Swami Vivekananda used to recount the tale of a Hindu Sannyasin who took a vow of silence. Unfortunately the sannyasin got caught up in the Indian mutiny. – As he was being stabbed to death by a British soldier, he broke his 15 year vow of silence; saying to the soldier:

"And thou also art He!" [1]

The philosophy of seeing God in all, usually seems an ideal far beyond our grasp. At times, seekers may have difficulty to see God, even in a Saint or Realised Master. However, the ability to see God in all is the hall mark of a realised soul and a constant theme of all spiritual traditions.

An ancient Egyptian poem:

God is the Spirit of spirits,
of creation the Spirit divine.
GOD is God from the beginning
before all things were He was God.

God

Sri Chinmoy says:

"To me, God is not only the most beautiful Golden Being or Spirit; to me, God is everything. Anything that is God’s creation embodies God. Anything that can be seen in God’s creation is of God and for God. Anything that you appreciate here on earth is not only an embodiment of God but God Himself."

Excerpt from Mahatma Gandhi: The Heart Of Life by Sri Chinmoy.

By: Ramana Maharshi

• Video Footage of Ramana Maharshi

Photo of Arunachala

Into Great Silence is surely one of the bravest films ever made. Almost three hours long, no script, no score, no commentary. I was compelled to see such a daring feat of minimalism.

Over 20 years before the film’s release, German director Philip Groening applied for permission to film at the Carthusian monastery of Grande Chartreuse in a far corner of the French Alps. He was told it was too early, perhaps in 10-13 years it would be the right time.

16 years later his requested was accepted.

The Carthusian order, possibly the most ascetic Christian order, has remained largely unchanged for a thousand years, so they were not about to be rushed into such a venture. Unlike the UK, France is lucky enough to have preserved many of its ancient monastic sites. The site of Grande Chartreuse is as beautiful as it is remote, and Groening wastes no time in emphasising either aspect.

As if testing the viewer’s resolve Groening starts with a great deal of stillness. I find myself twitching for the fast-forward after 2-3 minutes: a monk praying in an inner world too private and distant for me to enter; a monk standing still through a doorway waiting for the right time to ring a bell. Can I make it through three hours with this strange combination of claustrophobia and agoraphobia?

Two new monks arrive to be received into the order and I am suddenly so moved by the ceremony, I forget my mind’s unwillingness. I enter into the silence with them. Suddenly it is warm, nourishing, familiar, natural, and I feel so at home I don’t want the 3 hours to end. Suddenly these are real people in a modern world, and I realise this is not an escape from life. How brave they must be, how sincere, how strong, how grounded, how balanced to enter so consciously into a life of almost total silence.

We pray with them, we shovel snow, wash celery, chop wood, deliver laundry, cut cloth, eat bread, all in silence and solitude. A monk gives a silent interview with the camera for a few seconds, and another. How can only this make such a compelling film? Perhaps Groening’s sensitivity lets us inside not just the walls but the people behind them. They splinter their fingers, they struggle to learn songs, they fall asleep in services, they feel self-conscious, they feel the cold, they grow old. They were not born with wings; they are human. Groening is also a remarkable artist ? some of the shots are masterpieces of outer simplicity and inner symmetry, which makes the film all the more real, relevant, and mesmerising.

I would not say this film changed my life; rather that it affirmed something I already knew: that one can learn more through silence than through words, as all answers are within. The silence is great indeed; it can be daunting or embracing depending on whether one sits outside it or within it. Once you step inside this film, you will enter a profound and poetic harmony that really cannot be captured by words.

Author Bio:

Sumangali Morhall has been a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre for ten years. She also edits Sumangali.org, dedicated to the spirit of serendipity.

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:

• Spiritual Music Downloads
• Meditation Music

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

Religious and artistic similarities between the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths are to be shown in a ground breaking exhibition of some of the world’s earliest surviving sacred texts.

Sacred: Discover What We Share, opening tomorrow at the British Library in London, will feature rare and exquisite examples of early Bibles, Korans and Torahs.

Graham Shaw, the head curator of the exhibition, said the show was conceived in order to explore and examine the interactive nature of these sacred texts.

"What can been seen is that the Old Testament Christian Bible is essentially the same as the Hebrew Bible of Judaism, and in turn, Islam takes many of its stories from Christianity and Judaism. There is a textual link that can be studied in the exhibition," he said.

Sacred Discovery what we Share at British Library

news info from Independent

Book Review – The Song of Rama by Vanamali

By: Kate Carvalho

As a dedicated fan of Vanamali’s spectacular The Play of God My heart skipped a beat when I saw her latest book The song of Rama on a book stall. I knew it would be hard to match the genius that is The Play of God, but I was more than ready to delve into the dense forests that play host to the epic that is The Song of Rama

Being fairly ignorant of Rama I was curious to acquaint myself with this first of Avatars or human descendent s of Vishnu himself, who descends to earth from time to time in order to redeem mankind from the treacherous grasp of ignorance, usually personified in a terrible and almighty Rakshasa or demon.

It seems as though Rama has come up against quite a bit of flack since his reign, as Vanamali dedicates quite a bit of narrative to his defense. I have to admit there were times during the story where I was ready to fling the book out the window in a fit of rage against the seemingly unthinkable stone heartedness of Rama towards the stainless Sita. Thus the need for Vanamali’s explanations and indeed justifications of Rama’s actions. Ultimately I discover that Rama did not come down to earth to please Sita, himself or me. His main purpose was to establish and extol dharma or righteousness. And that he did – at all costs, and for this he must be applauded.

I was expecting ‘The song of Rama’ to be just like The Play of God but with Rama replacing Krishna as the lead role. This expectation was proved to be all wrong by the great author Vanamali. The story of Rama is vastly different than that of Krishna, and Vanamali has treated it thus in an entirely different manner. Whereas The Play of God was a sensuous feast of prose, beauty and enchantment, the story of Rama begins with sorrow, continues with sorrow and ends with more sorrow. Unlike Krishna who in his earthly foray still maintained his superhuman godliness, Rama, although divine, was a man, with the same frailties, weaknesses and susceptibilities, He is more like us – more human, and in a way his actions more instructive to those of us who still operate on the human level. Sri Chinmoy – an authority on Rama, poses this question …"if an Avatar does not play the human role, who is going to follow him?"

Rama and Sita sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of the Kingdom, nay – for the sake of humanity and it is through their sacrifice that we have prospered. Even the hardest of hearts would have found it difficult to not shed a tear throughout the duration of the story at the enormity of Sita and Rama’s anguish.

The Song of Rama is an engaging and colourful read, a bitter-sweet love story replete with kingdoms, heroes, scandal, trickery, devotion, battles, honour, Monkey armies, demons… rendered in beautiful language – all the ingredients for a great and enthralling story which will inspire you, break your heart, but ultimately make you a better person.

By: Kate Carvalho

Kate Carvalho resides in beautiful Christchurch, New Zealand. She has a penchant for and regularly writes about cooking, reading, health, sports, music but most importantly spirituality and meditation. She has been studying the latter under the tutelage of New York based Indian spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy since the year 2000.

Related:

The Song of Rama by Vanamali at Blue Dove Press

The Song of Rama by Vanamali at Amazon.com

My Rama is My All – by Sri Chinmoy. A play about the life of Rama

Ave Maria is one of the immortal compositions, which seems to come from another ethereal world. Dedicated to the Mother of Mary there have been many versions of Ave Maria. This particular version is not my favourite but the video is also a beautiful presentation of the Virgin Mary depicted through a variety of artistic impressions. There are various versions of the Song an original composition was by Schubert. There is also a version by Bach/Gounod

Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tui, Jesus
Ave Maria, gratia plena

Lara Fabian – Ave Maria (De Schubert)