Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,or stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf … Continue reading
Arjuna gets a peak at The Divine in Its fullness… Arujuna “Out of compassion you have taught me the supreme mystery of the Self. Through your word my delusion is gone. You have explained the origin and end of every creature, O lotus-eyed one, and told me of your own supreme limitless existence. Just as you have described your infinite glory, O Lord, now I … Continue reading
Here Krisha encourages Arjuna to seek “the Self” (read Brahman or God) through meditation. The world without leads ultimately to restlessness and dissatisfaction. But those who practice meditation will be “free from affliction.” My favorite image here is that of the mind as an “unwavering flame in a windless place.” Seeking satisfaction in the world, we can be like a flame in the wind, this … Continue reading
In this excerpt, Krishna refrences some crazy Hindu beliefs about rebirth (whooops, that’s not very pc is it? – yes, I went there), and more importantly discusses the freedom that comes from being “established in the Self.” This is basically the Hindu way of saying “He must increase and I must decrease” or “not I, but Christ (God) in me.” The more you are filled … Continue reading
Although The Bhagavad Gita is not conventionally classified as the most authoritative writing in the Hindu Scriptures (as it is not a part of the Vedas), it may be the most influential and widely read. Embedded in the middle of the Mahabharata, the great battle epic of ancient India (think Iliad), the Gita is an extended aside that bears the vivid stamp of personal mystic … Continue reading
Last “Doors” excerpt for ya…this quote ends the book: This (spiritual) given reality is an infinite which passes all understanding and yet admits of being directly and in some sort totally apprehended. It is a transcendence belonging to another order than the human, and yet it may be present to us as a felt immanence, an experienced participation. To be enlightened is to be aware, … Continue reading
Huxley’s reflections on quietism against the “active contemplative,” and the effect of mescaline on one’s will toward action: But meanwhile my question remained unanswered. How was this cleansed perception to be reconciled with a proper concern with human relations, with the necessary chores and duties, to say nothing of charity and practical compassion? The age-old debate between the actives and the contemplatives was being renewed—renewed, … Continue reading
“The soul that is attached to anything however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for, until the cord be broken the bird cannot fly.” – St. John of … Continue reading
Synopsis: The Perennial Philosophy, which Huxley defines as “the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the philosophy that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; (and) the ethic that places man’s final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being,” is the “philosophy of … Continue reading
I am, by nature, a quiet person. I score well into the “I” range on Myers-Briggs; it drains my energy to go to big parties and I am renewed by quiet and solitude. I don’t know that anyone would call me a hermit, but I frequently think about how nice it would be to live in a hermitage for a year, how at peace I … Continue reading