Beautiful World

On Saturday, we watched a movie “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson in the main part. Americans’ struggle for independence. Many families are ruined, houses are burnt. In the middle of the film, one of the characters asked what they were fighting for and another one answered that when they were free they would get an opportunity to build a new, beautiful, world.

This phrase just did not leave my mind… Americans got freedom. Two hundred years have passed since then. What is their world now? Loss of values, extreme consuming, money-thirstiness, spiritual coldness in families – what can be called beautiful there?

I do not say through hearsay. Having lived one year in the States (I met the millennium there), I also became infected with money making (though, on returning home, thank God, my zeal was cooled down).

Another example. India. The previous century. A struggle for freedom. India got physical independence by many victims. Not much time has passed since then (what are decades for history?) but what is happening in this country now where spirituality have been nurtured for centuries? Spiritual values are being exchanged for cheap aspects of western culture.

As being known everything that we create is the reflection of what we are inside. Only a pure (dharmic) person can create beauty around. As far as the beautiful world is concerned.

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…Interviewer: The theory that scientists say that man came from a little cell from heaven know where; how did you feel about those?

Shri Mataji: It’s a fact, it’s a fact. He (man) came through a cell, evolved through a cell. How did he evolve? Why did he evolve? What is the purpose of his life? It is not all answered by science. What is the power that males you evolve? Also, that is not answered. So, in Sahaja Yoga you know all that. Not only you evolve but with the same power you go higher.

Interviewer: What is your theory about that then? Why are we here or, why are we so long in the process?

Shri Mataji: You see anything that you create, even human beings for example, you have created things. A beautiful lamp is to give us light, isn’t it, the power. So, that’s how God has created us, to give His power to us that we feel Him and know Him in our awareness and understand and we emit His powers and enjoy it; to say in the words of Christ ‘to enter into the kingdom of God’…

Interviewer: Is it what Self Realization means; that You mean as a Realized Soul?

Shri Mataji: Yes, Self Realization means when the Self, which is talked about in all the scriptures, starts emitting its manifestation in our conscious mind; means that time when we become aware of it. To this extent our central nervous system starts recording the power of our Spirit, of oneself and we start feeling the breeze-like vibrations of the Spirit which is called in the bible as the ‘Cool Breeze of the Holy Spirit’…

Interviewer: Two very interesting thoughts come to my head at this point. One, is it through being Realized that one gets to knowledge of what’s on the other side of death, as it were and two, whether one really through this Realization that one finds a little bit of God inside oneself?

The True Path

 

When we are following Our Path, the supreme power is supporting us. “It is called a Benevolent Beginning, – remembered he the words of the old man. – Beginners are lucky. As life wants the man to follow his Path” (“Alchemic” by Paulo Koello). Under the words “One’s Own Path” Koello, according to “Alchemic”, means “one’s own destination in life”.

Perhaps, I love life so much because everything I am doing is a pleasure for me. (Confucius: “Start doing what you like and you will have to work not a day in your life”). And if it so, does not it mean that the path which I am going along is true (for me)? (And, consequently, if there is no joy and content, then, obviously, the true destination is still lying somewhere waiting until it is found). As I see it now, the idea that life should be joy, that one should live but not merely exist settled in my mind already in my teen years. From there, photography, translation, painting, knitting, teaching, etc. have taken their roots… and it seems to be just the beginning :).

Koello continues saying that every person is constantly given signs showing him the true (for him) path (in the same way “luck” in one’s deeds also testifies to the right way), “You will find the way there following the sings which God marks everyone’s path with. You should only be able to read what is written for you”.

I remember when I read “Alchemic” for the first time most part of it was an amazing discovery for me (though only some theory based on somebody else’s life and not mine). And today I can prove the author’s idea of the signs with the examples from my own life (I think because I have become more observant :)).

Some 5 years ago it was very difficult for me to make the choice – the choice of the future path in life (two opposite ways were lying in front of me). I really tried to prolong the situation watching how it was becoming worse. Once in the evening, when I was reading a book (“The Fifth Mountain”, again by Koello) and unexpectedly for myself read in one of its paragraphs of how important it was for the main character to make the choice and of how he finally made it, I found the solution to my problem. And now, after 5 years, I am so happy that I made that very choice.

This autumn, life again put me in front of the necessity to choose my way (one thing is to choose apples at the market and absolutely another one is to choose one’s path in life). I was offered interesting work (for 3-4 months) the interview for which I had passed at the beginning of 2006. The money offered was good but the work was some 1000 km away from the native city and, consequently, from my husband and all the other things I was busy with here. First, like 5 years before, I tried to solve the question logically having drawn a table with two columns: pros and cons.

Are religions flowers on the same tree?

 

As I can see my post on the Painting of Buddha caused many ideas, questions and arguments. And all I have read in the comments made me dwell on the idea of all the religions depicted as flowers on one tree.

First of all, no Great Master/Prophet/Teacher has ever created any religion. Religions were created by men. Some of these men even could not understand the ideas expressed by the Master and, therefore, were sure that other people would not understand Him either – in such a way new interpretations appeared. As Goldmare has mentioned in his comment, “It’s a terrible thing – I had a friend in one of my old schools who abandoned Christianity because she saw how all the denominations couldn’t agree”. Some other men, seeing that the teaching really influenced people, used it in their politics including some parts into it which were beneficial for them. For example, let’s take Christianity. Paul even was not Christ’s disciple. He has never heard the words uttered by Christ Himself. On the other hand, he was in touch with Romans ruling in the country at that time. The greatest part of the Bible is written by him… Mohammed never wrote Koran. After His death his nearest and dearest were killed by, so to speak, Mohammed’s followers…

Then how can we understand what is really true in the Scriptures and what is not? What we, ordinary people, should follow and what not? Already when I was a teenager I was sure that there should be some True Values /Dharma/ that men should follow and after I had got acquainted with different cultures and religions I came to the conclusion that these values are the ones which are the same in all the religions. That was one of my spiritual achievements.

After I had started practicing Sahaja Yoga, this idea developed into a new dimension. There were
Great Masters/Prophets on the Earth who came at different time to different places but each of them tried to teach people almost the same values: there should not be greediness, stealing, lying, adultery, etc. but there should be forgiveness, love, generosity, creativity, etc. Of course, each Master emphasized only some of the qualities but that is the whole idea! Christ appeared in Jerusalem at the time He was needed the most there as people had been losing morality. By the example of His all life He was teaching that one should have compassion and forgiveness. These were the qualities He came to work out on the Earth. Mohammed appeared on the Earth in 570 in Mekka. Can you remember, please, what was going in Arabia at that time? There were many tribes who were at war with each other often and who were worshipping different idols (though in the same place – Kaaba). Yes, there was some notion of Allah but He was considered to be abstract and transcendent. The Great Deed by Mohammed, first of all, was that He announced Allah the only All-mighty God. By the way, he respected the teachings of Christ and said that Koran was only for Arabians as those were they at that time who needed the rules given by Him. And there is nothing in the Teaching of Mohammed that contradicts the teaching of Christ if we look deeper. For example, Mohammed allowed Arabian men to take several wives. Nothing strange. Many men had been killed in battles and if Mohammed had not allowed polygamy (which is not allowed in Christianity), prostitution would have been prospering.

By the way, why should one limit the list of the Great Masters only by the ones mentioned above? Why not take into consideration the teachings of Raja Djanaka, Abraham, Moses, Zaratustra, Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Socrates, Guru Nanaka, Sai Baba from Shirdi. There were also Great Masters even before Christ: Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Mahavira.

In a word, there is one and the same Almighty God (though each of us can call and depict Him differently: the Creator, All-pervading Energy, Allah, Supreme Power, etc.) and He is the personification of all the virtues. For us, people, not to lose the path to these virtues, to spiritual growth, Prophets and Great Masters were sent to Earth for them to work out different aspects of one and the same God in people. Thus, Great Masters/Prophets are flowers on the Earth planted by God for people to teach from each of them. And as Axinia has mentioned, there is a part of God in each of us. Therefore, I see the aim of my life in the development of these virtues in myself for God to see His reflection in me. And the real meaning of the words “All the religions are flowers on the same tree” is the following: there is one tree, one God, and there are many interpretations of Him and ways to Him but the aim is the same and the path to it is also the same – spiritual growth. And all the religions are flowers as if we separate seeds from tares in each of the religion there really will appear a beautiful flower.

photo by the author

Buddha. What is Enlightenment?

 

This picture painted by the Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo is called “Buddha” but what is the symbolism behind the peaceful face? Isn’t it what is meant by the word “Enlightenment”? Look closer and you will see that the symbols of different religions are parts of one person. Isn’t it because all the religions are like flowers on the same tree and enlightenment means realization of the virtues which are the same in all the religions?

The chin of Buddha is made of his disciples bowing in namaskar. The lower lip is like the sahasrara chakra (1000-petal from Sanskrit). Ears are represented by Shri Ganesha and Shri Kalki. There is the tree of life constituting the forehead and the dove representing the Holy Spirit in the area of the fontanel bone. This is to name a few. May be you will also see something else.

Why not make wonders everyday reality?

Two weeks ago, I got two letters from different people with different content. But the topic of both of them was the same: faith can move mountains.

Faith into what? Christians, Muslims, Jews have faith but not all of them manage to do something that goes beyond the standard limits of existence (for example, recovery from cancer). However, there those among them who have cured themselves and others, who changed life circumstances when it seemed that it was impossible. So, what is the trick?

What did Buddha mean? To keep step with Creator

According to Buddha, all the sufferings come from desires. What did He mean? Should not we have any desires at all?

I felt very clearly what He meant during our trip to Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. When we left from our native city, I managed to leave all the problems and worries at home and completely surrender to Life. It was such a calming feeling when you don’t need to hurry anywhere, when everything brings joy to you, even waiting. Complete peace as you are absolutely sure that everything is taken care of. Even when I tried to hurry to the place which I really wanted to visit and we were obviously late, my husband mentioned that my hurrying would not change anything as we would come at the time we should come. We were late but we really had not missed anything. Yeh, I know, it is easy to think and do so when you do not need to look for work, when you do not need to hurry to work, when you do not have to make money and buy things for kids, etc. But if it worked out once, even though when on holiday, could not it work out constantly? I still need to check it and I will… 🙂

Anyway, being in this state of balance 24 hours a day I suddenly felt what it means to keep step with Life.

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!”

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:

Pure Desire. Know Thyself

 

In general, most of our human desires are not true as they cannot be satisfied. As soon as we get what we, as we have thought, want, we immediately want something else. The joy from reaching the aim lasts for a very short time. We are constantly discontented (on the one hand, it motivates us to seek but shouldn’t we find what are looking for at last?!)

To know Thyself, to know your own Spirit – it is such a beautiful experience! It is what the pure desire is. To know thyself and, due to it or because of it, refuse from all the doubts, fears and conditionings… Instead of it, many of us are sinking in the quagmire of this world.

To know thyself, to know the Spirit. But how?

To Meet God. For What?

 

An acquaintance of mine once asked me:

– What do you consider to be the meaning of life?

– Development, spiritual growth. The improvement of your qualities. While “erasing” your negative qualities you start hearing the voice of your own Spirit, a part of God within, more and more often. In such a way you become closer and closer to God.

– For what? Why cannot one enjoy what he already has?