Moving
3 years ago
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Veiled Truth
The truth need not be veiled,
for it veils itself from the eyes of the ignorant.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
for it veils itself from the eyes of the ignorant.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Excerpts from commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
It is the deaf ears of the heart and the closed eyes of the soul which prevent man from seeing and hearing it. There is a verse of a Hindustani poet which says:
0' self, it is not the fault of the divine Beloved
that you do not see Him, that you do not hear Him.
He is continually before you and He is continually speaking to you.
If you do not hear it and if you do not see it, it is your own fault.
It is for this purpose that every soul has been created and it is in the fulfillment of this that man fulfills the object of God.
It is the deaf ears of the heart and the closed eyes of the soul which prevent man from seeing and hearing it. There is a verse of a Hindustani poet which says:
0' self, it is not the fault of the divine Beloved
that you do not see Him, that you do not hear Him.
He is continually before you and He is continually speaking to you.
If you do not hear it and if you do not see it, it is your own fault.
It is for this purpose that every soul has been created and it is in the fulfillment of this that man fulfills the object of God.
Man is the most egoistic being in creation. He keeps himself veiled from God, the perfect Self within, by the veil of his imperfect self, which has formed his false ego. ... and when the ego is absolutely crushed, then God remains within and without, in both planes, and none exists save He.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Field Of Life
Every moment has its special message.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Every step in evolution makes life more valuable.
The more evolved you are, the more priceless is every moment; it becomes an opportunity for you to do good to others, to serve others, to give love to others, to be gentle to others, to give your sympathy to souls who are longing and hungering for it.
Life is miserable when a person is absorbed in himself; as soon as he forgets himself he is happy.
The more he thinks of himself, his own affairs, work and interests, the less he knows the meaning of life.
If we only understood that every moment in life, every day, every month, and every year, has its particular blessing; if we only knew life's opportunity! But the greatest opportunity that one can realize in life is to accomplish that purpose for which man was sent on earth.
And if he has lost that opportunity, then whatever he may have accomplished in the world, whether he has gathered wealth, possesses much property, or has made a great name for himself, he will not be satisfied.
Once man's eyes are opened and he begins to look at the world, he will find there is a greater opportunity than he had ever thought before.
Man is as poor as he is, as limited as he is, as troubled as he is; yet there is nothing in this world which could not be accomplished by man if he only knew what thought can do.
It is ignorance which keeps him from what he ought to accomplish. Man should know how to operate his thought, how to accomplish certain things, how to focus his mind on the object that should be accomplished.
If he does not know then he has not made use of his mind but has lived like a machine. If man knew the power of feeling, and realized that the power of feeling can reach anywhere and penetrate anything, he could achieve whatever he might wish. . . . Every man is a captive in some form or other; his life is limited in some form or other; but one could get above this limitation by realizing the latent power and inspiration of the soul.
Kabir, the great poet of India says, 'Life is a field and you are born to cultivate it. And if you know how to cultivate this field you can produce anything you like. All the need of your life can be produced in this field. All that your soul yearns after and all you need is to be got from the field, if you know how to cultivate it and how to reap the fruit.'
But if this opportunity is only studied in order to make the best of life by taking all that one can take and by being more comfortable, that is not satisfying.
We must enrich ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that liberty, that freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that higher knowledge which breaks all the fetters of life and raises our consciousness to look at life from a different point of view.
Once a person has realized this opportunity he has fulfilled the purpose of Life.
The more evolved you are, the more priceless is every moment; it becomes an opportunity for you to do good to others, to serve others, to give love to others, to be gentle to others, to give your sympathy to souls who are longing and hungering for it.
Life is miserable when a person is absorbed in himself; as soon as he forgets himself he is happy.
The more he thinks of himself, his own affairs, work and interests, the less he knows the meaning of life.
If we only understood that every moment in life, every day, every month, and every year, has its particular blessing; if we only knew life's opportunity! But the greatest opportunity that one can realize in life is to accomplish that purpose for which man was sent on earth.
And if he has lost that opportunity, then whatever he may have accomplished in the world, whether he has gathered wealth, possesses much property, or has made a great name for himself, he will not be satisfied.
Once man's eyes are opened and he begins to look at the world, he will find there is a greater opportunity than he had ever thought before.
Man is as poor as he is, as limited as he is, as troubled as he is; yet there is nothing in this world which could not be accomplished by man if he only knew what thought can do.
It is ignorance which keeps him from what he ought to accomplish. Man should know how to operate his thought, how to accomplish certain things, how to focus his mind on the object that should be accomplished.
If he does not know then he has not made use of his mind but has lived like a machine. If man knew the power of feeling, and realized that the power of feeling can reach anywhere and penetrate anything, he could achieve whatever he might wish. . . . Every man is a captive in some form or other; his life is limited in some form or other; but one could get above this limitation by realizing the latent power and inspiration of the soul.
Kabir, the great poet of India says, 'Life is a field and you are born to cultivate it. And if you know how to cultivate this field you can produce anything you like. All the need of your life can be produced in this field. All that your soul yearns after and all you need is to be got from the field, if you know how to cultivate it and how to reap the fruit.'
But if this opportunity is only studied in order to make the best of life by taking all that one can take and by being more comfortable, that is not satisfying.
We must enrich ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that liberty, that freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that higher knowledge which breaks all the fetters of life and raises our consciousness to look at life from a different point of view.
Once a person has realized this opportunity he has fulfilled the purpose of Life.
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Today
I must walk into darkness to find the light and walk into fear to find peace.
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.
My thoughts create my future.
What I will be tomorrow is determined by what I think today.
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.
My thoughts create my future.
What I will be tomorrow is determined by what I think today.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
More Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), our third president and principal author of the Declaration of Independence .
He was a horticulturist, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor and founder of theUniversity of Virginia .
When President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Jefferson has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest presidents.
Thomas Jefferson could be called a prophet.
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
He was a horticulturist, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor and founder of theUniversity of Virginia .
When President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Jefferson has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest presidents.
Thomas Jefferson could be called a prophet.
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thomas Jefferson On Banking
In light of the present financial crisis, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
I Did Not Know
I did not know that it was physically impossible for me to drink moderately.I did not know that my body's drinking machinery had worn out, and that the parts could not be replaced.
I did not know that just one drink made it impossible for me to control my behavior and conduct and my future drinking.
I did not know, in short, that I was powerless over alcohol.
Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 153
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