“The very nature of human love is to stick only to one person and to reject everyone else: accept and reject, accept and reject. But in divine love, which is unlimited and infinite, the question of acceptance and rejection does not arise at all. In divine love there is no possession – only a feeling of oneness.”
– Sri Chinmoy [1. What is Love?]
Related
(Hilda Charlton was a spiritual teacher who taught meditation in New York City from 1965 to 1988. In her teachings Hilda stressed the importance of a life of giving and forgiving, unconditional love and remembrance of God. She 
uplifted the lives of thousands of people who sought her spiritual guidance. She was born in London and moved to United States along with her parents and two elder brothers when she was four years old. As a young student she learnt classical ballet dancing and from the age of eighteen for the next two decades she performed and taught dancing in the San Francisco area. But right from her childhood her real quest was spiritual. From 1947 to 1950, Hilda toured India and Ceylon as a dancer. After that she lived in India and Ceylon for fifteen more years, pursuing her studies of Eastern mysticism and meditation under the guidance of many great spiritual masters.
This story of Hilda is based on her autobiography, ‘Hell bent for Heaven’. All phrases and sentences in quotes are Hilda’s own words unless otherwise mentioned.)
Hilda was direct, simple and filled with life1. The then president of Gold Mountain Entertainment, Danny Goldberg said of Hilda, “When Hilda talked about saints, she began with a gushing enthusiasm I would normally associate with a teenage girl contemplating her latest heartthrob. Almost imperceptibly her tone altered from one of girlishness to a solemnity manifesting the holiness of the saints’ lives to the jocular familiarity of a next door neighbour. Only gradually, subtly, and with the utmost concentration did it dawn on me that she herself was one of them.”
Your song caresses
the depths of loneliness,
high mountain bird
– Matsuo Basho
Photo: Unmesh.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
– William Wordsworth (excerpt from Odes On Intimation of Immortality)
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
The light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright:
The melody of love swells forth, and the rhythm of love’s
detachment beats the time.
Day and night, the chorus of music fills the heavens; and Kabîr
says:
“My Beloved One gleams like the lightning flash in the sky.”
– Kabir
Kalatit Jeffrey Baker has published a collection of essays on modern Sprituality and new American Mysticism, entitled ‘Eat my dust, Martin Luther!’
The writings delve into the fundamental questions of life, our soul, and God. The essays engage with questions man has frequently grappled to understand – with a simple and direct approach. Kalatit writes on these topics of spirituality and the meaning of life with good humour and a refreshingly light touch. The book is an enjoyable way to understand the promptings of our soul!
Kalatit explains his choice of title. When a friend heard he was going to write 100 essays, she replied:
“Why not 95, like Martin Lutherʼs Theses?”
“Iʼll do him one better,” I boldly replied, “and attempt 96!”
Hence, this collection and itʼs odd title.
I am sitting on a mountain.
I am casting shadows into the sky.
I did not invite it but the sun has come
And is now playing tag with my feet.
I am whispering to clouds today,
“Watch out for my shoulders,”
For I wish no harm
To all my soft friends.
Where do you think you will Be
When God reveals Himself
Inside of you?
