Samadhi, by Paramhansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda's poem Samadhi is one of the most vivid and poetic descriptions of the superconscious samadhi state achieved by advanced yogis.

Vanished the veils of light and shade,
Lifted every vapor of sorrow,
Sailed away all dawns of fleeting joy,
Gone the dim sensory mirage.
Love, hate, health, disease, life, death,
Perished these false shadows on the screen of duality.
Waves of laughter, scyllas of sarcasm, melancholic whirlpools,
Melting in the vast sea of bliss.
The storm of maya stilled
By magic wand of intuition deep.
The universe, forgotten dream, subconsciously lurks,
Ready to invade my newly-wakened memory divine.
I live without the cosmic shadow,
But it is not, bereft of me;
As the sea exists without the waves,
But they breathe not without the sea.
Dreams, wakings, states of deep turia sleep,
Present, past, future, no more for me,
But ever-present, all-flowing I, I, everywhere.
Planets, stars, stardust, earth,
Volcanic bursts of doomsday cataclysms,
Creation’s molding furnace,
Glaciers of silent x-rays, burning electron floods,
Thoughts of all men, past, present, to come,
Every blade of grass, myself, mankind,
Each particle of universal dust,
Anger, greed, good, bad, salvation, lust,
I swallowed, transmuted all
Into a vast ocean of blood of my own one Being!
Smoldering joy, oft-puffed by meditation
Blinding my tearful eyes,
Burst into immortal flames of bliss,
Consumed my tears, my frame, my all.
Thou art I, I am Thou,
Knowing, Knower, Known, as One!
Tranquilled, unbroken thrill, eternally living, ever-new peace!
Enjoyable beyond imagination of expectancy, samadhi bliss!
Not an unconscious state
Or mental chloroform without wilful return,
Samadhi but extends my conscious realm
Beyond limits of the mortal frame
To farthest boundary of eternity
Where I, the Cosmic Sea,
Watch the little ego floating in Me.
The sparrow, each grain of sand, fall not without My sight.
All space floats like an iceberg in My mental sea.
Colossal Container, I, of all things made.
By deeper, longer, thirsty, guru-given meditation
Comes this celestial samadhi.
Mobile murmurs of atoms are heard,
The dark earth, mountains, vales, lo! molten liquid!
Flowing seas change into vapors of nebulae!
Aum blows upon vapors, opening wondrously their veils,
Oceans stand revealed, shining electrons,
Till, at last sound of the cosmic drum,
Vanish the grosser lights into eternal rays
Of all-pervading bliss.
From joy I came, for joy I live, in sacred joy I melt.
Ocean of mind, I drink all creation’s waves.
Four veils of solid, liquid, vapor, light,
Lift aright.
Myself, in everything, enters the Great Myself.
Gone forever, fitful, flickering shadows of mortal memory.
Spotless is my mental sky, below, ahead, and high above.
Eternity and I, one united ray.
A tiny bubble of laughter, I
Am become the Sea of Mirth Itself.

Hierarchy of Knowledge

Dr. Deepak Ranade's another exceptional article was published in TOI Speaking Tree. I'm so lucky and happy that he had sent me a copy before it got published, and I was pretty moved by it's content.

Here it is, "Hierarchy of Knowledge":

The brain is ever endeavoring to learn, comprehend, understand. It is being flooded with information at maybe the rate of a million MB per second. It processes the data at an even more astonishing speed.

Processing data implies prioritizing the data. To assign meaning to incoming data
is a very important aspect of intelligence.

Interpretation of the data is a a very highly developed intelligence.
Data is ubiquitous. Right from the radio-waves emitted by celestial bodies from a few million light years away, to the feel of our clothing against our bodies, we are being bombarded by data.
Intelligence is the skill and speed to scan the incoming data, compare it with the existing database , discard the unimportant part (like the feel of our clothes against our skin) and also store the useful new data for future reference.

Apples fell even before Newton discovered gravity, but Newton processed the same data witnessed by others in a different paradigm. He discovered a force which till then was not known to mankind, no parallel, no tangible units of measurement and was embellished in abstraction. This realization or flash of comprehension was abstract intelligence at a sublime level, where his conclusion was not a mere deduction, or just analysis. Analysis would be a synthesis or jugglery of already known facts but where the summation leads to a greater than phenomenon that is where awareness transcends intellect, analysis and reasoning.

Science is essentially related to a spatio-temporal grid. It is seemingly restrained by the confines of cause and effect. Any theory has to be reinforced by experimental verification and then to be ratified by adding the attributes of repeatability and predictability. This verification is mediated by measurable parameters, which again are the slaves of the tangibles governed by the senses.
The boat of the sense organs can navigate the intellect only within the waters of the tangible. Once it touches the shores of the intangible the sense organs are powerless and defunct. The realms of the intangible may be dwelled into only by awareness, which is supra-sensory and out of the spatio-temporal Cartesian grid. This intangible is out of bounds for the intellect which is defanged when depraved of sensory inputs. That is the reason why this aspect of knowledge is termed as “Realization”. Realization implies knowledge which is already there but which we are unaware of. The knowledge of the form shifts focus to awareness. Awareness is independent of subject object bifurcation Reasoning, deduction and investigation are meaningless tools which only obfuscate and serve to the detriment of the user.

The knowledge of the manifest is a stepping stone to enhancing awareness. By knowing what I am not is a very potent principle to know what I am. If I cannot fathom the manifest, then I cannot even dream of the unmanifest. The journey to realization involves traveling over a diverse terrain. Each distinct terrain requires a commensurate vehicle. The vehicle of reason used to traverse the terra firma of tangibility needs to be abandoned when one has to take to the aerial journey of enhanced awareness. For this journey one has to travel very light, against the gravity of reason, logic and sensory perception into the realm of space of consciousness. The only navigation system being the guidance of the Guru. Most perceive the Guru to be in a particular form and person. But actually the Guru is a tatva (principle). It could manifest in any form. It only requires the disciple to be in a state of preparedness or conditioning before it reveals itself.

The entire journey is beyond the realm of consciousness. As consciousness involves duality, i.e. someone is conscious of something, the subject object dichotomy still lingers.
When one transcends consciousness, there is only awareness, a sense of “I am”.
Consciousness can be conditioned and adulterated by desires, vasanas. But awareness supercedes all and is the dwelling or source of the supreme being. This awareness is bliss, joy bereft of any duality, form and shape. In this state all derivatives of consciousness like space, time form and appearance melt into just “I am” .

Somewhat akin to the Bose- Einstein condensate of matter. The inability to communicate this state of awareness using the parameters of the conscious state leads to the mysticism of spiritual knowledge. But this knowledge is of the highest order and really ceases to be knowledge also as knowledge is implicit with a “knower” which again is a state of duality.

Strictly Beautiful :: Thomas Dolby & Rochelle Garnier

Christmas happens everywhere every time someone reaches out to touch another life with love

Where are you, Lord Jesus? Is seeing your face as simple as gazing down into a manger’s hay? Is there a deserted stable somewhere, aglow with your Presence? Might I join a band of magi and follow a star to you? Might I keep watch with simple shepherds and bear the good news from Gabriel’s own luminous lips?

Give me strength to follow, 364 days, whatever star might lead me to you on the 365th. That some day I might behold, unsquinting, the radiance of your Glory in a season that will be forever.

~Michael Card, from The Promise, Introduction

Christmas happens everywhere every time someone reaches out to touch another life with love.

~ Carol Duerksen

Rodrigo Y Gabriela cover Orion

Hi guys, it's really nice to see you. Where are you from you said? Are you sure??

Real World is Beyond the Mind

One of the most important works of the century is the book 'I AM THAT', Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Published by Acorn Press, Translated by Maurice Frydman.

Can't resist sharing one of the chapters I read yesterday :

Real World is Beyond the Mind

Questioner: On several occasions the question was raised as to whether the universe is subject to the law of causation, or does it exist and function outside the law. You seem to hold the view that it is uncaused, that everything, however small, is uncaused, arising and disappearing for no known reason whatsoever.

Maharaj: Causation means succession in time of events in space, the space being physical or mental. Time, space, causation are mental categories, arising and subsiding with the mind.

Q: As long as the mind operates, causation is a valid law.

M: Like everything mental, the so-called law of causation contradicts itself. No thing in existence has a particular cause; the entire universe contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is. When the source and ground of everything is the only cause of everything, to speak of causality as a universal law is wrong. The universe is not bound by its content, because its potentialities are infinite; besides it is a manifestation, or expression of a principle fundamentally and totally free.

Q: Yes, one can see that ultimately to speak of one thing being the only cause of another thing is altogether wrong. Yet, in actual life we invariably initiate action with a view to a result.

M: Yes, there is a lot of such activity going on, because of ignorance. 'Would people know that nothing can happen unless the entire universe makes it happen, they would achieve much more with less expenditure of energy.

Q: If everything is an expression of the totality of causes, how can we talk of a purposeful action towards an achievement?

M: The very urge to achieve is also an expression of the total universe. It merely shows that the energy potential has risen at a particular point. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now, as parts of a common pattern, the idea of cause-effect loses its validity and creative freedom takes its place.

Q: Yet, I cannot see how can anything come to be without a cause.

M: When I say a thing is without a cause, I mean it can be without
a particular cause. Your own mother was needed to give you birth; But you could not have been born without the sun and the earth. Even these could not have caused your birth without your own desire to be born. It is desire that gives birth, that gives name and form. The desirable is imagined and wanted and manifests itself as something tangible or conceivable.
Thus is created the world in which we live, our personal
world. The real world is beyond the mind's ken; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes.

Q: What do you mean by holes? And how to find them?

M: Look at the net and its many contradictions. You do and undo at every step. You want peace, love, happiness and work hard to create pain, hatred and war. You want longevity and overeat, you want friendship and exploit. See your net as made of such contradictions and remove them -- your very seeing them will make them go.

Q: Since my seeing the contradiction makes it go, is there no causal link between my seeing and its going?

M: Causality, even as a concept, does not apply to chaos.

Q: To what extent is desire a causal factor?

M: One of the many. For everything there are innumerable causal factors. But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the Supreme Reality, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on every experience. But, this source is not a cause and no cause is a source. Because of that, I say everything is uncaused. You may try to trace how a thing happens, but you cannot find out why a thing is as it is. A thing is as it is, because the universe is as it is.

The Human Form is like a Boat

An important observation from the Bhagvad Gita is that we Humans derive a variance from other living creatures just because of our scientific, cultural, religious and philosophical advancements.

If we call ourselves 'Sophisticated Animals', we can be considered actually superior only if we inquire about an Absolute Truth. Only a few develop the power of enquiry and reasoning beyond the known & obvious - "Athato Brahma Jijnasa".

Thus we can see a Human life as a boat traveling towards a destination.

Actual subjects of enquiry are:

• The cause of suffering.
• The Destination we are seeking.
  

Original Painting by Redon, Odilon [WebMuseum Paris]

The Brain is what makes you believe

Vilayanur Ramachandran, a Neurologist, gave an astounding talk on how our brain acts as the only bridge to believe the relational aspects of mind and matter. His series of experiments, meticulously performed and impeccably explained in this video, reveal some amazing concepts.

Can we imagine due to brain damage, some people associate every number with a color? Some patients will fail to recognize their mother by her face, but recognize her voice! Take a look at this really mind boggling lecture.

The video is around 20 minutes in length, so please let it download first. Press 'play' and then 'pause' to let it load fully.



Credits: Geeksaresexy

Why I Succeed

Andy McKee - Divinity 'Synonymous'

HOW? Just how does he do that??



Thanks Nigel...

Alien Sculptures & Digital Art of Francesco Mai

In the digital age we've seen new art forms emerging out of artificially intelligent assistance of modern software. With new trends in 3D technologies for artists, some sure have taken a quantum leap. It's clear with a radical progress in computing power, images which would take days to render can be exported in a few hours.

So many artists have achieved the freedom, without being dependent on processing power and bound to the limitations.

One of the best digital artists I've come across is Francesco Mai. He truly uses the power of Lightwave, Cinema 4d and other tools to redefine his pseudo realities.


With seamless levels of detail, we see him truly capturing his imagination. It's his 'mind extended' into arresting forms which are deviant, yet extraordinary.


The images have been published after taking permission from Francesco and in turn his curiosity towards this article.

I'm truly honored that he gave me permission to exhibit the works and write about him. Please check back for updates and more amazing digital imagery by Francesco Mai.

His complete works can be viewed here: http://www.francescomai.com/