Thursday, 5 November 2015


Some of Life's 
Big Questions



  1. Where do you go to find inspiration?
  2. What do you value most highly in others?
  3. In what way are the eyes a window on the soul?
  4. What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?
  5. In what way are we made in God's image?
  6. In what way might the tongue be a lodestone to the heart?
  7. What makes a house a home?
  8. Are we naturally inclined towards evil?
  9. What would life be like without suffering?
  10. How do we attain ultimate happiness?
  11. How can we understand the personal process of another person?
  12. "It is in dying that we are born…" - How does that work?
  13. Is there a purpose to hopelessness and despair?
  14. What are some of the dangers that all religions potentially face?
  15. How do you convey strength of your message without imposing?
  16. How can I know and fulfill my life's mission?
  17. What is the purpose of devotion?
  18. Does God need devotion?
  19. Why do I resist what is good for me?
  20. What is true consciousness expansion?
  21. What is universal knowledge?
  22. What is love?
  23. What does it take to be one with God?
  24. "Leave thyself behind, and then approach Me." - How do we leave the self behind?


Sunday, 1 November 2015

Power of Questions












"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and
 try to love the questions themselves”

- Rainer Maria Rilke
 



“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”- The Bible



"Truth or reality must be investigated; for reality is one, and by investigating it all will find love and unity.”
– Abdu’l-Baha


“To find yourself, think for yourself.”
– Socrates



"Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse."
-African Proverb


“Reality or truth is one, yet there are many religious beliefs, denominations, creeds and differing opinions in the world today. Why should these differences exist? Because they do not investigate and examine the fundamental unity, which is one and unchangeable. If they seek reality itself, they will agree and be united; for reality is indivisible and not multiple. It is evident, therefore, that there is nothing of greater importance to mankind than the investigation of truth."
- Abdu'l-Baha



"In all affairs, it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted."
- Bertrand Russell



"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
- Pablo Picasso



“No one truth can contradict another truth. Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning! A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom! A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or from the West.”
– Abdu’l-Baha

 
“People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered, 
Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,
Be kind anyway.  If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies,
Succeed anyway.  If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you,
Be honest and frank anyway.  What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight, 
Build anyway.  If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, 
Be happy anyway.  The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, 
Do good anyway.  Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough, 
Give the world the best you've got anyway.  You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God, 
It never was between you and them anyway.”Mother Theresa



“We do not see things as they are,
we see them as we are.”
-the Talmud


"Furthermore, know ye that God has created in man the power of reason, whereby man is enabled to investigate reality. God has not intended man to imitate blindly his fathers and ancestors. He has endowed him with mind, or the faculty of reasoning, by the exercise of which he is to investigate and discover the truth, and that which he finds real and true he must accept."

-Abdu'l-Baha


“God always answers in the deeps, never in the shallows of our soul.”
–Anonymous



“I cannot teach anybody anything.  I can only make them think.”
- Socrates



“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Plato


Valley of Search
The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter. For those who seek the Ka'bih of "for Us" rejoice in the tidings: "In Our ways will We guide them." "And whoso maketh efforts for Us, in Our ways will We guide them." In their search, they have stoutly girded up the loins of service, and seek at every moment to journey from the plane of heedlessness into the realm of being. No bond shall hold them back, and no counsel shall deter them.


It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the heart—which is the wellspring of divine treasures—from every marking, and that they turn away from imitation, which is following the traces of their forefathers and sires, and shut the door of friendliness and enmity upon all the people of the earth.

In this journey the seeker reacheth a stage wherein he seeth all created things wandering distracted in search of the Friend. How many a Jacob will he see, hunting after his Joseph; he will behold many a lover, hasting to seek the Beloved, he will witness a world of desiring ones searching after the One Desired. At every moment he findeth a weighty matter, in every hour he becometh aware of a mystery; for he hath taken his heart away from both worlds, and set out for the Ka'bih of the Beloved. At every step, aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat of his search will grow.

One must judge of search by the standard of the Majnún of Love. It is related that one day they came upon Majnún sifting the dust, and his tears flowing down. They said, "What doest thou?" He said, "I seek for Laylí." They cried, "Alas for thee! Laylí is of pure spirit, and thou seekest her in the dust!" He said, "I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall find her."

Yea, although to the wise it be shameful to seek the Lord of Lords in the dust, yet this betokeneth intense ardor in searching. "Whoso seeketh out a thing with zeal shall find it."

The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world.

On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One.

And if, by the help of God, he findeth on this journey a trace of the traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost Joseph from the heavenly messenger, he shall straightway step into the Valley of Love”.
-Baha’u’llah



“The important thing is not to stop questioning.  Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
-Albert Einstein


"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."-Socrates



"O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this Day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the Divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error.”
– Baha’I Writings




“Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”
-Paul Tillich

“A wise man's questions contain half the answer. “
–Gabiriol



"Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your actions.
Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits.
Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character.
Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny."– author unknown



“A single fact can spoil a good argument.”
—Unknown



“The point of having an open mind, like having an open mouth, is to close it on something solid.”
--G.K. Chesterton


"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
-Mahatma Gandhi


"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
-Bertran Russell


Self-KnowledgeYour hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.


And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals.
-K. Gibran

Monday, 28 September 2015

Seeking the Wisdom of the Heart



“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”





“Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form when within thee the universe is folded?”


“Knowledge is flour, but wisdom is bread. “
- AUSTIN O'MALLEY,


'O Son of Spirit!…Turn they sight unto thyself,  that thou mayest find Me standing within thee mighty, powerful and self-subsisting'
-Baha'u'llah


“To know what you know and to know what you don’t know, that is real wisdom”
– Confucius
“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”
Rumi



“O SON OF SPIRIT! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith 7 dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.”




“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”



“Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”
– Buddha


“And the splendor of the light is in the hearts, yet it is hidden under the veilings of sense and the conditions of this earth, even as a candle within a lantern of iron, and only when the lantern is removed doth the light of the candle shine out.  In like manner, when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from off thine heart, the lights of oneness will be made manifest.”
-Baha’u’llah


“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk.”
- DOUG LARSON

“Like water in the desert is wisdom to the soul.”
- EDWARD COUNSEL


“Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. . . . As to its moderation, this has to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.”
-Baha’u’llah


In the quiet of the night Wisdom came and stood beside my bed, gazing at me like a doting mother. She wiped away my tears and said, “I heard the cry of your soul and came to solace you. Open your heart to me, that I might fill it with light. Ask me, and I shall show you the path of truth.”
– Gibran
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”
Rumi


“O SON OF DUST! The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and clay.”
-Baha’u’llah


“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
– Rumi


“Silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.”
Rumi

“In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a drop he beholdeth the secrets of the sea.”
-Baha’u’llah


“Split the atom’s heart, and lo!
Within it thou wilt find a sun…”
-Baha’u’llah


“A spoon cannot taste of the food it carries. Likewise, a foolish man cannot understand the wise man´s wisdom even if he associates with a sage.”
– D. Lama


“On life's journey 
Faith is nourishment, 
Virtuous deeds are a shelter, 
Wisdom is the light by day and 
Right mindfulness is the protection by night. 
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; 
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.” 



-Buddha
‘Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.’ Such is the consummate wisdom to be observed in thy pursuits. Be not oblivious thereof, if thou wishest to be a man of action under all conditions. First diagnose the disease and identify the malady, then prescribe the remedy, for such is the perfect method of the skilful physician.”
– Abdu’l-Baha




“The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom and his tongue speaks what is just.”
–Psalms 37:30
 “There is no fire like greed, 
No crime like hatred, 
No sorrow like separation, 
No sickness like hunger of heart, 
And no joy like the joy of freedom. 

Health, contentment and trust 
Are your greatest possessions, 
And freedom your greatest joy. 

Look within. Be still. 
Free from fear and attachment, 
Know the sweet joy of living in the way”
- Buddha



“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. 

“Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.”




“When the wisdom of the heart replaces the chatter of the mind, the power of love flows forth.”
~Marianne Williamson


“…To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
-Daniel 2:23



“A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.”


“O friend, the heart is the dwelling of eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies; waste not the treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing world. Thou comest from the world of holiness—bind not thine heart to the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of nearness—choose not the homeland of the dust.”
-Baha’u’llah

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”