Life 12 (Jul 11 - Oct 11)

[winston]

What is this Divine Self or Atma?

The Atma (Divine Self) has no entry or exit, no form or imperfection. It is subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest.

Like space, it is all pervasive - and being ‘everything’ it is free from the feelings, ‘I and mine’.

Just as fire is heat, Atma is consciousness. As it is beyond distress or delusion, it is supreme, everlasting ecstasy.

The intellect, like the moon, has no light in itself; it only reflects the brilliance of the Inner Self which is like the sun.

The Sun by its very presence dispels darkness and so is called the Enlightener; but it is neither doing this consciously nor is it duty bound.

The Inner Self too, has no obligation, or duty. If asked how the Atma becomes a ‘doer’, the reply is: ‘Is the magnet acting, simply because the needle nearby moves?

The Atma therefore is the core of all beings; the awareness in all.

- Ch 22: ”Eternal Truths”.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Moment-to-Moment Understanding

The fundamental understanding of oneself, does not come through knowledge or through the accumulation of experiences, which is merely the cultivation of memory.

The understanding of oneself is from moment to moment; if we merely accumulate knowledge of the self, that very knowledge prevents further understanding, because accumulated knowledge and experience become the center through which thought focuses and has its being.

- J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life


Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What should be our response to praise and criticism? Why does this impulse to criticise others arise in us and how do we subdue it?

The world is a nest of crows; some caw in praise, others in derision. But you should be above the reach of both.

Make light of praise and treat it as something unworthy of your attention, only then can you enjoy real happiness and be free.

Even Avatars have not escaped blame; will normal men be spared?

People are fond of themselves, their own religions, customs and homelands. This affection makes one criticise other’s faiths and beliefs.

Though related to religion and ones' relationship to the Divine, such impulses are impure.

Recognize this fact and remove these tendencies by repetition of the Divine's name and meditation, that fill the heart with the universal wisdom of the Inner Self.

These tendencies will be transformed and transmuted into sacred impulses, and will eventually vanish.

- Ch 12: “Don’t be a slave to impulses”.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Understand the Process of Your Thinking

Suppose you had never read a book, religious or psychological, and you had to find the meaning, the significance of life. How would you set about it?

Suppose there were no Masters, no religious organizations, no Buddha, no Christ, and you had to begin from the beginning. How would you set about it?

First, you would have to understand your process of thinking, would you not?

-and not project yourself, your thoughts, into the future and create a God who pleases you; that would be too childish.

So first you would have to understand the process of your thinking. That is the only way to discover anything new, is it not?

When we say that learning or knowledge is an impediment, a hindrance, we are not including technical knowledge, how to drive a car, how to run machinery or the efficiency that such knowledge brings.

We have in mind quite a different thing: that sense of creative happiness, that no amount of knowledge or learning will bring.

To be creative in the truest sense of that word is to be free of the past from moment to moment, because it is the past that is continually shadowing the present.

Merely to cling to information, to the experiences of others, to what someone has said, however great, and try to approximate your action to that;all that is knowledge, is it not?

But to discover anything new you must start on your own; you must start on a journey completely denuded, especially of knowledge, because it is very easy, through knowledge and belief, to have experiences;

.. but these experiences are merely the products of self-projection and therefore utterly unreal, false.

- J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Life teaches us the art of choice-making.
~ Dr. Pillai

[winston]

Knowledge Is Not Wisdom

In our search for knowledge, in our acquisitive desires, we are losing love, we are blunting the feeling for beauty, the sensitivity to cruelty; we are becoming more and more specialized and less and less integrated.

Wisdom cannot be replaced by knowledge, and no amount of explanation, no accumulation of facts, will free man from suffering.

Knowledge is necessary, science has its place; but if the mind and heart are suffocated by knowledge, and if the cause of suffering is explained away, life becomes vain and meaningless.

Information, the knowledge of facts, though ever increasing, is by its very nature limited.

Wisdom is infinite, it includes knowledge and the way of action; but we take hold of a branch and think it is the whole tree.

Through the knowledge of the part, we can never realize the joy of the whole. Intellect can never lead to the whole, for it is only a segment, a part.

We have separated intellect from feeling, and have developed intellect at the expense of feeling.

We are like a three-legged object with one leg much longer than the others, and we have no balance.

We are trained to be intellectual; our education cultivates the intellect to be sharp, cunning, acquisitive, and so it plays the most important role in our life.

Intelligence is much greater than intellect, for it is the integration of reason and love; but there can be intelligence only when there is self-knowledge, the deep understanding of the total process of oneself.

- J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Source: jkrishanmurthi.com

[winston]

The Function of the Intellect

I do not know if you have considered the nature of the intellect. The intellect and its activities are all right at a certain level, are they not?

But when the intellect interferes with that pure feeling, then mediocrity sets in.

To know the function of the intellect, and to be aware of that pure feeling, without letting the two mingle and destroy each other, requires a very clear, sharp awareness.

So the function of the intellect is always, is it not, to inquire, to analyze, to search out; but because we want to be secure inwardly, psychologically, because we are afraid, anxious about life, we come to some form of conclusion to which we are committed.

From one commitment we proceed to another, and I say that such a mind, such an intellect, being slave to a conclusion, has ceased to think, to inquire.

- J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life


Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Intelligence

Aren't you just thrilled that there are billions of beings of intelligence within you? Cells that each know what's best for them?

And as they find what's best for them, it is ultimately what's best for you—unless you're focused upon something unwanted and using that as your excuse to block the flow.

They are asking, Non-Physical is answering. Are you in the way or are you letting it flow? That's what this "Letting go and letting God" is all about.

It's about relaxing and no longer hindering the communication between the individual askers. Every particle gets to individually decide.

And as every particle asks, it is answered—and the Whole continues to thrive.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Sedona, AZ on Saturday, August 5th, 2000 # 200

Source: abraham-hicks.com

[winston]

How does one master the mind and what are the qualities one must possess, to be successful in this endeavour?

In order to master the mind, your impulses and desires have to be suppressed.

Desires excite the mind to rush towards the senses, just like a dog runs behind its master.

Repeat the divine Name and meditate, then you can develop your will, memory, and imagination along proper lines.

Meditation is a great help to gain control over an unsteady mind.

It is not enough if one of the senses is conquered; all of them should be mastered.

Of course, this is a very hard task and you might feel like giving up, but never lose heart.

Do not stray from the path of discipline, whenever you feel you are not making as much progress as you hoped to.

That is not the road to victory - persevere, be patient, and you are sure to triumph in the end!

- Ch 12: “Don’t be a slave to impulses”

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What are the various instruments given to a human being and how does one use these to attain the ultimate goal ?

The body, sense organs, mind and intellect are instruments for a human being.

Only when one understands the secrets of these instruments, will one be able to comprehend the Inner Self Principle.

If you cannot understand the vesture you are wearing, how can you understand the mystery of the infinite, indwelling Spirit?

The body is the basic instrument for all the actions in life and for the acquisition of all knowledge and skills.

But it should be primarily regarded as an instrument for realization of the Divine. Attachment to the body and utilisation of it for physical pleasures should be given up.

It is essentially sacred and precious, for it is the abode of the Inner Self and should be used only for sacred purposes.

- Divine Discourse, 5 October 1997.

Source: radiosai.org