Worship

Loving and thinking of My Lord, Guru Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi | Muruganar

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

318. By thinking of my Lord, thought waves came to a complete rest. I was freed from attachment to action I performed. I separated from potential associations that approached me. I merged everywhere with mauna, the virtuous conduct of abiding as being.

319. Because thinking of my Lord yielded bliss for me, I realised that my Lord is the very form of bliss. By experiencing my lord through the mauna-consciousness in my heart, I too became, with delight, that [bliss]

320. Because the thought of our Lord destroys completely all other thoughts, devotees will come to experience the grace that is supreme tranquillity thought that thought of our Lord. The potency of the supreme power of our Lord’s mauna will destroy the ego of true devotees, bestowing on them the experience of our Lord’s very own real nature, the Self, jnana.

313. Why seek a tapas other than true love, the melting of the mind that comes from meditating on my Lord?

314. No other tapas is required for those whose minds have dissolved by meditating on the Lord.

315. Melting within by repeatedly thinking of him in a loving way became the cord with which the Lord tied me to himself. His ultimate real nature, existing as the unique pure being, surged forth as pure consciousness, absolutely blemishless grace.

The above verses are from The Shining of my Lord by Sri Muruganar

Guru Vachaka Kovai, Verse 659:

659. Those people who lack consciousness of being, the natural light [I am], and who consequently come, through ignorance, under the spell of karma and suffer, will have their delusion ended and reach the Self, the supreme reality, through meditation on a divine form that is dear to them.

Is it right to change Gurus? Nisargadatta Maharaj

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

I Am That

Questioner: Is it right to change Gurus?

Nisargadatta Maharaj: Why not change? Gurus are like milestones? It is natural to move on from one to another. Each tells you the direction and the distance, while the sadguru, the eternal Guru, is the road itself. Once you realise that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.

Questioner: So, there is no need to worship, to pray, to practice Yoga?

Nisargadatta Maharaj: A little of daily sweeping, washing and bathing can do no harm. Self-awareness tells you at every step what needs be done. When all is done, the mind remains quiet.

Devotional Love – The Sure Path of Bhakti Yoga

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

Ramana Maharshi downward gaze

In Guru Vachaka Kovai, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi tells us:

734. Those who have one-pointed devotion towards God, like the magnetic needle [of a ship’s compass] which always stands facing towards the north, will never be perplexed and go astray in the ocean of attachment of this world.

735. Those who live in the world, clinging whole-heartedly to God, are like children who whirl round and round a pillar holding it firmly. Since they have a strong and unshakeable hold on God, they are devoid of ego [anava] and therefore will never fall a prey to the delusion of the world.

736. If one fixes one’s mind firmly on that pure Supreme Reality which pervades all activities, one will not be affected by any number of activities that are done.

Bow, bow deeply

~ Tom Das ~ 5 Comments

Bow to life,
Bow deeply,
Feel gratitude for the gifts God gives us,
And everything that comes our way
Is a gift from Him

Bow deeply,
And fall in love,
Fall in love with Life,
Allow Her to take you,
Overwhelm you,
And show you Her treasures.
Allow life to make you whole,
Make you clean,
Clean from outside through to within.

Bow deeply,
Bow to life,
Gratitude pouring in,
Taking you over,
One with Him,
Cleasing you,
Purging you of negativity
Ridding you of illusion,
as Love takes over.

Now Love takes over,
It compels you to bow,
And delights you,
Moves you this way and that,
A willing servitude,
All a gift,
Flowing with gratitude,
Flowing with bliss,
So thankful,
Only Her.

Now where are you?
Where are you to be found?
At first you were the lover
-that (subject) which was loving,
But now, where are you?
Where have you gone?
Where is the lover?
Where is the loved?

The distinctions have been lost:

We were once thrown and tossed by the oceans,
This way and that,
But now there is only Ocean,
Throwing Ocean,
This way and that.

We were once the Lover,
Loving God,
Loving life,
But now there is only Him,
Loving Himself,
Playing, toying,
And Still and Unmoving,
Only love.

How can I bow to Him,
When there is no me,
and no Him?
How can I love life,
when there is no love,
and no life?
Only Him,
Only Life,
Only Love.

Yet still
I bow deeply

Poetry: the vision of the Highest

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

 

Vishnu standing.jpg

If it feels right for you:

Keep your mind on the vision of The Highest,
Fix your mind on
that which is Most Holy,
that which is Resplendent in its Perfection,
that which is Total Grace,
Total Bliss and Love,
that which is Immutable,
Unhanging,
Untouchable,
Immovable,
Ever-present,
And that which does nothing,
But through which all things are done,
And in which all things reside.

I invoke your presence,
Through uttering your Holy Name,
Through thinking of your transcendental form,
Through bowing and prostrating again and again and again,
Through prayer and gratitude and chanting songs of your greatness,
Through allowing your Love and Light to fill me up.

You are that which giveth and taketh away,
You are the wish-fulfilling tree,
You are the remover of all sins,
O ever-mercifull Lord!
You are non-seperate from me,
No different to Me in Essence,
Inherently pure,
Always in my Heart.

All is already nothing but Your Will,
All movements are nothing but your expression of Lila,
the Grand Play of the Divine made Manifest.

I bow to You,
The Highest,
Most Holy:
My heart weeps cleansing tears of pain and joy at the mere thought of Your Name and Form.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Namah Om
(Om, I bow to you, my Beloved, Lord of Life and Light in all Beings, I bow to you, Om)

Bhagavad Gita: the most secret teaching

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

BG fix your mind on me.png

Lord Krishna states this is his most secret teaching: to love Him, to devote ourselves to Him, to be with Him knowingly.

He is already in each of our hearts, He is already everywhere and everything, everything is already done by Him.

Here knowledge, scripture and philosophy all crumble as, through our devotion, the heart opens. All are consumed by Him, and all we are left with is Him in all His glory.

We never were. All there ever was was Him.

❤ ❤ ❤

As Jesus said when asked:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
And he [Jesus] said to him,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the greatest and first commandment.”
Matthew 22:36-38

❤ ❤ ❤

Also, as Shankara sung in his Bhaja Govindam:

“Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda,
Oh fool! Other than chanting the Lord’s names, there is no other way to cross the life’s ocean.”
(Govinda is another name for Krishna. Literally it means ‘protector of cows’ referring to Krishna’s youth as a cow herd.)

❤ ❤ ❤

So, all that’s left for me do to is bow down and praise Him

❤ ❤ ❤

Hare Krishna!

Om Namah Shivaya!

May all beings be happy and well!

Praise be to God!

❤ ❤ ❤

See also:

Was Jesus ever born?

The pre-eminent form of worship

 

Non-dual devotion, worship and prayer

~ Tom Das ~ 13 Comments

child praying.jpg

In advaita (non-duality), we know that the God which is devote ourselves to is not separate from us.

Also see:

Does Jnana (Knowledge) lead to Bhakti (Devotion) or the other way round?
Should I bow to Sri Ramana Maharshi?
Grace alone is of prime importance
Bhakti Yoga (love and devotion) as a complete path to liberation
Ramana Maharshi on those who mock Idol-Worship

For many purists there is no place for devotion and prayer in non-duality. But devotion has always had a prominent role in spiritual traditions, and for good reason: it can be a hugely purifying and uplifting part of spiritual practice with many positive effects on the body and mind and our relationships. (click here for how devotion can be part of a wider spiritual path)

Om! May Brahman protect us!
May Brahman nourish us!
May we have energy!
May we become illumined!
May we not hate!
Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!
(A traditional invocation or prayer from the Upanishads)

Continue reading →

Muruganar: The Pre-eminent form of worship

~ Tom Das ~ 4 Comments
Through the grace of my Lord’s glorious revelation I learned that the pre-eminent form of worship – which alone is worthy of him – who shines within the heart as the Self – is just to be. Thus did I learn to worship him without worshipping through the simple act of being.
Sri Guru Ramana Prasadam, verse 389

Sri Guru Ramana Prasadam was written by Muruganar (1890-1973), one of the most eminent of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s devotees. Muruganar was liberated shorty after meeting Ramana and thereafter continued to spend several decades alongside him. It is because of Muruganar’s questioning and urging that Ramana composed works such as ‘Self-Knowledge’, ‘The Essence of Instruction’ and ‘Forty Verses on Reality’. These succinct works contain the essence of Ramana’s (written) teachings. We are indeed indebted to Muruganar! Continue reading →