Haro Hara

Theerthananda

Well this is my first entry since leaving Perth for Tiruvannamalai unfortunately I did'nt bring a digital with me but have taken a few photos with ye old camera from the first week when I went up to the cave on the other side of the mountain and had a bath in one of the pools left there by the rains , when you float in the pool all the little tadpoles come and nibble and have a meal of your skin ,and did I laugh when they all had a go at me .

Yesterday was Deepam which is a huge event here attracting many people and I had the good fortune to witness a beauty on top of mount Arunachala . A light is blazing on the mount and tonight with the weather clearing out we will have more of the fire to see against the night sky .To walk around the mountain with the people is so strong , boys running in groups shouting "Haro Hara !!!! " which is the chant when the fire is lit and other groups of men walking fast and chanting out to Shiva, women holding hands sing 'Arunachala Shiva' continuosly . . Sadhus smiling ,Sadhus begging , Sadhus with pierced tounges ,deformed people lying on the road with a rag for people to drop rupees in , old men and women walk the distance and of course there is the famous chai stop . A good rest makes you realise how strong this Pradakshina is , it is so strong, it is like being inebriated . Literaly as if the road is starting to disappear under your feet and suddenly you are walking in space . A good rest to the phenomenon you are experincing is just to have a chai !

Chaibas

Then you pick yourself up and enter the stream of bodies venerating a mountain in the form of Shiva . When we completed the walk muscles where sore but the rest I had was good .
People say "why worship a mountain? You don't have to go to India for that" . They say this with the viewpoint that You yourself are more important than searching and wandering India . but this (travelling) is still in the play of conciousness and to be in a place of your inner most self is a blessing; Arunachala invokes this in you! It is a living power of Shiva and Shakti that stirs up all the devils and brings them into light so they may be freed . So where else does such a place exist for just this ?

Baul

Here is a picture of a Baul ; I have seen them ocassionally in India , singing and dancing .Rabindranath Tagore had said of the Bauls: " One day I chanced to hear a song of a Baul beggar of Bengal. It spoke of an intense yearning for the divine which is in man and not in the temple scriptures, in images or symbols. Since then I have often sought to understand these people whose songs are their only form of worship... I have fitted the tunes of the Bauls to many of my songs."

Direct Seeing

When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: ‘To whom do they arise?’ It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, “To whom has this thought arisen?”. The answer that would emerge would be “To me”. Thereupon if one inquires “Who am I?”, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the senseorgans, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness” (antarmukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation” (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity “I”. If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Siva (God).

Ramana Maharshi.

I simply followed (my teacher's) instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am', and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared -- myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

sage

“Turn your vision inward and the whole world will be full of supreme

spirit.”

Ramana Maharshi

Tiruvannamalai

Soon I leave for the dusty temple town , where Shiva is celebrated upon the dry and rocky soil of Tiuvannamalai .Where people come to walk reverentially around a holy place such as Arunachala . The mountain is said to be Shiva , and sign of his manifestation . The sacred story goes that A subtle light ,a pillar that stretches into infinity reaches from this place and aligns with the constellation of the Paladies (karthik) in December ,which will be directly above it when throngs of people (up to 2.5 million ) will gather to light a flame of large proportion to blaze for ten to thirteen days during which there is celebrations of processions dancing and singing . To walk around the mountain is said to be wish fullfilling and granting ones desire to be liberated Eternally.

A place of Tapas, (Ganapati Sastri (also called Ganapati Muni) had visited many sacred places in India, and had learned to repeat mantras and to perform tapas (asceticism). He was not satisfied, and so he asked Ramana what tapas was. Ramana replied that if one observes the source where the notion ‘I’ arises, and the source where the mantra is produced, and if the mind is absorbed into that source, that is tapas) it can be a catalyst for burning up latent tendencies that may arise.

To sit on the mountain is good , it is a quiet and solitary place to spend some peaceful solitute before returning to the town and traffic which winds it's way around the mountain . I like to walk up to Skandashram which is a 45 minute walk up steps to a cave where Ramana Maharshi sat for a number of years . Here it is like a shade of oasis and silence , and definitely a place conducive for meditation . I find it much easier to slip into deep states of absorbtion in these places , if one can rest then the rest can be profoundly deep . Below it is another cave said to have been inhabited by the Sage Virupaksha whose remains are there within the lingam made by Ramana himself .A place that is potent with silence it is also a sauna to sit in and sweat .

In the town itself is the main temple of Arunachalaeshwara and is where the Fire lingam is presented to devotees . Tiruvannamalai has the lingam for the fire element , and so you see why it can be experienced as a place where latent tendencies can be burnt!The other places of the remaining elements are : Kalahasti - Vayu or Wind element said to be the father of Hanuman , Kanchipuram - Earth lingam said to be the place where Bodhidharma came from .Sresialam - Water lingam .There is also a lingam for Space in Chidambaram of course there is no lingam because it is full of space .

During the festival once I was in the town for the celebrations and followed the procession of the gods who were being paraded by the many people out of the main temple, caught up in the excitement of the crowds we ran down a lane way barefoot and climbed up these steps, as this is where they mounted the deity onto the giant raths or chariots which they pull around the entire temple complex . There were so many coconut husk on the ground from the offerings that I was literally walking over one vast coconut mat . This small place on the left is were I climbed to watch the procession to mount the gods into the raths .

Kingdom Within

This is it ! Is it not amazing that you can think such a thing ? That you ever feel that you are somebody walking around doing things ? Well have'nt you been on this planet long enough to look at yourself ?

'Yes!' you tell me . 'I have studied this and that , I have finished education, I am now helping people in society and I am practicing meditation . I am getting somewhere , I am endevouring to become enlightened' or 'I'm not getting anywhere, what's this? a load of crap?'

Have you looked closer than the actions you undertake everyday to inform others about yourself , or that you give to yourself ? Wandering from building to building ,talking about this and that ,dodging traffic, swearing at the driver in front of you , Yes please take a deep breath while you frenzy the day ! Do you ever consider to look within ?

What does that mean ?

Have you taken the time to see who you really are ? Really ?


Poke yourself ! Yes,...... just do that ! lift your finger and look at it . Then poke yourself . Where did you feel your fingertip ? Did it stab you somewhere in the chest area? Most people do , a very wise and gentle man in India, pointed this out sometime in the 40's . That when we point to ourselves we point to the chest area . Why? Because we take ourselves to be the shape and form of the physical body that seemingly shows the world who we are , we point to the heart area because we are the heart itself . By heart I do not mean physical but something far greater which has the capacity to see everything and hold every sight which we see , and evey feeling which we are able to perceive .Is this capacity different or separate from us ? Christ says the "Kingdom of Heaven is within! " . A great pointer and yet we take ourselves to be the mansions or the walls that form the image of who we are , we take the senses as ourselves because it is so real ! 'How can you doubt such a thing ?' You may say.

Now wait a minute .
Do you really believe that you are just made up of flesh bones and the full sensory capacity of the human body ?
No wonder scientist say you are only using 10% of your brain . What if there is some thing more than this body and mind that you take yourself to be .

The question must arise 'Who am I ?' or 'What am I ?' or even 'Where did I come from ?' And now arises the oportunity to inquire , and this is how every moment has the value of a treasure house.

Now without further ado , take this very moment to investigate and see YOURSELF as you really are .

What do I do ?

Well you have the greatest gift to begin with ,and that is YOU .Start penetrating yourself! Just as you are , seeing these words , just as you are looking at this screen . Investigate this feeling of being............ by resting with the feeling of being, just as you are, right now and with this in a very relaxed and gentle way................. see and penetrate into this feeling of being.Continue and avail yourself of the ocean which is with in you .

Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart."

See where does this feeling of existing come from . Does it begin or end ?does it have a shape ? Is it vegetarian ? Is this separate and intimate to you ? Or is it intimate and closer than your very breath? does it come and go ? Is it changing?

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?"
Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is.
Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."


For this has been written and talked about from ancient times , in the Vedas and Upanishands before the scriptures of the Christian Bible and Apocrypha were ever written and in times of great peace and harmony and it has lasted because it has the capacity of everlasting life . And these ancient lovers of truth say it is no other than Yourself . Unlimited, unbound , untouched and unutterable . No wind can destroy , no fire can burn , no flood can drown , no earth can move , no space can contain You!

Now where are your comments?

Zen Mondo?

He then said "Where is Zen Mondo?"

Mattress Baba Christananda

How can there be distinctions in a supreme reality , which is by nature one?Who has noticed any distinctions in the pure joy of deep sleep ?
-Vivekachudamani-

One day we found the rare Jivanmukta, Baba Christananda in deep samadhi .This is the only photo taken of him so far . Feeling the oneness of all things we silently smiled in bliss as a great Shakti bathed the room and many people came to sit in His divine prescence. Baba returns to the holy mountain Arunachala, where he meets all in bliss and joy!

Essence of Joy

Being pure consciousness, do not disturb your mind with thoughts of for and against. Be at peace and remain happy in yourself , the essence of joy.

-Astavakra Gita-

Still Like Water

We can make our minds so still like water.That beings gather about us to see their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our silence.

-William Buttler Yeats-

Medicine Buddha

Open your heart
Come and get your Medicine!

Garuchati Falls

I am without begining , middle , and end. I am never bound .By nature

I am pure and perfect - this is my firm conviction.

-Avadhuta Gita-

Sitting in a stream under a small fall I am happy to rest . This place is called Garuchati .It is very peaceful place where the forrest meets water that flows into Ganga .

Nothing Happening

How can there be birth,karma,or responsibility

In that one unchanging, peaceful,unblemished and infinite

Consciousness which is you ?

-Ashtavakra Gita-

Zen Mondo

A monk asked the master: "How are you when death arrives?"

The master replied: " When served tea, I take tea. when served a meal, I take a meal."

Zen Mondo

Vultures eating a buffalo before I go to Satsang in Varanasi.If you look beyond the vultures you will see a gathering of people , that's where I was heading.

Thankyou Zen Mondo for your quotes!

Odyssey

Solo sails the open seas .

Of silence resounding in vast space.

Illumined Of aliveness, Full of grace and exquisite Blessings.

All Rights to the above image is reserved by Isis Rising Gallery which solely represents the work of Gilbert Williams.

Waves in the Sea

Your nature is the consciousness , in which the whole world wells up, like waves in the sea. that is what you are,without any doubt, so be free of disturbance.

-Ashtavakra Gita-

In a moments

On a holy

River

A moment is captured

Free of the past

Of movement without any taint

A dance, in joy!

Copyright m.m.

Lilies of the Field

"Consider the lilies of the field how they grow;they toil not , neither do they spin;And yet I say unto you , that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

-Christ-

To be present

Is to be free.

Just to see,

This.

In every moment ,

Is like lilies

Who do not

Toil and weep

For the morrow.

Surrender

The softest thing can overcome the hardest,

Formless, it can enter where there are no gaps or space.
-Lao Tzu

Feeling the pain within yourself ,
You can let softness touch it
And soak into it.

Until there is no more .

Copyright m.m.

Sitting Silently

- What's that man doing by the mountain there?
-Let's go and ask him.
-Are you sitting here waiting for a friend?
-No
-Then you are here to breathe the fresh air, right?
-No
-Then why are you sitting here?
-I am just sitting.

Most people live in a dualistic world of gains and losses, self and object. If the scenery is beautiful, I'm happy ;if not , I'm disappointed.

Atma Vichar

Atma Vichar is seeing the root of the "I" thought .

What is this "I " thought ? It is the feeling that you are somebody existing .Along with this primary feeling of existing, emotions and thoughts arise creating a picture about yourself and others in the past , present and future.Self inquiry is stripping the pictures you have about yourself down to the essential and pure experience of the fundamental fact that; "I exist" and investigating where this comes from .It is a direct and immeadiate inquiry requiring NO TIME. As you sit and gently rest your attention on yourself just as you are right now, you actually touch Consciousness existing purely as it is .Take this moment to leave every idea of what you did , what you are feeling presently, and what you will do for just this moment alone, and be just here .It takes no time at all.And that does mean right NOW!

Here is the base of your existence as you know yourself to be.

It is from this base , the feeling of "I" sprouts with all the pictures about yourself and others.This is the platform and foundation from which the "I" thought exists . If you remain here just look directly at yourself without anything else, this platform is Consciousness meeting Consciousness.If you stay here long enough you will experience bliss.

What will happen if this platform is
removed?

From here you must ask and follow the thread of Consciousness and investigate !" WHERE DOES THIS FEELING OF EXISTING COME FROM ??" Remaining with the feeling of existing as you are, this feeling pours into Itself and you begin to sink into Yourself . Staying and sinking into Yourself you look where you are coming from within Yourself. An unending spaciousness will arise and if you look with a gentleness, a joy can be felt .

What is This ?

Gently Going deeper than any feeling yet feeling spaciousness, SEE WHAT THIS UNENDING SPACIOUSNESS IS APPEARING IN .If you see correctly you will detect a point that is like disappearance. It is invisible , indivisible , immutable, uncontained, beyond the "I" thought .No body of thought ,no emotions or feelings = nobody ! If you follow this with sincerity, your head is in the Tigers mouth !There is no way for return, you no longer see yourself as you have been .From here you know you are That; invisible ,indivisible , immutable and untouched Awareness .

The true essence of enquiry is this point of departure from the
known into the unknown .

Leaving behind the ground of Consciousness there is a shift towards Awareness (like foreground merging into background). Awareness has no qualities , it is untouched , empty of emptiness, free of time , place or person .Awareness does not need anything, it is free of even itself , Consciousness on the other hand cannot exist without Awareness ,to see and know that you exist there needs to be Awareness ;just as stars need the night sky to be seen .Consciousness dances in Awareness and symptoms of silence , joy , love , peace arise.Consciousness and Awareness are like the cloud in the sky. The sky has space for the cloud , and the cloud being so full ,bursts .When the rain falls people become happy and enjoy the cool water after the heat of day . So as a by-product of this inquiry , Joy , Peace , Serenity and a Happiness can arise .

You no longer invest in the story and self image that you took
yourself to be .

Now you are an expression of Consciousness that is effortlessly touching Awareness. Just as a mirror can reflect the images that pass before it. Awareness, mirrorlike reflects"life" or Consciousness dancing within Itself .You go about your life just as you have, with less of a hold on your ideas . You can still go to the movies , cook ,talk , read and deal with your day to day life . It is lighter and freer to be not what you took yourself to be .After all this is a love affair with yourself .

You are the screen of Awareness itself

and You are the character, Consciousness projected onto the screen pretending to be someone you're not .

NOW ! Where do you begin and
end?

Right Now

Here it is , right now .start thinking about it and you miss it .

-Tao Shan-

Rishikesh

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

-Rumi-

Stones,

Soothed by precious waters.
Here ,the Rishi

And Ma Ganga flow .

Where a man drowns ,

An animal struggles ,

A friend smiles ,

And a Master gives His blessings .

It's where I meet a lover and

We carress without a care.

Where I travel in light body

To the stars from prayer flags near.

It's where silver moon on ripples

Grace the heart of love so clear.

When the Sun touches high ridges

Then the swimmers come lay bare.

Underneath the green smooth surface

The current swirls so near .

Where langurs 'hoo!' and gaze the sky,

Their tails, slim curls,

Can make you smile.

They fly and leap

Between the rocks

There is no time,

No place,

No clock!

copyright m.m.

Light of Lights

Embrace all beings, for we are One

-Chang Tzu-

Lights are lit For the benefit of all beings .

Many beings wish you well.

Many precious wishes are being sent to you.

You may not know it but they come in the silence.

Flames of healing serenity.

copyright m.m.

The Three Princes

A mother once told the following story to amuse her child.

In a city which never existed , there lived three princes, two of whom were never born and the third never entered the womb of any mother . They once went out and took their bath in three rivers, two of which were already dried up and the third never had any water at all . There they stayed in three houses, two of which never existed and the third was not yet built.Then they invited three guest , two of whom had no mouth and the third no stomach.

Yoga Vasishtha.

Grace of Master

Question: Where will you go after you leave your body? Will you ever come back to planet earth?

Papaji: If I come back, I must go, and if I go I must come back. Therefore, the Truth is neither I come, nor I go. This is the Truth. Who goes? You speak of the body, not of your own Self. The Self doesn't come and doesn't go. Why should it go anywhere? What will he do going from here to somewhere else? He is not a businessman! Everything is included in the Self.
Why should you go? The king does not desire, 'I want to buy that house or apartment or place' because the whole kingdom belongs to him. The king has no desire to acquire property because it all belongs to him! Therefore, when you become a king you will have no desire to go anywhere and with just a clap of your hands all is fulfilled.
I am always Here!

Omni

All around

Within without,

Without within,

An ocean clear!

Through the seen

Shines the unseen.

This transcends all laws

They say it is hard

Yet it is easy.

This body of thought peels

At each outbreath.

So in breath gives way

To Another layer ,

Gone.

A soft ocean!

Space looks through my eyes.

It touches who

I've taken myself to be.

The Self deathless

Embraces,

No starting point

No going point.

Gazing into this ocean

My own heart !

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Great Mystery

There is no greater mystery Than this

-That , being the reality

We seek to gain reality.

We think that there is something

Hiding our reality

And that it must be destroyed

Before the reality is gained.

It is ridiculous.

A day will dawn

When you will yourself

Laugh at your past efforts.

That will be on the day you laugh

Is also here and now .

-Ramana Maharshi-

Have you been to places

Where you are alone

When you see the beauty

You feel that your at Home

How you come to see this

Mystery in a day

Here this very moment

The gift of your life hail!

copyright m.m.

Wisdom and Love

I find that somehow, by shifting the focus of attention, I become the very thing I look at, and experience the kind of consciousness it has; I become the inner witness of the thing. I call this capacity of entering other focal points of consciousness, love; you may give it any name you like. Love says "I am everything". Wisdom says "I am nothing". Between the two, my life flows. Since at any point of time and space I can be both the subject and the object of experience, I express it by saying that I am both, and neither, and beyond both.

--Nisargadatta Maharaj

Entering within yourself

You see the temple of

Self Itself.

Copyright m.m.

Sacred Sound

Can you hear the secret

Voice of angels all around

Lift you up with wings of love

Revere the sacred sound!

We go about each day

Busy in the doings

That we have to do .

And every second is a chance

To listen to the Sea of Quietness,

Just here in the busy market.

Like bubbles we play

Everyday.

See we are embraced

In a sea of clear beauty,

So quiet.

In That,

Angels will hear our quietude

And sing us songs.

Copyright m.m.

Awake While Asleep

Shun once asked Cheng:

-Can the Dao be possessed?

-You don't even possess your own body.

How could you possess the Dao?

-If my body doesn't belong to me , who does it belong to?

-Your body, your life , your children and grandchildren are all

temporary gifts from nature.How can you say they are yours?

For a person of the Dao , to ignorantly believe that he owns his own body is a kind of confusion . to intentionally try to possess the Dao is also a confusion .

When asleep to the world

The world does not exist.

When asleep to dreaming

Dreams do not exist.

When asleep to sleeping

Sleep does not exist.

When asleep to awakening

The awakend does not exist.

Who is it that never sleeps ,dreams or awakens?

copyright m.m.

Laughing Shiva

Only now there is

This moment To meet Shiva.

To offer a flower

Unsmelt

And to have it

Consumed by the Divine cow!

Your laughter drifts

Down the Ganga .

A smile , a joy

Untold .

Copyright m.m.

Open Sky

Seeing clearly the heart

Full of essence ever

Open sky.

Untouched, unbecome

No way for going,

Go beyond!

Can you see firey stars

Without the night?

Look far away

Beyond all time

Past, present and future

And what remains?

Eternal nature of your Self.

Look close into your

Nature of existing

Until it touches

What cannot become.

Your an open sky!

YES YOU!

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Shankara

"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman --that thou are."

Shankara

River to the Sea

One day you walk along the Ganga

Away from the crowded Mela .

And you walk away

And you walk alone

Nobody ever saw the beauty she had

Nobody ever saw her!

This river is flowing to the sea

Just as we are returning to our home,

Source itself.

copyright m.m.

Without A Trace

Like a golden flower of raindrops

This silence ever unfolding

Bird on a wing

Leaving no footprints

In the blue sky

I fly with you

I fly with you

Burn all the bridges behind

The sun never meets the moon

The river runs to the ocean

I'll only be drowned by you .

Just as the wandering mind

Is seeking for peace

In it's futility.

It is revealed to be

Like fish in a sea, so thirsty.

And just as the sun never comes and

Meets the moon,

The mind bows to give way

To the mystery.

The invitation is to

Fly like a bird to the sky,

Where you cannot see any trace of footprints.

They are left behind,

Now you walk without feet and fly without wings,

And the flowers shower.

copyright: m.m.

To The Gentle

Silent footfalls surround you
In the morning light your beauty
Shines it's light upon golden green.

An unmoving sign of beauty
An unmoving silent beauty
Touches me and you.

Resting Quietly
The space
Around us is touched
By the Untouched.
Gently a song arises ,
A joy, a flower, a jewel
Comes from listening
To the gentle.

The gentle
So gently
Meets
So it dances.

copyright m.m.

Open Gaze

How many times did I look
to find that you are everywhere
like the sky!

In the silence of the day
You come my way
in the sunshine
in this silent
open gaze.

Looking over the sea
I see infinity
My vision expands

Like a vast open transparency
That holds the sea itself .
The sea and horizon reaches out
And literally I feel they are in me.
Me becomes a vast ocean of
Unending spacious clarity.
I hold everything that
I can see and in deed not see.

Behind me ,in front of me ,
Above me and below me .
As if a cross is pointed
In all these directions .
My own vision
Is all pervasive.

I see the real meaning in the cross.
The center has a meeting
Which is true recognition .

copyright m.m.

13:13-18: I am everywhere in the world, abiding in the hands, feet, eyes, heads, mouths, ears; I am all pervading.Illuminating the qualities of all senses, yet possessing no senses, maintaining everything, yet without being attached to anything, devoid of all material qualities, yet employing the senses,I am within and without all beings, both the unmoving and the moving. Due to My subtle nature, I am unknowable. I am far away yet near.Undivided, yet abiding within all living beings as if divided, the maintainer of all beings, the object of knowledge, devouring all; I am pre eminent.In all luminous objects I am the light; I am beyond darkness. I am said to be knowledge, the object of knowledge and the goal of knowledge; I am established within the hearts of all.Thus I have briefly explained the field, knowledge and the object of knowledge. Knowing this, My devotees are eligible to attain Me.

Bhagavad Gita.