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Sunday, August 20, 2006

The Mind is Filled with the Divine Music of the Spheres

The Mind is Filled with the Divine Music of the Spheres

Sant Mat Fellowship:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantMatFellowship
{"Come out of the circle of time,
and into the circle of love." -- RUMI}

The Lord placed the soul in the body's cave,
And the breath held the Music of Life.
He made each body with nine gates, (25)
With the Tenth Gate (26); remaining well hid.
And the Tenth Door was opened to him
Who truly loved the Guru's wisdom.
And there lives the Lord in His myriad forms,
as well as the nine treasures of the Name.
His limit cannot be found.

Says Nanak, the Lord placed the soul in the
body's cave and the breath held the Music of Life.

Listen to this Song of Bliss, you blessed ones,
And all your heart's longings shall be fulfilled.
You will reach the Transcendent Lord, and
your sorrows will depart.
All afflictions and sorrows are destroyed
at the Sound of the True Word,
And my friends, the saints were in ecstasy when
the perfect Guru revealed it.
Those who speak and those who listen are pure,
And they see the All-pervading Lord everywhere.
Nanak prays: Attaching to the feet of the Guru,
The mind is filled with the divine Music of the Spheres.

-- Guru Amar Das
Anand Sahib, Peace Lagoon translation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Amar_Das

Notes:

(25) "nine gates": The nine visible orifices of the body.

(26) "The Tenth Gate": The Tenth, or Hidden, Gate of the body: The Third Eye, in essence, is the Portal to inner realms. The Upanishads describe a human being as a city with ten gates. Nine gates (eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth, urethra, anus) lead to the outside world. The Tenth Gate, the Third Eye, opens onto inner worlds: the whole spectrum of levels of consciousness.

Monday, August 14, 2006

The Competent Living Teacher

The Competent Living Teacher

http://aura.zaadz.com/photos/3/29968/large/ShriSantSeviJi.jpg?

Those who are pure in heart,
who practice Meditation
and conquer their senses and passions,
shall attain the immortal Self,
Source of all Light and Source of all Life.

Action prompted by pleasure or profit
Cannot help anyone to cross this ocean of samsara.
Seek a teacher who has realized the Self.
To a student whose heart is full of love,
Who has conquered his senses and passions,
The teacher will reveal the Lord of Love.

Imperishable is the Lord of Love.
As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks leap forth,
So countless beings arise
From the Lord of Love and return to him.

-- Mundaka Upanishad
"The Upanishads"
Eknath Easwaran translation
Nilgiri Press

Saints and sages have unveiled all the mysteries of the spiritual journey and of self-realization in their discourses. All the techniques have been documented in books. But without an accomplished teacher, we will not be able to understand the correct technique of true knowledge just by reading.

In the Bhagavad-Gita Lord Krishna says that for learning spiritual knowledge we must seek help from an accomplished seer [male or female]:

"For learning spiritual knowledge you should go to the
one who is a seer. Pay your respect to him, serve him
and question him and express your desire for learning.
Then he will fulfill your desire and answer your questions."

Consider for a moment the nature of knowledge you wish to learn. After high school, the student thinks his direction and chooses a field of study: liberal arts, commerce, or science. If, for example, the student wants to learn liberal arts but goes to a professor of science instead, will this teacher have much to offer? The student must choose a professor proficient in the knowledge he wishes to learn. In the same manner, if you want to learn spiritual knowledge, then you must go to a spiritually competent teacher.

The appropriate spiritual teacher should be a person who has considered and discovered the realities of Atma and anatma (Spirit and matter, bondage and Liberation), and who practices a spiritual path. Such a teacher should have attained direct experience of Truth through spiritual disciplines. This is teacher you should take instruction from. The grace of teacher is also necessary for success in the spiritual pursuit. When you learn the methods for inner meditation, you should practice diligently. Moral rectitude is also very essential in this pursuit.

This is the seventh limb of yoga, dhyana (meditation; absorption). When one has become accomplished in dhyana then one attains Samadhi (union).

-- Sri Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj
"The Harmony of All Religions"
http://www.thewayofsages.com/new_page_7.htm