Poetry
Life Is A Light Show
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth
And the earth was without form and void
And darkness was upon the face of the deep
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
And God said ‘Let there be light’; and there was light
And God saw the light, that it was good
And God divided the light from the darkness”
~ Genesis 1:1-4
“There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth, …
beyond the highest, the very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in your Heart.”
~ Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7
“If the radiance of a thousand suns
Were to burst at once into the sky
That would be like the splendor of the Mighty One –.”
~ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 11, Verse 12
Into my heart’s night
Along a narrow way I groped;
and lo! the light,
An infinite land of day.
~ Rumi
Every particle of the world is a mirror.
In each atom lies the blazing light of a thousand suns.
~ Mahmud Shabestari, Sufi Mystic, 15th century.
“There is an endless net of threads throughout the universe.
The horizontal threads are in space. The vertical threads are in time.
At every crossing of the threads, there is an individual.
And every individual is a crystal bead.
And every crystal bead reflects not only the light from every other crystal in the net, but also every other reflection throughout the entire universe.”
~ Indra’s Net – from the Vedas of ancient India, 7000 years old
“Reality’s essence is Divine luminescence.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“Light is the real essence of everything.
This earth is not “earth” as you see it;
it is light.”
~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Ron’s Introduction to “Life Is A Light Show”
Dear Friends,
“Life Is A Light Show” is a visionary poem metaphorically revealing that Divine luminescence is the essence of all Cosmic energy forms and phenomena. Its composition was initially inspired when I was immensely blessed to behold the inner luminescence of “ten thousand suns” while crying to God atop a Yosemite mountain. Thereafter, I was blessed with further fleeting mystical experiences demonstrating that Divine luminescence is the essence of everyone and every thing.
This poem is dedicated to reminding us that our space/time “reality” isn’t really Real, but just a dream-like mirage; a thought-created illusionary world of inevitable karmic suffering; that we will awaken and escape such suffering upon Realization that space/time is merely a dream-like relative reality; that ultimate Reality is the Eternal Light of Universal Awareness – our true Essence and Source.
“The world, indeed, is like a dream
and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage!”
“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion,
does not act as if it is real,
so he escapes the suffering.”
~ Buddha (The Awakened One)
This message is particularly important in these dark and turbulent times when countless humans are unknowingly and unnecessarily reifying space/time illusions with fearful worries, thoughts and emotions.
After the poem’s written and recited verses below, I will explain why fearful thoughts and emotions invariably harm us and deter our spiritual evolution to higher states of human consciousness. And why averting fearful and hateful negative thoughts and emotions is especially important now as humanity is about to experience a new Age of Aquarius, with shocking disclosures of previously hidden outrageous abuses, crimes and betrayals perpetrated against us by formerly trusted ‘elite’ rulers and “leaders’.
Life Is A Light Show
Life Is A Light Show
From big-bang to black-hole,
the “reality” we think we know –
Is but a light show:
The Eternal light of Awareness
projecting and displaying itself to Itself
on the mirror of the mind.
A kaleidoscopic holographic theater of the mind
– an endless vibratory holo-flow –
A play of congealed Consciousness,
Ever flowing thought-forms
Imagining the universe.
Ever appearing and disappearing –
As above, so below.
Implicate – explicate – implicate –
Ever emerging from and melting into Mystery.
Infinitely experiencing
Infinite potentialities
From infinite perspectives.
An ever flowing, ever growing vibratory virtuality –
called space/time polarity/causality “reality”.
Eternal Awareness
Ever intending to Know Itself.
From big-bang to black-hole,
the “reality” we think we know –
Is but a light show.
Ron’s audio recitation of “Life Is A Light Show”.
Ron’s Explanation of “Life Is A Light Show”.
Dear Friends,
We are about to experience a rare turning point in modern human history as Humanity awakens to an “enlightened” new Age of Aquarius, marked by the December 21, 2020 Winter Solstice.
In this new relatively enlightened era many spiritually awakening people worldwide are about to learn shocking truths concerning outrageously immoral abuses and crimes heretofore perpetrated against them by their previously trusted ‘elite’ rulers and “leaders’, but concealed and unknown until now.
Also, it will be widely revealed, at long last, that for millennia human Earthlings have unknowingly been demonically polarized, divided and energetically exploited by subhuman astral dark forces, which have psychologically ‘imprisoned” them in a digitally pre-programmed matrix – a virtual or simulated world.
Accordingly, many humans have been suffering from thoughts and emotions of helplessness, anxiety, aggression and hatred. Such negative thoughts and emotions invariably harm and weaken us, individually and collectively, and render us susceptible to psychological subjugation which impedes our spiritual evolution to higher states of human consciousness.
Aquarius has been traditionally associated with evolutionarily ‘enlightened’ energies. And in this new Aquarian age many people will be empowered to ascend from matrix psychological domination by emanating elevated heart levels of human consciousness which radiate loving serenity and calmness. Such ascension will enable worldwide societies to cooperatively thrive by actualizing Aquarian virtues of democracy, freedom, courage, honesty, idealism, rebellion, human welfare, and inner-directedness.
Moral of the story.
For ascension to elevated states of human consciousness, we must individually and collectively emanate heartfelt loving energies, without harmful thoughts and emotions of helplessness, anxiety, aggression or hatred which invariably weaken us and reify illusory darkness.
We can accelerate such ascension by always remembering that these dark and violent times are not really Real, and cannot threaten or harm our true Eternal Essence and common Reality, which is LOVE as the LIGHT of Universal Awareness.
So let us calmly, peacefully and harmoniously see insane current space/time events as a non-threatening and perpetually changing illusory play of Universal Awareness, like a projected “Light Show” or movie. And let us refrain from reifying relative ‘reality’ illusions.
May we thereby avert harmful reflexive reactions or judgments about what we see or learn, especially revelations of betrayal by those we’ve trusted.
Invocation.
Whatever happens in this ever impermanent illusory world of inevitable karmic suffering,
may we never forget our eternal immortality and spiritual oneness with Nature and all earth-life,
and may we ever emanate and widely radiate universal peace and happiness,
while realizing that this world is like a projected “light show” – “nothing but movies”.
And so it shall be!
Ron Rattner
Humility ~ Sutra Sayings
Humility grows as ego goes.
The smaller the ego,
the greater the being.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Introduction
Posted today are three related articles about “humility” as a supreme spiritual virtue. Please consider them collectively.
The first article, is a Q and A essay which defines humility and explains why it is considered a great spiritual virtue inversely associated with “ego”; the second article includes many important quotations about humility; and this third article lists (with an mp3 audio recitation) numerous Sutra Sayings which epigrammatically elucidate humility.
Humility ~ Sutra Sayings
Humility grows as ego goes.
The smaller the ego,
the greater the being.
Humility is next to godliness.
No one enters the highest heaven
believing s/he belongs there.
We have nothing to surrender
but the idea that
we’re someone,
with something
to surrender.
We ever evolve
As our boundaries dissolve.
The essence of nobility
is not heredity,
but humility;
not pedigree,
but integrity.
To name and define
is to constrain and confine.
So, to be free,
be a nameless nobody.
The more we know we’re no one,
the more we’re seen as someone.
So BE nobody nowhere –
NOW!
Ron’s recitation of Humility Sutra Sayings
Dedication and Invocation
In these critical times of immense suffering and jeopardy, yet unprecedented opportunity, let us join together with utmost love and humility in envisioning our precious planet democratically ruled bottom-up by humble, peaceful and compassionate citizens, rather than top-down by insensitive and egotistic purported “leaders” who are emotionally sociopathic or psychopathic.
May these biblical passages prove prescient:
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
~ Proverbs 16:18
God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
~ James 4:6
And so shall it be.
Ron Rattner
Should We Be Seekers?
~ Question, Quotations, and Comments
“He is born in vain,
who having attained the human birth,
so difficult to get,
does not attempt to realize God
in this very life.”
~ Sri Ramakrishna
“Seek first the kingdom of heaven,
which is within.”
~ Matthew 6:33; Luke 17:20-21
“Seek and ye shall find.”
Matthew 7:7; Luke 11.9-13
“What you seek is seeking you.”
~ Rumi
“What we are looking for is what is looking.”
~ St. Francis of Assisi
By letting it go it all gets done.
The world is won by those who let it go.
But when you try and try,
the world is beyond the winning.
~ Lao Tzu
“Remember God; forget the rest.
Forget who you think you are,
to remember what you really are.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Introduction
This posting asserts and explains, with quotations and comments, that consciously or unconsciously we are all spiritual seekers.
Should We Be Seekers?
Q. Should we be seekers?
A. Knowingly or unknowingly everyone’s a seeker.
Knowingly or unknowingly everyone seeks Self.
But seeking’s then,
while Self is NOW.
So, to find Self,
BE Self –
NOW!
Ron’s audio recitation of “Should We Be Seekers?”
Ron’s comments and explanation of “Should We Be Seekers?”
Dear Friends,
Are you a spiritual seeker – a seeker of Eternal Truth?
Nowadays, few humans consciously seek spiritual Truth. Almost everyone wants to be happy. But most people seek happiness in worldly pursuits and pleasures, not within.
For millennia mystics, saints and sages have counseled us to focus on spiritual rather than worldly goals. They tell us that worldly pleasures and attainments can merely bring transient satisfactions, whereas lasting happiness can only be found within.
Thus Jesus advised:
“Seek first the kingdom of heaven, which is within.”
“Seek and ye shall find.”
~ Matthew 6:33; Luke 17:20-21; Matthew 7:7; Luke 11.9-13
Similarly, 19th century Indian holy man Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa said:
“He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God in this very life.”
~ Sri Ramakrishna
From my experience, knowingly or unknowingly, everyone is a spiritual “seeker” because everyone longs for a state of being which transcends inevitable Earthly cares and suffering, bringing eternal happiness as LOVE. But rare are those who attain it.
Background
In memoirs titled “Transcending Transcendence” I’ve told how soon after becoming a “born-again Hindu”, I learned that that the object of Sanskrit Hindu practices given by my Guruji was to achieve “mukti” or “moksha”, a state of Divine illumination, where the Self, soul, or “Atman” would experience its Oneness with “Brahman” [Supreme Reality] – the pinnacle of human experience.
Thereafter, I began considering and seeking “self realization”, or “enlightenment” as a spiritual goal, until gradually I abandoned goal oriented spiritual seeking, and – as “An Uncertain Undo” – intuitively began surrendering to the Infinite, with ever expanding heartfelt faith in God.
Explanation
Mystics say that by resolutely looking within we can discover ultimately that we are imprisoned by illusionary mental tendencies and mistaken beliefs about self identity and reality which wrongly reify our limited perceptions of ephemeral forms, in an ever impermanent illusory reality, where mortality and suffering are karmically inevitable.
So, how can we find divine happiness within?
Non-dualist masters tell us that effortlessly – with resolute intention, intense aspiration and focused observation we can discover our eternal Self, as a joyous state of spiritual freedom beyond belief.
“What is the worth of a happiness for which you must strive and work? Real happiness is spontaneous and effortless.”
~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.”
~ Chuang-Tzu
By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.
~ Lao Tzu
“In the pursuit of learning every day something is gained.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.”
~ Lao Tzu
“Don’t seek happiness. If you seek it, you won’t find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing ‘what is’ rather than making up stories about it. Unhappiness covers up your natural state of well-being and inner peace, the source of true happiness.”
~ Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
“Do not search for the truth;
only cease to cherish opinions.
Do not remain in the dualistic state.
Avoid such pursuits carefully.
If there is even a trace of this and that,
of right and wrong,
the mind-essence will be lost in confusion.”
~ Seng-Ts’an, The Third Patriarch of Zen
Dedication and Invocation
May the non-dualist mystic masters inspire us –
each from our unique perspective –
to prioritize spiritual rather than worldly goals,
and so to seek and find relief from belief –
relief from mistaken mental tendencies
from which we inevitably and repeatedly suffer
until we find –
beyond the mind –
our true immortal Self.
And thus discover that:
We are what we seek!
And so it shall be!
Ron Rattner
Dreamers Awake
~ and End Double Bubble Trouble
“Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.”
~ Buddha: Diamond Sutra
“We are like the spider. We weave our life and then move along in it. We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream. This is true for the entire universe.”
~ Aitareya Upanishad
I am, you anxious one.
I am the dream you are dreaming.
When you want to awaken, I am waiting.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
“The essence of all wisdom is to know the answers to ‘who am I?’
and ‘what will become of me?’ on the Day of Judgment.”
~ Jalaluddin Rumi
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”
~ Lao Tzu
Dreamers Awake, and End Double Bubble Trouble
Eastern mystics say that this world is like a mirage,
an illusion which they call maya or samsara;
that “all that we see or seem
is but a dream within a dream”…*Science now agrees that our material world,
and all in it, are impermanent
ever changing quantum energy systems or processes;
that “Matter has melted into Mystery.”Our ego says we are a person,
living in a solid, material universe.
But science says that we are a conscious
quantum energy process.So, we live in a double bubble of imagined solidity:
an ego bubble of imagined personal identity,
within a paradigm bubble of imagined world “reality”.But what happens if our bubbles burst?
If our ego bubble bursts, what’s left of us?
If our worldview paradigm bursts,
what’s left of our “reality”?If the universe is like a dream,
who is the Dreamer?If each being is like a dream,
who is the dreamer?If we are just a dream within a dream,
what will be if we awaken from our dreams?The answer to each bubble bursting,
dreamer awaking question is the same:
“ETERNAL AWARENESS”NOW!
*Edgar Allen Poe.
Ron’s Comments on “Dreamers Awake, and End Double Bubble Trouble”
Dear Friends,
For millennia Eastern mystics and sages have likened our supposedly awakened earth life to nocturnal dream life, suggesting that we are not truly awake as long as we self-identify as entities separate from God, Nature and all else in our perceived world of forms.
And to help us awaken from this ‘dream-life’ they have counseled “know thyself”.
So, in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, supposed sage Polonius counsels his son, Laertes:
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
What is the deep meaning of Polonius’ advice?
Who or what is the Self to which we must be true?
And how can we be true to ourself, unless we first know ourself?
According to Rumi,
“The essence of all wisdom is to know the answers to ‘who am I?’
and ‘what will become of me?’ on the Day of Judgment.”
Yet most people don’t reflect on these questions. Instead, we self-identify only according to our perceptions of physical separateness and mortality in an apparently objective ‘solid’ world.
After years of ruminating on “who am I”, what is death, and what is ‘reality’, I have increasingly self identified – rather than only as a mortal physical body in a seemingly ‘solid’ universe – as timeless Awareness in an ever impermanent holographic universe – a dream-like kaleidoscopic theater of the mind.
This radical – yet simple – change of perspective, has greatly helped me live a happier life, often as an observer of my own “soap opera”, accepting it with less and less fear of adversity and inevitable physical mortality. This changed perspective has revealed to me that:
“As we lose our fear of leaving life, we gain the art of living life.”
Based on that realization, I have composed and posted above “Dreamers Awake, and End Double Bubble Trouble” to explore the perennial questions : “Who am I?”; “What is ‘reality’”? and “What is ‘death?”
May these writings help us lead ever happier lives by encouraging our deep reconsideration and reflection upon our own self-identity, and supposed mortality, in accordance with revelations of quantum physicists and ancient saints and sages.
May everyone, everywhere be happy!
And so may it be!
Ron Rattner
Seekers Beware!
“Seek first the kingdom of heaven,
which is within.”
~ Matthew 6:33; Luke 17:20-21
“Follow your heart – even if it contradicts my words.”
~ Shri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas
”We are shackled by illusory bonds of belief.
Freedom is beyond belief.”
“It’s better to be a seeker with many questions,
than a Guru with all the answers.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“Love is the only sane and satisfactory
answer to the problem of human existence.”
~ Erich Fromm
“Honor your Heart, over your rational mind;
use your mind to serve and follow your Heart..”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Path of devotion:
“Adoration of the Infinite,
not adulation of the incarnate.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Introduction
The following poem, which cautions about cults, was composed after I’d begun questioning rigid religious belief systems and dogma, and certain hierarchic spiritual or religious organizations. As explained in comments following the poem, this disillusionment led to my mostly looking within for life guidance, and to regard myself as an “Uncertain Undo” seeking relief from belief, rather than as a “Born-again Hindu”.
Seekers Beware!
Do not seek wisdom
of the occult
in a cult,
Lest cult inculcation
into cult culture
leaves you a cult captive.
Seek liberation, not cult approbation.
Seek illumination, not cultivation.
So seek and pursue
the one path that’s true;
Seek and follow
your Heart.
Ron’s audio recitation of “Seekers Beware!”
Ron’s Explanation of “Seekers Beware”:
Background
After my beloved Guruji, Shri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas, returned to India in 1980, I met and learned from other spiritual teachers, in addition to Guruji’s successor, Shri Anandi Ma. But I always maintained my heartfelt inner relationship with Guruji – above all other teachers.
For many years I considered myself a “born-again Hindu” and was mostly attracted to Indian spiritual teachers. But gradually I began questioning rigid religious belief systems and dogma, and certain hierarchic spiritual or religious organizations.
Beginning in 1987, I was especially attracted to the devotional path of Amritanandamayi (Ammachi) of calling and crying to the Divine. And for seven years I attended many of her US darshans and regular programs at her San Ramon ashram.
At first I experienced an exceptionally powerful devotional ambience around Ammachi. And I was much moved by her soulful singing of bhajans calling to the Divine. However, my experience of devotional blessings around Ammachi, and my enthusiasm for her darshans, gradually diminished and eventually ended in distressing disillusionment.
( See https://sillysutras.com/other-teachers-mata-amritanandamayi-ammachi-rons-memoirs/; and https://sillysutras.com/from-mata-amritanandamayi-to-amma-shri-karunamayi-rons-memoirs/ )
I was especially distressed on learning facts about Ammachi’s organization revealed in a spiritual memoir published by Gail Tredwell (aka “Gayatri”) entitled “Holy Hell, A Memoir of Faith, Devotion and Pure Madness” containing many shocking but truthful revelations.
On learning those facts, I realized that I’d been naively projecting purported perfection and infallibility, upon Ammachi and a few other Eastern teachers, rather than seeing them as limited humans, though perhaps further evolved in spiritual awareness. That realization was an important learning experience, which motivated me to emphasize following my heart for life guidance, and to regard myself as an “Uncertain Undo” seeking relief from belief, rather than as a “Born-again Hindu”.
Moral of the Story
Some of us may be blessed to meet inspiring spiritual teachers, gurus or saintly people on whom we may project and, accordingly, in whom we may perceive perfection. I have done this with my beloved and venerable Hindu guru, Sri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas, and with a few other “enlightened” spiritual teachers. But Guruji humbly taught:
“Follow your heart – even if it contradicts my words.”
~ Shri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas
And I have realized the wisdom of Albert Einstein’s observation that
“The cult of individual personalities is always . . unjustified.”
~ Albert Einstein
So my devotional path has been:
“Adoration of the Infinite,
not adulation of the incarnate.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Thus, ultimately, I’ve learned from inner and outer experience that “incarnation is limitation”, and that however evolved an incarnate being may be s/he is fallible. Here on Earth, where we experience eternal life via mortal physical bodies, it seems that human fallibility ‘goes with the territory’ – that “to err is human”.
I’ve realized that we need to rely vigilantly both on our powers of discrimination and on our divine intuitive insights. But, that whenever in doubt, it is wise for us to to honor intuition over intellect, and to find guidance in our heart – not our head.
If a spiritual teacher (or other expert authority or pundit) speaks or behaves in ways that don’t make sense to us, we should listen to our heart, and not the pundit. We should act without fear or concern for opinions of others, who may disagree.
Also I’ve learned that we must still our ego-mind to hear our heart, instead of heeding the ‘voice in our head’. Thereby, accessing our inner wisdom helps us transcend many earthly limitations and so resolve problems created by astral entities or lower levels of human consciousness.
And so may it be!
Ron Rattner
Ascension Apprehension
Our deepest fears
hide our highest potentials.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
As we lose our fear of leaving life,
we gain the art of living life.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?”
~ Socrates
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering.
Out of a fear of the unknown,
they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Love is what we were born with.
Fear is what we learned here.
The spiritual journey is the relinquishment – or unlearning – of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.
~ Marianne Williamson
In silence sweet
we shall see
that everything is light.
And thus we’ll learn in perfect peace
there’s naught to fear but fright.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Ascension Apprehension
Our deepest fears
hide our highest potentials.
The higher we go
the more we know,
That our highest highness
is our common “I-ness”.
Ron’s audio recitation of “Ascension Apprehension”
Ron’s explanation and dedication of “Ascension Apprehension”
Dear Friends,
Did you know that most humans – individually and societally – fail to achieve their highest potentials and suffer unnecessarily because of mistaken fear of the unknown – especially fear of inevitable bodily death?
Physical death is inevitable and natural. All physical bodies are mortal and die; only time of physical death is unknown. But, knowingly or unknowingly, most people fear physical death because they self-identify only with their physical bodies, mistakenly believing that bodily death ends life, and don’t know what if anything happens after physical death.
Eminent Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death after being unjustly tried and convicted for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens. Just before he died of a coerced suicide, by drinking hemlock, Socrates proclaimed that fear of death was fear of the unknown.
Countless survivors of what we call near death experiences, credibly report vastly transformed, happier and more fulfilling lives following experiential realization that bodily death does not end life; that in dying to physical life we can be ‘reborn to eternal life’.
By identifying only with our mortal physical bodies we think that we are entities “condemned” by nature to inevitable bodily death. And we don’t know what will happen to us upon such death. So, we become afraid of dying; of giving up the known for the unknown. And futilely we try to ‘protect’ ourselves by psychologically denying inevitable demise of our ephemeral physical forms. So our lives are often marked by suffering from conflicts and problems which disturb our peace of mind and awareness of our eternal at-one-ment with Nature.
Yet it is possible for us to transcend suffering from fear of the unknown. We can realize that we are much more than our unique physical forms or our thoughts; that our ultimate common essence is immortal. Realizing this, we can begin more and more to self-identify with our common immortal awareness, rather than our ephemeral forms and thoughts; and gradually we can expand our perceived boundaries, so to ever evolve ’til these boundaries dissolve.
Thus, we can more and more live with less and less anxiety, fear and worry. Though in this life we may never totally transcend ephemeral entity identity, often we can just be at peace in the present – as thoughtless immortal awareness – NOW.
Dedicaton and Invocation
May the foregoing Ascension Apprehension verses and quotations help us realize that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
And thereby may they inspire our discovery together of ever less fearful
and ever more fulfilling lives.
May we –
Individually and societally –
Lose illusory apprehensions
and achieve fated Ascensions
To timeless New Dimensions
of Eternal Life, Light and LOVE.
Ever NOW!
And so shall it be!
Ron Rattner
Is Birth On Earth a Death Sentence?
~ Ron’s Memoirs
“Death is truly part of life …
‘what we called death is merely a concept’.”
“This happens at the gross level of the mind.
But neither death nor birth exist at the subtle level of consciousness that we call ‘clear light.’”
~ Dalai Lama
At my death do not lament our separation…
As the sun and moon but seem to set,
in Reality this is a rebirth.
~ Rumi
In order to know through experience what happens beyond death, you must go deep within yourself.
In meditation, the truth will come to you.”
~ Shri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas
“And it is in dying [to ego life]
that we are reborn to eternal life.”
~ Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, edited by Ron Rattner
Q: What is death?
A: “Death is a vacation –
Eternal Life-force vacating a transient vehicle –
“a space-time soul suit”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Ron’s Introduction
Knowingly or unknowingly most people fear physical death because they self-identify only with their physical bodies, mistakenly believing that bodily death ends life, and they are ignorant of what if anything happens after physical death.
Such fear of death often motivates selfish thoughts, emotions and behaviors, which dim our inner divine light and render us susceptible to subliminal shadow side neurotic, demonic or dark forces – subhuman malignant energies or entities which parasitically polarize, divide and exploit humankind, by provoking selfishness, violence, anger, anxiety, and fear.
Thus, our fear of death can significantly impede spiritual evolution, whereas losing and transcending fear of death can allow and encourage important evolutionary advancement.
Until my midlife spiritual awakening, like most humans I self-identified with only my physical body, its thoughts and story. But then, in my early forties, I had previously unimagined and irreversibly transformative experiences of spiritual self-identity and afterlife, from which I realized that I was not merely my body, its thoughts and story, but eternal and universal awareness. Since then I have been blessed with a wonderful new life period of ever increasing happiness and fulfillment.
The above quotations and sutras, and the following poetic verses about whether birth on Earth is a death sentence, epigrammatically summarize what I have experientially learned about physical death. They are explained in greater detail in comments following the poem.
Is Birth On Earth a Death Sentence?
No matter how we strive,
No body leaves alive.
But we never really die – you see,
Just leave our physicality
To melt and merge with Mystery,
The mystery of Divinity.
Ron’s audio recitation of “Is Birth On Earth a Death Sentence?”
Ron’s comments on “Is Birth On Earth a Death Sentence?”
Dear Friends,
Physical death is inevitable and natural. All physical bodies are mortal and die; only time of physical death is unknown.
Knowingly or unknowingly most people fear physical death because they self-identify only with their physical bodies, mistakenly believing that bodily death ends life, and are ignorant of what if anything happens after physical death.
Eminent Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death after being unjustly tried and convicted for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens. Just before he died of a coerced suicide, by drinking hemlock, Socrates proclaimed that fear of death was fear of the unknown:
“To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?”
Like most other Americans, I was acculturated with an innate but largely subconscious fear of death. Then in my early forties, I had irreversibly transformative experiences of spiritual self-identity and afterlife:
I realized that I was not merely my body, its thoughts and story, but eternal and universal awareness. And I began seeing visions of apparent past lives, and inner and outer appearances of deceased people, including Mahatma Gandhi, my first perceived inner spiritual guide.
Thus, I began accepting Eastern ideas of reincarnation and transmigration of an eternal soul, while gradually losing fear of inevitable physical death. Ultimately I concluded from experience and intuition that cosmically there is no death; that “birth and death are virtual, while Life is perpetual”. (See e.g.Know Death to Know Life; Know Death to Know That There is No Death)
So I’ve shared the foregoing whimsical poem, quotes and comments about birth and death to help remind us that as we lose fear of death we gain ever increasing peace of mind and happiness. And to explain why transcending fear of death is especially important during current polarized and turbulent times.
Invocation
May we realize that physical death is normal and necessary,
and not to be feared;
that it opens us to ever expanding
new vistas of self-discovery and fulfillment
of our deepest aspirations as eternal souls;
that beyond physical birth and death
we are destined to discover and enjoy
ever increasing inner peace and happiness
until we melt and merge with Mystery,
The mystery of Divinity.
And so may it be!
Ron Rattner
The Sacred Secret of Life
~ Ron’s Memoirs, Quotes and Poem
“That which is timeless is found now.”
~ Buddha
Life can be found only in the present moment.
The past is gone, the future is not yet here,
and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment,
we cannot be in touch with life.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.
~ Alan Watts
Remember then: there is only one time that is important – Now!
It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.
~ Leo Tolstoy
“The more we live moment by moment,
the more momentous our lives.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“Life is NOW
Ever NOW
Never then.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Tao and Zen
are NOW,
not then.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Ron’s Introduction
The following ‘channeled’ poem and above quotations, are about a key wisdom concept which is so important for spiritual evolution that with poetic license I’ve called it “the sacred secret of life”. That spiritual secret and my process leading to composition of the ‘secret of life’ poem are explained in comments below.
The Sacred Secret of Life
We evolve and revolve
ever seeking to solve
the sacred secret of life.
But the further we go
the less we know
the sacred secret of life.
The longer our history,
the greater the mystery of
the sacred secret of life.
Yet we never stop trying –
keep birthing and dying, for
the sacred secret of life.
Tho’ we may never solve it,
we’ll ever evolve it:
The sacred secret of life.
So in Awe we bow
to the ever NOW—
The sacred secret of Life.
Ron’s audio recitation of “The Sacred Secret of Life”
Ron’s explanation of “The Sacred Secret of Life”
Dear Friends,
The foregoing “secret of life” poem was inspired by previously unimagined and unforgettable experiences which began after my midlife spiritual awakening. After many years of inner reflection, prayer and meditation, the poem was composed spontaneously during my extended post-retirement reclusive period.
Soon after my awakening, I was synchronistically introduced to Eastern spiritual wisdom through a friend who urged me to read an extraordinary book with an intriguing title – “Be Here Now”. It told about the spiritual transformation of Dr. Richard Alpert, Harvard Ph.D, into Ram Dass, a Western teacher of Eastern wisdom, after meeting his Hindu guru – Neem Karoli Baba.
“Be Here Now” was for me unlike any other book I’d ever before seen or read. Filled with beautiful calligraphy, art, and photos, it imaginatively presented a fascinating melange of Eastern ideas previously unknown to me, with many suggestions and ‘recipes’ for spiritual practices.
Some suggestions interested me, though I didn’t immediately adopt any of them. But the book and its memorable title planted seeds for spiritual practices which I later adopted. The first of these practices – simple repetition as a mantra of the word “Rama” soon miraculously manifested in my life, in a previously unimagined way, and with remarkable continuing consequences.
Gradually the book’s memorable title “Be Here Now!” became for me a key slogan for spiritual awakening; a reminder to live with a quiet mind in the present moment. Through experience and other spiritual teachings, I began to realize the profound evolutionary importance of mental stillness.
I was especially influenced by the teachings of contemporary sage J. Krishnamurti about how “freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity.” Much later I felt great resonance with the writings of contemporary teacher Eckhart Tolle, which emphasized “The Power of Now.” Perhaps most important were my experiences in following my beloved Guruji’s emphatic instructions to “meditate regularly”.
Only after many years of meditating regularly did my ‘monkey mind’ finally cease its ceaseless chatter, permitting me to choose whether “to think or not to think” – an option to enjoy precious moments of choiceless awareness. And by learning to live with a quiet mind in the present moment, I understood Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras’ key aphorism that “Yoga is the cessation of mind”; and I discovered that “The more we live moment by moment, the more momentous our lives;” and that “when all thoughts cease, we are at peace.”
Each of us has a unique space/time perspective and karmic history. So each of us has unique challenges and a unique ‘recipe’ for spiritual opening. But the ‘ingredients’ in every such ‘recipe’ are the same – only proportions differ. And precious presence – ‘being here now’ – is crucially important for everyone, not just those who knowingly seek spiritual advancement.
Being present is sometimes called being “in the zone” with a focused or stilled mind. Have you ever noticed how star artists and athletes perform at peak levels while “in the zone”?
Moreover, whether or not we are interested in Eastern wisdom or mindfulness or peak performance, every human being wants happiness, with minimal suffering. And to be in a state of precious presence with a stilled mind is of critical importance to experiencing happiness.
So for me “Be Here Now!” – like “Seek relief from belief” and “Undo Ego!” – has become a key motivational motto encapsulating a wisdom concept crucial to spiritual evolution from Earth life to Eternal Life.
Dedication and Invocation
Thus today’s quotations and poem are offered to inspire our ever expanding realization that “life can be found only in the present moment”, and that ultimately the Eternal happiness we all seek is beyond space and time, but paradoxically ever here NOW.
May we all experience growing happiness by learning to live in the precious present with ever quieter minds, thereby radiating Eternal LOVE and Light, which blesses the world, ever NOW.
And so shall it be!
Ron Rattner
Time, Place and Name?
“Space and time are not conditions in which we live,
they are modes in which we think”
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
“Our separation of each other is an optical illusion of consciousness.”
~ Albert Einstein
“According to the Advaita philosophy, ..this Maya or ignorance–or name and form, or, as it has been called in Europe, time, space, and causality– is out of this one Infinite Existence showing us the manifoldness of the universe; in substance, this universe is one. So long as any one thinks that there are two ultimate realities, he is mistaken. When he has come to know that there is but one, he is right. This is what is being proved to us every day, on the physical plane, on the mental plane, and also on the spiritual plane.”
~ Swami Vivekananda – Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of Knowledge
Thought divides Awareness as a prism divides light.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Visible and invisible are indivisible;
Perceptible and imperceptible are inseparable;
Material and immaterial are integral.
Self subsumes ALL.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
We’re whole,
We’re whole,
We’re whole!
Nothing ever
can dissever
our soul.~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
Albert Einstein
Introduction
The following sutra poem was composed during my extended post-retirement reclusive period of prayer and meditation. Its spiritual significance is implied and explained in the above quotations and in related postings.
This posting, like many other SillySutras postings, is about the ancient Advaita-Vedanta non-duality philosophy of ONE Infinite Existence. From inner experiences and reflections, I have long been persuaded of the ultimate verity of that Vedic non-duality philosophy.
And acceptance of that philosophy has inspired previously unimagined and ever expanding happiness in my life. Hence, in sharing these writings I’m hoping they will inspire your similar happiness.
So, please read, listen, reflect, and be happy!
Ron Rattner
Time, Place and Name?
Time, place, and name
Are how mind mistakenly
Measures the Immeasurable,
Divides the Indivisible, and
Names the Unnameable –
Futilely seeking to comprehend
The Incomprehensible.
Ron’s audio recitation of Time, Place, and Name?
Invocation
May precious Advaita-Vedanta non-duality wisdom teachings
increasingly inspire and guide countless people worldwide.
Particularly in current critical times,
may they encourage and motivate us
to fearlessly be inner – not outer – directed;
and thereby to compassionately follow our hearts with LOVE,
rather than our minds with mistaken anxieties and fears,
from illusionary thoughts of separation from each other and Nature.
And so shall it be!
Ron Rattner
‘Silence” ~ Sayings and Quotes
“Silence is the language of God,
all else is poor translation.”
~ Rumi
“Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
Be silent.”
~ Rumi
“Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.”..
“Let silence take you to the core of life.”
~ Rumi
Introduction.
The following timeless quotations about silence, are shared to help all of us keep calm, without harmful anxieties, emotions or fears, in these difficult times.
‘Silence” ~ Sayings and Quotes
“Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”
~ Confucius
“There is something greater and purer than what the mouth utters.
Silence illuminates our souls, whispers to our hearts, and brings them together.
Silence separates us from ourselves, makes us sail the firmament of spirit, and brings us closer to heaven.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
“If you don’t know what God’s guidance for your life is,
you might try seeking in receptive silence.
I used to walk receptive and silent amidst the beauties of nature.
Wonderful insights would come to me which I then put into practice in my life.”
~ Peace Pilgrim
Silence is the communing of a conscious soul with itself.
If the soul attend for a moment to its own infinity,
then and there is silence.
She is audible to all men, at all times, in all places,
and if we will
we may always hearken to her admonitions.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
“It is as though he listened
and such listening as his
enfolds us in a silence
In which at last
We begin to hear
What we are meant to be.”
~ Lao-Tzu
“In the silence of the heart God speaks.
If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you.
Then you will know that you are nothing.
It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness,
that God can fill you with Himself.
Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”
~ Mother Teresa
“One opens the inner doors of one’s heart to the infinite silences of the Spirit,
out of whose abysses love wells up without fail and gives itself to all.”
~ Thomas Merton
“My friend, I am not what I seem.
Seeming is but a garment I wear — a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence.
The “I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
“The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark.
The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore
“We search for Him here and there, while looking right at Him
Sitting by his side, we ask:
Oh Beloved, where is the Beloved?
Enough with such questions
Let silence take you to the core of life
All your talk is worthless when compared with one whisper of the beloved”
~ Rumi
“Each one of us is called to become that great song that comes out of the silence,
and the more we let ourselves down into that great silence the more we become capable of singing that great song.”
~ David Steindl-Rast
”After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
~ Aldous Huxley
“The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.”
~ Baruch Spinoza
“Live laconically –
Speak little; say much.”
~ Ron Rattner (aka Swami Onandonananda)
“Eschew pedantry, punditry, and prolixity,
and seek profundity –
in silence, simplicity and serenity.”
~ Ron Rattner – Sutra Sayings
Ron’s comments about the power of silent minds
Dear Friends,
Have you ever noticed how it feels to be “in the zone” with a stilled or focussed mind? Or noticed how star athletes perform at their highest levels while “in the zone”?
Being in the zone implies a state of consciousness in which increased focus and attention support highest levels of physical or mental performance.
The secret of our success while “in the zone” is a thoughtless or focussed mind. And a thoughtless or focussed mind is often considered crucial to progress on the spiritual path.
That’s why spiritual teachers invariably endorse meditation and other mind-stilling techniques.
According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras – a sacred Hindu treatise – “yoga” is much more than postures and exercises to keep the physical body strong and flexible:
“Yoga is the cessation of mind.”
By following my Guruji’s key advice to “meditate regularly” I have learned the importance of a stilled mind, and have written extensively on that subject.
Here are some of my “sutra sayings” about a silent mind:
“Bliss abides when thought subsides.”
“When all thoughts cease, we are at peace.”
“Spirit speaks when mind is mute.”
“Mute your mind to hear your heart.”
“The power to think is a great gift;
but, the power to not think is a greater gift.”
“So, to think or not to think, that is the question.”
Invocation
May today’s timeless quotations about silence,
help us remember and experience through silent minds
the crucial power of NOW –
to enable our wise behaviors in these difficult times,
so as to help ourselves and all life everywhere.
May everyone everywhere be happy!
And so shall it be!
Ron Rattner
