Another Realm, You Tube – More Sathya Sai Memories

Just finished and polished a new you tube with many beautiful Sri  Sai Baba photos edited in painterly style.. I do hope you will take 5 minutes of your time to view this nostalgic you tube,  created with all of my heartfelt feeling…  just saying.   The quotations on the you tube are:

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When you realise the Self, then there is no separate individual. You can think of individuals as different light bulbs. There will be differences in wattage. There will be differences in age, in colour, in form, in name. One is a tube light and another is a bulb light. There will be differences in shape, but everywhere the current that powers them is the same. That current is you. You are not a bulb which appears different from any other bulb. You are the current, the one current that is found in all the bulbs. That is who you are. – Sai Baba

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“Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world.”

  ~ Sathya Sai Baba

Magic Mirror – Sri Yogananda During His Last Days

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When I look at photos of Sri Yogananda during his last days on Earth, I do not see a weak older man. Indeed not!  I see only a serenely beautiful  being who has  lost all attachments to earthly life.. His expression in this photo is one of  utmost peace and bliss. His  half open eyes appear to be gazing at something  supremely wonderful and  beyond us. Perhaps he is gazing upon the realm that is calling him home to the highest light. 

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What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matt. 16 -Chapter 26.

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“The twin aspects of genius, the passive and the active, are possessed by the fully realized artist; they also form the necessary equipment of the Adept. Yet in very few people are these twin aspects manifested. Nearly everyone has a capacity for the passive aspect, which involves some sort of appreciation of aesthetic values. There are few people totally unresponsive to the beauties of nature, and none at all that is not responsive to its ferocious manifestations. Fewer are able to respond profoundly to the beauty of natural phenomena, and fewer still to so-called works of art. It takes a degree of genius to respond to such manifestations the whole time. Artists in this category are among the saints, some of whom thrilled with rapture at the constant awareness of the total unity, harmony, and beauty of things.

Such were Boehme, Ramakrishna, etc. Some yogis are immersed in an unsullied and vibrant bliss derived from the incessant contemplation of this ‘world-bewitching maya’4-the breath-taking wonder of the great and glamorous illusion which surrounds us.

On the other side of the fence, on the side of active or creative genius, there are yet fewer. Active or creative genius means nothing less than the ability to translate the wonder or the terror of the great lfla (the great play of life) in terms of visual, tactile, audible, olfactory, or some other sensual presentation of phenomena.

But there is a third aspect of genius which is yet more rare. It is the ability to open the door of the theatre and admit the influences from outside, from the swarming gulfs beyond the grasp of the mind, and accessible only to the magical entity whose fantastic feelers can snare the most fugitive impulses as they flash through the holes in space, the kinks in time, to be reflected in the magic mirror of the artist’s mind.”

― Kenneth Grant, Outside The Circles Of Time

Photos – Sathya Sai Memories

Beautiful Reflection : A photo of Swami the way he used to look in Whitefield during Bhajans (1990-2001). This  photo sums up all my yesterdays with Him in India. The days of sunshine, the laughter, the joy, also to remember the many gifts of sweets that would fall into my lap, or on the ground under my shawl, or bounce off from my hair-band to fall often into my clothes during darshan, and of course,  kept forever or until I just had to eat one while remembering the moment.  Then the days of tears,  the learning, those tedious  days when he seemed so far away, and when life itself seemed so unforgiving.  

Keenly remembered are those days of magical mystery and the days that brought me moments to keep forever in my heart. … Gosh! would i do it all again? Those times of illness, bad  flu, the sitting in the sun for hours, the sweat, the burnt feet on hot concrete and  sharp sand and those sand flies, dirty toilets, the “sting” of the severest of all – the ” seva dals!” Would I do it all again? not sure – but I learned so much from my times spent there… I learned that we are not a body only, we are far greater than that piece of flesh we call ‘me’.. We are spiritual beings and our earthly clothes are mere garments of no real importance to that tiniest  spark of divinity within each one of us, which is eternal and forever… Sai Ram, eve

for I. should he drop by…

Sai Reflections – More Sathya Sai Memories

˜”*ƸӜƷ˜°•.¸εvε¸.•°˜ƸӜƷ*”˜   I am in you and for you. You are for Me and in Me. Yet, I have an urge to tell you a little about Me and guide you. I am not won by adulation or lost by disregard. I am won by Truth, Genuineness, Sincerity. For, I have come with this human physical apparel for upholding the Truth. I am the Truth of the Truth, the Truth in all truths. This Form bears the Name, Truth (Sathya). The vitality within this Form is Truth. That is the Power which overpowers all powers.

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˜”*ƸӜƷ˜°•.¸εvε¸.•°˜ƸӜƷ*”˜

If you want to obtain the grace of God, it is enough if you obey the command of your parents lovingly. There is no greater divinity than the parents who are present right in front of your eyes. They have struggled hard in several ways to bring you up to the present state. They made a lot of sacrifice, so that you may come up in life. No parent would ever like to displease his children. They appear to be angry sometimes and may even give some punishment, but that is only outward. In their heart of hearts, they have abundant love for you. Even if they pretend to be angry, it is for your own good. The stream of infinite love ever flows in their hearts.  ~BHAGAVAN BABA.

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This is what Swami has to say about health and illness:

“Simple living is the best prescription for health. The name of God is the most reliable and efficient medicine. Faith in God and in ones own Atmic reality guarantees, more than all the medicines in the world, continued health both physical and mental. In this era of technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult to lead peaceful lives. Men are becoming the targets of various types of mental ailments. In countries on the frontline of civilisation, like America and England, people have lost the delight of natural sleep at night. They experience only artificial sleep induced by the tablets they swallow. As a consequence of these and many other medicines to ward off other ills, they suffer more and more from diseases of heart and blood pressure. In the end they render themselves unhealthy wrecks. Drugs, tablets, capsules and pills are produced by the millions, but their general health has not improved.

In the past, illness was cured by simple remedies provided by nature, rest, regulation of diet and spiritual discipline. But now man lives in the age of tablets and injections. Do not believe that health is retained or maintained through doctors, nor can medicine guarantee it. Most illnesses are produced by faulty food habits and foolish ways of spending leisure. When the mind of man is unattached with the ups and downs of life, and is able to maintain equanimity under all circumstances, then the physical health can be ensured. The mental firmament must be like the sky which bears no marks of the passage of birds or planes or clouds. Illness is caused more by malnutrition of mind than of the body. Doctors speak of vitamin deficiency; I would call it the deficiency of vitamin G and will recommend the repetition of the name of God, with accompanying contemplation of the glory and grace of God. That is the vitamin G.” ~ thanks to Anand Verma

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How To Love Well – Inspirational Quotations

Forty Rules Of Love

 

This is a delightful book full of spiritual insights into how to live life. Each new chapter begins with the letter b and the story falls into five parts. Part one is Earth; the things that are solid, absorbed and still. Part two is Water; the things that are fluid, changing and unpredictable. Part three is Wind; the things that shift, evolve and challenge. Part four is Fire; the things that damage, devastate and destroy and finally the culmination of both stories are within part five, the Void; the things that are present through their absence.

“How can I love well? With The Forty Rules of Love, you can pour out your heart, break out of your stuck places, mysteriously fall in love, and find the deep joy of freedom.”

— Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology

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Rule  10: “East, west, south, or north makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the whole wide world and beyond.”

Shams Tabrizi

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From The Forty Rules of Love

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Rule 20:   We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is an amount to disrespecting God’s holy scheme.

Rule 21:  When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine bibber goes into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis do not judge other people on how they look or who they are. When a Sufi stares at someone, he keeps both eyes closed instead opens a third eye – the eye that sees the inner realm.

Rule 22: Life is a temporary loan and this world is nothing but a sketchy imitation of Reality. Only children would mistake a toy for the real thing. And yet human beings either become infatuated with the toy or disrespectfully break it and throw it aside. In this life stay away from all kinds of extremities, for they will destroy your inner balance. Sufis do not go to extremes. A Sufi always remains mild and moderate.

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Rule 25: Each and every reader comprehends the Holy Qur’an on a different level of tandem with the depth of his understanding. There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the Batin – the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable.

Rule 26: The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do no harm. Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyone’s back – not even a seemingly innocent remark! The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space and they will come back to us in due time. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One man’s joy will make everyone smile.

Rule 27: Whatever you speak, good or evil, will somehow come back to you. Therefore, if there is someone who harbours ill thoughts about you, saying similarly bad things about him will only make matters worse. You will be locked in a vicious circle of malevolent energy. Instead for forty days and nights say and think nice things about that person. Everything will be different at the end of 40 days, because you will be different inside.

Rule 29: Destiny doesn’t mean that your life has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to live everything to the fate and to not actively contribute to the music of the universe is a sign of sheer ignorance. The music of the universe is all pervading and it is composed on 40 different levels. Your destiny is the level where you play your tune. You might not change your instrument but how well to play is entirely in your hands.

Rule 30: The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a sing bad word about any of his critics. A Sufi never apportions blame. How can there be opponents or rivals or even “others” when there is no “self” in the first place? How can there be anyone to blame when there is only One?

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Loneliness and Rainbows – Inspirational Quotations

“Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another person’s heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you.”

-The Forty Rules of Love
Shams Tabrizi – photo Reflection created by Eve.

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thanks to Wadild for the quote

“Gradually it dawned on Ursula that all religion she knew was but a particular clothing to a human aspiration. The aspiration was the real thing – the clothing was a matter almost of national taste or need. The Greeks had naked Apollo, the Christians a white-robed Christ, the Buddhists a royal prince, the Egyptians their Osiris. Religions were local and religion was universal. Christianity was a local branch. There was as yet no assimilation of local religions into universal religion.

In religion there were two great motives of fear and love. The motive of fear was as great as the motive of love. Christianity accepted crucifixion to escape from fear; ‘Do your worst to me, that I may have no more fear of the worst.’ But that which was feared was not necessarily all evil, and that which was loved was not necessarily all good. Fear shall become reverence, and reverence is submission in identification; love shall become triumph, and triumph is delight in identification.”

- D H Lawrence, ‘The Rainbow’

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This is a truly wonderful book. As I read it again, some 20+ years since it blew me away the first time, I am reminded as to why it blew me away. He simply refuses to settle for anything less than ‘the empyrean’, which for him is something that happens to body *and* soul…

~ Jake.