Absorbed into What's Out There

When we go to a movie, we get absorbed in the story and, assuming that the movie is well-made, we often forget that we are just watching the movie. The transition from being “observers” to being “participators” is unconscious and quick. When that happens, we get absorbed fully and unreservedly into whatever is happening on the screen.

Seldom, though, the movies are able to hold our attention without break from beginning to end. We generally shuttle back and forth between being observers (when we can lean back on our seats and know that we are watching a movie) and being participators (when we forget where we are and who we are).

The Art of Merging

We often read, Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.13 for instance, of merging one thing into another. In meditation practices, it is sometimes recommended that the form of the guru must be merged into that of the Iṣṭa.

How does merging occur? What exactly needs to be done?

Is Middle Path the Best Path?

Today is Buddha Purnima: the day on which Buddha was born at Lumbini about 2500 years ago, the day on which he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Gaya, and the day he passed away when he was 80. We celebrated this thrice-blessed day with a special Satsang last Sunday at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society (above). While reflecting on his life and teachings, an interesting question came up regarding the Middle Path.

What Is God?

St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown Boston organized an education program during the season of Lent, in March and April this year. Over lunch on five successive Thursdays (Mar 17 through Apr 14) they invited guests to present their thoughts, insights and experiences on the topic, “What is God?” It was a joy for me to visit the beautiful cathedral on April 7 and share my thoughts with a group of earnest people. Given below is a summary of what I shared. Rev. Jep Streit, the Dean at the Cathedral, taped my informal talk and it is up on their website. Now the summary:

"I am the resurrection"

Jesus said unto her, “I am the resurrection, and the life: 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 
And whoever liveth and believeth in me 
shall never die.” (John 11:25–26) 

Being the words of Jesus, it is easy to see that the “I” and the “me” refer to Jesus. Who was Jesus? This question can be answered in many ways. So let’s narrow it down to: Who was Jesus referring to when he used the pronoun “I”?

Our Pseudo-Freedoms

Many of us like to think of ourselves as “free” people. It cannot be denied that many of us enjoy considerable freedom at the social, economic, and political levels.
       But it would be foolish to imagine that we are free in every possible way. Moreover, all of our freedoms have their limits. As someone famously said, “Your freedom ends where my nose begins.” Our freedom is also restricted by factors related to time (the body does not last forever), capacity (the mind and the intellect have their limits), and the force of habit. Can we say in all honesty that we are absolutely free from jealousy, anger, hatred, dislike, and attachment?

Life as a Series of Dreams

We don’t have just one dream every night. Most of us have more than one dream. We effortlessly pass from one dream to the next, and usually it is the dream we had just before we wake up that we remember. When we pass from one dream to another, we don’t generally recall the earlier dream. Waking up is the only way for these series of dreams to come to an end.