The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer 

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living

I want to know what you ache for

And if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

 

It doesn’t interest me how old you are

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

 

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow

If you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have been shriveled and closed

From fear of further pain

 

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,

without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

 

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,

If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

 

It does not interest me if the story you are telling me is true

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul,

if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

 

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty, every day,

and if you can source your own life from its presence.

 

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,

And still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon ‘Yes!’.

 

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have,

I want to know if you can get up, after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone

And do what needs to be done to feed the children.

 

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here

I want to know if you stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back

 

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied

I want to know what sustains you, from the inside when all else falls away

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself

And if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

                    

By being clear about confusion, you become clear of confusion. You cannot abandon what you do not know. To go beyond yourself, you should know yourself. To know yourself, means you come to know all that you are not.

By knowing what you are not, you are free of it. You remain in your natural state. It happens spontaneously and Effortlessly.

You discover that there is nothing to discover. You are what you are and that is all.

Liberation is of the self from the self – from its self-imposed false ideas.

The Self sustains itself in thinking that it is the doer and the experiencer. Drop the Illusion.

Even Witnessing is not your real nature – because there must be something or nothing to witness for the meditator. The duality still exists.

The Concept of Fullness and Emptiness are just Concepts. Every definition is a concept. One must be careful before starting a journey  to attain bliss
Or any other definitions. All definitions are limited.

The False self is still false whether it is Full or Empty or in expansion or contraction mode.

The falsity of taking a journey has to be seen. Journey involves desire, a goal. It needs time. It needs a discipline to reach a goal. There is a hidden belief that after the journey one will be improved, more perfect. The seekers attention is on the goal, not on himself, without knowing himself.

Before we understand Meditation – let us see what it is not.

It is not a self-centered activity, one does to find peace, relax his tensions, try to improve oneself, seek a profound experience, want powers, search a way to end his turmoil.

Various methods to quit the cycle of birth and death, seek to become immortal, blissful, secured, liberated and much more is not meditation.

Any more definitions a person can find  about meditation – it is not that.

Whatever we know about meditation – it is not.

No journey is possible – No activity of the mind is possible.

All activity  in the name of Meditation is a self-centered activity. It strengthens the False Self. Drop it.

Silence which has not been invited, induced, sought after. It has come about naturally by understanding what one is not. In this there is no motive which has brought Silence. If there is any shadow or suspicion of motive then that silence is directed and deliberate, so it is no silence at all. It is Innocent, not put together by effort.

Silence has been usually understood as absence of Sound, actually it is the absence of the false self.

In this state there is a possibility that ones true self reveals itself. It is this truth that liberates, not our effort to be free. 

 

As hatred rules, a prayer for our country...check out this link...

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OVMrad5iQ

I am not a writer.

Yesterday, Mr. Gerry (Gerald D'Cunha), asked me to go through the articles on The Dawn Club Blog by several contributors and post my comments.

He, also, asked me to go through his personal blog (geralddcunha@blogspot.com).

He further urged me to share my own life-related experiences on the blog. "Naresh, we all have our own stories to share; let's not hesitate from sharing them." His persuation was contagious. So, after I went through all the articles, I sat down to  type my  maiden piece. Hope it deserves a place there. 

Dear sir, reading all those articles was a treat. ...

I was, actually, trying to comprehend them. But, I got lost in my own world.
I went  back to my college days, the years in which there were no questions put forth to us.
We had the freedom and the will to do things our own way. 
Sometimes, on  many occassions, I still feel that I lack maturity and intelligence to take simple decisions.

Sir, I thank you for the simple pleasures of life that I have experienced with you around.
But, I miss the world in which we had no instructions to follow, no sign boards to read; I miss  the world of harmless people.

Now a days,  I travel by public transport. The buses and trains are always crowded.
I wonder, when I will see them empty, so that I can board in one of them  and make a visit to my past.
The past, when  we had no seatbelts, no airbags ...
The past when  we loved to sit on the  the last seat, (that's the other side of me). or died to in the the back of a  truck.
The past when cycling was like a breath of fresh air...
with no safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads,
with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike ...

When thirsty, we only drank tap water, yes, even on the roadsides ...
the bottled water was still a mystery!
We kept ourselves busy collecting bits and pieces,
so that we could build all sort of things ...
And, we were fearless on our bikes
even when the brakes failed while going down the road ...
We were showing off how tough we were, by how high we could climb trees and then jumping down from there... It was great fun...
We could stay out to play for hours,
as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner ...
We walked to school, or rode our bicyles.
We had no mobile phones, no e-mails, no internets, no messengers,
no socialising sites;
but, we always managed to find each other... How? No one knows!

We lost teeth, broke arms and legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses... yet, nobody complained as we had much fun;
 it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours.
We ate everything in sight: cakes, bread, chocolates, icecreams, ice candy's , sweet sugary drinks,

Yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.
And, if one of us was lucky to find a cola bottle, we all had a swag from it.
And, guess what'? Nobody picked up any germs!

We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's I-Pods, video games, 99-cable- TV channels, DVD's Home cinema, Mobile phones, Home P.C.'s, Laptops, Chat -rooms, Internet etc ... But, we were happy and had loads of fun  all around;
because, we had true friends. We called our friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the back yard...

We loved being let loose in the big bad world ...
without bodyguards or sign of cautions all around.
We played cricket and soccer as seasons changed.

When we failed our exams, we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same class ...without visiting the psychiatrists, psychologists or counselor etc.
We had the required freedom and equal share of responsibilities;
we had our own share of success and disappointments ...
Most of all, we learned to respect others, particularly our elders.

Sir, this  was  our life. But, no regrets, ever.
    
I am married. I have a very understanding wife, with two beautiful daughters.
I give them as much time as I can and spend my free time in understanding different roles that one has to play everyday.
Very recently, I took up a challenge from Sangeeta, my wife, to learn cooking and help when she is busy making the  kids study.

I look forward to have good health, and,  if time permits , I will pursue some of my long-cherished hobbies, such as hair-cutting and canvas-painting, which, I feel, will make me fullfill my deepest passions in life... my core nature.
 
Sir, it is a long article, hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed typing down. (For  the first time)
 
Do take care and please pass on my message to your loved ones to .....

May we all flow with our core nature!
 
Thanks for this opporturnity.

Regards,

Naresh Kalani