I saw my Lord

I saw my Lord with the eye of the heart.
I asked, ‘Who are You?’
He replied, ‘You’.

~ Mansur Al Hallaj

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If one studies history of divine souls, one will always find find that those who preached love, compassion, universal brotherhood, respect for life, etc. you will find that they were inevitably persecuted by the government and the dominant religious authorities of the times.

Jesus Christ, The Sikh Gurus, are well known examples but much less is known about the  Sufi saint Mansur al-Hallaj. The people followed them in large numbers turning away from the priests and preachers of the times, towards these divine souls and masters. Following them  because they stirred their souls and enlightened them. 

However arrogant leaders of religious and political institutions can not accept nor forgive anyone who enlightens the masses. So they always try to destroy these great beings. 

But what difference do earthly matters of life and death make to the soul that is divine, and transcended this material world? They may destroy the body but not the soul, nor can they silence the words and the teachings.

One can also observe this, from the life of  Mansur al-Hallaj  (858 - 922).  He was a Persian  mystic, revolutionary writer and a major teacher and influence in the Sufi tradition.  

He spent long periods in meditation and was imprisoned by many who disapproved of his claim to be true only to the one God rather than to protocols of social and religious custom. 

Mansur was finally incarcerated for 9 years. Rather than getting destroyed, he rejoiced and used the time to meditate, realising that he and God were but one. When he emerged from his cell he kept uttering the the words,  "An Al-Ḥaq" (I am the Truth)

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He achieved the highest level of spiritual evolution when he proclaimed, that there was no separation  between him and God. This kind of statements are considered revolutionary and very dangerous by the clerics and the state for it negates their power over the spiritual individual. 

What would happen if the masses followed Mansur?
He was repeatedly asked to publicly recant, but he steadfastly refused. Unwilling to change his statements, he was finally sentenced to death. Mansur was not only to be killed but to be so destroyed that it must frighten others not to deviate from norms laid out by religious leaders.

Thousands of people witnessed his execution on the banks of the Tigris River. He remained defiant, and uncowed even as he was led to the scaffold. He was first punched in the face by his executioner, then lashed until unconscious, and then decapitated Witnesses reported that Al-Hallaj's last words under torture were "All that matters for the ecstatic is that the Unique should reduce him to Unity," after which he recited the Koranic verse 42:18. His body was doused in oil and set alight, and his ashes were then scattered into the river.

Mansur  Al-Hallaj taught people to find God inside their own souls. He preached without the traditional Sufi cloak and used language familiar to the local population.

Among other Sufis, Mansur was an anomaly. Many Sufi masters felt that it was inappropriate to share mysticism with the masses, yet Mansur openly did so in his writings and through his teachings. 

Mansur al-Hallaj claimed, "There is nothing wrapped in my turban but God." 

Did I tell you, I love you?

Once again as I embarked on a long journey, without my wife, I felt the pang of separation from my love and friend. I was filled with thoughts and emotions. 

When our being overflows with emotion it drives thoughts out of the mind emptying it, even if only for a brief moment. Then in this emptiness many thoughts surge in.

What if I never get to see her again? 
Its strange, that I have surrendered to Mohini, yet rather than becoming less I am further enriched, physically, emotionally and intellectually. This I guess is the power of love and friendship.


I always want to tell her that she means the world to me and I love her,  and a thousand other things. Words and thoughts which a man and woman, friends, and lovers  should be sharing with one another, but for some inexplicable reason almost never do so. 

Soon after leaving I usually sent her a message from my phone. The message could reflect care, love, regret, a joke, something romantic, advice, maybe even a reminder, whatever it is I feel at that moment. True friends and lovers never adulterate their feelings with too much thought. 

I asked myself, 'If you love her, why did you not tell her directly?'
For one my wife never believes me, after all the grief I give her. 
Secondly the last time I hugged and told her I loved her, , she spun around and confronted me, "Are you having an affair? "
"Of course not, I replied." 
I thought to myself, "By God! what a delightful thing that would be."  

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I like to converse with myself. 
Why do we seek to cling on to what we have? Maybe this is all that we have. 
There is God I am often told. 
But where is He?

God, He seems so very far away. The more I approach Him the more distant he seems to be. How many steps more must I travel to reach Him? And there are so many middle men.  My wife and my family, they are here and now. I have invested so much in these relationship, of course I have a right to expect a return on my love and devotion.

This is nonsense. If we expect something in return for our love and devotion then it's not love, its business. A commercial deal of give and take. 

Again I asked myself, 'what if I never saw her again?'  The survivor would be devastated. Really? Why should it be so?

From experience and understanding, realisation is born which blooms into acceptance.
Worry never robbed tomorrow of its sorrow, it just robs today of its essence.

We come alone into this world and alone we shall leave it.  How silly we humans are, that for the brief time we spend while we are here, to gather so much?  As if we will live here forever. Things, relationships, wealth, position, status, all we should relinquish voluntarily or they will be snatched away from us anyway.  Give and give with joy and without expectation. Share and share with compassion. 

Love is not a demanding but a giving. Only an Emperor can give with magnanimity. Where as a beggar is exacting, expecting his or her due in full, and if possible even more.  

Love and friendship fortunately are unlike money.
If we give and love unconditionally, the more we give the more we are enriched. 
Maybe I have evolved, maybe I have just grown too comfortable and lazy, maybe I am trying to fool destiny. I am lucky that I live like an emperor, I treasure just the moment, and I never send her sentimental messages anymore. 

Awakening all of Humanity

If you want to awaken all of humanity, 

then awaken all of yourself:

If you want to eliminate the suffering of the world, 

then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.

Truly the greatest gift you have to give is, 

that of your own self-transformation.

- Lao Tzu

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A contemporary of Confucius, during 6th century BC.  Lao Tzu the legendary writer and philosopher is the author of the Tao Te Ching (The Way)  and the founder of philosophical Taoism. 

Falling or rising in Love?

"In fact a mature person does not fall in love, he rises in love. The word ’fall’ is not right. Only immature people fall; they stumble and fall down in love. Somehow they were managing and standing. They cannot manage and they cannot stand – they find a woman and they are gone, they find a man and they are gone. They were always ready to fall on the ground and to creep. They don’t have the backbone, the spine; they don’t have that integrity to stand alone."

"A mature person has the integrity to be alone. And when a mature person gives love, he gives without any strings attached to it: he simply gives. And when a mature person gives love, he feels grateful that you have accepted his love, not vice versa. He does not expect you to be thankful for it – no, not at all, he does not even need your thanks. He thanks you for accepting his love. And when two mature persons are in love, one of the greatest paradoxes of life happens, one of the most beautiful phenomena: they are together and yet tremendously alone; they are together so much so that they are almost one. But their oneness does not destroy their individuality, in fact, it enhances it: they become more individual."

"Two mature persons in love help each other to become more free. There is no politics involved, no diplomacy, no effort to dominate. How can you dominate the person you love? Just think over it. Domination is a sort of hatred, anger, enmity. How can you think of dominating a person you love? You would love to see the person totally free, independent; you will give him more individuality. That’s why I call it the greatest paradox: they are together so much so that they are almost one, but still in that oneness they are individuals. Their individualities are not effaced – they have become more enhanced. The other has enriched them as far as their freedom is concerned."

"Immature people falling in love destroy each other’s freedom, create a bondage, make a prison. Mature persons in love help each other to be free; they help each other to destroy all sorts of bondages. And when love flows with freedom there is beauty. When love flows with dependence there is ugliness."

- Osho

Oshio

What did Mahatma Gandhi really mean by Non Violence?

To commit an injustice is a sin, 

         but to tolerate injustice is also a sin.

                - Guru Gobind Singh ji

Ahimsa or non violence does not mean 'to do nothing'. It means not to not actively cause harm to others and to creation.

What Mahatma Gandhi ji advised the First Soldier of India?

In early 1947, India was rushing towards its date with freedom from British rule. However there loomed on the horizon a very dangerous storm of the threat of partition of India because of the differences between the two main egoistic leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohamad Ali Jinnah.

Wiser counsel tried their best to prevent the partition. Amongst the sane, was the first soldier of India, Major General Cariappa, who suggested that Nehru and Jinnah  should sit down together and find an amicable solution to avoid partition.

Surprisingly, this suggestion was immediately condemned by Mahatma Gandhi in 'The Harijan', who frowned upon upon the expression of political views by a military man.

Gen Cariappa went to meet Gandhi ji. 

After some polite conversation the General came to the point. "Gandhi ji, I cannot do my duty well by my country If I concentrate only on telling my troops of non-violence all the time, subordinating their main task of preparing themselves efficiently to be good soldiers. So I ask you, please, to give me the child's guide to knowledge. Tell me please, how I can put this over, that is, the spirit of non-violence to the troops without endangering their sense of duty to protect themselves and the nation."

Gandhi ji, replied, "I myself am groping in the dark for the answer.  I will find it  someday and give you the answer."

The apostle of non-violence had no answer to give the first soldier of India. Gandhi ji, concluded that everyone must do their duty and to serve and to protect your country is the solemn duty of everyone, but more so that of the soldier.

Gandhi ji, was the first person to bless Brig. LP Sen before he left for Srinagar in Kashmir on his mission to repel the invading Pakistani forces.  

                                       __________________________________________

Unfortunately India for long has been led mostly by small minded self serving leaders. Many leaders civilian and military lacking in spine and intelligence have conveniently twisted the words of Gurus, Mahatmas, and former military leaders to do precious little to protect the interests of India and her people.

If we have bad leaders, it is because we have voted them to be there. 

Let us imbibe the true spirit of liberty with dignity and prosperity. To become a great and responsible nation, who none other should fear unless they wish to deliberately cause India harm.

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The quotes of Mahatma Gandhi and Gen. Cariappa were taken from the book '**Mahatma Gandhi: The last phase**' written by Pyarelal Nayyar

Pyarelal Nayyar (1899–1982) was a ver active freedom fighter and the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi in his later years.

Religion and Wit

Ibn Sīnā. (980 - 1037AD) commonly known as Avicenna, was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant thinkers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age.

Avicenna translated numerous Greco-Roman works. 
Based on his study of Persian and Indian mathematical systems, he developed and wrote 450 works. His work covered the fields of philosophy, medicine, astronomy, alchemy, geography and geology, psychology, logic, algebra, trigonometry, physics and poetry. 
He also contributed extensively to the field of Islamic theology. 

As a teacher, I learnt from ....

I have learnt much from my teachers, still more from my colleagues, but from my pupils more than from all of them.

- Hillel

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Great institutions are founded by exceptional leaders. 

Coincidentally all exceptional leaders are not only exceptional students but also great teachers. Why is this so?

The reasons could be several, but the greatest is the learning that teaching facilitates. This happens in three stages. First when they are taught, secondly when its is practiced and thirdly when they teach it.

This is why genuine teachers are revered and held in esteem greater than those afforded to  rulers, governments and even parents. When teaching becomes just a job or a chore one takes up for subsistence or making money the spark and energy that knowledge provides is lost. It also becomes a drudgery for the student who have to simply endure the fake teacher. They therefore  absorb little nothing, grow angry and restless. Worse is that they begin to despise the teacher, the subject and the institution.

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Woodcutter, sage, religious leader and scholar Hillel (110 BC - 10 AD) is one of the most important figures in Jewish history. Associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud. 

Hillel the Elder teaching a man the meaning of the whole Torah 

No freedom in the crowd

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone, and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

- Arthur Schopenhauer

In a shoal of fish, each fish tries to do two things. First it tries to get to the centre of the shoal and secondly it tries to replicate the behaviour of the fish next to it. It provides a sense of security to each individual fish.

Human beings in a society generally behave in the same way. So an individual in a community sacrifices his or her individuality to fit in and acquire a sense of security. This approach is pretty good for animals and animal expectations. Banded together a group is physically stronger than the individual members. But what about the intellectual, and spiritual expectations of individual humans?

If the individual fails to comply to the guidelines laid out by leaders in society, then the members of the society isolate and drive out the non conformist from within their midst.

People everywhere are seeking to be free from others. A society is free only when individuals within it are free. Unfortunately the vast majority of humanity has willingly submitted to others, the political, spiritual and intellectual aspects of their lives.

The reason this has happened is that they do not know what to do with their freedom

Try this and ask yourself, 
'If I am free, then what do I do with my freedom?'

If you are baffled to discover that you have no satisfactory answer, maybe its time to start questioning some of the assumptions you have made about your life. 

Bye Bye religious freedom

"Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so." 

-Robert A. Heinlein

The world cannot be healed

My interests and my work brings me in touch with many welfare, community service, and non government organisations (NGOs).

Many of them achieve little or nothing inspite of their seemingly passionate commitment.  I have long struggled to understand why, inspite of their claims to be helping others these people are unable to make much progress.

Then I got the answer when a wise man told me, "People can't give what they do not have."

You cannot heal the world, until you heal yourself.

Kintsungi

Kintsugi is a Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with lacquer or resin mixed with powdered gold. They believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.

Have you noticed how wealthy some people are?

No, I am not talking about those people who only have money.

I am speaking of those who have character born from their experiences of surviving great personal challenges.  They break but somehow destiny puts them back together. They may have some parts missing here and there  and sometimes something extra. But in those distortions and superficial ugliness lies a genuine and original beauty like no other. 

You hear them speak and behave so casually about life and material things in such a genuine manner that their personalities simply leap out and grab your mind and heart.

The Japanese are a very deep people and they have developed the art of Kintsugi

                                       

Do you know who I am? Who are you?

During his reign as emperor of China, Emperor Wu of Liang (502–549 AD) embraced and promoted the golden age of Chinese Buddhism. He came to be seen as the Chinese counterpart of the Indian Buddhist Emperor Ashoka the Great. 

Bodhidharma, the first Zen patriarch of China, came to visit Emperor Wu around 520 AD.

The emperor told Bodhidharma, " I have built numerous temples and given financial support to the monastic community. Please tell me how much merit will I get for these deeds?".

Bodhidharma replied, "None whatsoever.You have not done anything out of piety nor out of wanting to do good. Pretending to do good you only wanted to purchase merit, but remember that merit cannot be purchased."

Furious and perplexed, the emperor asked Bodhidharma, "Who are you to tell me such things? Who are you?'

Bodhidharma replied, "Your Majesty, I don't know."

What can be learnt from this great historical encounter?

'Know thyself and then be thyself'.

Everyday we have people who do not know who they themselves are, telling others what to be or become. 

Even those who know a little about themselves are caught in a state of confusion, trying to be someone else.

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Who are we? 

We are nothing, but existence at play.

We are given a name, then a religion, then a country, then a race, then an official qualification, then a work title and finally a social title. In the end we will die to be relegated to the dustbin of existence, clueless about who we are.

We know we are nothing, and we will remain nothing. Everything is given to us by others. All that is given to us will one day be taken away from us. 

So we create this delusional concept that we are something or someone, who is going to journey to some far away place, where we will be surrounded by sweet music, where angels dance for us, and there rivers of alcohol flow. In paradise we will feast and dine on the most wonderful of foods and be attended to, by beautiful people who refuse us nothing physical or sexual. 

Somehow this ridiculous notion survives, and we ridiculously foolish humans, lap it up and swear by it.  So we will go out there, maim, kill, destroy for our place in this so called 'paradise'.

Even as we know we are nothing, we believe so greatly in our puny intellect to analyse and discover the so called reason of our existence. 

The birds, the flowers and the animals never ask this question nor do the seasons, the sea, and win. They bestow unconditionally their wonderful grace and sometimes their awesome fury upon us.

Who are you? 

Spiritually speaking, shorn of all those props and labels, you are merely another nobody just like me. Someone who is on a journey from birth to death in a body that is slowly perishing by the moment.

Let us just, live and let live. Find harmony and balance between us and our world. To celebrate life, amongst its splendid wonders and bounty, and to die happily. 

If there is a paradise, heaven or a hell, it is here and now.

Knowing and Describing God

Anyone who knows God, 

cannot describe Him.

Anyone who describes God 

does not know Him.    

                                                                                                      - Paul Coelho

Intelligence, Artificial versus Human

The greatest thing that humans possess is consciousness.

I used to believe that can consciousness never be created in a machine, no matter how advanced Artificial Intelligence gets.


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Now I am not so sure. 
With each passing day machines are growing smarter while humans seem to becoming less intelligent. 
If the current pace of developments in Artificial Intelligence continues, then it is quite conceivable that in 20 years, scientists will be able to create machines and systems that will equal and exceed thought of man.


* This is not yet an established fact, merely a caution issued by a concerned man.

to Die before Death

Death is a stripping away of all that is not you.
The secret of life is to die before you die
and find that there is no death.

 - Eckhart Tolle

The force is with you

My year old grandson Tegh Vir Singh, has discovered mobility. He crawls rapidly all over the house, being followed by some member of the family.

There is a heavy drawer in our bedroom which houses all the sheets and blankets etc. Tegh Vir had observed the actions of his grandmother as she cleans up the room every morning.

Children learn by imitating the behaviour of people around them. Even though Tegh is still so little, and unable to pull open the drawer, he persists, in trying to copy his grandmother's actions

This morning the drawer once again caught Tegh' attention. He huffed and he puffed but the drawer would not open. I decided to assist Tegh, so I discretely pulled open the drawer from one corner. Tegh Veer beamed with joy and he looked  around announcing his success in that strange language that only mothers understand.
  
He then pushed the draw shut, again with my discrete help. He was delighted by his success and on discovering his new found capabilities.

We both played our roles in the game several times. After about a dozen cycles I stopped, because the game was becoming boring and hence weary.

Tegh, was so confused. In spite of all his efforts the drawer now refused to budge. He tried and he tried, looked around for support, and when none was forthcoming, began his huffing and puffing all over again. 
"Well, my world is full of other fun things to do", he probably thought as he
embarked on a new adventure.

It suddenly dawned upon me that had just transpired was a great lesson in spirituality. 

Each individual feels that he or she alone is the doer. Everything that succeeds is because of us and us alone. But hands and forces hidden and unknown to us are always working and assisting us. 

Such is the power of creation which many call God, that miracles happen all the time.

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I have experienced, that whatever we do with commitment and all our focus and passion, will automatically draw the energy from the cosmos and from within our higher self to support whatever we do.

This is what all the great masters and teachers tell us, "Be true to yourself" or "seek and you shall find". But be a true seeker.

The spiritually evolved individual knowingly or unknowingly taps into this this vast reservoir of energy. We should remember that the energy of the cosmos or energy within us is just pure energy, and energy is not judgemental, it just follows its own rules.

If we are full of hate, anger, jealousy, then our bitterness and negativity will be magnified and we will be destructive and cause only harm and sorrow.

So it is with goodness. If we are compassionate, loving, friendly and helpful, we will achieve joy and well being, not only for ourselves but we will enrich the cosmos and everyone we come in contact with. 

Believe in yourself and the power lying latent with-in and with-out you.

Make your choices wisely, for the force is always with you.

Lust and happiness.

All humanity seems to be on a quest to be happy. Yet happiness eludes us, why?

The answer probably lies in lust and sexual repression.

To have sexual desire is the most natural of our traits. To condemn this itself is so sinister that man is condemned to be unhappy.  

What greater punishment we inflict on ourselves?

No matter what we try, eventually nature always triumphs. Yet we force ourselves to  try and live in unnatural ways. That is why humans have become cruel and violent. Rape, abuse, exploitation of the weak, violence, war, etc., are the products of a repressed sexuality. 

Priests quoting from their respective holy books of organised religion, inform us that, lust means the desire for sex. They  say that sex is taboo and even in marriage sex is regrettable. 

Priests preach to us, to abandon the lust for power money and sex which is forbidden, which we can term as 'bad lust'. They instruct us to deactivate our minds, ignore our hearts and surrender much of our wealth to their religious institutions, so that we may properly chase religion and God. This is what could be termed as 'good lust'.

It is true that Prophets, Messiahs and the Gurus advised us not to lust. There is great depth and relevant meaning behind these statements. Unfortunately priests have twisted this statement to assume lust means only sexual lust.

As per the priests, to crave for sex and wealth is bad but to crave for religion and God is good.  In reality there is no difference between the lust for power, sex, wealth, and lust for religion and God. 

Lust, is an intense craving. Lust means to desire, and to desire something passionately if not desperately. Desperation and passion are both blinding. 

Only a heart and mind which is at peace and calm can progress on the spiritual journey. But a heart possessed by a craving, any craving is always unsettled and in turmoil. Turmoil occupies and ties us down, calmness releases us.



Imagine our individual being, as a pond. 
Any object thrown into the water will cause ripples. 
Similarly a craving thrown into our being will also causes ripples and hence turmoil. 

It matters not, whether we throw an ordinary stone, gold nugget or even a diamond into the calm waters of the pond. All objects cast into the water will always cause ripples.

Our lust, our craving constantly creates ripples in our mind and therefore our mind is always in turbulence. How can we ever achieve peace and divinity with a  turbulent mind and spirit?

It matters little, whether we crave sex, wealth, power, enlightenment or God, all craving is lust. To crave or to lust means to be dissatisfied with what we already have and to desire something else. We crave for something more and therefore we live, not in the present but in the future. That is what causes turmoil and unhappiness.

Thus after many years of rituals, discussions with sages, searching endlessly for answers Gautam Buddha got enlightened. 
What did he achieve, when we say, "Siddhartha got enlightened"? 
Lord Buddha discovered that there is no need to crave for anything, he just had to be. To merely accept existence, and that is a state of Godliness.

Lord Buddha discovered that to be blissful, no answers are needed. Existence is not a problem that needs to be solved, nor a challenge that must be overcome, but a mystery that simply needs to be experienced.


The greatest gift is to be at peace with ourselves. This can happen in three phases. 
First, to live life naturally, fulfilling our biological needs and then transcending our sexual and hunger desires. 
Next to evolve from body to mind by reflection and intellectual nourishment to attain wisdom. 
Finally, by meditating, transcend both body and mind to become truly spiritual. Eventually we will come to know both ourselves and existence . 

The wisdom, the power, the energy of the universe, and all the bliss is ours for the receiving, if only we were not so blinded by lust for these gifts.


* This article is based on the talks of the Master, Osho.