We are all walking on the same Truth blindly.

 How does one control the mind? A question every practitioner has to find and answer to if he or she is to move forward in the attainment of self discovery. I have always maintained that the mind cannot be controlled, however the mind can be subdued through a thorough understanding of its workings and its functions and that there is no mind and really there is no one to control the mind to begin with. To arrive at this final stage of acceptance of the nature of the mind one has to take a long and deep look at what is the mind really and how it is related to the self. Most would say that the mind is the self and that without the mind there not be a self at least this was and perhaps still is how I look at it from time to time depending upon my own state of mind at any given time. In trying to understand the workings of the mind is analogous to the famous Chan or Zen image of the master looking for his lost buffalo while riding on its back. It is futile in other words to subdue or even understand the mind without using the mind and it is a puzzle, a riddle that man has been confronted with for as long as he was able to think. Sages and philosophers and now even scientists, perhaps even more so today are still figuring out this whole matter about the human mind, which at one time I had decide to simply call 'humind' so as no having to spend too much time writing the whole word. Off-course there is no such word as humind in the English dictionary and it is not a valid word to be used in a scrabble game, but it sounded good to me so much so that I had used it as a title to my first solo art exhibition in my hometown of Georgetown, Penang sometime in 2006.

In the school of Advaita Vedanta or perhaps the entire Vedic tradition, there is the cessation of mind and body as being the self; I am not the body, nor am I the mind is a mantra used to affirm this so that one does not forget. You breath in, I am not the body and you breath out I am not the mind. Thus the question arises immediately, if so, who or what am I? If you google it in the Internet or on You Tube, there will be numerous answers from so many spiritual, philosophical and psychological  schools and they most probably will all sound sane and right, but what is my own take on this issue? Even as I am typing this own, I am using my mind, my thinking faculty in the effort to search for the right words and project the right thoughts so as not to confuse myself and others who are unfortunate enough to read my thoughts. Hence the need to silence the mind for it is only if and when the mind an be made to be silent can there be a clear insight into what is truly the mind and what is its relationship to who I am. I have to walk on my own two feet to look for my lost water buffalo.

Even if I claim myself not to be the body or the mind, I still need these as my tools, my instruments, my vehicle of expressing myself, my intentions and my manifestations as I exist in the realm of existence. The are a part of me that I take care of just as I would my car or my computer to make sure that they fully function without any hitch or glitch. One of the mantras or affirmations that often comes to my mind from the practice of Raja Yoga, yoga of the mind, is; I Am the Master of my Body, Speech and Mind. Yes it would have been much easier to just 'cut and paste', what I am trying to express from the myriads of wisdom and thoughts available on the Internet, however this plagiarism would defeat the purpose of my getting to the answer or the truth myself. It would be like posting a poster on every street corner for the return of my buffalo and hope that someone will find it and deliver it safely back to me. It would have been simple and made life easier, but I would have learned nothing for my own self discovery. I would never know where the animal had wandered off to and why and how it was that I lost it in the first place. I would also deprive myself of the pleasure of writing my own thoughts and improving my skills as a writer. If I keep quoting others no matter how profound and accurate they may be, it would be like counting someone else's sheep.

There are however thoughts that are handed down for posterity from the minds of great masters who in their own fields have excelled and awakened transcending the norm that are worth to quote from in order that what I am trying to say is made more clear and authentic. On the subject of the humind I am positive that there is no shortage of quotes, reflections, views and opinions that I would advice those seeking to understand better the subject and one of these great masters is Jedu Krishnamurti, whose works I have had the opportunity to study since the days I was in college and before the Internet. I feel that no man has influenced me more than this 'Speaker', in my thoughts and understanding of the workings of the humind. Although Krishnamurti is often not an easy mind to follow I feel till this day that he is one of those who had challenged if not opened my perception and my understanding of the workings of the humind to the deepest level where there is no doubt left and it is from this depth of understanding that I set about in my journey of self discovery. The humind is more elusive and slippery than an eel and if not held in good grasp it can and will slip away from one's hold on to one's clear perception of what it is that one is up against when dealing with the thoughts or mental formations that arises every second of one's life. 

"When I stop thinking, I really am!"

Another source of information that is worth your time to listen to for added feed-backs on the subjects you are indulged in at the moment is TEDx TALKS on You Tube channels. I would often allow my mind to randomly browse these talks and more that often enough I would make the connection with great minds who are on the same road towards personal growth and self discovery in the own chosen fields. As an artist, a talk given by Alex Grey entitled "Cosmic Creativity - how art evolves Consciousness - given in Maui, was an eye opener and I did not looked for it specifically but as usual, stumbled upon it, like my mind wanted me to listen to this man and his artistic self -discovery journey. 

"We shall not cease from exploration,

and the end of all our exploring

will be to arrive

where we started

and know the place for the first time. - T.S.Eliot.

#tseliotquotes #cosmiccreativity #tedxtalks #alexgrey #rajayoga #advaitavedanta #selfdiscovery

     

And finally, It all boils down to the Breath...

 Keeping a routine form of physical exercise such as jogging, weight lifting, bicycling and so forth are good way to keep the mind from thinking too much unnecessarily and for those in their golden years a leas strenuous forms of exercise like Tai Chi or Chigung, Yoga and long walks can achieve the same. This what some would call meditation in action where through mindfulness in the performance of one's activity, the mind can be made to focus into what is being done in the moment. Through the controlled breathing and focus on the physical actions that is being rendered one's mind becomes less dispersed and scattered as it normally does when there is nothing to keep it in focus. It is also an important way of getting to know your physical form better inside out when we are doing these exercises, a good place to begin on the journey towards self discovery. Any form of activity for that matter albeit in the rigorous martial arts training or preparing a dish if one is a chef, working in the garden or hauling out fishes from the ocean if one is a fisherman, one can bring the mind into close attention through one's awareness of breathing and inadvertently one's correct posture. In short each and every activity that one undertakes if performed with close attention or better yet complete awareness is meditation in action and the result is that one is drawn into the present state of consciousness; being in the here and now. 

Keeping the mind in the present, not being mentally scattered into the past, the future, into thoughts of fear and anxiety, of worries of having not enough, worries for others as they face the pandemic, of loosing their source of income, of loosing their loved ones; our mind is our death trap,  in short we will think our self to death if we are not aware of what is going on with our mental faculty. This is why sleep is crucial to our existence, not only the physical sleep but also the mental sleep. It is said only in deep sleep is the mind free from thoughts and is quiet and at peace. In our regular sleep the mind manifests itself through dreams and dreaming allows the mind free reign over what it manifests with no restraint except when the dream gets too intense and the dreamer feels threatened and immediately is woken up through its safety- survival instinct. Hence one cannot underestimate the importance of understanding the human mind, how it function and how to manage it towards positive performances rather than negative. Most of us take the thinking process to be of no consequences, taking the process for granted, something that is naturally so, nothing can be done about it. There are those who take it to be as important to understand the workings of the human mind as it is to understand the universe itself.

The key to managing the mind is in breathing. It is through breath control that one can make the mind behave as much according to our desire or intention than any other method. This is why in most tradition the art meditation is hinged upon breathing properly according to prescribed techniques and methods. In Yoga itself breath control is treated as a subject of its own known as Pranayama Yoga."

"Pranayama is the practice of breath regulation. It’s a main component of yoga, an exercise for physical and mental wellness. In Sanskrit, “prana” means life energy and “yama” means control.

The practice of pranayama involves breathing exercises and patterns. You purposely inhale, exhale, and hold your breath in a specific sequence.

In yoga, pranayama is used with other practices like physical postures (asanas) and meditation (dhyana). Together, these practices are responsible for the many benefits of yoga.

But pranayama has benefits of its own. These advantages are due to the therapeutic effects of breathing exercises and mindfulness."

 I have cut and paste the above pertinent information for the benefit of those new to the subject of meditation and more information can be excess through the Internet or google links. I personally believe that there is nothing more significant than understanding the workings of the breath in the human form. Breathing is the most taken for granted action that is almost forgotten even taking place in our human consciousness and yet it is the very essence of our survival in this human form. Like the swinging door, we breath in it swings in, we breath out it swings out an if we stop breathing the doors closes for good. In any form of meditation and as a matter of fact in any form of physical activity we are reminded to pay attention to our breath. The breath is the bridge between the mundane and the divine in us, it is the connection between life and death. Ask an average man how often is he aware that he has been breathing all this while and chances are is that he is only aware when there is a pause in his breath due to some external interference, or an interruption of one form or another. On a normal day under normal circumstances and average individual would be oblivious to this most obvious physical action tht the body is constantly performing. Thus if I am asked what would be the most important physical aspect of meditation that one must concentrate on, I would have to say, to be mindful of your breath

David Lynch's video - Meditation,Creativity, Peace Documentary 16 country Tour, is a worthwhile video to watch for more understanding of  Meditation.

#mindfulbreathing #pranayama #davidlynch

The biggest stumbling block to self discovery - ego.

If asked, what is the biggest obstacle for me that stands in my way of fulfilling this journey towards self discovery, I would have to say that it is my ego. Hence it is imperative for me to truly come to an understanding of the nature of my ego. What is Ego?

the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought. ... egotism; conceit; self-importance: Her ego becomes more unbearable each day. self-esteem or self-image; feelings: Your criticism wounded his ego.

One study found that healthy doses of ego directly feed into your willpower, which means, it might help you stick to a diet or focus on a major project, for example. An ego can also help you stay resilient when things go wrong, according to Bentley. When deployed properly, an ego can also help us grow.

According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind as it comprises the thoughts, memories, and emotions a person is aware of. The ego is largely responsible for feelings of identity and continuity. ... The personal unconscious contains temporality forgotten information and well as repressed memories.

I have quoted from the Internet a few empirical standards of what is understood as an ego so as not to waste my time trying to do so and come up with my own erroneous interpretation. With these few interpretations as a guide I will try to give my own take on why it is very critical that one has a thorough understanding of how the ego affects a person in the quest for self understanding. There are numerous views and explanations on this issue available from the numerous sources of spiritual teachers and gurus on the Internet and they are all valid, perhaps more so than my own naive level of understanding, however I have my own interpretation and my ego is what I had to deal with throughout my life. I feel after all these years that my ego is like an entity that has haunted me like a 'shadow' as some would call it. I have come to accept the fact that I can never get rid of my ego no matter what, it would like trying to get rid of my physical shadow that is ever with me so long as i am in the light. It is only in total darkness or total brightness or in a state of void that the shadow is not present. 

I have been accused by many especially my two siblings elder brothers through out my life as having an ego problem and I cannot help but agree with them. What is worse is that I had expressed myself through anger mostly, like I was out to prove myself against the world that I am not a push over and had my own mind. I was always considered as a black sheep in the family and even among my relatives in the past and much deservedly so as I was as I have often mentioned in my past postings a very incorrigible and a rebel growing up. Hence where the question of ego is concerned I have very much to learn to understand in the context of my own self realization. This is perhaps the most crucial issue one has to come to grips with when one is embarked upon this journey as the ego will be ever present to derail every effort one undertake towards achieving one's goal and that being self liberation. The question will always be, self liberation from what? Although the ego is not the only factor one has to be liberated from, it is to me one of the most hardest if not impossible to break free from, for the death of the ego is in essence the freedom of the soul from the bonds of ignorance. The ego has a will of its own or so it seems and will go all out to stop from being annihilated. I feel the ego can be subdued through acceptance with right understanding, through love and compassion, for the ego cannot be discard simply through denial or suppression. The ego has to be coaxed and lure into giving itself up willingly and this happens when the mind becomes silent or the mind becomes silent when this happens? 

"There is no other way of living that can free you from suffering.no other understanding except that which come through self realization. it can bring liberation and peace. Choose to live in truth with an open heart and accept the emptiness of egoless-ness. The one obstacle to victory is the intolerance to emptiness. It is the ego's misguided choice to fill its emptiness with sensory enjoyments, with food, with talk, with sex, with drugs, with alcohol, with music, with anything but the emptiness which is the portal to God. Would rather fill its minds with self attacks then to realize the emptiness, the absolute nothingness, that must through its acceptance of that true nature realize the fullness that the emptiness itself as the supreme paradox reveals itself to be, that is the final unfoldment of Sat Yoga; you reach the summit of your true self." - Suniamurti - Itroductions to Sat Yoga Teachings.Science and Art of Self - Realization.

"Brahman is real, the world is illusion, assimilate this!" -  Sri Ramakrishna.

"When you know yourself, you know God!" = Swami Sarvapriananda - You Tube talk. This talk I highly recommend to listen to.#suniamurti #satyoga #selfrealization #liberation #swamisarvapriananda #sriramakrishna

Some thoughts are worth Reflecting.

 Here are some insights from the one and only Albert Einstein. He is most known as a popular scientist who dramatically changed humanity’s engagement with the world. This post illuminates some of his equally amazing insights beyond the science and beyond the physical.

“I didn't arrive at my understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe through my rational mind.”

“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. Matter is spirit reduced to point of visibility. There is no matter.”

"Time and space are not conditions in which we live, but modes by which we think.

Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, determined by the external world."

“Time does not exist – we invented it. Time is what the clock says. The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

“I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me."

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

"A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

"Our separation from each other is an optical illusion."

“When something vibrates, the electrons of the entire universe resonate with it. Everything is connected. The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness.”

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

“We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.”

“When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.”

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.”

“The ancients knew something, which we seem to have forgotten.”

“The more I learn of physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics.”

“One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike. We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. It is entirely possible that behind the perception of our senses, worlds are hidden of which we are unaware.”

“I’m not an atheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books.”

"The common idea that I am an atheist is based on a big mistake. Anyone who interprets my scientific theories this way, did not understand them."

"Everything is determined, every beginning and ending, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."

“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It will transcend a personal God and avoid dogma and theology.”

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”

“Everything is energy and that is all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you can not help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

"I am happy because I want nothing from anyone. I do not care about money. Decorations, titles or distinctions mean nothing to me. I do not crave praise. I claim credit for nothing. A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future."

2You and Grazyna Kaminska

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How far or how deep are you will to go down the Rabbit Hole?

 Another ingredient that one can add to the repertoire of self discovery applications is Prayer. Prayers are a part of a healing ingredient that works well when dealing with a rowdy mental state, or when the mind has gone haywire with incessant thoughts of unresolved past incidents, of not being able or not being recognized for or being the underdog or myriads of other mostly ego centered memories and unfulfilled desires; prayers is the wet cloth that is laid across the forehead to sooth and calm down the soul. It is imperative that when one is on the journey of elf discovery a whole lot of negative energies will rise from the depths of one's consciousness mostly in the forms of past traumatic experiences or even just mind jarring events that shook one's perception and become stuck to one's consciousness and over time buried into the back of the filing cabinet of the subconscious mind. Every now and then a word, a thought, an incident would trigger these past experiences to come out of the cabinet into your present. It is being said that the more or deeper you get into the meditative state the more susceptible you are to these popping up of buried memories. Remembering to pray or chant or recall your spiritual exercise helps to put an end to these unwanted emergence of thoughts from the past. 

"The Om Purnamadah or Om Purnamidam Mantra is a universal chant for awakening the consciousness and tuning into the infinite bliss accessible within oneself.

It is also one of the Shanti mantras (Peace Mantras).

This soothing mantra is ideal for practicing any deep mindfulness or relaxation techniques, as it fosters a deeper sense of connectedness to the Universe.

Through this mantra, we seek to explore ourselves beyond our visible form and tap into the natural powers of our soul."

The Open Secret - Swami Sarvapriyananda talk on You Tube.

When I find my mind racing about at warp speed I utter the short prayer, Astarghfirullah ul azim, or forgive me Lord for all my transgressions. This short utterance is aimed at shutting down the mental drifts that is usually catering to my ego -self. It usually would lead me into more verses being followed perhaps out of years of habit and as a result the mind is quiet down to a state of  devotional - silence where the consciousness is focused more towards the divine.nature or spirit within. In the Hindu tradition especially, man by nature is a divine entity or the manifestation of the divine, however he has lost this capacity to b e a God or even a deity due to the circumstances of his upbringing or growth, his environment and his ignorance of his inherent nature and last but not least, his karmic state in his present stage of evolution. Man has the tendency to think himself into a state mental poverty, of depravity, of utter despair not realizing his true nature to be free from all these if and when he fully accept that he is never the mind nor the body. His attachment to mind and body as being who he is , is the cause of his suffering. Instead of being the master to mind and body he becomes a slave. it is like the car driving you instead of the other way round. In short you are the Boss, act like one; Be One!

"The law is not thrust upon man; it rests deep within him, to awaken when the call comes." - Martin Buber - Austrian Philosopher.

Getting to know a few fundamental laws of nature is the next prerequisite towards getting to know who you truly are. Primarily there is the laws of gravity, from the spiritual point of view I feel it to be a law of weight, of heaviness, of darkness, of pulling you down, eventually into the grave, (gravity=grave,). Then there is the laws of light, of brightness, of the lightness of being, of feathers and flight, of angels and of enlightenment. There are also such laws as the laws of attraction, the Laws of cause and effect, laws of abundance, the laws of Karma and so forth. Having a good grasp of understanding of these laws would help tremendously with the understanding of why things are the way they are or happen the way they do. There are scientific laws that governs the workings of the human form and mental states, like how the brain functions and how your diet affects your personality or why you see red, white or blue of what the cosmos is made up of and so forth and these laws too should be understood as best one could even if one is not a scientist. It may be impossible to figure out what the theory of relativity is or Quantum Physics for that matter, but you don't really need to go into these any deeper than is necessary or just stay within your scope of understanding, just being aware of their existence and implications to the physical realm is enough. You are not out to solve the mysteries of molecular biology but simply to just get to know who you truly are.

What is most important and most pertinent to have, to look into to understand and to assimilate is being aware that you are embarked upon a journey of self discovery. You are out to discover who you truly are, there is to you in this life hence anything more relevant than this and you will dedicate your whole being into unraveling all the mysteries there is to be unraveled. You put your foot down and say to yourself; this is it! As of this moment nothing shall  escape my scrutiny, not a thought, not an action and not a word that comes out of my mouth. My entire being, my very existence, my life and death is dedicated towards self discovery. Every breath I take, every move I make and every I say is geared towards knowing my true nature and becoming who I truly am. Easier said than done! Don't ask me why.

#ompurnamidanmantra #quantumphysics #lawsofkarma #lawsofabundance #lawsofcauseandeffect #enlightenment #martinbuber

To be Contd.

     

Take a step into the Real away from the Unreal; Knowing who You are.= 1

If I were to be asked for a recommendation on what kind of practice is most effective towards self discovery and attain what Hindu calls  jivan mukhti or self liberation.

Jivanmukti transforms the individual, molds his/her character so that he/she is liberated while still alive. Being free from desiring pleasures of this world and heaven is a supreme level of detachment.

 I would have to say firstly that one has to truly want to do it. One has to make the commitment wholeheartedly with the determination to go all out and all the way, one's life is dedicated towards the journey of self discovery like holding a ball of fire in your hand until it turns to ashes. The desire to know who you truly are beyond name and form, race and religion, beyond all that the mind has conditioned one to accept who one thinks one is, is like a pilgrimage towards meeting the Maker, the Creator, the Source. It is like peeling the onion layer after layer until there is nothing left to peel and what is left is the formless and the emptiness of being; one's original 'Buddha Nature', the Unborn and the Immortal.

I would next advice to take up a serious practice of meditation, it can be any form so long as one understands and most comfortable with in order to get to into a state of removal from the external influences, a state of solitary confinement of the mind and its mental states. Taming the mind is the essence of meditation where the habitual act of incessant thinking is brought to an end and the blissful state of peace and tranquility is achieved and allows for a pause where new thoughts and impressions can arise for the benefit of the practice. Creative instinct, original ideas, intuitive thoughts can only appera when there is a gap of silence or empty space is available for them to do so; meditation helps towards to achieve this stat. Today there os no excuse for not knowing how to anymore as the wisdom and knowledge of the what and how to of meditation is readily available on Internet especially on You Tube; Iqrar! Read!, as the Angel Gibrail alai i Salam commanded to Prophet to do when they first encountered. The Guru and the Roshis, the Teachers and Masters are available online for anyone interested in the art of meditation; the art of healing the chaotic mind.

Thirdly. It is imperative that one develops a sense of discipline and awareness towards performing our daily tasks and to implement all that is required for us to do albeit doing the dishes or working in the field, that we carry out our tasks with complete devotion and mindfulness. Watching the mind as we perform whatever task that is laid before us is another form of meditation; this is meditation in action. How often do we notice that the mind would try to revolt against doing something tedious like doing the dishes day in day out when the dirty dishes were not even our own. How often does the mind creeps in and whisper to us to let is slide and let someone else do our chores for us or stay in bed a little longer or walk by a beggar sitting and stretching out his or her hand for alms and the mind simply whispers, get a job. A sense of self discipline imposed upon the mind by you the owner of the mind will help for us to recognize our relationship with our own mind and body; who is the boss? A thorough understanding or the inner workings of our physical, mental and spiritual workings of ourselves would help to enhance our understanding of who we truly are as compared to who we have come to think we are. As it is we have been conditioned from the day we were born by external stimuli in the form of our parents, peers, teacher and so forth and as such who we think we are is a byproduct of conditioning and this we have to free ourselves from and it is never too late.

Self discovery is a very arduous process or so it may seem, however if we give a little attention towards wanting to get to know ourselves better we will find it often is a matter of simple commonsense. There nothing on this planet that worth knowing than our true nature or who we truly are and it may take w lifetime of research and practice or it can happen just overnight, it all depends on how vital it is an endeavor you take it to be. How urgent or important it is to get to truly know oneself in this life is it a matter worth to die for, as it is why we are are alive, why we keep making the same errors and feel the same sense of loss and drifting as we grow older. When death knocks at our door how would we like to exit this life? As one who is awakened and enlightened or one who has lived life in ignorance and darkness with a herd and slave mentality or one whose spiritual development has matured to a state liberation free from fear of even death itself. As a matter of fact most sages and great masters even look forward to death and dying as just another door towards yet another realm of existence where one can embark upon yet a new journey in a different form and circumstances totally in control of every situation that is met with; He who knows himself, knows his Maker, the Prophet of Allah is said to have said.

For those who seriously are on the road towards self discovery I would recommend a You Tube video - "Self inquiry as taught in Raja Yoga." or "Introduction to Sat Yoga Teachings; Science and Art of Self Realization. "What is Self - Enquiry. How to do it.- Ramana Maharshi and many others. There is an abundance of knowledge available and it is a matter of one's choice to make the journey, the question being one has nothing to loose but a whole lot to gain in terms of one's personal growth, to be able to live life and see the world in a whole new and unabridged perspective. To become a master of one's own destiny, create one's own perspective in the world we live, to become a Creator and not a spectator.

" When you start the reflective self inquiry, ask yourself who am I, what do I want, what is my purpose, what am I grateful for, go into the stillness of meditation you have what wisdom tradition have called revelation, revealed truth... when you have discovered the awareness of awareness, it's called, Nirvana. (Enlightenment.)" Deepak Chopra - Interview on Impact Theory - You Tube channel. I highly recommend to listen to this interview and such similar presentations  as part of one's practice towards self discovery.

To be contd. #jivanmukti #buddhanature #meditation #awareness # consciousness #rajayoga #ramanamaharshi #deepakchopra #impacttheory

   

   

Don't Sweat the small stuff...the devil is in the details

 

"Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will be able to lead you astray in big things so beware of following him in small things."...

The Prophet of Allah,(PBUH) at His last sermon.

'And the devil is in the details' as was quoted in my earlier post by the author of the novel, The Game Of Thrones.- George R.R. Martin.

This morning as I struggled against whether to get out of bed or continue my sleep when my cat, Furby, scratched the mattress as she never fails to do so every morning just before the morning call to prayer by the Muezin.

A muezzin is a man who calls muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque. He leads the call (adhan) to Friday service and the five daily prayers (also known as the salat) from one of the mosque's minarets.

I almost gave in to .back to sleep as my head was throbbing with the worse migraine and the rest of my body was screaming with aches and pains especially at the pit of my abdomen. Furby won and I struggled off my bed and straggled to the kitchen to check her food situation which I had always assumed why she wakes me up in the first place. After I added more or her Whiska catfood to her bowl, I decided to drift back to back without getting angry, but she was standing by the door waiting for me to let her out which means that I too will have to get out and do what I routinely do, sit and meditate while listening to the birds from all directions and watch the hills and skies light up with the sunrise. After a while as the darkness faded and the panoramic view before me came to light all my aches and pains were practically gone and I did my awareness walking exercise back and forth along the corridor. Normally the pigeons would be waiting to be fed but this morning there were no pigeon waiting, it was as though they knew I had no leftover rice to throw on the roof for them like I always do. I felt a slight guilt in my heart over this as I was trying to avoid having to confront the birds with no food if they been there; does nature knows of these things?

I tired to think of what to write about as I finally sat down facing the computer but nothing came to mind as so I drifted from one thing to another, first the Face Book, then the You Tube, then a new series on Netflix but nothing caught my attention and I felt like I was wasting my time and decided to hit the sack and take a nap. Then I saw the link that I was quoting from yesterday, the last sermon of the Prophet at Arafah which I had left still on the page and read a few of the verses and was hooked by the above verse. The verse echoed the quote that I had quoted from 'The Game of Thrones,' ..."so beware of following him in the small things... and 'the devil is in the details.' Perhaps it is merely a coincident in my perception or perhaps my mind is asking me to take a closer look at what is truly meant by both these quotes.

Jumping back to two more generations, German philologist, philosopher, cultural critic, poet and composer, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) is quoted as having said, “Der Teufel steckt im Detail” which translates directly to “the devil is in the details.”

Here again I just stumbled upon yet another discovery that Friedrich Nietzsche had quoted this too two generations ago.

The source of the proverb 'The devil is in the details' is often attributed to the German/American architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. ... In the migration of the phrases an 's' was added - the earlier form is usually 'God is in the detail'; the later form is more commonly 'the devil is in the details'.

 It gets more interesting as I keep looking into the origin of these quotes to say the least. So I am going to keep looking into this further and see where it leads me.

An older, and slightly more common, phrase God is in the detail means that attention paid to small things has big rewards, or that details are important. The devil version of the idiom is a variation on the God phrase, though the exact origin of both is uncertain.

In my search for the meaning of, 'beware of him(the devil) in little things.' as uttered by the Prophet, I could not find any thus far and so I would have to assume my own interpretation until I come across a more accurate explanation by a more authoritative source. It is my feeling that what is meant by the Prophet (SAW) is that the Devil or Satan may not be able to posses your soul,(as a Muslim), but he can do nasty things through the insignificant small things that you take for granted and become complacent about as you go about you daily life Oh, its alright I don't need to pray or take my Wudu or wash myself, or its no big deal if I take a few fruits off the tree that belongs to my neighbor or looking at my neighbor's wife with desire does not mean I am going to get her into bed and so forth; little things accumulate to become big things. 

I don't think I am making any headway towards unraveling what the Prophet meant and so I will shelf the issue for now until I get a revelation from God; no harm in hoping for answers and who better than the Lord Himself.  #theprophetsaw #thedevilisinthedetail #godisinthedetail #friedrichwilhelmnietzsche #thegamesofthrones 

  

Celebrating Eid Mubarak at the Valley of Arafah.

 On this day Muslims all over the world celebrates the Eid Mubarak or better  known among most as Aidil al-Adha. Today in the Muslim calendar it is said that The Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (SAW), Peace be unto Him, delivered His final address to Humanity at the Field of Arafah in Makah. This is also the culmination day for the performance of the Haj for those who had performed their pilgrimage ending at Arafah. 

The occasion marks the end of Hajj Pilgrimage, the holiest place for people of Muslim faith situated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The festival is celebrated by sacrificing a goat by the Muslims to pay their obedience to Prophet Abraham's commitment to Allah. 

The Eid Mubarak is also commonly known as the Eid-ul Qurban or the sacrificial feast where sacrifices of cattle, goats, camels or sheep s being made by families collectively of by individuals who has the means. This sacrificial for one who has completed his or her pilgrimage is performed at the end of the journey at Arafah while those who carry it out at home or their local mosques collectively is a symbolic act to commemorate the act of the Prophet Abraham who was required by His Lord to take the life of his son as a sacrifice to verify His faith in God. To the Muslims Abraham chose Ismael His first born to His second wife, a Bedouin slave chosen as a surrogate mother when His actual wife was found to be barren. 

In the Old Testament (Genesis 16:1–16; 17:18–26; 21:1–21), Abraham’s wife Sarah was initially unable to bear children and therefore gave Abraham her maidservant Hagar to conceive an heir. Ishmael was born and brought up in Abraham’s household. Some 13 years later, however, Sarah conceived Isaac, with whom God established his covenant. Isaac became Abraham’s sole heir, and Ishmael and Hagar were banished to the desert, though God promised that Ishmael would raise up a great nation of his own.

Ishmael, commonly regarded by both Jews and Arabs as the progenitor of the Arabs, is considered a messenger and a prophet (rasūl nabī) in the Qurʾān (e.g., 19:54). Though little is said about him in the Qurʾān itself aside from his designation as a prophet, it suggests that he assisted Abraham in building Islam’s most sacred structure, the Kaaba, in Mecca (2:127). Most Islamic traditions about Ishmael come from other, extrascriptural sources, such as Hadith, tafsīr (Islamic exegesis), and qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ (stories of the prophets). According to the most well-known of these traditions, after Ishmael and Hagar were banished, they settled in Mecca, near which they had found relief and water at the Well of Zamzam. Later, in nearby Minā, Abraham attempted to sacrifice Ishmael (rather than Isaac, as stated in the Old Testament), an event commemorated on Eid al-Adha and in the rituals of the hajj (pilgrimage)

This episode in the theological history of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition has been bugging me every time the time of the Eid Mubarak comes around and I keep telling myself it is of no concern of mine and something best left for those whose vocation it is to delve into these matters deeply till the truth be uncovered. The question that keeps popping up in my mind has been, why would Abraham, an obedient chosen prophet of God banish his second wife and first born to die in the desert? What would drive such a man to carry out such a heinous act against a helpless woman and her child? Secondly, If Isaac were His rightful heir and so called 'real' son, would his wife Sarah who had hoped and prayed for a child of her own allowed Abraham to Isaac away and kill him on account God demanded so? No Jewish mother would sacrifice her only son not even if God had demanded it. It is simply not in her nature to give in so willingly. Perhaps I am wrong, off course I am wrong! For thousands of years since the event religious men has been juggling all the implications that had taken place and none really carry water for me albeit Biblical or otherwise. The story in truth will never be known and as the Muslim expression goes, WallahuAlam...only God knows and so let it rest at that.

Normally I would have it written off as a non essential, an irrelevant to my attention, however it is still a nagging issue sitting at the back of my mind demanding answers and it will remain as such for as long as I have not addressed th issue to its end. Why? Its simply because these minor infractions in the historical facts about the Abrahamic religions have caused untold number of human death and suffering since the time of Abraham. Wars and suppression and oppression have been waged one against another by the three religions claiming to worship the same God and till this day and age it is still unresolved or getting even worse. The Devil it seems has his work cut out for him where the destruction and demise of the children of Adam on the face of the earth is concern. The Jews, Christians and Muslims will be at each other's throat till the end of time or so it seems and all because of the revelations and interpretations  of the scriptures by those who were responsible for keeping them pure and unadulterated.

On this holy day of the Muslim calendar the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), delivered His final sermon before thousands who had completed performing the Haj ending at Arafah.

The sermon was repeated sentence by sentence by Safwan's brother Rabiah (RA), who had powerful voice, at the request of the Prophet and he faithfully, proclaimed to over ten thousand gathered on the occasion. Towards the end of his sermon, the Prophet asked "O people, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message?" A powerful murmur of assents "O Allah! yes!"arose from thousands of pilgrims and the vibrant words "Allahumma Na'm," rolled like thunder throughout the valley. The Prophet raised his forefinger and said: "O Allah bear witness that I have conveyed your message to your people."...

Wallahu Alam... the rest is history. 

#muhammad #arafah #abraham #isacc #eidmubarak #zamzam #ishmaeland hagar#