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Friday, October 24, 2014

Remembering God -- Passage from the Adi Granth


Remembering God

"When one is in utter distress and there is no one to support him,
And the adversaries gather-in upon him and even his kinsmen desert him;
When all the props have given way and all hope is lost,
If he then remembers the Lord, even the hot wind will touch him not.
O Master, Thou art the Might of the humble,
O Thou, the Eternal One, the True, through the Guru's Word art Thou known.
If one is weak and is afflicted by hunger and nakedness,
And has no money on him and no one is there to give him comfort,
No desire of his is fulfilled; no work of his is accomplished,
If he, in his heart, remembers the Absolute Lord, he attains Eternal Rule.
If one is full of anxious thoughts, and his body is attacked by disease,
And is involved in his household and suffers sometimes pain, sometimes pleasure;
And he wanders about in the four continents, and no rest finds,
If he remembers the Lord in his heart, his body and mind are cooled...
If he remembers the Lord with all his heart, even for a twinkling of the eye,
he is saved."

(Adi Granth/Guru Granth, Gopal Singh translation)






Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Happy Diwali -- Divali, Deepavali, The Festival of Lights -- May You Experience the Inner Light


Happy Diwali -- Divali, Deepavali, The Festival of Lights -- May You Experience the Inner Light






True Divali is Inner Light: “Within thine own self, behold the splendor of thy Beloved.” (Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras)

"Look within yourself with the inner eye. The whole expanse inside is replete with the refulgence of the Divine Light." (Sant Dadu Dayal)


Spiritual Significance of Divali in India


"While Diwali is popularly known as the "Festival of Lights", the most significant spiritual meaning behind it is "the awareness of the Inner Light". Central to Hindu philosophy (primarily the Yoga, Vedanta, and Samkhya schools of Hindu philosophy) is the belief that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. The celebration of Diwali as the "victory of good over evil", refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings ananda (joy or peace). Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this Inner Light.

"While the story behind Diwali and the manner of celebration varies from region to region (festive fireworks, worship, lights, sharing of sweets), the essence is the same – to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying Reality of all things, God." (Wikipedia)