Poems By Rumi

Be Lost in the Call Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?
Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you've never seen the face.
Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.
Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.
My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?
We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn't want a crown or robe from God's grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.
Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.
Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

O you who've gone on pilgrimage -
              where are you, where, oh where?
Here, here is the Beloved!
              Oh come now, come, oh come!
Your friend, he is your neighbor,
             he is next to your wall -
You, erring in the desert -
              what air of love is this?
If you'd see the Beloved's
              form without any form -
You are the house, the master,
              You are the Kaaba, you! . . .
Where is a bunch of roses,
              if you would be this garden?
Where, one soul's pearly essence
              when you're the Sea of God?
That's true - and yet your troubles
              may turn to treasures rich -
How sad that you yourself veil
              the treasure that is yours!

Oh, if a tree could wander
     and move with foot and wings!
It would not suffer the axe blows
     and not the pain of saws!
For would the sun not wander
     away in every night ?
How could at ev?ry morning
     the world be lighted up?
And if the ocean?s water
     would not rise to the sky,
How would the plants be quickened
     by streams and gentle rain?
The drop that left its homeland,
     the sea, and then returned ?
It found an oyster waiting
     and grew into a pearl.
Did Yusaf not leave his father,
     in grief and tears and despair?
Did he not, by such a journey,
     gain kingdom and fortune wide?
Did not the Prophet travel
     to far Medina, friend?
And there he found a new kingdom
     and ruled a hundred lands.
You lack a foot to travel?
     Then journey into yourself!
And like a mine of rubies
     receive the sunbeams? print!
Out of yourself ? such a journey
     will lead you to your self,
It leads to transformation
     of dust into pure gold!

Come, come, whoever you are.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
We are as the flute, and the music in us is from thee; we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from thee.  We are as pieces of chess engaged in victory and defeat: our victory and defeat is from thee, O thou whose qualities are comely!  Who are we, O Thou soul of our souls, that we should remain in being beside thee?  We and our existences are really non-existence; thou art the absolute Being which manifests the perishable.  We all are lions, but lions on a banner: because of the wind they are rushing onward from moment to moment.  Their onward rush is visible, and the wind is unseen: may that which is unseen not fail from us!  Our wind whereby we are moved and our being are of thy gift; our whole existence is from thy bringing into being.

 

This Marriage May these vows and this marriage be blessed. May it be sweet milk, this marriage, like wine and halvah. May this marriage offer fruit and shade like the date palm. May this marriage be full of laughter, our every day a day in paradise. May this marriage be a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness here and hereafter. May this marriage have a fair face and a good name, an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky. I am out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage.

Kulliyat-i-Shams 2667
 

Ý

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This World Which Is Made of Our Love for Emptiness Praise to the emptiness that blanks out existence. Existence: This place made from our love for that emptiness!  Yet somehow comes emptiness, this existence goes.  Praise to that happening, over and over! For years I pulled my own existence out of emptiness.  Then one swoop, one swing of the arm, that work is over.  Free of who I was, free of presence, free of dangerous fear, hope, free of mountainous wanting.  The here-and-now mountain is a tiny piece of a piece of straw blown off into emptiness.  These words I'm saying so much begin to lose meaning: Existence, emptiness, mountain, straw:  Words and what they try to say swept out the window, down the slant of the roof.

Dear Readers, please do not assume that you understand anything you read on this blog.

Karma Yoga

Principles of Karma Yoga

This page is part of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center Web site. Karma Yoga is one of the four paths of Yoga. In this page are the key components that determine that any action will qualify as being Karma Yoga

"Karma Yoga is the selfless devotion of all inner as well as the outer activities as a Sacrifice to the Lord of all works, offered to the eternal as Master of all the soul� energies and austerities."
Bhagavad Gita

Right Attitude

It's not what you do that counts, it's the attitude while doing it that determines if a job is a karma yoga job, i.e. a liberating job, or a binding job. Work is worship. Swami Sivananda advises us to "give your hands to work, and keep your mind fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord."

Right Motive

Same as attitude. It is not what you do that counts but your real motive behind it. Your motive must be pure. Swami Sivananda says: "Man generally plans to get the fruits of his works before he starts any kind of work. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. A selfish man cannot do any service. He will weigh the work and the money in a balance. Selfless Service is unknown to him."

Do Your Duty

Often "duty" is referred to as "righteousness". You will incur demerit if you shun your duty. Your duty is towards God, or Self, or the Inner Teacher who teaches you through all the specific circumstances of your life as they appear.

Do Your Best

Whatever you have to do, do your best. If you know of a better way to serve, you must use it. Do not hold back because of fear of effort or because of fear of criticism. Do not work in a sloppy manner just because no one is watching or because you feel the work is not for you. Give your best. Try to do such actions that can bring maximum good and minimum evil. Do Karma Yoga increasingly.

Give up Results

God is the doer. You are not the doer. You are only the instrument. You do not know God's intentions or God's plans. God is the actor. The Self never acts, changes. It is only the "Gunas", the three qualities, which are playing. The way to realize this truth is to constantly work for work's sake and let go of the results, good or bad. It is the desire for action that binds the individual. It is the detachment from action that will dissolve the karmic seeds. Detachment from results also means detachment from the type of job itself. There is no job that is inferior or superior to a different job. Don't be attached to your job. Be ready to give up your job if necessary.

Serve God or the Self in All

Do to others what you would like to be done to yourself. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult, bear injury. Unity in Diversity. We are parts of the same body. Practice humility in action. Beware of power, fame, name, praise, censure.

Follow the Discipline of the Job

Each job is a teacher of some sort. You can learn different skills by doing different jobs. Each job has different requirements in terms of time, degree of concentration, skills or experience, emotional input, physical energy, will. Try to do whatever job you are doing, well.

Dear Readers, please do not assume that you understand anything you read on this blog.

Bakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga, The Path of Devotion or Divine Love

This path appeals particularly to those of an emotional nature. The Bhakti Yogi is motivated chiefly by the power of love and sees God as the embodiment of love. Through prayer, worship and ritual he surrenders himself to God, channelling and transmuting his emotions into unconditional love or devotion. Chanting or singing the praises of God form a substantial part of Bhakti Yoga.

Towards the love divine: A new dimension in devotional science

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Raja Yoga; One of the 4 paths

The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga

Compiled by the Sage Patanjali Maharishi in the Yoga Sutras, the Eight Limbs are a progressive series of steps or disciplines which purify the body and mind, ultimately leading the yogi to enlightenment.

These 8 limbs are: Yamas - The Yamas or restraints (Don'ts) are divided into five moral injucntions, aimed at destroying the lower nature. They should all be practiced and developed by the letter but also more importantly in the spirit. They should all be practiced in word, thought and deed.


Ahimsa or non-violenceSatyam or truthfulness

Brahmacharya or moderation in all things (control of all senses). Also refers to celibacy

Asteya or non-stealingAparigraha or non-covetousness

Niyamas - The Niyamas or observances (Do's) are also divided into five and complete the ethical precepts started with the Yama.. These qualities are:

Saucha or purity - this internal and external cleanliness.

Santosha or contentment

Tapas or austerity

Swadhyaya or study of the sacred texts

Ishwara Pranidhana which is constantly living with an awareness of the divine Presence (surrender to God's Will)

Asanas - Postures

Pranayama - regulation or control of the breath.

Asanas and Pranayama form the sub-division of Raja Yoga known as Hatha-Yoga

Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses in order to still the mind.

Dharana - concentration. The last 3 steps constitute the internal practice of Raja Yoga. When Dharana is achieved, it leads to the next step:

 Dhyana - meditation is that state of pure thought and absorption in the object of meditation. There is still duality in Dhyana. When mastered Dhyana leads to the last step:Samadhi - the superconscious state. In Samadhi non-duality or oneness is experienced. This is the deepest and highest state of consciousness where body and mind have been transcended and the Yogi is one with the Self or God.


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Jnana Yoga: The most difficult path

Jnana Yoga, The Yoga of Knowledge or Wisdom

This is the most difficult path, requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect. Taking the philosophy of Vedanta the Jnana Yogi uses his mind to inquire into its own nature. We perceive the space inside and outside a glass as different, just as we see ourselves as separate from God. Jnana Yoga leads the devotee to experience his unity with God directly by breaking the glass, dissolving the veils of ignorance. Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths - for without selflessness and love of God, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere idle speculation.

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Ram Dass, Be Here Now..........

  Ram Dass
 
Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) was born in 1931. His father, George, a lawyer, helped to found Brandeis University and was President of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Ram Dass studied psychology, specializing in human motivation and personality development. He received an M.A. from Wesleyan and a Ph.D. from Stanford. He then served on the psychology faculties at Stanford and the University of California, and from 1958 to 1963 taught and researched in the Department of Social Relations and the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. During this period he co-authored (with Sears and Rau) the book Identification and Child Rearing, published by Stanford University Press.

In 1961, while at Harvard, Ram Dass' explorations of human consciousness led him, in collaboration with Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, and others, to pursue intensive research with psilocybin, LSD-25, and other psychedelic chemicals. Out of this research came two books:The Psychedelic Experience (co-authored by Leary and Metzner, and based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, published by University Books); and LSD (with Sidney Cohen and Lawrence Schiller, published by New American Library). Because of the controversial nature of this research, Ram Dass was dismissed from Harvard in 1963.

Ram Dass continued his research under the auspices of a private foundation until 1967. In that year he traveled to India, where he met his Guru (spiritual teacher), Neem Karoli Baba. Ram Dass studied yoga and meditation, and received the name Ram Dass, which means "servant of God." Since 1968, he has pursued a variety of spiritual practices, including guru kripa; devotional yoga focused on the Hindu spiritual figure Hanuman; meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayana Tibetan, and Zen Buddhist schools; karma yoga; and Sufi and Jewish studies.
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Alpert continued his research under the auspices of a private foundation until 1967, when he traveled to India. In India, he met his guru, or spiritual teacher, Neem Karoli Baba, affectionately known as Maharaji. Maharaji gave Ram Dass his name, which means "servant of God." Since 1968, Ram Dass has pursued a variety of spiritual methods and practices from various ancient wisdom traditions, including devotional yoga focused on the Hindu spiritual figure Hanuman; meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayana Tibetan and Zen Buddhist schools; karma yoga; and Sufi and Jewish studies. He also practices service to others as a spiritual path.

In 1974, Ram Dass created the Hanuman Foundation, which developed the Prison Ashram Project, designed to help prison inmates grow spiritually during their incarceration, and the Dying Project, conceived as a spiritual support structure for conscious and dying. These projects are now directed under independent auspices. The Ram Dass Tape Library Foundation serves as the organizing vehicle for Ram Dass' teachings, and for the distribution of his books and tapes.

Ram Dass' interests include the support of psychedelic research, international development, environmental awareness and political action. He has written a number of spiritual books including Be Here Now, published in 1971 (over one million copies sold, 37th printing, Crown Publishers); The Only Dance There Is (Anchor/ Doubleday); Grist for the Mill (with Stephen Levine, Celestial Arts); Journey of Awakening (Bantam Books); Miracle of Love: Stories of Neem Karoli Baba (Hanuman Foundation); How Can I Help? (with Paul Gorman, Knopf); Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service (with Mirabai Bush, Bell Tower Press) and Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying (Riverhead Books). His latest book, One-Liners: A Mini-Manual for a Spiritual Life was published by Bell Tower Press in September, 2002. In September, 2004, Harmony will be publishing Ram Dass' next book, entitled Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita.

In 1996, Ram Dass began to develop plans for a talk radio program called “Here and Now with Ram Dass.” Seven pilot programs were aired in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, and Ram Dass planned to launch the show on a nationwide basis the following year. But in February 1997, he experienced a stroke which left him with expressive aphasia and partial paralysis. The after effects of the stroke have made it necessary for him to postpone plans for his radio program, but he has been able to resume his other teaching commitments and is using the experience to explore the spiritual dimensions of suffering and the nature of the aging process.

Ram Dass is a co-founder and advisory board member of the Seva Foundation, an international service organization. He works with the Social Venture Network, an organization of businesses seeking to bring social consciousness to business practices. He continues to teach about the nature of consciousness, and about service as a spiritual path.

 

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Explosion of New Philosophies and Religions in the 60s

Cosmology of the Sacred World 

The 1960s have, for years, been known as a time of confusion, violent upheaval and drugs. That decade and the ones to follow were so much more than that, just below the surface.

As I have stated many times, there was also a spiritual revolution and it continues to this very day. 

In addition to a very obvious anti-war movement, the Hippies and the Flower children were ripe for new spiritual philosophies; ones that made some kind of logical sense. For whatever God was, it must be logical.

Like many in my generation, I had had enough of hypocrisy and hell-fire and damnation, preached form Baptist or other pulpits in angry voices that made a small child cringe.

Today I consider myself a follower of Christ, not a Christian, as that word has taken on ugly connotations with which I do not wish to be associated. As I have watched the last couple of decades unfold, I have felt myself move further and further away from the organized religion I had accepted only 20 years ago. 

I had taken a round about journey from the 1960s until the 1980s back to the Christ I new years before, but not the Jesus of Nazareth I had been taught about by the Southern Baptists as a child. That one and that God just never made sense to me. The God Jesus talked about would never have sent him to the cross. For that it took what it always takes. The fragmented egos of the powerful; a corrupt temple (religion), an illegitimate government and an oppressive Empire. It was the powerful and the fearful who did not want to hear the truth that Christ spoke.

To them he was a trouble maker and a heretic. Fact was and is, he was everything they said he was. He was dangerous to everything they stood for, because what they stood for was corruption in high places that put untenable burdens on the common people. Between the corruption of the Temple, the corruption and illegitimacy of the local government, very much in league with the oppressive empire of the day, there was no room for those who would speak truth to power.

But I did not understand that as a child. All I was taught was that a loving God, whom we should call Abba or Daddy, loved his only begotten son so much that he sent him to die for my sins. This made no sense to me. I didn't want any part of a God who would do such a thing. I couldn't reconcile the God of the Church's understanding.

Just as I was coming of age, I saw other good men brutally slain for speaking truths that many angry people, some of them very powerful, did not want to hear. JFK, MLK and RFK, all blown away for being good men, as far as I was concerned. I started to understand a few things. Jesus did not die for my sins, he died because of the sins of powerful men and weak common folk who had no better sense than to run from the danger he faced, nor the courage to stand with him against corrupt power of all kinds. It does take courage to stand with the courageous against those who would shut then up any way they can.

As the 1960s came to a close, I began to be exposed to other forms of faith traditions. Different forms of meditation, for example. This continued through the 80s and until today. With the help of a man, wise beyond his years, I chose a few spiritual tools that wove nicely for me into a practice that would keep me in good stead for the years ahead and, to some extent, they still do. My journey hasn't been easy. No one guaranteed that it would be.

Yes, eventually, I returned to the Christ of my understanding, not the one always preached by the Church of my youth. Most of Christianity, as best I could tell, was still seriously creedal and made no sense to my modern, scientific, philosophical mind. But the Christ I have come to know does make sense.

How did I come to know him, you might ask. Well, I had to make friends with people like Lao Tsu, the Buddha and quite a few Buddhist monks (men and women), many different Yogis, a few Rabbis and even a Sufi or two. It was through knowing them, that Jesus Christ became real to me and, yes, alive in me and in others, some of whom laid no claim to Christianity at all and others who did. 

It seemed to me that the Christian Church had done the same thing with Christ that they had done with God. The put him way out in space somewhere, so far away that they would not have to deal with either of them until sometime after their demise. It seemed that they did not realize that Jesus was a Jew. If one were to look for a modern day Jesus one might find him in a reform, Jewish Hippie.

More On my journey later..............

Dear Readers, please do not assume that you understand anything you read on this blog.