...ending in a Child's Giggle.

When I was 16, going on 17, and was lucky enough to have squeezed into the only High School Philosophy class in the district, I used to drive my best buddy nuts with it. Our periods of walking his dog, or walks to school became sessions of deep philosophical discourse.


On one such spring evening stroll, with Beagle in tow, my pal and I discovered a "proof " for the existence of God. I can't for the life of me remember what we had come up with, but it was real "tear producing " discovery at the time. I was ecstatic. The first thing I thought to do was call my philosophy teacher.

Now, this was a Saturday night, not a school night, tomorrow was Sunday, a whole day away from school, and I couldn't wait. I had to call Mr. Curtin. He was probably my most inspiring teacher. I have written of him before. He was the teacher who inspired me to look into philosophy in the first place, when I was about 15.

It was not so much that I wanted to show off to him that we had "proven " God, or that I was somehow "kissing up ", but in my naivety, I had a genuine belief that, now that I had proven God, he would certainly want to know!

He was, to my grateful relief, not unhappy that I called. We discussed my findings, and I was a bit deflated to find that Anselm had had similar findings centuries before. He also inserted a poser: "If indeed you boys have proven God; how would you prove he was "good"?"

Recalling that incident, I am reminded that in the spiritual "journey " we will be given many "revelations ". Some will seem new, but are actually glimpses into a common consciousness. But in spite of being common revelations, they are "revelations " just the same, and "experienced " through this body/mind as expressions of the movement of Love, the Absolute. Old "truths " are being "experienced " and becoming "our " old truths.

I am also reminded of how the last question my philosophy teacher posed; "How would you prove that god is "good "?, became a question I would ponder much of my life. Ponder, that is, until I discovered that the only "answer" was to delve into it so deeply that I "became " the answer. In that silence an "infilling " gave the answer and removed the need for the answer, in one unfolding that starts with awe and ends in a child's giggle.

The Empty Vessel Catches the Rain - Non-Duality and Christian Contemplation

True Christian Contemplation is often misrepresented, and to bring Non-Dualteachings into it would seem a precarious idea at least. Experience however, has shown otherwise. An understanding of what Contemplation means, in historic Christian terms, and what it means to you as a seeker, either in non-Duality, or as a Christian, is essential.

In historic Christian terms, contemplation differs from the Christian idea ofmeditation in one very important way. In meditation, we think on one event or idea from the life of Christ, or a passage from the Bible, or other sacred text. We dwell on this thought and discover meaning. This is, of course, all in the mind in non-Dual terms.

In the self-inquiry of non-Duality we do much the same thing. We look at ourselves, we dwell in the "I AM" until we see that our existence is all we can account for. Dwelling in the "I AM" leads to the uncovery of the impermanence of the manifestation, and our own "story" dissolves. This is not unlike Christian Contemplation.

The difference in Christian Contemplation from both non-Dual self-inquiry and Christian meditation is that Christian Contemplation is a dwelling in "no-thought". From the Desert Fathers to the present day, methodologies have been constructed on how to "do" contemplation, but true contemplation is not "done" it simply happens. Contemplation can come to one who is not studied in it at all, for true contemplation is a movement of Grace. One can try to make oneself "receptive", by living a life free of desire, but the nature of Grace follows no rules and neither punishes or rewards, but flows with Love only. The reason a Monk or Nun leaves the "world of desire" behind is not to run away from life, but to meet the unknown head on. The idea is to empty out all that is the "not real", the egoic mind as it were. For only in an empty, unattached mind will contemplation "come". This is the "goal" of contemplation, if it is described as having a "goal". For true contemplation has no "goal" apart from wanting to "be" with "God", or "the Absolute".

This "wanting", this is the "earnestness" of Nisargadatta Maharaj. This is a single-minded longing, not to know, but to be. Just as Love, by it's being, creates "you" to love; "you" must return the love by letting go of the "you" and returning to the source. In the wordless silence of contemplation, there is communion with the source. Knowledge is acquired through this silent communion, though it is not knowledge with words or concepts, but the "knowledge of the heart".

The organized Church promotes contemplation among it's Clergy and Monastics, and to a lesser degree it's laity, but limit it by only allowing the "insights" or "revelations" that conform with Church Doctrine or belief, thereby taking the heart out of any serious inquiry. Contemplation, if it is to be a useful "practice", needs to be seen as free from any doctrinal restraint, or it will simply reflect the "mind" that is controlling it. The "changes" that are the "fruits" of contemplation will occur only when unrestrained, and only when they are "consciously unspoken".

Love, God, the Absolute, whatever concept you like, informs, or to use a Christian term; "indwells" and separation vanishes. But this is only "available" to "be". There is no "explaining " it to yourself or others. It is real, leaves no questions, as the questioner is "absorbed", and it "changes" your life. It becomesyour life! And this is the important part. As no matter if you are in a Monastery, or "practicing" non-dual self-inquiry, the "teaching" must be part of life, and not an escape from it.

As stated above, contemplation is not a "practice" as such, but a way of being.Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, in his quaint, simple way, spoke in his "Practice of the Presence of God" about "turning his pancake in it's pan for the love of God". This willingness to "stay in the moment", this "earnestness" that was so insisted upon by Nisargadatta Maharaj, is the essence of contemplation. The contemplative monk, the self-inquiring non-dualist, are not negating life. They are not indulging in self punishment or self annihilation. They are becoming empty vessels. Being open to ALL possibilities; taking no stand, being "no-thing", they are free to be "everything". The empty vessel catches the Rain.

The Problem of God.

In the Judaic/Christian Bible, within the Book of Genesis, is the statement about the creation of mankind: " So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

The reality here is more like the reverse; man created god in his own image. I realize that the Hindu Gods represent a variety of forms and meanings, but I know little of the gods of India, having my upbringing in Western Christianity. From an absolute standpoint there is only One, both our"selves" and God being lost in it's "isness".

From a relative standpoint, God is separate, yet we intellectually understand "he" is "our" "selves". Advaita would say, not two. From a relative standpoint, we can practice devotion. But we must always keep our hearts on the "pearl of great price"; that Oneness of the Absolute.

I recently read some advice that said that "householders" and "beginners" on the spiritual path should stick with Bhakti and the Gods, as non-dual, self inquiry was not for them. Those with true earnestness, regardless of position, station, or birth can engage both Jnana and Bhakti in this "search for God".

When I was a boy, I lived with my family halfway up a steep hill. Everyday I would walk home from school, and look up at that hill, and think how steep and far it was. One day, when walking home with my Brother, I mentioned how awful climbing that hill was, and he pointed out that we only lived halfway up the hill, and that every day he imagined he had to climb to the top. This caused him to double his effort, and he came to the house before he knew it! I found that this method worked for me too, not only on the hill, but in life and the spiritual search.

The realization of the Absolute seems like quite a struggle. Devotion to God is much easier by comparison. Our minds understand a "physical" God. Our minds understand "submission" to a "higher power". Yet our minds also understand the "I AM", and the concept of the Oneness of reality. Devotion to God, if complete and self sacrificing, will lead to the ultimate Truth. But it is the devotion that leads to the Truth, not God. For only if we recognize that there is something beyond, that requires devotion, because it IS Devotion, can we sustain ourselves until it is uncovered.

We must see and desire only the top of the hill, to muster sufficient effort to reach halfway.

When we lose our "selves" in devotion to God, we lose our "selves", and that is the point of worship; to lose the "self". This applies when we "lose ourselves" in helping others, or in silent meditation. But somewhere along the line, we need to reconcile the separation we create in the act of worship and devotion.

We need to understand that worship has to become, not just what we do, but what we ARE. Our substance is Love. We are created by it, sustained by it, and swim in a "sea" of it. Love, in it's universal and impersonal functioning, is the Absolute. Like the perpetual opening of a perpetual Rose, the manifestation, and it's underlying reality, unfold into the wonder of "life". Both our "selves" and God unfold in this wonder, but only arise when consciousness is aware of itself. Separation begins with the "I AM" when we mistake the "I" for the body/mind. But how do we reconcile this separation?

Bhakti; the devotion to God is the starting place. The devotional practice toward an "other" gets us to step out of our egocentric self long enough to become "empty". Emptiness of this kind attracts grace, and the emptiness becomes filled with Love.

This impersonal Love is the soil in which true Jnana grows. When the mind reaches it's limit at the "I AM", the question arises; why is there love and devotion for a God, an Absolute? And what draws those who seek beyond, some to extreme asceticism and struggle?

And in that struggle, the mind and Love itself, come together and you realize that God and yourself are flowing with the Love, not the other way round. The Love being the only reality. Love is the One. Tat Tvam Asi.

yajna -Worship in Sacrifice

"yajna: (Sanskrit) "Worship; sacrifice." One of the most central Hindu concepts--sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer. 1) A form of ritual worship especially prevalent in Vedic times, in which oblations--ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods--are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted. The element fire, Agni, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods. The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. These major yajnas are performed in large, open-air structures called yagashala. Domestic yajnas, prescribed in the Grihya Shastras, are performed in the family compound or courtyard. Yajna requires four components, none of which may be omitted: dravya, sacrificial substances; tyaga, the spirit of sacrificing all to God; devata, the celestial beings who receive the sacrifice; and mantra, the empowering word or chant."

I found it interesting that yajna means both worship AND sacrifice. This is similar to the seminal Christian Rite; The Eucharist, in that it involves ritual "sacrifice." While it is true, one involves only oblations of rich and expensive earthly "substances", when the other involves the reenactment of "human" sacrifice, but as rituals, they are "sacrificial".

One of the four components above is "the spirit of sacrificing all to God." This spirit is essential. Obviously the "thing" being sacrificed (oblations/Jesus Life, ie, sacrificial substances) is there in ritual worship. The empowering words, the mantras, or Eucharistic prayers. The "celestial beings" or the being of Christ, or God. All these "things" are held together in the grip of "the spirit of sacrificing all to God".

This spirit of sacrifice is none other than our True Nature, universal Love. But let's look at the nature of "sacrifice".

Burning some wood, no matter how precious, or ritual sacrifice of bread and wine will not give us the reality of sacrifice we need to understand. Our lives need to be informed by these rituals. The spirit of these rituals must inspire our hearts and hands (our sacrificial substance), the empowering words of "Thy will be done", and the thousands upon thousands of "celestial beings" in the faces of the poor and helpless who are with us always, all moving together in this ritual worship we call life. All held together in "the spirit of sacrificing all to God."

Sacrificing all means real sacrifice. A sacrifice of time. A sacrifice of convenience. A sacrifice of position or popularity.

Perhaps even sacrifice of respect. Those who seek social justice, often lose respect from those in "power". The truth can isolate you from your friends, community, and station in life. Will you sacrifice ALL? To give. To give unselfishly to others, with out need or desire for even recognition, requires being the fulfiller of need, without attachment. In this state you can be overflowing with God's, Love, as you ARE God's Love personified; giving without a trace of want or desire.

Love, through sacrifice, flows through "being", IS Being. When there is flow there is the subject/object. Be the Love. Be the Sacrifice. Complete the circuit with out stretched hands.

The Simplicity of the Little Child

Studies of Spiritual or Religious beliefs, doctrines and practices can become very complicated.

But the "Masters" have taught very simple truths, very simple practices. Ramana Maharshi asks us to inquire "Who am I?". Nisargaddata Maharaj tells us to stay in the "I AM". Jesus, the Christ, said "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Becoming as little children is the humbling experience that allows Love, the reality of what we are, to flow. There is nothing complicated about it.

Once we have resolved the fact of our "I AMNESS", and can abide in it, it is a simple step to Awareness. Perhaps it will take much study of complicated beliefs, doctrines and practices for us to realize that our minds can not reach the "Truth". Because we do not listen to the "Masters", we feel we need to "reinvent the wheel", and fill our minds with spiritual dross. But those who trust like little children, will listen and follow the simple teachings. Some need to "exhaust the mind" to come to the realization that the mind cannot grasp, or even approach Awareness, while the simple child like ones come upon Awareness naturally.

Many "Masters" from all spiritualities have spoken of simplicity: Lao Tzu said “I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”. The medieval Monk and author of "The Imitation of Christ" Thomas a Kempis wrote: “Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” The Indian Sage of the Late 19th and early 20th centurys, Papa Ramadas says "Simplicity is the nature of great souls". It is not hard to see and understand that simplicity is the road to Truth.

We are no less than God's Love. The creative flow of Love is all that there is. God, the "I AM" and the world all vanish in that simple flowing Love.

I am telling you, become like a little child, forget all your "wisdom" and concentrate on this passage from Dattatreya's Avadhuta Gita: 2 "How shall I salute the formless being, indivisible, auspicious, and immutable, who fills all this with His Self and also fills the self with His Self?"

Dwell on this question. It is beyond the mind. Your Heart will answer.