Fifty More Favorites

Contents

1. Vaster Than the Vast, Subtler Than the Most Subtle - Mundaka Upanishad 2. The Path to the Beloved - Dadu 3. Devotion - Swami Ji Maharaj 4. The Principles of Devotion - Sant Kirpal Singh 5. Astral Double - Baba Sawan Singh 6. The Guru - Hinduism: Kularnava Tantra 7. Only a Mortal - The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures 8. An Ordinary Mortal - Shinran 9. This World is a World of Dreadful Darkness - Swami Ji Maharaj 10. One Effort 11. The Seven Realities of Meher Baba’s Teaching 12. This Earth a Bow - Saint John of the Cross 13. The Test - Soami Ji 14. The Tortoise and the Fish 15. Every Minute is Worth Millions - Baba Sawan Singh 16. This, Too, Shall Pass Away - Attar 17. If I Had to Live My Life Over Again 18. The Man and the Box - Sant Kirpal Singh 19. Fleeting World - Buddha 20. God’s Grace - Rumi

21. One’s Own True Nature - Mechthild of Magdeburg 22. Rumi’s Advice 23. Lose What You Consider Valuable - Attar 24. The Supreme Being - The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures 25. One Light - Katha Upanishad 26. Consumed in Your Light - Nawaz 27. Tanhuma to Tazria - Judaism 28. The Doctrine of the Mean - Confucianism 29. On Control - Epictetus 30. The Death of Chuang-tzu’s Wife 31. The Ancient Masters - Taoism: Tao Te Ching 32. Ten Characteristics in the Sincere Disciple - Abu Sa’id Ibn Abi-L-Khayr 33. The Course of Sadhana 34. Remembrance 35. Here I Am - Rumi 36. Baba Sawan Singh’s Prayer 37. My Love Was Not Yet Awake - Kabir 38. The Horse and the Creaking Wheel - Baba Sawan Singh 39. Love the World as a Mother Loves Her Only Child - Buddha 40. On Getting Along With Others - Sant Kirpal Singh

41. Surrender to a Master - Julian Johnson 42. All You Need Is Love - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross 43. The Sharpest Sword - Buddha 44. Follow Your Bliss - Joseph Campbell 45. The Way Cannot Be Forced - Buddha 46. You Are One with the Earthly Mother - The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ 47. Transfigured by the Divine Light - Bede Griffiths 48. The Death of a Loving Disciple - Baba Sawan Singh 49. The Cry from the Heart - Sant Kirpal Singh 50. I Will Cry to Thee - Rumi

-1-

Vaster Than the Vast, Subtler Than the Most Subtle

Mundaka Upanishad

Self is everywhere, shining forth from all beings, Vaster than the vast, subtler than the most subtle,

Unreachable, yet nearer than breath, than heartbeat.

Eye cannot see it, ear cannot hear it nor tongue utter it; Only in deep absorption can the mind,

Grown pure and silent, merge with the formless truth.

As soon as you find it, you are free; you have found yourself; You have solved the great riddle; your heart forever is at peace.

Whole, you enter the Whole.

Your personal self returns to its radiant, intimate, deathless source.

-2-

The Path to the Beloved Dadu

Recognize the Path to your Beloved, O travelers

and take the route of the anguished lover in separation.

Keep the Master's grace in your thoughts, and reflect on His pure teachings.

Develop love and devotion with endearment, and keep the thought of the Creator always before you.

Try to merge yourself into God like water in water.

Fix your mind within by following the Path of the Sound Current.

A yearning will arise; make then an intense and anguished call.

Repeat the Name of your Beloved, day and night, again and again.

With care in thought, word and deed, you will cross to the other shore.

-3-

Devotion Swami Ji Maharaj

“O’ my dear, listen, give up fear of wife and children and do the devotion.

O’ my dear, listen, abandon the fear of thy brother and brother-in-law and do thy devotion.

O’ my dear, listen, throw away the fear of friends and comrades and do thy devotion.

Give up the fear of all relatives and householders, and do thy devotion.

Only when you abandon fear of opinion of all these can you make progress in devotion.

Why be afraid of fools, who know not the value of devotion?

But half-ripened devotion will do. It will ripen in time.

Whether you are respected or condemned, do thy devotion.

Rely in the strength of the Master. Keep it in thy heart.

O’ my dear, listen, and do thy devotion.

Practice of devotion will turn unripe devotion into ripe devotion. No other remedy exists!

Some day immature devotion will become mature; but give up insincerity and deceit and do thy devotion.

Hypocritical devotion is useless. Even then I say, whether sincere or immature, do thy devotion.

Radha Soami tells you, listen, listen, listen, do thy devotion, do it anyhow, as best you can.”

-4-

The Principles of Devotion Sant Kirpal Singh

(Philosophy of the Masters, Series 2, page 13)

1. The first principle underlying devotion is that God is the Creator of all and is omniscient. He is pure, flawless and whole. He is omnipresent. 2. The second principle is that this universe is His creation, and it is all beautiful and full of happiness. Each one, of course, looks at this world according to the state or condition of his own mind. 3. The third principle is that one should be happy in the Will of God, and should always remain contented and grateful for whatever happens to him. Whatever is being done is for our own good. This is beyond any shadow of doubt. What we may consider as trouble, has actually come in order to elevate the condition of our mind. It is well known that gold becomes purer and brighter when it is put into fire. Therefore, one should never complain. 4. The fourth principle is that one should consider it to be the greatest sin to hurt the feelings of others. To provide comfort and happiness to others, should be considered the highest obligation, because non-violence or non-hatred in thought, word and deed is the highest form of religious duty. 5. The fifth principle is that one should become a devotee by taking support from his Guru or Master, so that by being in contact with such a higher being one may also eventually attain the same stage.

-5-

Astral Double Baba Sawan Singh

(from a letter to a disciple)

Every time He [the Perfect Master] gives initiation to anyone, He creates [or transfers] an astral image of himself in the disciple.

And from then on, the Master never leaves the disciple. The double, or other self, or image of the Master is sometimes what we call

the inner Master...

The Master sometimes calls these Doubles of Himself His agents. They do His work, taking care of all His disciples. They have the

power to act without limit. They can do what the Master wishes them to do, and they obey His orders. The human side of the Master...may not know what is going on in the life of that person. It may be on the

other side of the globe. He will not be aware of the details, but He can know them if He wishes...

If the Master had a million disciples, He would have an astral double of Himself in every one of them, and that agent of the Master would

look after the disciple at all times, reporting to the Master here only in cases of extreme emergency.

-6-

The Guru Hinduism: Kularnava Tantra 13

The guru, it is declared, is the very Lord himself.

To approach the guru, to worship the guru, is to approach the Lord, worship the Lord. Why should the Lord choose to manifest through the guru,

why should He not act directly?

Shiva is really all-pervading, above the mind, without features, imperishable, infinite; how can such a one be worshiped?

That is why, out of compassion for His creatures, He takes the form of the guru and, when so worshiped in devotion, grants liberation and fulfillment.

Shiva has no binding form, Shiva is not perceivable by the human eye; therefore He protects the disciple conforming to Dharma in the form of the guru.

The guru is none other than the supreme Shiva enclosed in human skin;

He walks the earth, concealed, bestowing grace on the good disciples.

To him who is loaded with sinful karma, the guru appears to be human; but to him whose karma is auspicious, meritful, the guru appears as Shiva.

Irene & Master Kirpal Singh

Birch State Park, Florida, 1972

-7-

Only a Mortal The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures

As well as speaking of themselves as God, the great masters also affirm that

they are merely mortals. Their essential nature is divine and immortal, but their particular form, like all others, is limited and transitory.

If the disciple identifies God with the person of the Master,

the disciple has missed the point. God is the impersonal consciousness which exists in Master and pupil.

The Master is aware of this, but the student is not.

The great task of Masters is to guide their disciples to the same awareness that they themselves enjoy. To do this, they at times emphasize their oneness

with God, and at other times point out that they too are mere mortals.

Question: How can I develop love for you, Master?

Master: Love for me, or the God in me? For whom would you like?

Disciple: For the God in you.

Master: That's all right. That's good…

Question & Answer with Sant Kirpal Singh (from The Light of Kirpal, pages 396)

-8-

An Ordinary Mortal Shinran

(Founder of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism)

Zendo says “We must realize that each of us is an ordinary mortal, immersed in sin and crime, subject to birth and death, ceaselessly

migrating from all eternity and ever sinking deeper into hell, without any means of delivering ourselves from it.”

It was on this account that Shinran most graciously used himself as an example, in order to make us realize how lost every single one of us is

and how we fail to appreciate our personal indebtedness to the grace of Amida Buddha ("The Buddha of Infinite Light.").

In truth, none of us mentions the great love of Amida Buddha,

but we continually talk about what is good and what is bad.

Shinran said, however, “Of good and evil I am totally ignorant.

If I understood good as Buddha understands it, then I could say I knew what was good.

If I understood evil as Buddha understands it,

then I could say I know what was bad.

But I am an ordinary mortal, full of passion and desire, living in this transient world like the dweller in a house of fire.

Every judgment of mine, whatever I say,

is nonsense and gibberish.”

-9-

This World is a World of Dreadful Darkness Swami Ji Maharaj

This world is a world of dreadful darkness;

This body a store-house of passion. Both in the dream state and while awake,

The soul is caught in a maze and battered and beaten.

It has forgotten its own home and regal status. It wanders from species to species,

And takes birth from womb to womb.

It sighs with every breath, it suffers unending weariness. It stands helpless, but who cares to listen to its cry?

It cries for help but no savior comes forth, And it is hurled again and again into the swirling stream of

Life, Death and Hell, Life, Death and Hell, Life, Death and Hell. Wandering thus, it at last gets human birth,

Where again the senses and the mind entrap it.

The perfect Master again and again Shows the path of escape through the Tenth Door,

But it accepts not his word and practices not his advice, And wanders aimlessly in the Ocean of Dread.

It holds on to the empty shell of rituals, But recognizes not the Way of the Word that takes us across.

It churns water, gets nothing out of it. Out of sheer lethargy it refuses

To churn milk and get the butter of bliss.

Unfortunate is the soul. What else can I say? It wanders outwards aimlessly, aimlessly, aimlessly;

In the inward path of devotion to the Word The mind gets not absorbed.

The learned have exhausted themselves in the study Of the Scriptures: but I tell thee, without a Perfect Master

And without devotion for the Word, None can cross the Ocean of Dread.

I tell thee, this is the essence of all teachings. At least, now develop love for the Master.

Radha Soami tells thee emphatically: Take thy soul to the door of the Sky Celestial,

Lest you have to shed Rivers of tears, rivers of tears, rivers of tears.

-10-

One Effort

There is in our life only one effort, one unique effort through all that we do from morning till night: to rivet our attention on our Master who seeks us and loves us. To be dominated by this one thought of the Master, to let oneself be seized by it, to be literally possessed by it, is the goal of our life. Little by little, we take on the habit of turning away from ourselves and turning toward the Master. Putting oneself in the presence of His person, which is done continually, every time our attention wanders, eventually becomes constant and truly modified us. The Master rubs off on us. By constantly thinking of Him, He passes into us. His manner, His reactions, His thoughts become ours by a kind of contagion, by a true osmosis. This “selective mining” is one of the great builders of the personality: there is nothing more formational than to be under the direct influence of a person in whom we have placed our love. But when it comes to our Master, this phenomenon is not merely a human symbiosis. It is an ontological mutation in which the uncreated energies, the very life of God, circulates within us and permeates our every thought, word, and deed. When this process is complete, it is no longer the ego which is the principle of our actions, but the Master who lives in us.

-11-

The Seven Realities of Meher Baba’s Teaching: EXISTENCE, LOVE, SACRIFICE, RENUNCIATION, KNOWLEDGE,

CONTROL AND SURRENDER The only Real EXISTENCE is that of the One and only God Who is the Self in every (finite) self. The only Real LOVE is the Love for this Infinity (God), which arouses an intense longing to see, know and become one with its Truth (God). The only Real SACRIFICE is that in which, in pursuance of this Love, all things—body, mind, position, welfare and even life itself—are sacrificed. The only Real RENUNCIATION is that which abandons, even in the midst of worldly duties, all selfish thoughts and desires. The only Real KNOWLEDGE is the Knowledge that God is the inner dweller in good people and in so-called bad, in saint and in so-called sinner. This Knowledge requires you to help all equally as circumstances demand without expectation of reward, and when compelled to take part in a dispute, to act without the slightest trace of enmity or hatred; to try to make others happy with brotherly or sisterly feeling for each one; and to harm no one in thought, word or deed, not even those who harm you. The only Real CONTROL is the discipline of the senses to abstain from indulgence in low desires, which alone ensures absolute purity of character. The only Real SURRENDER is that in which poise is undisturbed by any adverse circumstance, and the individual, amidst every kind of hardship, is resigned with perfect calm to the will of God. (discoursesbymeherbaba.org/v1-16.php)

-12-

This Earth a Bow Saint John of the Cross

You let my sufferings cease,

For there was no one who could cure them.

Now let my eyes behold Your face for You are my only love.

My spirit’s body is rising near – this earth a bow that shot me;

Now lift me into Your arms as something precious that You dropped.

My only suffering, from this day forth, will be Your divine beauty,

And You will constantly cure my blessed sight each time You bring Your face so near to mine and call me bride.

Do not be sad, my old friends;

look, these wings are finally stretched and laughing.

Our souls are rising near to you – this earth a bow that shot us; now lift me into your arms, dear God,

like something precious that you dropped.

-13-

The Test Soami Ji

(Sar Bachan, p. 56)

Let the mind and the Sat Guru stand before you.

If you obey the Guru, you overpower the mind;

But if you follow the mind, you turn your face away from the Guru.

Whoever has the pain of love

will choose to follow the Guru;

But one who has no fear (of offending the Guru) will be carried away by the currents of the mind.

-14-

The Tortoise and the Fish

Once a tortoise, living among the fish and other sea creatures, suddenly disappeared. When he returned, the fish asked him

questions about where he had been.

“I went to the land,” the tortoise told them.

They asked him, “What is the water there like?”

He replied, “There is no water on the land.”

“How did you swim?”

“I didn’t swim. I walked.”

“Walked? What do you mean ‘walked’? And did you find many fish there?”

When the tortoise tried to explain, the fish said, skeptically, “No water; no fish; you can’t swim; and you say ‘walked.’

How can this be?”

The tortoise answered, “You seem satisfied with your speculations. Let me go back to the land.”

And with that, he disappeared.

-15-

Every Minute is Worth Millions Baba Sawan Singh

Just think, human life is very precious and is due to past good Karma.

It is not granted to us to rear children or for enjoying ourselves. All these functions are performed

even by the lowest animals.

The only difference between man and lower creation is that man’s life here is meant for seeing the Lord and reaching the highest spiritual plane, in this life.

Every minute of it is worth millions of dollars.

-16-

This, Too, Shall Pass Away Attar

Long ago there was an eastern monarch who was bogged down by troubles and

worries from everywhere. Distressed, he called his wise men together and asked them to find a mantra which could help him sail through the tough times.

The mantra should hold true in adversity and prosperity.

If a man wished, he could live his life guided by the mantra.

He requested for the mantra to be so short that it could be inscribed on his ring, so that it could remain in front of his eyes forever.

The wise men put in a lot of thought and finally found the magical mantra

which would remain true forever – no matter what happened.

The mantra they gave him was – “This, too, shall pass away.”

Art thou in misery, brother? Then I pray Be comforted. Thy grief shall pass away.

Art thou elated? Ah, be not too gay; Temper thy joy, this, too, shall pass away. Art thou in danger? Still let reason sway,

And cling to hope: this, too, shall pass away. Tempted art thou? In all thine anguish lay

One truth to heart: this, too, shall pass away. Do rays of loftier glory round these play?

King-like art thou? This, too, shall pass away! Wherever thou art, wherever thy footsteps stray,

Heed these words: This too shall pass away! (Paul Hamilton Hayne)

-17-

If I Had To Live My Life Over Again

If I had to live my life over again, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live seriously and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments. And if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter than I have. If I had to live my life over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies. (This piece has been printed in a number of publications through the years, showing the author as Nadine Stair, Don Herold, "anonymous" and others)

-18-

The Man and the Box Sant Kirpal Singh

(Sat Sandesh, December 1973, page 8)

A man traveling in a train has a box beside him on the berth. Now both the man and his box

are being carried by the train.

If the man were to put the box on his head, he would surely be a fool, for he would break his neck

for nothing.

This is exactly the state of affairs with the worldly wise.

We generally lack faith in the gracious Master Power and unnecessarily create problems for our bondage as,

otherwise, everything would progress smoothly in the well established divine plan.

-19-

Fleeting World Buddha

Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:

A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream; A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

-20-

God’s Grace Rumi

You imagined that you would accomplish this task through your

own strength, activity, and effort.

This is the rule that has been established: Expend everything you have in journeying on the Way.

Then the bounty will come to you.

On this endless road, you are commanded to travel with your own feeble hands and feet.

God knows that you cannot traverse this Way with feet so feeble.

Indeed, in a hundred thousand years you will not arrive

at the first way station.

However, when you travel this road until your legs are exhausted and you fall down flat, until you have no more strength to move

forward, then God’s grace will take you in its arms.

-21-

One’s Own True Nature Mechthild of Magdeburg

A fish cannot drown in water, A bird does not fall in air.

In the fire of creation, God doesn’t vanish: The fire brightens.

Each creature God made

must live in its own true nature;

How could I resist my nature, That lives for oneness with God?

-22-

Rumi’s Advice

Do away with superfluous speech,

and sacrifice what you hold dear,

that His Grace may utter praise of you and the heavens be envious of your exalted state.

-23-

Lose What You Consider Valuable Attar

You too put your best foot forward.

If you do not wish to, then follow your fantasies.

But if you prefer the Secrets of the Love of your Soul you will sacrifice everything.

You will lose what you consider valuable, but you will soon hear the sacramental word

“Enter.”

-24-

The Supreme Being The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures

Philosophical Buddhism and Taoism conceptualize the

Supreme Being in a purely abstract way as the Suchness or Tao – the underlying reality or wholeness of things.

These concepts, however, can seem distant and

unapproachable, and popular forms of these faiths worship gods, buddhas, nature spirits, and the ancestors.

Whatever the tradition, two things are held in common. First, God is one. Second, human beings generally find this oneness more easy to relate to if it is pictured with

a human face.

-25-

One Light Katha Upanishad 5. 15

Him the sun does not illumine,

nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning, nor fires kindled upon the earth.

He is the one Light that gives light to all.

He shines – everything shines.

-26-

Consumed in Your Light Nawaz

My God, here I am – Consumed in Your Light,

Becoming a spectrum of rays from the Essence, Splashing the horizon.

Every atom in me longed for a vision, Until I collapsed drunk on Your manifestations.

-27-

Tanhuma to Tazria Judaism

Before the soul is given residence in the body of a child about to be

born, the kernel of the body is brought to the Heavenly Tribunal, where it receives its fate: whether the child will enjoy riches or

poverty; whether it be male or female, heroic or cowardly, tall or short, handsome or homely, fat or thin,

respected or ignored.

One thing, however, is not subjected to predestination, namely whether the child will be good or bad,

since it must have freedom of will.

The soul is then given over to an angel who takes the soul to Paradise, and the angel says: “These were souls in bodies like yours, and

because they did well in life, they are now enjoying their reward.”

Next it is taken to Gehenna (hell), and the angel declares: “These were like you, and they did evil. Do not imitate them.”

Then the soul is returned to the womb.

-28-

The Doctrine of the Mean Confucianism

The Superior Man acts accepting his own situation.

He does not hope to be somewhere else.

When he is in a position of fame and fortune, he acts within fame and fortune.

When in a position of poverty and low status,

he acts within poverty and low status.

When dwelling with uncultured tribes, he acts as if he is with uncultured tribes.

When he is in stress and difficulty,

he acts from within stress and difficulty.

There is no place where the Superior Man is not completely himself.

When in a high position, he does not step on those below him.

When in a low position,

he does not drag down those above him.

Correcting yourself and not expecting things from others, you will not create resentments.

You will not resent Heaven above,

nor blame men below.

The Superior Man abides in change and awaits his destiny.

The inferior man practices manipulation

and prays for luck.

-29-

On Control Epictetus

Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle:

Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what

you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.

Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires, and the things that

repel us. These areas are quite rightly our concern, because they are directly subject to our influence. We always have a choice about the contents and

character of our inner lives.

Outside our control, however, are such things as what kind of body we have, whether we’re born into wealth or strike it rich, how we are regarded by others, and our status in society. We must remember that those things are externals and

are therefore not our concern. Trying to control or to change what we can’t only results in torment.

Remember: the things within our power are naturally at our disposal, free from

any restraint or hindrance; but those things outside our power are weak, dependent, or determined by whims and actions of others.

Remember, too, that if you think that you have free rein over things that are

naturally beyond your control or if you attempt to adopt the affairs of others as your own, your pursuits will be thwarted and you will become

a frustrated, anxious, and faultfinding person.

-30-

The Death of Chuang-tzu’s Wife

Chuang-tzu’s wife died. When Hui-tzu went to convey his condolences, he found Chuang-tzu sitting with his legs sprawled out,

pounding on a tub and singing.

“You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old.” Said Hui-tzu, “It should be enough simply not to weep at her death.

But pounding on a tub and singing – this is going too far, isn’t it?”

Chuang-tzu said, “You’re wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn’t grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and the time before she was born. Not only the time before she was

born, but the time before she had a body.

Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit.

In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place

and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there’s been another change and she’s dead.

It’s just like the progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall,

winter. Now she’s going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show

that I don’t understand anything about fate. So I stopped.”

-31-

The Ancient Masters Taoism: Tao Te Ching

The Ancient Masters understood Mystery,

The depths of their wisdom were unfathomable,

so all we have are descriptions of how they looked…

Careful, as if crossing a frozen river.

Alert, as if aware of danger.

Respectful, like a guest.

Yielding, like melting ice.

Simple, like uncarved wood.

Empty, like a valley.

Hazur Baba Sawan Singh

-32-

Ten Characteristics in the Sincere Disciple Abu Sa’id Ibn Abi-L-Khayr

As for the sincere disciple, the Sheikh has said, “No less than the ten characteristics which I mention must be present in the sincere disciple, if he is to be worthy of discipleship: First, he must be intelligent enough to understand the spiritual guide’s indications. Second, he must be obedient in order to carry out the spiritual guide’s command. Third, he must be sharp of hearing to perceive what the spiritual guide says. Fourth, he must have an enlightened heart in order to see the spiritual guide’s greatness. Fifth, he must be truthful, so that whatever he reports, he reports truthfully. Sixth, he must be true to his word, so that whatever he says, he keeps his promise. Seventh, he must be generous, so that whatever he has, he is able to give away. Eighth, he must be discreet, so that he can keep a secret. Ninth, he must be receptive to advice, so that he will accept the guide’s admonition. Tenth, he must be chivalrous in order to sacrifice his own dear life on the mystic path. Having these character traits, the disciple will more easily accomplish his journey and more quickly reach the goal set for him on the mystic path by the spiritual guide.”

-33-

The Course of Sadhana

Doing sadhana (spiritual practice) can be as much of a trap as any other melodrama. It is useful to have some perspective about the Path in order to keep yourself from getting too caught up in the stage in which you are working. These pointers may help: 1. Sadhana is a bit like a roller coaster. Each new height is usually followed by a new low. Understanding this makes it a bit easier to ride with both phases. 2. As you further purify yourself, your impurities will seem grosser and larger. Understand that it's not that you are getting more caught in the illusion, it's just that you are seeing it more clearly. The lions guarding the gates of the temples get fiercer as you proceed towards each inner temple. But of course the light is brighter also. It all becomes more intense because of the additional energy involved at each stage of sadhana. 3. At first you will think of your sadhana as a limited part of your life. In time you will come to realize that everything you do is part of your sadhana. 4. One of the traps along the way is the sattvic trap -- the trap of purity. You will be doing everything just as you should -- and get caught in how pure you are. In India it's called the "golden chain." It's not a chain of iron, but it's still a chain. You'll have to finally give up even your idea of purity if you expect to do it all in this life-time. 5. At first you try. Later you just do your sadhana because "What else is there to do?" 6. At certain stages you will take your sadhana very seriously. Later you will see the wisdom of the statement of Jesus that to seek the Lord, men need not disfigure their faces. Cosmic humor, especially about your own predicament, is an important part of your Journey. 7. At some stages you will experience a plateau -- as if everything has stopped. This is a hard point in the journey. Know that once the process has started it doesn't stop: it only appears to stop from where you are looking. Just keep going. It doesn't really matter whether you think "it's happening" or not. In fact, the thought "it's happening" is just another obstacle. 8. There is, in addition to the "up and down" cycles, an "in and out" cycle. That is, there are stages at which you feel pulled in to inner work and all you seek is a quiet place to meditate and to get on with it. Then there are times when you turn outward and seek to be involved in the market place. Both of these parts of the cycle are a part of one's sadhana. For what happens to you in the market place helps in your meditation and what happens to you in meditation helps you to participate in the market place without attachment. 9. What is happening to you is nothing less than death and rebirth. What is dying is the entire way in which you understood "who you are" and "how it all is." What is being reborn is the child of the Spirit for whom things all are new. This process of attending an ego that is dying at the same time as you are going through a birth process is awesome. Be gentle and honor him (self) who is dying as well as him (Self) who is being born. (american-buddha.com/ramdass.snakepithumansuffer8.htm)

-34-

Remembrance

Sahl said to one of his disciples: “Try to say continuously for one day: ‘Allāh! Allāh! Allāh!’ and do the same the next day and the day after,

until it becomes a habit.”

Then he told him to repeat it at night also, until it became so familiar that the disciple repeated it even during his sleep. Then Sahl said, “Do not consciously repeat the Name any more, but let your whole

faculties be engrossed in remembering Him!”

The disciple did this until he became absorbed in the thought of God. One day, a piece of wood fell on his head. The drops of blood that

dripped to the ground bore the legend, “Allāh! Allāh! Allāh!”

-35-

Here I Am Rumi

A devotee was praying when Satan appeared to him and said:

“How long will you cry ‘O Allāh?’ Be quiet, for you will get no answer.”

The devotee hung his head in silence.

After a while he had a vision of the prophet Khidr, who said to him, “Ah, why did you stop calling on God?”

“Because the answer, ‘Here I am,’ came not,” he replied.

Khidr said, “God ordered me to go to you and say this:

“Was it not I that summoned you to my service? Did I not make you busy with my name? Your calling ‘Allāh!’ was my ‘Here I am.’

Your yearning pain is my messenger to you.

Of all those tears and cries and supplications - I was the magnet, and I gave them wings.”

-36-

Baba Sawan Singh’s Prayer

“Sir, can you give us an example of a good prayer?" the Muslim gentleman asked Baba Sawan Singh.

In reply the Great Master said,

"If I were to pray, I would pray as follows: My Lord! I am ignorant, I do not know what to ask of you. Give me that which you think best for me. And give me the strength and wisdom to be happy about what

you deem fit to give me and about how and where you keep me. I have no virtues, no devotion. My actions are all dark and sinful.

I possess no merits and my mind has thoroughly crushed me. For a sinner like me, O Lord, there is no refuge but Thy Blessed Feet.

Please take me under Thy shelter. I want nothing more. Make me Thy slave, that I may be Thine and Thou mayest be mine."

-37-

My Love Was Not Yet Awake Kabir

He has awaited me for countless ages, for love of me He has lost His heart:

Yet I did not know the bliss that was so near to me, for my love was not yet awake.

-38-

The Horse and the Creaking Wheel Baba Sawan Singh

A rider wanted to take his horse to drink water. Close by a Jat was working at his Persian wheel, so he took his horse there. The creaking sound of the Persian wheel made the horse shy and it drew back. The rider thereupon asked the Jat to stop working the Persian wheel, and the fellow obeyed. When the wheel stopped, he again took the horse to the gully into which the water had been flowing from the well, but by the time the horse reached there, all the water had run out. The rider then requested the Jat to work the wheel again for a few minutes. The moment he did so, the horse again shied and drew back. This greatly annoyed the rider. The Jat thereupon observed: “Well. Sir, it is only during this creaking noise that you can get water for your horse.” The rider then whipped his horse and again brought it to the same place. The horse obeyed and drank his fill. And the same is true of our mind. These worldly cares and anxieties will remain. Whatever you have to achieve, you will have to accomplish in the midst of these circumstances.

-39-

Love the World as a Mother Loves Her Only Child

Buddha

Like a mother who protects her child, her only child, with her own life, one should cultivate a heart

of unlimited love and compassion towards all living beings.

-40-

On Getting Along With Others Sant Kirpal Singh

(The Way of the Saints, 257)

In this vast creation, everyone is gifted with an individual perception.

The heredity, the environment and the teachings inculcated, all combine to make one what he is.

We cannot blame anyone for thinking differently in his own way.

Everyone has his own temperament and his own way of thinking.

They must differ and they do differ vehemently.

There is no help for it.

It is, on the other hand, the sign of sentient life.

We must not therefore, on that account, cross swords with them.

-41-

Surrender to a Master Julian Johnson

First let us say that the word surrender is not a suitable term for what

is meant in this connection, but it is about the best term we have.

It would be better to say that one fully trusts the Master. That is equivalent to saying that a person trusts his higher interests

in the hands of an expert.

What is really meant by complete surrender to a Master is this: Out of perfect confidence and great love, the disciple gladly follows

where the Master leads. That is the sum of it all.

No need of quibbling over something that has no value and no meaning. Let it pass. Use common sense. By perfect surrender

to a Master, in this sense, one gains everything, ending in the most perfect liberty.

This is well expressed by one great Sufi, who said:

“Give us all you have and we will give you all we possess!”

By surrendering all to the Master, you gain everything.

-42-

All You Need Is Love Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

I have never met a person whose greatest need

was anything other than real, unconditional love.

You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help.

There is no mistaking love.

You feel it in your heart.

It is the common fiber of life, the flame that heals our soul,

energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives.

It is our connection to God

and to each other.

-43-

The Sharpest Sword Buddha

On a certain day when the Buddha dwelt at Jetavana, a celestial deva came to him in the shape of Brahman, whose countenance was bright and whose garments were white as snow. The deva asked the Buddha, “What is the sharpest sword? What is the deadliest poison? What is the fiercest fire? What is the darkest night?” The Buddha replied, “A word spoken in wrath is the sharpest sword; covetousness is the deadliest poison; hatred is the fiercest fire; ignorance is the darkest night.” The deva asked, “What is the greatest gain? What is the greatest loss? What armor is invulnerable? What is the best weapon?” The Buddha replied, “The greatest gain is to give to others; the greatest loss is to receive without gratitude. Patience is an invulnerable armor; wisdom is the best weapon.” The deva asked, “Who is the most dangerous thief? What is the most precious treasure?” The Buddha replied, “Unwholesome thought is the most dangerous thief; virtue is the most precious treasure.” The deva asked, “What is attractive? What is unpleasant? What is the most horrible pain? What is the greatest enjoyment?” The Buddha replied, “Wholesomeness is attractive; unwholesomeness is unpleasant. A bad conscience is the most tormenting pain; awakening is the height of bliss.” The deva asked, “What causes ruin in the world? What breaks off friendships? What is the most violent fever? Who is the best physician?” The Buddha replied, “Ignorance causes ruin in the world; envy and selfishness breaks off friendships; hatred is the most violent fever; the Buddha is the best physician.” The deva then continued, “Now I have only one doubt to be cleared away: What is it fire cannot burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind crush down, but is able to benefit the whole world?” The Buddha replies, “Blessing! Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessing of a good deed, and blessings benefit the whole world.” Hearing these answers, the deva was filled with joy. Bowing down in respect, he disappeared suddenly from the presence of the Buddha.

-44-

Follow Your Bliss Joseph Campbell

BILL MOYERS: Do you ever have the sense of being helped by hidden hands? JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

-45-

The Way Cannot Be Forced Buddha

What has been long neglected cannot be restored immediately.

Fruit falls from the tree when it is ripe.

The Way cannot be forced.

-46-

You Are One with the Earthly Mother The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ

Your Mother is in you, and you in her. She bore you; she gives you life.

It was she who gave to you your body, and to her shall you one day give it back again.

The blood which runs in us is born of the blood of our Earthly Mother.

Her blood falls from the clouds; leaps up from the womb of the earth; babbles in the brooks of the mountains; flows wide in the rivers of the plains;

sleeps in the lakes; rages mightily in the tempestuous seas.

The air we breathe is born of the breath of our Earthly Mother. Her breath is azure in the heights of the heavens; soars in the tops of the mountains;

whispers in the leaves of the forest; billows over the cornfields; slumbers in the deep valleys; burns in the hot desert.

The tenderness of our flesh is born of the flesh of our Earthly Mother;

whose flesh waxes yellow and red in the fruits of the trees, and nurtures us in the furrows of the fields.

The light of our eyes, the hearing of our ears, both are born of the colors

and the sounds of our Earthly Mother; which enclose us about, as the waves of the sea a fish, as the eddying air a bird.

I tell you truly, you are one with the Earthly Mother.

-47-

Transfigured by the Divine Light Bede Griffiths

What is this transformation?

The soul discovers its source of being in the Spirit, the mind is opened to this Inner Light, the will is energized

by this inner power.

The very substance of the soul is changed; it is made a partaker of the divine nature. And this transformation

affects not only the soul but also the body. The matter of the body – its actual particles – is transformed by the divine power

and transfigured by the Divine Light…

-48-

The Death of a Loving Disciple Baba Sawan Singh

We are to leave this world one day, and if we are loving, obedient disciples, and have made proper preparations in this lifetime, we do not have the transition which we call death. While others weep, the spiritually developed soul departs happy – happier than a bridegroom on his wedding day. The time of death is a critical one in our experience, when our friends and relatives are helpless to render any assistance; but for the followers of Sant Mat, it is the happiest time of all. The Master appears and takes the departing soul with Him, and puts it in its upward journey at the place for which it is fit. There is no rendering of accounts with Kal (the Lord of Judgment), provided there have been love for and obedience to the Master. The departed soul is happier than it has ever been before. There is absolutely no fear of death. The Master's presence within breaks all worldly connections, and the mind is free to continue the upward journey.

-49-

The Cry from the Heart Sant Kirpal Singh

Once a little toddler was sitting all alone in a room. His mother was in the kitchen. The milk can was on the fire before her. The child wanted to stand up but slipped and fell. Then he tried to pull himself up by supporting himself against the wall. His little hands did not find any catch-hold and he fell again. Then he saw the door curtain and stretched out his hands to help himself. As luck would have it, the curtain itself slipped down the rod and both came down upon him. In his helplessness, he began to cry piteously, calling his mother. No sooner than the mother heard his cry, she ran to the room without caring for the boiling milk and hugged him to her bosom. She took the baby and came back to the kitchen to attend to the milk. But it was too late to save the milk from spilling over. The child perhaps felt that he had known the trick of attracting his mother's attention. After some days, while sitting in the room he again began to cry mother, mother. The mother could guess that he was idly indulging in a sing-song and did not run up. The child slowly came to the kitchen and inquired as to what the mother was doing. She replied that she was busy making dal (gruel). The child said he had thought that she was perhaps preparing some dainty dish much better than the milk because she had not answered his call for a pretty long time. The mother replied: "My child, there was no anguish in your voice today." So, you see the question is one of inner craving. We crave for mundane things of the world and do not wish God - God only replies to the cry from the heart.

-50-

I Will Cry To Thee Rumi

I will cry to Thee and cry to Thee and cry to Thee until the milk of Thy kindness boils up.

Kirpalct@yahoo.com

More Booklets: kirpalsingh.org (Spiritual Quotations for Lovers of God)