Atmānanda- Laharī

  Harmony of Life Karma and jñāna can never be combined, like oil and water, they do not mix. Karma binds through doing, jñāna frees through knowing. Karma and upāsanā on the other hand  must go together, like diet and exercise,  each complementing the other. Diet alone may reduce weight. Exercise alone may tone muscle. Together, the body is light and strong. Kevala karma leads to a lower heaven. Kevala upāsanā leads to a higher heaven. Combined, they extend one’s stay in that realm. Two forms of upāsanā are taught: Kārya Brahma Upāsanā and  Kāraṇa Brahma Upāsanā. Practiced individually,  each yields its own result. Kārya Brahma Upāsanā, meditation upon the manifest, refines the body and mind,  making them light. Kāraṇa Brahma Upāsanā, meditation upon the unmanifest, absorbs one into the bliss of unknowing. Practiced together, they bring harmony. Harmony between  self and world, person and family, family and society, nation and humanity, humanity and a...

The Saffron Robe  In the marketplace of the eternal Whole Foods, a variety spread is laid out: Māyā and Īśvara, ignorance and knowledge, student and teacher, retreat and reflection all arranged along the aisle of Brahman. From a riot of colors, the rajasic mind pauses at white. “Ātma-jñāna is for the sannyāsī,” it hears... and suddenly, an ancient saffron robe appears, algorithmically placed in the shopping cart. Who is the true sannyāsī? The one who wears the robe? The one who longs for it? The one uneasy without it? A quiet panic stirs .. and then something deeper listens. Abidance in knowledge is for the karma-sannyāsī: the one who paints the inner chambers of the heart in silent saffron, who renounces the fruits of action, who releases the claim of doership. I sit upright, eyes gently closed. I Īśvarize the universe, and clear the hardened plaque of the heart with the steady stent of nididhyāsanam. Now, the flow of life is unimpeded. 'As though' I have life, 'As though...

  I Am I create I sustain I resolve In deep silence, I unfold Ākāśa — boundless space. In the gentle stirring of the body, I give rise to Vāyu — the moving wind In going here and there, I kindle Agni — the inner fire. As effort deepens, I become Āpaḥ — the flowing sweat. And as movement continues, I settle as Pṛthvī —the dust  I create, I sustain I resolve —back in silence

  Fearless Independent Forever Awareness (FIFA) Long, long ago so long ago the World Cup of life began. The sun shines on every face, and life rolls on like a restless soccer ball. The dribble begins. The mind, quick as lightning, commands: Kick. And the ball is struck swift, certain, gone. Atma, the light of awareness, is already there where the ball arrives. Whoosh! the ball arcs through the sky. The senses erupt in celebration, a roaring stadium of experience. Atma, the light of awareness, silently allows the game to be enjoyed. The legs are trained, conditioned to run, to chase, to strike. “Go to the goal,” says the mind. The body obeys, playing its role, running, kicking, striving. Atma, the light of awareness, is already there where the ball comes to rest. The goalkeeper dodges this way, that way, defending, reacting, reaching. Atma is already there, in the net, and even beyond. Players change. Teams change. Moments of joy rise, Moments of sorrow fall, like waves in the mind....

  Happy Anniversary: A Love Letter to Self Once upon a time, a wedding took place between Satyātma and Mithyātma. They lived together, year after year, celebrating anniversaries, eating berries, making merry. Then, in Saylorsburg, a wake-up bell rang. Mithyātma listened,  reflected, understood: the truth. Sitting close to Satyātma, it wrote this love letter: Oh my true Self, I am, because of You I am what I am. I know; I am. From this being, love quietly overflows. I gathered degrees and pedigrees, wandered through worldly games, invested in markets and stocks,  insured body and  breath, alas,  security never arrived. You are the Life that preserves this body You are the Truth within this seeming small self You are the Happiness that is ever present I searched for You, in distant pilgrimages in the silence of closed eyes, through chants upon chants, mala after mala, calling Your name. Now, I take refuge in You. Sitting so close to You,  this bud finally blo...

Patient Name: Jijñāsu Admission Diagnosis: Samsara (chronic cyclical identification with nāma–rūpa–karma) Hospital Course: Prolonged, recurrent, self-perpetuating Final Status: Free — here and now DISPOSITION: Discharged to Self. FOLLOW-UP: None. PATIENT INSTRUCTIONS: Oh dear patient, Take food as medicine. Hunger, like an illness, arrives, lingers, and leaves. Eat in measure, not too much, not too little, not for delight, not for the tongue’s applause, but for full nourishment. Do not trouble yourself over which antibiotic is prescribed amoxicillin or azithromycin. Leave that to the Doctor who treats you. And leave to nature what arrives on your plate, poha or oatmeal, receive it, and take only what is needed. Oh dear  Jijñāsu  , If there is no sepsis, no cancer, no trembling heart in crisis, you do not seek a hospital bed. In the same way, if there is no desire for lineage, wealth, or fleeting fame, why admit yourself into samsara? Step out of name, out of form, out of t...