Is there really a Karma system ?

Is there really a karma system ? If it is there why is it there and is it really fair ? Is it really the way that we see it today?

Just a two days before I and Arjuna were talking about Karma - wherein he said that whatever bad happens it happens because of past karmas. I vehemently opposed him and it was completely out of the blue - whatever i said was just a flow of what my heart really believed - I have always believed that if you are doing something good do it, because you want to do that good - not because u will get some punyas [many do for that reason] and if you don't do something bad, don't do it because you believe it is bad and not because you will earn bad karmas [again many don't do it because they are scared, though that fear has constantly reduced over the ages]I feel that many just use the term "Karma" just to escape reality - just to escape from accepting the truth - what justice would be there - when a child is killed immediately after birth just because it was a girl - what was her karma ? One can say that it was her past karma - then what is the use of just being born and dying immediately - What about kids that are molested by their parents - what was their fault - and these kids grow more screwed up in their heads - in short leading to more bad karmas - Like this I can list out various scenarios that my mind throws up wherein i have no answers towards it.

Thousands are dying around us - Tsunami's, Earthquakes, Forest Fires, Hurricanes - Everytime we look up and question GOD. Should we ? Is that right ?

I told Arjuna that I believe that God is only interested in our spirtual life, not in our materialistic life, I don't believe that he is interested in whether we pass our examination or get a good job or earn money. I don't believe that there is an accountant sitting up there and keeping a count of how much good or bad we are doing. I believe that if we are spirtually stronger than automatically we become morally strong, automatically we don't do wrong, automatically we care about our environment, our surrounding. And we start understanding what happens, just happens, there is no rhyme or reason behind it. We need to just take it in our stride and prepare better for the next time. We are responsible for everything materialistic that happens around us and no one else - For some reason this logic makes sense to me more than anything else. God is there spirtually helping us to discover our inner self and make us better individuals - but thats it.

Everyone kindly give your inputs on it - As my friend venky said - start a controversy and you will learn more. And I know this is a controversial topic and a topic that will benefit all of us. Please think before you answer.

Dharma....

...and Adharma

Morality, as the dictionary describes is a discrimination between the good and the bad. In our ancient parlance it is the difference between dharma and adharma. But even from the point of view of the words both in English and Sanskrit - Adharma contains Dharma and Immoral contains Moral.But it is a very very thin line to draw. Killing may be immoral for some, but it is a profession for another. Extra-marital relationships can be considered immoral in some countries, but there are many societies and civilisations where it is considered good cultural practice and service.In my deep contemplation of the Ramayana or the Mahabharatha, I discovered that the confluence of the good and the bad is a necessary process for evolution. There is no Ramayana without Ravana abducting Sita. Rama's fight with Ravana to establish Dharma is one such example of such a confluence - when two mighty energies meet, a positive and a negative force, there is a big spark created which ushers in a change in the environment.Similarly, in the Mahabharatha, there is no scope for the expression of the Pandavas, representing the good forces, without Duryodana and his group representing the evil forces. But just as the Sun supports all, good or bad, the wind blows for all good or bad, the rain visits evenly the high and the low terrains, space is present everywhere and does not denies itself for the bad - so there is a zone within that is the same in the good and the bad, the moral and the immoral - transcending all polarities. Done with the support of that presence within, in tune with it, in a state of Yoga, an act may be considered good or bad, moral or immoral by the society - but for the doer of such an act and thinker of such a thought or speaker of a certain word, it is the best that can happen at that particular moment of infinity.

-Swahilya

Thirumanthiram -- An introduction

Thirumanthiram is composed of three thousand hymns which is, grouped under nine tantras.

Tantra One - The great saint Thirumoolar introduces Saivite philosphy in this tantra.
Tantra Two - The saint talks about HIS friend Agasthiar and dwells on the importance of Agastyan cult to the founding of Saiva Siddhanta system.
Tantra Three - Different yoga's and benefits of practising yoga are described.
Tantra Four - Dwells mainly on the mantra's and yantra's
Tantra Five - The Saint gives guidance to the realization of SHIVA in this tantra.
Tantra Six - Talks about Gnana and in praise of the GURU Shiva. (In Thirumanthiram, NANDHI is considered as SHIVA himself. Realizaing SHIVA is realizing One's divinity or the Divine that resides in you. The alternate explaination, is GURU is the Higher self. We pray to this GURU as SHIVA)
Tantra Seven - Deals with aspects of Kriya and Yoga
Tantra Eight - Deals with Jiva, indriyas and other aspects of knowledge that a sadhakan needs to pursue and experiences.
Tantra Nine - The bliss one experiences on realizing SHIVA is described here.

மூலன் உரைசெய்த மூவா யிரந்தமிழ்
ஞாலம் அறியவே நந்தி அருளது
காலை எழுந்து கருத்தறிந் தோதிடின்
ஞாலத் தலைவனை நண்ணுவ ரன்றே

Three thousand Holy Hymns Moolan composed in Tamil
Nandhi revealed to the world, for all to know
Those who wake early at dawn and sing the hymns, understanding the full meaning
Will Realize the Lord, who dwells in you.

Technorati: Thirumoolar Thirumanthiram

RIVULETS

Knowledge and devotion
Rivulets that join
Enjoin the one divine
Blend together in symphony
One turns into the other in harmony
Simply two rivers
That flow
To the One

The churning of my ocean

I live in the ocean of life,
deep refreshing blue waters of life.
On a steady hill of order,
resting on the back of society,
of culture, tradition and faith.
I stay here and try to find
My complete truth i call within myself
while my demons and my angels
fight a deadly tug of war within my very mind.

I pray to you O Lord Vishnu
give me the stability i need
within my sphere of my people,
my feelings, my role in life
He protects me like a giant tortoise
giving me nothing more to fear.
I try hard to go within myself,
while my emotions swing like a serpent
As i perform within my life
my wheel of karma.

I grow, i churn, i evolve
extracting myself from myself
as i pour forth all poison
and negate all negative thoughts
within my being.
i suffer, i writhe in pain
as my emotions and my thought torment
while the world outside complains
on me being really me.

And while i grow and churn myself
O Lord Shiva help me so
Let not my poison affect
these beautiful waters of life.
He comes and takes my poison,
swallows it within Himself to help me grow,
to help me see while he saves the world from me

I dive deep into thought
i dive deep into action
i dive deep into myself
to extract the beauty within.
I glow, i am blessed
with the grace of the Lord
as i shine forth to all around me.
giving them in sweet words
the true nectar of life.

and to that very society i return
with true faith and virtue in sweet words i recite
the beauty of the Lord within.
I might live on, i might die
it does not matter no more
for i have seen my beauty within hidden,
deep within my being.

My ocean of nectar flows to the Mother
who gave me this new birth.
I worship you O Mother
You who protect me all through
You have brought me to myself face to face,
you have shown me who i am
i no not exist i do not live
i am but a speck of dust
forever at your lotus feet.

Om Shantih...

....Shantih Shantihi

Robbie is back with his pleasant requests and I'm really happy about it. This time the topic is on Peace. Now at midnight, I'm going to churn the great ocean of Consciousness with the ladle of my mind and dive deep down to pick up some pearls that are contained in the three words Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi.

At the end of any excitement, at the end of any disturbance - all have to return to this state called peace. Peace after anger, peace after hatred, peace after war, peace after disturbance -peace is that space that happens between two events, a time to rest and gather oneself with sufficient quietitude, just like the neuter gear in the car to which we have to switch back to, between the four or five gears with fluctuating speeds.

Peace is the fundamental requirement for an individual or society to progress. Peace is the fundamental need for a mind to make its journey towards enlightenment. Peace is a necessity for meditation. It is not the ultimate goal and end result of meditation as people commonly thing. It is a by product, a side effect.

A person with peace of mind will be totally available to the work to be done at the moment. Otherwise he will be in pieces of mind with his thoughts shattered and scattered in the worries of the past and expectations and dreams of the future.Total peace of mind happens to the one who lives in the present moment. Caught in a traffic jam. Be there totally instead of cribbing about the wastage of gas in an idling car. Sick and tired. Be there in that situation rather than worrying about the ones whom we think were the possible causes. Unable to sleep. Be there and watch the inability to sleep. In that silent watching of all situations, there is peace and when peace happens, progress happens as a result.

Moving to the next step is possible only if I am stably available in the previous step, quietly leave one foot to the next, holding the other in the previous step, grounding myself in the next and taking the other foot up. Peace is important for even an act as simple as walking. Just imagine walking with a mind lost in some disturbing event. Even a non-existent pit can make one fall! Peace is balance. Peace is living in Yoga, union with the cosmos.

Sounds have power to bring the mind to a state of peace when there is agitation, just as certain sounds such as abusive words or the bursting of loud fireworks have the power to destroy the mind. Mantras are the essence of powerful sounds. In the event of an agitation, disturbance or calamity when peace is the first casualty - chanting of the most powerful mantra Om Shantih Shanthih Shantihi will help immediate realignment and fine-tuning of the disturbing vibrations. If in doubt, try it out.

Swahilya

Yoga Swami - The greatest Saint of Jaffna


The fundamental aim of all religions is the realization of Truth. This is a matter of direct experience in which neither the mind nor the intellect nor any human faculty is involved. It is a question of being. There is only one reality, which is God or 'That' (tat) so that realization of truth means being aware that you are one with God or that you are "that' (Tat tvam asi). This is the meaning of 'know thyself'. He who knows himself knows everything and is one who has attained liberation while in the human body (jivanmukta). There is nothing left for him to do but to help others to come to the same realization. Such a person is the true master (sat-guru).

Those who have attained this state are exceedingly rare. But one such 'realized soul' lived in the North of Sri Lanka for over ninety years and left his body only in March 1964. He was known as Yoga Swami and took birth a hundred and twenty-one years ago. He received his early education in a Christian missionary school and after leaving school, he was employed for some years as a storekeeper in the Irrigation Department at a place about forty miles south of Jaffna. During this time, in his early manhood, he met his guru -- Chellappa Swami. Soon afterwards he gave up his job -- and everything else -- in order to follow him.

Thirst for truth

Chellappa Swami was usually to be found in the neighborhood of Nallur, now a suburb of Jaffna town, but once the capital of the Tamil kings of the place. Situated here is the most important temple in Jaffna, dedicated to Kandaswami or Murugan. Close to the temple itself is a large building used to house the massive wooden chariot in which the image of Murugan is drawn round the temple on the occasion of the yearly festival.

This was Chellappa Swami's favourite haunt and the place where he imparted most of his teaching to his disciples. He did not do anything but wandered about as he pleased, clothed in rags and begging for food for his sustenance. Most people thought that he was mad, for he would often throw stones at those who tried to approach him and abuse them in language.

Only very few had the purity of mind and heart and understanding to perceive his true greatness and to detect the unlimited wealth that he had in his power to bestow. Yoga Swami was one of the lucky few. Even he was chastened and driven out many a time, but Yoga Swami withstood all these because of his thirst for realizing the Truth.

Driven out

It would appear that Yoga Swami was with his guru only for a few years. At a certain point of time he was driven out and told to "Stand on your own legs!". There is also a story that when he came to visit Chellappa Swami in the final stages of his last illness, the latter would not allow him to enter the hut in which he was lying, but shouted from within, "Stand outside and see!"

During the years immediately before and after Chellappa Swami's Mahasamadhi, Yoga Swami was living under a tree at Columbuthurai on the outskirts of Jaffna town. At this time he appears to have been practising severe austerities and in his outward behaviour to have followed the example of his master, for he would drive away those who tried to approach him.

But gradually, as more and more devotees gathered round him, his austere demeanour seems to have been relaxed, and he was eventually persuaded to occupy a small hut in the garden of a house near the tree under which he had been living. This remained his 'base' for the rest of his life. There devotees would come to him for help in all their problems, usually in the early mornings and in the evenings.

Teachings of Yoga Swami - to be continued..

Celebration of Silence

Abidance in Silence
Simply being
Where you are
As you are
In silent awareness
Of the One subtle thread
That Connects all
Of the Creation
Flowers in a garland
Of myriad hues
Yet flowers all the same

Dhyanam...

Meditation...Zen

Silence and solitude is what surrounds me, most often these days and I am not complaining about it. I am not searching for some company to be with, some people to talk and engage in conversation. I let the Silence be. Revelling in this silence, I find that the personal space around me is ever increasing - at home, in office, on the road or wherever I may go. It is a Grace that is present and makes its presence felt, the more I make myself open to it.I am able to experience the whole Universe as an enormous presence, with myself as the fulcrum.When I say, "Myself," I mean the whole Earth, the planets and stars and the millions of galaxies in infinite space. And in this Silence, there are neither enemies nor friends. Every individual, creature and thing are just like my own hands and feet, head and body - that help me in whatever I wish to do. In this silent mind, if I am interrupted by someone in the midst of a conversation, it is no longer an interruption, but a signal to me, coming from that person that this is not the right time to speak.And this Silence is power, boundless. It is like a whirlpool which drags me in deeper and deeper into its eddy. Like the bog or quicksand that is just eager to keep me enveloped in its expansive fold.And in this Silence, Dhyanam happens. My being is Meditation. I am Zen.

Swahilya.

The nectar of knowledge

This is my first post on this blog. The first thing I wanted to write is something that is ultimate, something that gives you ultimate bliss, would make you realize everything, makes you realize the meaning of Life. It's about the ancient purana that goes by the name Bhagavata Purana. By hearing to this purana, even the worst sinners have attained the absolute moksha. I'm compiling the stories in a blog that can be found here. Enjoy the nectar in the form of Bhagavatha cult.

FULL AWARENESS

A Zen Story


After ten years of apprenticeship, Tenno achieved the rank of Zen teacher. One rainy day, he went to visit the famous master Nan-in. When he walked in, the master greeted him with a question, "Did you leave your wooden clogs and umbrella on the porch?"

"Yes," Tenno replied.

"Tell me," the master continued, "did you place your umbrella to the left of your shoes, or to the right?"

Tenno did not know the answer, and realized that he had not yet attained full awareness. So he became Nan-in's apprentice and studied under him for ten more years.

The moment of void - the moment of truth

Have you felt that moment of void when you suddenly feel silence around you.
That moment when you dont connect with anyone in the same room,
when you sit back and wonder what the hell you are doing there?

I felt that a lot of times,
when i simply felt i owed nothing to nobody and belonged no where.
When i felt detatched from the things i did every day.
When i asked if there was anything beyond going to school and coming home.
When i felt that i didnt fit into the world i was supposedly part of.
When i felt that my world was else where, a make belief world within my head.
When the world looked like a bunch of vague dead bodies walking around me.
when their worlds didnt seem to have anything to do with mine.
when they had their own problems and didnt want to share them with me.
when i realized all of us had the same problems and didnt handle them too well.
when i wondered what the big deal with all these problems was.
when i didnt understand why people were so overwhelmed with their emotions
when i questioned emotions that sprank up within me
when i wondered why the expression on my face didnt match the feeling within
when i contradicted my own self
when i realized the mechanics of being human
when i looked into the mirror and asked "is that really me"
when i felt i was looking at someone else altogether
when i felt my body was just a mechanical object subjected to functional problems
when i wanted to just be alone and not talk to anyone
when i felt i was just plain wierd
when i couldnt explain the intensity of my being to anybody
when i dug up the past and read all the books
when i wondered why ancients built so many temples and decorated them
when i realized the actual value of ritual that we call superstition
when i realized the trivial things that people call important
when i realized my curiosity to know death, the end
when i realized i will not exist anymore to anyone.
when i realized my mom will go one day and will she ever be my mom again
when i wondered whether the roles i play in life have a lesson to teach.
when i realized i am NOT all that important.
when i felt happy that i AM nobody, nothing.
when i felt i could do without outside attention from other people
when i felt i didnt need appreciation nor did i need approval
when i realized this is ME and you have no choice in the matter
when i wondered if this was all there was to life.
when i know i am just waiting for time to pass and drop me my pearls of wisdom.

while i wait for the final day when i die, to know what death is all about.

The Eternal Now
Not why or how
To be in the present
For the ‘present’ is a present
A gift from the Divine

To be in the present
Is to kill
The regrets of the past
Anxieties of the future

To be in the NOW
Is to secure the future

The Truth lies in the present
Moment

The time and faith relationship

Is time the most important thing in our lives?

This is a question i asked myself and i was quite startled with my thought process. I have taken to believe a few things after observing how our community reacts to various situations. This is one example. I went to the temple early monday morning to see the face of Lord Ganesha in the light of the rising sun. (been doing a few of these crazy things).

It was the day of the eclipse, and everyone was aware it was going to commence around 5.10 pm and go on till about 6pm. It was said to be the most auspitious time, as it fell on a no moon day and had a few more complicated features with respect to our age old panchangam. At the temple, there was a massive gathering, at 6.30am, and a whole lot of people had come by to perform their ritual toward ancestral worship. They also said that certain constellations would be affected because of this, mine being one of them. Hence the trip to the temple.

My mind just dwelled on this for a while. The eclipse was fixed, it was scheduled and everyone's life revolved around it. The over all population of chennai city went down on the road during the time of the eclipse. If i have to go the traditional thinking way, time appears to be the soul most important thing in our lives.

Most importantly the present. We seem to live in every other sphere of time except NOW. My thoughts are about what happened in the past and my attempts to relive them if they were good. Or my thoughts are completely about what has to be done in the future. But i miss out the vital moment of NOW.

Now let me look at it from another perspective. There are lots of things i used to consider important which are not that way anymore. There was a time when my job was the place where all my passions flowed out but now, i think otherwise. Its not mine to worry so much. Then my passions rolled out on my life and the people around me, but they scarcely even began to understand me. It didnt make that difference when i wanted to burst out to tell them the most amazing thing i had discovered and as i yelled with joy i just saw it boomerang back to me!

It took me too less time to realise i live in a lone world of my own and everything around me just exists in a lone world of its own. It made me wonder, this is life, when all goes well or does not, and we have all these Godly elements adding fuel to the fire depending on our so called past karmas. But if i didnt let them have their due, and didnt let the situation affect me and let it pass like all events do, i noticed a strange peace within myself which seemed to reduce even the events of my life to almost insignificance. This left just one thing in my life to worry about, the unanswered passion within me that causes the unrest in my mind and heart.

There had to be a solution to the passions welling up inside me, someplace to let it lose. I knew it was beyond anyone to understand and it was too precious to waste on anyone beyond myself and a few people I really adoured. But largely given my nature of being by myself led me to turned to Lord Shiva, concentrating on His form every time i felt excited about something. It has since been an amazing experience.

Simple peace, where time comes to a halt, where i simply sit back in the bliss of imagining the Lord dance in a moon lit night with the Ganas by the fire as he raises his graceful body in the pose of Tandava Nataraja. I just stop to keep seeing that picture of him in my mind constantly hoping that moment will never end. I came to realize i was completely in the Present. Every moment, an experience within itself, powerful, silent and ever constant.

My mind is at rest. There is nothing called time. I am and i will always be. Ever in the present.

The story of THIRUMOOLAR

The author of Thirumanthiram, Thirumoolar is a Yogi called Sundarar residing in the Mount Kailash. Sundara is the First Disciple of "NANDHI" Once he undertook a journey to the south to meet HIS friend Agasthiar, residing in the Poothigai mountains.One evening HE found Himself in the outskirts of the Sathanur village. He was deeply moved to notice a herd of cows lowing miserably around the dead body of their cowherd Moolan. The yogi by his yogic powers, realized that Moolan is a great SHIVA devotee. Hence HE felt it his duty to do something to help the cows. By virtue of HIS yogic power He abandoned His body and entered the body of the cowerd Mulan.Leaving His body in a nearby tree, the yogi now Moolan led the cattle to the village.He returned to the spot where He left the body. He was surprised to find that the body had disappered. By His yogic power he realised that it is an act of Siva, who had a mission to fulfill through his devotee. So the yogi continued to live in the cowherds body, immersed in tapass in Thiruvaduthurai and composed Thirumanthiram.

The inner meaning of this is the upadesam given to man by the Divine. The episode gives upadesam to a sanyasin, to a student, to a family man and to the ruler of the land.

நந்தி அருளாலே நாதனாம் பேர்பெற்றோம்
நந்தி அருளாலே மூலனை நாடினோம்
நந்தி அருளாவ தென்செயும் நாட்டினில்
நந்தி வழிகாட்ட யானிருந்தேனே


By Nandi's grace I, became Nathan
By Nandi's grace I, entered into Moolan,
By Nandi's grace, what can I perform not?
Nandi guiding, I here below remained.

"Anbe Sivam"

Technorati: Thirumoolar Thirumanthiram

Yoga...

Yogakshemam Vahamyaham

Yoga - the magic word that is working wonders around the world. Sri Aurobindo said, "All Life is Yoga." Having practised Pranayama and Hatha Yoga Asanas on and off for five years now, I am really sinking into what Yoga actually does. Though learning it is usually done for health benefits, actually Pranayama and Hatha Yoga has helped me to unite with the cosmic life force that is within and without. It is not even helping me to unite, but make me experience the Union that already exists the oneness. A little deep breathing continuously, my breath becomes less deep and I realise that there is no going in and coming out of the breath, the air outside and the air within are one and the same.In Dhyanam - meditation, the experience is the same. When the mind quietly settles down, I experience that the thoughts outside and the thoughts within are the same. In fact, there is nothing outside or within. The bodies float like boats in a common ocean of the mind.Hatha Yoga - While practising Surya Namaskar, I realised that it is not to some Sun outside of me - but a Namaskar to the presence of the light within. Even after completing the Asanas, I just have to think of an Asana at anytime throughout the day and I find that my mind attains that total cosmic unity. This is the balance that allow me to go through my day, as if I was absent and everything happens....

Zen and Silence - II

Zen – Fundamentals – 2
---------------------------------
Before we begin - Zen is japanese for Chinese word ch'an, which is in turn a transliteration of the sanskrit word dhyana, all of them meaning "meditation".

Continuing from our first part. After understanding most of the fundamentals – this profound sutra: “Like the empty sky, it has no boundaries, yet it is right in this place, ever profound and clear. Now replace the “it” with “God” and you will immediately understand the significance of the statement. If you start searching for the sky, u will never find it. If you become serious, u will never find it. Where will u find the sky? The sky is not somewhere it is everywhere and that which is everywhere cannot be searched for. God is like the sky, like the empty sky. It has no boundaries so it cannot be defined. You cannot say where it begins and where it ends, it is eternal, it is infinite and yet it is right in front of you. If you relax, it is there, if u become tense it disappears.
People go on asking where God is, and he is just in front of you. He surrounds you. He is in and he is out because only he is. Zen calls God - it, because they don’t want us to be trapped in the word God. “When you seek to know it, you cannot see it”. Because when u try to search, you become concentrated, you become tense, you get lost in your search, you become narrow, so even when god is in front of you, you just don’t see him.
People say meditation is concentration; Zen says that it is not. In the contrary according to Zen, it is diametrically opposite. If you are looking for an ant, concentration is important, but if you are looking for God, who is so vast and who surround you, u don’t need that concentration. For God you have to be utterly open, un-concentrated, open from every side, not searching, not looking. An unfocused consciousness is what meditation is.
A Sufi mystic was staying with Rabiya. His name was Hassan, and maybe after hearing Jesus Christ’s statement: “Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you will find it”. So every day in all his 5 prayers, he would say to God “ I am knocking Sir, and I am knocking so much, why have you still not opened the door “. One day Rabiya heard it and said “Hassan when will you look? The door is open. You go on talking nonsense – “I am knocking, I am knocking --- and the door is open all the time. Look! But u are too concerned with your knocking and asking and desiring and seeking and you cannot see. The door is open”
Rabiya’s statement is pure Zen. God has always been available. God is unconditionally available. “ When u seek to know it, you cannot see it. You cannot take hold of it, you cannot lose it” If you want to possess God, you will not be able to. All that is great cannot be possessed – and that is one of the most foolish thing we try to do. We want to possess everything.
So beautiful, Yes you cannot possess it, but there is no way to lose it either. It is there. It is always there. If you are silent you will start feeling it, You have to fall in tune with it. You have to become silent so that you can listen to it. You have to become silent so the dance of God can penetrate you, so God can vibrate in you, so God can pulsate in you. You have to drop your rush, your hurry, your ideas to go somewhere, to reach, to become, to be this and that. You have to stop becoming. And it is there; you cannot lose it.
The moment you understand that you cannot possess it, and you drop your possessiveness, it is there and you have got it. The moment you realize that love [Love is God] cannot be possessed, a great understanding has arisen in you and now you will have it and will have it forever. You cannot exhaust it.
This is the Zen Paradox – Zen is the path of paradox. “When you are silent, it speaks; When you speak, it is silent. The great gate is wide open to bestow alms, and no crowd is blocking the way.” There is no competition, there is nobody blocking your way. You need not hurry, you need not make any effort to grab. In front of you – there is only God, only God. So just relax. That’s what Zen says – Satori – Utter relaxation of your being; a state of consciousness where there is no becoming left, when you are not an achiever anymore, when there is no goal, when all goals have disappeared and all purposes have been left behind; when you are, simply are – in that moment of “isness” you dissolve into totality and a new “tick” arises that has never been there. That tick is satori, Samadhi, enlightenment.
The last thing, which everyone must have noticed: Zen is non-serious. Zen has a tremendous sense of humor. Zen has laughter in it, Zen is festive. Zen’s spirit is that of celebration. Laughter is the key to Zen, as it makes you dance, it makes you enjoy.
That’s why if you notice most Zen stories give you the message and at the same time brings in a smile on your face.

From the book: Zen The path of Paradox

The Human Route

The Human Route

Coming empty handed, going empty handed, that is human
When you are born, where do you come from?
When you die, Where do you go?
Life is like a floating cloud, which appears.
Death is like a floating cloud, which disappears.
The floating cloud itself originally does not exist.
Life and death, coming and going, are also like that.
But there is one thing that always remains clear.
It is pure and clear,
Not depending on life and death.

Then what is the one and clear thing?

---- Traditional Chinese Poem

MANY IN ONE
Equality amongst the gross is but a myth
Divisions, shall but exist in world, finite
That is but a speck in the Infinite
Equality of the Spirit does reign

Reflections of One Truth,
In many mirrors
Small and large
Flat and round,
Sun and moon

To see all forms
Around as mirrors
Of the Eternal Divine
That is but equality
Born of Oneness
In Uniqueness

Each an integral part of the Integral whole

To accept one and reject the other is but
To reject the whole

For there is but ONE