Man is mostly selfish, and what interests him is that which concerns his own life. Not knowing the troubles of the lives of others he feels the burden of his own life even more than the burden of the whole world. If only man in his poverty could think that there are others who are poorer than he, in his illness that there are others whose sufferings are perhaps greater than his, in his troubles that there are others whose difficulties are perhaps greater than his! Self-pity is the worst poverty. It overwhelms man and he sees nothing but his own troubles and pains, and it seems to him that he is the most unhappy person in the world, more so than anyone else.

A great thinker of Persia, Sa'di, writes in an account of his life, 'Once I had no shoes, I had to walk barefoot in the hot sand, and how miserable I was. Then I met a man who was lame, for whom walking was very difficult. I bowed down to heaven at once and offered thanks that I was much better off than he who had not even feet to walk upon.' This shows that it is not a man's situation in life, but his attitude towards life that makes him happy or unhappy. ...

When Jesus Christ said, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God,' this teaching was an answer to the cry of humanity: some crying, 'I have no wealth,' others crying, 'I have no rest,' others crying, 'My situation in life is difficult,' My friends are troubling me,' or, 'I want a position, wealth.' The answer to them all is, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.'

Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world.
The forms may change, yet the essence remains the same.
Every wonderful sight will vanish, every sweet word will fade,
But do not be disheartened,
The source they come from is eternal, growing,
Branching out, giving new life and new joy.
Why do you weep?
The source is within you
And this whole world is springing up from it.

Jelauddin Rumi

Common sense is necessary in the path of attainment, but not to such an extent that the reason should dominate and lead the will. The will, in action, must lead the reason, whereas if the reason is allowed to lead the will, the will many times becomes paralyzed. But when in cooperation the will leads the reason, then the path of attainment becomes illuminated.

~~~ "Gita I, Sadhana 5", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Where is the shrine of God? It is in the heart of man. As soon as one begins to consider the feelings of another, one begins to worship God. ... There is a story of a murshid who was going with his mureeds to visit some village, and he was keeping a fast. The mureeds also had taken a vow of fasting. They arrived at the peasants' home where there was great enthusiasm and happiness and where a dinner was arranged for them. When they were invited to the table, the murshid went and sat down; but the mureeds did not dare because they had taken a vow of fasting. Yet they would never mention it to the murshid. They thought, 'Murshid is forgetful; Murshid has forgotten the vow.' After dinner was over and they went out the pupils asked, 'Did you not forget the vow of fasting?' 'No,' was the murshid's answer, 'I had not forgotten. But I preferred breaking the fast rather than the heart of that man who with all his enthusiasm had prepared the food.'

The thirst for life makes us overlook little opportunities of doing good. Every moment of life brings an opportunity for being conscious of human feeling, in prosperity, in adversity, in all conditions. It costs very little; only a little thought is necessary. ... There is no greater religion than love. God is love; and the best form of love is to be conscientious regarding the feelings of those with whom we come in contact in everyday life.



for VENUS, for LOVE!

April 1-2 at Ananda Ashram, we will be painting yantras of the divine
mother in celebration of Navaratri.
http://www.anandaashram.org/eventDescription.php?id=100525

April 11-13, come paint yantras on the beach, in Paradise Island,
Bahamas
it will be part of a yoga and healing symposium
http://www.my-yoga.net/index_v3.php?page_id=7&tat=73

Now is the Time
Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God.
Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.
Hafiz is a divine envoy
Whom the Beloved
Has written a holy message upon.
My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?
What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?
Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.
This is the time for you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.
______________________________________________________

~ Hafiz ~

ALL IS IMPERANENT,
ALL IS WITHOUT A SELF.


may love prevail ...

OM OM OM

Do not search for the truth
only seize to cherish opinions.

~ SENGSTAN

So many castes and so many creeds,
So many faiths, and so many beliefs,
All have arisen from ignorance of man,
Wise is he who only truth conceives.

best for 2006, the SATURN year, more to be posted here shortly...