Oh, Arjuna, it is all there

It can all be found in the superb words of the Bhagavad Gita, the fountainhead of eternal wisdom. In it, invaluable secrets of life are revealed. The wisdom of all ages has entered mortal ears. Human eyes have seen the deepest mysteries of existence. What more does one need in one’s search for fulfillment in life?

What worth does a kingdom have after having learned the truth about life? How much value can one place in the possession of any thing once one has experienced the magnificent beauty of all of existence?

The Gita tells it all. It is all there. Nothing else needs to be known once the treasure chest of the Gita has been opened and its eternal wisdom shared so freely. How fortunate we all are to have the incomparable beings such as Vyasa as well as other sages and saints going back to ancient antiquity who opened their enlightened minds and shared their highest realization with us. The truth is one. The truth is that which we all share. The truth is the existence of all as conscious entity. There is no other. There is only the conscious one. Arjuna, that is the truth.

It is an inner truth as well as an outer truth. We are all one in spirit, and we are all one in body.

There is a stillness within you, oh Arjuna, which is the natural state beyond the active mind. Rest in this stillness. Make this stillness your home. Have the surrounding noises of the world fade away and reside in the inner stillness.

All necessary truths are all contained in the healing waters of the eternally invigorating words of the Bhagavad Gita. The supreme holiness of the individual soul is its main theme. Duty is a secondary feature. Fidelity to the master’s teachings is another.

Devotion to god through the guru is the way to liberation in stillness. That is what the B. G. clearly states. The vision of god comes through the form of the guru. The magnificence of life is shown through the magnificence of the guru. God and guru are revealed as one.

The individual soul and the universal soul are not now, nor have they ever been separated from each other. The part of the eternal universal soul that lives within various bodies is as much eternal as is the universal soul itself. Any piece of eternity is itself eternal.

Why the strange setting of the Bhagavad Gita at the beginning of a war, with the discussion taking place on a battlefield? Spiritual discussions most commonly take place in more placid settings. One possible answer is that the warrior who has faith in Krishna and not faith in the strength of his army will prevail in the contest. He will be victorious, not the one with the most warriors. Krishna gave both sides the choice of either him as a non-fighting charioteer or his whole army. The winning side picked the non-fighting Krishna. Numerical strength does not guarantee a successful campaign. God needs to be on your side for you to truly succeed, even if god lets you do most of the work.

 

God is Power

God is power. Or better: the power, which is the cause of this existence, that we have called “god”. It does not matter by what name we call it, it still is, and always will only be, power.

Since it is pure power, this power can be used for any number of things, good or bad. Both sides in a conflict often pray to their god to give them the strength to overcome their opponent. The side that wins then gives credit to the victory to their god, while the defeated party feels that it was not faithful enough to their god and therefore god did not support their cause.

According to the Bible, Moses used the power of his god to overcome the power of the Egyptian gods. I believe that if we gave god some qualities, then we would be in a better position to judge which god is going to win out over other gods. And these superior qualities are: justice, righteousness, freedom, liberation, morality, upliftment, purification, love, understanding, camaraderie, brotherhood, sharing, generosity, compassion, empathy, peace.

About Purity and Perfection

One must understand what is of paramount importance. What is important? The purity of the soul. The perfection of life. Nothing else is important.

Purity and perfection are really the same thing. In purity we fall asleep and in perfection we wake up.

We must always continue to strive for purity in all we do. We must strive to keep our heads above the water of the turbulent mental streams that are threatening to drown us. We must not get sucked into these intense whirlpools of cravings.

We must remain free from them. Free in the clarity and purity of awareness. Free in the conscious Self. Free in the knowing of “who we are.”

“Who are we?” We are conscious entities; created to experience consciousness fully. Created by consciousness; created within consciousness; created to be consciousness.

The purity and perfection of consciousness. That is who we are and that is where our true home is and has always been.

Magnificene

To get into a state of extended magnificence find something that evokes a sense of magnificence in you. This “something” can be anything, from a photo to a live sunset, from a rock to a diamond, from an insect to a whale. There is nothing that is not appropriate for this exercise.

Once you sense the magnificence, then remain in this state of magnificence until it fills you completely. Until your mind and entire being are completely saturated by it. This state is the most important state to be in. Whenever you are given a chance to be in this state, remain in it until it fills you completely.

At times, this sense of magnificence comes unexpectedly during your everyday activities. Don’t reject this gift at that moment. Use it to be in the extended state of magnificence. Be thankful for the opportunity.

The Radical Now

This is the moment. The radical moment is here. Radical! Disconnected from the moment before. The continuity of time has been shattered. The past is no more. The moment is free from all influences of the past. Radical Now. The Radical Now is here! No past exists. No future will ever exist. The Radical Now is here. Right now! This is the moment! Experience it! Now! In this magical moment! In this radical magical moment!

What “past” is holding you back? What fears and trepidations are holding you imprisoned? Be in the Radical Now and shake off all attachments. Blow them off! Brush them off your shoulders! Discard them like trash. What good are they to you in the Radical Now? They are useless in the Radical Now.

In the Radical Now! That is where you need to be! Nowhere else!

The imaginary pulls of the past have snapped! There is freedom. Liberation. In the Radical Now. No thoughts about a future have arisen. All thoughts about a past have ended.

How deep into the moment can you go? Where is the bottom of the Radical Now experience? What do you find in this deep moment? Or better, who do you find looking at you from the depth of this moment? You find the scintillating You! You are the experiencer of the Radical Now in the Radical Now!

There is You who is in love with You. There is You who is satisfied by You. That’s where life becomes a bit incestuous. There is You having relations with You in the Radical Now. There is You having intercourse with Yourself. There is you giving birth to the world! Then there is the experience of limitless scintillating bliss!

To be in the Radical Now is both a process and a state. It is a constant process. You are striving to keep your head above the raging river of life that is carrying you downstream to your ultimate destination: your annihilation!

Do not fear this annihilation. It happens when you flow into the much larger ocean of infinite existence. You will merge with something vaster, something borderless. You will have returned to the place where you had started. The drop has returned to the ocean from whence it had been lifted by the force of the sun and carried away by the force of the wind. Your journey of life has come to an end. For now!

For someone else

Do something positive for someone else. Or your life is really meaningless. Something for someone else. Being there for someone else. For someone else.

To be there for someone else when they need it. When they need it. When they are in need. Helping them when they need help. No forcing help onto others. Providing it in a way that is helpful to them. Not in a way that is convenient for me. To give more than I receive. Always more. Always giving. Like a river or a waterfall. Always being there. Always. Never stopping. Never stop from flowing. Always flowing. To serve. A cause. To help. Something. Yes, I know you want to help. You do. But don’t pit people against each other. That is not truly helping everyone. I know you want to make people stronger. Only the strong survive. The weak must be made stronger. Competition makes people stronger. It also can destroy them. The strong eat the weak. The weak cannot run this world. Strength is required to run the world. Inner strength. Razor-sharp inner strength. There also must be compassion to uplift others. No one is perfect. All have flaws. All have a potential for greatness, but not all have it at the same time. There are shopkeepers and there are shoppers. There are leaders and there are followers.

Everyone’s life is precious. All are teachers to others. All are learning from others. All can help others. Prophets and sages are needed to tell people a truth higher than the scrounging for food, shelter, and power. The higher truth of life worth living. The truth of the intangibles, of beauty and love and equality and kindness and compassion and understanding and forgiveness and grace.

The thinking mind. The conscious mind. The aware mind. The active mind. The mind conjuring up things. The brilliant mind. Flashing thoughts. Coming up with solutions. Moving forwards, always forwards. Out of the morass of yesterday into the light of today and back again. Rising and sinking. Over and over again. Gaining clarity. Losing clarity. Finding clarity again. The cycle of life. Memory prevents from falling back too far. Step by step forwards. The lure of a better tomorrow. The nostalgia of a lost happy childhood. Reliving the past is not possible. Not even in one’s thoughts. The past can never look as scary as the present. The flight into the past is avoidance of the present. The future that will be is the one being created in the present. Running away from the present to find comfort in the past is a sign of weakness. Hiding in the past is not facing the present. The present must be faced as painful as it is. There is no other way.

Belief in a god can help. Make things easier to bear. Take some of the load off, some of the responsibilities. Transferring the responsibilities to god. This frees the mind. Unload the minds. Unburdens the mind. All is god’s will. Not my will. Not the will of others. All is as god wills it. If god wanted it differently, god would have willed it differently. Be good and there will be heavenly rewards. Be bad and hellish rewards await. God is love. God is power. God is life. God is understanding. God is death. God is the cycle of life.

Still, doing something for someone else is necessary. Here on earth. God or no god. People exist. A sense of awe is required. A sense of awe at the existence of this universe. The universe exists. Particles exist. Air exists. Life exists. Thoughts exist. You and I exist. There is awe in this realization. Pure awe. Pure power. Pure being.

There Must Be Complete Integrity

There must be complete integrity.

Complete honesty.

Complete openness.

Complete truthfulness.

Complete seeing of what is.

Humility.

Peacefulness.

No troublemaking.

No attempt to put anyone down.

Not putting someone on a pedestal.

No self-promoting beyond the truth.

No exaggerations.

Knowing one’s weaknesses.

Knowing one’s dark secrets.

Looking into every corner of one’s mind with the flaming light of observation.

Hiding nothing from oneself.

Being humble in accepting advice.

Being grateful for any help offered.

Knowing the difference between right and wrong.

Always being on the side of life.

Avoid all heroic feelings.

Avoid all over-stimulations.

Always seek out peaceful solutions.

Be as non-hurtful as possible.

Don’t be aggressive.

Don’t be insensitive.

Be respectful towards all.

Don’t be wasteful.

Be appreciative.