If I want
to help people -- and there is great beauty in helping, great joy -- then the
first thing is a total acceptance of the person, whoever he is, whatever he is.
This is the way existence has brought him. There must be some need that he is
fulfilling; without him existence will be a little less, he will be missed. And
nobody can replace him; he is so unique that he is irreplaceable. Only
recently Russian psychologists are trying to find ways how to teach children
while they are asleep, because if we can teach children while they are asleep
much time can be saved. And one thing more: when a child is asleep he can be
taught more easily because there is no distraction. His unconscious can be
taught directly, which is easier. When we teach a child through his
consciousness it is difficult, because ultimately the teaching has to reach to
the unconscious, only then it becomes yours. And to reach to the unconscious
through the conscious it takes long time, long repetition. You have to go on
repeating again and again and again, then only slowly slowly it settles to the
bottom of the conscious, and from that bottom slowly it penetrates into the
unconscious. But why in the world would people bring many
children into this world? I mean really...you can't have many dogs or
cats without a license. Oh yeah...they have a marriage license. Still
it is just plain weird. I think it's just for the news value. Just
because you can make a baby, does not mean you should. Give Mother a
break & Dad use a condom. Just a suggestion.
We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.
I hate quotations.Tell me what you know.
Don't worry, a few individuals may ignore you, but the bulk of the net will read every word, if only to disagree.
Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal.
If Jesus was Jewish, how come he's got a Mexican name?
If you really want to make a lot of money, start your own religion.
Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.
No problem is so big that you can't run away from it.
The mystery does not get clearer by repeating the question nor is it bought by going to amazing places.
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
The world is coming to an end.Please log off.
Aging is bad, but consider the alternative.
What is inconceivable about the universe is that it is at all conceivable.
I believe I found the missing link between animal and civilized man. It is us. Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.
You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and liberty.
Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.
Give a small boy a hammer and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.
Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future.
When Confucius was roaming on Mount T'ai, he saw Jung Ch'i Ch'i walking on the moors of Ch'ang in a rough fur coat with a rope round his waist, singing as he strummed a lute. “Master, what is the reason for your joy?” asked Confucius. “I have many joys. Of the myriad things which heaven begot, mankind is the most noble - and I have the luck to be human. This is my first joy. People are born who do not live a day or a month, who never get out of their swaddling clothes, but I have already lived to ninety. This is my joy. For all men, poverty is the norm and death is the end. Abiding by the norm, awaiting my end, what is there to be concerned about?” “Good!” said Confucius. “Here is a man who knows how to console himself.”
There is a great diametrical opposition between the Taoist attitude and the Confucian attitude; Confucius is as far away from the Taoist vision as possible. Confucius believes in law, Confucius believes in tradition, Confucius believes in discipline. Confucius believes in character, morality, culture, society, education. Taoism believes in spontaneity, individuality, freedom.Taoism is rebellious; Confucius is very conformist.
For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao. It flows through all things.
Posted at 10:26, 21.3.2009
We have these Masters that rule humanity and as shocking as it is that we are not the top of the food chain it is no more a bother than looking at night and realizing that we cannot be on earth without stars in the sky. I mean look at the massive denial there, to find 90% of the stars are missing and just to go about our business as long as we have our Celebrity Rehabs on TV and our People Magazines and our US Magazines and our OK Magazines, well the world is turning and who cares about the minor details?This is just more proof that you can do nothing as you are, as Gurdjieff suggests.And look at the proof... you can do nothing as you are.Your life is a happenstance and you might, if you are really lucky, read this and
ponder the situation and you deny, you live in denial, and you might
go, he is a nut.But look, for each of us to be alive tomorrow a billion different things have to be maintained in our lives just for us to exist.Yet we spend all our time worried if Betty Sue loves you or if the Utility bill will be paid before they cut off the water. You worry because you are nothing but insecurity, fear, and you are poverty, but should someone come along and say, "I come upon you in the living light and find you all adrunk with yourselves.None of you longing or looking for the living light of my Father who art in Heaven.I find you all in poverty, you are poverty."And you take that poor sob out and hang him because he is so close to the truth and above all a person in denial, who is denying all things that rattles their little world cannot handle the truth.
That is how, without knowing it at all, I came to have the taste of Tao
Posted at 2:10, 24.2.2009
Lao Tzu says, "Because few people understand me, I am dignified." Because masses are so foolish, if they cannot understand him, he is dignified: he is a super success. When the masses go to see a film it is a failure, flopped. It must be stupid; otherwise how does it attract so many stupid people? If it has flopped, it is a super success. It must be something which goes beyond ordinary mind. That's what a super success is. A Hitler is not a super success; masses worshipped him. That shows he belonged to the masses. He was an ordinary, stupid man. Lao Tzu is a super success: nobody knows, nobody heard about him -- not even a rumor. He comes and moves silently. He was a super success, and he knew it. He says in his TAO TE CHING, "I am dignified, because very few people can understand me. The whole world misunderstands me; that's why I am dignified." Rarer the understanding, rarer will it be understood, more possibility to be misunderstood.
How could God manage to make this world in only six days. And this world! Perhaps that's why He called His son Jesus! What a name to give to your own son!
Theories of reality can be easily created but if well done
can hardly be disproved.Aren't things
like materialism theories of reality? Is a worldview a reality theory? Like for
Christians how the eternal existence of God is just a brute fact - he had no
beginning or cause. How about arithmetics ? Everything being represented by an
aggregate of laws that can't be disproved, but can't be rationalized either. Two
versions need not mutually exclude each other. The problem with such a theory
is that it is self-referential and creates its own means to an end. Does not
mean it would be wrong, as Gödel would rush to claim, but
let's leave good old Kurt to rest since he's being far over-stretched over the
intellectual landscape already. The proposed tautology-preserving principles of
reality theory should put mind back into the mix in an explicit, theoretically
tractable way, effectively endowing logic with 'self-processing capability'.
This, after all, is exactly what it possesses in its natural manifestation,
reality at large, and is an essential dimension of the closure property without
which truth is insupportable. That is, reality must be able to recognize itself
and impart this ability to its components as a condition of their existence and
interaction. Now reality does not give stones the ability to recognize
themselves or reality and that is not a necessary part or function of reality. A
reality theory must be rational and tautological, while those by which it is
subsequently refined may be empirical. A reality theory must also posess the
three Cs: Comprehensiveness, closure, and consistency. Such a theory will
preserve the tautological property of logic while rationally precluding
uncertainty. A theory constructed like this is called a supertautology.
The Qingjing jing (Scripture of Purity and Tranquility)
serves to inspire the active practitioner and believer. It provides an easy
handle on the realization of the Tao within the religious life. It is an
exhortation to purity and meditation, a warning against bad thoughts and
deviant desires. Pious Taoists know this short and rhythmic text by heart. There is as yet no study of this text or of Taoist monastic
liturgy:
Das "Labor" zur Überprüfung ist unser eigenes Leben/Erleben.
Posted at 2:10, 23.10.2008
Selbstverantwortung bedeutet doch, dass ich mir bewusst bin, dass ich mit meinem gegenwärtigen Handeln (und das ist ja schließlich das einzige Handeln, das es geben kann!) Folgen für mich und andere Wesen hervorufe. Natürlich lebe ich in einer Welt, die sich aus meinen Absichten (und Handlungen) gebildet hat und ich bin mir bewusst, dass ich jeden Tag die Folgen meiner vergangenen Absichten erlebe. Da ich bislang aber nicht weit genug entwickelt bin, die Folgen den Ursachen eindeutig zuzuordnen, ist es doch die einzige Möglichkeit, die ich habe, im gegenwärtigen Moment dafür zu sorgen, dass ich genug "heilsame" Absichten habe, um einmal in einer zukünftigen Gegenwart "heilsame" Folgen zu verspüren. Wobei natürlich darauf zu achten ist, dass Taten, die man aufgrund der angenehmen karmischen Folgen begeht, wahrscheinlich keine angenehmen Folgen haben werden.Ich empfinde es aber geradezu gefährlich, wenn man sich aufgrund des Modells des Karma dazu verleiten lässt, nicht mehr unangenehmen Erscheinungen in der "Aussenwelt" entgegenzutreten, sondern deren Ursachen einzig in seiner Vergangenheit sucht und beseitigen will. Karma ist kein Grund, problematische Erscheinungen in der Aussenwelt nicht mehr anzugehen, sondern geradezu ein Aufruf zum Handeln.
In the Akshyu Panishad Vedanta it is written: ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE
FEELING OF DIVISION, THE FIFTH STAGE, KNOWN AS THE SUSHUPTAPAD -- SLEEPING --
DRAWS THE ENLIGHTENED SEEKER INTO ITS NATURE. HE IS PERPETUALLY INTROVERTED --
IN THIS STAGE, THE SEEKER WILL REMAIN PERPETUALLY INTROVERTED -- AND LOOKS TIRED
AND SLEEPY, EVEN THOUGH EXTERNALLY HE CONTINUES HIS EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES. If
you go to Sufi monasteries you will see there many persons very sleepy, as if
someone has hypnotized them. They will look like zombies -- as if they are
walking in sleep, working in sleep, following orders in sleep. And monasteries
were created because of such things. A person who is in the fifth stage will
have many difficulties in the world because he will move sleepily. He is
constantly deep in his nature, as if fast asleep. He will have to make effort to
be awake. He will be introverted, he will not be interested in the outside
world. He would like more and more time to move inwards. You will be able to see
from his eyes also; they will be droopy, tired. He doesn't want to look out, he
wants to look in. His face will show the same state as that of a hypnotized
medium. The face will be relaxed, as if he can fall any moment into sleep. He
will become just like a child again.
Im Fernsehen gab es Superzeitlupe-Aufnahmen, die zeigten, wie der Guru Sai Baba schummelt, wenn er angeblich Schmuckstücke materialisiert.
Die Wissenschaft wusste auch sehr lange, dass die Erde eine flache Scheibe ist.
Je nu: Der Menschheit reicht eben nicht nur gute Laune & Frohsinn. Sie will mit offenem Mund gaffen aufs Unbegreifliche. Weil ja sonst alles klar und begreiflich ist!!
Die Jugend der 68er hatte die Wahrheit erkannt, aber eben nur die halbe. Deswegen haben die meisten ja auch aufgegeben, weil sie in der falschen Richtung suchten und sich in Schuldzuweisungen verausgabten.
Was die Jugend braucht, und sicher nicht nur die Jugend, ist das Wissen darum, dass sie in dem Moment geführt wird, in dem sie sich darüber klar werden darf, dass die größte Führung in jedem Menschen wohnt.
Sagt ein bekanntes Sprichwort nicht: „Jeder ist seines Glückes Schmied“? Also kannst du heute noch damit anfangen, dein Glück zu schmieden! In dieser Volksweisheit steckt doch der Hinweis, dass genau dies möglich ist. Du kannst selbst erkennen, was für dich Glück bedeutet, und brauchst es dir nicht von anderen sagen zu lassen, was Glück ist. Glück ist so individuell, so vielfältig! Wie kann es sonst passieren, dass Menschen, die einen großen Lottogewinn erhalten hatten, damit sehr unglücklich wurden, andere dagegen sich und ihrer Familie damit die Bedingungen für ein glückliches Leben schaffen konnten?
Du siehst, es geht kein Weg an der Selbsterkenntnis vorbei, und du wirst nicht darum herumkommen, dir einige grundlegende Gedanken über dich zu machen. Schaue in den Spiegel, und betrachte dich selbst, mit allem, was du getan und unterlassen hast. Kunst kommt von Können, oder?
Der Grad der Kunst hängt ab von der Art und Weise, in der du etwas tust. Ein Spiegel ist die Meditation, und dies ist der entscheidende Schritt zur Erleuchtung.
Neben einem meditativen Menschen haben Waffen keinen Platz. Alle Weisheitslehrer und Erleuchteten dieser Welt, ob sie Sokrates, Jesus, Buddha, Lao-tse, Mohammed, Osho oder Gurdijeff hießen, haben uns aufgefordert, nach innen zu gehen und uns selbst zu erkennen.
Als ein amerikanischer General in seiner eigenen Behörde durch gewisse Kanäle Nachforschungen über Ufos anstellen ließ, konnte niemand ihm irgendetwas sagen! Alles, was man ihm gab, war eine kleine Alien-Puppe. Das war alles, was er für seine Nachforschungen durch diese Kanäle bekam – einfach lächerlich.
Selbst der CIA-Direktor und andere hohe Beamte mussten solche Erfahrungen machen, als sie Erkundigungen zu diesem Thema einziehen wollten.
Als dieser altgediente General noch ein kleiner Junge war, hatte sein Vater innerhalb der Regierung eine korrupte Unternehmung und Verschwörung entdeckt, die ihn sehr beruhigte – doch niemand wollte ihm glauben. Die Angelegenheit war äußerst unbedeutend – doch selbst der General dachte, sein Vater sei ein Spinner. Letztlich beging sein Vater deshalb Selbstmord (oder er wurde ermordet, während man alles nach einem Selbstmord aussehen ließ). Erst in seiner späteren Position im Pentagon stellte er fest, dass der alte Mann Recht hatte.
Bis der General als hoher Beamter des Pentagon mit der Wahrheit konfrontiert wurde, glaubte er nicht einmal seinem eigenen Vater.
Wir alle sind durch Gefühle miteinander verstrickt, die sich auf vergangene Situationen beziehen und nicht auf die Gegenwart.
Auch wenn es noch so sehr danach aussieht, Deine Probleme werden nie von etwas verursacht, das außerhalb Deiner selbst liegt. Weder das Verhalten anderer Menschen noch Situationen oder Umstände sind ein Problem an sich. Zum Problem werden sie erst durch die Gefühle, die sie in Dir auslösen. Auch diese Gefühle wären an sich kein Problem, wenn Du sie einfach fühlen würdest. Aber das willst Du meistens nicht. Was eine Sache für Dich zu einem Problem macht, ist also das Gefühl, das sie in Dir auslöst und das Du nicht fühlen willst.
Sobald du aufhörst, Dich gegen dieses Gefühl zu wehren, das sowieso da ist, ob du es willst oder nicht, und anfängst, es zu fühlen, ist die Sache kein Problem mehr. Und das Gefühl, vor dem Du Dich so sehr gefürchtet hast, dass Du Beziehungen beendet, berufliche Chancen ausgeschlagen, auf Liebe verzichtet oder was sonst alles getan hast, um es nicht erleiden zu müssen, dieses Gefühl hat seinen Schrecken verloren. Du durchlebst es einmal bewusst, ohne damit identifiziert zu sein, und entdeckst, dass es nur ein Gefühl ist. Du bringst einen Moment lang Erbarmen und Verständnis für Dich selbst auf, und damit ist es gut. Fortan wirst Du nicht mehr von der Angst vor diesem Gefühl beherrscht. Du bist frei.
Taoism means basically, essentially initiation into egolessness bliss comes naturally and one becomes the beloved of the whole without any effort it is our birthright but we have to drop the false to be in tune with the real the experience of bliss needs as a basic requirement courageousness and nothing else the miserable is always a coward for the simple reason that he cannot drop even the false he clings to the false -- the ego not only that, he clings even to his misery he cannot even renounce his misery remember a basic law: misery does not cling to you it has no interest in you -- it is your investment in misery it is your clinging with misery that keeps you imprisoned, keeps you in hell
A man of understanding functions, works at a thousand and one things, but always gets out of them. When he goes to the office he may become a governor, but the moment he steps out of the office he is no longer a governor, he is again the whole sky, he is again a god. When he comes home, he becomes the father, but he does not become identified with it. He loves his wife, he becomes a husband, but he does not get identified with it. He has to do a thousand and one things but he remains free of all functions. He is a father, he is a husband, he is a mother, he is a brother, a child, a teacher, a governor, a prime minister, a president, a sweeper, a singer, a thousand and one things -- but still he keeps free of all these. He remains transcendental, he remains beyond. Nothing can contain him. He moves through all these rooms but no room becomes his imprisonment. In fact, the more he moves, the more free he becomes. Just see to it. When you are in the office be a clerk, be a commissioner, be a governor -- that's perfectly okay -- but the moment you get out of the office don't be a governor, don't be a clerk, don't be a commissioner. That function is finished. Why carry it? Don't walk on the road as if you are a governor, you are not. That governorship will be heavy on your head, it won't allow you to enjoy. The birds will be singing in the trees but how can a governor participate? How can a governor dance with the birds? And the rains have come and a peacock may be dancing -- how can a governor stand there in a crowd and watch? Impossible. A governor has to remain a governor. He goes on his way, he never looks here or there, he never looks at the greenery of the trees, he never looks at the moon. He remains a governor. These fixed identities kill you. The more fixed you are, the more dead you are. This has to be remembered. You are not confined by anything that you do. Your action is very, very irrelevant to your being. Your action is not at all meaningful as far as your being is concerned. People sometimes say, 'What about past karma? What about past lives?' Because you can become enlightened in a single instant they ask, 'What about the past karma?' Karma is never a confinement, actions are never a confinement. If you remain confined it is simply because you want to remain confined, otherwise there is no confinement. Just as you get out of the office and you drop out of your function of the governor, so with each life you can get out of that life. That dream is over, sweet or nightmarish. You get out of it. This is what a meditator is constantly doing. Each moment he gets out of the past.
Early in 1991, someone was walking through London with two friends, from Camden Town back down towards the centre of the city. They stopped to wait at a pedestrian crossing for the lights to change (the standard British plain red silhouette of a man standing upright, if you're not sure). It was the corner with the restaurant Ruby In The Dust on it. As usual when waiting for the lights to change, they all watched them impatiently. Eventually they switched over to the British green man (a walking silhouette shown mid-stride) and we started crossing. As they walked, they kept an eye on the lights to make sure they had time to make it across comfortably. Some of those crossings in London are a bit rough. About half way across the road, there was -- quite literally -- a ripple in reality, a brief flash of disturbance, and suddenly the lights had changed again... but not back to red. The plain green guy was now wearing wide-bottomed flares and glasses, had long, flowing hair cascading out behind him, and had a line of stars from in front of his forehead that trailed over his head and down his back, each one slightly bigger than the previous, like some kind of cloak. They all stopped dead and exchanged stunned looks. Then they remembered the traffic and hurried across the road, and waited nervously for the lights to go red again. Sure enough, on both sides of the road, the red guy had changed too. He was now carrying a briefcase, smoking a pipe (with wisps of smoke rising), wearing a little homburg hat, and he had big brogues on his feet. They watched at the lights cycle for ten minutes or so, but eventually continued on, feeling really freaked. The only explanation that can even begin to stand up to Occam is that they briefly swapped into a closely-aligned parallel dimension. Something that, well, pointless... could happen all the time really, and 99% of the time you'd never notice. It's a strange old universe.
Truth is always the same -- dreams change, truth is always the same. Be acquainted with Buddha's words but don't remain there. That is just an introduction -- move from there. By and by, fall in tune with silence. By and by, forget the cloud, and enter the sky. Then you are really in tune. Then you have started moving into truth itself. Words are about truth, they are not truth themselves. The word God is just a word, it is not God. The word love is just a word, it is not love. Use the word, then throw it away. It is the container, not the content. With a master, don't become too much attached with his body. That attachment will become a barrier. Love the master, but go deeper. Slowly slowly, step by step, penetrate his innermost core. And you will be surprised -- because the innermost is the same. In the innermost, the disciple and the master meet. In the innermost there is no distinction. Kabir has said a very strange sentence: "The moment has come when the master touches the feet of the disciple." Then there is no distinction. Who is the master and who is the disciple -- there is no distinction.
When Rinzai was with his master -- the master was a very very hard master, as Zen masters are -- Rinzai was beaten so many times, was thrown, and the master would jump on him and beat him. Then one day Rinzai was going on a journey, a pilgrimage, and the master called him and started beating him. Rinzai said, "But I have not even said a single word! And I have not done anything." The master said, "l know, but you are going on this pilgrimage and my feeling is that when you come back you will be enlightened and I will never have any chance to beat you again. That's why -- this is the last chance."
And when Rinzai came back, yes, it had happened. The master bowed his head and said, "Now you can beat me." Not that Rinzai has beaten the master, but the master says, "Now you can beat me. Now you enjoy -- I have enjoyed beating you so much. You have arrived home."
At the innermost core there is no distinction. Buddha is saying don't be too much concerned with the words. Use them as steps, stepping-stones. Don't be too much concerned with Buddha's movements, bodily movements. People are there, imitative people, who will start walking like the Buddha, who will start talking like the Buddha, who will start using the same words, the same gestures. Buddha is saying those are not the real things. The real thing is beyond forms. It cannot be imitated.
Don't imitate. Only then one day will you be able to become a man of tao. Love, listen, but always remember that you have to go far in. You have to transcend all clouds.
Simply relax and start enjoying life! That is your prayer. You don't need to work at all, you need only to play. If you work you will create trouble; if you just play around things will settle by themselves. It is as if you don't have any disease and you go to the doctor and insist on having some medicine... but you don't have any disease! The only disease that you have is the idea that you have a disease; that's the only disease.
So what can the doctor do? He will give you a placebo, he will give you sugar pills. And he will say: 'Take these and the disease will go -- don't be worried'. But you will not be satisfied because you would like him to examine you rightly first. He should do an x-ray examination, cardiogram and things like that. If the doctor is very alert about problems like this he will send you to the x-ray specialist, send you to have a urine test, a stool test, this and that. He knows that you don't have any disease but just to satisfy you he does those things so that you know you have been examined perfectly well. Otherwise from the very beginning he could have said to you that you have nothing but that wouldn't satisfy you. You can create your problem; the problem is not there. There are many people who don't have any problem but they cannot trust this -- that they don't have any problem. This looks so unusual, in fact so abnormal -- not to have any problem. When everybody has problems, when everybody is going crazy and you don't have any problems, you cannot believe that you can be so abnormal. You must be having some problems somewhere maybe hidden in the unconscious, in some deep nook and corner in the darkness of your soul, but you must have some problem! How is it possible that you don't have any problem? That's why you cannot accept it -- but you don't have! Simply start enjoying life! Love, eat, work and enjoy! Enjoy small moments. Small things are there: sipping tea or coffee or just lying on the bed and relaxing, enjoy! And make them so tremendously enjoyable that they become almost divine, sacred. Turn small things into great things. Taking a bath enjoy it so deeply... as if you are in prayer. And how can a person be deeply in prayer if he cannot be in prayer while he is sitting under a shower? It is so beautiful; the water falling on you is god falling on you! It is god's element and it is very basic to life, life cannot exist without water. Your body consists of eighty percent of water. The moon is lifeless because there is no water, millions of stars are lifeless because there is no water. Unless water is, life cannot exist: first comes water, then life starts. The first glimpse of life comes in the sea; the fish is the first to evolve life. So while sitting under a shower become a fish. Enjoy it! It is so beautiful. It is the very substratum of life, the very substance. Sway, sing, pray... feel grateful. Eating, make it a sacrament. Loving your woman, make it meditation. Playing with your child, play with god... because it is only god! Names are different, forms are different. That's why it is very simple. You don't have problems, you have to start living! Don't wait -- there is no problem to be solved!... So you try to live. It is really simple.
Stupidity is common. It comes in all sizes, all
shapes: Christian stupidity, Hindu stupidity, Mohammedan stupidity, Buddhist
stupidity, communist stupidity. One thing about stupidity: it never looks
inwards. It can see outside -- for example, a Hindu can see that Jesus cannot
be enlightened, for the simple reason that he drinks wine and moves with
prostitutes. It is impossible for Hindu stupidity to recognize Jesus as
enlightened. The Christian cannot see Krishna
as enlightened. He had sixteen thousand wives, all forcibly taken from their
husbands, from their children -- and the man is the perfect incarnation of God!
It is difficult for the Christian to see how Krishna
can be the incarnation of God. He forces Arjuna to go to war, convinces him --
against his will -- to go into a war which is known in India as the Great War, which destroyed India forever. It
broke India's spine; since
then India
has never been able to reach any heights. It was available to all kinds of
invaders, easily available to become enslaved. The whole responsibility goes to
Krishna. Now, a Christian who believes,
"Love your enemy, love even your neighbor"... Why did Jesus not say,
"Love your wife too, love your husband too" -- because the enemy is
far away, to love the enemy is easy? To love the neighbor is more difficult,
and to love the wife or the husband is almost impossible. The Christian
teaching seems to be of peace, and Krishna's
teaching seems to be of war, violence. No, it is not possible for Christians to
accept Krishna. They can see the stupidity of
Indians who believe in Krishna. The Christian
cannot accept even Gautam Buddha, for the simple reason that he never healed
sick people, he never gave eyes to the blind, he never raised the dead back to
life. Then what kind of a savior is he? He never served anybody, and service is
religion to the Christian mind. Just look from the other side. If you ask the
Buddhist, "Do you think Jesus Christ is a savior?" he will simply
laugh. He will say, "Saviors are not crucified. Jesus could not save
himself; he is a pretender, a hypocrite, claiming that he can save the whole
humanity." And the Hindus, the Jainas, the Buddhists, all the Indian
religions, believe that if a certain person is crucified, that means in his
past life he must have committed really grave crimes, perhaps murders. Otherwise
crucifixion is impossible; it has to be related to his life. Jainas say that
when Mahavira, their savior, walks on the road, even thorns move away. Because
Mahavira has not committed any crime in his past life, he cannot suffer even a
thorn. Hindus say, if Meera is given poison, the poison turns into nectar,
because she has not committed any sin in her past life. So Jesus' crucifixion,
which is very significant to the Christian, is simply a proof for Hindus,
Jainas, Buddhists, that this man was simply a pretender.
A Sufi stayed in a caravanserai but there was no empty room available. So the manager said, "You will have to share the room with somebody else."
The Sufi said, "That is going to create trouble because when I am alone in my room, in the morning when I wake up I know perfectly well it is me, but when there are two persons in the morning, how am I going to decide who is who?"
While this strange conversation was going on, the man with whom the Sufi was to share the room was also listening to the whole thing. He had a great idea. The manager said, "That seems to be a relevant point" -- because the manager had come across these mad Sufis many times: "They are always saying strange things. Now what is this thing he is talking about?"
But the Sufi was saying something really significant: how do you know in the morning who is who? When there are two persons and there has been a gap of the whole night's sleep, how to gather again that "I am myself"?
The manager said, "I have come across many Sufis and slowly slowly, I have learned many things about them. Do one thing: take this rope with you and when you go to sleep tie this rope around your feet so when in the morning you see the rope around your feet you will know it is you."
The Sufi said, "That seems to be sensible."
In the night, in the middle of the night, when the Sufi was snoring, the other man took away the rope just to play some mischief, tied the rope around his own feet and went to sleep. And in the morning there was havoc! The Sufi woke up; the other man was still sleeping. He shook him and he said, "Now I know you are the Sufi, but then who am I? I am perfectly certain you are the Sufi -- the rope is there -- but the problem is, now who am I? And I had told this foolish manager that some trouble is bound to arise; now this trouble has arisen."
This Sufi parable is significant, it is about you. That's how you know who you are. Yes, not so visibly; but invisibly how do you recognize yourself? -- in the mirror or in the mirror of other people's eyes, in the mirror of their opinions?
Only a Buddha is unaffected by others' opinions because he really knows who he is. He needs no arbitrary method, no ropes, no mirrors, no information from anybody else; he knows himself directly. He has an intuitive feeling about his own being, but you don't have any intuitive feeling about your own being.
One great mathematician was working on a thesis to prove that mathematics is a complete science -- the only complete science. And Bertrand Russell sent him a small puzzle, that "Before you publish your book, please answer this puzzle." The puzzle was that every library of the nation is told to make a list, a catalogue of all the books in the library. Make two catalogues, one will remain in the library, and the other has to be sent to the central library of the country. Now the question arose in one of the librarian's, "What we have to do about this one catalogue that remains in the library, whether to include it in the catalogue or not? Because it is book in the library, and all the books have to be included in the catalogue." He was very much puzzled. He inquired the central library what to do. The central library was itself in a great puzzle, because they were making two catalogues -- one that was going to be in the central library and one that was going to the king. The same question was again there: what to do with the catalogue in the library. You cannot put it in the other catalogue, because it is only a catalogue. But you have to put it because it is a book also, and it is in the library. The mathematician who was working on the thesis was Gödel, one of the greatest mathematicians of this century. Because he could not solve his problem, he did not publish his book.
Nobody can predict the future of anybody. The future is unpredictable, and future is open. Somebody may be very loving to you today, and may turn out tomorrow just the opposite. You could have never thought that this man can be so full of hate towards you, but love turns into hate very easily. But a real friendship is unconditional.
To go inwards is the most difficult journey in the world. It needs a certain atmosphere, a certain milieu: Meditation which means witnessing on three levels: action of the body, thoughts of the mind, and feelings of the heart. Once a person becomes aware of these three things, the fourth step happens on its own accord. A quantum leap, suddenly he is at his very centre, which is his life, deathless life. You can call it his soul, his being, and it is the greatest bliss in existence. There is nothing above it. Zorbas represents the foundation, and Buddha represents the temple. Both can exist only together, and up to now there has been a dichotomy. The materialist, who is a Zorbas, has denied the very possibility of any buddhahood, any awakening, any consciousness -- anything more than eat, drink and be merry. And the people, who have been spiritualists, have been condemning the Zorbas and all that is natural to man, his body. They have been creating a repressive human being, sick, schizophrenic. In fact, both are complementary, not contradictory.
The path is: become simple, trust more, doubt a little less. If you really want to doubt, doubt doubt, that's all. Doubt doubt; trust trust -- and you will never miss.
THE BUDDHA SAID:
THOSE WHO REJOICE IN SEEING OTHERS OBSERVE THE WAY WILL OBTAIN GREAT BLESSING.
And Buddha says not only those who follow the way are benefited, but even those who rejoice in seeing others following the way, they are tremendously blessed.
Yes, it is so. Because by rejoicing that so many people are moving towards meditation...'Good -- I have not been moving yet, I have not yet gathered courage, but so many people are moving -- good'... even this will make you happy because this will open your doors.
You are not condemning them; you are not saying that meditation is impossible. You say, 'It is possible -- I am not yet courageous enough, but you are going on the way -- go happily! My congratulations for you, my greetings! One day I hope also to come and follow you.'
Buddha says if you greet a meditator you have greeted your future. If you see somebody moving on the path and you feel happy, tremendously happy -- knowing well that you are not following on the path, you are yet not ready for it, but you don't condemn the man, in fact you rejoice, you help him to go on the path -- you have started following on the path.
When somebody has started meditating, don't condemn him that he has gone mad or something -- rejoice. By your rejoicing you are bringing your own meditative possibilities closer to you. By rejoicing you have meditated in a deeper way. Inside it has happened, outside it will come. That is not so important either.
THOSE WHO REJOICE IN SEEING OTHERS OBSERVE THE WAY WILL OBTAIN GREAT BLESSING.
That's why in the East a sannyasin has always been respected tremendously. Even sometimes one who is just wearing an orange robe and is not a sannyasin at all -- even he is respected. Because who are we to decide whether he is a true sannyasin or not? Buddha says, 'Rejoice!"
Buddha says even those who rejoice seeing others observe the law.... Never condemn -- even if sometimes it is possible; it is always possible. When there are real coins there are bound to be counterfeit coins also. When so much respect is given to sannyasins, there are bound to be people who will be deceiving. But that is not the point. What can they deceive? What can they cheat? What have you got? But rejoice.
A man who took his two little girls to the amusement park noticed that Mulla Nasrudin kept riding the merry-go-round all afternoon. Once, when the merry-go-round stopped, the Mulla rushed off, took a drink of water, and headed back again. As he passed near the girls, their father said to him, "Mulla, you certainly do like to ride on the merry-go-round, don't you?"
"No, I don't. Rather, I hate it absolutely and am feeling very sick because of it," said Nasrudin. "But the fellow who owns this thing owes me a hundred rupees, and taking it out in trade is the only way I will ever collect from him."
Money seems to be the greatest obsession in the world. Money seems to be the greatest madness in the world. We go on selling our lives and collecting pebbles; we call it money. One day we simply disappear and the money is left here. And the life that you wasted in collecting that money could have been used in a more creative way. It could have become a song, a dance; it could have become a prayer, a meditation; it could have become a realization of truth, freedom... but you missed.
Buddha says:
I CONSIDER THE GAUDY DRESS OF SILKS AND BROCADES AS A WORN-OUT RAG.
All that you go on desiring seems foolish. There are people who live only to eat; there are people who live only to dress; there are people who go on playing with things -- good when you are a child, but it seems that very few people ever become grown-ups. They certainly grow old, but very few people become grown-ups. To grow old is one thing, to become grown-up is quite another. A grown-up person is one who can see through things: what is a toy and what is not a toy. Small children playing -- you laugh at them; but have you looked into your own life? Have you grown up at all? Maybe you have changed your toys -- they are playing with toy cars and you are playing with real cars -- but the play remains the same. There are people who love cars, who love houses. It is not very difficult to see what has happened to them. These are the people who cannot love a person; they can only love a thing -- because you can manipulate a thing, control a thing, better than a person. A person is always dangerous. If you love a woman it is always dangerous; if you love a man it is always dangerous -- because a man or a woman is a freedom, intrinsic freedom. You cannot totally control. Man has tried in every way -- to create marriage, and laws, and this and that, and create respectability around it, and punishment and awards, and everything just to make one thing certain: that the woman is no longer a freedom, that the man is no longer a freedom. When a man is a husband he is no more a person, and when a woman is a wife she is no more a person. The freedom has been killed. Now, a husband is a thing, and a wife is a thing: they can be controlled more easily. If the wife does something, you can go to the court. The magistrate will help you; the police will help you to force the wife back into her 'thinghood'. People love things... and people are afraid of persons. Then people can go to absurd limits. Now, a car has a utility; certainly it has a utility -- but to be in romantic love with a car is absurd. And this is romance! It is absurd -- not only absurd, it is insane.
Buddha said:
I CONSIDER THIS UNIVERSE AS SMALL AS THE HOLILA FRUIT.
I CONSIDER THE LAKE OF ANAVATAPTA AS A DROP OF OIL WITH WHICH ONE SMEARS THE FEET.
Stellen wir den Menschen in den Mittelpunkt, so kommt der Profit von selbst. Profit wird durch Menschen generiert, die mit Begeisterung, innerer Freiheit und klarer Ausrichtung auf Menschen zugehen. Je mehr dies zur Grundhaltung und Unternehmensphilosophie wird, desto gesünder ist ein Unternehmen.
When mountains hamper the path, cowards think it is an obstacle on their way while the braves think it is a reason to move forward. Obstacles in life cannot be shunned, only determined people can enjoy life. When an eagle learns to fly, it follows the flow of the wind.
No mantra is greater than 'Om'; no mantra is more wonderful. Ram, Krishna, Mahavir, Buddha are all beautiful sounds, but they cannot take you beyond the mind, for they have an image, a form; whereas 'Om' is formless. Besides, you have a relationship with Buddha, Krishna and Jesus; you have feelings of love, attachment, fondness, affection. These will not allow you to step out of your mind. 'Om' is absolutely meaningless. It is unique. It has no meaning, no form, and no image -- not even an outline. And it is not a part of the alphabet. It is closest to the sound which is actually continuously resonating within you, which is the very nature of your existence. Just as the brook does not babble, but its very flow causes the babbling sound; just as when the wind passes through the branches and the leaves rustle in the same way, your being is such that 'Om' resounds within you. It is the sound of your being. Hence, 'Om' does not belong to any religion. It is neither Hindu nor Jaina nor Christian, nor Buddhist, nor Moslem. It is the non-sectarian mantra. You will be surprised to know that the Jainas, the Muslims, the Christians all make use of this mantra, though there are slight variations: the Muslims say amin, the Christians say amen. These are only altered forms of 'Om'. On the course of its journey from India to distant lands this mutation took place. 'Om' is not connected with any thought. Whoever was observed into the no-thought state, heard it. For the first two steps you will pronounce the mantra, and in the third step you will just listen to it. You will be the listener, the witness. In the first two steps you are the doer, for the body and mind are parts of the doer; the third is the witness state. In it you listen, just listen. The body is cut off, so is the mind; the layers of the onion are peeled off, and only pure existence remains -- only you! And that is Shivahood! Also, once you get the taste, you will thirst for more and more. The taste will draw you, pull you inside; it becomes like a magnet. We are drawn towards things that appeal to us and we naturally go towards them. The trouble only arises of you do not get the taste; you meditate but you do not enjoy it.
That is the beauty of the feminine energy. Don't
be like a rock! Be like water -- soft, feminine. And victory is yours.
Remember Jesus: Blessed are the meek, for
theirs is the kingdom
of God.
The meek? -- the watercourse way -- they will. It
takes time, but they have patience. They have no idea of winning, that's why
they win. The people who want to win are defeated by their very idea, because
they start struggling, and in struggling they dissipate their energy.
That's what is meant with 'become water' --
melt, become water.
And what is meant with 'evaporate'? That is the
ultimate -- that is learning how not to be, that is learning the art of
absence. The vapour simply disappears, you cannot catch hold of it, and you
cannot even see it. You can see it only when it is turning into vapour. Soon it
is gone, and soon it is invisible. A Buddha is seen only when he is in the
body. Once the body is dropped, you will not be able to catch hold of him. He
is simply gone; he has become part of the ultimate sky. That is the ultimate --
to disappear. Buddha calls it anatta, no-self. Shunyata -- emptiness,
nothingness. Nirvana -- cessation. So these are metaphors. Poetic ways of
saying, things which cannot be said in any other way. Get attracted to water,
feel affinity with water. Feeling, affinity with any element of nature --
water, fire, sky, earth, and air -- is immensely helpful. But that's not what
is meant.
Do you know about Jain monks? They don't take a
shower, they don't take a bath. Never go to a Jain paradise, otherwise you will
be in difficulty. There will be no showers. And plumbers, of course, will not
be needed. They are so much against the body that even a simple joy like a
shower seems to be too much of a luxury. See the pathological mind, how it
works. Afraid that if they take a shower they will be enjoying the body -- the
joy that will come, and the gladness that will spread all over the body. They
are so against the body, how can they take a shower? They stink. They don't
brush their teeth because that is a kind of beautifying of the body. And for
what? The body has to be dropped, the sooner the better. The body has to be
felt as horrible, so make it as horrible as possible. Make it horrible for
yourself and for others too! What have people been doing on this earth? Negating
life. The taoistic approach is that of affirmation. Taoism is in love with
life. It is fleeting, it is momentary -- but who says that it is not momentary
and it is not fleeting? Still you can love it -- even more so because it is
fleeting. You can pour all your love. Tomorrow it may not be there. Go on
loving, go on being as much in celebration as possible, in all the ways
possible.
O FRIEND, WHERE DOST THOU SEEK ME? LO! I AM BESIDE THEE. I AM NEITHER IN TEMPLE NOR IN MOSQUE: I AM NEITHER IN KAABA NOR IN KAILASH: NEITHER AM I IN RITES AND CEREMONIES, NOR IN YOGA AND RENUNCIATION. IF THOU ART A TRUE SEEKER, THOU SHALT AT ONCE SEE ME: THOU SHALT MEET ME IN A MOMENT OF TIME. KABIR SAYS: "O FRIEND! GOD IS THE BREATH OF ALL BREATH."
I. 57. sadho bhai, jivat hi karo asa
O FRIEND! HOPE FOR HIM WHILST YOU LIVE, KNOW WHILST YOU LIVE, UNDERSTAND WHILST YOU LIVE: FOR IN LIFE DELIVERANCE ABIDES. IF YOUR BONDS BE NOT BROKEN WHILST LIVING, WHAT HOPE OF DELIVERANCE IN DEATH? IT IS BUT AN EMPTY DREAM, THAT THE SOUL SHALL HAVE UNION WITH HIM BECAUSE IT HAS PASSED FROM THE BODY. IF HE IS FOUND NOW, HE IS FOUND THEN, IF NOT, WE DO BUT GO TO DWELL IN THE CITY OF DEATH. IF YOU HAVE UNION NOW, YOU SHALL HAVE IT HEREAFTER. BATHE IN THE TRUTH, KNOW THE TRUE GURU, HAVE FAITH IN THE TRUE NAME! KABIR SAYS: "IT IS THE SPIRIT OF THE QUEST WHICH HELPS I AM THE SLAVE OF THIS SPIRIT OF THE QUEST."
Manu says there is nothing new under the sun. And he is right. And Heraclitus says you cannot step in the same river twice. And he is right too. Existence is old and new, both together. It may look the same, but yet it is not the same. Words may be the same, the appearance may be the same, but something vital goes on continuously changing. Have you ever come across the same morning again? Have you ever seen the same sky again? And yet the sky is the same and the sun is the same. Manu and Heraclitus both are true together; taken separately they both are false. Life is a contradiction. Life is paradoxical. That's why it is so charming and so beautiful. It exists through the opposites. It is vast; it contains contradictions. It is new and old both. It is life and death both, together. Much is not known about Kabir -- fortunately -- because when you know too much about the person, it creates more complexities in understanding him. When you don't know anything about the person himself, then there is less complexity.
Deine Kraft beruht auf der Qualität Deines Wissens, Deiner Fähigkeiten und Weisheit, welche Du Dir im täglichen Leben durch zielführende Übung erhältst. Ein guter Weg ( japanisch Do, chinesisch Tao ) zeichnet sich dadurch aus,dass Du auf ihm Deinen Geist stärkst, Du in Verbindung mit Deiner inneren Kraft kommst, und dass er Dir immer wieder aufs neue Tore öffnet, durch die Du zu mehr Frieden und Harmonie in Deinem Leben findest.
In all intimate relations, there exists a high degree of vulnerability, particularly at the psychic level. To accomplish high Tantra, each person must open themselves completely to the other without reservation. This makes them susceptible to not only positive vibration and intent, but also potentially damaging feelings of pain or fear, even though every desire is in place to make the “Taoistic fusion” work. Each person must be prepared to release pain and fear in this practice, and to absorb such vibrations from their counterpart. The greater mastery involved here, is to not be overwhelmed by these destructive emotions, and to transmute or transform them into love, clarity and ecstasy. Thus, psychic alignment with another can not only be rewarding, but also require a good deal of patience and spiritual work. It is therefore useful to employ the intent of spiritual ministry when aligning with another in this way, which is essentially no different than extending positive feelings or council to someone in pain. To accomplish this we must also be able to transmute our own pain and fear into higher vibrations/intentions. It is useful to mentally prepare ourselves for the necessary state of being, that is open and freely giving. If we are not capable of this, then how can we expect it from another? So let the thought of High Tantra motivate you to do some inner transformation and spiritual preparation. The more we raise our individual vibration and intent, the more we have to offer our sacred counterpart. In the modern context the phrase, “making love” is a bit misleading to say the least. In this context the usual case is not the making of love, but the making of pleasure and sheer sensation. But in Western culture this trend is not particularly surprising, since love and pleasure are no longer distinguished from one another. Most assume that love is the feeling that results from the gratitude of the body (cells) as a result of sexual pleasure and polar balancing. But this should not in any way be confused with love.
To go beyond life-and-death there is no certain technique. The essential thing is to see through to the root of life-and-death. Do you know you have roots? You know perfectly well any tree uprooted is going to die. Roots are hidden underneath the ground. Just because you don't have roots in the ground, because you walk here and there... Have you heard about trees in Africa which walk? Not very fast, no traffic rule is needed, but they go on moving towards the sources where more water is available. What will you say -- their roots are their legs? Nothing can exist without roots. In the same part of Africa where trees move -- sometimes miles from their place -- another kind of tree also exists: the cannibal tree. It has big leaves and a very intoxicating fragrance so that any bird that comes close is bound to have a little desire to experience it. And the flower is so full of juice that it is irresistible. It has not yet been heard of that any bird has renounced and passed beyond the tree; no bird can do that. The bird simply sits on the flower, drinking. While the bird is drinking the juice, the flower closes and crushes the bird. Rather than the bird drinking the tree, the tree drinks the bird. And as the bird is completely squeezed out, the flower opens again, throwing the dead body outside, waiting for somebody else. Its flowers are very big -- even a human being can be caught in them -- and very strong, very muscular. It has eaten a few human beings! Ordinarily it does not happen because those flowers open too high up... unless some fellow climbs the tree and tries to look inside the flower -- what is happening there? But it will eat birds of any kind, any size. Once in a while if some accident happens -- perhaps in a high wind the tree has fallen and a man is passing by... You cannot go away without having a closer look, because so much fragrance you have never smelt, and it is so intoxicating, alcoholic. When you come close the flower gives you a good hug, but then you cannot get out of the hug. He sucks all your blood and leaves you just as an empty shell. Have you ever thought that you are an empty shell? Everybody has the potentiality of becoming a Buddha. But that does not mean that you can simply remain believing it. You have to be awakened, and you cannot be awakened unless you are really shocked. Once you start looking inwards, you will find your roots. Those roots are not in the earth and those roots are not in heaven.
Depending on how it is defined, Taoism's origins may be traced to the prehistoric Chinese religion; to the composition of the Dao De Jing (3rd or 4th century BCE); or to the activity of Zhang Daoling (2nd century CE). Alternatively, one could argue that "Taoism" as a religious identity only arose later, by way of contrast with the newly-arrived religion of Buddhism, or with the fourth-century codification of the Shang Ching and Lingbao texts. Other accounts credit Laozi (reputed author of the Tao Te Ching/Dao de Jing) as the teacher of both Buddha, and Confucius. They describe early Taoism (Daoism) to ancient picture writing, mysticism, and indigenous ancestor worship. Symbology on tortoise shells predates early Chinese calligraphy and is the basis of written Chinese from artifacts dated from prior to 1600 BCE. By the early Han, Laozi came to be worshipped as divine—either in association with or conflated with the Yellow Emperor. A major text from this "Huang-Lao" movement would be the Huainanzi, which interprets earlier Taoist teachings in light of the quest for immortality (including drugs, sexual practices, and breathing techniques). Zhang Daoling claimed to have begun receiving new revelations from Laozi in 142 CE, and founded the Tianshi ("Celestial Masters") sect around them. He performed spiritual healing, and collected dues of "five pecks of rice" from his followers (thus providing an alternative name for his movement). Zhang Daoling's major message was that the world-order as his followers knew it would soon come to an end, and be succeeded by an era of "Great Peace" (Taiping). In fact their activities did hasten the downfall of the Han dynasty. The same could be said of their contemporaries and fellow Taoists, the Yellow Turban sect. Zhang's grandson set up a theocratic state into what is now Sichuan province. Today's Zhengyi sect claims continuity with Zhang Daoling. Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in 166 CE. The Yin and Yang and "five elements" theories date from this time, but were not yet integrated into Taoism. The name Daojia comes from the Han Dynasty. In Sima Qian's history (chapter 63) it refers to immortals; in Liu Xiang it refers to Laozi and Zhuangzi. Daojiao came to be applied to the religious movements mentioned above. The two terms were used interchangeably until modern times (We owe the distinction to Confucian writers).
Descendents of the woolly mammoth could once more walk the earth, new research suggests. Scientists have found that frozen sperm taken from dead animals can be used to produce offspring. If they could also get sperm from animals that have spent millions of years encased in ice, it might even be possible to create a modern-day version of once-extinct species. In the case of the woolly mammoth - several of which have been found preserved in ice - this would mean impregnating its closest living relative, a female Indian elephant, to produce new offspring. Fertility clinics already routinely freeze sperm to create embryos; however it has to be carefully stored to ensure that it does not degrade over time. It is possible instead simply to freeze whole male mice, or their reproductive organs, and use the sperm extracted from them to produce healthy babies. In one test, sperm were retrieved from the bodies of mice that had been kept frozen at minus 20C for 15 years. In other experiments the team found they were able to create healthy offspring using sperm extracted from frozen tests. The study involved no hi-tech freezing procedures. It was not known how long viable sperm could be frozen in animal bodies. But the findings raised the intriguing prospect of resurrecting extinct animals that had remained frozen since the ice age. If spermatozoa of extinct mammalian species (woolly mammoth) can be retrieved from animal bodies that were kept frozen for millions of years in permanent frost, live animals might be restored by injecting them into oocytes (eggs) from females of closely related species. Equally if a valuable animal died unexpectedly, their owners could simply freeze them and later extract sperm to allow them to father offspring after their death. It is not the first time that scientists have contemplated the idea of bringing woolly mammoths back to life. A Canadian and American team used remains of a mammoth found in the Siberian permafrost to map out part of the genetic code of the creatures, that stood 11ft tall and weighed seven tons. They had managed to decode one per cent of the genome - 30million letters of the DNA extracted from a 27,000-year-old mammoth - in a few hours and should be able to complete the entire genome within around a year. Their work made it 'theoretically possible' to recreate species such as the woolly mammoth which became extinct some 10,000 years ago. However they admitted they do not yet know how to do it.
The crisis in Ontario's Boreal Forests is heating up. While much of the world is aware of the devastating destruction occurring in the Amazon rainforests, many don't realize the other important remaining intact forest ecosystem left on earth is the Canadian Boreal forest. Not only is this vast mosaic of forests, river, wetlands and lakes a breeding ground for billions of birds and home to the endangered woodland caribou, but it stores more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem, making it one of our first lines of defense against global warming, and provides more freshwater than any other place on earth. The various provincial governments in Canada have already allocated most of the Boreal's productive timber lands to logging companies and almost all logging is done through clearcuts - some as large as 20,000 acres. Logging and mining are moving further north threatening this vital forest ecosystem and the traditional territory of many First Nations in Ontario.
An old farmer had three daughters. When the oldest girl married she moved to Twin Cities, Minnesota, and soon gave birth to a beautiful set of twin boys. Her sister married shortly thereafter, and she and her husband took up residence in Three Rivers, Ontario. Pretty soon she gave birth to triplets. The youngest sister got herself engaged, but after almost a year she still refused to set the date for the wedding. Her father grew concerned and finally demanded that she stop procrastinating and set the date. "If you love that boy, you will marry him this spring or you won't marry him at all!" "But Pa," she wailed, "I really do love Fred, but he keeps talking about moving to the Thousand Islands!"
That's why nations exist: it is because of fear, not because of any love. That's why religions exist -- not because of a longing for god. How many people really long for god? Not so many Christians, not so many Hindus, not so many Mohammedans. The whole world is religious in that way. But people are afraid of being left alone; they have to be part of some crowd -- a political crowd, a social crowd, a religious crowd; any crowd will do, but they are dependent on the crowd. They feel good when they are surrounded by people; they start feeling shaky, scared when they find there is nobody and they are alone. We are not brought up as individuals. We are brought up as small units of a great mechanism called the society, the nation, the church.
The governments, the politicians, the church, the pope, they have all become scared because the new generation is too involved in drugs. They are very dangerous for society, because once you have glimpses beyond society you can never become a really adjusted part of it. You will always remain an outsider. Once you have a glimpse of the non-ego then society cannot dominate you easily. And if one goes too deep into drugs then it is possible for the ego to be shattered completely. Then you will become as if mad. Once or twice a drug will give you a glimpse; it is just as if a window opens and closes. If you persist and you become addicted to it, the ego may suddenly drop. But this is the problem: the ego will drop, but the non-ego will not arise. You will go mad, schizophrenic, split. Taoism works from the other corner, from the other end: it tries to bring up the non-ego first. And the more the non-ego comes up, the more the whole asserts, the more the ego will drop automatically, by and by. Before the ego drops, the whole has taken possession. You will not go mad, you will not become abnormal, you will simply be natural. You will fall outside society into nature. Through drugs you can also fall out of society, but into madness. That is why religions are also against drugs. Society has given you a working arrangement for the ego: through it you manage somehow, you steer your life somehow. But if the whole takes possession then there is no problem -- you become a man of Tao. Then there is no need for this ego, you can throw it to the dogs. But you can do otherwise also. You can simply destroy this ego through chemicals. This can be done. Then there WILL be a problem because you will simply become abnormal. You will feel a certain power, but that power will be false, because the whole has not taken possession of you. Many cases of this have been reported. One girl in New York, under LSD, just jumped out of a window on the thirtieth floor because she thought she could fly. And when you are under a drug, if the thought comes that you can fly, there is no doubt. You believe in it totally, because the doubter, the ego, is not there. Who is there to doubt? You believe it. But the whole has not asserted itself. Chuang Tzu might have flown. Chuang Tzu might have gone out of the window like a bird on wings, but under LSD you cannot. The ego is not there so you cannot doubt, but the whole has not taken possession so you are not powerful.
You're only looking at the outside of things. You're only seeing the walls, you are not seeing the inner emptiness. From the outside both will look the same. A man alive and a man dead may look the same from the outside, both may be sitting in a Yoga posture. But the dead man is dead and the living man is alive. When Christ was there the church was alive. Those first disciples, those apostles, those who followed him, they lived in a tremendously beautiful space. Once Christ is gone, of course there will be only a church.
An intelligent person is one who goes on looking for the essential. Sometimes he has to agree for the non-essential because he knows the essential is there, it is worthwhile.
Yes, it is difficult to know what Tao is without going into it. There are a few things you know only when you are in them. You cannot explain what love is to a person who has never loved. You can try but no meaning will be conveyed by you. He may start collecting a few words about love, a few concepts and theories about love, but to know about love is not to know love. 'About' is not the real thing; you go round and round. A blind man can know about light but cannot know light, and the real thing is to know light.
Taoism is a kind of love... a love with the unknown, a discipleship for the unknown. You are becoming an apprentice in the search for the unknown. And only by searching, by and by will the feel of what it is arise in you. And even when you have known what it is you will not be able to convey to others. You would like to convey something, you would like to share the joy that has happened to you but you will be utterly inadequate. At the most you will try to persuade the other also to become a Taoist.
And that has been the case always. How to say what happens when you are with a Christ? And nobody will believe it. People will think you are mad, you are hypnotized or something.
But the only way to know is to be....
Search for love. That is search for Tao and that is search for truth; that is the whole search. That's what we have been doing for many lives... and it has not happened yet because one can go on searching in wrong ways, one can go on searching where it doesn't exist. But the search basically is right, the direction may be wrong.
The Western man's surrender is far more total. Of course it is difficult for him, it takes longer for him, but whenever it happens, it really happens. The Eastern man's surrender takes no time; he is always willing, he is ready, even before you have asked, but it does not change him. He has been touching so many people's feet; in fact, he has started feeling a new, subtle kind of ego, "I am so humble that I am ready to surrender. I am so surrendered." But that 'I' persists now in a far more subtle way. It is because of the ego, that creativity so painful. And then there are other problems also. If you are too knowledgeable it will be difficult for you to be creative. In Zen they have an ancient tradition. They say if you want to become a painter, for twelve years learn as perfectly as possible the technique of how to paint, and then for twelve years forget all about the technique and painting; do something else. Turn your back on painting completely; forget all about it, as if you have nothing to do with it. And then one day start painting again. This is something significant. For twelve years you have to learn the technique, because without the technique your painting will be childish; but if it is just the technique, then technically it will be perfect but it will not have any life, it will not be creative. So you have to learn the technique, let it soak in and then forget all about it so it becomes part of your blood, of your bones, of your marrow. And then after twelve years, one day suddenly start painting again. Now you don't know the technique. In a way you know, existentially it has become part of you; it is no longer knowledge. So your painting will not be just technical and it will not be childish either. First learn the technique and then unlearn the technique. Only then one day does creativity explode. First learn the technique of how to dance, then forget all about technique and become spontaneous. Then only.... And there are two types of people -- one who will think that there is no need to learn the technique: "I want to be a creative person, not a technician." Then their painting, their music, their dance, will remain just a childish effort, amateurish; cannot be of much value. And then there are the opposite people who will learn the technique as much as they can and then they are caught in the technique. They paint perfectly but something is missing: the soul is missing, the spirit is missing; it is a dead corpse. So you have to drop all knowledgeability. You have to unlearn.
das einzige, was man über diese grausamen Machenschaften verbindlich sagen kann
Posted at 6:49, 14.6.2006
Eingriffe unbekannter Geschöpfe des Himmels oder schlicht anderer Sphären, UFO-Fälle, die von sog. Entführungen sprechen, stehen nicht im Widerspruch zur Natur - sondern lediglich im Widerspruch zu der uns bekannten Naturwissenschaft. Der Direktor des "Department of Research" an der Libre School in Farasita, Colorado, USA, präsentierte eine Karte der USA, in der hunderte von Pinnadeln steckten, die alle Tierverstümmelungsfälle markieren! Doch er musste resigniert feststellen, dass das einzige, was man über diese grausamen Machenschaften verbindlich sagen kann, die Tatsache ist, dass sie "sinnlos sind". In der "Gegend der Verstümmelungen" werden oft seltsame Helikopter gesichtet, die keine Identifizierungsmerkmale aufweisen und außerdem abnormal fliegen sollen. Ein Sozialwissenschaftler sprach sogar die These aus, dass die animal mutilations auf Aktivitäten "extraterrestrischer Besucher" zurückzuführen sein könnten. Er weist auf UFO-Aktivitäten im Umfeld der Verstümmlungen hin. Aber auch "Mitglieder von Satanskulten" oder irgendein unbekannter Teil eines geheimen Ministeriums. Das sind in der Tat auch heute noch die drei häufigsten Thesen über die Herkunft der Verantwortlichen: Irre Sekten, böse Aliens oder die Regierung. Diese Tagung fand vor 20 Jahren in den USA statt. Diese "alten Thesen" über Tierverstümmelungen sind auch heute noch aktuell. Es hat seit dieser Konferenz kaum neue bzw. bahnbrechende Ergebnisse gegeben, aber mehr Hinweise auf die außerirdische These. Das ist auch zu erwarten, da ja auch die Zahl der Mutilationen zunimmt. Wenn wir dennoch den Gedanken einmal beibehalten, dass die Besucher aus dem All unsere Erde und speziell die Umweltveränderungen erforschen wollen - aus nicht erkennbaren Beweggründen -, dann gelangen wir an einen Punkt, der umstrittener und - wenn real - erschreckender kaum sein könnte: Menschenverstümmlungen. Human Mutilation, die Verstümmelung von Menschen, gibt es die? Es ist wenig viel versprechend, sich dieser Hypothese anzunehmen, da es offensichtlich keine bekannten Fälle dieser Art gibt. Man könnte jedoch spekulieren, dass, wenn es tatsächlich Funde von chirurgisch verstümmelten Menschen gibt, diese Leichen von den "Männern der schwarzen Helikopter" schnellstmöglich beiseite geschafft werden, um die Bevölkerung nicht zu verunsichern.
The people are against Bhaktivedanta, the Hare Krishna movement leader, because more and more people are becoming Hindus; Christians are disappearing. These people are against Maharishi Mahesh Yogi because more and more people are dropping their christian prayer and starting TM. The same happens everywhere. So those who live with the adjectives, how can they just watch it? They are afraid, their establishment is eroding. They will try in every way. But they should remain indifferent. There is no need to be worried -- the world is vast, and everybody is free to choose, should be free to choose. If somebody feels that he is attaining something with Moon -- and Moon may be wrong, as far as I know he is wrong -- but even then if somebody follows him, even if he is wrong somebody may be benefited by him. Life is very mysterious -- you learn by your errors also. Many people, like Muktananda, have nothing to give. It is a miracle that Muktananda can also become a guru. But still if somebody is following Muktananda, go headlong. Because that is the only way to find out, to figure it out. Go headlong with open eyes; maybe this is how your life is going to grow. Nothing is wrong in it. Why be so much afraid? One learns from fools as much as from wise people, and one learns from pseudo-gurus as much as from authentic gurus. They are part of one phenomenon. In fact, you get that which you deserve. Now there are a few people who deserve Muktananda. What to do? They have earned Muktananda through their lives; many lives of karmas and they have earned Muktananda. Now who are you to prevent them? Why? They deserve, that is their growth, they have to pass through it.
One day Mulla Nasrudin was very much worried and he said, 'I would like to become a guru myself.' Someone said, 'There are good opportunities. Why not? You try.' He said, 'Yes, that's what I'm thinking. If Muktananda of Ganeshpuri can become a guru, why not I?' A man was sitting by the side who suffers from an inferiority complex and he has seen psychoanalysts -- Freudians, Jungians, Adlerians -- and he has defeated all of them, and he goes on suffering with inferiority complex. In fact he has become more skilled in it. The more he has been psychoanalysed, the more he has become skilful about it. In fact, he is enjoying it. So one told Nasrudin, 'You take this man. Try -- this man suffers from inferiority complex.' Nasrudin took him away, sat with him, looked into his eyes, meditated a little, closed his eyes, and then told him finally, 'I have good news for you. You have no inferiority complex, you really are inferior.'
