A most essential question

What convergence is there between the journey of the ascetic Tibetan yogi Milarepa and that of the little-known great French mystic of the Seventeenth Century, Madame Guyon ? between Ramana Maharshi and the famous sufi Al-Hallaj ? What is the common denominator between these extraordinary beings who, in such apparently dissimilar ways, climbed the rungs leading to the ultimate realization ? Is it not a question of the greatest importance, to conjecture about what is essential and what is of incidental value, about what is truly the core of a practice and what relates to a cultural context and epoch ?

Science and Religion

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A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein, 1954)

“The most beautiful and deepest experience a man can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of religion…. He who never had this experience seems to me, if not dead, then at least blind. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is a something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection, this is religiousness….one cannot help but be in awe when (one) contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. Albert Einstein

 

So that the seeker is assisted in his efforts to remain profoundly present and conscious of himself inside—a particular manner of being to which he is totally unused, but which proves to be necessary for what he seeks to accomplish in himself—the sense of mystery must remain alive in him, accompanying him everywhere and in everything he does: the mystery of this enigmatic silent call which makes itself felt in him at the most unexpected moments and which eludes him, the mystery of the Cosmos, the mystery of the aim of Creation, the mystery of his own life, of his consciousness, his mind, and so on.

Essentially, everything that exists in the manifested world is a mystery.

Edward Salim Michael ”In the silence of the Unfathomable “

Is the world studied by science the only reality, or does it point to a deeper reality? Is nature a random and chance process, or a project with purpose? Can people be fully understood in terms of the natural sciences, or is there a transcendent dimension to human existence?

Jean Staune Science and the Search for Meaning

Jean Staune has degrees in the philosophy of science, mathematics, paleontology, political science, computer science, and management. He is the founder and general secretary of the Interdisciplinary University of Paris and an assistant professor in philosophy in one of Europe’s prominent business schools, the MBA program of the HEC. He has been an invited teacher in two Pontifical universities and in China’s Shandong University.

As the organizer of some of the most important meetings in science and religion in Europe, Jean Staune is in a core position to report on the dialogue between science and religion, primarily from the views of scientists

Gandhi and the Bhagavad Gita

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«  When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.” (Young India: June 8, 1925)

Gandhi Bombay 1944

I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. Gandhi

 

Albert Einstein said about him :
“Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”

 

 

He who sees Me everywhere and sees all in Me, to him I do not get lost, nor does he get lost to Me.
Bhagavad Gita (VI, 30)

Meister Eckhart : Become like a child

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Become like a child,
become deaf and blind!
Your own ‘I’
must be destroyed
Every ‘something’ and every ‘nothing’ must be lost!
Let go of space, let go of time,
get rid of any image!
Tread, without a way,
The narrow path:
then you will find the trace in the desert.

Oh my soul,
get out, God in!
My entire ‘something’ may sink
into God’s ‘nothing’.

Meister Eckhart

Edward Salim Michael : The Goal is always located in the present – video

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Although, on a spiritual path it is often necessary to speak of a goal to achieve in order to attempt inadequately to explain the inexplicable, a serious seeker must nonetheless remember that, as far as his spiritual practices are concerned, the goal is always located in the present.

In a certain manner, one can say that once he has embarked upon the Path, it cannot mean for him scoring a final goal one day and then everything stops there – as is the case for ordinary things or activities in this world – because that would mean the goal would be an “end” in a sort of eternal death and that there would be nothing afterwards ! In spiritual work, the goal and the present are actually inseparable; for the aspirant, each instant must become the goal, otherwise he runs the risk of giving himself all sorts of excuses; of dreaming of a goal in a far-off future and, in the interim without being aware of it, only carrying out a half-hearted spiritual practice which will lead nowhere.()

The goal repeats itself every time this movement of return to oneself or special introversion occurs in the aspirant, even if it is only for a short instant. It is the level of his being as well as the intensity of this state of presence within him which determines the level of the goal achieved. In a certain manner, there can be no end for the goal, but instead a sort of strange pilgrimage or constantly repeating adventure. If the seeker does not wish to skew his approach to this unusual quest, he will need to remember on a continual basis that the goal is a perpetual renewal, always in the present, and not a special state which he may attain in the future and in which he will settle forever.”

Edward Salim Michael : Spiritual practice and inner awakening chap 8

 

NADA YOGA the Inner Sound Ajahn Sumedho Ajahn Amaro Edward Salim Michael

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I had discovered this “inner sound” many years before but had never heard or read any reference to this in the Pali Canon. I had developed a meditation practice referring to this background vibration and experienced great benefits in developing mindfulness while letting go of any thoughts. It allowed a perspective of transcendent awareness where one could reflect on the mental states that arise and cease in consciousness.

Ajahn Sumedho , first abbott of Amaravati, is the most senior representative of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theraveda Buddhism in the West, author of The Sound of Silence

‘Nada Yoga’ (meditation on the inner sound)  is a practice that is known in Vedic, Buddhist and other traditions to be a powerful and liberating spiritual discipline and is also one that I have used for over twenty-five years, to great benefit. »

Ajahn Amaro,

Ajahn Sumedho’s disciple, abbott of Amaravati monastery in the Forest lineage of the Theravada  Buddhist tradition

 

The seeker requires concentration aids. Bodily sensation and attention to breathing comprise two excellent methods of returning to oneself in a continual now. In addition to these two aids, there is a particularly effective one to reduce inner chatter: it is the inner sound, the Nada as it is called in India, which can be heard inside the ears and head.

The value of this form of meditation cannot be overstated, especially for those who do not yet know where their attention should be directed, and who thus experience great difficulty retaining their concentration during meditation.
Having taken his meditation posture, and prepared himself mentally and physically—by quieting his mind, relaxing, and feeling a deep global sensation of his body—the seeker should now decide firmly not to move any more.
Closing his eyes, he should remain as still as possible, listening internally with sustained attention. If he can be inwardly quiet enough and deeply absorbed in the search, he will, if he is truly persistent, suddenly become aware of an unusual, feeble sound that can be heard deep inside the ears and head, concealed from him before and obscured by the din of his incessant mental restlessness.
Edward Salim Michael , author of The law of Attention chap Nada Yoga

Ramana Maharshi : Meditation

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Meditation helps concentration of the mind. Then the mind is free from thoughts and is in the meditated form.

Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness; by constant meditation it gains strength.

The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self.

RAMANA MAHARSHI

Attention is the origin of faith- Nicephorus the Solitary, Prayer consists of attention- Simone weil

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“Attention is the origin of faith, hope, and love, according to to Nicephorus the Solitary, a fourteeth-century monk of Mt. Athos,

Having banished every thought from this inner talking (for you can do this if you want to). give it the following short prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me––and force it, instead of all other thought, to have only this one constant cry within. If you continue to do this constantly, with your whole attention, then in time this will open for you the way to the heart which I have described. There can be no doubt about this, for we have proved it ourselves by experience.
Nicephorus the Solitary, Writings from the Philokalia On the Prayer of the Heart, pp 33-34, Nicephorus the Solitary was a monk who lived in the 13th century, in the troubled years of the Byzantine Empire’s slow decline. He authored a brief but invaluable text of spirituality that has become a classic, On Vigilance and the Guarding of the Heart.

 

 

The French philosopher Simone Weil said,

“Prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul iscapable toward God. The quality of attention counts for much in the quality of theprayer. Warmth of heart cannot make up for it.”

 

 

“Usually, the human being is neither aware to what point nor in what way his attention comprises a sort of flammable substance, because it is only through it that his thoughts and imaginings may find the force to manifest themselves and subsist within him.
Without his being aware of it, his attention acts like an essential combustible material thanks to which his mind can daydream and drift wherever it pleases him—just like oil in a lamp, which supplies and keeps the wick’s flame alive !
However, the Divine Aspect in the human being, It too needs this flammable substance, his attention, to be able to bloom in his being and manifest Itself in him.”
Edward Salim Michael Spiritual Practice and Inner Awakening
 

Vigilance is the path to Life Eternal. Thoughtlessness is the path to death. The reflecting vigilant die not. The heedless are already dead.

Dhammapada (21)

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL

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Internationally acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel continues to share his magnetic enthusiasm for music with audiences of all ages around the world. As he begins his twelfth year as Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, in fall 2010, he enters his second season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and his fourth season with the Gothenburg Symphony. Armed with unparalleled passion, energy and artistic excellence, Dudamel is dedicated to leading these orchestras, as well as to increasing his commitment to opera.

Coming from a background where being involved in music from a young age was a life changing experience, Gustavo Dudamel is devoted to investing in classical music as an engine of social change. The message of his ongoing work in Venezuela through El Sistema, which influences hundreds of thousands of children each year, is being carried now into the United States through Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). This program for children targets underserved Los Angeles communities and continues to grow and expand under Dudamel’s leadership and that of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is also involved in advising on pilot programs in Gothenburg, Sweden and Raploch, Scotland.

”If he attempts to grasp what happens so enigmatically in his being when he listens to certain symphonic music which conjures up in him a feeling of mystery—such as the monumental work by Gustav Holst entitled “The Planets,” or “The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian” for choir and orchestra by Claude Debussy, or “La Peri” by Paul Dukas—a refined man, endowed with acute sensitivity, will notice that an inner descent occurs in him, representing a true change of place in his being’s inner space; a change of place which will prove to be a valuable indicator of what he must try to regain during his spiritual practices.

Consequently, these great artists help listeners by the feelings of mystery that their music evokes in them, giving them, as previously said, the opportunity to be placed somewhere in their being that they never ordinarily find themselves. In fact, they cause a change of place in the inner space of the person listening to their works without his necessarily noticing what is happening within him. In this way, a great composer’s creations help mankind in a manner it could not imagine.

However, it must be emphasized that contemporary man’s intellect has developed to such a dramatic point that it has managed mercilessly to destroy any aesthetic and higher feelings in life. This phenomenon has not spared the various artistic (and even spiritual) spheres of today; it is for this reason that contemporary works of art which are created from an intellectual idea and not from an aesthetic feeling, are nothing but mere degenerate abstractions totally devoid of meaning. By abandoning tonality and the laws of harmony, symphonic music in particular has become a series of ridiculous, cold, dissonant and morbid sounds.()

When channeled, man’s attention can become a powerful instrument. It can either harm people when it is employed by someone devoid of scruples, or elevate human beings to the heights of the gods when it is used by a great artist or a saint.

It is always man’s attention which is involved in what is happening within him and in everything he does in external life—whether it be for good or bad. Only through his extremely well-developed attention does a great composer manage to produce such prodigious musical works that they uplift listeners to the point of enabling them to experience very unusual feelings which would have been impossible for them to sense otherwise—feelings which belong to a sublime world, inhabited by “Devas” (gods) and their “Gandharvas” (heavenly musicians )” .

Salim Michael : The role of Great Music in existence

El Sistema : A visionary global movement that transforms the lives of children through music. A new model for social change.

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33 years ago in a parking garage in Caracas, Dr. José Antonio Abreu gathered together 11 children to play music. El Sistema was born. It now teaches music to 300,000 of Venezuela’s poorest children, demonstrating the power of ensemble music to dramatically change the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of a nation’s youth while transforming the communities around them.

El Sistema USA is a support and advocacy network for people and organizations inspired by Venezuela’s monumental music education program. It will grow to provide comprehensive information on the El Sistema philosophy and methodology, and host a variety of resources that will aid those building, expanding and supporting El Sistema programs in the US and beyond

ebuting the Abreu Fellows Program …

The first initiative of El Sistema USA is a one-year postgraduate certificate program for accomplished young musicians and music educators who desire to become ambassadors of El Sistema and who are committed to developing the music education miracle outside of Venezuela. Housed at New England Conservatory, Abreu Fellows will spend a year studying between Boston and Caracas, and leave with the tools to return to their communities to implement the El Sistema model.

The curriculum, teacher training materials and documentation of the Abreu Fellows Program will be freely available on ElSistemaUSA.org as a resource for all to support local El Sistema programs being developed around the country and internationally.

Theodore Monod : At the end of one’s life having done nothing

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“By dint of having lived one day at a time without ever having had the strength of character to decide at which moment I would devote myself to something completely, one arrives at the end of one’s life having done nothing.

Theodore Monod