JOY !

This is one of my songs recorded in Lucknow . I wrote this song in profound contemplation while in a depression !From this stirred these words and song to lift my heart into the deepest inquiry . A voice in the mystic heart.

Waking UP

ARISE Oh Wanderer!

These last days are coming closer to the back trip to Delhi . Of all places the one place to avoid like a plauge (it is very hot there); but I'll only be there for a night and then heading out for the late night flight .

It has been very good for me here , and now I am ready to see what unfolds in the next part of the journey .I feel this place has encouraged me to look deeper . If not deeper than just to see as it is is, already. A complete and open seeing in my everyday place with every order of thing here . It has secretly been revealing in some formidable way for which I cannot tell you .
Bhagsu Shrine

Because I am in this place where you can only see through the lens of a camera , with these pics I take . Certainly experiencing a place like this is something which reminds me of being in Arunachala .But it of course is not the external appearance but the Isness which is the power of yourself which is seeing Itself as Itself .This is being revealed , but I tell you nothing is really happening!

The bird and the tree spirit.(Look carefully for the face in the Bark)

When asked about being with U.G. I often comment without hesitation that "something has been removed , but what it is , I have no Idea " . That is still with me even though I have surrounded my self with this culture rich in gods , meditation , and spiritual yearning . At first I came to see beautiful and a somewhat distorted relationship with a girl and a friend and that now has disappeared into a space where I am looking at everything with a smile . Plunging into the Self is seeing you as you are and seeing this can be absorbing as you see that all around you is included in the source .

Images and movement.

All the images and movement appearing in the mind arise and disappear , what remains is the stainless and pure awareness .Now decribing it becomes a point in the past but allowing it is living proof of its aliveness in everything .Allowing means including all the points in the moving appearance as Awareness .Awareness means allowing yourself to rest in that place of no images or quietness .The movement is no longer separate from Awareness . The bridge is seen but no one is crossing over .

Morning Tulsi Tea.

I have noticed that Russell has struck me from his links and so no one has been coming here to see the latest ( Oh what a mean man he is ) .It was through his page that I had some visitors . I must say I was slack on this page before I ever started to get involved again ......So I am writing to no one . While he is busy being happy with a fat Swami ,I am being busy enjoying my balcony scene over Dalasani village . Oh well .......as I listen to Loreena Mckennit another image amongst others I will enjoy just sitting here and enjoy the blessings of this place .


The Blessings of THIS Place .Is equal in all things !

Consciousness - an animation of Spirit --www.advaita.org

All of the Above

The sea this morning .

This morning I walked outside and saw a kestrel hovering over the dune , the sea is calm and a lone trawler drifts near the shore , a light sparkling like a luminous beacon . Within my heart is an open space which reflects the world and I feel like I am kissing this open mirror which is reflecting everything . It is moments like this where I can see the easyness of this direct reflection of Self , and that the mind can be like a restless ocean waving up and down with the images of people and events that have taken place recently .

A true friend.

These impressions can stir up the thoughts that are gross in that they depict the stories of 'you' and 'other' . I wander, how it is happening , and the mirror has no say in it . The pure reflection just is and the mind in its nature is waving in images and pictures which I can grab hold of or just let pass .People say "Oh let it go ! it's just the past " and yet I cannot ignore it . I can also choose not to place too much attention on these images which invest in holding .

Honesty.

Honesty is one of the qualities that I like to have with others and I have been finding lately that certain people (certainly most people that I have befriended) have not been clear with this , I find that I can not help but read their faces and their actions . Like a mirror can reflect ,it can also reveal the lines in the image of the other.Once I sat in a peaceful park a few years ago and an old man came up to me and looked into my eyes , he smiled and I smiled back , not wanting anything . Then he suddenly grabed me and started to pull me up . I had to push him away because I could not see what he was seeing . Obviously he wanted to possess what was'nt in his warped mind , the space of quietness.If you see from an innocent space you cannot imagine what others are saying or thinking , but as someone said to me lately maybe I am abit 'naieve'. This pure screen of mirrorness is not involved at all and yet there is like a need for me to be aware of situations like this . It is similar to seeing a truck tearing down the road towards a little puppy which I can reach out and remove . If I ignore the puppy it will be pulverised , yet I can reach out and pick it up and take it back to the mother under the tree .

Seeing Mirrorlike

One of the early teachings I received was from a Tantric master who was teaching about honesty , and I have been reminded of that way when I see this situation . The mind is dishonest because it is perverted in its way and emotionalism can rule in place of honesty .Also the mind is not the enemy because we cannot kill the mind with the mind . It can be used as a tool , but it can also wander like an aimless dreamer and it can shift and move like a good manipulator . With this is the dishonesty and it manifests in different shapes and forms .Being polite but not saying really what's going on is a way that it plays it's game . It is then that the classic analogy about the mind in the masters household comes up , and that is why meditators have been meditating ;in order to replace that disorder and show the mind that the master is present also . Like a teacher entering

Sri Yantra

a classroom full of rowdy students the prescence of the master or teacher makes them sit still . I see how this mind can play like this when some days it is turbulantly wandering aimlessly . Wandering aimlessly is not the problem but letting it get to you is . Once again I wandered into the Sauna and observed a ghost appearing before my eyes and this ghost tried to convince me of its reality .Seeing clearly that there is no body to control all of this, definitely destroys the idea that you are the choppy mind and it's contents , yet the habit to grab hold of thoughts can still be there in its habit form . A ghostly habit form which makes up the feeling of your individuality , if you keep looking at the ghost the ghostliness is seen .Could you be a ghost?? I have observed this a thousand times in a thousand ways and some times a spark of 'aha!' comes and other times it's so quiet, it's a feather floating. This is seeing the same spark floating up in a thousandth way .As the Zen saying goes , " This , This aThousand times This!!!".

The crystal is you, who is looking.

"Just as a transparent crystal takes on the lines of it's Background, but is in no way changed thereby,and just as the unchanging moon on being reflected on undulating (wavelike)surfaces appears agitated, so is it with You, the all prevading."

Hastamalaka Stotra

Which leads me to the topic of the mirror like space which is one of my portals. The closest depiction of this is a picture a friend in Tiruvannamalai showed me painted by M C Escher , I was very pleased to be shown this picture .It demonstrates this portal closely , but you must see from behind Escher's eyes to become Escher .Someone told me once "But what about the space between the crystal and the eyes of the holder? " some people over analyse! I can see from a mirror like space , the body in this space , including space itself and others are included.This sensation is very similar to gazing into a mirror and finding that you are no longer the observer or the observed but rather an undefined prescence.There is a joy when seeing this infinite clear openess. Because it ( and clearly it is not an object; because it is who you are) includes ALL OF THE ABOVE !

Sea and Sky

I thought I would start this blog again after my long intermissions away from the keyboard I have been told to write Haiku’s but it looks like I’m saying more than a few sentences here. A lot of my time here, (I always have an ocean view to return to after some time indoors, or to look out as I cook an omelet) is spent just attending to the duties of the house and driving down to see Russell (a drink invokes communion) and looking for work at the job agency, but lately I find them hopeless. I have also ventured down to the swimming pool to slide into the spa and sweat in the sauna after a good swim .I have discovered that the sauna, like sweat lodges have ways to bring healing and recently I experienced insights into my past history which just bubbled up while I sweated .This lead me to a story about what happened to me as a schoolboy surrounded by overzealous Christian brothers . I started to look at this vasana (habit tendency) and last week while talking with Russell about it, I realized that I had nothing at all to do with the victim that came out of that story, for I was NEVER a victim. I knew that I am love to myself after all and that there is nothing wrong .It was the problem of the teachers and not the student. We all love ourselves even though we might not see it this way. After all we would do the utmost good for our own heart.


"I would love to kiss you,
The price of kissing is your Life.
Now my loving is running toward my life shouting.
What a bargain, let's buy it.
- Rumi

The lagoon is one place I often drive past either on the way to the shops or just to see conditions for swimming .On hot days it can be a gem of a place to look at and better to swim in because hardly anyone is here during the week days and it is so inviting. Nowadays with Christmas coming more people may find their way up. I found it very soothing place to float in the water after I contracted Dengue Fever in India , two weeks later I was here in the lagoon , just floating on my back in the shallows. I came here everyday for sometime and just spent my time in the cool current. Dengue fever really knocks you out it just sucks all your strength and then you are weak. So slowly I regained my strength for months, it felt as if the body’s constitution had changed. Anyway I have been living here by the sea and traveling to India, usually arriving in Tiruvannamalai which I call the ‘filthy dusty temple town’ when shocking any puritans who are in my vicinity. Then I always come back to Perth full of space and clear skies. I remember a story about a prince from Hyderabad who came to live here in West Australia, when he saw hardly anyone on the streets he thought there was a curfew! So it can be a very open place physically to come and also to get used to after being in the milling crowds of bustling cities like Bangalore or celebrations like Deepam. Instead you can find yourself in a mob of roos! They are quietly resting and scratching their bellies while masticating on grass, the excitement of some youthful males becomes a dance fight right before my eyes.

One day I wandered out and took these photos of the nature that is here. The golden light of the sun setting blazing off blue pink clouds caught my eyes and I got trigger happy with the camera. I stood on the tracks around the lake and listened quietly as the cockatoos gathered and made a racket. Their insistent cawing and calling were punctuated by the silence of the surrounding trees and burnt charcoal stumps which stood out like visitors from another world. I also spent a lot of time here walking around this lake (used by Nyungah indigenous people) usually in a clockwise direction as if in Pradakshina of Arunachala. So in walking meditation I became the vastness that surrounded my walking. The volume of space that was unseen became the point in silence. Around the lake nature and the vastness of Self are meeting as if an inner power were grounding in a formidable outer stability , where there is no difference. I always found myself pausing just to inquire a bit more to see the depth of clarity , it was a little effort that made it too much and I always found myself relaxing more as I continued along the track .


Every day I am always looking at the sea from my vantage point at home one way or another the blue water is meeting the blue sky and meditation and inquiry is always naturally present. Sitting on the red bench overlooking the green hedge to the horizon blue, silence quietly reveals all that is . There is always a pointing back to a place that is closer than the closest and nearer than the nearest. When I am with a friend we both find ourselves looking at the sameness of ourselves and see the clarity of our nature. When I am talking to others in the coffee shop it is not as profound because we are talking and chit chatting. I don’t have a desire to meet here in this space because we are not open to it here yet there is an acceptance and if it happens then that is good if not, okay too. Like the true meaning of karma yoga which is to not expect anything from the fruit of our actions ,the results being Prasad or a gift from source . It is ALWAYS open to us even while chatting; it is only that we are attentive to the listening of words and their content. Always quietly in the background no matter what is being said is the heart of everything, my own Self. The discussion is about cryptic words for cryptic crosswords and the cryptic silence beholds our discussing and figuring out descriptive cryptic words! As I finish a long black and chat I find myself like a bouncing ball walking back to my van. And then back to Russell’s for another drink.

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

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?

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-

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-

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.

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-

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 !

copyright m.m.

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.