He reveals Himself to whomsoever He chooses

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He reveals Himself to whomsoever He chooses.

The choosing is integral to the mystique of grace.

-- Katha and the Mundaka Upanishads

 

O Ganesha, with your curved trunk

And an impressive presence, you radiate

The lustre of millions of suns,

Remove all obstacles from my path and

Make my actions successful.

 

An Offering

An ancient Sanskrit prayer freely rendered by Sri Eknath Easwaran

 

I offer to the Supreme Being

My deeds, my words, my thoughts.

May everyone reach the Supreme Goal.

May everyone strive for the good of all.

May noble thoughts fill the minds of all.

May joy fill the hearts of all.

May selfish people become selfless.

May selfless people become illumined.

May illumined people go beyond death.

And may they help others

To go beyond death.

 

A Garland of Meditation From Natchintanai,

the good thoughts of Sage Yogaswami of Sri Lanka

A Garland of Meditation

 

The sovereign of the devas

The Primordial Source of all,

The splendor of Vedanta,

That cruel bondage will dispel,

Who stands beyond the tattvas

And makes us one with Him

By forsaking our attachment

Tis Him we have beheld.

That One Supreme, the siddha, who all

Things doth perform, Let us meditate

On Him before our bodies fall.

 

The Song of The Sannyasin Swami Vivekananda

 

Wake up the note! the song that had its birth far off, where worldly

taint could never reach, in mountain caves and glades of forest deep,

whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame could ever dare to break;

where rolled the stream of knowledge, truth, and bliss that follows

both. Sing high that note, sannyasin bold! Say, Om Tat Sat, Om.

 

Strike off thy fetters! bonds that bind thee down, of shining gold, or

darker, baser ore--love, hate; good, bad; and all the dual throng. Know

slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;for fetters, though of

gold, are not less strong to bind.Then off with them, sannyasin bold!

Say, "Om Tat Sat, Om."

 

Let darkness go; the will-o'-the-wisp that leads with blinking light to

pile more gloom on gloom. This thirst for life forever quench; it drags

from birth to death, and death to birth, the soul. He conquers all who

conquers self. Know this and never yield, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat

Sat, Om."

 

"Who sows must reap," they say, "and cause must bring the sure effect:

good, good; bad, bad; and none escapes the law. But who so wears a form

must wear the chain." Too true; but far beyond both name and form is

atman, ever free. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat Sat,

Om."

 

They know not truth who dream such vacant dreams as father, mother,

children, wife and friend. The sexless Self--whose father He? whose

child? whose friend, whose foe, is He who is but One? The Self is all in

all--none else exists; and thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat

Sat, Om."

 

There is but One: the Free, the Knower, Self, without a name, without a

form or stain. In Him is maya, dreaming all this dream.The Witness, He

appears as nature, soul. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om

Tat Sat, Om."

 

Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this world nor that can give.

In books and temples, vain thy search. Thine only is the hand that holds

the rope that drags thee on. Then cease lament. Let go thy hold,

sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat Sat, Om."

 

Say, "Peace to all. From me no danger be to aught that lives. In those

that dwell on high, in those that lowly creep--I am the Self in all! All

life, both here and there, do I renounce, all heavens and earths and

hells, all hopes and fears." Thus cut thy bonds, sannyasin bold! Say,

"Om Tat Sat, Om."

 

Heed then no more how body lives or goes. Its task is done: let karma

float it down. Let one put garlands on, another kick this frame; say

naught. No praise or blame can be where praiser, praised, and blamer,

blamed, are one.Thus be thou calm, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat Sat,

Om."

 

Truth never comes where lust and fame and greed of gain reside. No man

who thinks of woman as his wife can ever perfect be; nor he who owns the

least of things, nor he whom anger chains, can ever pass through maya's

gates. So, give these up, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat Sat, Om."

 

Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend? The sky thy roof,

the grass thy bed; and food what chance may bring--well cooked or ill,

judge not. No food or drink can taint that noble Self which knows

Itself. Like rolling river free thou ever be, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om

Tat Sat, Om."

 

Few only know the truth. The rest will hate and laugh at thee, great

one; but pay no heed. Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help

them out of darkness, maya's veil. Without the fear of pain or search

for pleasure, go beyond them both, sannyasin bold! Say, "Om Tat Sat,

Om."

 

Thus day by day, till karma's power's spent, release the soul forever.

No more is birth, nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The "I" has All

become, the All is "I" and Bliss. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold!

Say, "Om Tat Sat, Om."

 

Ananda Natesa Master Nome

 

Whirling, swirling Effulgent Bliss Of Reality--the Self: That Thou art,

O Siva.

 

Tranquil lagoon Of Peace Absolute Oceanic joy with billows of ecstasy:

That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Being happiness, Radiating happiness, This is the way of the yogi-sage

serene: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Timeless Bliss, Immutable Peace At all times, In the midst of all

apparent experience: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

There is no imagination And therefore no creation; Spacelike Void of

boundless Bliss: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

If one imagines imagination, And thence a creation, Only Thou art

present In scintillating echoes of Self-Bliss: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Immovable and serene Is the yogi-rishi, Merged in Thee O, Ocean of

Bliss. That Thou art, O Siva.

 

All consuming eternal Silence, Whose dance is self-illumined Bliss,

Perfect union without an "other": That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Identity of all, Oneness of love, Uncaused happiness, Unconditioned

joy: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

No cause of samsara's suffering is ever present; Diminution of blissful

Brahman Is ever absent. That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Pointing to refuge, The peace of the Self: Bestowing Grace The state of

happiness itself: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Ego-death, unsurpassed Bliss, Uninhibited dance of joy eternal; Eternal

dance of infinite Bliss; Silent dance of ineffable joy; That Thou art, O

Siva.

 

Sounding the unstruck in vibratory Bliss; Consuming the veils In

ecstasy's fire That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Left eye of experience of happiness immediate; Right eye of Knowledge

Of Bliss's permanent abode; That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Opened third eye Of blissful Awareness; Being-Knowledge-Experience

Devoid of inner and outer: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

With upraised foot of transcendent Bliss, Rudraksha tears of

compassionate Bliss; Blissful slayer of delusion's suffering, Blissful

revealer of Bliss itself: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Laughing skulls garland's immortal Bliss, Blissful laughter that

destroyed three cities, The single arrow penetrating them

simultaneously, The blissful Truth of the stateless Self: That Thou art,

O Siva.

 

Turning even experience venomous Into Liberation's dance of delight,

Wild, care-free locks flying in the breeze of Bliss, Permeated with the

fragrance of the flower of joy; That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Ganges of pure Peace, Ancient and serene, flows from Her Your intensity

who dwells forever supported by Thee; That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Cool moon so tranquil Adorning Thy head, Serene, timeless luminosity

Setting all at rest: That thou art, O Siva.

 

Anklet and bracelet Tinkle in crystalline joy that is heard by Thine

own jewelled ear, The one Consciousness alone; That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Infinite circle aflame, Of luminous Bliss, Smile of great mystery

Indefinable Bliss: That Thou art, O Siva.

 

Bliss of my Guru, Siva Himself; Bliss of the Innate, The Self itself:

That Thou art, O Siva.

 

The Dance Of Shiva

--Srimata Swami Atmananda

 

The dance of Shiva is the dance of Cosmic Energy. It is the dance of

birth and death and Divine Harmony. It is the dance of light and

darkness and day and night. In every atom it is the dance of "Eternal

Delight" In every being it is the dance of Existence. In the ambitious

it is the dance of persistence. In every face it is the dance of a

smile. It is the dance of innocence in a child. It is the dance of form

and size and color.

 

The Inner Self of All Is One

--Srimata Swami Atmananda

 

The inner Self of all is one. Like the reflections of the sun; On

countless inner lakes it shines-- It is the Atman most sublime. In brown

and black and white it is the same. This is the most mysterious game. It

is neither male nor female-- It is Universal Consciousness, Hail! Like

sparks of a fire we are one. From this Universal Consciousness we are

born. And to that Source we finally return, which is our eternal Cosmic

Home.

 

A Beautiful Poem

Sajila Devi

 

As I sit by my window, a lovely morning is born Birds chirping and the

sun shining like a jewel The breeze cool and calm, and the leaves of the

trees sway gently. I gaze in wonder at the beautiful poem laid out

before me.

 

The world is a poem and not a dream, as some say. Poetry is coming out

of me, inspiring the pen to run on the paper!

 

Yes, surely the world is a lovely place, a poem indeed! I behold a

world which was there always, but never seen before. The agitation of

the mind stops and peace fills me. Call it grace, or blessings or a

higher consciousness. It becomes one with nature and sees reality.

 

The world as a beautiful poem, I have seen today. Some see the world as

a stage, where men are only players. Some see the world as Maya, an

illusion to be abandoned. I see otherwise;

 

The world as a beautiful poem, A heaven on earth and a creation to

marvel and rejoice in.