hermit's chronicles

Truly, nothing falls outside the ambit of the 'What Is'. True acceptance of 'What Is' includes easy acceptance of the arising of ambition anger hate envy lust desire craving aversion... What the awareness brought about by this true acceptance may do is take the 'sting' out of whatever arises.

Last night I was in my washroom, on the throne, reading Fight Club . A foolhardy mosquito buzzed in my left ear. Irritated, I swatted at it reflexively with my right hand. Surprise! It dropped to the floor. A couple of minutes later, guilt arose. I moved the book to a side to see if it was still there. Two teeny weenie ants were carrying the mosquito away on the dry floor, millimetre at a time. Compassion arose. I wanted to tell the toiling ants, “I am going to have a shower in a minute.”

Once an earnest seeker came, prostrated in all humility to Bhagavan (Ramana Maharshi) and asked him: “Bhagavan has said that the real nature of the Self can be attained only by constant dhyana . But how is it possible for one like me saddled with official responsibilities and the management of household affairs? If a major part of one’s life is spent managing these, where is there time for atma vichara , much less uninterrupted dhyana ? What is the way out? I beseech Bhagavan to enlighten me on this.” Looking at him compassionately, Bhagavan said: “Suppose you leave your house with the intention of coming to the Ashram and on the way you meet a friend. You greet him, exchange pleasantries and then take leave of him, proceeding to Ashram while your friend goes his way. Now you don’t go away with your friend but rather continue toward the Ashram, do you not? The thought of coming to Ashram is so fixed in your mind that whomsoever you happen to meet on the way is spoken to in the p...

Whoever brought me here will have to take me Home. - Rumi

“…In 1981, already living in Tiruvannamalai I decided to go to Bombay to see [Nisargadatta] Maharaj a last time as he was suffering from terminal cancer. He looked a bit shrunken but, though having lost his exuberant gestures explaining matters, was nevertheless spirited enough. After talking a bit he pointed to a man sitting next to me who was not one of the regular translators when I lived in Bombay [in 1974]. This man, handsome, around sixty, looking distinguished in his three-piece black suit, closed his eyes, bent a bit backward and forward and then opened his eyes and mouth to translate. What came out was the most beautiful and precise English, leaving me in no doubt that he understood Maharaj completely. The feeling arose in me suddenly that this man was enlightened. Later I learned he was Ramesh Balsekar. Much later, reading his books and marvelling at his clear language, only confirmed my earlier intuition of his being enlightened. I have never met him in person again. Maharaj...

Offered at the feet of my Guru (spiritual Master) on this Guru Pournima: This blade of grass Sways in the breeze Inching slowly Ever so slowly Towards the Sun Within. -shunyayogi

Since I tend to chant a lot, I had always reckoned that when the end finally came, God’s name would spring naturally to my lips. Then one day, a few years ago, I was returning by cab from South Bombay, accompanied by my business partner. It was raining in sheets, the afternoon sky was brooding dark and the roads were glistening wet. Our cab was right out there in the front at the traffic signal at Mahim Church junction. The minute the signal changed, our cab lunged forward and made for the Mahim causeway in a streak. And then it happened. The cab skidded hopelessly, twirling like a tipsy top right in the middle of the road. The brakes weren’t working and in a slow blur I saw the road divider rushing towards us, then the cab rotated counter-clockwise and I saw a white Esteem rushing at us, then the cab rotated again and the dividers rushed at us even faster and then the cab rotated another arc and I saw a red double-decker bus bounding down at us, just a few feet away. Through the slow ...

So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms. ~ Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God? ~ When the head of a goat is severed from its body, the trunk struggles for some time, still showing signs of life. Similarly, though ahamkara (egotism) is slain in the perfect man, yet enough of its vitality is left to make him carry on the functions of physical life; but it is not sufficient to bind him again into the world. ~ As a piece of rope, when burnt, retains its form, but cannot serve to bind, so is the ego which is burnt by the fire of Supreme Knowledge. ~ You may try thousands of times, but nothing...