beautiful portrait of an elephant

[Guest guest]

Namaste Barbji,

 

Good to see you around! I knew you were busy with moving house and

settling into your new life. Hope everything has gone smoothly and

you're happy and well.

 

Jai Shree Ganeshaya Namah

Much love

Sy

 

, "Heartie!" <aqesa> wrote:

> I all, I saw Ganesha on the shapes of the wall of my room today.

> Later on I got this part of an email ...its so beautiful I thougt

> I´ll share it with you!

>

> Namaste

> Barbara

>

> THE ELEPHANT

>

> The Buddha often spoke of the elephant as signifying the

> Bodhisattva, with his wisdom and compassion. The Bodhisattva,

like

> the

> elephant, is incapable of forgetting anything which is relevant to

> what he needs to know. At the same time, he is suffused by supreme

> detachment. The Bodhisattva's eyes, like those of the elephant,

are

> gentle and full of tenderness, gladdening all around. The

Bodhisattva

> teaches what it is to be truly human, to be abundantly

affectionate,

> to love generously. Just as little children can approach elephants

> with no fear of being hurt, so too may all men and women approach

the

> Bodhisattva.

> The elephant displays a marvellous blending of the three

> qualities. The elephant is tamasic; no one who sees a quiet

pachyderm

> weighing four tons is likely to regard the animal as restless.

There

> is a tremendous stability to the elephant. At the same time,

though

> it

> is tamasic, it relishes harmless pleasures, as every child knows

who

> has had the satisfaction of offering bananas to an elephant. Yet

the

> elephant is proverbially patient and long-suffering, with a

majestic

> indifference to the curiosity of passers-by. In this way the

elephant

> indicates the enormous potential strength of soul, mind and

character

> in every human being. Furthermore, the elephant shows the most

> harmonious movements, swishing its tail or swaying its trunk.

When it

> raises its trunk, it salutes the boundless sky, its tusks ever

> pointing upwards.

> To take an elephant's-eye view of the world is to appreciate

the

> immensity of what is above by saluting the vastness of the sky

while

> at the same time standing very firmly on the ground. When in

motion

> the elephant is an enchanting sight. Bartok, commenting on a

> delightful passage in one of Beethoven's symphonies, said that it

was

> like the stately yet playful movement of elephants dancing. Such

> music

> employs the bass notes of heavy instruments and at the same time

> conveys to intuitive listeners a quality reminiscent of those

> haunting

> times in history when great events converged. Elephants are

symbolic

> reminders of the momentous changes that are gestating today on the

> globe, seminal movements which are the unacknowledged reflections

of

> the sacrificial ideation of Bodhisattvas.

> Remaining rooted in immovable contemplation upon the

spaceless,

> the soundless, the boundless, the Bodhisattvas are motionless in

mind

> and will, yet rhythmic and deliberate in thought and feeling. They

> participate in the vicissitudes of historical cycles sufficiently

to

> understand human beings who are still captive to the bonds of

matter,

> but at the same time they remain in a seeming state of non-

activity

> because they have no incentive or motivation to act for the sake

of

> results. They simply do not live for the fruits of action, and are

> beyond praise and blame, whilst effortlessly exemplifying the

> Religion

> of Responsibility.

>

> RAGHAVAN IYER

[Guest guest]

Hi Syji I thought you had forgotten me hehehe

I´m glad you did recognise me behind the computer screen

 

Yes, I am temporarily settled here in southern spain and looking

to buy and old farm to restaure it...we´ve found something we like

and at a reasonable price so we are studying everything before

taking the final step to buy it...

 

So far enjoying a great time full of love and peace a blissful state

of heart mind I must say...

 

experiencing a sort of opening of the heart after a trip to mexico,

after a kind of emotional liberation or release of emotional

tensions and old fears ...

 

"Happy Krishna´s"

 

Love

barbara

 

, "syzenith" <syzenith>

wrote:

> Namaste Barbji,

>

> Good to see you around! I knew you were busy with moving

house and

> settling into your new life. Hope everything has gone smoothly

and

> you're happy and well.

>

> Jai Shree Ganeshaya Namah

> Much love

> Sy

>

> , "Heartie!" <aqesa>

wrote:

> > I all, I saw Ganesha on the shapes of the wall of my room

today.

> > Later on I got this part of an email ...its so beautiful I thougt

> > I´ll share it with you!

> >

> > Namaste

> > Barbara

> >

> > THE ELEPHANT

> >

> > The Buddha often spoke of the elephant as signifying the

> > Bodhisattva, with his wisdom and compassion. The

Bodhisattva,

> like

> > the

> > elephant, is incapable of forgetting anything which is

relevant to

> > what he needs to know. At the same time, he is suffused by

supreme

> > detachment. The Bodhisattva's eyes, like those of the

elephant,

> are

> > gentle and full of tenderness, gladdening all around. The

> Bodhisattva

> > teaches what it is to be truly human, to be abundantly

> affectionate,

> > to love generously. Just as little children can approach

elephants

> > with no fear of being hurt, so too may all men and women

approach

> the

> > Bodhisattva.

> > The elephant displays a marvellous blending of the three

> > qualities. The elephant is tamasic; no one who sees a quiet

> pachyderm

> > weighing four tons is likely to regard the animal as restless.

> There

> > is a tremendous stability to the elephant. At the same time,

> though

> > it

> > is tamasic, it relishes harmless pleasures, as every child

knows

> who

> > has had the satisfaction of offering bananas to an elephant.

Yet

> the

> > elephant is proverbially patient and long-suffering, with a

> majestic

> > indifference to the curiosity of passers-by. In this way the

> elephant

> > indicates the enormous potential strength of soul, mind and

> character

> > in every human being. Furthermore, the elephant shows the

most

> > harmonious movements, swishing its tail or swaying its

trunk.

> When it

> > raises its trunk, it salutes the boundless sky, its tusks ever

> > pointing upwards.

> > To take an elephant's-eye view of the world is to

appreciate

> the

> > immensity of what is above by saluting the vastness of the

sky

> while

> > at the same time standing very firmly on the ground. When in

> motion

> > the elephant is an enchanting sight. Bartok, commenting on

a

> > delightful passage in one of Beethoven's symphonies, said

that it

> was

> > like the stately yet playful movement of elephants dancing.

Such

> > music

> > employs the bass notes of heavy instruments and at the

same time

> > conveys to intuitive listeners a quality reminiscent of those

> > haunting

> > times in history when great events converged. Elephants are

> symbolic

> > reminders of the momentous changes that are gestating

today on the

> > globe, seminal movements which are the unacknowledged

reflections

> of

> > the sacrificial ideation of Bodhisattvas.

> > Remaining rooted in immovable contemplation upon the

> spaceless,

> > the soundless, the boundless, the Bodhisattvas are

motionless in

> mind

> > and will, yet rhythmic and deliberate in thought and feeling.

They

> > participate in the vicissitudes of historical cycles sufficiently

> to

> > understand human beings who are still captive to the bonds

of

> matter,

> > but at the same time they remain in a seeming state of non-

> activity

> > because they have no incentive or motivation to act for the

sake

> of

> > results. They simply do not live for the fruits of action, and

are

> > beyond praise and blame, whilst effortlessly exemplifying

the

> > Religion

> > of Responsibility.

> >

> > RAGHAVAN IYER