Advances are made by answering questions. Discoveries are made by questioning answers.
— Bernard Haisch
Friday, February 21, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Buddha Speaks - The Story of a Merchant
A merchant and a widower, who went away on a business trip and left his little boy at home. while he was away, bandits came and burned down the whole village. when the merchant returned, he didn't find his house, it was just a heap of ash. There was the charred body of a child close by. He threw himself on the ground and cried and cried. He beat his chest and pulled his hair.
The next day, he had the little body cremated. Because his beloved son was his ony reason for existence, he sewed a beautiful velvet bag and put the ashes inside. Wherever he went, he took that bag of ashes with him. In fact, his son had been kidnapped by the bandits, three months later, the boy escaped and returned home. when he arrived, it was two 'o' clock in the morning. He knocked on the door of the new house his father had built. The poor father was lying on his bed crying, holding the bag of ashes, and he asked, "Who is there? "Its me daddy, your son". The father answered, "that's not possible. my son is dead. I've cremated his body and i carry his ashes with me. You must be some naughty boy who's trying to fool me. Go away, don't disturb me!" He refused to open the door, and there was no way for the little boy to come in. The boy had to go away, and the father lost his son forever.
After telling this story, the Buddha said, If at some point in your life you adopt an idea or a perception as the absolute truth, you close the door of your mind. This is the end of seeking the truth. Attachment to views, attachment to ideas, attachment to perceptions are the biggest obstacles to the truth".
The next day, he had the little body cremated. Because his beloved son was his ony reason for existence, he sewed a beautiful velvet bag and put the ashes inside. Wherever he went, he took that bag of ashes with him. In fact, his son had been kidnapped by the bandits, three months later, the boy escaped and returned home. when he arrived, it was two 'o' clock in the morning. He knocked on the door of the new house his father had built. The poor father was lying on his bed crying, holding the bag of ashes, and he asked, "Who is there? "Its me daddy, your son". The father answered, "that's not possible. my son is dead. I've cremated his body and i carry his ashes with me. You must be some naughty boy who's trying to fool me. Go away, don't disturb me!" He refused to open the door, and there was no way for the little boy to come in. The boy had to go away, and the father lost his son forever.
After telling this story, the Buddha said, If at some point in your life you adopt an idea or a perception as the absolute truth, you close the door of your mind. This is the end of seeking the truth. Attachment to views, attachment to ideas, attachment to perceptions are the biggest obstacles to the truth".
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Triple Filter Test
Socrates was the great philosopher in ancient Greece and was held in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute”, Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
“That’s right”, Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,”,the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …” “All right”, said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary.” “So”, Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.
You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.”
“Well”, concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
“Hold on a minute”, Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
“That’s right”, Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,”,the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …” “All right”, said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary.” “So”, Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.
You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.”
“Well”, concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
The Problem of the Others - by Paulo Coelho
There was once a well-known scholar, who lived in a mountain in the Himalayas. Tired of living with men, he had chosen a simple life and spent most of his time meditating.
His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers – to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.
The wise man, as he was full of compassion, gave some advice here and there, but kept trying to get rid of unwanted visitors. Still, they appeared in larger groups, and one day a crowd knocked on his door, saying that great stories about him were published in their local newspaper and that everyone was sure he knew how to overcome the difficulties of their lives.
The wise man said nothing but asked them to sit and wait. Three days passed, and more people arrived. When there was no room for anyone else, he addressed the people who were outside his door.
“Today I will give the answer that everyone wants. But you must promise that, to have your problems solved, you will not tell the new pilgrims that I moved here – so that you can continue to live in the solitude you so much crave. Men and women have made a sacred oath that if the wise fulfilled their promises, they would not let any more pilgrims climb the mountain.”
“Tell me your problems,” said the sage.
Someone began to speak, but was soon interrupted by others, as everyone knew that this was the last public hearing that the holy man was giving, and they feared that he wouldn’t have the time to listen to all of them. Minutes later, confusion was created , many voices were shouting at the same time, people were crying, men and women were tearing their hair out in despair because it was impossible to hear.
The wise man let the situation be prolonged a little, until he cried, “Silence!”
The crowd fell silent immediately.
“Write your problems down and put the papers in front of me,” he said.
When everyone finished, the wise man mixed all the papers in a basket, then said, “Keep this basket moving amongst you. Each of you will take a paper, and read it. You will then choose whether to keep your problems, or take the one given to you.”
Each person took a sheet of paper, read it, and was horrified. They concluded that what they had written, however bad it was, was not as serious as what ailed his neighbor. Two hours later, they exchanged papers amongst themselves, and each one had to put their personal problems back into his or her pocket, relieved that their distress was not as hard as they once thought.
Grateful for the lesson, they went down the mountain with the certainty that they were happier than all the others, and – fulfilling the promise made – never let anyone disturb the peace of the holy man.
His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers – to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.
The wise man, as he was full of compassion, gave some advice here and there, but kept trying to get rid of unwanted visitors. Still, they appeared in larger groups, and one day a crowd knocked on his door, saying that great stories about him were published in their local newspaper and that everyone was sure he knew how to overcome the difficulties of their lives.
The wise man said nothing but asked them to sit and wait. Three days passed, and more people arrived. When there was no room for anyone else, he addressed the people who were outside his door.
“Today I will give the answer that everyone wants. But you must promise that, to have your problems solved, you will not tell the new pilgrims that I moved here – so that you can continue to live in the solitude you so much crave. Men and women have made a sacred oath that if the wise fulfilled their promises, they would not let any more pilgrims climb the mountain.”
“Tell me your problems,” said the sage.
Someone began to speak, but was soon interrupted by others, as everyone knew that this was the last public hearing that the holy man was giving, and they feared that he wouldn’t have the time to listen to all of them. Minutes later, confusion was created , many voices were shouting at the same time, people were crying, men and women were tearing their hair out in despair because it was impossible to hear.
The wise man let the situation be prolonged a little, until he cried, “Silence!”
The crowd fell silent immediately.
“Write your problems down and put the papers in front of me,” he said.
When everyone finished, the wise man mixed all the papers in a basket, then said, “Keep this basket moving amongst you. Each of you will take a paper, and read it. You will then choose whether to keep your problems, or take the one given to you.”
Each person took a sheet of paper, read it, and was horrified. They concluded that what they had written, however bad it was, was not as serious as what ailed his neighbor. Two hours later, they exchanged papers amongst themselves, and each one had to put their personal problems back into his or her pocket, relieved that their distress was not as hard as they once thought.
Grateful for the lesson, they went down the mountain with the certainty that they were happier than all the others, and – fulfilling the promise made – never let anyone disturb the peace of the holy man.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
What does it mean to Live a Rational Life?
Mundane definitions are predictable and fit into societal norms; the esoteric definition of rational living is something altogether different.
“Rationality is one of the faculties that develops when people persevere on the path of aspiration and striving….People lose their power of rationality when they lose the power of perseverance. They begin to act in a way in which you cannot see in them any rationality. Their actions and thoughts lose the path of reason, and irrationality controls them.” (Initiation,the Path of Living Service by Torkom Saraydarian, p. 19.)
Rational living means to make choices in our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life that have positive, healthy, vibrant results. It means that our life choices are based on cause and effect and we see that whatever happens in our life is no accident, it has a cause somewhere and some place in time.
Desire rules most of our life. We can make list upon list of what we desire. Desire in itself does not produce results, so we cannot think that by virtue of desire, we have all that we want fulfilled.
When we put our heart into a desire, it means we are aspiring, we are actually moving toward taking some action that will result in an outcome that we want. So, for example, we have a desire to have a healthy and slim body. We can sit and desire it all we want but this will not give us a healthy and slim body. When we aspire to have a healthy and slim body, we start to search and learn how to bring about a healthy and slim body. We look into diets, exercise, join the gym, watch health shows on TV, and read the latest articles on health and wellness.
But, we still need to take another step. In order to have the kind of body we want, we need to do something about it, take action and this is called striving. We go to the gym on a regular basis. We follow the right diet for our bodies and lifestyle. We take appropriate supplements. We remove harmful foods and drink and become more conscious about our relationship with food. We observe what is making us better and what is still hindering the process. We become rational; our life makes sense, our decisions are based on evidence that is observable and provable by our life results. We also stop making excuses and silly remarks about our body that is counter-productive.
There is yet another step to becoming rational: help others to achieve the same results that you are striving toward. Work with someone else who has the same desires and help her or him to achieve the same rationality that you have found. Mentor, teach, write, post findings on your social sites. When we teach and mentor, when we better ourselves along with others, we achieve a community of rational people rather than a community of whiners. Even more importantly, we learn valuable life lessons.
When we become rational, our daily rhythm flows naturally and rhythmically with our life’s desires. We are not pulling in one direction, and breaking it down in the next. We are not up one day and down the next. We are not making all kinds of promises and show-off statements only to forget them the next. We are serene and healthy and mentally clear consistently.
Why do we need to strive to become a rational person? Being rational means we are dependable, stable, and healthy. We follow through with our promises. We think before we speak. We take into account a larger picture of life before we make decisions. We have a long range view of life. We are sane and balanced and a joy to be with. Think of people in your life who are sane and rational and those who are not. Whom do you prefer to be with? Whom do you prefer to employ? Whom do you prefer to work with, or partner with? A rational person is much preferred company than an irrational person.
The result is a healthy life, healthy emotions, sane mind, dependable relations and friendships, and integrity. Rational people make better leaders, parents, friends, spouses and so on. Irrational people are negative, sick, hurtful, and separative and are always moving from one desire to the next; such people are selfish, easily wounded, and reactive.
Esoterically, what happens to an irrational person? Patches of desires and wishes and dreams all accumulate on the person’s subtle mechanisms and clog his paths. Think of lists upon lists of desires floating around your body. If the person accumulates and accumulates information to feed his or her desires, this information also becomes patches of undigested materials. The person becomes “thick” and unresponsive. Nothing gets through and desires do not become reality; there are too many blockages.
Although being a rational person may not seem to be a “spiritually sexy” way to be, it is the only way to become a real person, a way by which others can achieve, a way to be in the vanguard in moving the hearts and thoughts of humanity toward the betterment of life.
Being a truly rational person does not mean we buy into the meaning of rationality from fleeting cultural norms. Rationality in a materialistic society means to buy into the illusions of marketing and artificially created values and desires. Smart marketing gimmicks compel us to spend our money, time, creative talents to fulfill the financial desires of corporations. Twisted rationality becomes conformity to the norms imposed on us. Whereas a truly rational person is the opposite.
Ask questions, think, ponder, consider cause and effect, consider what values and principles are at the root of anything that you desire, aspire toward, strive to have, and work to increase in the world. When you take the time to go through this process, you can become a truly gifted and rational person.
“Rationality is one of the faculties that develops when people persevere on the path of aspiration and striving….People lose their power of rationality when they lose the power of perseverance. They begin to act in a way in which you cannot see in them any rationality. Their actions and thoughts lose the path of reason, and irrationality controls them.” (Initiation,the Path of Living Service by Torkom Saraydarian, p. 19.)
Rational living means to make choices in our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life that have positive, healthy, vibrant results. It means that our life choices are based on cause and effect and we see that whatever happens in our life is no accident, it has a cause somewhere and some place in time.
Desire rules most of our life. We can make list upon list of what we desire. Desire in itself does not produce results, so we cannot think that by virtue of desire, we have all that we want fulfilled.
When we put our heart into a desire, it means we are aspiring, we are actually moving toward taking some action that will result in an outcome that we want. So, for example, we have a desire to have a healthy and slim body. We can sit and desire it all we want but this will not give us a healthy and slim body. When we aspire to have a healthy and slim body, we start to search and learn how to bring about a healthy and slim body. We look into diets, exercise, join the gym, watch health shows on TV, and read the latest articles on health and wellness.
But, we still need to take another step. In order to have the kind of body we want, we need to do something about it, take action and this is called striving. We go to the gym on a regular basis. We follow the right diet for our bodies and lifestyle. We take appropriate supplements. We remove harmful foods and drink and become more conscious about our relationship with food. We observe what is making us better and what is still hindering the process. We become rational; our life makes sense, our decisions are based on evidence that is observable and provable by our life results. We also stop making excuses and silly remarks about our body that is counter-productive.
There is yet another step to becoming rational: help others to achieve the same results that you are striving toward. Work with someone else who has the same desires and help her or him to achieve the same rationality that you have found. Mentor, teach, write, post findings on your social sites. When we teach and mentor, when we better ourselves along with others, we achieve a community of rational people rather than a community of whiners. Even more importantly, we learn valuable life lessons.
When we become rational, our daily rhythm flows naturally and rhythmically with our life’s desires. We are not pulling in one direction, and breaking it down in the next. We are not up one day and down the next. We are not making all kinds of promises and show-off statements only to forget them the next. We are serene and healthy and mentally clear consistently.
Why do we need to strive to become a rational person? Being rational means we are dependable, stable, and healthy. We follow through with our promises. We think before we speak. We take into account a larger picture of life before we make decisions. We have a long range view of life. We are sane and balanced and a joy to be with. Think of people in your life who are sane and rational and those who are not. Whom do you prefer to be with? Whom do you prefer to employ? Whom do you prefer to work with, or partner with? A rational person is much preferred company than an irrational person.
The result is a healthy life, healthy emotions, sane mind, dependable relations and friendships, and integrity. Rational people make better leaders, parents, friends, spouses and so on. Irrational people are negative, sick, hurtful, and separative and are always moving from one desire to the next; such people are selfish, easily wounded, and reactive.
Esoterically, what happens to an irrational person? Patches of desires and wishes and dreams all accumulate on the person’s subtle mechanisms and clog his paths. Think of lists upon lists of desires floating around your body. If the person accumulates and accumulates information to feed his or her desires, this information also becomes patches of undigested materials. The person becomes “thick” and unresponsive. Nothing gets through and desires do not become reality; there are too many blockages.
Although being a rational person may not seem to be a “spiritually sexy” way to be, it is the only way to become a real person, a way by which others can achieve, a way to be in the vanguard in moving the hearts and thoughts of humanity toward the betterment of life.
Being a truly rational person does not mean we buy into the meaning of rationality from fleeting cultural norms. Rationality in a materialistic society means to buy into the illusions of marketing and artificially created values and desires. Smart marketing gimmicks compel us to spend our money, time, creative talents to fulfill the financial desires of corporations. Twisted rationality becomes conformity to the norms imposed on us. Whereas a truly rational person is the opposite.
Ask questions, think, ponder, consider cause and effect, consider what values and principles are at the root of anything that you desire, aspire toward, strive to have, and work to increase in the world. When you take the time to go through this process, you can become a truly gifted and rational person.
- Torkom Saraydarian.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Teaching From Seven Levels
A person talks on the level where his consciousness is focused. When a Great One talks, He talks on seven levels. In contrast, a person focused on one level talks only one-level talk, which means that what he says is understood as it is given, although a multi-dimensional person is able to see many dimensions in that talk if they exist. And, when a multi-dimensional man talks, the talk has multi-dimensions, which means you can translate his talk on as many levels as you are conscious on.
For example, when a seven level man speaks about food, he means seven kinds of food which you eat physically, emotionally, mentally, and so on to nourish your bodies.
To feed the mental stomach, for instance, means to give knowledge. The spiritual stomach eats foods called wisdom, freedom, joy, bliss, and so on. Your inspiration, knowledge, and wisdom are as much food as the bread you give to others.
When a seven dimensional or multi-dimensional talk is given, but you hear it from the interest of your one dimensional being, you do not understand exactly what the speaker was saying to you. You understand it only on the level where you are. And, if you try to emphasize only what you heard and say that that is what he meant, you destroy the entire idea the person was trying to impart.
If a seven dimensional man and a one dimensional man talk on the same subject, even using the same words, you will understand what they say on your level. If your level is multi-dimensional you will not like what the one dimensional speaker said because he will not nourish your other levels. The first man will expand your consciousness. The second one, though speaking the same language, will dull it. It is not the words that convey your dimensions and multi-dimensional meanings, but it is your voice, the electricity and meaning transferred through your voice. One person talks to all your seven "ears." The other talks only to your physical ear. When you hear even on one dimension a talk given in seven dimensions, your spirit feels content, satisfied, and happy, and you feel that there is a deeper message than what appears on the surface.
If a Teacher has three, four, or five levels, you feel them and you feel satisfied. But if you have one level and no sensitivity, you remain unconvinced and dissatisfied because your other levels do not get any nourishment. Thus your conviction depends on how many levels you have.
Our voice reflects our state of consciousness. The voice of the Teacher reflects his levels or the planes on which his consciousness or awareness is active. It is mostly through the voice of the Teacher that we understand the deeper meanings of his words.
- Excerpted from The Ageless Wisdom by Torkom Saraydarian
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
The Twelve Virtues of the Inner Lotus
Virtues are the blooming manifestation of the Inner Divinity as that Divinity unfolds itself stage after stage.
Each virtue is an affirmation of the Inner Divinity. Personality virtues impose discipline. The twelve virtues of the Lotus are related to service. Virtues are the steps of the ladder of resurrection.
The twelve virtues of the Inner Lotus are radiations of the twelve petals of the Lotus. They are the twelve lights that light the path of man toward the Heart Center of the planet. They are the virtues which decorate the fields, the path, and the plateaus of life.
They are the techniques of Self-actualization and the means to contact the presence in nature:
1. Striving
2. Courage
3. Daring
4. Discrimination
5. Solemnity
6. Harmlessness
7. Service
8. Compassion
9. Patience
10. Fearlessness
11. Gratitude
12. Responsibility
Beyond these virtues, we have the three virtues of the Inner Fire:
1. Enthusiasm
2. Sacrifice
3. Nobility
- Torkom Saraydarian.
The Unteachable Monkey - A Panchatantra Tale
In a part of a forest was a troop of monkeys who found a firefly one winter evening when they were dreadfully depressed. One examining the insect, they believed it to be fire, so lifted it with care, covered it with dry grass and leaves, thrust forward their arms, sides, stomachs, and chests, scratched themselves, and enjoyed imagining that they were warm. One of the arboreal creatures in particular, being especially chilly, blew repeatedly and with concentrated attention on the firefly.
Thereupon a bird named Needle-Face, driven by hostile fate to her own destruction, flew down from her tree and said to the monkey: "My dear sir, do not put yourself to unnecessary trouble. This is not fire. This is a firefly." He, however, did not heed her warning but blew again, nor did he stop when she tried more then once to check him. To cut a long story short, when she vexed him by coming close and shouting in his ear, he seized her and dashed her on a rock, crushing face, eyes, head, and neck so that she died.
Thereupon a bird named Needle-Face, driven by hostile fate to her own destruction, flew down from her tree and said to the monkey: "My dear sir, do not put yourself to unnecessary trouble. This is not fire. This is a firefly." He, however, did not heed her warning but blew again, nor did he stop when she tried more then once to check him. To cut a long story short, when she vexed him by coming close and shouting in his ear, he seized her and dashed her on a rock, crushing face, eyes, head, and neck so that she died.
"And that is why I say:
No knife prevails against a stone; ....and the rest of it.
["No knife prevails against a stone;
Nor bends the unbending tree;
No good advice from Needle-Face
Helped indocility."]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)