True Love

 

photo by the author of the blog

Pure love, which enlightens us all, is the real quality of the Heart Chakra. In the unrealized state we rarely love for love’s sake. Because of our conditionings we confuse feelings of love with those of possession, sex and selfishness. Pure love is detached, it gives without interest. Like the tree which gives shade to one and all, it is without prejudice and motive. True love is the quality that emanates from the Spirit and not from the body or mind. When we talk of loving someone, we should understand the direction in which this love is flowing. Bodily attraction is physical. It can arise out of sex appeal or the conditioned response to a dream image of a prince charming or even from an artist’s or ad-man’s projection. There are even those who exercise seductive arts to ensnare a good “catch”.

We can see this in whose who indulge in excessively trendy fashions. These people are especially at risk in their relationships because they relate not as two Spirits, but as two fashionable physical forms. This kind of physical attraction is not true love because it comes from the mind, and mind does not love – it merely wants. When the want of the mind is attained, then the novelty wears off. For instance a child is excited and attached to a new toy, but after a few days as the novelty wears away, the excitement dies. The same occurs with relationships which are based simply on physical attraction. That which is illusory cannot love or be loved; it is a fancy of the eyes which Shakespeare aptly described:

Everything done is for the best!

 

I remember that for many years the words “Everything done is for the best” were my motto in life (“were” because now I have a more progressive motto but this time it is not the topic of my post). These words are not only just words which help us to overcome some hard times but they are also absolutely true. All our life is a big experience given to us for our growth (and the person who has developed an ability to enjoy it is really lucky). Life constantly arranges such situations for us which are meant to help us get rid of some negative features or, better to say, substitute them with something positive. And if one does not understand what lessons he should extract from some events which seem to be “difficulties” and “obstacles” (very often only at first sight) the same situation will be repeated sometimes even in a doubled size. Isn’t it what is called the wheel of sansara? For us to pay attention to something, God slaps our shoulder at first very tenderly but if we do not hear Him He gives us a stronger slap. But! Each of us is given such trials which he/she can endure! Not more.

This time I will tell you a story about an acquaintance of our friend. It is a very nice middle-aged lady who lives in one of the cities of Russia. There could be a film based on her life experience. I will not go into details and draw the whole picture but already a sketch will give you an idea what I am talking about.

When she was a child, she lived in a Siberian village together with her parents. Everything was perfect: the nature around and the tender feelings between her parents and of the parents for her. It was a really happy childhood. Seeing such perfection around, she was sure (as she now says herself) that all her life would be like this. So, she was waiting for a prince to come and take her as his wife.

To Be Free – the way not to get tired

 

We were going from Saint Petersburg (Russia) to Moscow by train yesterday. It took us 7 hours and it was a surprise for me that I was absolutely fresh and full of energy when we finally arrived. The trick was that while in the train I was looking through the window and enjoying the fields with fresh green spring grass, fluffy clouds forming different figures, tall slender birches with small leaves and the sun shining so brightly into the window. I had a very strong feeling that my Spirit was absolutely free and at the same time it was a part of the loving and caring nature.

And I also remembered the words of my old uncle suddenly uttered by him one day before his death, “The Paradise is here, on the Earth!”

Through Art to Purity and Love

If the desire to create goes from your heart and not just mind, the process of creating may purify you and reveal all the best in you. Especially when you are working with natural materials. I am sure you have noticed that hand-made things have something about them because of which it is so pleasant to take them in hands, to have them at home. And it is not only a piece of soul and love of the person who has created them but also the love of the All-pervading power, the vibrations of Paramchaitanya. As when our heart is open, we allow the Creator to use us as his “paintbrush”. It is He who is the real Creator working through us.

And we really felt what I have just described when we crossed the threshold of an ordinary (from outside) building of Saint-Petersburg Children’s Art House. As soon as we had entered it we found ourselves in a real Palace. There was such love and joy, purity and beauty around! It is a world of morality and history, a place to rest from the daily routine of the working days in a big modern city.

Kids are taught so many things here (for free!): making laces, weaving, embroidery, making things of birchen bark, painting, history of the city, ceramics, origami, making soft toys, painting on wood, video shooting, karate and other sports, design, singing, dancing, etc…

And the motto of the Children’s Art House says: If there is no Sun in the sky, find it within yourself!

In fact, we came to the studio of ceramics where our friend, Sasha, teaches.

The Wedding. Interesting Traditions

True marriages are said to be made in Heavens. But the earthly wedding plays an important role as well: it is a kind of acknowledgement of the new family from the part of society (which is a very important psychological moment for the newly married). And especially it is so nice when no rude traditions (like excessive drinking or fighting) spoil the wedding. One gets such a pleasant feeling when everything happing at the wedding is pure (by the way, in the West the white color of the bride’s dress is meant to highlight purity).

I have visited many weddings (as a guest and as a photographer) but only at the wedding of my friends last Friday I saw what I had never expected to see – an unknown to many wedding tradition.

Buddha’s Spiritual Seeking

 Buddha Jayanti (also known as Buddha Purnima because it is celebrated on the full moon) is the most sacred festival to Buddhists, marking Lord Buddha’s birthday, enlightenment and entrance into Nirvana. It is also known as Vesak (derived from the Sanskrit name for the month in which it falls – Vaisakha) in Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries.

This year Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on May 2.

Till the time I read “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse I had known nothing about Buddha except for his name, nationality and the fact that his spiritual seeking had led him to the Truth and that is why there are lots of Buddhists nowadays who are seeking the same but, because of some reason, do not find it.

And the fact that Buddha has found the Truth inspired my respect to him.

I remember that when in the university we discussed the Buddha’s teaching. But from that seminar I grasped, frankly speaking, nothing except for the impression that nobody, including the teacher herself, completely understood what exactly Buddha had realized when he got the enlightenment.

We have recently watched the film “Little Buddha” with Keanu Reeves playing Buddha. In general, the film is quite dull but the scene of the Spirit’s fight with everything alien and the further enlightenment is very beautiful and attractive. There are three main ideas in the film:

To Know God. What to Begin with?

While we were going to the village on Saturday, I was contemplating on the topic of how people are seeking God. Some of my thoughts and personal experience you can find below.

Vibrational Sounding of a Person

 

The Hermetic Principle is well-known in science. In other words, it is called the Principle of Vibrations: there are vibrations in the Universe, nothing is quiescent – everything is moving, vibrating at a certain frequency: the higher the vibrations are, the higher the frequency is and the lighter and brighter the substance is. The vibrations of the spirit occur on such a high frequency that they are practically motionless. On the other side of the range there is substance the vibrations of which are so low that they also seem motionless. Between these two poles there are milliards of different vibrations.

Each person is also a combination of vibrations the frequency of which is defined by his thoughts, actions, level of development, habits, environment, etc.

The mechanism how it works is described further.