Bliss

[Guest guest]

"And so I lie in the deep, deep grass,

And watch the pages as they pass,

And sing to them as they to me,

Till they turn the bend by the poplar tree.

And then – O then, I sing right on,

To the leaves and birds and myself alone!"

 

~Anonymous – 13th century

 

"That which is bliss is verily the Self.

Bliss and the Self are one and identical.

That alone is Real.

 

That

Alone is the real truth.

That is the heart."

 

~Sri Ramana Maharshi

 

 

The great wooden footbridge across

the salty bay savannah is timeless and epic.

How many crossings from the minnow pools

to sky of soaring gulls surrounding us in flight,

must we endure as we become lifted

into this Unbearable Beauty?

 

This bridge is the surrender of wood

to Love's wounding carpentry revealing

the core of gravity. "Am I a bridge?"

The wood never asks anything of who or why.

What Love wounds, Love will always heal and reveal

that there is just This Blissful Remembrance

that we are everything, everything everywhere.

 

Befitting the gift of the gods given to praise,

in each and every religion that man has ever made,

this bridge has seen kings and saints and sinners

kissing one another with the holy palmer's kiss.

 

And what of this? Is a bridge the gate to Bliss?

Loving the lift that this life is ever-ascending into,

neeper into the Heart of Mystery and Wonder – what of it?

There's nowhere to go but further into the Endlessness of –

 

Endless Bliss!

 

It never ends!

It never depends on whether we believe this or not,

Whether we ask who we are or not,

And why.

 

It never ends!

 

 

"We have written out our dreams

and brought them here to read. The man

walks back and forth across a stage

with a thick arrow in one hand like a roadsign.

 

When he points it at any one of us,

As the signal to begin, we can't.

We barely make a noise, a highpitched

Helium sound. He starts his tricks..

He points again. The clothes

Of one woman sail across the room

To land in place on a man.

 

No unzipping or unbuttoning,

The man's pants and shirt and underwear

Slide off over his head through the air

Onto her, another perfect fit."

 

~Coleman Barks

 

 

This soul of Light sails across Eternity!

Rippling, Reflecting and then Radiating

as Love's Bright Heart Bursting into Bliss,

this one called Mazie Lane,

and this one called Robert O'Hearn,

realize that they are not,

have never been, less than One.

Ages and lives, truths and lies

never held a bit of weight with them.

Weightlessly waiting for Love to Woo them,

they stand in Awe and Bewilderment

looking at two Crystal Buddhas

in Satori on a lamp-post

Somewhere in this Heart.

Taking the cue

to become the View they're viewing,

These two Blessed Laughing Lovers

Begin to leap into the Vastness

Of one another.

Pooled together as One,

In Oneheart, as OneHeart,

 

And The Beat goes on…..

 

LoveAlways,

 

Mazie

 

 

 

 

 

Mother stopped and got absorbed in Bhava Bliss.

Opening Her Eyes, She called aloud:

"Mitzvah, come with the harmonium!"

Smiling Lovingly at all, Mother said:

"Mere talking alone is not sufficient.

Let's sing, let's Sing!"

By that time Mitzvah had come with the

harmonium. It didn't seem to take long at all.

Mother said:

"Mitzvah, Sweet Wine, Beloved Pearl,

sing some verse, eh Darling?"

Having saluted the Beloved Mitzvah sang:

 

"That which is bliss is verily the Self.

Bliss and the Self are one and identical.

That alone is Real.

 

That

Alone is the real truth.

That is the heart."

 

Hearing these verses, Mother became totally

drawn into Remembrance. Her body became

motionless. With half-closed eyes She sat like

a statue. Tears born of Supreme Bliss rolled down

Her cheeks and Her face became most brilliant.

Mitzvah went on singing until she also burst into tears,

and simultaneously the whole universe burst into tears,

for there is no division in God. In a mood of Pleasure

Mother whispered:

 

"Everything is nothing but that Supreme Self Alone.

There is no form there, nor name, neither Krishna nor Rama,

nor any incarnations known as you or I. What never had a beginning

can never end."

 

Mother dove deeper within this Bliss of Herself. Her body literally

Shone with the Light of Perfect Peace, the very Abode where we

Always Dwell! Then, Intoxicated with Divine Love, sang:

 

"Having wet me with Love, why did You leave?

You abandoned Your unwavering consort,

Having ignited her lamp wick;

She's like a pleasure boat

Set out to drift on an ocean of craving.

Either way I'm dead –

Unless You return!"

 

Tears rolled down Her cheeks. She laughed

Blissfully, calling Herself. Now Her mood was that

Of a perfect devotee crying for Beloved with heart overflowing.

There were many people present, more than all the worlds of

experience can contain, and all were spellbound, hearing the

voice of their own tender Heart reflected in Mother's Bhajan.

Like Her Presence, Her singing also inspired tremendous Remembrance

Freely to those with Ears. Some clapped their hands, or fainted in

Bliss. Bodies were strewn everywhere, slain by the Arrow that cannot

be withdrawn. Dualists and Non-Dualists alike began swaying in the

natural ecstatic Mood, Absorbed in the Bliss of Being.

 

Nobody had any questions.

 

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

b

[Guest guest]

om namo bhagavate sri ramanaya

 

Dear Richard,

 

> Richard Clarke <rclarke wrote:

> [snip...]...I wondered how to use Bliss in inquiry? ...

>---

 

In the course of conversation with Swami Yogananda and party present, the

following ensued, it might pertain:

 

(From Talks: 106, 29 November, 1935)

 

D. : ...How to get Bliss?

 

M. : Bliss is not something to be got.On the other hand you are always

Bliss. This desire is born of the sense of incompleteness. To whom is this

sense of incompleteness? Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful. Now you

are not so. What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss? It is

the ego. Seek its source and find you are Bliss.

 

There is nothing new to get. You have on the other hand, to get rid of your

ignorance which makes you think that you are other than Bliss. For whom is

this ignorance? It is to the ego. Trace the source of the ego. Then the ego

is lost and Bliss remains over. It is eternal. You are That, here and

now......That is the master key for solving all doubts. The doubts arise in

the mind. The mind is born of the ego. The ego rises from the Self. Search

the source of the ego and the Self is revealed. That alone remains. The

universe is only expanded Self. It is not different from the Self.

 

> To me it is Peace, others might say Bliss.

 

Indeed. The Bliss of Peace. When thoughts dissipate and peace of mind ensues

the innate state remains... untroubled, full of the Bliss of Peace.

(cf. Talks, 326)

 

Ever Yours in Sri Bhagavan,

Miles