Write Spirit

Ancient wisdom and modern inspiration

St Francis of Assisi

Born to wealthy parents in the Italian town of Assisi the young Francesco enjoyed all the privileges of a prosperous upbringing. Franscesco was bright and intelligent; helping his father in business he proved to be an able and capable man. He was also a soldier who took part in the crusades of the time.

However the material prosperity and worldly success lost all attraction for St Francis. After coming back from war he became seriously ill and felt the futility of seeking happiness through the accumulation of material wealth and social prestige. Francesco instead felt an intense yearning to live the life of a simple disciple of Christ. Following a literal interpretation of the Gospel St Francis sought to take vows of poverty and chastity.

"Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no travelling bag, no sandals, no staff" (see Luke 9:1-3)"

Whilst stumbling upon the ruins of a broken chapel in Assisi, he felt the voice of Christ ask him to rebuild the derelict chapel.

"Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down."

In the beginning he worked alone to rebuild the chapel, but over time his purity of spirit and single-minded devotion attracted other like minded young men from the city. This was to be the nucleus of a new religious order.

Initially the relative success of St Francis in reaching out to the poor attracted only the jealousy and apprehension of the established Church authorities. Partly due to this St Francis set off for the Vatican to seek an audience with the Pope. Against the majesty of the Vatican, St Francis and his disciples cut a sharp contrast. Arriving tired and dishevelled in their simple cloaks, many felt the ideals of poverty and renunciation went against the established church orthodoxy. However the Pope saw in Francesco a genuine spirituality. He blessed the mission of St Francis, laying the foundations for the Francesco order.

After receiving the blessings of the Catholic Church St Francis and his disciples had much greater freedom to practise and teach the ideals of the gospels. The monks would often wander barefooted living a simple spiritual lifestyle of prayer, meditation and singing. They were noted for their happiness and gaiety even in the face of material adversity.

St Francis was noted for his sense of identity with animals. He felt a oneness with all of God’s creatures and in return animals are said to have felt great trust in St Francis. It is said wild birds would often land on his palm. To Francis birds were symbolic of the human spirit stripped of all pretensions and desires. For St Francis the way to God was not through scholarly learning but through developing a sense of oneness with God. He taught that real happiness comes when you become free of worldly attachments and desires. When a seeker can learn to live in harmony with God, the beauty and simplicity of life would bring abiding happiness.

Two films on St Francis of Assisi

St Francis of Assisi – God’s Jester. This film used real Franciscan monks. It captures the innocence and spirituality of St Francis and his disciples. An unconventional approach which captured the essence of St Francis’s lifestyle.

Brother Sun, Father Moon. St Francis is portrayed effectively as a genuinely humble saint (if a bit dopey with a prediliction for taking off his clothes. The film is not without its quirks there is a somewhat "new age" feeling to the film; at times his relationship with the St Clare of Assisi seems to be more romantic than spiritual. Great scene in the Vatican between St Francis and the Pope (played by Alec Guinness) though.

Prayer of St Francis

By: Richard Pettinger

Quotes on Patriotism

The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?

~ Pablo Casals

”Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism – how passionately I hate them!”

~Albert Einstein

"To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family. "

~ Buddha

 

Our hearts where they rocked our cradle,
Our love where we spent our toil,
And our faith, and our hope, and our honor,
We pledge to our native soil.
God gave all men all earth to love,
But since our hearts are small,
Ordained for each one spot should prove
Beloved over all.

~Rudyard Kipling

”Do not… regard the critics as questionable patriots. What were Washington and Jefferson and Adams but profound critics of the colonial status quo? “

~Adlai Stevenson

Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.

~Mark Twain

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.

~ George Bernard Shaw

 

"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."

~Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1934

If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident.

~Montesquieu

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, I am a citizen of the world.

~ Socrates

The stench of the trail of Ego in our History. It is ego – ego, the fountain cry, origin, sole source of war.

~ George Meredith, Beauchamp’s Career

 

Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, and liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us than are those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury.

~William Lloyd Garrison, Declaration of Sentiments, Boston Peace Conference, 1838

If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.

~Hamilton Fish

Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.

~Guy de Maupassant

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.

~Charles de Gaulle

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

~Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary

It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.

~Baha’u’llah

 

“Patriotism is undivine only if there is no real sincere feeling behind patriotism, if in the name of patriotism you just go and condemn or strike other nations and try to lord it over them.”

– Sri Chinmoy

“To destroy a country we need power. This power is undivine, unillumined and ill-founded. To love a country we need a great power. This great power is our pure and constant concern for our country.”

Sri Chinmoy

“Nationalism, especially when it urges us to fight for freedom, is noble and life-giving. But often it becomes a narrow creed, and limits and encompasses its votaries and makes them forget the many-sidedness of life. But Rabindranath Tagore has given to our nationalism the outlook of internationalism and has enriched it with art and music and the magic of his words, so that it has become the full-blooded emblem of India’s awakened spirit.”

J. Nehru

Quotes on Patriotism at Quote Garden

Heaven on Earth: Shaker Aesthetic Philosophy

shaker barn

Shaker Barn

"Heaven on Earth: Shaker Aesthetic Philosophy" by Sumangali Morhall

"Hands to work and hearts to God" so the Shaker work ethic went. The term ‘Shaker’ is best known as a style of furniture, but how did it evolve? Where did the Shakers come from, and why did they start to disappear after 100 years?

In modern Europe and America, craftspeople are still reviving not just the Shaker style, but in some cases the Shaker dedication to integrity. A form of aesthetic Chinese Whispers has inevitably crept in over the years, and one may now even buy such anomalies as Shaker jewellery boxes. The simple and beautiful style can arguably be applied to anything, but the philosophy behind the style makes it all the more interesting as an art form.

The first Shakers came from Manchester, England, in the late 18th Century. They began as a small group of Quakers, but developed their own doctrines, based largely on a strong sense of community and self-sufficiency. Community tasks were clearly defined and rotated so that anyone could be replaced on any job if unable to work on a particular day. The day started early and ended late, and was punctuated by regular prayer sessions.

shaker

Shaker Hat

Purity?inner and outer?was a cornerstone of Shaker life. They led celibate lives, men and women living in separate quarters, entering buildings through separate doors, and sitting in separate areas of communal buildings. They created an almost completely egalitarian society, where work, respect and authority were divided fairly between men and women. This led to an interesting approach to beauty. Their way of dress was modest and simple so as not to attract attention from the opposite sex. They wore no adornment or pattern (certainly no jewellery), and although they stopped short of uniforms as such, their clothing was almost devoid of individuality.

So beauty was not sought in human form. Even objects, although fastidiously designed for human use, were not visually based on human features. Clock faces are no longer faces when they house maintenance knobs. Their bodies are no longer bodies when their shoulders and waist are replaced by straight lines. Symmetry itself though was seen as human narcissism, if asymmetry made for a more practical object.

Shaker perfection was in the ultimate usability of the object, but also in the process of its creation. "Do your work as though you had a thousand years to live and as if you were to die tomorrow" so they used to say. Work was an intrinsic part of their spiritual lives, thus its integrity was part of its appeal.

And they knew it had appeal. Commercial value was important to the Shakers’ survival. They did a roaring trade in such lines as vegetable seeds, fabric and leather, as well as furniture. The circular saw, the flat broom and the clothes peg are all Shaker inventions. The Shaker name became a household brand, synonymous with quality.

"Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle." On the face of it this Shaker maxim seems to contradict itself, or hint at an underlying frivolity, but in fact it reveals a deeper understanding of their motivations. As The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik observes in "The Shining Tree of Life":

"The urge to make consumer goods is, after all, one of the keenest spiritual disciplines that an ascetic can face: it forces spirit to take form. An ascetic drinking tea from a cup decides not to care what kind of cup he’s drinking from; an ascetic forced to make a cup has to ask what kind of cup he ought to drink from."

Their dedication to perfection and to work was not only of benefit to themselves and their customers, but unfortunately left them open to abuse. However, as their practicality reached all aspects of life, the Shakers took it all in their stride. The homeless would sometimes come to them in winter, apparently wishing to convert to their branch of Christianity, only to leave in the spring with full bellies and warm clothes. The same would return and be accepted again the following year. Bountiful vegetable patches would fall prey to thieves. The Shaker solution? To plant extra so the thieves may eat well too.

The demise of the Shaker community came not from such abuse, but largely from the rise in mass production. The market for homespun fabrics, hand-picked vegetables and passionately hand-crafted wood diminished, and with it the Shaker population. The Shaker style’s popularity has survived though, and perhaps some still hold dear the Shaker spiritual work ethic, which can really be applied to anything (including jewellery boxes).

"Where is Heaven,
If not in the serenity of the mind,
Purity of the heart
And simplicity of the life?"

? Sri Chinmoy

Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees 18326

Author:

Sumangali Morhall has been a member of the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre for ten years. She enjoys discovering links between spirituality and art. She also edits Sumangali.org, dedicated to the spirit of serendipity.

Poetry of the Sufi’s

 

 

Looking at my life
I see that only Love
Has been my soul?s companion
From deep inside
My soul cries out:
Do not wait, surrender
For the sake of Love.

– Rumi

 

Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam. It has its roots in the Qu’ran and the Islamic tradition, but at the same times encompasses the universal mysticism that we see in other spiritual traditions

Despite the difficulties of describing their experiences, the words of the Sufi Seers still tease, cajole and inspire us to look beyond the page and into our own hearts. For those who love words, it is necessary to have poetry, which can take us beyond the domain of the intellect. Hafiz beautifully describes the purpose of a poet.

“A poet is someone who can pour light into a cup, then raise it to nourish your beautiful parched, holy heart.”

 

The Ecstatic Poetry of the Sufi’s at Poetseers.org

Photo by Unmesh Swanson Sri Chinmoy Centre galleries

You are in Me

 

You are in Me

 

Brightest being
In sun-surprised February
Flower out of season
You illuminate the night
A falling star
Shower after shower
My sky is empty now.

You are in me

By: Gabriel Rosenstock

Artwork: Angelee Deodhar (India)

New poem of Gabriel Rosenstock – lines written in Bangaram Lakshadweep Islands

See also: Haiku Poem

 

Secrets of Happiness

The Secrets of Happiness by Jogyata Dallas

The quest for lasting happiness lies at the very heart of all human purpose and experience, though this much desired attainment is sought in many different ways. Among the ways that have proven successful a number of recurring themes are evident.

The perennial philosophies of our spiritual teachers urge self-perfecting, the inner way, while most of mankind is searching in the outer world ? right person, right possessions, right place.

Here are a few pointers that work:

Start Within

A huge wealth of highly credible literature and teachings concur that happiness is first of all an inner accomplishment, not just a series of circumstances. Prayer, contemplation, quiet time, simply sitting with peaceful music, the practice of inner stillness, all help in developing understanding, balance, an inner harmony and poise. Happiness arises out of these practices like the fragrance of a flower.

Visualise Your Day

Take five minutes at the start of each day to visualize what you intend to accomplish ? prepare the mind, your life energy, and burst into your day with vigour, intensity, calm resolve and joy. Every day we create our world with our mind ? our moods, emotions, attitudes and consciousness. Train the mind and fill it with inspiration and positive energies, self-faith, the bright colours of your heart and soul.

Be Healthy

Try to achieve excellent and enduring physical health through regular cardiovascular exercise and reasonable diet. The well-being of the body creates the foundations of a lasting happiness. Body, mind, heart, soul interconnect and impact on each other ? happiness is helped by physical well-being as well as by stress free living, simplicity, spiritual awakening. The body is the temple, the soul is the shrine, happiness the fragrance.

Compassion and Kindness

Practice kindness and acts of self-giving. When we use our good qualities to serve others, our good qualities multiply. When we neglect these and live only for ourselves, they wither. This is karma yoga, spirituality in action ? the ego is erased, the heart widens, our oneness with others expands and deepens. Happiness blossoms when we see and serve the divinity in everything around us.

Gratitude

Try not to feel burdened by life or see yourself as frail and vulnerable. See every trial and challenge as an opportunity to learn, grow, triumph, and see yourself as having much undiscovered strength and capacity. Feel gratitude for your life ? for what you have and what you do not have, who you are and who you are not. Feel your life perfection and your own blossoming perfection. You are the soul and your talents and capacities are boundless ? it?s really true.

Simplicity

Simplicity is the shedding of everything that prevents our enlightenment. Our world dazzles us with endless enchantments ? we will be happy if we have more, if we acquire this, that. But simplicity brings a happiness that comes through having less, achieving desirelessness. For desires do not diminish through fulfillment but deepen and multiply. The more we get, the more we want. Simplicity is an inner achievement ? ?simplicity is an advanced course? as Sri Chinmoy succinctly says.

“Desire is a cord that binds us to the world ? simplicity severs the cord and brings detachment and freedom. According to the spiritual masters, the ultimate simplicity is the surrender of one?s self-determination to God.”

Heart Not Mind

The mind plays a dominant role in our modern life and slowly fills up with the ambitions, ideas, hopes and expectations that eventually shape our lives. We superimpose upon the flowing stream of our life all the limiting impositions and plans of the mind, but often at the expense of our happiness. Learn to ?feel? your life?s direction rather than plan and change it; listen to the wisdom of the spiritual heart, not the cautious deliberations of the mind; and ?see? your way forward with intuition and instinct rather than create it with the mind?s limited intent. ?Living in the heart?, a gift earned through spiritual practice and simplicity, recognises our life?s deeper purpose and gives us the courage to follow this. The heart knows how to be happy.

Have a Sense of Humour

Although our strong sense of ?I? and ?me? makes each of us the epicentre of our universe, six billion other ?I?s? and ?mes? are also out there at the centre of their universe, all playing the leading role in their own private drama-comedy. A sense of humour gives us a light touch and reminds us that, like characters in a play, our role will be over very soon, the curtain will fall and we?ll go back to the changing room (the soul?s world) to prepare for another part. Like Groundhog Day, we wake up every day of our life (and every life in our many incarnations) and confront the same personal reality and unresolved issues until we at last get it right ? and what ?getting it right? really means is something you have to discover for yourself. Smiling about all this both unburdens us and gives us inner calm ? helpful benefits in the torrid battlefield of life.

Try Meditation

I?m serious. One day, probably too late, you?ll wake up and realise that your lifelong pursuit of material things and nest building isn?t really working ? you?ve had some fun, done pretty well, but you?re feeling unfulfilled and a bit empty inside. That?s because this isn?t really what it?s all about and real happiness, permanent happiness, is instead about personal enlightenment, freedom from suffering and egotism, discarding the ignorance that hides our true nature. So life will keep hitting you hard until you realise this ultimately liberating truth. Meditation will awaken this inner knowledge, reconnect you with your essential spiritual nature, show you a ?way out? of the discontent of your life. If you are ready and sincerely willing to try, your inner progress will be your life?s true accomplishment and finally the measure of it?s real worth.

Test these guidelines in your own life – see for yourself if they work. But make a start, for as the Latin proverb goes – Aut tunc, aut nunquam – it was then or never?.

More articles on Self Improvement and Happiness

Seven Steps to Inner Peace at Sri Chinmoy Inspiration

Jogyata Dallas.

Jogyata Dallas is a meditation Student of Sri Chinmoy and lives in Auckland New Zealand, where he gives free meditation classes on behalf of the Sri Chinmoy Centre

 Poems on Happiness at Sri Chinmoy Poetry

What Happens: Hafiz

 

What Happens

What happens when your soul
Begins to awaken
Your eyes
And your heart
And the cells of your body
To the great Journey of Love?

First there is wonderful laughter
And probably precious tears

And a hundred sweet promises
And those heroic vows
No one can ever keep.

But still God is delighted and amused
You once tried to be a saint.

What happens when your soul
Begins to awake in this world

To our deep need to love
And serve the Friend?

O the Beloved
Will send you
One of His wonderful, wild companions –

Like Hafiz.

 
From: “I Heard God Laughing": Renderings of Hafiz: by Daniel Ladinsky.

Copyright © 1999 by Daniel Ladinsky. Reprinted by permission of the author.

We are the Flute: Rumi

 

We are the Flute

 

We are the flute, our music is all Thine;
We are the mountains echoing only Thee;
And movest to defeat or victory;
Lions emblazoned high on flags unfurled-
They wind invisible sweeps us through the world.

 

 

By: Rumi

R. A. Nicholson

‘Persian Poems‘, an Anthology of verse translations
edited by A.J.Arberry, Everyman’s Library, 1972

 

Photo by Ranjit Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries