"There is no Other." ~Ramana"Love thy neighbor as thy Self." ~Jesus"Every wave of love returns to the ocean of the Self." ~MaharishiWhy did we turn s-e-l-f into a four-letter word? As if there were something wrong, something self-centered, something greedy and small about the Self, when in fact the Self is a center that is everywhere, without circumference, an ocean of grace that swells in the stillness of love, a generous radiance that illuminates all creatures with the bliss of the Uncreated.
When we insist on a distinction between the "activist" and the "contemplative," between serving others and delighting in the presence of God, we break the universe in two. Understanding this is a hard truth, for it dissolves the pride of the do-er. Yet it is a soft truth, melting the mind in the heart.
There is no greater act of "social justice" than dissolving. No greater service to the other than merging I and Thou in the radiance of the hridaya, at the center of this body. Then we taste the nectar pressed out from the union of Shiva and Shakti, subject and object, even in this world of pain. We touch the reality: our hearts are not separate particles, but a single field of hopelessly entangled energy. Melting the heart is the purest seva.
Friend, did you come here to figure everything out, or get amazed? Did you come here to solve the countless problems of the future, or to dance with the ineffable grace of the present moment? A tight little bud has everything under control. But it has no idea what a flower is. To the bud, blossoming is a catastrophe.
Photo: one of my favorites by Aile Shebar
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