April 28, 2009 at 6:34 am (Spirituality, Sufism)
Thanks, my dear friend Gariban, for sharing these words:
Qur’an [Al-Bakara 02/44]: Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget (to practise it) yourselves, and yet ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand?
Qur’an [Al-Bakara 29/02] : Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested with affliction?
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Jabir Ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated, Messenger of ALLAH(PBUH) said:
“Do not acquire knowledge in order to vie with scholars, and to wrangle with the foolish, and to sit in the best seats: whoever does that his abode will be the Fire, the Fire.” (Ibn Hibban, Sahih)
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The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The devil sometimes will prevail over you on account of knowledge. It was questioned: O Prophet of God, how will it happen? He said: The devil will say: ‘Search for knowledge but don’t put into practice till you acquire it’. So he will remain busy with acquisition of knowledge but will remain without action up to his death and at the time of his death he will have no action”.
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Hudhaifah Ibn al-Yaman (RA) narrated, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Some inhabitants of Paradise turned to a group of inhabitants of Hell and asked why they went to Hell “Swear by God “,said the inhabitants of Paradise, ” We were assissted by what we learned from you to enter the Paradise . and the people of Hell say :” We paid lip-service to what we preached . ”
With Peace and Love
Gariban
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April 5, 2009 at 6:58 pm (Spirituality)
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March 28, 2009 at 10:42 pm (Art, Mythology)
Apparently there is a Hindu version of Icarus:
A near parallel to the Icarus story exists in the Hindu epic Ramayana, the demi-god Jatayu and his brother Sampaati, who had the forms of vultures, used to compete as to who could fly higher. On one such instance Jatayu flew so high that he was about to get seared by sun’s flames. Sampaati saved his brother by spreading his own wings and thus shielding Jatayu from the hot flames.
In the process, Sampaati himself got injured and lost his wings. Luckier than Icarus, he did not die a painful death, but had to live wingless for the rest of his life.
The Ramayana is attributed in Hindu tradition to the poet Valmiki who lived about 444 B.C, and presumably the story of Jatayu and Sampaati existed in earlier versions. Thus, it is roughly contemporary with the story of Icarus. Prior to the time of Alexander the Great there was hardly any direct contact between Greeks and Indians, but both were in contact with the Persian Empire and enough trade existed for elements of myth to pass over great distances.
It’s almost as though humanity has been reading from the same Book all this time….
Amazing wings, yes?
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March 22, 2009 at 9:07 pm (Art, Buddhism, Consciousness, Enlightenment, Fractals, Sacred Art, Sacred Science, Spirituality)
See, if they’d had this stuff when I was tortured through high school math, I’d probably have turned out as a productive citizen…!
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February 28, 2009 at 2:14 pm (Christian Mysticism, Orthodox Christianity, Religion, Spiritual Teachers, Spirituality, Wisdom)
Tags: Wisdom
For my dear friend and teacher, Jeffrey S. Brooks.
A quote from Saint Isaac the Syrian (pictured above):
Do not seek the advice of him that is not thy fellow in behaviour, though he be very prudent. A layman who has experienced things is more to be trusted than a sage who speaks on the basis of theoretical knowledge but without experience.
What is experience? Experience is not this that a man goes and touches things, without acquiring knowledge concerning their advantages and their defects and without remaining with them during a certain time. How often the faces of things give the impressions of defect, whereas within them is found matter full of advantages. In the same way are to be judged things of the opposite aspect.
This is one message that has gotten through to me, loud and clear — with many thanks to Jeffrey.
Speculation and blind adherence to dogma are one thing.
The words of the wise who have attained through rigorous and skillful practice… this is quite another thing.
Choose wisely, or spend years chasing your tail.
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February 21, 2009 at 1:29 pm (Buddhism, Consciousness, Meditation, Meditative Absorption, Sadhana, Spirituality, Theravada, samadhi)
Tags: economic meltdown, insight, spiritual journey, spiritual path
There seems to be a gathering malaise in the world, with unemployment climbing, banks failing, wars raging… and this set of circumstances reflects back into our individual lives, even if things remain fairly stable in our immediate environment.
There is a spiritual concept known as the Dark Night of the Soul which places the inevitable difficulties of life into a “higher” perspective.
I thought I’d discuss it over at the new place, if you’d like to check it out. Please comment if you feel inspired to do so!
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February 14, 2009 at 12:12 pm (Awakening, Buddhism, Enlightenment, Hinduism, Meditation, Meditative Absorption, Spirituality)
Tags: blogs, Buddhism, Meditation, samadhi
No, I’m not abandoning this one.
I am, however, starting a new blog designed to establish a narrative specifically around the attainment of meditative absorption (jhana/samadhi).
If you are a dedicated contemplative with a rigorous and skillful meditation practice… or if this is something that interests you in some way… please join me at:
…Which means “Right Absorption,” given as the culminating entry in Gautama Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.
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January 11, 2009 at 12:19 pm (Hinduism, Religion, Sacred Traditions, Spirituality)
Tags: Religion
Vishnu….
At the risk of stirring the religious pot (i.e., please take no offense if the following challenges your religious beliefs)….
Perennial religion, before categories, before sects, before divisions:
Sanatana Dharma looks upon a person as a part and parcel of the mighty Whole, but never regards him as “the Measure of all things.” In the West, “person” is a supreme and final value, while Sanatana Dharma regards person as a part of the Whole, having the same vital essence as all other human and sub-human creatures of the universe. This cosmic view of Hinduism transcends the sectarian or group dogmas and paves a way for the coexistence of all creatures under the Vedic principle of Vasudev Kutumbhkam, meaning “The Universe is One Family.” This principle guides the humankind towards universal harmony through acceptance and tolerance.
Sanatana Dharma recognizes that the Ultimate Reality, which is the ground of infinite potentiality and actualization, cannot be limited by any name or concept. The potential for human wholeness (or in other frames of reference, enlightenment, salvation, liberation, transformation, blessedness, nirvana, moksha) is present in every human being. No race or religion is superior and no color or creed is inferior. All humans are spiritually united like the drops of water in an ocean.
Therefore:
* Don’t enforce one belief, one way of worship or one code of conduct for all. Do not attempt to destroy different forms of worship, claiming your own way to be the only right one. Such enforcement of uniformity would be un-natural and contrary to the Divine Law. It hinders the progress of a human being in his/her journey to the state of divinity.
* Give importance to sincerity of heart and nobleness of conduct in the field of religion. Do not claim to have obtained from God, exclusive and irrevocable power of attorney to be a dictator and to persecute others on behalf of God, because they do not agree with you.
* Don’t claim to have bound the Boundless God. Do not create inter-religious wars and massacres, forcing your claims and dogmas on others.
* Give a person freedom to think, freedom to believe, freedom to disbelieve and freedom to adopt a way of worship, which suits his/her temperament. After all, what is important in worship of God is the sincerity of heart, not the outer form of worship.
* Don’t divide the human race into conflicting armies and camps of Holy believers and Unholy Others.
In other words, one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.
We’re all living our dharma, we’re all on the Path.
Who are we to decide what’s “right” for anyone else?
Who are we to believe that God is more present in one religion than another?
Who are we to limit the Divine in any way?
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