Page Fillers, Short Articles & Poems

BE STILL - By Arthur Osborne

Thou art? - I am? - Why argue? - Being is.
Keep still and be. Death will not still the mind.
Nor argument, nor hopes of after-death.
This world the battle-ground, yourself the foe
Yourself must master. Eager the mind to seek,
Yet oft astray, causing its own distress
Then crying for relief, as though some God
Barred from it jealously the Bliss it sought
But would not face.

Till in the end,
All battles fought, all earthly loves abjured.
Dawn in the East, there is no other way
But to be still. In stillness then to find
The giants all were windmills, all the strife
Self-made, unreal; even he that strove
A fancied being, as when that good knight
Woke from delirium and with a loud cry
Rendered his soul to God.¹

Mind, then, or soul?
Break free from subtle words. Only be still,
Lay down the mind, submit, and Being then
Is Bliss, Bliss Consciousness: and That you are.
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1- It is noteworthy that he did not cease to be Don Quixote but realized that he never was Don Quixote.

Pradakshina - By Dr. K. B. Pispati

We were a party of about 15 and it was a full moon night, so someone suggested that we should walk round Arunachala in what is called Giri-Pradakshina. As the party included the Maharaja of Dharampur and the princesses and other ladies, some of whom had never walked such a distance, I was a bit worried and arranged for several horse-carts to follow us round so as to give a lift to anyone who got tired.

It was a wonderful walk. We all kept together and sang devotional songs by and to Bhagavan as we went along the moonlit road. Most of us had decided to go barefoot, as one is supposed to, but it was a wonderful walk in spite of that and we got home earlier than we expected. It was unforgettable. I was expecting to have to treat blisters and aching legs next day, but strangely enough there were no complaints and everyone seemed hale and hearty. I never thought that these ladies who seldom walked farther than from bedroom to bathroom would do the eight to nine mile walk without any trouble. To my mind it was like a miracle.

Suicide no cure - From a record left by Alan Chadwick*

I once asked Bhagavan about suicide. I had been cycling round Arunachala and on meeting a bus the thought occurred to me: "Why shouldn't I concentrate on the Self and, so doing, throw myself in front of the bus so as to attain Moksha?" I told Bhagavan when I got back, but he said it would not work. Even though I tried to concentrate on the Self, thoughts would spring up involuntarily as I fell; the mind would become very active and owing to the thoughts life would continue and I should take another body.
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* For whom see our 'Ashram Bulletin ' of January 1964.

Permission Withheld - By Ramakrishna G. Kulkarni

I had a great desire for a fully realized Guru and was in search of one, when by chance (really by the guidance of Bhagavan) I came upon a Gujerati book by one Madhavanand of Baroda in which he spoke highly of his visit to Sri Ramanashram. I therefore wrote to the Sarvadhikari of the Ashram expressing my desire to have darshan of Bhagavan. I received a favourable reply and accordingly left for the Ashram. This was in 1944. I stayed there for five days. During the first two days I was annoyed to find all the worst vasanas (latent tendencies) in me coming to the surface. I therefore prayed to Bhagavan to wipe out my sins and initiate me as his disciple, not being aware as yet that he had already done so and that my heart was being purified by the powerful current of his Grace. I appreciated this only on the third day, when peace began to flood my heart. There was such a surging of peace that on the fifth morning I stood before Bhagavan, prostrated, and expressed my feeling of complete peacefulness. Thereupon Bhagavan raised his hand over my head and blessed me. After that I returned home. Through his Grace, awareness of the Self has continued since then and my sadhana is proceeding. I had his darshan again a few years later, on the occasion of consecrating the Mathrubhuteshwar Temple at the Ashram.

In the year 1956, six years after Bhagavan had left the body, I decided to renounce home life and live as a sadhu at some lonely place on the banks of the Ganges. While searching for a suitable place I wrote to the Ashram about it and, through the inspiration of Bhagavan, received a reply that I should pay a visit there before deciding to settle down elsewhere. Accordingly I went again to Sri Ramanashram. Arrived there, I sat in meditation before Bhagavan's samadhi (shrine) during the night. While doing so I experienced a voice from Bhagavan telling me that it was not yet time for me to renounce the world. I had therefore to cancel my plans for doing so and to return home. Since then I have been eagerly awaiting a message from Bhagavan that the time has come for my renunciation.

Service - Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan - From the SANNIDHI MURAI (Tamil) of Muruganar*

Your Grace it was I stumbled to your feet,
Your love that raised me up and made me yours,
Chosen to serve, though not for service meet,
Untutored save by Grace that from you pours.
I too have seen all creatures live and move
Not of themselves but Self, all living prove
That I am nothing and can nothing do
So all my duties 1 have cast on you.

* For an introduction to whom see our issue of October 1964, p. 244.

Beyond Action

The Godhead is absolute Stillness and Rest, free from all activity and inaccessible to human thought, yet alive through and through, a tremendous Energy pouring itself out into the created world and drawing that world back into itself. - Ruysbroeck.

Heartbreak - By Ebbana Grace Blanchard

"Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth."

Almost unnoticed, one by one,
Our early candle-hopes
Shatter in Life's cold breath.
We do not care a shrug;
There are plenty left ......

There are NOT !

We draw remainders cosy close.
Our circle shrinks.
As lights depart, fears stealthily increase
Cupping cold hands around the last bright flame
We cherish it against invading dark.

A guest—its gone—
We are alone,
And black.
We fall, defeated,
Eyes 'put out' by shock

Tis only then,
I Lying as dead across the feet of Life,
The glimmering square of window can be seen:
Stars beyond stars lead outward, infinite.

We are not caged by bars of candle-bones
The Way is not begun, but we are FREE
To rise and follow where the stars stretch out
Beyond the bound of sense, of hope or thought;
Where only Love can reach
With straining fingertips and sobbing breath —
When lo! a Strong Right Hand
Encompasses our wrist with pierced grasp
Drawing us upward to the Heart of Love.

The Two Windows - By A. Rao

Two windows are there: one looks on to space,
The other on the world, both blurred by thought
Of I and mine. 'This stopped; now not a trace
Through that first window still was seen of ought,
And none to see, no seeker and no sought.
And yet no blankness this,
But unimagined bliss,
Its gateway not through terror but through Grace.

"The world and dissolution, day and night,
Both are eternally." "All things join hand
In cosmic dance," all things now seen aright
The gnarled and sombre northern pine-trees stand,
And star-shaped jasmine of this sun-baked land
Through the breached ego-wall
Pure love flows out to all,
Even a stray dog draws love as a child might.

Is and Is not both at once are true,
"Although to sight they seem to alternate."
Life, death, pass over, but they are not you
Fate fashions life, while you, immaculate,
Remain unchanged beyond life, death and fate.
You feel love outward flow
'Towards others, while you know
All otherness a dream, the Truth not-two.

The Atmosphere For Spiritual Growth

From a monthly newsletter to parents by Eileen Bowden, a member of Joel Goldsmith's 'Infinite Way' groups.

There are right conditions, right climate, right atmosphere for all growing things and though children cannot be correctly classified as 'things' they are not an exception to this natural law.

In the home this condition, this ground for growing, is prepared by the parents or in some cases one parent who is taking this responsibility. This ground consists of definite aids, suggestions and corrections administered to the child through the first formative years. With parents who have not developed any sense of feeling for the religious side of life, this 'growing ground' consists mainly in instilling good social behaviour into their child and a measure of obedience to parental control and community laws and customs. This is not enough for parents in 'The Infinite Way' because as we have developed a meditative, prayerful way of living, our perception deepens, our values change and we are eager to give our children the best. This best starts from the within. Character, love, loyalty and trust are developed and social conformities fall into their natural places as offshoots of what the child truly is.

This growing ground then provides its own climate which is love, fellowship, understanding and co-operation. A child feeling the security of this ground at home is always sent off to school 'in quietness and confidence'. The parent can start with the child at a very early age, sharing with it the parent's source of strength, well-being and love and eventually it can accept this same source for itself.

To illustrate this we are taught "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee", Isaiah 26:3. And again as the Master teaches: "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John I5:7. Certainly, you continue to teach your children the proper code of human conduct but remember that the most important part of parenthood is maintaining the spiritual atmosphere which the children absorb.

As the child begins to meditate for himself and the parent can begin to talk to him (at the 7-8-9-year-old levels) he can be shown how implanted within him are all the attributes needed for his success in life.

Esoteric Aspects of Islam - By Dr. K. M. P. Mohamed Cassim

Islam as a religion or philosophy belongs to humanity. Man cannot be considered as a bundle of psychological complexes or as a biological entity, as the mystery of man is his interrelation with the divine principle which is eternal and transcendental. Islamic philosophy emphasises the importance of mental purification and the spiritual integration of man so as to function in the universe in tune with the Infinite. Man's progress lies in the direction of attaining that state of blessedness which is divine in essence.

It is to be noted that in accordance with ma'rifa - the esoteric aspect of Islamic Philosophy:-

(1) The concept of belief demands not mere verbal declaration the existence of Reality, but inner intensive awareness of the oneness with the Supreme through direct realization.

(2) Prayer should not be conceived as an act of worship in a mechanical way, but an attitude of devotion which elevates one to the height of contemplation in which exalted state the ego is negated in absorption in the Supreme.

(3) The correct understanding of Fasting implies the close self-observation of the mind in a detached manner without getting involved in any form of temptation.

(4) The right attitude of Charity is not only the feeling of compassion in helping the poor on a material level, but also the spontaneity of a pure heart which radiates the light of wisdom and serenity for the spiritual upliftment of mankind.

(5) The significance of Pilgrimage consists in the sacredness of keeping the mind detached from worldly affairs for the attainment of spiritual liberation.

That Which Is - By G. L. N.

Atma cannot be perceived by the mind or expressed in words. The intellect, which is an instrument of Atma, can never be it. That would be like saying, as Bhagavan put it, that the cinema screen is in the picture. Sri Bhagavan, an embodiment of that very Atma, has made understanding easy.

The title Forty Verses on Reality chosen by Sri Bhagavan is itself instructive. The terms Being, Consciousness, Bliss connote aspects of That Which Is. After peeling off superimposed layers, what remains is Brahman, and that is Reality.

Is there also nonexistence? Bhagavan said no. "It is not a void." (Forty Verses on Reality, v. 12). No one denies his own existence. Every one says "I am". Since we see the world also, we must conceive of unitary being with the power of becoming many.

Sleep also cannot be a void. It is a state where the world is absent but the experiencer of it is present. If he were not, he could not recollect having slept. Reality cannot become void, nor can void become reality or create existence.

Existence alone exists. Pure existence is the essence of every existent being and is eternal, since there is no nonexistence. It never cease to exist. The same being continues in all the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep.

What is existence? There is no other knowledge to know it, because in order to know the knower must first exist. "Can there be knowledge other than existent being?" (Forty Verses, 1st invocatory verse). Therefore existent being or Reality alone is knowledge. (See also Upadesa Sara or Thirty Verses, v. 23).

That which exists as Knowledge is One without a second, for if there were two or more Infinites each would exclude the others. Knowledge is the one subject on which the concept of others depends. So basic existence is only One and that One is Knowledge or Consciousness and there is no other.

What is this being which is Consciousness? What can it be but the one who asks? The questioner says "I" or "my self". Who is this 'I' or 'Self'? Are there a number of selves or is there only one?

By 'I' everyone means his self. Every one refers to himself as a single entity, and the experience of every one is of himself as one. Before the word 'I' is uttered there is silence. The sound 'I' emanates from this silent source. Every individual is in this pristine state of silence until he enunciates the word 'I'. This Silence is One. All are One in Silence. The uttered individual selves of all are one Self, so pure Consciousness is Self, the Self of all.

INDIA - By Thalia Gage

INDIA rises like a fountain
Within me.
From the triangle of Arunachala
It rises in showers of fire
To Mt. Kailas,
Holy and submitted.
Above my being.
India rises like a fountain
Within me,
Feeding my soul.