'Rig Veda' - a song about our eternal nature

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I came across this very beautiful prayer recently and have made it part of my daily spiritual practise.  I recite it, then sit quietly, reflecting on the wisdom it contains.  It reminds us that we are an inherent part of something eternal and everlasting, something that is much bigger, that expands way beyond the confines and limitations of our physical bodies and minds.  We are never separate from this source - our purpose is to discover that.  There are many wonderful and wise teachings and insights in this prayer and the more I read and reflect on it, the more I get out of it.   Another thing that is very clear to me is that 'being fully present in the moment is just as important as the search'.



Although my spirit may wander the four

corners of the earth,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may go far away

over the sea,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may go far away

to the flashing beams of light,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may go far away to visit

the sun and the dawn,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may wander over the

lofty mountains,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit my go far away into all

forms that live and move,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may go far away to

distant realms,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may go far away to all that

is and is to be,

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


Although my spirit may wander in the valley

of death

Let it come back to me again so that I may live

and journey here.


- Rig Veda

　

　

　

　

　

Ramakrishna on finding God

Ramakrishna's deep wisdom and insights resonate and embody the Interfaith approach, so today I am re-blogging this wonderful post because when it was first published, late last year, it didn't quite get the attention I think it deserves.  Enjoy.

 

"God has made different religions to suit different aspirations, times, and countries.  All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no mean God Himself.  Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion.  One may eat a cake with icing either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way.

As one and the same material, water is called by different names by different peoples, one calling it water, another eau, a third aqua,and another pani, so the one Everlasting-Intelligent-Bliss is invoked by some as God, by some as Allah, by some as Jehovah, and by some as Brahman.

As one can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope, so diverse are ways and means to approach God, and every religion in the world shows one of these ways.

Bow down and worship where others kneel, for where so many have been paying the tribute of adoration, the kind Lord must manifest himself, for he is all mercy.

The saviour is the messenger of God.  He is like the viceroy of a mighty monarch.  As when there is is some disturbance in a far off province, the king sends his viceroy to quell it, so wherever there is a decline in religion in any part of the world, God sends his Saviour there.  It is one and the same Saviour that, having plunged into the ocean of life, rises up in one place and is known as Krishna, and diving down again rises up in another place and is known as Christ.

Everyone should follow ones own religion.  A Christian should follow Christianity, a Muslim should follow Islam and so on.  For the Hindus the ancient path, the path of the Aryan sages, is best.  People partition of their lands by means of boundaries, but no-one can partition of the all-embracing sky overhead.  The indivisible sky surrounds all and includes all.

So people in ignorance say, "My religion is the only one, my religion is the best."  But when a heart is illumed by true knowledge, it knows that above all these wars of sects and sectarians presides the one indivisible, eternal, all-knowing bliss.

As a mother, in nursing her sick children, gives rice and curry to one, and sago arrowroot to another, and bread and butter to a third, so the Lord has laid out different paths for different people suitable for their natures."

- Ramakrishna

Spiritual insight - The Dalai Lama

"My fellow religious believers, I ask this. Obey the injunctions of your own faith; travel to the essence of your religious teaching, the fundamental goodness of the human heart. Here is the space where, despite doctrinal differences, we are all simply human. If you believe in God, see others as God's children. If you are nontheist, see all beings as your mother. When you do this there will be no room for prejudice, intolerance, or exclusivity...Always embrace the common humanity that lies at the heart of us all".


You might also like 'Advocates for peace' - The Dalai Lama in May Archives.  Look through the Archives to find more insights from Luther Standing Bear,  Martin Luther King, Pope Benedict, Amma, Rumi, Hafiz, Einstein in