From 'The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett'
Page167
16) "It is a widely spread belief among all the Hindus that a person's future pre-natal state and (future) birth are moulded by the last desire he/she may have at the time of death. But this last desire, they say, necessarily hinges on to the shape which the person may have given to his desires, passions, etc. during his/her life. It is for this very reason, viz. --that our last desire may not be unfavourable to our future progress--- that we have to watch our actions and control our passions and desires throughout our whole earthly career."

Vivekananda and Ramakrishna
In his intense desire to realize the truth, Vivekananda practised meditation; he studied the religious and philosophical systems of the East nd the West; met different religious leaders; but nothing was of any avail.
At last he met Shri Ramakrishna at the Dakshineshwar temple garden near Kolkata and asked this simple question, "Sir, have you seen God?" Without a moment's hesitation Shri Ramakrishna said, "Yes, I have seen God. I see Him as I see you here, only more clearly. God can be seen. One can talk to Him. But who cares for God? People shed tears for their wives, children, wealth and property, but who weeps for the vision of God?? If one cries sincerely for God, one can talk to Him."
Shri Ramakrishna's reply was a turning point of Vivekananda's life. But he tested Shri Ramakrishna in many ways before he finally accepted him as his teacher. Later he said, " I fought my Master for six long years, with the result that I know every inch of the way!"
Vedanta: Voice of Freedom

Mother Goddess
 Like an aberration from the norm
she stood,
a flaming red against the rocks,
a siren come from the sea,
a petrified goddess
measuring her steps in the storm.
The waves that evening
decided to go gentle at her feet;
the sky gave up the rage,
and she stood stunned at this change.

When the seasons will have died,
And nevermore the winter,
In the grip of its frozen tides,
Will have the heart shiver,

Then amidst the shimmering dust,
Of myriad star dotted skies,
Will be quenched the thirst,
As a new dawn arises.
By Fabian Todescato

Artwork • Viññāṇūpasama • Appeasement of Consciousness

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• 
  Sushama Karnik

  Home now,
  it's a matter of time
  before we reach the zone
  of " No smart phones",
  No more dumping of
  people's voice,
  no more subterfuge
  to hide the heinous acts
  by saying it was done by
  :" the rogue killer".
  It's time to say good bye
  to the world of CNN;
  time to call it a day,
  and return to the silence
  of "the myriad star dotted
  skies of shimmering dust"
  and sleep, a miraculous quiet
  In the Buddha's lake. By Sushama Karnik wrtitten in memory of Jamal Khshogji 2018

  
  
•  
• 
  

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Excerpts from Yajnyawalkya by Sushama Karnik
Oct 12, 2016
Revisiting a part of Yajnyawalkya (On Gayatri mantra)

Artabhaga spoke again: "A Master does not speak unless he feels you have the quest in your heart. ".....

A disciple asked, "You have been teaching us to invoke the inner light: Gayatri. Is Gayatri the same as Brahma which has been sought after by sages?"
Yajnyawalkya said, " No, Gayatri is not Brahma. Gayatri is the grand chariot which helps you traverse the path of this life on earth. Gayatri mantra enables you to unveil the light within you. Live your life constantly in that light. That light is the very power of Gayatri. It resides within you, but you know it not. "
Someone asked, "Are we born with that light or do we acquire it by effort?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "We are all born with it, and still we have to put in an effort to retrieve it because we have lost it in the process of living."
"Why do we lose it?" asked the pupil.
"Because our life on this earth makes demands on the other faculties which we call the mind, intellect, ego, and memory. We develop a trust in them and come to believe that we cannot understand this phenomenal world without their aid. Gradually we become one with them. We do not see ourselves as distinct from them. Ultimately, we are lost to that light in this process which we call "living'.
"If we are blessed with the faculty of memory, why are we lost to that light?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "The memory which loses sight of that light is the functional memory, which is an instrument of the mind connecting us with space and time that we can measure and imagine. It helps us communicate, speak, understand, synthesize and analyze. But it has limitations. Its function is to serve the body and the mind, but it does not enable us to reach that light."
" How do we reach it then? Is it enough to recite the Gayatri mantra?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Recitation aids the physical memory. It helps you to be mindful, which is the primary need. But though necessary, recitation by itself is not sufficient. Gayatri is the vibration of the life within. It unites you with everything that vibrates in the universe outside of your body. Open your mind, body, and heart to the power of energy that the universe is transmitting to you ceaselessly. Gayatri opens up the heart, restores energy, heals, and elevates."
The pupil said, "This is love; is it not?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Love is the underlying principle of life. The very light within you, which is lost and forgotten, is "love". There is discord, violence, and fear because we have lost that light. There is restlessness because we know that we must get it back, and restlessness is the sign of hope. Do not confuse that restlessness with fear. "
The pupil asked, "Does the light of Gayatri help me conquer fear?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Yes, the conquest of fear is the first step you take in the direction of that light.....
Gayatri reaches out from you to touch the light that pervades the Akasha and comes back to you with floods of light and energy. When the universe is ever ready, nay, eager to enrich you, accept the bounty without agitation. Embrace life in all its aspects. Be aware that happiness and sorrow are aspects of life, not the goal of it. Your mind adopts happiness and rejects sorrow. That which you reject becomes the root of fear. Gayatri takes you beyond the antithesis of happiness and sorrow. It is light, pure and simple, and inexhaustible."
Yajnyawalkya stopped, but no one realized that he had stopped speaking. Their minds swayed on a tide of self-awareness that surged up from the gross world of the body to leap up and catch a glimpse of the subtle and timeless world of the spirit.
A sacrificial fire had been initiated on the ground of earth but reached the realm of the spirit. The offering came from the seven realms of Brahma. Divinity guarded the sacrificial fire. Earth was the ground of the altar, mountains bosom. Its hands spread in four quarters. Divine wrath blazed in the embers of the karma of the humans, and the inaccessible truth of Brahma leaped up momentarily like a tongue of fire to speak its word. So long as the Brahma guards this sacrificial fire, there is no extinction for the human spirit and the spirit of all life.

SUSHAMA KARNIK (C)

“BARDO”

An excerpt from’ Mahatma Letters’ To A. P. Sinnett: Philosophical& Theoretical Teachings

“Bardo is the period between death and rebirth—and it may last from a few days /years to a kalpa. It is divided into three sub-periods (1) when the Ego delivered of its mortal coil enters into Kama-Loka ( the abode of Elementaries);  (2) when it enters into its “Gestation state”;  (3) when it is reborn in the Rupaloka of Devachan. Sub-period (1) may last from a few minutes to a number of years—the phrase ‘a few years” becoming puzzling and utterly worthless without a more complete explanation;  Sub-period (2) is “very long”, as you say, longer sometimes than you may imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego’s spiritual stamina. Sub-period (3) lasts in proportion to the good Karma, after which the monad is again ‘reincarnated’. The Agama Sutra saying:- -“ In all these Rupalokas, the Devas(Spirits) are equally subjected to birth, decay, old age, and death,” means only that an Ego is borne thither, then begins fading out and finally dies,”  i. e. falls into that unconscious condition which precedes rebirth; and ends the Sloka with these words;  “As the devas emerge from these heavens, they enter the lower world again;” i. e. They leave a world of bliss to be reborn in a world of causes.  

Ajna, The Command

Ājñā, (The Command)

Beloved light,
Space
In my heart,
Words
Go silent.

Space fills as I rise
Space fills.
with the Word received
and when the Word falls, in the space of the heart, it brings the Light.
And the light must be received.
That is the command But that is not the end.
It is a sojourn: a pause.

I, a sound, a rumble in the sea,
a thunder in the sky.
the pulse in the body,
the cracking of the ancient bow,
the sound of the waves,
rising and falling;
the silence all around,
the silence listens
in the supreme archetype of reverence for the sound.

The space fills;
reverberates with the Word received.