Write Spirit

Ancient wisdom and modern inspiration

Weekly Spiritual Links

"The Mongolian steppes stretch as far as the eye can see ? right to the edge of the sky: hard-packed dirt and shale punctuated by small shrubs and feathergrass. Here and there, a lone ger ? the round nomadic tent ? with dung smoke rising through its roof hole toward a pale sun!"

"My heart-rate drops almost instantly, but jolts on hearing the dulcet tones of 50 Cent, which a kindly school boy at the back is treating his fellow travellers to. Too much of a coward to ask him to lower the volume, I realise this is the perfect test of my meditation techniques.."

  • Commuting Meditation Meditation on your daily commute at Sumangali.org

"One evening, Shyama Charan Lahiri was roaming at the foot of the Himalayas while on a short visit to the area, when he heard a voice saying,

The Existence of God

 

The Existence of God

 

"They proved to me by convincing reasons that God does not exist; Afterwards I saw God, for he came and embraced me. And now what am I to believe- the reasoning of others or my own experience? Truth is what the soul has seen and experienced; the rest is appearance, prejudice and opinion."

 

 

By: Sri Aurobindo

Photo by Unmesh Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

 

Related:

Swami Vivekananda – Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda

When Naren, (Swami Vivekananda ) first came to visit Sri Ramakrishna , he was not altogether impressed with what he saw. His mind doubted this perplexing, unorthodox figure. He left dissatisfied, but, at the same time he felt strangely compelled to return to visit Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. Sri Ramakrishna, on the other hand, immediately saw in his beloved Naren, tremendous spiritual potential. After his first meeting, he predicted Naren would at one time do great things for his beloved Mother Kali.

At the time, that seemed unlikely because to some Naren appeared quite ordinary, and enjoyed debating about the existence of God. However, the faith Sri Ramakrishna had in his Naren was unprecedented. On one occasion, people started gossiping that Vivekananda had become an atheist. Ramakrishna could not bear to hear people speak ill of Naren. Instinctively he knew the accusations were false; Ramakrishna always maintained the highest faith in Naren.

Naren had tremendous aspiration and inquisitiveness, as a young man, he would ask learned spiritual men whether they had seen God. Unfortunately, he could not find anybody who could answer yes. However, the great Rishi, Debendranath Tagore replied to Vivekananda that although he had not seen God, if he wanted to meet a man who had seen God, he should go and see the Saint of Dakshineswar. When Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna replied, without any pride, false modesty or uncertainty that yes, he had seen God; furthermore, he saw God more clearly than he saw his current disciples. Vivekananda was impressed, not just with the answer, but with the unmistakable spiritual authority with which Ramakrishna spoke.

Sri Ramakrishna

At times Naren could not understand why Sri Ramakrishna made such a fuss about him, it led Naren to rebuke Ramakrishna, "why do you give so much attention to me". Ramakrishna replied: "Mother Kali, says to pay no attention, it is only because I see God inside you…."

During his sadhana, Ramakrishna gained mastery over all the occult and kundalini powers. In all sincerity, he offered to give them to his dearest disciple. Vivekandanda’s only reply was "will these help me realise God?" Ramakrishna replied "no, they won’t, but with them you can do great works for the Mother" Vivekananda was uninterested in occult powers he replied to Ramakrishna that if they did not help him realise God he did not want them. This is an example of the sincerity, of the spiritual aspiration of Vivekananda. Like his Master, he realised outer miracles were often worse than useless; both Ramakrishna and Vivekananda wished only to use spiritual power for the inspiration of aspiring humanity.

The spiritual sadhana of Ramakrishna was extraordinary, he prayed and meditated with an unparalleled intensity and devotion. He cared not for mental learning and outer forms; Ramakrishna wished only to go directly to the source. Thus Ramakrishna was an embodiment of intuition and spiritual realisation. Despite his dishevelled looks and lack of outer education, learned scholars would come to listen at his feet. But, it was Vivekananda who was the ideal instrument for the spreading of Ramakrishna’s light in the West. Vivekananda was the messenger of Ramakrishna’s realisations. In truth, they were like 1 soul in 2 bodies.

"The Master and the disciple were hardly two distinct individuals. Each helped to shape the other. To our deeper vision, they formed an integral whole."

[1] Sri Chinmoy

Vivekananda relied on the guiding spiritual light of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna relied on the dedicated service of Vivekananda.

When in America, Vivekananda did not once mention his Master. When asked why, Vivekananda replied that it was too difficult to do justice to the spiritual height of his Master; he worried that people would not understand and appreciate the spiritual greatness of his Master. However, in whatever he did in the West he felt the guiding hand of his Master.

"His life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought. He was the living commentary to the Vedas and to their aim. He had lived in one life the whole cycle of the national religious existence in India."

Swami Vivekananda on Sri Ramakrishna [2]

Links

Mano Chalo First Song by Swami Vivekananda sung to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar.

Vivekananda speaking at World Parliament of Religions

Ramakrishna Soul of the East

References

[1] Vivekananda Heart Life

[2] Ramakrishna – Vivekananda

Love’s Philosophy – Shelley

 

Love’s Philosophy

 

THE fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one another’s being mingle—
Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdain’d its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?

 

By: Percy B. Shelley

 

Buddhism and Lord Buddha

Daibatsu Buddha

"For centuries the light of the Buddha has shone as a beacon beckoning men from across the sea of darkness. Like lost children, millions of seekers have reached out to the light with their heart’s inmost cry, and the Buddha has shown them the Way. The world stood before the Buddha with it’s ignorance, and the Buddha, the Enlightened One, gave man Truth. The world offered its age old suffering to the Buddha’s heart and the Buddha, Lord of Compassion, showed man the Dharma."

From Introduction to: Siddhartha Becomes The Buddha by Sri Chinmoy

Other selected parts from the play:

Buddha and Ananda On the passing of Lord Buddha.

Other Buddhist Links

The Buddha’s Silence Wins short story on the power of silence.

Conquer The Angry Man by Love – The Quintessence of Buddhism

Buddhist Poets at Poetseers

Lord Buddha’s Compassion at Sri Chinmoy Library

Photos of Bodhgaya – The Place of Buddha’s Enlightenment.

Buddhism

Spiritual Music: Baoul Style

Ranjit and Unmesh Swanson, are meditation students of Sri Chinmoy, who have frequently visited the Indian subcontinent. They have visited various spiritual sites such as Dakshineswar (where Sri Ramakrishna lived)

This is a selection of some of their music. It is sung in the Baoul tradition of wandering mendicants; they are accompanied by simple stringed instruments and percussion. Enjoy:

Recording 1: Vishna Ar Droma by Sri Chinmoy + Song of Sri Ramakrishna. Listen Now (m4a)

Recording 2: 1 song by Sri Chinmoy: 1 song by Sri Ramakrishna: Listen Now (m4a)

Recording 3: 1 song composed by Sri Chinmoy: 1 song a Bhajan of Mirabai: Listen Now

 

More:

Picture of Dakshineswar, India by Unmesh Swanson: Sri Chinmoy Galleries

Akbar – India’s philosopher king

By: Kate Carvalho

akbar

Akbar the Great

Akbar the Great Moghul emperor ruled Northern India from 1556 to 1605. He was a great leader, warrior, hunter, a lover of nature and the arts, expert sportsman and philosopher. Akbar was a multifaceted man – a master of all arts, yet one of his most revered qualities and greatest legacies was his great love for and practice of religious tolerance. Viewed in the context of the era in which Akbar lived this is all the more astonishing and impressive. In a time where wars constantly waged in the name of religion, prejudice was rife in many parts of the world and would remain so for hundreds of years, Akbar practiced an unprecedented kindness, compassion and reverence for many religious other than his own Muslim faith.

Akbar ruled Hindus, Muslims, Zoroastrians, and Jains, members of which were all treated equally under his philosophy of sulahkul or "universal tolerance. With Akbar as their ruler, for the first time in their history India had a Muslim leader who not only tolerated the many other religions, but actively sought out their guidance and wisdom.

One of the first of Akbar’s actions that endeared him to the Hindu population was his abolition of two fiercely resented taxes. The first tax was on all Hindu pilgrims when they visited their shrines, the second tax was the jizya – a severe tax on all non muslims. The abolition of these two taxes were greatly appreciated by Akbars Hindu subjects and lent strength to his rule.

Akbar unified India as no other ruler had done before. He secured allegiance from the Rajput emperor of Amber by marrying his daughter thus making him a powerful ally. His new wife who was given the revered title Maryam az-Zamani was allowed to practice her own religion, this was a first time a Hindu woman was allowed to worship freely in a Muslim harem and it set a precedent. From that day forward all Hindu women within the harem were free to follow their own faith.

In 1575 Akbar created the Ibadatkhana, the House of Worship, as a place of religious debate and dialogue. Wise men of all religions were invited to come to the Ibadatkhana on Friday nights to discuss religion and philosophy. After presiding over many of these discussions Akbar became more and more convinced of the value and righteousness of all religions, he felt confined by the narrow limits of one religion and sought more spiritual answers from Hinduism. He adopted many of their customs, he fasted regularly, abstained from meat, visited the holy places that Hindu’s worshipped, he drank the holy water from the river Ganges and sought advice from Hindu sages and holy men.

Akbar also invited Catholic priests from Goa to his palace to enlighten him on Christianity and the words of the Christ. When they presented him with their gift – Europe’s newest and most lavish printed edition of the Bible, a seven-volume set with many illustrations. Akbar prayerfully kissed each volume, and then touched each one to his head.

Akbar sought to unite all his subjects no matter their creed or faith. He accomplished this enormous feat and as a result his kingdom flourished. Akbar was revered and loved by his subjects and is remembered as India’s greatest ruler.

Article By: Kate Carvalho, Sri Chinmoy Centre

Akbar the Great

Stories about Akbar the Great by Sri Chinmoy

Secrets of Inner Peace

"No price is too great to pay for inner peace. "

– Sri Chinmoy

Consciously or unconsciously we are all searching for inner peace. Inner peace is the foundation of lasting happiness, and satisfaction. Without inner peace, man can not know, either himself, or be at peace with the world.

1. Inner Peace is a Choice.

It is our own thoughts that will either bring us peace or restlessness. If our mind is clear of useless, undivine thoughts, we can experience inner peace in abundance. When we lose our inner peace it is because of our own thoughts. It is tempting to blame our problems on the world and other people. However, a man of inner peace will not allow the outer world to disturb his inner mind. If we maintain equanimity and detachment to events of the world, inner peace will remain a permanent feature of our mind.

God has not forgotten
To give us peace.
He is just waiting for us
To ask for it.

– Sri Chinmoy [1]

2. Inner Peace is to be experienced Here and Now.

It is a mistake to feel inner peace will be achieved in the future, when circumstances are more favourable. Inner peace can only be felt in the present moment. If we live only in the here and now, we will not worry about the future, or speculate on the past. If we live only for the present moment we can learn to understand the immediacy of inner peace.

3. Inner peace and Oneness are inseparable.

If we live in the critical mind and are constantly judging others, we will never experience real inner peace. When we judge others we try to assert our superiority over others, but this can never bring inner peace. When we are flooded with inner peace, we feel others are an extended part of our reality; the imperfection of others actually seem our own imperfections, just in another body.

4. Inner Peace is in the heart not the Mind.

To find inner peace in the mind, is difficult. The nature of the mind is to think, analyse and create problems. The nature of the heart is oneness, love and joy. If we can bring to the fore the qualities of the heart, we will find peace. It is also in the heart, that our Soul resides. The Soul is the divine part of our being, and is inundated with peace.

"To come back to the secret of inner peace, our questioning and doubting mind is always wanting in peace. Our loving and dedicated heart is always flooded with inner peace."

– Sri Chinmoy [2]

5. Inner Peace is Dynamic not Passive.

Inner peace energises us. When we have a connection with inner peace, we spontaneously have a positive outlook on life. Inner peace is not a passive quality, it embodies great energy.

6. Inner Peace and Meditation.

If we feel inner peace remains a far cry, we should not despair. If we sincerely pray and meditate for inner peace we can achieve it. Our sincere aspiration for inner peace, is the most powerful tool for making it a living reality. We cannot expect to be flooded with inner peace if we make no effort to attain it.

"To hope to achieve peace without spirituality or meditation is to expect water in the desert." [3]

7. Peace does not Require an Escape from the world.

Inner peace does not require us to live in an himalayan cave. Inner peace can be experienced in the hustle and bustle of the world. What is important is the state of our mind, not the outer circumstances.

By: Richard Pettinger, Sri Chinmoy Centre, Oxford

References

[1] Excerpt from Peace: God’S Fragrance-Heart, Part 2 by Sri Chinmoy.

[2] Excerpt from Eastern Light For The Western Mind by Sri Chinmoy. – The Secret of Inner Peace

[3] Excerpt from Eastern Light For The Western Mind by Sri Chinmoy. – The Secret of Inner Peace