The Cosmic Dance: Parallels Between Modern Physics, Eastern Mysticism and Process Philosophy

“I am God.  I do not recognize the hell.  I do not recognize the three worlds of heaven, hell and earth.  I am the Lord, the Controller.  I am still the witness after everything else is dissolved.  Nobody else is God for me; nobody else controls me.  I am I-less, I am my-less. ” Sankara

INTRODUCTION

In this article I hope to demonstrate some parallels between modern Physics, Eastern Mysticism, and Barbour’s ideas based on Process Philosophy.  I will examine the three perspectives within the context of the dynamic interplay of energies, the emergent and convergent universe, and finally the transcendence of God.

MODERN PHYSICS

According to Classical Physics, Newton’s mechanical model views the world as deterministic.  All that transpires in the universe has a definite cause, giving rise to a categorical effect.  The philosophical basis of Classical Physics is a fundamental division between the “I” and the “world,” the dichotomy of the subject and object.  The world is in motion with respect to fixed laws, according to which material points move.  This mechanistic model is adequate for the description of physical phenomena at a submicroscopic level, where essentially, protons, neutrons, and electrons are the material particles that interact with finite space and linear time to effect movement in the world (Capra: 1972, 56-62).  At the atomic level, the actions of atoms can be determined; however as quantum physics shows even at this level the reaction cannot be predetermined, for even the observer can have an impact on the outcome or results.

The first three decades of our century have seen a radical transformation of the entire interpretation of physics based on Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum physics.  Modern physics has shattered all the principle concepts of the Classical world view based on universal order and fixed laws.  The theory of relativity and quantum theory have transformed our view of absolute space and time, elementary solid particles, the causal nature of physical phenomena, and the objective description of nature (62-63).

In 1905, Albert Einstein initiated the two revolutionary trends of thought in the theory of relativity and the beginning of the quantum theory.  (The complete quantum theory was worked out twenty years later by a team of physicists.  In quantum theory one deals with the probability of finding a particle at a given position.  The theory attempts to combine the principles of quantum mechanics with those of relativity in an effort to describe processes such as high-energy collisions in which particles may be created or destroyed).  Even though Einstein refuted classical understanding of the universe, he still advocated nature’s intrinsic harmony and integrated foundation.  The physicist replaced the erroneous constants of the past, showing that they were only relative, but nevertheless made the speed of light a constant in his physics.  He tried to located God’s order in a universal, while through his theory of relativity, constancy of time and space were disproved.  Einstein, therefore, commented that God does not place dice, so that the natural world is comprised of total harmony and order, and nothing is left to chance.

According to the relativity theory, time is not a separate entity; moreover, space is not three-dimensional.  Both are interconnected and a four-dimensional continuum emerges as time-space, as space and time lose their absolute significance. In contrast to the classical theory of absolute space and, absolute time, the modern theory of physics emerges, where both space and time become elements of language used by a particular observer.  The most important consequence of Modern Physics is the realization that mass and even matter are nothing but forms of energy.  Matter can through processes change into energy and vice versa, challenging the materialist conception of the universe based on static, tangible perception of matter, and even matter itself must be rediefined as it has changed into something dynamic and fluid.  Furthermore, space can never be separated from time as the latter is affected by the presence of matter. l Both space and time however are flowing at different rates in different parts of the universe.  For example, the mass or weight of a human being is not inseparable ffrom space, so that a 160 lbs. man on earth may weigh only 60 lbs on the moon, and 300 lbs. on Jupiter.  Clearly, the space that the human body occupies influences its mass.  The Classical concept of absolute space and time is also nullified, since the force of gravity, according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, has the effect of curving space and time.  Clearly, the relativity theory has revolutionized our interpretation of physical phenomena.  The classical distinction between matter and energy is discarded in favour of the contemporary idea that matter can transform into energy and vice versa; therefore there can only be conversion among the different forms of matter and energy, even if neither is actually unchanging (62-70).

From the perspective of the quantum theory, the classical deterministic laws of nature have been dismantled.  In contrast to the Classical view of solid material objects, quantum theory interprets phenomena as wave-like patterns of probabilities.  The probabilities are not of “things” but rather probabilities of interconnections.  Subatomic particles have no existence as concrete, isolated entities.  Phenomenal reality can only be understood in terms of the probability of interconnections.  Quantum theory, thus, reveals an essential unity of the universe.  The world cannot be deconstructed into independently isolated “building blocks.”  Rather, a dynamic interplay exists between the various parts of the whole.  These relations also include the “observer.”  The human observer becomes the final link in the chain of observational processes, since an essential interconnection exists in all phenomena.  The attraction between positive and negative forces emerges as a vigorous interplay of energy waves that order the phenomenal world.  The property of matter and light becomes concomitantly “particle” and energy “waves,” spread over a large region of space.  The energy of heat radiation continuously appears as energy packets.  Einstein calls them “quanta” and recognizes them as an essential aspect of nature (68-81).

According to the relativistic quantum field theory, particle and field are complementary manifestations of one and the same thing.  The relativistic field theory asserts that:

“the ultimate material reality that physics can apprehend is the ‘field’ and in the aspect of the quantum field, it is both a continuum and a discontinuum, the discontinuities being temporary condensations of space-time where the field is unusually intense giving rise to matter (Pantda: 1991, 154).

According to the field theory, reality is nothing but the transformation and organization of the field quanta.  Particles are interactions between fields, and are ephemeral manifestations.  They only appear to be substantial as a result of the dynamic, energetic interplay of the quantum fields (155).

All types of particle-pairs are constantly generated and absorbed by the field.  The “dance” of all possible particles, may be regarded as the fundamental activity of Nature so that:

“what was considered to be ‘sunya’ (void), vacuum or nothingness before the discovery of relativistic quantum field is now accepted as ‘purna’ (full) or plenum by the quantum physicists (157).

In microphysics, the vacuum-ocean is a positive entity, having ripples and larger waves full of fluctuations.  The vacuum-ocean is absolute because it is inactive, calm, and free from fluctuations.  Unmanifest energy manifests itself and then again becomes unmanifest as an eternal dynamic process of the universal materialization and confluence that takes place (156-158).

EASTERN MYSTICISM- SHIVA’S COSMIC DANCE

In East Indian mythology and philosophy, the concept of the cosmic dance is very ancient, representing the Eastern mystic’s dynamic view of the universe.  They have used the image of a “dance” to convey their intuition of reality, personified in the form of the cosmic dance of Shiva (or Nataraja).  The word Shiva means “one whose actions are good,” and the name Shiva is considered to be derived from Shankara meaning auspicious and benevolent.  Shiva is worshipped in the form of a phallus, which symbolized the Divine Father.  The phallus symbol penetrates into ‘Shakti’ (energy) represented in the form of the ‘yoni’ ( the womb or vagina), a symbol of the generative organ of the Divine Mother.  Proto-Shiva was a fertility God of the Indus Valley Civilization, and his dancing today symbolizes creation.  Interestingly, the same Shiva assumes destructive or sanguinary aspects, for destruction and cannot be separated from creation.  Shiva needs to destroy in order to create anew.  Rudra represents destructive aspects in their totality as he dances for the annihilation of everything.  Shiva and Rudra are two images that seem to be antagonistic to one another initially, but the Hindu tradition has a forceful strength to assimilate bifurcating ideas.  Shiva collects Rudra’s attributes into himself once the latter declines in popularity after the Vedic period.  The Eastern Mystics commingle the two contradictory concepts, and form an integral concept from the collapse of Rudra’s destructive powers into the new, more powerful Shiva.  The contradictory nature of Shiva appears paradoxical, however in reality it is a bipolar synthesis, in which the opposite poles cannot exist without the other (156-158).

Eastern mysticism recognizes only one Reality as the Transcendent, and yet It is conceived in many forms.  ‘Advaita’ (Non-Dual) Vedanta recognizes Brahman as the Ground of Reality, or  as  the Ultimate Reality whereas the phenomenal world is ultimately unreal (maya or mithya).  The theistic or devotional schools of medieval India accepted God not only as Formless but often worshipped the Lord in many forms.  Therefore, God in Advaitic understanding was Formless and One, a conception that became remote in the myriad forms that many Hindus worshipped in ardent devotion in daily life.  The Hindu tradition tried to synthesize these myriad forms into the Trimurti (the Hindu trinity).  As a coin has two faces, likewise the Divine has three presiding phases, attributes, or deities:  Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (maintainer), and Mahesvara (change, destroyer i.e. Shiva).  The Nataraja concept of Shiva contains simultaneously his creative, sustaining, and destructive activities.  His Nataraja form is consistent with religious, philosophical, and scientific investigation.  Creation and dissolution are taking place each moment and are symbolized by the Rudra-Shiva dance.  The universal dancer is considered to be Nataraja whose dancing creates the outflow and inflow of the universes, and encompasses all with His eternally still presence as a multidimensional aspect of the cosmic dance (159).  In this supreme cosmic dance:

 

“particles and antiparticles appear from akasa (space; these micro-particles may generate newer particles; the particles dance vigorously, suddenly they appear, transiently they live…then they disappear.  When they disappear they apparently vanish; but they don’t become nothing…(160).

 

In the beginning, the particles were unmanifest (avyakta), in the middle they become manifest (vyatka), and in the end they become again unmanifest (avyakta).  There is no gain or loss in the whole process, for the cosmic dance is eternal.  Creation and annihilation are merely part of the cosmic dance.  Their difference lies in degrees of subtleties as they alternate from coarse to subtle existence.  The cosmic process of creation, destruction, manifestation and non-manifestation, worldly evolution and change are fundamentals of Shiva’s eternal dance (158).

The symbolic imagery of the dancing Shiva is as follows:

“Shiva’s aureaole of fire (the prabhamandala) represents the rhythm of the universe and emanates from the lotus pedestal, the Hindu symbol of Enlightenment.  Shiva dances on the prostrate form of Apasmargaurusa, a symbol of human ignorance.  The back right hand carries the damaru, a drum symbolizing creation.  The back left hand holds agni, the fire of destruction.  The front left hand carries a disc and is in the yajahasta (elephant trunk) position. The front left hand is in the abhya-mudra pose (pose expressing fearlessness)  (154).

 

Shiva’s dance is further considered to be tandava (energetic).  The foot held aloft signifies release.  His arms are balanced and yet reflect dynamic gestures that express the rhythm and unity of Life.  The balance of the two hands represent the dynamic balance of creation and destruction.  In the centre of the two hands is Shiva’s face, calm and detached, which signifies the transcendence over the polarity inherent in creation and destruction.  Shiva is pictured dancing on the body of a demon who symbolizes human ignorance, which must be conquered before liberation is achieved (256-255).

 

Shiva’s dance represents the dynamic flow and ‘dance’ of the universe.  The dancing universe is a ceseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns, which merge into one another in a dynamic universal interplay.  His dance symbolizes the daily rhythm of birth and death, and the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.  Shiva is a reminder that the many forms in the world are maya (not constant, but ever-changing), while He is eternally Real as He continually keeps creating and dissolving the forms in the external flow of His dance.

 

The Eastern mystics have a dynamic view of the universe similar to that of modern physics.  The parallels of Eastern mysticism and modern physics become particularly striking when sound is considered as a wave with a certain frequency, which changes with the sound.  Particles are also waves with frequencies proportional to their energies.  According to modern physics, each particle perpetually sings its song, and produces a rhythmic ‘dance of energy in dense and subtle forms.’  Modern physicists use phrases like the ‘dance of creation and destruction’ and ‘energy dance.’  The conception of rhythm and dance emerge naturally when one tries to imagine the discharge of energies going through the patterns that make up the particle world.  Modern Physics and eastern Mysticism, therefore, demonstrate that rhythm and motion are essential aspects of the phenomenal universe.  Another parallel is the understanding that all matter, whether here on Earth or in outer space, is participating in a continual cosmic dance (Capra: 1975, 256-259).  Moreover, both of them agree on the idea of the emergent and convergent universe.  According to Eastern Mysticism, the world of maya (illusion) changes perpetually, since the cosmic dance of Shiva is a rhythmic, dynamic dance.  In the active principle of the cosmic dance, the entire universe is in action, manifest and emerging, while in its non-active principle the entire universe has converged into an unmanifest essence.  Similarly, modern physics has discovered the expanding universe as supported by the kinetic of the Big Bang theory.  And, presently the universe has been shown as expanding, but at a slower rate than previously due to the changes in the gravitational force.  Moreover, the reverse phenomenon of the collapsing universe will take place at some time in the future, when the gravitational pull will be greater than the receding force, and then the universe will converge (Panda: 1991, 131).

 

In conclusion, I have examined some fundamental ideas inherent in Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism.  Interestingly, the emerging views in each of the two systems of thought parallel each other.

by Deborah Morrison

Works Cited

Capra, Fritof. The Tao of Physics. London: Wildwood House, 1975

Panda, N.C. maya in Physics. Delhi: Motilal Banarisdass Publishers, 1991

 

 

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On “The Secret” by Dan Millman (Includes Amusing Video)

“The Secret” has offered many positive ideas, though I share many of the concerns expressed in this post by Dan Millman as highlighted in Balance “Secret Principles” with Compassion. Dan has respectfully critiqued “The Secret” with a succinct understanding.

As many of you know Dan is the author of many spiritually insightful books on personal transformation, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, which has been made into a successful movie called Peaceful Warrior in 2006 starring Nick Nolte. Here is Dan’s insightful post on “The Secret”:

Some weeks ago, a young man wrote to us, declaring, “In six months I’m going to have three million dollars, the woman of my dreams, and a beautiful house – because I’ve seen . . . The Secret!

The Secret, for those of you who haven’t yet heard, has become an internet phenomenon. It began as an Australian television production featuring a number of well-known authors and pundits, speaking about the “Law of Attraction.” This law says that we attract or manifest into our lives what we think about or focus on or earnestly desire.

As fate would have it, the producers, in a stroke of foresight, ended up delivering this 90-minute program via internet. One can go to the web site, watch a dramatic teaser, sign up, pay a mere $4.95, and download the program to watch to one’s heart’s content — to learn “The Secret.”

I’m not surprised by the popularity of this program. Magical thinking has huge appeal for many – especially when it intersects with ideas from quantum physics and metaphysical science.

In this respectful critique, I’m going to first express what I genuinely like about the program:

I find much of the program up-beat, good hearted, encouraging. It also has excellent production values, cinematography, effects, and sound. And the editing is excellent. I’m especially impressed by the cutting-edge method of delivery — internet streaming — ushering in a new era of movies on demand with the click of a mouse.

I also like the message that what we bring into our lives begins with a vision, a longed-for aspiration — a good reminder for those of us who haven’t yet stretched the wings of possibility and allowed ourselves to embrace higher possibilities. If The Secret opens the way to expanded dreams, it serves a useful purpose.

What concerns me, however, are the program’s primary suppositions. The message, repeated in different words by the various guests, is that if we simply intend and visualize and dream big enough, we can “manifest” all our dreams — effortlessly, magically, mystically.

However, this “Law of Attraction” does not, in my view, qualify as a law at all. In my book, The Laws of Spirit, I present twelve spiritual laws (including, to name a few, the laws of balance, choices, process, faith . . . action, surrender, and unity) — laws which apply consistently and universally to everyday life. This quality of consistency is essential to any law, and differentiates it from proverbs, principles, or aphorisms, which may or may not apply. In other words, a law works every time here on Earth, much like the law of gravity.

In any case, this “Law of Attraction,” as taught many decades ago by metaphysicians like Catherine Ponder and others, is certainly a positive and expansive idea. But dreams, desires and visions are only the beginning — they must be followed by focused effort over time – something barely mentioned in the “Secret” production.

Thomas Edison wrote, “We often miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” It has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? But suggesting that we need to work hard over time to achieve our goals doesn’t sell well. It isn’t sexy or fascinating, or sound much like a “Secret.” Common sense rarely does.

In “The Secret,” we personally witness a little boy who wishes and hopes for a bicycle—he thinks about it, visualizes a bike, cuts out pictures from a magazine. And lo and behold, one day he opens a door and there is his new bike! Personally, I would have been more drawn to see him walking a paper route, or doing chores to earn some money, or at least asking his parents directly for a special Christmas gift. Which reminds me of a story I relate in Living on Purpose:

Louie goes to church every Sunday and prays to God, “Dear Lord, I’ve been a good and devout man for many years, living according to your Laws, doing acts of charity, serving the poor, supporting my family. So please, please, let me win the lottery just once!” He repeats this plea every week for years, but his entreaties go unanswered. So Louie starts to pray to win the lottery every night and every day. Until one day, he hears a voice thunder down from the heavens: “Louie, will you at least go half-way with me and buy a ticket?”

That’s all I’m suggesting — a simple point ignored by “The Secret” — go to the effort to buy a ticket. Or as an Arabic sage once said, “Trust in God . . . but tie your camel.”

So if you wish to be successful, dream big, but start small — then connect the dots. In other words, start with a vision, then take baby steps. Neither dreaming nor wishing nor magical secrets get the laundry done.

The biggest issue I have with programs like The Secret (or other idealistic notions such as learning “positive thinking”) is that when their magical methods don’t work, we end up believing that it’s our fault, our lack, our fault. We believe that if we had truly deserved it, or really applied ourselves, or focused more intently, or visualized more clearly with a sincere heart, surely it would have worked.

The Secret, then, with its lovely and uplifting promise, is a foolproof supposition: If we don’t heal, manifest, get what we want, it’s due to our own lack of faith.

Or maybe it’s because we forgot the “taking action” part . . .

There are some successful people who claim to have mastered “The Secret” and who have manifested their dreams and desires. Few of them tell us about their years of struggle and labor and preparation.

By all means strive in the direction of your dreams! Visualize a grand life! Then get to work. While we cannot control the outcomes, we can control our efforts. And by making the effort, we increase the odds of creating a larger life.

I close with my warmest wishes, and with a reminder from Henry David Thoreau: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. Now put foundations under them.”

You might also enjoy the following link to a short You Tube commentary on “The Secret” from an Advaita Vedanta perspective:

As a post-script, both for those who mistakenly believe that I support the message of “The Secret,” and also for those who believe I’m being unjustly critical, I offer another articulate blogger’s comments about “The Secret”.

by Dan Millman

Originally posted on www.danmillman.com

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Inspired by Nature

What inspires an individual’s creativity in writing and other arts? The answer to this question would vary with each individual as perception shapes what is defined as “inspirational.” Though certain sources of inspiration have a common thread, since they are rooted in our shared human experiences. Life gives us everyday opportunities to experience inspiration , though we need our senses open to receive it.

One of the best sources of inspiration can be found in nature, which can inspire us to great poetic heights as evident in To Autumn by John Keats. Beauty of nature creates an aesthetic feeling that is uplifting and enlivens the senses. My writing partner, Deborah Morrison, wrote a beautiful passage “Beauty of Nature” in our book Nexus: A Neo Novel, which depicts the ecstatic experience of Logan Andrews as he is inspired by the beauty that surrounds him on a hilltop.

I find that stepping into natural landscapes changes my perception, since the contours and lines are rounded and less defined there. In cityscapes, everything is harsh and sharply defined and our sensibilities need to step away from the starkness of the city to be reinvigourated. We can compare the sharp boxed buildings found in many cities to the softness of trees found in nature.

This is why I make time to commune with nature and attune to her rhythms. In Southern Ontario, I also enjoy the seasons change. Deborah’s Sacred Circle is one of my favourite poems on the sense of wonder around seasonal changes. Copies of her first poetry book, Mystical Poetry, are now a rare item. In fact, a few weeks ago a used copy sold for around $200 on Amazon Canada. So someone out there is truly inspired by her poems.

The beauty of nature is inspiring at many levels and as artists we struggle to capture our experience of it. How to describe the intricacies of a snowflake? Or the migration of birds, butterflies, whales and other animals? Or the sunset on a beach? Sometimes we find the words or the image to commit to canvas. At other times the inspiration is there, yet we struggle to communicate the essence of our experience. The pristine experience is rarefied through our artistic endeavours.

We welcome you to share on what you find inspiring about nature. Or your own experiences of nature expressed in your own words or art.

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Full Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

The serenity prayer is one the most beautiful prayers from the Christian tradition. It offers much solace and wisdom. Most people are familiar with the first part, though only a few know the entire prayer, which was an untitled prayer written by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s.

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever
in the next.

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NEXUS Press Release

Deborah Morrison & Arvind Singh from Ontario, Canada explore their gifts as novelists through a captivating book called NEXUS. Deborah has previously written a book of poetry called Mystical Poetry, and she has published many articles on health and spirituality. Arvind has published a number of articles on spiritual and philosophical thought both in English and South Asian languages and this is his first book.

NEXUS is an amazing spiritual adventure of Personal Transformation & Empowerment. Readers have described it as Insightful, Captivating and Inspirational. It builds on the experiences of both authors as teachers of relaxation, breath and yoga therapies. Through a poignant journey to a retreat, each person in the novel is looking to overcome personal pain including the main character, Logan Andrews.

Logan, a journalist in his mid-20s, struggles with depression to the point of suicide. Can he control his troubled mind before its too late?

In a vivid dream, Logan is guided to a spiritual retreat where he meets his lost love, Sarah, along with an arrogant millionaire, a grandmotherly woman and two insightful teachers.

Problems soon emerge for Logan and others at the retreat. What happens to each character and the depth of their personal experiences makes NEXUS a journey of transformation and a compelling read.

I’ve read many spiritual books but this one succeeds where others fail. It successfully combines a poignant story fraught with true human emotions of personal pain along with remarkable spiritual insights. James Bertrand

Nexus made me laugh and it made me cry. The story touched on many issues that I have struggled with in my own life and it gave practical advice on transforming my life. Its perfect for anyone looking for an Inspiring, Spiritual book filled with practical wisdom. Harpal Singh Khalsa.

A simple story with a simple message, Nexus invites you in to explore the characters’ thoughts and feelings along side your own. Nancy Noble

This book is totally amazing!!! It works like a dream at a subconscious level of understanding even if consciously you’re unaware of its full spiritual dimensions. Aaron

Quality Paperback edition

Published by Manor House Publishing

Available online from

Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | Chapters-Indigo

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Dalai Lama on Compassion

Compassion forms the primary message contained in the pages of Nexus, where through empathy and genuine feeling of oneness with others, transcendence from ego-centeredness is possible. Then compassion and genuine love can be enshrined within.

The following excerpts by the Dalai Lama shed practical wisdom on bringing compassion into our daily lives:

Where Compassion Starts

“Compassion is the wish for another being to be free from suffering; love is wanting them to have happiness. “

“The next matter to be understood is whether it is possible to enhance compassion and love. In other words, is there a means by which these qualities of mind can be increased, and anger, hatred, and jealousy reduced? My answer to this is an emphatic, Yes! Even if you do not agree with me right now, let yourself be open to the possibility of such development. Let us carry out some experiments together; perhaps we may then find some answers.”

“For a start, it is possible to divide every kind of happiness and suffering into two main categories: mental and physical. Of the two, it is the mind that exerts the greatest influence on most of us. Unless we are either gravely ill or deprived of basic necessities, our physical condition plays a secondary role in life. If the body is content, we virtually ignore it. The mind, however, registers every event, no matter how small. Hence we should devote our most serious efforts to bringing about mental peace rather than physical comfort.”

Transforming the Mind

“From my own limited experience, I am convinced that through constant training we can indeed develop our minds. Our positive attitudes, thoughts, and outlook can be enhanced, and their negative counterparts can be reduced. Even a single moment of consciousness depends on so many factors, and when we change these various factors, the mind also changes. This is a simple truth about the nature of mind. “

Developing Compassion

“Self-centeredness inhibits our love for others, and we are all afflicted by it to one degree or another. For true happiness to come about, we need a calm mind, and such peace of mind is brought about only by a compassionate attitude.”

“Many forms of compassionate feeling are mixed with desire and attachment. For instance, the love parents feel for their child is often strongly associated with their own emotional needs, so it is not fully compassionate. Usually when we are concerned about a close friend, we call this compassion, but it too is usually attachment. Even in marriage, the love between husband and wife…depends more on attachment than genuine love. Marriages that last only a short time do so because they lack compassion; they are produced by emotional attachment based on projection and expectation, and as soon as the projections change, the attachment disappears.”

“Compassion without attachment is possible. Therefore, we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other.”

“When you recognize that all beings are equal in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it, you automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. Through accustoming your mind to this sense of universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others; you wish to help them actively overcome their problems. This wish is not selective; it applies equally to all beings. As long as they experience pleasure and pain just as you do, there is no logical basis to discriminate between them or to alter your concern for them if they behave negatively.”

“Given patience and time, it is within our power to develop this kind of universal compassion. Of course our self-centeredness, our distinctive attachment to the feeling of a solid I, works fundamentally to inhibit our compassion. Indeed, true compassion can be experienced only when this type of self-grasping is eliminated. But this does not mean that we cannot start to cultivate compassion and begin to make progress right away.”

Our Connectedness & Universal Compassion

“I believe that at every level of societyfamilial, national and internationalthe key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in a particular ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. I believe that the cultivation of individual happiness can contribute in a profound and effective way to the overall improvement of the entire human community.”

“We all share an identical need for love, and on the basis of this commonality, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. No matter how new the face or how different the dress or behavior, there is no significant division between us and other people. It is foolish to dwell on external differences because our basic natures are the same.”

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New Promotion: Buy NEXUS with THE SECRET

“Nexus” is now being offered with “The Secret” at a special price on Amazon.ca when both books are puchased together. Click on the icon below to visit the link.

Buy Nexus with The Secret by Rhonda Byrne today!

Total List Price: CDN$ 46.41
Buy Together Today: CDN$ 30.98

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Know thyself

To know yourself is the most important aspect of spiritual life.
While no book can reveal this fully, since knowing yourself is a personal journey for each individual. Yet the journey of each person in NEXUS touches the mind and especially the heart. Words are powerful as they can reveal, heal, illuminate and move the spirit. They can act on our mind as a balm.

Ever since I can remember, this quasi-magical quality of language, where the words act upon our psyche to create new insights and meaning, has always fascinated me. The richness of symbolic meaning is given life by our imagination and consciousness.

This is why I have been fascinated by mystical and spiritual language because realities outside ordinary experience are made real by rich symbols. Writing became an extension of this fascination with creative possibilities contained in language.

Deborah and I wrote NEXUS to offer readers a unique journey from surface pain and sorrow to the realization of a deeper peace that is within us – at the core of our being. Journey to this innermost part is “connecting to the Nexus within” and our novel explores this search.

The search for peace is not something new. Ancient civilizations have quested for the answer to self-knowledge contained in an essential question: “Who am I?”

This self-inquiry yields our infinitude as we move past labels of name, nationality, race, gender and religion. At the surface level are these labels deep within is peace.

Our mind is full of worry but when we can objectify our thoughts, we realize that our true nature is outside the thoughts as an ever-present spiritual reality. That realization is the essence of peace. Surface thoughts and emotions pass away like shadows cast by moving clouds, yet at our centre we can find stillness, silence and peace.

The outside is like the rim of a wheel always spinning but the central hub is steady and peaceful.

In NEXUS, we experientially explore many insights into spiritual life in the narrative. The journey of personal transformation needs to communicate to the heart. So it can’t be a theory of living but a unique experience of personal transformation from the struggles of people in the novel.

Each person needs to reconnect to their inner centre of peace, their Nexus within, in order to find the source of compassion, peace and strength. Of course, the centre is always there except it can be covered by hurt and pain of experiences.

In some cases, the affliction can be deeply buried like a wound. So it requires conscious awareness before release is possible. After the heart is unburdened from laden emotions, then the truth of who you really are can be known.

Peace is not something we have to find, since it is always within us. Rather we need to uncover it. Our surface condition has an apparent reality, yet true transformation comes from within – at the core of our being.

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Opening Stanza of Sikh Morning Prayer (Japuji Sahib)

Both transcendence (nirgun) and immanence (sagun) aspects play an important part in the awareness of spiritual life. Transcendence requires an expansion of our awareness through Grace, while immanence requires for the Divine to be brought to our level of understanding.

The Opening Stanza of the Sikh Morning Prayer, Japuji Sahib, offers an exploration of transcendental attributes from a unique perspective. Contemplation of Transcendent qualities of the Supreme Soul, Paramatman, will fashion our own soul.

Here is a rendering of the Opening Stanza of Japuji Sahib called Ml Mantra with explanatory notes below each attribute:

1 OM Manifest,

1-on-kr

Please read Connectedness in Ik Onkar Symbol for a detailed explaination of this attribute. It is a transcendent quality that is both manifest and yet always remains unchangeable in its oneness. Ordinarily our mind is in dualistic thought, dividing reality into categories, labels and opposites. During a mystical encounter with the underlying Oneness behind appearances we are granted an undivided, non-dualistic vision.

Truename,

Satinmu

Satya, derived from Sanskrit root “to be,” refers to “existence,” “being” and “consciousness.” The truth rests in conscious awareness. Therefore, Ikonkar and Satinam together can be translated as “The One Onkar, whose name is existence.”

Creator Person,

Kart Purukhu

This attribute signifies that the doer of all actions is the Supreme. By ascribing all actions to a higher power, we can control pride and ego.

Fearless,

Nirbhao

In our life, we have fears – fears of economic hardship, political instability, crime, war and ultimately of death. These fears originate from attaching ourselves to temporally real and changeable aspects of life. When, however, we recognize the eternal ultimate reality behind appearances all our fears are erased from our mind.

Without hatred,

Nirvairu

Hatred can often be rooted in our own projected fears. When we fail to examine our own shortcomings, we have to tendency to see them in others. If we examine our own heart, we would recognize that what we hate in others is often an aspect of us that we have hidden from awareness.

As we connect to the Real, we lose our fears and no longer need to feel hostility to others, since our self regains its natural confidence in knowing its real spiritual worth.

Eternal form,

Akal Mrat

The physical forms in the temporal world are not eternal. This is a quality of the spirit-soul, atman, as the eternal form.

Unincarnated,

Ajn

Literally “not of the womb,” hence unincarnated. This also shows transcendence over transmigration of the soul from countless births and deaths. The Real is omnipresent and cannot be limited to any human birth.

Self-existent.

Saibhang

In the natural world, existence depends upon an external cause. A human being came into existence through parents. Even one-celled organisms derived their existence from the division of a “parent” cell through fission. Fire cannot burn without fuel and in an ecosystem a balance is achieved through the interdependence of various animals upon one another.

Self-existence means that your personal existence is no longer dependent on something outside you. The Real is complete on its own and requires no other support for its existence.

By Guru’s Grace

Gur parsdi

We believe that we create all changes in our life, yet the presence of a Higher Power in our lives can transform us. Our belief of independent action is only true to the extent that we are guided and inspired by Divine Grace. Personal effort has a place, yet it yields to Grace to refashion the senses, the heart and mind. We have difficulty controlling or forcing change in our lives on our own, though with sincere prayer we find strength to persevere.

We are like farmers of our consciousness, who through our efforts till the soil with meditation, plant the seeds of good action, and take out weeds of egoism. Yet without Grace like the farmer waiting for rain during a drought, our efforts will not yield harvest and at such trying times our faith is tested.

When the time is right, Grace will enter our life. We cannot control when it comes and instead we develop gratitude for all gifts including our life at all times – whether good or fraught with difficulties.

See also:

First Verse of Sikh Morning Prayer (Japuji Sahib): Path to Truth

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Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Why I am Opposed to War Speech

Why I Am Opposed to War:

A Time To Break Silence

Excerpts of speech by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.delivered at New
Yorks Riverside Church on April 4, 1967.

 

 

Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud:

Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King?

Why are you joining the voices of dissent?

Peace and civil rights don’t mix, they say. Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people, they ask.

And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.

Since I am a preacher by trade, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I and others, have been waging in America.

A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor both black and white through the Poverty Program. Then came the build-up in Vietnam, and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war. And I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube.

So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such. It became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.

My third reason grows out of my experience in the ghettos of the North. As I have walked among the desperate, rejected and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems.

But, they asked, what about Vietnam?

They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home. I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government. If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read “Vietnam.”

In 1957, when a group of us formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, we chose as our motto: “To save the soul of America.” We were convinced that we could not limit our vision to certain rights for black people, but instead affirmed the conviction that America would never be free or saved from itself unless the descendants of its slaves were loosed from the shackles they still wear.

Another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1964. I cannot forget that the Nobel Prize for Peace was also a commission, a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for the “brotherhood of man.” This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ.

To me, the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war.

Washingtons Regime Change in Vietnam

The Vietnamese proclaimed their independence in 1945 after a combined French and Japanese occupation. Even though they quoted the American Declaration of Independence in their own document of freedom, we refused to recognize them. Instead, we decided to support France in its re-conquest of her former colony.

Before the end of the war, we were meeting 80 percent of the French war costs. After the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva agreements. But instead there came the United States, determined that Ho Chi Minh should not unify the temporarily divided nation, and the peasants watched again as we supported one of the most vicious modern dictators, our chosen man, Premier Diem. Our government felt then that the Vietnamese people were not “ready” for independence, and we again fell victim to the deadly Western arrogance that has poisoned the international atmosphere for so long.

The peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly routed out all opposition, supported their extortionist landlords and refused even to discuss reunification with the North. The peasants watched as all this was presided over by increasing numbers of US troops who came to help quell the insurgency that Diem’s methods had aroused. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us, not their fellow Vietnamese, the real enemy. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They watch as we poison their water, as we kill a million acres of their crops. They must weep as the bulldozers destroy their precious trees. They wander into the hospitals, with at least 20 casualties from American firepower for each Viet Cong-inflicted injury. So far we may have killed a million of them, mostly children.

Where are the roots of the independent Vietnam we claim to be building? They ask how we can speak of free elections when the Saigon press is censored and controlled by the military junta. They question our political goals and they deny the reality of a peace settlement from which they will be excluded. Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and non-violence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know of his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.

The Lies that Lead the US to War

It must be clear that the leaders of Hanoi considered the presence of American troops in support of the Diem regime to have been the initial military breach of the Geneva Agreements. They remind us that they did not begin to send in any large number of supplies or men until American forces had moved into the tens of thousands. Hanoi remembers how our leaders refused to tell us the truth about the earlier North Vietnamese overtures for peace, how the President claimed that none existed when they had clearly been made. Ho Chi Minh has watched as America has spoken of peace and built up its forces, and now he has surely heard the increasing international rumors of American plans for an invasion of the North.

We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for our troops must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. Before long they must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy and the secure while we create a hell for the poor.

I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam and the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam, that we have been detrimental to the life of her people.

We must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. We must provide the medical aid that is badly needed. Meanwhile, we in the churches and synagogues have a continuing task while we urge our government to disengage itself from a disgraceful commitment. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.

A Far Deeper Malady

The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing clergy, and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. We will be marching and attending rallies without end unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy.

In 1957, a sensitive American official overseas said that it seemed to him that our nation was on the wrong side of a world revolution. During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of US military “advisors” in Venezuela. The need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counterrevolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and why American napalm and Green Beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru.

The words of John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and America Needs a Revolution of Values

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: This is not just.”

It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America and say: “This is not just.”

The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just. A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: “This way of settling differences is not just.”

This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from re-ordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war.

Let us not join those who shout war and through their misguided passions urge the United States to relinquish its participation in the United Nations. These are the days that demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness. We must, with positive action, seek to remove those conditions of poverty, insecurity and injustice which are the fertile soil in which the seed of communism grows and develops.

These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wombs of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before.

We in the West must support these revolutions. It is a sad fact that, because of comfort, complacency, a morbid fear of communism, and our proneness to adjust to injustice, the Western nations that initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world have now become the arch anti-revolutionaries. Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.

If we do not act we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.

Let us re-dedicate ourselves to the long and bitter but beautiful struggle for a new world. Our brothers wait eagerly for our response. The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history.

 

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