In the life we generally lead there is very little solitude. Even when we are alone our lives are crowded by so many influences, so much knowledge, so many memories of so many experiences, so much anxiety, misery and conflict that our mind become duller and duller, more and more insensitive, functioning in a monotonous routine. Are we ever alone? Or are we carrying with us all the burdens of yesterday?

There is a rather nice story of two monks walking from one village to another and they come upon a young girl sitting on the bank of a river, crying. And one of the monks goes up to her and says, `Sister, what are you crying about?’ She says, `You see that house over there across the river? I came over this morning early and had no trouble wading across but now the river has swollen and I can’t get back. There is no boat.’ `Oh,’ says the monk, `that is no problem at all’, and he picks her up and carries her across the river and leaves her on the other side. And the two monks go on together. After a couple of hours, the other monk says, `Brother, we have taken a vow never to touch a woman. What you have done is a terrible sin. Didn’t you have pleasure, a great sensation, in touching a woman?’ and the other monk replies, `I left her behind two hours ago. You are still carrying her, aren’t you?’

That is what we do. We carry our burdens all the time; we never die to them, we never leave them behind. it is only when we give complete attention to a problem and solve it immediately – never carrying it over to the next day, the next minute that there is solitude. Then, even, if we live in a crowded house or are in a bus, we have solitude. And that solitude indicates a fresh mind, an innocent mind.

~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

When death comes, it does not ask your permission; it comes and takes you; it destroys you on the spot. In the same way, can you totally drop hate, envy, pride of possession, attachment to beliefs, to opinions, to ideas, to a particular way of thinking?

Can you drop all that in an instant? There is no “how to drop it”, because that is only another form of continuity. To drop opinion, belief, attachment, greed, or envy is to die—to die every day, every moment. If there is the coming to an end of all ambition from moment to moment, then you will know the extraordinary state of being nothing, of coming to the abyss of an eternal movement, as it were, and dropping over the edge—which is death.

I want to know all about death, because death may be reality; it may be what we call God—that most extraordinary something that lives and moves and yet has no beginning and no end.

Now, can one die every day to everything that one knows—except, of course, the technological knowledge, the direction where your home is, and so on; that is, to end, psychologically, every day, so that the mind remains fresh, young and innocent? That is death. And to come upon that there must be no shadow of fear. To give up without argument, without any resistance. That is dying.

Have you ever tried it? To give up without a murmur, without restraint, without resistance, the thing that gives you most pleasure (the things that are painful, of course, one wants to give up in any case). Actually to let go. Try it. Then, if you do it, you will see that the mind becomes extraordinarily alert, alive and sensitive, free and unburdened. Old age then takes on quite a different meaning, not something to be dreaded.

~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Everytime i see people make a big deal about their suffering, like i once did…i wish i could remind them about Carlos Castenda’s thought-provoking quote on death.

Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, an arm’s length behind us. Death is the only wise adviser that a warrior has. Whenever he feels that everything is going wrong and hes about to be annihilated, he can turn to his death and ask if that is so.

~ Carlos Castenda

I love observing expressions on peoples faces. They speak so much about their state of mind, you can instantly tell, if somebody is lost in his thoughts or enjoying every moment of his life.

Try it sometimes, simply smile at somebody genuinely. Everytime i do that, I get mixed responses, some warmly smile back and some wonder whats wrong with me?! and at that juncture i remember one of my favourite tracks of Louis Armstrong, What a wonderful world!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!!!

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

“When a warrior has put an end to his routines, when he doesn’t care anymore whether he has company or is alone, because he has heard the silent whisper of the spirit; then you can say that, truly, he has died.

From that point on, even the simplest things in life become extraordinary for him. For this, a sorcerer learns how to live again. He tastes each moment as if it were the last one. He doesn’t waste any effort on feeling dissatisfied, nor does he throw away his energy. He doesn’t wait until he becomes old to ponder the mysteries of the world. He is ahead, he explores, he knows and marvels.”

– Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

Source: http://thetoltecpath.files.wordpress.com

When you love something greatly– not through the eyes of pleasure or pain – when you actually love, space disappears. Both physically & psychologically ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

I walked back from my office today, unabashedly letting the rains soak me wet; relished every moment of the freedom i experienced in letting myself loose and humming one of my fav tracks Chotti se kahaani se baarisho ke paani se….” I could feel the droplets eagerly seeping in to kiss me and remind me how beautiful life is.

While i was relishing every moment of the downpour, i remembered i had promised my spiritual soulmate, that i would let him know when i first see the rain and here I was; not just seeing the rain but feeling it all over me. I mentally communicated to him what i had promised.

When he stopped responding to my messages, i realized leaving him alone was the least i could do, to the man who had gifted me my wings of joy!

So 2 weeks back, i bid goodbye to the first and probably the last man, with whom my sublime connection is beyond pleasure, pain, time and conventional labels which this material world can comprehend.

“You are the world, the neighbour, the friend,
the so-called enemy.
If you would understand, you must first understand yourself,
for in you is the root of all understanding.

In you is the beginning and the end.”
“If you are very clear, if you are inwardly
a light unto yourself, you will never follow anyone”
~ J. Krishnamurti

I woke up this morning with the essence of this song tuned in, its been one of my favourite tracks. The track reminds you that, no matter how crusty our outer shells may appear, there remains within us the treasure of an unblemised soul.

To me innocence means; the mind that is capable of experiencing without accumulating the residue of experience. The mind that dies every day to the memories of yesterday, to all the joys and sorrows of the past – such a mind is fresh, innocent.

The song so beautifully conveys to keep the purpose of taking this human experience in mind and keep working towards our freedom, freedom from judgment. As judgment dissolves, you return to innocence.

Jiddu Krishnamurti rightly said “The suspicious can never know happiness, for suspicion is the anxiety of their own being. Fearlessness is not courage but freedom from accumulation.”

Songs audio, click here

RETURN TO INNOCENCE
Love, devotion
Feeling, emotion
Love, devotion
Feeling, emotion

Don’t be afraid to be weak
Don’t be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart, my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself, don’t hide
Just believe in destiny
Don’t care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don’t give up and use the chance
To return to innocence

That’s not the beginning of the end
That’s the return to yourself
The return to innocence

Don’t care what people say
Follow just your own way
Don’t give up, don’t give up
To return, to return to innocence

If you want, then laugh
If you must, then cry
Be yourself, don’t hide
Just believe in destiny

Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you. ~ Eckhart Tolle

I was on my way back from work, when i saw this stray dog limping painfully across the street. Something twinged inside me, as if i could hear him say…i am in pain and need help. The nearby vet clinic was shut and it was late for me to call the vet to drop by.

The least i could do was buy him some food, so that he didnt have to run around looking for food with all that pain. I quickly bought him some food and, as he sat there devouring the biscuits, I wondered would i have had felt this compassion for this limping being, if i had known his past?

Had i known that hes one of the most notorious of the pack on the street, numerous thoughts would have assailed my mind and stopped me from feeling that connection that i felt with him.

I would have walked away callously like all others. I couldnt do much for his limping feet other than share his pain and pet him with love; but that evening the 4 four legged being, gave me something to mull over as i walked back home.

I learnt how our mind loves to hold on to memories and past experiences and use it as a reference point to choose our actions and responses.

How aptly Jiddu Krishnamurti had said, “To understand and live now, everything of yesterday must die.”

One has to understand that the search for reality, God, Guru and the search for Self are the same, when one is found all are found. When “I am” and “God is” become in your mind indistinguishable, then something will happen and you will know without a trace of doubt that God is because you are, and you are because God is. The two are One. ~ Shri Nisargdatta Maharaj