Monthly Archives: October 2022

Nightly Spiritual Quote #332 Buddhism

“Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be acheived unless we first establish peace within our own minds. We can send so-called ‘peacekeeping forces’ into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be oppossed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.”
― Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

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Pea c e a nd L ov e

Seth Kelly Curtis

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The Wisdom of Robert Adams #94

Do not think you’re so important that
you have to overcome a problem.
That is all you’re doing
when you think you have a problem to overcome.
It makes you feel important.
I’ve got to solve this problem, I’ve got to overcome this situation.
As if ‘I’ is somebody important.
‘I’ doesn’t exist.
If ‘I’ doesn’t exist neither does your problem.
You know by now that your problem exists
because you believe in your ‘I’.
When you realize ‘I’ does not exist everything disappears.
This is what I mean when I tell you sometimes, there are no problems, there never were any problems and
there never will be any problems.
But as soon as you begin to think there are problems.
Even while you’re sitting here listening to me,
if you allow your mind to think doesn’t a problem come up in your life that you’re thinking about,
that you think is so important at the present time?
But if you were spontaneous and live in the eternal present,
the eternal now, forget about the past,
don’t worry about the future but live in this particular second,
in this second there are no problems.
If you can only stay in this split second, no-one is hungry,
no-one is ill, no-one is in need, no-one is suffering.
As you begin to stay in that split second, this split second expands into a minute, into two minutes,
into ten minutes and as you abide in it, it turns into eternity.
You are always in that split second where nothing is happening.
Where no thing is taking place.
That split second is bliss, pure intelligence,
absolute reality and you are that.
So again, it begins when you get up in the morning.
You observe the ‘I’.
You watch yourself thinking I got up, I just woke up.
But now here’s the catch, do not allow the ‘I’ to go any further.
As soon as you watch yourself saying, “I just woke up”.
Try to catch yourself and ask yourself the question,
“Who is the ‘I’ that just woke up?”
For in that split second prior to awakening you were in bliss,
no thoughts.
But as soon as you begin to think of the ‘I’,
the world comes into play.
In that split second before I came along you were awake.
Yet there was no world, there were no people,
there was no universe, there were no problems.
In that split second.
But as soon as you began to think of ‘I’ your troubles began.
Because you’re thinking about the day, I’m hungry,
I have to take a shower.
I have to get dressed and I begins to do its mischief.
That is why it’s very important to observe the ‘I’ coming out.
If you can really observe it you will see that the ‘I’ is coming out of your spiritual heart on the right side of your chest.
But a funny thing will happen.
As you observe it, it will go back, isn’t that interesting?
As you observe the ‘I’ or as you question it,
“Where did the ‘I’ come from?”
It will stop.
It will stop its procedure, it will stop its journey to the brain where you become body conscious.
All these things happen in a split second.
So you have to be aware, you have to be alert, you have to watch for it.
I admit it takes some effort in the beginning but it’s well worth it.
Think about this again.
Just before you awaken to the ‘I’,
you are already awake in that split second.
In that split second there is no world but you are awake,
you are conscious, you’re totally happy, you’re totally self-realized in that split second.
But then the ‘I’ begins its journey from the heart to the brain.
Now if you can observe the ‘I’ and question its authority, it will lose its momentum and slow down.
And begin to return to the heart.
If you can get it to return to the heart,
you will be conscious but you will be liberated.
You will go about your business like you always do.
You will take your shower, you will eat your breakfast,
it will all happen spontaneously.
There will be no thoughts.
The only experience you will have is total bliss.
Total happiness,
total joy and yet your body will go about it’s business.
It can happen all at once or it can take time.
But it’s worth the effort isn’t it? Even if it takes you a lifetime,
at least you will be free at that time.
What is more important than this?
Can anything be more important than this?
This guarantees that you do not return to this earth.
It guarantees that while you are alive in your body, so-to-speak, you will be a jivan-mukta, self-realized in the body.
This is your only salvation.
But you’ve got to do it.
These teachings used to be handed out by the Rishis from mouth to mouth to explain it.
It is most difficult to comprehend the books.
Even though some of them are very clear…
(tape break then Robert continues)
…something within that knows what to do to make it happen.
But if you try to understand with your brain, with your head,
you will forget.
And when tomorrow morning comes you will get up
and your ‘I’ will take over immediately.
You will say I’m late for work, I’m in a hurry, I’m this and I’m that and you will forget everything we’re talking about this evening.
But if you are listening with your heart, when tomorrow morning comes you will spontaneously be able to catch yourself.
I will repeat again how to do this.
When you first open your eyes,
in that split second you are conscious.
The ‘I’ has not risen yet,
but remember it’s all happening in a second.
So you’ve got to be aware, you’ve got to be awake, intelligent.
Watch and you will notice that the ‘I’ begins very faintly and becomes stronger.
You can shout out, “Who are you?”
That’s the same as saying, “Who am I?”
Who gave you permission to awaken?
Observe, watch.
The ‘I’ will begin to lose momentum.
The ‘I’ will become weaker and weaker.
The way it usually happens with people, with most people, is they’re able to catch it for maybe a few seconds and then the ‘I’ will take over completely.
Do not be disappointed, that is the worst thing you can do.
It has taken most people years,
centuries perhaps to go all the way.
Be happy with what you’ve got.
But as you begin to do this practice diligently,
everyday, that split second where you observe the ‘I’,
will expand into a full second,
into two-seconds,
into three-seconds.
In other words for those three-seconds
you will be self-realized to an extent.
You will be conscious, period.
You will not be conscious of this or that, you will be conscious.
And you will feel something you never felt before, a joy.
You will know you’re on the right track.
Then when the ‘I’ takes over completely you can get up and go about your business and ask yourself, “Who am I?
What is the source of the ‘I’?”
During the day as the thoughts come to you, be receptive, be alert, question, “To whom do these thoughts come?”
They come to me, “Who’s me?
Who am I?
What is the source of the ‘I’?”
Practice that all day.
The next morning you do the same thing.
If you do this my friends I can assure you, things will begin to happen to you that you never dreamed possible.
May you all experience bliss and your true Self.

From “How Bad Do You Want To Awaken”

*****

May God bless and protect you

Seth Kelly Curtis

Spiritual Essays #97

Why Did Swami Vivekananda Die?

by Jayaram V

Swami Vivekananda died on July 4, 1902, at the age of 39 years, five months and 24 days. Except for a few biographical accounts of his close followers, we do not know much about the last days of his life, or why he died at an early age. We know that in the last few weeks preceding his death he encouraged his followers and members of the math to practice meditation and lead a disciplined life. He also participated in meetings and discussions. From the available accounts, the following points emerge.

He was leading an active life as the head of the Ramakrishna Matth until his last days. It is said that on the day of his death he taught yoga and other subjects to pupils. Later he held a meeting with his colleagues about a planned Vedic college in the Matth. Then, he went to his room to do meditation, asking others not to disturb him, and a few hours later passed into the higher realm (mahasamadhi).

His close associates claimed that he had a premonition about his impending death. According to one account, he said to have commented that he would not be alive to see his 40th birthday. Another account suggests that a few days before his death he studied the almanac (panchang) to determine the time and date for his death. It is also said three days before his death he showed to an associate, Swami Premananda, a spot on the monastery grounds where he wished his body should be cremated.

He died due to several health problems. It is common knowledge that from an early age Swami Vivekananda suffered from many chronic ailments. The renowned Bengali writer Shankar, and author of The Monk as Man, placed the number at 31, which included insomnia, liver and kidney problems, malaria, migraine, diabetes and heart ailments. From his account, we also understand that before his death the Swami cut short his visit to Cairo, Egypt, due to health problems and returned to India where he wished to die.

He died peacefully while doing meditation. It is said that the Swami was intent upon doing meditation himself and urged everyone else at the monastery to practice it. He often reprimanded those who neglected to do it and asked them to forgo meals for a day as part of the self-discipline. On the day of his death, he performed meditation for three hours in the morning, and again for two hours in the evening during which he passed away. One version suggests that he died due to the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain, but according to another version like a liberated yogi he left the body through the mystic opening (Brahmarandhra) in the crown of his head by rupturing it.

is death was sudden. There was no indication of any suffering. None of his followers and associates at the Belur Math foresaw his death. To them it was a great shock. Upon knowing that he died many fell into inconsolable grief. For example, one associate narrated the following incident, which took place during the cremation of the Swami. “At this, Nivedita could no longer suppress her grief. She got up and began to circle the blazing funeral pyre. Seeing her close to the pyre, Swami Brahmananda was concerned that her skirt would catch fire. He conveyed this to Swami Nirbhayananda, who then took Nivedita’s hand and led her away from the pyre. He made her sit on the bank of the Ganges and tried to console her.”

The following points also emerge from the study of his life and works.

1. The Swami was very passionate about serving others and was frequently moved to tears by seeing the plight of the poor and downtrodden. He lived a hectic life in near poverty conditions as he visited several places within and outside India and accepted food and hospitality from diverse groups of people irrespective of their social or economic conditions. The life of austerity and difficult living conditions must have contributed to his several illnesses and early demise

2. As the head of the monastery, the Swami suffered from several financial difficulties. The poor living conditions and lack of proper medical facilities at the Math might have also contributed to the deterioration of his health.

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May God bless and protect you

Seth Kelly Curtis

Spiritual Teachings #66 Jewish

Spiritual Teaching from the Jewish Tradition

“Do not exalt any path above God. There are many paths that lead to God.

So people are capable of finding and following the ways that suit them,

provided they do not stand still.”    Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

A Cure for Indifference to God

According to the cardinal principle of the Hasidic Master, “let atar panui minei”

no place in creation is devoid of God; God is everywhere.

    Hasidism answers emphatically:

“God is not indifferent; God is the answer to indifference.”

Hasidism – the Way of the Fervently Pious: One who acts out of Love, with Tenderness.

    What was Hasidism if not an attempt to tear down everything that separated one man from another – and from himself? Hasidism tore down the walls that exist between God and man, creation and creature, thought and deed, past and present, reality and soul: the secret lay in oneness.

    You can defeat misfortune; invoke joy or create it, and things will change for you and for others as well. For this is basic to the Hasidic message: there is total interdependence between man and heaven; one affects the other.

    Weeping over God and men alike, some Hasidic Masters could not help sinking into melancholy. They knew that the secret of redemption lies in the union between Creator and creation. But what if the Creator and creation were to remain strangers forever? Thus their despair was of an existential nature. Divine severity was less threatening to them than divine separation. Let God be our king, our father, or even our judge – but let Him not be estranged from us!

    In some places, men are one another’s prisoners; in the Hasidic kingdom they were one another’s companions. One man was not another man’s boundary but, on the contrary, an opening to other men. God dwells in both places. For, according to the cardinal principle of the Hasidic Master, “let atar panui minei” – no place in creation is devoid of God; God is everywhere.

    Hasidism answers emphatically: “God is not indifferent; God is the answer to indifference.”

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May God bless and protect you

Seth Kelly Curtis

Nightly Spiritual Quote #329 Science of Mind

“The purpose of education should ultimately be the advancement of the species. And for this to actually happen, the world needs the kind of education by means of which character is formed, strength of the mind is increased and the human intellect is expanded beyond its own limits.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost

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Peace and Love

Seth Kelly Curtis