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#1685 - Thursday, January 22, 2004 - Editor: Jerry
Daily Dharma
"Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals
your
sick self.
"Therefore, trust the physician, and drink his remedy in
silence and
tranquility; for his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by
the
tender hand of the Unseen. And the cup he brings, though it
burn your
lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has
moistened with
His own sacred lips."
~Gibran
From the book, "The Prophet," published by Knopf.
The Other Syntax
Four Stages of Intent
"I have described to you, in many ways, the
different stages a
warrior passes through along the path of knowledge," he went
on. "In
terms of his connection with intent, a warrior goes through four
stages. The first is when he has a rusty, untrustworthy
link with
intent. The second is when he succeeds in cleaning
it. The third is
when he learns to manipulate it. And the fourth is when he
learns to
accept the designs of the abstract."
The Two One-Way Bridges
THE POWER OF SILENCE
Carlos Castaneda
In Search of 'Dark Matter'
Most of the matter in the universe is missing, and scientists
are eager
to find it. In 1932, when they began studying how stars behaved
within
galaxies, astronomers found too few stars to account for the
gravitational pull necessary to keep a galaxy together. Something
unseen--termed "dark matter"--had to account for the
missing mass, and
there had to be a lot of it. Most experts now estimate that 90
percent
of the universe is comprised of this elusive stuff.
"Dark matter" has escaped detection because it does
not emit enough
electromagnetic radiation--perhaps none at all. At first,
scientists
inferred its existence by measuring its gravitational effects on
nearby
stars and galaxies. But in 2000, scientists found evidence of
"cosmological shear," a phenomenon in which light from
distant objects
bends under matter's gravitational pull.
Dark matter may be dying stars, brown dwarfs (objects nearly
as large
as stars), or vast clouds of neutrinos--fundamental particles
that are
very difficult to detect. One of the strongest candidates is the
hypothetical WIMP, or Weakly Interacting Massive Particle,
perhaps 50
times heavier than a proton. Once dark matter is identified, the
task
of determining how much exists would begin.
Some scientists believe there may not be enough dark matter to
halt the
universe's ever-accelerating expansion, and as stars burn off
their
fuel (in about 10 trillion years), the universe will grow cold
and
dark. Conversely, there may be enough dark matter to tip
gravity's
scales, and start the universe on the road toward a "Big
Crunch"--in
about 50 billion years--with everything contracting back into a
cosmic
singularity similar to how the universe started.
Were a Big Crunch to occur, the resulting singularity could
produce
another Big Bang. This hypothesis--of a universe that oscillates
between expansion and contraction--mirrors the creation myths
found in
Hinduism's ancient Puranic texts. Perhaps their anonymous
authors, who
presciently placed the age of the universe in the billions of
years,
knew something we don't.
from Science Fiction Book Club: http://www.sfbc.com
Roy Whenary
from The Texture of Being
http://www.lotusharmony.com/index.htm
TEACHERS & ENLIGHTENMENT
When we are living in confusion, in suffering, in the ego, it
seems
natural to deify or look up to those who appear to have all the
answers, who appear to be very spiritual - the gurus and teachers
of
this world. Of course, they are a real and valuable asset to
society
and the evolution of mankind, but we put them on a pedestal at
our
peril. It may be true that someone who is widely regarded
as being an
‘enlightened master’ has great clarity about life and,
in many
respects, may appear to be light years ahead of everyone else,
but in
essence his true nature and our true nature are no different. The
person may be different, the energy may be different - but
essentially
what he is we are also, except that he is conscious of it and we
are
not. His body will die and his mind will go, just as will happen
with
our body and mind. He, as an individual, can no more escape death
than
we can - except that we would like to and he is not bothered.
A truly ‘enlightened’ master will never tell you
that he is great or
that he is enlightened. He will never tell you that he alone can
realize the ultimate, that he is a perfect master or avatar,
whilst you
are an ordinary human being. There are people who will tell you
these
things, who will make enlightenment out to be something
exclusive.
There are people who will put themselves on a pedestal and
encourage
you to bow down before them, to serve them, to idolize them. The
world
is not short of a good supply of such ‘teachers’. But
do these
‘teachers’ encourage you to awaken inwardly to the
point where you
don’t need them anymore?
When one goes with such a teacher, one instantly gives away
one’s
power, one’s autonomy, and one becomes dependent on their
grace, on
their goodwill, on their method of teaching. Of course, such
teachers
do offer a refuge, a support and advice for those who, for
whatever
reason, do not wish, or are not able, to take decisions or
responsibilities for themselves in this life. But if one is
seeking
‘enlightenment’, it is better to go to a teacher who
does not have
pretensions about his or her status in life. It is better to go
to
someone who offers you a pure and unconditional mirror in which
to see
into your true nature, rather than one which is clouded with ego
and
the spirit of control and manipulation.
We all have the potential to be awake, to be conscious, in the
silent
emptiness of our true nature. However, there are thousands of us
who
have studied spiritual writings and scriptures for decades and
still
are unable to break through the enclosure of the mind, to taste
the
nectar of realization directly. Thought cannot take us there. No
prescribed practices will jolt us into this realization. No book
will
lead us there. The fact is that there is nowhere to go, nothing
to
realize and no one to realize it. We have created this myth about
enlightenment and the enlightened seer, out of our own
frustration and
confusion. We have set them apart from ourselves, as something to
achieve, something to reach out for, and in doing so have made
them
unattainable.
Enlightenment is something we have put on a pedestal, knowing
that it
is beyond our grasp. Even though the enlightened seer may tell us
that
all we need to do is to rid ourselves of the notion that we are
not
enlightened, still we are unable to put this notion, this concept
aside. So where do we go from here? Clearly, any move we make in
any
direction is a mistake. So, we stay where we are, fully
experiencing
our unclarity, our confusion, our frustration. But, instead of
indulging in emotional reaction and negative moods, we simply
stay
where we are. We live our life, aware of our thoughts, our
feelings,
our moods and emotions. We do our work, raise our family, whilst
all
the time watching what arises in consciousness. We see the play
of the
world, of life, and we stand back from any emotional involvement
in it.
There are wars here and injustices there. We may work for
peace in the
world or try to put right injustices that are taking place, but
we
continue to stand back from emotional involvement. In doing so,
compassion may arise in the heart. When we get involved
emotionally,
there is a personal reaction. This personal reaction neither
solves the
problem nor allows us to move on. When compassion arises, it
comes with
an all-seeing awareness of the suffering of all humanity. It
takes us
away from personal reaction into effective action. This
compassion
spirits us closer to realization. It takes us out of the ego, out
of
the personal, into the universal. We are then no longer concerned
about
personal realization. The realization comes as a natural side
effect of
the blossoming of compassion in our heart and mind.
It is natural to have respect for those who have greater
knowledge,
understanding and wisdom than ourselves. But it is also a mistake
to
get pulled in by appearances. Be careful of the one who stands
before
you offering sugar and spice. What’s in his other hand? Why
is he so
keen to get your attention? There are many characters in life who
have
learned how to act in order to get what they want. If someone
keeps
telling you he is a good man, does it not arouse your suspicion?
If
someone goes around under the banner of ‘enlightened master’,
do you
not have a few questions to ask? Of course, the teacher doesn’t
always
go around claiming that he’s an enlightened master (though
some are not
ashamed to do this), but he often doesn’t try to prevent his
followers
from doing so.
In my own experience, every teacher I ever met who really
impressed me
deeply, made no such claims. The moment that someone does make
such
claims, it gives away the fact that they are living in duality,
in
separation, in the ego. The bigger the guru, the more likely it
is that
they have fallen into this trap. We take their advice at our
peril.
Listening to the voice of our own true nature is what we really
need to
trust in. Then we need no outward teacher. The outward teacher
then
becomes, maybe, a source of inspiration and a motivating force
rather
than someone on whom we become dependent.
from AllspiritInspiration
Amritanubhav (The Nectar of Mystical Experience)
Chapter One: The Union of Shiva and Shakti (Selected verses)
I offer obeisance to the God and Goddess,
The limitless primal parents of the universe.
They are not entirely the same,
Nor are they not the same.
We cannot say exactly what they are.
How sweet is their union!
The whole world is too small to contain them,
Yet they live happily in the smallest particle.
When He awakes, the whole house disappears,
And nothing at all is left.
Two lutes: one note.
Two flowers: one fragrance.
Two lamps: one light.
Two lips: one word.
Two eyes: one sight.
These two: one universe.
In unity there is little to behold;
So She, the mother of abundance,
Brought forth the world as play.
He takes the role of Witness
Out of love of watching Her.
But when Her appearance is withdrawn,
The role of Witness is abandoned as well.
Through Her,
He assumes the form of the universe;
Without Her,
He is left naked.
If night and day were to approach the Sun,
Both would disappear.
In the same way, their duality would vanish
If their essential Unity were seen.
from "Jnaneshvar: The Life and Works of the
Celebrated
Thirteenth Century Indian Mystic-Poet"
by S. Abhyayananda.