The Dead-end Up Here: March 2010

Monday, March 22, 2010

ODE TO CLARA

There is nothing wrong

Nothing can go wrong

For something to go wrong

The universe has to be wrong.

Geeta, Krishna, Buddha and Jeesus

Mohammed, Sai, Rumi

Nisargdatta, Ramana and Shankara

All have to be wrong.

You have to be wrong

I have to be wrong

But in my heart

I know I am not wrong.

Who said it

Or who says it now

Who wrote the Upnishads

Does it really matter how?

Was Mahabharat real, Ram sent Ravan packing

Hanuman burnt Lanka down

Or Jeesus who turned water into wine

Whatever they did could not be wrong.

If I were to thank all

Who taught this truth ultimate

I will have to include you

Him, her, it and all the rest.

But thank you indeed, Clara

For you are

Who makes all difference

Coalesce into just one.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

This famous line of Nisargdatta Maharaj has been quoted more often by spiritual masters and students than any other I know or at least so it seems in the circles I touch. And yet, this is the one that has given me a problem. I find that in a way this is the essence of nearly all teachings form Sufi to Buddhism; all referring to That Self which we are. My biggest problem has been trying to meditate on this.

If I am That and lets not mince words, if I am God then why can I not vaporise you or the rock in front of me as I have seen it done in movies, mythologies and stories. The power and miracles of That God has been the key driver of most faiths and continues to be so today. Any time I have tired to converse with a good christian or a Hindu or a Buddhist on my spiritual views, we get hung up on the same item. Jesus is real and performs miracles for His children as we speak. If I Am That then I should also be able to do the same.

It recently occurred to me that the sentence "I AM THAT" is incomplete. It really means we are all That and that nobody is left behind. This is an all inclusive statement. When I go further into Nisargdatta Maharaj's teachings, I find that he says that even this is not true. In fact no one is That, no one is at all. This is just a pointer to get us home. Once you have comprehended this, there is no conflict for I am you and the rocks and the trees and That. How can I possibly do anything like a miracle to all of these, if there is no difference, there are no others? A miracle involves two parties but there is just One. I still can't answer to the miracles among my religious friends other than that all miracles are my doing, as I AM THAT too.

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Lineage

I am a descendant of the great sage Kashyap.

Here is one of his poems.

Undisturbed am I, undisturbed is my soul,
undisturbed mine eye, undisturbed mine ear,
undisturbed is mine in-breathing, undisturbed mine out-breathing,
undisturbed my diffusive breath, undisturbed the whole of me.

Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit,
O Kama dwelling with the lofty Kama, give growth of riches to the sacrificer, (...)
Prolific, thousand eyed, and undecaying, a horse with seven reins Time bears us onward,
Sages inspired with holy knowledge mount him, his chariot wheels are all the worlds of creatures.

Kala [Time] created yonder heaven, and Kala made these realms of earth,
By Kala, stirred to motion, both what is and what shall be, expand, (...)
Kala created living things and first of all Prajapati,
From Kala self-made Kasyapa, from Kala Holy Fire was born.

— Atharvaveda, Book XIX, Hymns L51-53^[7]^[20]

Special Needs Meditation

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"The Dead-end(Up) Here" is a book of Celestial Songs of Love...

Round and round I go

Looking for you

All I find are

Dead-ends here.

My chakras dancing

My breathing fierce

My heart is leaping

Spine trembling.

This is something to expect

Guides had said

Know it

Death ends here.

There is no death, I sort of get it

It’s faith, not realization.

More semantics than truth

Clever dialogue, not deep insight.

Not body nor mind am I

How could I die

It is the body that perishes

I dwell in continuous freedom.

I love the idea

Of living forever

That too without

The source of all pain.

Body was great once

Pleasures abound

Love was grand

Ecstasy divine.

Mostly aches and groans now

Unfulfilled desires

Of a mind

That never ages.

“Beyond mind beyond death”

A cry that launched my search

Years have gone by

I find only dead-ends here.

I am over the hump

Unfulfilled ambitions sting no more.

No cold sweaty nights

Heart breaks are rare as aspirations

diminish.

They call it maturity

Spirituality or awakening

Still, thy screams I do not hear

Shiva I do not see.

I call it the end

End of Buddha’s suffering

End of useless search

The dead end up here.

Resonate with the author as he takes you on life journey which is full at times and empty at other, always seeking “happiness” that will last, a bliss that endures and a love that is unconditional. But as most seekers, he too reaches a dead-end. Then you realise what Shiva said in one of his soma rush laden moments, the dead end up here.

We all have such moments but some have the inspiration and skills to put them down as poetry. As one reader put it, “…and I found myself getting lost between the lines and imagining this little fantasy tale. It seemed to hold many truths within it and I think this is a piece many will enjoy and relate to.”

This book is a story disguised as poetry.

First a journey of spiritual seeking, a popular reaction to those days with no hope, no love, no life satisfaction. On this journey he does find some divine, blissful love in the form of beautiful, compassionate and loving people. Oh, how fireworks ensue in climactic poetry, describing the heartache that simply is. Lessons learned from the other side of pleasure are priceless but bliss endures.

As the book unfolds, we quickly realize there is no elegant conclusion to this poem-filled love story of divine intervention, just as there is none to life. You will either fall in love, fall in desire, or achieve some temporary yearning to feel what the author once felt. It is better to have loved like this; that which truly transforms human experience forever.

Why the blog title?

Patanjali, well known seminal author of yoga guide for all practitioners, defines yoga as "chitta vritti nirodhuh" meaning "cessation of mental formations."

This could also be expressed as the dead (one who has ceased mental formations) end up, here (now).

Bhagwat Gita, is a satsang between an undefeated warrior, Arjuna with his charioteer, friend and teacher, Krishna in the middle of an epic battle. Gita's lessons of how to conduct oneself while arrows and spears fly past you and still maintain a meditative calm are as good today as thousands of years ago.

Krishna could have taught his long time friend much earlier but chose to do so only when Arjun came to a "dead end" at the battle front (up here and now). Teachings work only when the student reaches the dead-end.

The Dead-end Up Here

Monday, March 22, 2010

ODE TO CLARA

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I AM THAT

NIRVANA

Why the blog title?

RAW AND VULNERABLE