not thrown into the common sum of the world's activities. Hathayoga attains large results, but at an exorbitant price and to very little purpose.
Rajayoga takes a higher flight. It aims at the liberation and perfection not of the bodily, but of the mental being, the control of the emotional and sensational life, the mastery of the whole apparatus of thought and consciousness. It fixes its eyes on the citta, that stuff of mental consciousness in which all these activities arise, and it seeks, even as Hathayoga With its physical material, first to purify and to tranquillise. The normal state of man is a condition of trouble and disorder, a kingdom either at war With itself or badly governed; for the lord, the Purusha, is subjected to his ministers, the faculties, subjected even to his subjects, the instruments of sensation, emotion, action, enjoyment. Swarajya, self-rule, must be substituted for this subjection.
First, therefore, the powers of order must be helped to overcome
--
But Rajayoga does not forget that the disabilities of the ordinary mind proceed largely from its subjection to the reactions of the nervous system and the body. It adopts therefore from the Hathayogic system its devices of asana and pran.ayama, but reduces their multiple and elaborate forms in each case to one simplest and most directly effective process sufficient for its own immediate object. Thus it gets rid of the Hathayogic complexity and cumbrousness while it utilises the swift and powerful efficacy of its methods for the control of the body and the vital functions and for the awakening of that internal dynamism, full of a latent supernormal faculty, typified in Yogic terminology by the kun.d.alin, the coiled and sleeping serpent of Energy Within. This done, the system proceeds to the perfect quieting of the restless mind and its elevation to a higher plane through concentration of mental force by the successive stages which lead to the utmost inner concentration or ingathered state of the consciousness which is called Samadhi.
By Samadhi, in which the mind acquires the capacity of Withdrawing from its limited waking activities into freer and higher states of consciousness, Rajayoga serves a double purpose. It compasses a pure mental action liberated from the confusions of the outer consciousness and passes thence to the higher supra-mental planes on which the individual soul enters into its true spiritual existence. But also it acquires the capacity of that free and concentrated energising of consciousness on
The Systems of Yoga
--
We perceive that as Hathayoga, dealing With the life and body, aims at the supernormal perfection of the physical life and its capacities and goes beyond it into the domain of the mental life, so Rajayoga, operating With the mind, aims at a supernormal perfection and enlargement of the capacities of the mental life and goes beyond it into the domain of the spiritual existence.
But the weakness of the system lies in its excessive reliance on abnormal states of trance. This limitation leads first to a certain aloofness from the physical life which is our foundation and the sphere into which we have to bring our mental and spiritual gains. Especially is the spiritual life, in this system, too much associated With the state of Samadhi. Our object is to make the spiritual life and its experiences fully active and fully utilisable in the waking state and even in the normal use of the functions.
But in Rajayoga it tends to Withdraw into a subliminal plane at the back of our normal experiences instead of descending and possessing our whole existence.
The triple Path of devotion, knowledge and works attempts the province which Rajayoga leaves unoccupied. It differs from
Rajayoga in that it does not occupy itself With the elaborate training of the whole mental system as the condition of perfection, but seizes on certain central principles, the intellect, the heart, the will, and seeks to convert their normal operations by turning them away from their ordinary and external preoccupations and activities and concentrating them on the Divine. It
38
--
The Path of Knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection, vicara, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being and rejecting identification With each of them arrives at their exclusion and separation in one common term as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal Nature, creations of
Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is able to arrive at its right identification With the pure and unique Self which is not mutable or perishable, not determinable by any phenomenon or combination of phenomena. From this point the path, as ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds from the consciousness as an illusion and the final immergence Without return of the individual soul in the Supreme.
But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and With a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one's own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargement is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect
The Systems of Yoga
--
Lord, With our human life as its final stage, pursued through the different phases of self-concealment and self-revelation. The principle of Bhakti Yoga is to utilise all the normal relations of human life into which emotion enters and apply them no longer to transient worldly relations, but to the joy of the All-Loving, the All-Beautiful and the All-Blissful. Worship and meditation are used only for the preparation and increase of intensity of the divine relationship. And this Yoga is catholic in its use of all emotional relations, so that even enmity and opposition to God, considered as an intense, impatient and perverse form of Love, is conceived as a possible means of realisation and salvation.
This path, too, as ordinarily practised, leads away from worldexistence to an absorption, of another kind than the Monist's, in the Transcendent and Supra-cosmic.
--
purifies the mind and the will that we become easily conscious of the great universal Energy as the true doer of all our actions and the Lord of that Energy as their ruler and director With the individual as only a mask, an excuse, an instrument or, more positively, a conscious centre of action and phenomenal relation. The choice and direction of the act is more and more consciously left to this supreme Will and this universal Energy.
To That our works as well as the results of our works are finally abandoned. The object is the release of the soul from its bondage to appearances and to the reaction of phenomenal activities.
0.05 - Letters to a Child, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Always do With pleasure the work you have to do.
Work done With joy is work done well.
14 March 1932
--
uneasy. I also felt that he is not very happy With me. I
had a sort of bad feeling at that time. Why did I feel
--
I am always With you, my child, so it is not only possible but
quite easy to feel my presence constantly.
--
not in the least displeased With you. Did I look very serious
tonight? If it is so, it was because I was thinking of the stupidity
--
That is really nice and I am very pleased. Yes, I am always With
you and even more specially when you are working on your
--
Love from your little mother who is always With you.
15 March 1934
--
Peace be With you, my child, the peace of Certitude and of
confidence in my love which never leaves you.
--
received it, perhaps Without even being aware of it.
Love from your mother.
--
May peace be With me always.
Peace, peace in your heart and your vital.
Yes, Peace, Light, Force and Bliss are always With you in the
Consciousness that is constantly by your side, bringing you the
--
I do not want a life Without energy.
Very good - then you must acquire energy, and after all, it is
--
My child, my child, why this great sadness? Is it because someone to whom you had given your friendship has Withdrawn for
reasons that he thinks are very profound?
--
You are everywhere. Remain With me always.
My dear child,
--
outer calm. May it always be With you.
Affectionately.
--
You see, my child, the unfortunate thing is that you are too preoccupied With yourself. At your age I was exclusively occupied
With my studies - finding things out, learning, understanding,
--
I am telling you these things With all my affection, and I
hope that you will understand them.
--
I am always With you in all love.
Your mother.
--
This is quite excellent and I approve of it. Without outer and
inner discipline, one can achieve nothing in life, either spiritually
--
Always With you in all love.
23 June 1934
--
it. All my love is With you.
I hope you do not show my letters to anyone. It is better to
--
by my love as by a protection, and truly my love is always With
you, around you; but you, on your side, must open to it and
--
it. The Force and Consciousness are always With you, as well as
all my love.
--
My child, all my love is always With you; do not push it away.
1 September 1934
--
You are quite mistaken, I am not at all displeased With you. Only
I am worried because you always have a headache and because
--
You know that my love is always With you and my will is
that you should get well; my force is With you to give you health.
I take you into my arms, I take you to my heart.
--
I don't want you to be ill and always I am With you to
cure you - but you too must want to be cured. Do not torment
--
I fully agree With you that egoism, vanity and jealousy must
disappear; they are indeed ugly, mean and ignorant things that
--
My force is With you to conquer these things. And my love
never leaves you.
--
Mother, stay With your little child.
My dear child,
Always, always I am With you and the quieter and happier
you are, the more you will feel it.
--
do not even trust in me? Yet my love is always With you.
1 November 1934
--
My love is With you.
2 November 1934
--
Stay With me always. You know everything.
Yes, I know everything and that is why I know that my little child
--
I am always With you, bringing you peace and tranquillity,
calm and force. But to feel my presence, you know what you
--
Fill my thoughts With you. Stay always With your
little child. Give me a deep and lasting peace.
--
Do not forget that I am always With you and do only what
you could do in front of me Without feeling ashamed. I mean
that you must never do what you would not dare to do in my
physical presence, for I am always With you.
Love.
--
my work; I cannot forget it. My dear mother, be With
me always.
--
I am always With you to help and support you.
Love from your mother.
--
psychic being comes to the surface, it brings its own joy With
it; but when the mind or the vital comes, then the joy seems to
--
the path, but With perseverance the victory is sure.
Love from your mother.
--
But With discrimination one can distinguish the bad from
the good influences and reject persistently the bad ones.
--
and can only be solved With much endurance in the will and
much patience.
--
and the pleasures of the vital - Without considering, however,
that these pleasures can only be obtained through much struggle
and effort and that always they go hand in hand With worry and
suffering.
--
Are you making me feel life Without you in order to
see whether I want this life or not? Mother, if you don't
--
our help and our blessings are always With you?
Keep your interest in the work - this too will help you to
--
becoming like a stone, Without energy, inert, and more
and more closed . I feel your light and your force around
--
I am always With you, my dear child, and my love never
leaves you.
--
becomes more and more mental and you lose contact With the
Series Five - To a Child
--
Were you angry With me because I have decided to
leave the Ashram? I want to go forward - not to revolt
--
life can give, Without getting anything much in exchange?
Of course, if you want to lead the spiritual life at any cost,
--
very clearly Within yourself, write to me again.
My love and blessings are always With you.
Your mother who loves you.
--
My love, my help and my blessings will always be With you.
Your mother.
--
My love and blessings are With you to guide you on the way.
4 June 1946
--
you. Stay With me always.
Yes, my dear little child, I am always With you to help you, to
support you, to guide you. By doing your work With conscientiousness, honesty and perseverance, you will feel my presence
closer and closer to you.
--
displeased With me.
It is the very first proposition that is wrong, I am not displeased
--
you are very vexed With me for some reason I cannot
yet understand. What is it you want me to do? What
--
always does it With love.
So, throw away all this nonsense and try to be quiet and
--
grace will always be With you and never fail you. Moreover, there
is no reason to believe that you will not succeed in this life; on the
--
All my love is With you to help you and guide you.
My dear child,
--
does not allow any upsetting or depression to interfere With your
progress. The sincerity of the aspiration is the assurance of the
--
I am always With you in this effort and aspiration.
Mother,
--
I don't know what to do With this vital. Will you
please stop it?
--
You are displeased With me, aren't you? I feel so sad.
What can I do? I stumble at every step.
--
contrary that I am always With you, supporting you, protecting
you, encouraging you With an unvarying love and tenderness.
My dear child,
I am always With you to help you and protect you.
Do not allow yourself to be dominated by vain imaginations.
--
is always With you and it wants you to have a vast and lasting
Series Five - To a Child
--
inside yourself Without exterior sound and thinking of me at the
same time:
--
pleased With the result.
My love and blessings.
0.05 - The Synthesis of the Systems, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
An undiscriminating combination in block would not be a synthesis, but a confusion. Nor would a successive practice of each of them in turn be easy in the short span of our human life and With our limited energies, to say nothing of the waste of labour implied in so cumbrous a process. Sometimes, indeed,
Hathayoga and Rajayoga are thus successively practised. And in a recent unique example, in the life of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, we see a colossal spiritual capacity first driving straight to the divine realisation, taking, as it were, the kingdom of heaven by violence, and then seizing upon one Yogic method after another and extracting the substance out of it With an incredible rapidity, always to return to the heart of the whole matter, the realisation and possession of God by the power of love, by the extension of inborn spirituality into various experience and by the spontaneous play of an intuitive knowledge. Such an example cannot be generalised. Its object also was special and temporal, to exemplify in the great and decisive experience of a master-soul the truth, now most necessary to humanity, towards which a world long divided into jarring sects and schools is With difficulty labouring, that all sects are forms and fragments of a single integral truth and all disciplines labour in their different ways towards one supreme experience. To know, be and possess
42
--
Nature and the methods of Yoga and we now return to it With the possibility of hazarding some definite solution.
We observe, first, that there still exists in India a remarkable
--
This system is the way of the Tantra. Owing to certain of its developments Tantra has fallen into discredit With those who are not Tantrics; and especially owing to the developments of its left-hand path, the Vama Marga, which not content With exceeding the duality of virtue and sin and instead of replacing them by spontaneous rightness of action seemed, sometimes, to make a method of self-indulgence, a method of unrestrained social immorality. Nevertheless, in its origin, Tantra was a great and puissant system founded upon ideas which were at least partially true. Even its twofold division into the right-hand and left-hand paths, Dakshina Marga and Vama Marga, started from a certain profound perception. In the ancient symbolic sense of the words Dakshina and Vama, it was the distinction between the way of Knowledge and the way of Ananda, - Nature in man liberating itself by right discrimination in power and practice of its own energies, elements and potentialities and Nature in man
The Synthesis of the Systems
--
The method we have to pursue, then, is to put our whole conscious being into relation and contact With the Divine and to call Him in to transform our entire being into His. Thus in a sense
God Himself, the real Person in us, becomes the sadhaka of the sadhana1 as well as the Master of the Yoga by whom the lower personality is used as the centre of a divine transfiguration and the instrument of its own perfection. In effect, the pressure of the
--
In psychological fact this method translates itself into the progressive surrender of the ego With its whole field and all its apparatus to the Beyond-ego With its vast and incalculable but always inevitable workings. Certainly, this is no short cut or easy sadhana. It requires a colossal faith, an absolute courage and above all an unflinching patience. For it implies three stages of which only the last can be wholly blissful or rapid, - the attempt of the ego to enter into contact With the Divine, the wide, full and therefore laborious preparation of the whole lower Nature by the divine working to receive and become the higher Nature, and the eventual transformation. In fact, however, the divine
Strength, often unobserved and behind the veil, substitutes itself for our weakness and supports us through all our failings of faith, courage and patience. It "makes the blind to see and the lame to stride over the hills." The intellect becomes aware of a Law that beneficently insists and a succour that upholds; the heart speaks of a Master of all things and Friend of man or a universal Mother who upholds through all stumblings. Therefore this path is at once the most difficult imaginable and yet, in comparison With the magnitude of its effort and object, the most easy and sure of all.
There are three outstanding features of this action of the higher when it works integrally on the lower nature. In the first place it does not act according to a fixed system and succession as in the specialised methods of Yoga, but With a sort of free, scattered and yet gradually intensive and purposeful working determined by the temperament of the individual in whom it operates, the helpful materials which his nature offers and the obstacles which it presents to purification and perfection. In a sense, therefore, each man in this path has his own method of
Yoga. Yet are there certain broad lines of working common to all which enable us to construct not indeed a routine system, but
--
Secondly, the process, being integral, accepts our nature such as it stands organised by our past evolution and Without rejecting anything essential compels all to undergo a divine change.
Everything in us is seized by the hands of a mighty Artificer and transformed into a clear image of that which it now seeks confusedly to present. In that ever-progressive experience we begin to perceive how this lower manifestation is constituted and that everything in it, however seemingly deformed or petty or vile, is the more or less distorted or imperfect figure of some element or action in the harmony of the divine Nature. We begin to understand what the Vedic Rishis meant when they spoke of the human forefa thers fashioning the gods as a smith forges the crude material in his smithy.
Thirdly, the divine Power in us uses all life as the means of this integral Yoga. Every experience and outer contact With our world-environment, however trifling or however disastrous, is used for the work, and every inner experience, even to the most repellent suffering or the most humiliating fall, becomes a step on the path to perfection. And we recognise in ourselves With opened eyes the method of God in the world, His purpose of light in the obscure, of might in the weak and fallen, of delight in what is grievous and miserable. We see the divine method to be the same in the lower and in the higher working; only in the one it is pursued tardily and obscurely through the subconscious in
Nature, in the other it becomes swift and self-conscious and the instrument confesses the hand of the Master. All life is a Yoga of Nature seeking to manifest God Within itself. Yoga marks the stage at which this effort becomes capable of self-awareness and therefore of right completion in the individual. It is a gathering up and concentration of the movements dispersed and loosely combined in the lower evolution.
An integral method and an integral result. First, an integral realisation of Divine Being; not only a realisation of the One in its indistinguishable unity, but also in its multitude of aspects which are also necessary to the complete knowledge of it by
--
Therefore, also, an integral liberation. Not only the freedom born of unbroken contact and identification of the individual being in all its parts With the Divine, sayujya-mukti, by which it can become free2 even in its separation, even in the duality; not only the salokya-mukti by which the whole conscious existence dwells in the same status of being as the Divine, in the state of
Sachchidananda; but also the acquisition of the divine nature by the transformation of this lower being into the human image of the Divine, sadharmya-mukti, and the complete and final release of all, the liberation of the consciousness from the transitory mould of the ego and its unification With the One Being, universal both in the world and the individual and transcendentally one both in the world and beyond all universe.
By this integral realisation and liberation, the perfect harmony of the results of Knowledge, Love and Works. For there is attained the complete release from ego and identification in being With the One in all and beyond all. But since the attaining consciousness is not limited by its attainment, we win also the unity in Beatitude and the harmonised diversity in Love, so that all relations of the play remain possible to us even while we retain on the heights of our being the eternal oneness With the
Beloved. And by a similar wideness, being capable of a freedom in spirit that embraces life and does not depend upon Withdrawal from life, we are able to become Without egoism, bondage or reaction the channel in our mind and body for a divine action poured out freely upon the world.
The divine existence is of the nature not only of freedom, but of purity, beatitude and perfection. An integral purity which shall enable on the one hand the perfect reflection of the divine
--
As the Jivanmukta, who is entirely free even Without dissolution of the bodily life in a final Samadhi.
The Synthesis of the Systems
--
spiritual existence would thus be the crown alike of our individual and of our common effort. Such a consummation being no other than the kingdom of heaven Within reproduced in the kingdom of heaven Without, would be also the true fulfilment of the great dream cherished in different terms by the world's religions.
The widest synthesis of perfection possible to thought is the sole effort entirely worthy of those whose dedicated vision perceives that God dwells concealed in humanity.
0.06 - INTRODUCTION, #Dark Night of the Soul, #Saint John of the Cross, #Christianity
part, With respect to the activity of the soul; and in the fourth part, With
respect to its passivity. 1
--
of union With God. And this latter night is a more obscure and dark and
terrible purgation, as we shall say afterwards.2
--
Spirit; he now proposes to deal With the Passive Night, in the same order. He has
already taught us how we are to deny and purify ourselves With the ordinary help of
grace, in order to prepare our senses and faculties for union With God through love.
He now proceeds to explain, With an arresting freshness, how these same senses
and faculties are purged and purified by God With a view to the same end that of
union. The combined description of the two nights completes the presentation of
--
comprising the whole of the mystical life and ending only With the Divine embraces
of the soul transformed in God through love.
--
that by himself, and With the ordinary aid of grace, man cannot attain to that
degree of purgation which is essential to his transformation in God. He needs
--
the state of the perfect, which is that of the Divine union of the soul With
God. 4
--
the Ascent which deal With the active purgation of the desires of sense.
In Chapter viii, St. John of the Cross begins to describe the Passive Night of
--
comparison With it,' for it is 'horrible and awful to the spirit.'6 A good deal of
literature on the former Night existed in the time of St. John of the Cross and he
--
chapter With a similar one in the Ascent (II, xiii)that in which he fixes the point
where the soul may abandon discursive meditation and enter the contemplation
--
Chapters xii and xiii detail With great exactness the benefits that the soul receives
from this aridity, while Chapter xiv briefly expounds the last line of the first stanza
and brings to an end what the Saint desires to say With respect to the first Passive
Night.
--
(Chapter ii). After a brief introduction (Chapter iii), the Saint describes With some
fullness the nature of this spiritual purgation or dark contemplation referred to in
--
they do so only to enlighten it again With a brighter and intenser light, which it is
preparing itself to receive With greater abundance. The following chapter makes the
comparison between spiritual purgation and the log of wood which gradually
--
own properties. The force With which the familiar similitude is driven home
impresses indelibly upon the mind the fundamental concept of this most sublime of
--
wounds and yet illumines are combined With those of the enkindlement that melts
the soul With its heat, the delights experienced are so great as to be ineffable.
The second line of the first stanza of the poem is expounded in three
--
which led it to journey 'in darkness and concealment' from its enemies, both Without
and Within.
Chapter xxiv glosses the last line of the second stanza'my house being now
--
and prepared for the desired union With the Spouse, a union which is the subject
that the Saint proposed to treat in his commentary on the five remaining stanzas.
--
spiritual night of infused contemplation, through which the soul journeys With no
other guide or support, either outward or inward, than the Divine love 'which
--
treatise. They lose both in flexibility and in substance through the closeness With
which they follow the stanzas of which they are the exposition. In the Ascent and
--
sublimest passages, this intermingling of philosophy With mystical theology makes
him seem particularly so. These treatises are a wonderful illustration of the
0.06 - Letters to a Young Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Is there no means of uniting my will With Yours? Perhaps
You have no special will, for You want nothing.
--
in any case this cannot be compared at all With the bloody revolutions which quite uselessly tear up countries Without bringing
any great change after them, because they leave men as false, as
--
He wants that you first find yourself; that With your true being,
your psychic being, you master and govern the lower being, and
--
Farther Within or higher above, on the other side of the emotions,
beyond the mind.
--
One must persist Without getting discouraged, and first of all
refuse to recognise the body as one's "self". Indeed, what would
it be Without the feelings and thoughts which animate it? An
inert, lifeless mass.
--
what happens Within oneself.
I cannot accept all that happens With a calm heart.
This is, however, indispensable for yoga; and he who has so great
an aim as to be united With the Divine and to manifest Him, how
can he be affected by all the futilities and foolishnesses of life?
There are people who say one must unite closely With
the outer nature to be able to taste the joy which the
--
I don't think this is true; union With the outer nature brings more
certainly sorrow than joy!
--
I don't like this life Without any attachments.
Series Six - To a Young Sadhak
--
Is it strange that one should become disgusted With this
world? The repetition of the same round - that is death
--
me one day With a love which fills you With strength and With
joy.
My Mother, With all my will and all my effort I want to
realise that love which You have foreseen in your divine
--
I shall always be With you in your endeavour.
Series Six - To a Young Sadhak
--
to You, I must prove it in my actions; Without that these
would be worthless words behind which a man seeks
--
O Mother, take me With You; I shall seat You for ever in
my heart; I could not bear to lose You.
--
Whatever the reason may be, as soon as my consciousness loses You I become joyless and Without energy.
At no moment do I forget you. Don't you rather allow too many
--
that Without You there is no meaning in life for me; yet
my mind flits hither and thither as soon as it finds the
--
I am always With you, and to become conscious of the inner
Presence is one of the most important points of the sadhana.
--
always With me.
I am in every thought, every aspiration which you turn towards
--
There are two ways of uniting With the Divine. One is to concentrate in the heart and go deep enough to find there His Presence;
the other is to fling oneself in His arms, to nestle there as a child
nestles in its mother's arms, With a complete surrender; and of
the two the latter seems to me the easier.
--
Not only of the soul, but of the whole being, Without reserve.
Who is there to hold me back far from You?
--
have With me in the present state of your consciousness? Are
you capable of feeling me, experiencing concretely my presence,
--
This is all nonsense; we have not to busy ourselves With the next
life, but With this one which offers us, till our very last breath,
all its possibilities. To put off for the next birth what one can do
--
very day; it is laziness. It is only With death that the possibility
of integral realisation ceases; so long as one is alive, nothing is
--
Yes, there is the Truth of perfect union With the Divine in an
identity of consciousness and will.
--
yourself, purify yourself Within, so that this approach may be
useful and profitable.
--
Go Within into yourself, find your psychic being and you will
find me at the same time, living in you, life of your life, ever
--
Remain very quiet, open your mind and your heart to Sri Aurobindo's influence and mine, Withdraw deep into an inner silence
(which may be had in all circumstances), call me from the depths
--
think that I was not With you. Wherever you work, physically
near or far, I am always With you in your work and in your
consciousness. You ought to know that.
--
feel that You are With me.
But I am always With you.
Do not leave my heart empty, Mother.
--
The psychic being is constantly and invariably in contact With
the Divine and never loses this contact.
--
The psychic being is not asleep. It is the connection With it which
is not well established because the mind makes too much noise
--
it With confidence and you will receive it.
Yes, my help is With you to master all the movements which are
opposed to the Divine.
--
remain very calm Without bothering about what happens
to me.
--
It is certainly not With such a state of mind that you can hope
to find the Divine Presence. Far from seeking to fill your heart
With frivolities in order to "divert" it, you must With a great
obstinacy empty it of everything, absolutely everything, both
--
When I try to look Within myself, I find there a being that
is detached from everything, a great indifference reigns
--
itself unhappy Without any reason. I hope, indeed, that you will
soon become conscious of my presence always near you, and
--
psychic being works With perseverance and ardour to make the
union an accomplished fact, but it never complains, and knows
--
The Ashram is not a place for being in love With anyone. If you
want to lapse into such a stupidity, you may do so elsewhere,
--
Certainly it is always better not to be too busy With oneself.
An excessive depreciation is no better than an excessive praise.
--
that we have done nothing in comparison With what remains to
be done.
--
not to identify myself With it is the best remedy I can
find against the lower and inconscient nature.
--
we must entrust ourselves, give ourselves Without reserve, and it
is He who will make of us what He wants in His infinite wisdom.
--
than by mixing With many people and doing much work.
I have had the experience myself that one can be fully concentrated and be in union With the Divine even while working
physically With one's hands; but naturally this asks for a little
practice, and for this the most important thing to avoid is useless
--
actions Without exception can become unselfish. But so long as
one has not reached this state, there are actions which are more
helpful for the contact With the Divine.
The yogic life does not depend on what one does but on how
--
give yourself entirely and Without egoism while washing dishes
or serving a meal brings you much nearer the Divine than
--
It is not that there is a dearth of people Without work in the
Ashram; but those who are Without work are certainly so because they do not like to work; and for that disease it is very
difficult to find a remedy - it is called laziness...
--
rest assured it is always With you, and one never calls in vain.
If you resolve to do it, my force will be there to back up your
--
All my power is With you to help you; open yourself With a
calm confidence, have faith in the Divine Grace, and you will
--
If you repeat it With sufficient constancy, the recalcitrant part
will at last be convinced.
--
Be With me, Mother, Without You I am weak, very weak
and fearful.
One must have no fear, victory is for him who is Without fear; I
am always With you to guide and protect you.
One must have no fear - fear is a bad counsellor; it acts like a
--
That is why one must be armed With patience and keep faith in
the final victory.
--
against the terrestrial evolution Without using a human
being as an intermediary?
--
overcome one's lower nature. And is this not easier here, With
a concrete and tangible help, than all alone, Without anyone to
shed light on the path and guide the uncertain footsteps?
--
You will admit that one can't live With others Without
being influenced more or less by them.
--
A yogi ought to accept and digest all dirt With a perfect
equality.
--
has Within oneself an unshakable peace and joy, there is a great
risk of losing what one has rather than passing it on to others.
--
It would be much better for you not to busy yourself With what
others say.
--
I nearly got angry and it was With an effort that I
controlled myself.
--
learn to do so, these contacts With others are useful.
I do not know of anything more foolish than these quarrels in
--
One must have an unshakable faith to be able to do Without
medicines.
--
One has only to persist With a calm confidence and the vital will
stop going on strike.
--
Identification With the Divine is our goal; I don't see why
I am trying to know this or that.
--
It is not With severity but With self-mastery that children are
controlled.
--
One must have a lot of patience With young children, and repeat
the same thing to them several times, explaining it to them in
0.07 - DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, #Dark Night of the Soul, #Saint John of the Cross, #Christianity
Exposition of the stanzas describing the method followed by the soul in its journey upon the spiritual road to the attainment of the perfect union of love With God, to the extent that is possible in this life. Likewise are described the properties belonging to the soul that has attained to the said perfection, according as they are contained in the same stanzas.
PROLOGUE
IN this book are first set down all the stanzas which are to be expounded; afterwards, each of the stanzas is expounded separately, being set down before its exposition; and then each line is expounded separately and in turn, the line itself also being set down before the exposition. In the first two stanzas are expounded the effects of the two spiritual purgations: of the sensual part of man and of the spiritual part. In the other six are expounded various and wondrous effects of the spiritual illumination and union of love With God.
STANZAS OF THE SOUL
1. On a dark night, Kindled in love With yearningsoh, happy chance!
I went forth Without being observed, My house being now at rest.
2. In darkness and secure, By the secret ladder, disguisedoh, happy chance!
--
Nor I beheld aught, Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart.
4. This light guided me More surely than the light of noonday
--
Oh, night that joined Beloved With lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved!
6. Upon my flowery breast, Kept wholly for himself alone,
--
Begins the exposition of the stanzas which treat of the way and manner which the soul follows upon the road of the union of love With God. Before we enter upon the exposition of these stanzas, it is well to understand here that the soul that utters them is now in the state of perfection, which is the union of love With God, having already passed through severe trials and straits, by means of spiritual exercise in the narrow way of eternal life whereof Our Saviour speaks in the Gospel, along which way the soul ordinarily passes in order to reach this high and happy union With God. Since this road (as the Lord Himself says likewise) is so strait, and since there are so few that enter by it,19 the soul considers it a great happiness and good chance to have passed along it to the said perfection of love, as it sings in this first stanza, calling this strait road With full propriety 'dark night,' as will be explained hereafter in the lines of the said stanza. The soul, then, rejoicing at having passed along this narrow road whence so many blessings have come to it, speaks after this manner.
BOOK THE FIRST
--
On a dark night, Kindled in love With yearningsoh, happy
chance!
I went forth Without being observed, My house being now at rest.
EXPOSITION
IN this first stanza the soul relates the way and manner which it followed in going forth, as to its affection, from itself and from all things, and in dying to them all and to itself, by means of true mortification, in order to attain to living the sweet and delectable life of love With God; and it says that this going forth from itself and from all things was a 'dark night,' by which, as will be explained hereafter, is here understood purgative contemplation, which causes passively in the soul the negation of itself and of all things referred to above.
2. And this going forth it says here that it was able to accomplish in the strength and ardour which love for its Spouse gave to it for that purpose in the dark contemplation aforementioned. Herein it extols the great happiness which it found in journeying to God through this night With such signal success that none of the three enemies, which are world, devil and flesh (who are they that ever impede this road), could hinder it; inasmuch as the aforementioned night of purgative20 contemplation lulled to sleep and mortified, in the house of its sensuality, all the passions and desires With respect to their mischievous desires and motions. The line, then, says:
On a dark night
0.07 - Letters to a Sadhak, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
There are many things wrong With me, I know. But
there must be something fundamentally wrong. What is
--
or sleep With one's head towards the North. Has it got
any real significance, Mother?
--
the position one has in relation With the material world, but by
the sadhana we get free from the slavery to that world.
--
of my heart so that I may be blessed With a vision
of your soul-captivating Presence in the full glory of
--
for spoiling the book With this very crude offering.
Nothing to excuse, all is in the spirit of the offering....
--
My very dear child, live in my love, feel it, be filled With it and
be happy - nothing can please me more than that.
--
important.... Dear child, I am always With you and my love and
blessings never leave you.
--
I know your love and blessings are always With me and
I sometimes wish you had not been so invariably kind
--
Yoga in the requisite spirit. And Without this, what is
discipleship?
--
My child's heart is filled With love and light from the Divine; let
them shine throughout your whole being and the clouds, if any,
--
You overwhelm me With your love, dear Mother. I know
I do not deserve one iota of the kindness you show to
--
me remain always there so that I may fill your whole being With
light and love and joy.
--
joy of an everlasting Presence be always With you - concretely
- in the sweetness of love divine.
--
if you are not merely experimenting With us? Praying to
be excused.
--
my love and blessings are With you.
12 August 1939
--
Whatever is the nature of the offering, when it is made With
sincerity it always contains a spark of divine light which can
--
are always With you.
How extremely lovable you are, dear Mama! Is there
--
invoking Her and there you were With the pot of pickles
and an ocean of Love! Such is your play, dear playful
--
compassion and solicitude and love which I do not deserve. And yet, although I feel a personal tie With you
which I expect is psychic, I still do not feel that I want
--
perhaps you are dissatisfied With my disability; possibly
you are getting tired of me altogether. If so, I would not
0.08 - Letters to a Young Captain, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
The psychic change is the change that puts you in contact With
the immanent Divine, the Divine who is at the centre of each
--
The spiritual change puts you directly in contact With the
Supreme.
--
indispensable starting-point. Through interiorisation and concentration one has to enter into conscious contact With one's
psychic being. This psychic being always has an influence on the
--
contact With these various forms of Energy.
10 September 1959
--
observes, it tries to understand and explain; and With all this
activity, it disturbs the experience and diminishes its intensity
--
soon as one is in conscious contact With the Divine.
So according to them, the question has no real basis and
--
But Without the soul we wouldn't exist!
The soul is that which comes from the Divine Without ever
leaving Him, and returns to the Divine Without ceasing to be
manifest.
The soul is the Divine made individual Without ceasing to
be divine.
--
therefore, to find one's soul is to find God; to identify With one's
soul is to unite With the Divine.
Thus it may be said that the role of the soul is to make a
--
Within and Without. So we may say With certainty that what we
carry in ourselves in all our states of being, mentally, vitally and
--
contact With each of those who are present, I identify myself
With the Supreme Lord and dissolve myself completely in Him.
--
balcony With trust and aspiration and to keep oneself as calm
and quiet as one can in a silent and passive state of expectation. If one has something precise to ask, it is better to ask it
--
This silence is synonymous With peace and it is all-powerful;
it is the perfectly effective remedy for the fatigue, tension and
--
listen to music With an intense and concentrated attention, to
the point of stopping all other noise in the head and obtaining
--
the music whose sound alone remains; and With the sound all
the feelings, all the movements of emotion can be captured,
--
them, it is enough to read With attention and concentration and
an attitude of inner good-will, With a desire to receive and live
what is taught.
--
unless one is specially gifted With an innate intuitive faculty.
In any case, I always advise reading a little at a time, keeping
the mind as quiet as one can, Without making an effort to understand, but keeping the head as silent as possible and letting
the force contained in what one reads enter deep inside. This
--
on the photo, one enters into relation With that special aspect or
different personality which the photo has captured and whose
--
begins With this inconscience.
Series Eight - To a Young Captain
--
and in them subconscience begins; this subconscience, With the
appearance of mind in man, culminates in consciousness. This
--
What should one try to do when one meditates With
your music at the Playground?
--
being can take the attitude of the witness who observes Without
reacting or participating, then one can notice the effect that the
--
origin who have been charged With supervising, directing and
This question and the three that follow are based on terms used by Sri Aurobindo in
--
This consciousness is double, at first psychological and subjective, Within oneself, expressing itself through thoughts, feelings,
emotions, sensations; then objective and concrete when one is
--
It goes Without saying that all this is not done in a day,
nor even in a year. This mastery, in whatever domain it may be,
--
The yoga of devotion is the path that leads to union With
the Divine through perfect, total and eternal love.
--
It is difficult to reply Without having the context. Which
"supreme faculties" are being referred to here? Those of man on
0.09 - Letters to a Young Teacher, #Some Answers From The Mother, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
Sri Aurobindo says: "In whatever form and With whatever spirit we approach him, in that form and With that
spirit he receives the sacrifice."2 What does this mean?
--
You must read With much attention and concentration, not
novels or dramas, but books that make you think. You must
--
You have asked the teachers "to think With ideas
instead of With words".4 You have also said that later on
you will ask them to think With experiences. Will you
throw some light on these three ways of thinking?
--
themselves slowly, gracefully, calmly descend, Without losing
anything of their elegance or beauty and, as they cross the
storeroom of words, clothe themselves effortlessly, automatically, With the words needed to make themselves perceptible
even in the material house.
This is what I call thinking With ideas.
When this process is no longer mysterious to you, I shall
explain what is meant by thinking With experiences.
1 June 1960
--
always be With you so that you can make all the progress you
want to make.
--
it is the ego. With the disappearance of the ego, the desires
disappear.
--
One day in class you said, With your hands wide
open, that we should give you everything, even our defects and vices and all the dirt in us. Is this the only way
--
intimately in contact With You, we have the impression
that the Divine belongs to us exclusively (and not that
--
is it necessary to try to establish the same relation With
him?
--
you; that is why it is easy for you to approach me With a loving
confidence, Without fear and Without hesitation. Sri Aurobindo
is always there to help you and guide you; but it is natural that
you should approach Him With the reverence due to the Master
of Yoga.
--
being; it is identical With its Divine Origin; it is the divine in
man.
--
And thus identified With the Divine, it becomes His perfect
instrument in the world.
--
come into contact With it from time to time when we are
receptive?
When you have established contact With your psychic being, it
is, in effect, definitive.
--
to apply it With an unfailing perseverance that does not shrink
from any obstacle, any difficulty. It is a long and minute work
which must be undertaken With sincerity and continued With an
increasing sincerity ever more scrupulous and integral.
--
sometimes even cuts off all relation With the body, which is then
usually possessed by an asuric or rakshasic being.
--
it. But there are many persons who, Without giving anything,
Words of the Mother - I, CWM, Vol. 13, p. 29.
--
ecstasy because one is in contact With one's Personal
Divine. How to approach the Transcendent Divine?
It is utterly certain that if you were truly in contact With "your
personal divine", you would know perfectly well "how to approach the Transcendent Divine". For the two are identical; it is
--
we are in contact With a Presence to whom we feel an
imperative need to give ourselves and who is the object
--
Whereas With one's heart, one can set out to discover the
Immanent Divine. And if one knows truly how to love, Without
desire or egoism, one finds Him very soon, for always He comes
--
of any physical embracing, as practical jokers With the tastes
and habits of street-urchins might like to suggest and who seek
--
everything, Without preference or exclusiveness.
26 November 1960
--
finding the psychic being Within us?
In terrestrial man, it is only the psychic being that knows true
--
And then what can we do With these things, Mother,
when we no longer need them? We can't throw them
--
we adore. We must learn to live With respect and never forget
His constant and immutable Presence.
--
If you are speaking of calendars With photographs, it is preferable to cut out the photos, and if you do not want to keep them,
give them to X who makes good use of them.
--
things we use. That is what I mean when I speak of living With
respect.
01.01 - A Yoga of the Art of Life, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
When Sri Aurobindo said, Our Yoga is not for ourselves but for humanity, many heaved a sigh of relief and thought that the great soul was after all not entirely lost to the world, his was not one more name added to the long list of Sannyasins that India has been producing age after age Without much profit either to herself or to the human society (or even perhaps to their own selves). People understood his Yoga to be a modern one, dedicated to the service of humanity. If service to humanity was not the very sum and substance of his spirituality, it was, at least, the fruitful end and consummation. His Yoga was a sort of art to explore and harness certain unseen powers that can better and ameliorate human life in a more successful way than mere rational scientific methods can hope to do.
Sri Aurobindo saw that the very core of his teaching was being missed by this common interpretation of his saying. So he changed his words and said, Our Yoga is not for humanity but for the Divine. But I am afraid this change of front, this volte-face, as it seemed, was not welcomed in many quarters; for thereby all hope of having him back for the work of the country or the world appeared to be totally lost and he came to be looked upon again as an irrevocable metaphysical dreamer, aloof from physical things and barren, even like the Immutable Brahman.
--
In order to get a nearer approach to the ideal for which Sri Aurobindo has been labouring, we may combine With advantage the two mottoes he has given us and say that his mission is to find and express the Divine in humanity. This is the service he means to render to humanity, viz, to manifest and embody in it the Divine: his goal is not merely an amelioration, but a total change and transformation, the divinisation of human life.
Here also one must guard against certain misconceptions that are likely to occur. The transformation of human life does not necessarily mean that the entire humanity will be changed into a race of gods or divine beings; it means the evolution or appearance on earth of a superior type of humanity, even as man evolved out of animality as a superior type of animality, not that the entire animal kingdom was changed into humanity.
--
Here is the very heart of the mystery, the master-key to the problem. The advent of the superhuman or divine race, however stupendous or miraculous the phenomenon may appear to be, can become a thing of practical actuality, precisely because it is no human agency that has undertaken it but the Divine himself in his supreme potency and wisdom and love. The descent of the Divine into the ordinary human nature in order to purify and transform it and be lodged there is the whole secret of the sadhana in Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. The sadhaka has only to be quiet and silent, calmly aspiring, open and acquiescent and receptive to the one Force; he need not and should not try to do things by his independent personal effort, but get them done or let them be done for him in the dedicated consciousness by the Divine Master and Guide. All other Yogas or spiritual disciplines in the past envisaged an ascent of the consciousness, its sublimation into the consciousness of the Spirit and its fusion and dissolution there in the end. The descent of the Divine Consciousness to prepare its definitive home in the dynamic and pragmatic human nature, if considered at all, was not the main theme of the past efforts and achievements. Furthermore, the descent spoken of here is the descent, not of a divine consciousness for there are many varieties of divine consciousness but of the Divine's own consciousness, of the Divine himself With his Shakti. For it is that that is directly working out this evolutionary transformation of the age.
It is not my purpose here to enter into details as to the exact meaning of the descent, how it happens and what are its lines of activity and the results brought about. For it is indeed an actual descent that happens: the Divine Light leans down first into the mind and begins its purificatory work therealthough it is always the inner heart which first recognises the Divine Presence and gives its assent to the Divine action for the mind, the higher mind that is to say, is the summit of the ordinary human consciousness and receives more easily and readily the Radiances that descend. From the Mind the Light filters into the denser regions of the emotions and desires, of life activity and vital dynamism; finally, it gets into brute Matter itself, the hard and obscure rock of the physical body, for that too has to be illumined and made the very form and figure of the Light supernal. The Divine in his descending Grace is the Master-Architect who is building slowly and surely the many-chambered and many-storeyed edifice that is human nature and human life into the mould of the Divine Truth in its perfect play and supreme expression. But this is a matter which can be closely considered when one is already well Within the mystery of the path and has acquired the elementary essentials of an initiate.
Another question that troubles and perplexes the ordinary human mind is as to the time when the thing will be done. Is it now or a millennium hence or at some astronomical distance in future, like the cooling of the sun, as someone has suggested for an analogy. In view of the magnitude of the work one might With reason say that the whole eternity is there before us, and a century or even a millennium should not be grudged to such a labour for it is nothing less than an undoing of untold millenniums in the past and the building of a far-flung futurity. However, as we have said, since it is the Divine's own work and since Yoga means a concentrated and involved process of action, effectuating in a minute what would perhaps take years to accomplish in the natural course, one can expect the work to be done sooner rather than later. Indeed, the ideal is one of here and nowhere upon this earth of material existence and now in this life, in this very bodynot hereafter or elsewhere. How long exactly that will mean, depends on many factors, but a few decades on this side or the other do not matter very much.
As to the extent of realisation, we say again that that is not a matter of primary consideration. It is not the quantity but the substance that counts. Even if it were a small nucleus it would be sufficient, at least for the beginning, provided it is the real, the genuine thing
--
Now, if it is asked what is the proof of it all, how can one be sure that one is not running after a mirage, a chimera? We can only answer With the adage; the proof of the pudding is in the eating thereof
III
--
From a certain point of view, from the point of view of essentials and inner realities, it would appear that spirituality is, at least, the basis of the arts, if not the highest art. If art is meant to express the soul of things, and since the true soul of things is the divine element in them, then certainly spirituality, the discipline of coming in conscious contact With the Spirit, the Divine, must be accorded the regal seat in the hierarchy of the arts. Also, spirituality is the greatest and the most difficult of the arts; for it is the art of life. To make of life a perfect work of beauty, pure in its lines, faultless in its rhythm, replete With strength, iridescent: With light, vibrant With delightan embodiment of the Divine, in a wordis the highest ideal of spirituality; viewed the spirituality that Sri Aurobindo practisesis the ne plus ultra of artistic creation
The Gita, II. 40
01.01 - Sri Aurobindo - The Age of Sri Aurobindo, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Someone has written to this effect: "This is not the age of Sri Aurobindo. His ideal of a divine life upon earth mayor may not be true; at any rate it is not of today or even of tomorrow. Humanity will take some time before it reaches that stage or its possibility. What we are concerned With here and now is something perhaps less great, less spiritual, but more urgent and more practical. The problem is not to run away With one's soul, but to maintain its earthly tenement, to keep body and soul together: one has to live first, live materially before one can hope to live spiritually."
Well, the view expressed in these words is not a new revelation. It has been the cry of suffering humanity through the ages. Man has borne his cross since the beginning of his creation through want and privation, through disease and bereavement, through all manner of turmoil and tribulation, and yetmirabile dictuat the same time, in the very midst of those conditions, he has been aspiring and yearning for something else, ignoring the present, looking into the beyond. It is not the prosperous and the more happily placed in life who find it more easy to turn to the higher life, it is not the wealthiest who has the greatest opportunity to pursue a spiritual idea. On the contrary, spiritual leaders have thought and experienced otherwise.
Apart from the well-recognised fact that only in distress does the normal man think of God and non-worldly things, the real matter, however, is that the inner life is a thing apart and follows its own line of movement, does not depend upon, is not subservient to, the kind of outer life that one may happen to live under. The Bible says indeed, "Blessed are the poor, blessed are they that mourn"... But the Upanishad declares, on the other hand, that even as one lies happily on a royal couch, bathes and anoints himself With all the perfumes of the world, has attendants all around and always to serve him, even so, one can be full of the divine consciousness from the crown of the head to the tip of his toe-nail. In fact, a poor or a prosperous life is in no direct or even indirect ratio to a spiritual life. All the miseries and immediate needs of a physical life do not and cannot detain or delay one from following the path of the ideal; nor can all your riches be a burden to your soul and overwhelm it, if it chooses to walk onit can not only walk, but soar and fly With all that knapsack on its back.
If one were to be busy about reforming the world and when that was done then alone to turn to other-worldly things, in that case, one would never take the turn, for the world will never be reformed totally or even considerably in that way. It is not that reformers have for the first time appeared on the earth in the present age. Men have attempted social, political, economic and moral reforms from times immemorial. But that has not barred the spiritual attempt or minimised its importance. To say that because an ideal is apparently too high or too great for the present age, it must be kept in cold storage is to set a premium on the present nature of humanity arid eternise it: that would bind the world to its old moorings and never give it the opportunity to be free and go out into the high seas of larger and greater realisations.
--
Indeed, looking from a standpoint that views the working of the forces that act and achieve and not the external facts and events and arrangements aloneone finds that things that are achieved on the material plane are first developed and matured and made ready behind the veil and at a given moment burst out and manifest themselves often unexpectedly and suddenly like a chick out of the shell or the young butterfly out of the cocoon. The Gita points to that truth of Nature when it says: "These beings have already been killed by Me." It is not that a long or strenuous physical planning and preparation alone or in the largest measure brings about a physical realisation. The deeper we go Within, the farther we are away from the surface, the nearer we come to the roots and sources of things even most superficial. The spiritual view sees and declares that it is the Brahmic consciousness that holds, inspires, builds up Matter, the physical body and form of Brahman.
The highest ideal, the very highest which God and Nature and Man have in view, is not and cannot be kept in cold storage: it is being worked out even here and now, and it has to be worked out here and now. The ideal of the Life Divine embodies a central truth of existence, and however difficult or chimerical it may appear to be to the normal mind, it is the preoccupation of the inner being of manall other ways or attempts of curing human ills are faint echoes, masks, diversions of this secret urge at the source and heart of things. That ideal is a norm and a force that is ever dynamic and has become doubly so since it has entered the earth atmosphere and the waking human consciousness and is labouring there. It is always safer and wiser to recognise that fact, to help in the realisation of that truth and be profited by it.
01.01 - The New Humanity, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Another humanity is rising out of the present human species. The beings of the new order are everywhere and it is they who will soon hold sway over earth, be the head and front of the terrestrial evolution in the cycle that is approaching as it was With man in the cycle that is passing away. What will this new order of being be like? It will be what man is not, also what man is. It will not be man, because it will overstep the limitations and incapacities inherent in man; and it will be man by the realisation of those fundamental aspirations and yearnings that have troubled and consoled the deeper strata the soulin him throughout the varied experiences of his terrestrial life.
The New Man will be Master and not slave. He will be master, first, of himself and then of the world. Man as he actually is, is but a slave. He has no personal voice or choice; the determining soul, the Ishwara, in him is sleep-bound and hushed. He is a mere plaything in the hands of nature and circumstances. Therefore it is that Science has become his supreme Dharmashastra; for science seeks to teach us the moods of Nature and the methods of propitiating her. Our actual ideal of man is that of the cleverest slave. But the New Man will have found himself and by and according to his inner will, mould and create his world. He will not be in awe of Nature and in an attitude of perpetual apprehension and hesitation, but will ground himself on a secret harmony and union that will declare him as the lord. We will recognise the New Man by his very gait and manner, by a certain kingly ease and dominion in every shade of his expression.
Not that this sovereign power will have anything to do With aggression or over-bearingness. It will not be a power that feels itself only by creating an eternal opponentErbfeindby coming in constant clash With a rival that seeks to gain victory by subjugating. It will not be Nietzschean "will to power," which is, at best, a supreme Asuric power. It will rather be a Divine Power, for the strength it will exert and the victory it will achieve will not come from the egoit is the ego which requires an object outside and against to feel and affirm itself but it will come from a higher personal self which is one With the cosmic soul and therefore With other personal souls. The Asura, in spite of, or rather, because of his aggressive vehemence betrays a lack of the sovereign power that is calm and at ease and self-sufficient. The Devic power does not assert hut simply accomplishes; the forces of the world act not as its opponent but as its instrument. Thus the New Man shall affirm his individual sovereignty and do so to perfection by expressing through it his unity With the cosmic powers, With the infinite godhead. And by being Swarat, Self-Master, he will become Samrat, world-master.
This mastery will be effected not merely in will, but in mind and heart also. For the New Man will know not by the intellect which is egocentric and therefore limited, not by ratiocination which is an indirect and doubtful process, but by direct vision, an inner communion, a soul revelation. The new knowledge will be vast and profound and creative, based as it will be upon the reality of things and not upon their shadows. Truth will shine through every experience and every utterance"a truth shall have its seat on our speech and mind and hearing", so have the Vedas said. The mind and intellect will not be active and constructive agents but the luminous channel of a self-luminous knowledge. And the heart too which is now the field of passion and egoism will be cleared of its noise and obscurity; a serener sky will shed its pure warmth and translucent glow. The knot will be rent asunderbhidyate hridaya granthih and the vast and mighty streams of another ocean will flow through. We will love not merely those to whom we are akin but God's creatures, one and all; we will love not With the yearning and hunger of a mortal but With the wide and intense Rasa that lies in the divine identity of souls.
And the new society will be based not upon competition, nor even upon co-operation. It will not be an open conflict, neither will it be a convenient compromise of rival individual interests. It will be the organic expression of the collective soul of humanity, working and achieving through each and every individual soul its most wide-winging freedom, manifesting the godhead that is, proper to each and every one. It will be an organisation, most delicate and subtle and supple, the members of which will have no need to live upon one another but in and through one another. It will be, if you like, a henotheistic hierarchy in which everyone will be the greatest, since everyone is all and all everyone simultaneously.
The New Humanity will be something in the mould that we give to the gods. It will supply the link that we see missing between gods and men; it will be the race of embodied gods. Man will attain that thing which has been his first desire and earliest dream, for which he coveted the gods Immortality, amritatwam. The mortalities that cut and divide, limit and bind man make him the sorrowful being he is. These are due to his ignorance and weakness and egoism. These are due to his soul itself. It is the soul that requires change, a new birth, as Christ demanded. Ours is a little soul that has severed itself from the larger and mightier self that it is. And therefore does it die every moment and even while living is afraid to live and so lives poorly and miserably. But the age is now upon us when the god-like soul anointed With its immortal royalties is ready to emerge and claim our salutation.
The breath and the surge of the new creation cannot be mistaken. The question that confronts us today is no longer whether the New Man, the Super-humanity, will come or if at all, when; but the question we have to answer is who among us are ready to be its receptacle, its instrument and embodiment.
01.01 - The One Thing Needful, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
To find the Divine is indeed the first reason for seeking the spiritual Truth and the spiritual life; it is the one thing indispensable and all the resit is nothing Without it. The Divine once found, to manifest Him, - that is, first of all to transform one's own limited consciousness into the Divine Consciousness, to live in the infinite Peace, Light, Love, Strength, Bliss, to become that in one's essential nature and, as a consequence, to be its vessel, channel, instrument in one's active nature. To bring into activity the principle of oneness on the material plane or to work for humanity is a mental mistranslation of the Truth - these things cannot be the first true object of spiritual seeking. We must find the Self, the Divine, then only can we know what is the work the Self or the Divine demands from us. Until then our life and action can only be a help or a means towards finding the Divine and it ought not to have any other purpose. As we grow in inner consciousness, or as the spiritual Truth of the Divine grows in us, our life and action must indeed more and more flow from that, be one With that. But to decide beforeh and by our limited mental conceptions what they must be is to hamper the growth of the spiritual Truth Within. As that grows we shall feel the Divine Light and Truth, the Divine Power and Force, the Divine Purity and Peace working Within us, dealing With our actions as well as our consciousness, making use of them to reshape us into the Divine Image, removing the dross, substituting the pure Gold of the Spirit. Only when the Divine Presence is there in us always and the consciousness transformed, can we have the right to say that we are ready to manifest the Divine on the material plane. To hold up a mental ideal or principle and impose that on the inner working brings the danger of limiting ourselves to a mental realisation or of impeding or even falsifying by a halfway formation the truth growth into the full communion and union With the Divine and the free and intimate outflowing of His will in our life. This is a mistake of orientation to which the mind of today is especially prone. It is far better to approach the Divine for the Peace or Light or Bliss that the realisation of Him gives than to bring in these minor things which can divert us from the one thing needful. The divinisation of the material life also as well as the inner life is part of what we see as the Divine Plan, but it can only be fulfilled by an ourflowing of the inner realisation, something that grows from Within outwards, not by the working out of a mental principle.
The realisation of the Divine is the one thing needful and the rest is desirable only in so far as it helps or leads towards that or when it is realised, extends and manifests the realisation. Manifestation and organisation of the whole life for the divine work, - first, the sadhana personal and collective necessary for the realisation and a common life of God-realised men, secondly, for help to the world to move towards that, and to live in the Light - is the whole meaning and purpose of my Yoga. But the realisation is the first need and it is that round which all the rest moves, for apart from it all the rest would have no meaning.
--
... the principle of this Yoga is not perfection of the human nature as it is but a psychic and spiritual transformation of all the parts of the being through the action of an inner consciousness and then of a higher consciousness which works on them, throws out the old movements or changes them into the image of its own and so transmutes lower into higher nature. It is not so much the perfection of the intellect as a transcendence of it, a transformation of the mind, the substitution of a larger greater principle of knowledge - and so With all the rest of the being.
This is a slow and difficult process; the road is long and it is hard to establish even the necessary basis. The old existing nature resists and obstructs and difficulties rise one after another and repeatedly till they are overcome. It is therefore necessary to be sure that this is the path to which one is called before one finally decides to tread it.
01.01 - The Symbol Dawn, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Its formless stupor Without mind or life,
A shadow spinning through a soulless Void,
--
Insistent, dissatisfied, Without an aim,
Something that wished but knew not how to be,
--
A sense was born Within the darkness' depths,
A memory quivered in the heart of Time
--
An errant marvel With no place to live,
Into a far-off nook of heaven there came
--
Fixed With gold panel and opalescent hinge
A gate of dreams ajar on mystery's verge.
--
Iridescent With the glory of the Unseen,
A message from the unknown immortal Light
--
A brilliant code penned With the sky for page.
1.29
--
Then the divine afflatus, spent, Withdrew,
Unwanted, fading from the mortal's range.
--
Lines With its passion and mystery Matter's mask
And squanders eternity on a beat of Time.
--
And, leader here With his uncertain mind,
Alone who stares at the future's covered face,
--
The embodied Guest Within made no response.
2.3
--
She had brought With her into the human form,
The calm delight that weds one soul to all,
--
Almost With hate repels the light it brings;
It trembles at its naked power of Truth
--
It sullies With its mire heaven's messengers:
Its thorns of fallen nature are the defence
--
It meets the sons of God With death and pain.
2.13
--
To live With grief, to confront death on her road,--
The mortal's lot became the Immortal's share.
--
Harbouring a foe whom With her heart she must feed,
Unknown her act, unknown the doom she faced,
--
In its grim rendezvous With death and fear,
No cry broke from her lips, no call for aid;
--
Apart, living Within, all lives she bore;
Aloof, she carried in herself the world:
Her dread was one With the great cosmic dread,
Her strength was founded on the cosmic mights;
--
The Power that kindles mind was still Withdrawn:
Heavy, unwilling were life's servitors
Like workers With no wages of delight;
Sullen, the torch of sense refused to burn;
--
Stared into Space With fixed regardless eyes
That saw grief's timeless depths but not life's goal.
01.02 - Natures Own Yoga, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 03, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Sri Aurobindo's Yoga is in the direct line of Nature's own Yoga. Nature has a Yoga, which she follows unfailingly, and inevitably for it is her innermost law of being. Yoga means, in essence, a change or transformation of consciousness, a heightening and broadening of consciousness, which is effected by communion or union or identification With a higher and vaster consciousness.
This process of a developing consciousness in Nature is precisely what is known as Evolution. It is the bringing out and fixing of a higher and higher principle of consciousness, hitherto involved and concealed behind the veil, in the earth consciousness as a dynamic factor in Nature's manifest working. Thus, the first stage of evolution is the status of inconscient Matter, of the lifeless physical elements; the second stage is that of the semi-conscious life in the plant, the third that of the conscious life in the animal, and finally the fourth stage, where we stand at present, is that of the embodied self-conscious life in man.
The course of evolution has not come to a stop With man and the next stage, Sri Aurobindo says, which Nature envisages and is labouring to bring out and establish is the life now superconscious to us, embodied in a still higher type of created being, that of the superman or god-man. The principle of consciousness which will determine the nature and build of this new, being is a spiritual principle beyond the mental principle which man now incarnates: it may be called the Supermind or Gnosis.
For, till now Mind has been the last term of the evolutionary consciousness Mind as developed in man is the highest instrument built up and organised by Nature through which the self-conscious being can express itself. That is why the Buddha said: Mind is the first of all principles, Mind is the highest of all principles: indeed Mind is the constituent of all principlesmana puvvangam dhamm1. The consciousness beyond mind has not yet been made a patent and dynamic element in the life upon earth; it has been glimpsed or entered into in varying degrees and modes by saints and seers; it has cast its derivative illuminations in the creative activities of poets and artists, in the finer and nobler urges of heroes and great men of action. But the utmost that has been achieved, the summit reached in that direction, as exampled in spiritual disciplines, involves a Withdrawal from the evolutionary cycle, a merging and an absorption into the static status that is altogether beyond it, that lies, as it were, at the other extreme the Spirit in itself, Atman, Brahman, Sachchidananda, Nirvana, the One Without a second, the Zero Without a first.
The first contact that one has With this static supra-reality is through the higher ranges of the mind: a direct and closer communion is established through a plane which is just above the mind the Overmind, as Sri Aurobindo calls it. The Overmind dissolves or transcends the ego-consciousness which limits the being to its individualised formation bounded by an outward and narrow frame or sheath of mind, life and body; it reveals the universal Self and Spirit, the cosmic godhead and its myriad forces throwing up myriad forms; the world-existence there appears as a play of ever-shifting veils upon the face of one ineffable reality, as a mysterious cycle of perpetual creation and destructionit is the overwhelming vision given by Sri Krishna to Arjuna in the Gita. At the same time, the initial and most intense experience which this cosmic consciousness brings is the extreme relativity, contingency and transitoriness of the whole flux, and a necessity seems logically and psychologically imperative to escape into the abiding substratum, the ineffable Absoluteness.
This has been the highest consummation, the supreme goal which the purest spiritual experience and the deepest aspiration of the human consciousness generally sought to attain. But in this view, the world or creation or Nature came in the end to be looked upon as fundamentally a product of Ignorance: ignorance and suffering and incapacity and death were declared to be the very hallmark of things terrestrial. The Light that dwells above and beyond can be made to shed for a while some kind of lustre upon the mortal darkness but never altogether to remove or change itto live in the full light, to be in and of the Light means to pass beyond. Not that there have not been other strands and types of spiritual experiences and aspirations, but the one we are considering has always struck the major chord and dominated and drowned all the rest.
--
In the Supermind things exist in their perfect spiritual reality; each is consciously the divine reality in its transcendent essence, its cosmic extension, its, spiritual individuality; the diversity of a manifested existence is there, but the mutually exclusive separativeness has not yet arisen. The ego, the knot of separativity, appears at a later and lower stage of involution; what is here is indivisible nexus of individualising centres of the one eternal truth of being. Where Supermind and Overmind meet, one can see the multiple godheads, each distinct in his own truth and beauty and power and yet all together forming the one supreme consciousness infinitely composite and inalienably integral. But stepping back into Supermind one sees something moreOneness gathering into itself all diversity, not destroying it, but annulling and forbidding the separative consciousness that is the beginning of Ignorance. The first shadow of the Illusory Consciousness, the initial possibility of the movement of Ignorance comes in when the supramental light enters the penumbra of the mental sphere. The movement of Supermind is the movement of light Without obscurity, straight, unwavering, unswerving, absolute. The Force here contains and holds in their oneness of Reality the manifold but not separated lines of essential and unalloyed truth: its march is the inevitable progression of each one assured truth entering into and upholding every other and therefore its creation, play or action admits of no trial or stumble or groping or deviation; for each truth rests on all others and on that which harmonises them all and does not act as a Power diverging from and even competing With other Powers of being. In the Overmind commences the play of divergent possibilities the simple, direct, united and absolute certainties of the supramental consciousness retire, as it were, a step behind and begin to work themselves out through the interaction first of separately individualised and then of contrary and contradictory forces. In the Overmind there is a conscious underlying Unity but yet each Power, Truth, Aspect of that Unity is encouraged to work out its possibilities as if it were sufficient to itself and the others are used by it for its own enhancement until in the denser and darker reaches below Overmind this turns out a thing of blind conflict and battle and, as it would appear, of chance survival. Creation or manifestation originally means the concretisation or devolution of the powers of Conscious Being into a play of united diversity; but on the line which ends in Matter it enters into more and more obscure forms and forces and finally the virtual eclipse of the supreme light of the Divine Consciousness. Creation as it descends' towards the Ignorance becomes an involution of the Spirit through Mind and Life into Matter; evolution is a movement backward, a return journey from Matter towards the Spirit: it is the unravelling, the gradual disclosure and deliverance of the Spirit, the ascension and revelation of the involved consciousness through a series of awakeningsMatter awakening into Life, Life awakening into Mind and Mind now seeking to awaken into something beyond the Mind, into a power of conscious Spirit.
The apparent or actual result of the movement of Nescienceof Involutionhas been an increasing negation of the Spirit, but its hidden purpose is ultimately to embody the Spirit in Matter, to express here below in cosmic Time-Space the splendours of the timeless Reality. The material body came into existence bringing With it inevitably, as it seemed, mortality; it appeared even to be fashioned out of mortality, in order that in this very frame and field of mortality, Immortality, the eternal Spirit Consciousness which is the secret truth and reality in Time itself as well as behind it, might be established and that the Divine might be possessed, or rather, possess itself not in one unvarying mode of the static consciousness, as it does even now behind the cosmic play, but in the play itself and in the multiple mode of the terrestrial existence.
II
--
An organ in the human being has been especially developed to become the effective instrument of this accelerated Yogic process the self-consciousness which I referred to as being the distinctive characteristic of man is a function of this organ. It is his soul, his psychic being; originally it is the spark of the Divine Consciousness which came down and became involved in Matter and has been endeavouring ever since to release itself through the upward march of evolution. It is this which presses on continually as the stimulus to the evolutionary movement; and in man it has attained sufficient growth and power and has come so far to the front from behind the veil that it can now lead and mould his external consciousness. It is also the channel through which the Divine Consciousness can flow down into the inferior levels of human nature. It is the being no bigger than the thumb ever seated Within the heart, spoken of in the Upanishads. It is likewise the basis of true individuality and personal identity. It is again the reflection or expression in evolutionary Nature of one's essential selfjivtman that is above, an eternal portion of the Divine, one With the Divine and yet not dissolved and lost in it. The psychic being is thus on the one hand in direct contact With the Divine and the higher consciousness, and on the other it is the secret upholder and controller' (bhart, antarymin) of the inferior consciousness, the hidden nucleus round which the body and the life and the mind of the individual are built up and organised.
The first decisive step in Yoga is taken when one becomes conscious of the psychic being, or, looked at from the other side, when the psychic being comes forward and takes possession of the external being, begins to initiate and influence the movements of the mind and life and body and gradually free them from the ordinary round of ignorant nature. The awakening of the psychic being means, as I have said, not only a deepening and heightening of the consciousness and its release from the obscurity and limitation of the inferior Prakriti, confined to the lower threefold status, into what is behind and beyond; it means also a return of the deeper and higher consciousness upon the lower hemisphere and a consequent purification and illumination and regeneration of the latter. Finally, when the psychic being is in full self-possession and power, it can be the vehicle of the direct supramental consciousness which will then be able to act freely and absolutely for the entire transformation of the external nature, its transfiguration into a perfect body of the Truth-consciousness in a word, its divinisation.
This then is the supreme secret, not the renunciation and annulment, but the transformation of the ordinary human nature : first of all, its psychicisation, that is to say, making it move and live and be in communion and identification With the light of the psychic being, and, secondly, through the soul and the ensouled mind and life and body, to open out into the supramental consciousness and let it come down here below and work and achieve.
The soul or the true being in man uplifted in the supramental consciousness and at the same time coming forward to possess a divinised mind and life and body as an instrument and channel of its self-expression and an embodiment of the Divine Will and Purposesuch is the goal that Nature is seeking to realise at present through her evolutionary lan. It is to this labour that man has been called so that in and through him the destined transcendence and transformation can take place.
It is not easy, however, nor is it necessary for the moment to envisage in detail what this divinised man would be like, externallyhis mode of outward being and living, kimsita vrajeta kim, as Arjuna queriedor how the collective life of the new humanity would function or what would be the composition of its social fabric. For what is happening is a living process, an organic growth; it is being elaborated through the actions and reactions of multitudinous forces and conditions, known and unknown; the precise configuration of the final outcome cannot be predicted With exactitude. But the Power that is at work is omniscient; it is selecting, rejecting, correcting, fashioning, creating, co-ordinating elements in accordance With and by the drive of the inviolable law of Truth and Harmony that reigns in Light's own homeswe dame the Supermind.
It is also to be noted that as mind is not the last limit of the march of evolution, even so the progress of evolution will not stop With the manifestation and embodiment of the Supermind. There are other still higher principles beyond and they too presumably await manifestation and embodiment on earth. Creation has no beginning in time (andi) nor has it an end (ananta). It is an eternal process of the unravelling of the mysteries of the Infinite. Only, it may be said that With the Supermind the creation here enters into a different order of existence. Before it there was the domain of Ignorance, after it will come the reign of Light and Knowledge. Mortality has been the governing principle of life on earth till now; it will be replaced by the consciousness of immortality. Evolution has proceeded through struggle and pain; hereafter it will be a spontaneous, harmonious and happy flowering.
Now, With regard to the time that the present stage of evolution is likely to take for its fulfilment, one can presume that since or if the specific urge and stress has manifested and come up to the front, this very fact would show that the problem has become a problem of actuality, and even that it can be dealt With as if it had to be solved now or never. We have said that in man, With man's self-consciousness or the consciousness of the psychic being as the instrument, evolution has attained the capacity of a swift and concentrated process, which is the process of Yoga; the process will become swifter and more concentrated, the more that instrument grows and gathers power and is infused With the divine afflatus. In fact, evolution has been such a process of gradual acceleration in tempo from the very beginning. The earliest stage, for example, the stage of dead Matter, of the play of the mere chemical forces was a very, very long one; it took millions and millions of years to come to the point when the manifestation of life became possible. But the period of elementary life, as manifested in the plant world that followed, although it too lasted a good many millions of years, was much briefer than the preceding periodit ended With the advent of the first animal form. The age of animal life, again, has been very much shorter than that of the plant life before man came upon earth. And man is already more than a million or two years oldit is fully time that a higher order of being should be created out of him.
The Dhammapada, I. 1
01.02 - Sri Aurobindo - Ahana and Other Poems, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
What is the world that Sri Aurobindo sees and creates? Poetry is after all passion. By passion I do not mean the fury of emotion nor the fume of sentimentalism, but what lies behind at their source, what lends them the force they have the sense of the "grandly real," the vivid and pulsating truth. What then is the thing that Sri Aurobindo has visualised, has endowed With a throbbing life and made a poignant reality? Victor Hugo said: Attachez Dieu au gibet, vous avez la croixTie God to the gibbet, you have the cross. Even so, infuse passion into a thing most prosaic, you create sublime poetry out of it. What is the dead matter that has found life and glows and vibrates in Sri Aurobindo's passion? It is something which appears to many poetically intractable, not amenable to aesthetic treatment, not usually, that is to say, nor in the supreme manner. Sri Aurobindo has thrown such a material into his poetic fervour and created a sheer beauty, a stupendous reality out of it. Herein lies the greatness of his achievement. Philosophy, however divine, and in spite of Milton, has been regarded by poets as "harsh and crabbed" and as such unfit for poetic delineation. Not a few poets indeed foundered upon this rock. A poet in his own way is a philosopher, but a philosopher chanting out his philosophy in sheer poetry has been one of the rarest spectacles.1 I can think of only one instance just now where a philosopher has almost succeeded being a great poet I am referring to Lucretius and his De Rerum Natura. Neither Shakespeare nor Homer had anything like philosophy in their poetic creation. And in spite of some inclination to philosophy and philosophical ideas Virgil and Milton were not philosophers either. Dante sought perhaps consciously and deliberately to philosophise in his Paradiso I Did he? The less Dante then is he. For it is his Inferno, where he is a passionate visionary, and not his Paradiso (where he has put in more thought-power) that marks the nee plus ultra of his poetic achievement.
And yet what can be more poetic in essence than philosophy, if by philosophy we mean, as it should mean, spiritual truth and spiritual realisation? What else can give the full breath, the integral force to poetic inspiration if it is not the problem of existence itself, of God, Soul and Immortality, things that touch, that are at the very root of life and reality? What can most concern man, what can strike the deepest fount in him, unless it is the mystery of his own being, the why and the whither of it all? But mankind has been taught and trained to live merely or mostly on earth, and poetry has been treated as the expression of human joys and sorrows the tears in mortal things of which Virgil spoke. The savour of earth, the thrill of the flesh has been too sweet for us and we have forgotten other sweetnesses. It is always the human element that we seek in poetry, but we fail to recognise that what we obtain in this way is humanity in its lower degrees, its surface formulations, at its minimum magnitude.
We do not say that poets have never sung of God and Soul and things transcendent. Poets have always done that. But what I say is this that presentation of spiritual truths, as they are in their own home, in other words, treated philosophically and yet in a supreme poetic manner, has always been a rarity. We have, indeed, in India the Gita and the Upanishads, great philosophical poems, if there were any. But for one thing they are on dizzy heights out of the reach of common man and for another they are idolised more as philosophy than as poetry. Doubtless, our Vaishnava poets sang of God and Love Divine; and Rabindranath, in one sense, a typical modern Vaishnava, did the same. And their songs are masterpieces. But are they not all human, too human, as the mad prophet would say? In them it is the human significance, the human manner that touches and moves us the spiritual significance remains esoteric, is suggested, is a matter of deduction. Sri Aurobindo has dealt With spiritual experiences in a different way. He has not clothed them in human symbols and allegories, in images and figures of the mere earthly and secular life: he presents them in their nakedness, just as they are seen and realised. He has not sought to tone down the rigour of truth With contrivances that easily charm and captivate the common human mind and heart. Nor has he indulged like so many poet philosophers in vague generalisations and colourless or too colourful truisms that do not embody a clear thought or rounded idea, a radiant judgment. Sri Aurobindo has given us in his poetry thoughts that are clear-cut, ideas beautifully chiselledhe is always luminously forceful.
Take these Vedantic lines that in their limpidity and harmonious flow beat anything found in the fine French poet Lamartine:
--
When darkness was blind and engulfed Within darkness,
He was seated Within it immense and alone.2
or these that contain the metaphysics of a spiritual life:
--
This is sheer philosophy, told With an almost philosophical bluntnessmay be, but is it mere philosophy and mediocre poetry? Once more listen to the Upanishadic lines:
Deep in the luminous secrecy, the mute
--
He dwells Within us all who dwells not in
Aught that is.5
It is the bare truth, "truth in its own home", as I have said already using a phrase of the ancient sages, that is formulated here Without the prop of any external symbolism. There is no veil, no mist, no uncertainty or ambiguity. It is clarity itself, an almost scientific exactness and precision. In all this there is something of the straightness and fullness of vision that characterised the Vedic Rishis, something of their supernal genius which could mould speech into the very expression of what is beyond speech, which could sublimate the small and the finite into forms of the Vast and the Infinite. Mark how in these aphoristic lines embodying a deep spiritual experience, the inexpressible has been expressed With a luminous felicity:
Delight that labours in its opposite,
--
He stung Himself With bliss and called it pain.7
To humanise the Divine, that is what we all wish to do; for the Divine is too lofty for us and we cannot look full into his face. We cry and supplicate to Rudra, "O dire Lord, show us that other form of thine that is benign and humane". All earthly imageries we lavish upon the Divine so that he may appear to us not as something far and distant and foreign, but, quite near, among us, as one of us. We take recourse to human symbolism often, because we wish to palliate or hide the rigours of a supreme experience, not because we have no adequate terms for it. The same human or earthly terms could be used differently if we had a different consciousness. Thus the Vedic Rishis sought not to humanise the Divine, their purpose was rather to divinise the human. And their allegorical language, although rich in terrestrial figures, does not carry the impress and atmosphere of mere humanity and earthliness. For in reality the symbol is not merely the symbol. It is mere symbol in regard to the truth so long as we take our stand on the lower plane when we have to look at the truth through the symbol; but if we view it from the higher plane, from truth itself, it is no longer mere symbol but the very truth bodied forth. Whatever there is of symbolism on earth and its beauties, in sense and its enjoyments, is then transfigured into the expression of the truth, of the divinity itself. We then no longer speak in human language but in the language of the gods.
--
The heart and its urges, the vital and its surges, the physical impulsesit is these of which the poets sang in their infinite variations. But the mind proper, that is to say, the higher reflective ideative mind, was not given the right of citizenship in the domain of poetry. I am not forgetting the so-called Metaphysicals. The element of metaphysics among the Metaphysicals has already been called into question. There is here, no doubt, some theology, a good dose of mental cleverness or conceit, but a modern intellectual or rather rational intelligence is something other, something more than that. Even the metaphysics that was commandeered here had more or less a decorative value, it could not be taken into the pith and substance of poetic truth and beauty. It was a decoration, but not unoften a drag. I referred to the Upanishads, but these strike quite a different, almost an opposite line in this connection. They are in a sense truly metaphysical: they bypass the mind and the mental powers, get hold of a higher mode of consciousness, make a direct contact With truth and beauty and reality. It was Buddha's credit to have forged this missing link in man's spiritual consciousness, to have brought into play the power of the rational intellect and used it in support of the spiritual experience. That is not to say that he was the very first person, the originator who initiated the movement; but at least this seems to be true that in him and his au thentic followers the movement came to the forefront of human consciousness and attained the proportions of a major member of man's psychological constitution. We may remember here that Socrates, who started a similar movement of rationalisation in his own way in Europe, was almost a contemporary of the Buddha.
Poetry as an expression of thought-power, poetry weighted With intelligence and rationalised knowledge that seems to me to be the end and drive, the secret sense of all the mystery of modern technique. The combination is risky, but not impossible. In the spiritual domain the Gita achieved this miracle to a considerable degree. Still, the power of intelligence and reason shown by Vyasa is of a special order: it is a sublimated function of the faculty, something aloof and other-worldly"introvert", a modern mind would term it that is to say, something a priori, standing in its own au thenticity and self-sufficiency. A modern intelligence would be more scientific, let us use the word, more matter-of-fact and sense-based: the mental light should not be confined in its ivory tower, however high that may be, but brought down and placed at the service of our perception and appreciation and explanation of things human and terrestrial; made immanent in the mundane and the ephemeral, as they are commonly called. This is not an impossibility. Sri Aurobindo seems to have done the thing. In him we find the three terms of human consciousness arriving at an absolute fusion and his poetry is a wonderful example of that fusion. The three terms are the spiritual, the intellectual or philosophical and the physical or sensational. The intellectual, or more generally, the mental, is the intermediary, the Paraclete, as he himself will call it later on in a poem9 magnificently exemplifying the point we are trying to make out the agent who negotiates, bridges and harmonises the two other firmaments usually supposed to be antagonistic and incompatible.
Indeed it would be wrong to associate any cold ascetic nudity to the spiritual body of Sri Aurobindo. His poetry is philosophic, abstract, no doubt, but every philosophy has its practice, every abstract thing its concrete application,even as the soul has its body; and the fusion, not mere union, of the two is very characteristic in him. The deepest and unseizable flights of thought he knows how to clo the With a Kalidasian richness of imagery, or a Keatsean gusto of sensuousness:
. . . . .O flowers, O delight on the tree-tops burning!
--
Yamuna flowing With song, through the greenness always advancing!
You unforgotten remind. For his flute With its sweetness ensnaring
Sounds in our ears in the night and our souls of their teguments baring
--
And it would be wrong too to suppose that there is want of sympathy in Sri Aurobindo for ordinary humanity, that he is not susceptible to sentiments, to the weaknesses, that stir the natural man. Take for example this line so instinct With a haunting melancholy strain:
Cold are your rivers of peace and their banks are leafless and lonely.
--
Son of man, thou hast crowned the life With the flowers that are scentless,
And the whole aspiration of striving mortality finds its echo in:
--
And what an amount of tenderness he has poured into his little poem on childhood, a perfect piece of chiselled crystal, pure and translucent and gleaming With the clear lines of a summer sky:
O thou golden image,
--
I grieve not, into a stone I grew Within.
We have in Sri Aurobindo a passage parallel in sentiment, if not of equal poetic value, which will bear out the contrast:
My mind Within grew holy, calm and still
Like the snow.
--
Headlong, o'ercome, With a stridulent horror the
river descending
--
The superb and the right imperial tone instinct With a concentrated force of
Who art thou, warrior armed gloriously
01.02 - The Creative Soul, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 01, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The difference between living organism and dead matter is that while the former is endowed With creative activity, the latter has only passive receptivity. Life adds, synthetises, new-createsgives more than what it receives; matter only sums up, gathers, reflects, gives just what it receives. Life is living, glad and green through its creative genius. Creation in some form or other must be the core of everything that seeks vitality and growth, vigour and delight. Not only so, but a thing in order to be real must possess a creative function. We consider a shadow or an echo unreal precisely because they do not create but merely image or repeat, they do not bring out anything new but simply reflect what is given. The whole of existence is real because it is eternally creative.
So the problem that concerns man, the riddle that humanity has to solve is how to find out and follow the path of creativity. If we are not to be dead matter nor mere shadowy illusions we must be creative. A misconception that has vitiated our outlook in general and has been the most potent cause of a sterilising atavism in the moral evolution of humanity is that creativity is an aristocratic virtue, that it belongs only to the chosen few. A great poet or a mighty man of action creates indeed, but such a creator does not appear very frequently. A Shakespeare or a Napoleon is a rare phenomenon; they are, in reality, an exception to the general run of mankind. It is enough if we others can understand and follow themMahajano yena gatahlet the great souls initiate and create, the common souls have only to repeat and imitate.
--
Let each take cognisance of the godhead that is Within him for self is Godand in the strength of the soul-divinity create his universe. It does not matter what sort of universe he- creates, so long as he creates it. The world created by a Buddha is not the same as that created by a Napoleon, nor should they be the same. It does not prove anything that I cannot become a Kalidasa; for that matter Kalidasa cannot become what I am. If you have not the genius of a Shankara it does not mean that you have no genius at all. Be and become yourselfma gridhah kasyachit dhanam, says the Upanishad. The fountain-head of creative genius lies there, in the free choice and the particular delight the self-determination of the spirit Within you and not in the desire for your neighbours riches. The world has become dull and uniform and mechanical, since everybody endeavours to become not himself, but always somebody else. Imitation is servitude and servitude brings in grief.
In one's own soul lies the very height and profundity of a god-head. Each soul by bringing out the note that is his, makes for the most wondrous symphony. Once a man knows what he is and holds fast to it, refusing to be drawn away by any necessity or temptation, he begins to uncover himself, to do what his inmost nature demands and takes joy in, that is to say, begins to create. Indeed there may be much difference in the forms that different souls take. But because each is itself, therefore each is grounded upon the fundamental equality of things. All our valuations are in reference to some standard or other set up With a particular end in view, but that is a question of the practical world which in no way takes away from the intrinsic value of the greatness of the soul. So long as the thing is there, the how of it does not matter. Infinite are the ways of manifestation and all of them the very highest and the most sublime, provided they are a manifestation of the soul itself, provided they rise and flow from the same level. Whether it is Agni or Indra, Varuna, Mitra or the Aswins, it is the same supreme and divine inflatus.
The cosmic soul is true. But that truth is borne out, effectuated only by the truth of the individual soul. When the individual soul becomes itself fully and integrally, by that very fact it becomes also the cosmic soul. The individuals are the channels through which flows the Universal and the Infinite in its multiple emphasis. Each is a particular figure, aspectBhava, a particular angle of vision of All. The vision is entire and the figure perfect if it is not refracted by the lower and denser parts of our being. And for that the individual must first come to itself and shine in its opal clarity and translucency.
01.02 - The Issue, #Savitri, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Awhile, Withdrawn in secret fields of thought,
Her mind moved in a many-imaged past
--
Peopled With well-loved forms now seen no more
And the subtle images of things that were,
--
In a last turn where heaven raced With hell.
3.5
--
And be the ungarbed entity Within:
That hour had fallen now on Savitri.
--
Fastened With hidden inevitable links
She must disrupt, dislodge by her soul's force
--
Her soul's debate With embodied Nothingness
Must be wrestled out on a dangerous dim background:
--
On the bare peak where Self is alone With Nought
And life has no sense and love no place to stand,
--
Penetrate With her thinking depths the Void's monstrous hush,
Look into the lonely eyes of immortal Death
And With her nude spirit measure the Infinite's night.
3.16
--
The last long days went by With heavy tramp,
Long but too soon to pass, too near the end.
--
No helper had she save the Strength Within;
There was no witness of terrestrial eyes;
--
And set With chequered sunbeams and bli the flowers
Immured her destiny's secluded scene.
--
And mated her With her environment.
3.23
--
Here With the suddenness divine advents have,
Repeating the marvel of the first descent,
--
Near to earth's wideness, intimate With heaven,
Exalted and swift her young large-visioned spirit
--
Inhabited With rich creative beats
A body like a parable of dawn
--
Enveloped With its greatness all that came
And gave a sense as of a greatened world:
--
Escaping With tired wings from a world of storms,
And a quiet reach like a remembered breast,
--
Opening in sympathy With happier stars
Where life is not exposed to sorrowful change,
--
Unsmeared With the dust of our mortal atmosphere
It still reflected heaven's spiritual joy.
--
Almost they saw who lived Within her light
Her playmate in the sempiternal spheres
--
Drifting With burning wings above her days:
Heaven's tranquil shield guarded the missioned child.
--
One dealt With her who meets the burdened great.
4.10
--
The dubious godhead With his torch of pain
Lit up the chasm of the unfinished world
And called her to fill With her vast self the abyss.
4.11
--
He measured the difficulty With the might
And dug more deep the gulf that all must cross.
--
To wrestle With the Shadow she had come
And must confront the riddle of man's birth
--
Whether to bear With Ignorance and death
Or hew the ways of Immortality,
--
Was her soul's issue thrown With Destiny's dice.
4.15
--
In the chess-play of the earth-soul With Doom,--
Such is the human figure drawn by Time.
--
Of limiting Nature With a limitless Soul,
Where all must move between an ordered Chance
--
And earth sink down With the weight of the Infinite.
4.21
--
Pain With its lash, joy With its silver bribe
Guard the Wheel's circling immobility.
--
Admitting Without appeal the nether gods.
4.28
--
Compound With earth, struck from the starry list,
Or quench With black despair the God-given light.
4.30
--
Patched not With failure bargain or compromise.
4.31
--
Cancel her commerce With eternity,
Or set a signature of weak assent
--
She matched With the iron law her sovereign right:
Her single will opposed the cosmic rule.
--
But wisdom comes, and vision grows Within:
Then Nature's instrument crowns himself her king;
01.02 - The Object of the Integral Yoga, #The Integral Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
To come to this Yoga merely With the idea of being a superman would be an act of vital egoism which would defeat its own object. Those who put this object in the front of their preoccupations invariably come to grief, spiritually and otherwise. The aim of this Yoga is, first, to enter into the divine consciousness by merging into it the separative ego (incidentally, in doing so one finds one's true individual self which is not the limited, vain and selfish human ego but a portion of the Divine) and, secondly, to bring down the supramental consciousness on earth to transform mind, life and body. All else can be only a result of these two aims, not the primary object of the Yoga.
The only creation for which there is any place here is the supramental, the bringing of the divine Truth down on the earth, not only into the mind and vital but into the body and into
--
This Yoga demands a total dedication of the life to the aspiration for the discovery and embodiment of the Divine Truth and to nothing else whatever. To divide your life between the Divine and some outward aim and activity that has nothing to do With the search for the Truth is inadmissible. The least thing of that kind would make success in the Yoga impossible.
You must go inside yourself and enter into a complete dedication to the spiritual life. All clinging to mental preferences must fall away from you, all insistence on vital aims and interests and attachments must be put away, all egoistic clinging to family, friends, country must disappear if you want to succeed in Yoga. Whatever has to come as outgoing energy or action, must proceed from the Truth once discovered and not from the lower mental or vital motives, from the Divine Will and not from personal choice or the preferences of the ego.
01.03 - Mystic Poetry, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Ah, With what longing once again I turn!2
is just on the borderland: it has succeeded in leaving behind the mystic domain, but has not yet entered the city of the Spiritat the most, it has turned the corner and approached the gate. Listen now,
--
Is there not a fundamental difference, difference not merely With regard to the poetic personality, but With regard to the very stuff of consciousness? There is direct vision here, the fullness of light, the native rhythm and substance of revelation, as if
In the dead wall closing from a wider self,
--
both so idealise, etherealize, almost spiritualise the earth and the flesh that they seem ostensibly only a vesture of something else behind, something mysterious and other-worldly, something other than, even just opposite to what they actually are or appear to be. That is the mystique of the senses which is a very characteristic feature of some of the best poetic inspirations of France. Baudelaire too, the Satanic poet, by the sheer intensity of sympathy and sincerity, pierces as it were into the soul of things and makes the ugly, the unclean, the diseased, the sordid throb and glow With an almost celestial light. Here is the Baudelairean manner:
Tout casss
--
ravished my heart With one of thine eyes, With
one chain of thy neck.. . .
--
And give the world a girdle With the sun!10
than in this pious morning hymn,
--
or these again equally fraught With an intense experience a quiet ingathered luminous consciousness:
I held my breath and from a world of din
--
When lo, I knew the worlds Without as worlds Within.13
But first let us go to the fans et origo, be acquainted With the very genuine article in its purity and perfection, in its essential simplicity. I do not know of any other ideal exemplar than the Upanishad. Thus,
There the sun shines not and the moon has no
--
is one Spirit Within all creatures but it shapeth
itself to form and form; it is likewise outside these.15
This is spiritual matter and spiritual manner that can never be improved upon. This is spiritual poetry in its quintessence. I am referring naturally here to the original and not to the translation which can never do full justice, even at its very best, to the poetic value in question. For apart from the individual genius of the poet, the greatness of the language, the instrument used by the poet, is also involved. It may well be what is comparatively easy and natural in the language of the gods (devabhasha) would mean a tour de force, if not altogether an impossibility, in a human language. The Sanskrit language was moulded and fashioned in the hands of the Rishis, that is to say, those who lived and moved and had their being in the spiritual consciousness. The Hebrew or even the Zend does not seem to have reached that peak, that absoluteness of the spiritual tone which seems inherent in the Indian tongue, although those too breathed and grew in a spiritual atmosphere. The later languages, however, Greek or Latin or their modern descendants, have gone still farther from the source, they are much nearer to the earth and are suffused With the smell and effluvia of this vale of tears.
Among the ancients, strictly speaking, the later classical Lucretius was a remarkable phenomenon. By nature he was a poet, but his mental interest lay in metaphysical speculation, in philosophy, and unpoetical business. He turned away from arms and heroes, wrath and love and, like Seneca and Aurelius, gave himself up to moralising and philosophising, delving 'into the mystery, the why and the how and the whither of it all. He chose a dangerous subject for his poetic inspiration and yet it cannot be said that his attempt was a failure. Lucretius was not a religious or spiritual poet; he was rather Marxian,atheistic, materialistic. The dialectical materialism of today could find in him a lot of nourishment and support. But whatever the content, the manner has made a whole difference. There was an idealism, a clarity of vision and an intensity of perception, which however scientific apparently, gave his creation a note, an accent, an atmosphere high, tense, aloof, ascetic, at times bordering on the supra-sensual. It was a high light, a force of consciousness that at its highest pitch had the ring and vibration of something almost spiritual. For the basic principle of Lucretius' inspiration is a large thought-force, a tense perception, a taut nervous reactionit is not, of course, the identity in being With the inner realities which is the hallmark of a spiritual consciousness, yet it is something on the way towards that.
There have been other philosophical poets, a good number of them since thennot merely rationally philosophical, as was the vogue in the eighteenth century, but metaphysically philosophical, that is to say, inquiring not merely into the phenomenal but also into the labyrinths of the noumenal, investigating not only what meets the senses, but also things that are behind or beyond. Amidst the earlier efflorescence of this movement the most outstanding philosopher poet is of course Dante, the Dante of Paradiso, a philosopher in the mediaeval manner and to the extent a lesser poet, according to some. Goe the is another, almost in the grand modern manner. Wordsworth is full of metaphysics from the crown of his head to the tip of his toe although his poetry, perhaps the major portion of it, had to undergo some kind of martyrdom because of it. And Shelley, the supremely lyric singer, has had a very rich undertone of thought-content genuinely metaphysical. And Browning and Arnold and Hardyindeed, if we come to the more moderns, we have to cite the whole host of them, none can be excepted.
We left out the Metaphysicals, for they can be grouped as a set apart. They are not so much metaphysical as theological, religious. They have a brain-content stirring With theological problems and speculations, replete With scintillating conceits and intricate fancies. Perhaps it is because of this philosophical burden, this intellectual bias that the Metaphysicals went into obscurity for about two centuries and it is precisely because of that that they are slowly coming out to the forefront and assuming a special value With the moderns. For the modern mind is characteristically thoughtful, introspective"introvert"and philosophical; even the exact physical sciences of today are rounded off in the end With metaphysics.
The growth of a philosophical thought-content in poetry has been inevitable. For man's consciousness in its evolutionary march is driving towards a consummation which includes and presupposes a development along that line. The mot d'ordre in old-world poetry was "fancy", imaginationremember the famous lines of Shakespeare characterising a poet; in modern times it is Thought, even or perhaps particularly abstract metaphysical thought. Perceptions, experiences, realisationsof whatever order or world they may beexpressed in sensitive and aesthetic terms and figures, that is poetry known and appreciated familiarly. But a new turn has been coming on With an increasing insistencea definite time has been given to that, since the Renaissance, it is said: it is the growing importance of Thought or brain-power as a medium or atmosphere in which poetic experiences find a sober and clear articulation, a definite and strong formulation. Rationalisation of all experiences and realisations is the keynote of the modern mentality. Even when it is said that reason and rationality are not ultimate or final or significant realities, that the irrational or the submental plays a greater role in our consciousness and that art and poetry likewise should be the expression of such a mentality, even then, all this is said and done in and through a strong rational and intellectual stress and frame the like of which cannot be found in the old-world frankly non-intellectual creations.
The religious, the mystic or the spiritual man was, in the past, more or Jess methodically and absolutely non-intellectual and anti-intellectual: but the modern age, the age of scientific culture, is tending to make him as strongly intellectual: he has to explain, not only present the object but show up its mechanism alsoexplain to himself so that he may have a total understanding and a firmer grasp of the thing which he presents and explains to others as well who demand a similar approach. He feels the necessity of explaining, giving the rationality the rationale the science, of his art; for Without that, it appears to him, a solid ground is not given to the structure of his experience: analytic power, preoccupation With methodology seems inherent in the modern creative consciousness.
The philosophical trend in poetry has an interesting history With a significant role: it has acted as a force of purification, of sublimation, of katharsis. As man has risen from his exclusively or predominantly vital nature into an increasing mental poise, in the same way his creative activities too have taken this new turn and status. In the earlier stages of evolution the mental life is secondary, subordinate to the physico-vital life; it is only subsequently that the mental finds an independent and self-sufficient reality. A similar movement is reflected in poetic and artistic creation too: the thinker, the philosopher remains in the background at the outset, he looks out; peers through chinks and holes from time to time; later he comes to the forefront, assumes a major role in man's creative activity.
Man's consciousness is further to rise from the mental to over-mental regions. Accordingly, his life and activities and along With that his artistic creations too will take on a new tone and rhythm, a new mould and constitution even. For this transition, the higher mentalwhich is normally the field of philosophical and idealistic activitiesserves as the Paraclete, the Intercessor; it takes up the lower functionings of the consciousness, which are intense in their own way, but narrow and turbid, and gives, by purifying and enlarging, a wider frame, a more luminous pattern, a more subtly articulated , form for the higher, vaster and deeper realities, truths and harmonies to express and manifest. In the old-world spiritual and mystic poets, this intervening medium was overlooked for evident reasons, for human reason or even intelligence is a double-edged instrument, it can make as well as mar, it has a light that most often and naturally shuts off other higher lights beyond it. So it was bypassed, some kind of direct and immediate contact was sought to be established between the normal and the transcendental. The result was, as I have pointed out, a pure spiritual poetry, on the one hand, as in the Upanishads, or, on the other, religious poetry of various grades and denominations that spoke of the spiritual but in the terms and in the manner of the mundane, at least very much coloured and dominated by the latter. Vyasa was the great legendary figure in India who, as is shown in his Mahabharata, seems to have been one of the pioneers, if not the pioneer, to forge and build the missing link of Thought Power. The exemplar of the manner is the Gita. Valmiki's represented a more ancient and primary inspiration, of a vast vital sensibility, something of the kind that was at the basis of Homer's genius. In Greece it was Socrates who initiated the movement of speculative philosophy and the emphasis of intellectual power slowly began to find expression in the later poets, Sophocles and Euripides. But all these were very simple beginnings. The moderns go in for something more radical and totalitarian. The rationalising element instead of being an additional or subordinate or contri buting factor, must itself give its norm and form, its own substance and manner to the creative activity. Such is the present-day demand.
The earliest preoccupation of man was religious; even when he concerned himself With the world and worldly things, he referred all that to the other world, thought of gods and goddesses, of after-death and other where. That also will be his last and ultimate preoccupation though in a somewhat different way, when he has passed through a process of purification and growth, a "sea-change". For although religion is an aspiration towards the truth and reality beyond or behind the world, it is married too much to man's actual worldly nature and carries always With it the shadow of profanity.
The religious poet seeks to tone down or cover up the mundane taint, since he does not know how to transcend it totally, in two ways: (1) by a strong thought-element, the metaphysical way, as it may be called and (2) by a strong symbolism, the occult way. Donne takes to the first course, Blake the second. And it is the alchemy brought to bear in either of these processes that transforms the merely religious into the mystic poet. The truly spiritual, as I have said, is still a higher grade of consciousness: what I call Spirit's own poetry has its own matter and mannerswabhava and swadharma. A nearest approach to it is echoed in those famous lines of Blake:
--
Suffuse my mood With a familiar glow.
For 'tis With mouth of clay I supplicate:
Speak to me heart to heart words intimate,
--
His spirit mingles With eternity's heart
And bears the silence of the Infinite. ||20.21||
--
or this simple single line pregnant no less With the self-same fullness:
An eye awake in voiceless heights of trance, ||8.8||
This, I say, is something different from the religious and even from the mystic. It is away from the merely religious, because it is naked of the vesture of humanity (in spite of a human face that masks it at times) ; it is something more than the merely mystic, for it does not stop being a signpost or an indication to the Beyond, but is itself the presence and embodiment of the Beyond. The mystic gives us, we can say, the magic of the Infinite; what I term the spiritual, the spiritual proper, gives in addition the logic of the Infinite. At least this is what distinguishes modern spiritual consciousness from the ancient, that is, Upanishadic spiritual consciousness. The Upanishad gives expression to the spiritual consciousness in its original and pristine purity and perfection, in its essential simplicity. It did not buttress itself With any logic. It is the record of fundamental experiences and there was no question of any logical exposition. But, as I have said, the modern mind requires and demands a logical element in its perceptions and presentations. Also it must needs be a different kind of logic that can satisfy and satisfy wholly the deeper and subtler movements of a modern consciousness. For the philosophical poet of an earlier age, when he had recourse to logic, it was the logic of the finite that always gave him the frame, unless he threw the whole thing overboard and leaped straight into the occult, the illogical and the a logical, like Blake, for instance. Let me illustrate and compare a little. When the older poet explains indriyani hayan ahuh, it is an allegory he resorts to, it is the logic of the finite he marshals to point to the infinite and the beyond. The stress of reason is apparent and effective too, but the pattern is what we are normally familiar With the movement, we can say, is almost Aristotelian in its rigour. Now let us turn to the following:
Our life is a holocaust of the Supreme. ||26.15||
--
This is what I was trying to make out as the distinguishing trait of the real spiritual consciousness that seems to be developing in the poetic creation of tomorrow, e.g., it has the same rationality, clarity, concreteness of perception as the scientific spirit has in its own domain and still it is rounded off With a halo of magic and miracle. That is the nature of the logic of the infinite proper to the spiritual consciousness. We can have a Science of the Spirit as well as a Science of Matter. This is the Thought element or what corresponds to it, of which I was speaking, the philosophical factor, that which gives form to the formless or definition to that which is vague, a nearness and familiarity to that which is far and alien. The fullness of the spiritual consciousness means such a thing, the presentation of a divine name and form. And this distinguishes it from the mystic consciousness which is not the supreme solar consciousness but the nearest approach to it. Or, perhaps, the mystic dwells in the domain of the Divine, he may even be suffused With a sense of unity but would not like to acquire the Divine's nature and function. Normally and generally he embodies all the aspiration and yearning moved by intimations and suggestions belonging to the human mentality, the divine urge retaining still the human flavour. We can say also, using a Vedantic terminology, that the mystic consciousness gives us the tatastha lakshana, the nearest approximative attribute of the attri buteless; or otherwise, it is the hiranyagarbha consciousness which englobes the multiple play, the coruscated possibilities of the Reality: while the spiritual proper may be considered as prajghana, the solid mass, the essential lineaments of revelatory knowledge, the typal "wave-particles" of the Reality. In the former there is a play of imagination, even of fancy, a decorative aesthesis, while in the latter it is vision pure and simple. If the spiritual poetry is solar in its nature, we can say, by extending the analogy, that mystic poetry is characteristically lunarMoon representing the delight and the magic that Mind and mental imagination, suffused, no doubt, With a light or a reflection of some light from beyond, is capable of (the Upanishad speaks of the Moon being born of the Mind).
To sum up and recapitulate. The evolution of the poetic expression in man has ever been an attempt at a return and a progressive approach to the spiritual source of poetic inspiration, which was also the original, though somewhat veiled, source from the very beginning. The movement has followed devious waysstrongly negative at timeseven like man's life and consciousness in general of which it is an organic member; but the ultimate end and drift seems to have been always that ideal and principle even when fallen on evil days and evil tongues. The poet's ideal in the dawn of the world was, as the Vedic Rishi sang, to raise things of beauty in heaven by his poetic power,kavi kavitv divi rpam sajat. Even a Satanic poet, the inaugurator, in a way, of modernism and modernistic consciousness, Charles Baudelaire, thus admonishes his spirit:
--
Poetry, actually however, has been, by and large, a profane and mundane affair: for it expresses the normal man's perceptions and feelings and experiences, human loves and hates and desires and ambitions. True. And yet there has also always been an attempt, a tendency to deal With them in such a way as can bring calm and puritykatharsisnot trouble and confusion. That has been the purpose of all Art from the ancient days. Besides, there has been a growth and development in the historic process of this katharsis. As by the sublimation of his bodily and vital instincts and impulses., man is gradually growing into the mental, moral and finally spiritual consciousness, even so the artistic expression of his creative activity has followed a similar line of transformation. The first and original transformation happened With religious poetry. The religious, one may say, is the profane inside out; that is to say, the religious man has almost the same tone and temper, the same urges and passions, only turned Godward. Religious poetry too marks a new turn and development of human speech, in taking the name of God human tongue acquires a new plasticity and flavour that transform or give a new modulation even to things profane and mundane it speaks of. Religious means at bottom the colouring of mental and moral idealism. A parallel process of katharsis is found in another class of poetic creation, viz., the allegory. Allegory or parable is the stage when the higher and inner realities are expressed wholly in the modes and manner, in the form and character of the normal and external, when moral, religious or spiritual truths are expressed in the terms and figures of the profane life. The higher or the inner ideal is like a loose clothing upon the ordinary consciousness, it does not fit closely or fuse. In the religious, however, the first step is taken for a mingling and fusion. The mystic is the beginning of a real fusion and a considerable ascension of the lower into the higher. The philosopher poet follows another line for the same katharsisinstead of uplifting emotions and sensibility, he proceeds by thought-power, by the ideas and principles that lie behind all movements and give a pattern to all things existing. The mystic can be of either type, the religious mystic or the philosopher mystic, although often the two are welded together and cannot be very well separated. Let us illustrate a little:
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
--
"The World is too much With us"...
John Hall: "To his Tutor".
--- Grep of noun with
breach of trust with fraudulent intent
lady with the lamp
lucy in the sky with diamonds
withdrawal
withdrawal method
withdrawal symptom
withdrawer
withdrawing room
withdrawnness
withe
withering
withers
witherspoon
withholder
withholding
withholding tax
withstander
withy