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This Nonsense Makes Perfect Sense

HKL-Lamp of the Heart

In  2001, one of my students gave me a book “The Enlightened Heart” edited by Stephen Mitchell. Looking through it this morning I came across several beautiful poems. I wanted to share one with you from Lao Tzu that speaks my heart:

Some say my teaching is nonsense.

Others call it lofty but impractical.

But to those who have looked inside themselves,

this nonsense makes perfect sense.

And those who put it into practice

this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:

Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts,

you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies

You accord with the way things are,

Compassionate towards yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world.

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Oh God, I Don’t Believe You: By Belle Heywood

Belle-Bodhisattva Poet

Oh God, I don’t believe you
Break through my eyes and skin

If you are true, then sing through me
or make me silent for years

Editors Note: Belle Heywood is a Bodhisattva Poet and lives in Australia.

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2009 New Year Message From Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

This new year message from the past seems to be right for every new year. Happy New Year to everyone and best wishes. May we enter the new year open to Grace. Let there be peace among all living beings. May everyone be healed in friendship and love. All Blessings.

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Dear Friends,

Humanity stands at the crossroads of destiny. Amidst wars and conflict on this planet, along with poverty, disease, and changes in the environment leading to global warming, the way ahead is not clear to me. Is it clear to you? If so, please share your views.

Our heroes in the past have tended to be warriors, kings, conquerors, entrepreneurs, innovators, inventors, who through their power of imagination, genius, organization, cleverness, and ingenuity were able to succeed beyond measure and attain personal empires, fortunes, and glories.  I ask you all to consider that perhaps we need different types of heroes if human evolution is to find its rightful purpose and survive. Our heroes, out of necessity now, have to be those with a long term vision of peace. Our heroes have to be the Peace Makers. Without them, the very survival of humanity is at stake.

I read somewhere…

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Thanksgiving When I Was A Child: By Dr. Evan Keith

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Recently, on United States’ Day of Thanksgiving, my mind remembered in my childhood when my family’s celebration of this holiday changed significantly for some years. When I was small, my mother would spend hours in the kitchen every Thanksgiving morning to prepare the requisite feast of a big whole cooked turkey along with many side dishes, which together were meant to represent the food that was eaten at the “First Thanksgiving” celebrated by about fifty Pilgrims, along with almost one-hundred Native Americans, after their first harvest in the New World in 1621. Although I did not notice at the time, I think my mom did not like being separated from her husband and three sons while she worked for hours in the kitchen. However, I do remember enjoying the fanciness of the feast at least as much as its delicious flavors. Continue reading

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The Tale of Two Pens: By Chhaganlal Yogi

Sri Ramana reading

Sri Ramana reading

Sri Bhagavan generally used two fountain pens: one contained blue ink, the other, red. Both of these pens were quite old and looked, to me at least, worn out. One day the top cover of the red-ink pen cracked, so a devotee took it to town to have it repaired. It was gone for several days. During this period Sri Bhagavan reverted to an old-fashioned nib pen which had to be dipped in an ink pot of red ink. Since this seemed to cause him some inconvenience, I decided to get him a new pen. I wrote to a friend in Bombay and asked him to send one immediately. A few days later the pen arrived by post. I went straight to Sri Bhagavan and handed over the unopened parcel containing the pen. Continue reading

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Viswanatha Swami_ A Hidden Gem: By Murray Feldman

Viswanatha Swami

Viswanatha Swami first came to stay with Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi when he was about 19 years old. His father, Ramaswamy Iyer, was a first cousin of Bhagavan.

I had the good fortune to spend considerable time with this great devotee of Ramana Maharishi from April 1976, until he became ill and passed away at 75 years of age on the 22nd November, 1979. How he came to Bhagavan has been written about elsewhere. Here I attempt to show how he exemplified, so wonderfully and devotedly the teachings of Bhagavan. Continue reading

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In the Jaws of the Beloved Tiger: By Dr. Evan Keith

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I do not know when I first learned of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. I know that at most he was little more than a name to me before my eighteenth birthday and only in the last year has he become of central importance to me. In fact, now I think of Bhagavan as my Guru. Bhagavan never did formal initiation of anyone as a devotee and never even referred to anyone as being or not being his devotee. Nevertheless, he sometimes mentioned that most people needed a guru to overcome their ancient tendencies and “realize” the Self. Sometimes Bhagavan would allude to the Self, itself, or in particular the mountain Arunachala as having been his Guru. In this respect, Bhagavan Ramana is my Sadguru and I am His devotee. Continue reading

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I Entered the Heart a Stranger: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

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For many years, I have been sharing the following quote on Facebook.

“I entered the Heart a stranger and saw that I myself am the Heart.”

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The Spiritual Secret Of Western Classical Music: By Alan Jacobs

Alan Jacobs

To a degree music is rooted in Nature, that is in bird song, the babbling brook, waves breaking on the sea shore, the rustle of leaves in trees, and certain animal sounds. In man, as part of nature there is the desire to dance and sing when happy.

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The Enlightenment Business: Wisdom For Sale

By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

Dr. Luthar listening to a presentation

Religion and spirituality today are a big business. Generally the spiritual teachers, preachers, gurus, and the so-called enlightened masters of the day are really motivational speakers and self-styled self-help experts who engage in entrepreneurial ventures for financial and commercial success.  Every year people spend billions of dollars buying the books, CDs, and self-help programs offered by such teachers.

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