On Mastery July 1, 2013

image by axinia

If you are the master of a great factory, and all the machines work by your will, are you happy, restful and peaceful when you come home? You may be the master of a whole army or of a whole nation, or of many nations – when you are at home, are you peaceful and happy? The answer is “no”, and this shows us that another mastery is needed. A man may be the master of a whole army, but if he has a stroke or paralysis all of his mastership is gone and he can do nothing. It shows us that this mastership is passing. Mastery of the self is needed. It is not more difficult to gain than the other mastership, but a man will never give as much will power and spend as many pounds tomorrow. The results of the other mastery are much subtler, much less perceptible.

This mastery is taught by those who are born to be masters, to those who are inclined this way. It is taught by repose and by control of the activity, which keeps everything in this universe in movement.

This mastery is difficult to gain in the world. At every step it becomes more difficult, but you cannot run away to the caves and mountains; you must stay where you are. If you ran away and lived in the caves and mountains, the attractions of the world would draw you back again. In running away there is no safety; you would try to be content in the mountains, but your eyes would long to see the world again, your taste, which was used to different food, nice food, would not be satisfied with leaves and fruits.

Life in the world, which brings a person into contact with all sorts of undesirable people and affairs, makes spirituality more difficult, but at the same time it affords a test of will and of spirituality. One may be more spiritual in a cave in the mountains, in silence and in solitude, but there one will never be able to test one’s spirituality: whether it is strong enough to bear the contact of a contrary environment. To be ready for all responsibilities and all activities, to have a family and enemies, to say to the worldly person, “I can do all that you do, and more than that,” and at the same time remain spiritual – that is the greatest spirituality.

To be without cares or occupations may make spirituality easier, but when the mind is not occupied very undesirable thoughts and desires come. It is mostly those who have no work and no occupation, or who have a master, whom they must please, has less opportunity to following what is not desirable.

Reading the life of Shiva, the Lord of all Yogis, one will see that after a long, long time of Yoga he was tempted. Likewise, Vishvamitre Rishi, after a very long time of Yoga in the wilderness, was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great Yogi, he also was tempted and taken away form the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen. Brought to her court he was married and made king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness. It is easier to gain mastery in the wilderness, away from all temptations, but the mastery you gain in the world is of much more value; for the former is easily thrown down by a slight stroke, while the latter, achieved in the crowd, will last forever.

What about trust? June 16, 2013

image by axinia

Most of us would call trust is one of the basic human values. What’s the point of writing about it when it is anyway clear to everyone. My point here is to share my observations on how people relate to trust and what could be done about it if it is missing.

We all want others to trust us. But do we trust much? In my profession I have to get an idea of a person within one hour and to reach that I had to dig deep, taking straight to the values and desires. By doing so I can sense the level of trust in a person which is -alas! – often not that high. We are afraid of each other, afraid to open up and to trust. Afraid to get hurt and disappointed. I guess each of us had at least one case in life when our trust was misused. And this makes us cautious.

No need! Relax about it, my friends. Here is what my long-term observations on the trust matte show:

1.People who trust others, are more successful in life: they are more loved, more relaxed and successful in establishing long-term relationships which lead to better career chances and of course deeper and more stable friendships and families.

2.People who trust others are happier in life in general because they have less tension and fears of being misused.

One should not be too blue-eyed of course and if there are clear signs of someone’s criminal behavior one should be alert. However are many cases when even in criminal situation when approached with trust and friendliness, the negative situation could be neutralized. I once had a miraculous situation and know how amazing it could be.

Why we are looking for paradise March 19, 2013

 It is very interesting to study the lives of the great in the world. We find that some great people have almost arrived at the fulfillment of their undertakings and just before they had reached the goal they have lost it; and there have been some great people who have attained the ultimate success in whatever they have undertaken. You will always find that the souls of the former kind are the ones who were gifted with great power and yet lacked faith, while the others were gifted with the same power, and that power was supported by faith.

A person may have all the power there is, all the wisdom and inspiration, but if there is one thing lacking, which is faith, he may attain to ninety-nine degrees of success and yet may miss that very one whose loss in the end takes away all that was gained previously. There is a saying in English, ‘all’s well that ends well’, as the Eastern people say in their prayers, ‘make our end good’; for if there be a difficulty just now we do not mind, because there will be success, the real success, in its completion.
It is in this outlook that we can find the secret of the idea of Paradise, the paradise which has been spoken of by the elevated souls of all times, and in all scriptures you will find a reference to paradise is a hope in the hereafter, a hope in the future.

 When someone finds that there is no justice to be found in life, or beauty is lacking, or wisdom is not to be found anywhere, and goodness is rare, then he begins to think that justice must exist somewhere; all beauty, wisdom, goodness must be found somewhere, and that is in paradise. He thinks, ‘It exists somewhere. I shall find it one day; if not in this life, I shall find it in the hereafter; but there is a day when the fulfillment of my hope, my desire, will come.‘ This person lives; and this person lives to see his desire fulfilled. For in reality the lack that one finds in a person, in a thing, in an affair, in a condition, will not always remain. For all will be perfect, all must be perfect; it is a matter of time. And it is towards that perfection that we are all striving, and the whole universe is working towards the same goal. It is in that perfection that the thinkers and the great ones of all times have seen their paradise, because through man it is God who desires. Therefore it is not the desire of man; it is the desire of God, and has its fulfillment.

by Hazrat Ihayat Khan, “the Sufi Message”

Personality types explained in water qualities November 20, 2012

 

One of the most beautiful classification ever – by my beloved Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan.

The heart of man can be likened to water. Either it is frozen and then it is snow, or it is water and then it is liquid. When it is frozen it has turned into a crystal; when it is liquid it is in running order, and it is natural for water to be running.

Then there are two principal kinds of water: salt water and sweet water. The sea which is quite contented in itself, indifferent to everything else, has salt water because it is independent of anything else. It gives health, happiness and pleasure to those who walk along it, because it represents perfection. It asks nothing from anyone, it rises and falls within itself, it is independent, it is immense. In that way it shows perfection. But with that independent perfection its water is not sweet, and the ascetic who has closed his heart, with the perfection of God and with the realization of truth is like the sea, independent, indifferent to all things. His presence heals people, his contact gives them joy, gives them peace, and yet his personality is uninteresting: the water of the sea is salt water.

When the sea is calm it is a pleasure to travel on it, and when the sea is rough there is no worse illness than seasickness. So is the powerful mind, the mind of a soul that has touched perfection: it is with tranquillity, calmness and peace that this mind gives everyone a way into it, as the sea lays itself with open heart before those who Journey on it. Ships and boats pass through it, those who journey enjoy their travelling. But when the sea is disturbed by the wind, by storm, it is perfect in its annoyance, it can shake boats and steamers. And so the mind of the sage can have an effect upon all things in nature; it can cause volcanic eruptions, it can cause disasters, revolutions, all manner of things once its tranquillity is disturbed. Knowing this nature of the sage’s heart and knowing the great powers that a man who has touched divine perfection possesses, people in the East regard closely the pleasure and displeasure of the sage. They think that to annoy a sage is like annoying the whole of nature, to disturb his tranquillity means to shake the whole universe. A storm in the sea is a very small thing, whereas the heart that has touched perfection, if once upset, can upset the whole universe.

The water of the river is sweet. It is sweet because it is attracted to the sea, it is longing to reach the sea. The river represents the loving quality, a quality that is seeking for the object it loves. A heart that loves God and His perfection is likened to the river that seeks the sea. It is therefore that the personality of the seeker is more pleasant than the personality of the one who is contented with what he knows. There is little danger in travelling on the river, there is great joy in swimming in the river, and there is a fine scenery along it to look at. So it is with the personality which is like the river: that running of the feeling of sympathy, that continual running, means a living sympathy. The river helps the trees and plants and the earth along it. So does the kind, sympathetic person whose feeling is liquid: everywhere he goes he takes with him that influence which nourishes, which helps souls to flourish and to progress.

Then one sometimes sees a little stream. It runs, it is not a river, it is a small little stream running, and it is even more beautiful to look at for it expresses modesty, it expresses fineness of character, it expresses purity. For always the water of a little stream is pure. It expresses the nature of an innocent heart, the heart that cannot be prevented from being sympathetic, from being loving, by any experience of the world which makes water turn bitter. The bitter experience has not touched it, and it is pure and clear. It inspires poets, it uplifts a composer, it quenches the thirst of the thirsty one, it is an ideal spot for a painter to paint. With its modesty it has purity and with its purity it has life.

Why women are more sensitive to Spirituality June 26, 2012

A mere glance at various spiritual practitioners grasps the female dominance. Disregarding country and cultural background. Now more than at any other historical period. People wonder why women are seeking more then men, why are they outnumbering in that sphere of life?

The answer is as simple as genius: Men just have a bigger ego which does not allow them to surrender easily, for surrender is one of the core spitirual features. ” Real men” are so-called doers and while acting they are not inclined to think of themselves as of “God’s instruments”. Due to their nature, men are more on the right side, using their right sympathetic nervous system, being proactive, dominant, thinking, directing… All that blocks their emotional side, the side which brings one faster to God because of the connection through the heart.

At the same time the greatest saints, yogis are prophets of all times are mostly male. How to explain all that? The men who truly become the men of God, they managed to overcome their ego and along with their male nature, could develop their female side as well. They became compassionate, loving and forgiving. Thus, balancing and enriching both sides they in fact managed to become the perfect humans. For some ironical reason, if a woman starts using her male side (“right side”) as much as the female one, she is more likely to become an unpleasant rather that a holy personality…

The Divine Feminine in Islam June 16, 2012

BURAQ

The fanaticism that we see in modern Islam is a new development in a religion that, in its early history, was famous for its tolerance and respect for other religions. In Islam’s classical period in medieval Spain and Egypt perhaps only Buddhism rivalled Islam’s tolerance. The fundamentalism that characterises the behaviour of many of today’s Muslims is in fact anti-Koranic.

While the Muslim vision is often perceived to be authoritarian and punitive the Koran, on close inspection, is filled with descriptions and vision of God’s more feminine attributes such as gentleness, providence, love, universal compassion and tender-heartedness.

The religious intolerance that characterises the behaviour of many Muslim communities today is inconsistent with the heritage of tolerance that is professed by the Islamic tradition. For example, the Koran clearly states in several passages that any person who lives a life of holy reverence is welcomed into paradise regardless of their religion. Muhammad openly praises both Judaism (Abraham is deeply respected within the Koran) and Christianity (Muhammad frequently praises Jesus and Mary in the Koran).

Even more surprising is the Koran’s reverence for Mary, mother of Christ. Muhammad (and also in later Islamic theological scriptures) regarded Mary as the most marvellous of all women, a high adept and living example of the pure and holy life. Later Koranic commentaries describe Mary as an intervening force between God (Allah) and humanity. This intervening force is characterised by Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, sweetness and humility- the embodiment of Allah’s love for creation.

In one of the most powerful Hadiths ( prophetic sayings of Muhammad) it is reported that Muhammad said, “Paradise is at the feet of the Mother”. Does this suggest that the feminine aspect of God is an important and essential pathway to the attainment of supreme consciousness?

Muhammad’s peak defining experience, called the Meraj, saw him elevated through the seven heavens to the realm of God Almighty at the resplendant Sidrath where he communed with God, received his divine visions and instructions and was placed on the inexorable course of his life-mission to establish Islam. Muhammad was escorted by the archangel Gabriel (a masculine force) but the vehicle upon which Muhammad rode was the beautiful “Buraq”. The Buraq was a white horse with wings and the face of a woman! Clearly suggesting that the great power by which Muhammad was elevated to the level of supreme consciousness was ultimately feminine in nature! Some scholars say that the Buraq is an Islamic symbol of the Kundalini, a force that Eastern Yogis describe as the Goddess or Divine Mother.

Some amazing quotes on love by a Sufi master June 1, 2012

image by Vera Subkus

 

The word love is derived from the Sanskrit word Lobh, which means desire, wish; the same word is used in the Russian language, Liubov. Love may be called in other words the desire to be conscious of the object of love.

***

It is for this reason that we admire all those whom we love, and are blind to the good qualities of those whom we do not love. It is not always that these deserve our neglect, but our eyes, without love, cannot see their goodness. Those whom we love may have bad points too, but as love sees beauty, so we see that alone in them.

***

 As love is the source of creation and the real sustenance of all beings, so, if man knows how to give it to the world around him as sympathy, as kindness, as service, he supplies to all the food for which every soul hungers. If man knew this secret of life he would win the whole world, without any doubt.

***

A heart burning in love’s fire has a tendency to melt every heart with which it comes in contact.

***

    Love is inherent in every soul. All the occupations of life, however important or unimportant, in some way or other tend towards love; therefore no one in the world can be called entirely loveless.

***

   Love is above law, and law is beneath love. There is no comparison between them; one is from heaven and the other from earth. Where love dies law begins. Therefore law can never find a place for love, nor can love ever limit itself within law, one being limited, the other being as unlimited as life. The lover can give no reason why he loves a certain one, for there is a reason for everything except love.

The Sufi take on the nature of Will-power May 10, 2012

When the mind inquires into the nature of willpower, it becomes a question whether it is a power of the mind, a power of
thought, or a power of the brain. Those who cannot see beyond the power of the brain, call it brainpower; those who cannot
see beyond the mind, call it a power of the mind. Those who cannot conceive of the existence in man of anything above the
feelings, consider willpower to be a power of feeling. A Sufi understands it to be the divine power.

It is the Divine Will that is manifested throughout the whole universe, which has created the whole universe; and it is part of the
divine will that manifests itself through us. Everything we do in life is governed and directed by that power.

But there are two ways in which the willpower works:

firstly, when it is lighted with the light of intelligence;

secondly, when it is not so lighted, but works by itself.

When it works by itself, we call it accidental. We do things accidentally which we have not
intended to do. But when willpower makes our mind and body work consciously, then the light of intelligence is followed and
the willpower is acting consciously. This is the difference between various happenings. In the one we are conscious of what we
are thinking, we are conscious of what we are speaking and of what we are doing in proportion to our willpower and to the
light that is thrown upon it from the light of our intelligence. But we have acted without willpower when we have to say, “I have
done something I should not have done; I have said something I should not have said; I have thought something which I should
not have thought.” When a person says, “What I did is terrible, I said something I should not have said,” it means that during
the time he said or did it the willpower was there, but the strength and light of intelligence had not fallen upon it to the extent to
which they should.

There are two aspects of our being: the willpower or governing power, and the vehicles, the mind and the body. Both are governed and controlled by that one governing power. In one aspect of our being we are king, in the other aspect we are
minister, and in a third aspect we are servant. We are minister when our mind works, and we are servant when the body
works. We are king when the willpower works.

What’s in the silence? April 21, 2012

Silence is a genuine spiritual phenomenon experienced and described in all traditions. Here is a wonderful collection of quotes by different masters on SILENCE.

“Be quiet in your mind, quiet in your senses, and also quiet in your body. Then, when all these are quiet, don’t do anything. In that state truth will reveal itself to you. It will appear in front of you and ask,” what do you want?”

Kabir

 

“Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind rest at peace. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.”

Lao Tzu

 

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.”

Ghandi

 

“Be still, and know that I am (God).”

Psalm 46:10

My feeling of Oneness April 18, 2012

Oneness is a spiritual phenomenon suggesting that All is One, that all living creatures and materia are tightly connected and we can percept and enjoy that.

Some people get fantastically beautiful experiences of Oneness, I posted already the story by Daniil Andreev, let me quote it:

“Everything on Earth and everything that must exist in the heavens poured exultantly and noiselessly through me in a single stream. In bliss barely supportable by the human heart, I felt as if slowly revolving, graceful spheres glided through me in a universal dance, and everything I could think of or imagine merged in a jubilant oneness.

The ancient forests and clear rivers, the people sleeping by the fire, the peoples of countries near and far, cities waking up and busy streets, cathedrals with sacred icons, seas tossing tirelessly, and steppes with blowing grass— everything indeed was within me that night, and I was within everything. I lay with eyes closed, and beautiful white stars, large and blossoming, not at all like those we are used to seeing, also floated along the world-turned-river like white water lilies.

 Although the sun was not visible, it was as if it, too, were flowing somewhere just outside the range of my vision. Everything was suffused not by its glow but by a different light, one I had never seen before. Everything flowed through me and at the same time rocked me, like a child in a cradle, with all-soothing love.”

I am in awe of that overwhelming feeling! I could never experience that, at the most just the feeling of dissolving in the sorrounding.. Another stunning experience of Oneness I found in the book I reviewed recently here.

My personal experience of Oneness is much more modest, but luckily ongoing.