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Spirit News Blog - June 2007
THE SANCTUARY
It could be said that God’s foot is so vast
That this entire earth is but a
field on His
toe,
and all the forests in this world
came from the same root of just
a single hair
of His.
What then is not a sanctuary?
Where can I not kneel
and pray at a shrine
made holy by His
presence?
By: St Catherine of Siena
From “Love Poems From God” by Daniel Ladinsky.
Copyright © 1999 by Daniel Ladinsky. Reprinted by permission of the author.
Photo by Sharani Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries
Film Review: Proces de Jeanne D'Arc by Tejvan
“...they do not order me to disobey the Church, but God must be served first.” - Joan d'Arc at her trial.
Directed by Robert Bresson the trial of Joan of Arc is a fascinating perspective of the show trial of, Joanne d’Arc, the patron saint of France.
The striking feature of the film is its simplicity. There is nothing staged for dramatic or emotional effect. Bresson adds nothing to complicate or distract from the essence of this extraordinary trial. Bresson leaves it to the power of the words and the austere setting to create a thought provoking and very realistic account of this fascinating trial.
The simplicity and power of the film comes from Robert Bresson’s decision to remain as faithful as possible to the exact transcript of the trial. By good fortune, all of Jeanne’s questions and answers were written down. From these extracts, and her later “rehabilitation trial” 25 years after her death, Bresson is able to deliver a realistic and compelling insight into the final moments and inner thoughts of Jeanne d’Arc.
Revelation
No more my heart shall sob or grieve.
My days and nights dissolve in God's own Light.
Above the toil of life my soul
Is a Bird of Fire winging the Infinite.
I have known the One and His secret Play,
And passed beyond the sea of Ignorance Dream.
In tune with Him, I sport and sing;
I own the golden Eye of the Supreme.
Drunk deep of Immortality,
I am the root and boughs of a teeming vast.
My Form I have known and realised.
The Supreme and I are one; all we outlast.
By: Sri Chinmoy
Poem from: My Flute
There is Nothing New to Get
There is nothing new to get.
You have on the other hand,
to get rid of your ignorance,
which makes you think you are other than Bliss.
For whom is this ignorance?
It is to the ego.
Trace the source of the ego.
Then the ego is lost and Bliss remains over.
It is eternal You are That, here and now...
This is the master key for solving all doubts.
The doubts arise in the mind.
The mind is born of the ego.
The ego rises from the Self.
Search the source of the ego
and the Self is revealed.
That alone remains.
The universe is only expanded Self.
It is not different from the Self...
By: Ramana Maharshi
Into Great Silence is surely one of the bravest films ever made. Almost three hours long, no script, no score, no commentary. I was compelled to see such a daring feat of minimalism.
Over 20 years before the film's release, German director Philip Groening applied for permission to film at the Carthusian monastery of Grande Chartreuse in a far corner of the French Alps. He was told it was too early, perhaps in 10-13 years it would be the right time.
16 years later his requested was accepted.
The Carthusian order, possibly the most ascetic Christian order, has remained largely unchanged for a thousand years, so they were not about to be rushed into such a venture. Unlike the UK, France is lucky enough to have preserved many of its ancient monastic sites. The site of Grande Chartreuse is as beautiful as it is remote, and Groening wastes no time in emphasising either aspect.
Sometimes it can be hard to find purely uplifting blog entries in the middle of the introspective maelstrom that is the blogosphere, but here are a couple of gems that have shone out recently:
- Freedom: a moment of clarity through running a marathon. Posted on Spirit Flower's blog at Zaadz.
- The most exotic animal: Serial Guiness-record-breaker Ashrita Furman describes his recent record-breaking exploits in Mongolia! Ashrita's records often have a very playful aspect to them, and this blog entry is great fun to read!
- Jellyfish concentration: A mother tries to teach her son how to concentrate, but ends up getting a lesson herself. A post from the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group.
- The world's oldest sub-3 marathoner: A short blog article about Ed Whitlock, who ran a 2:54 marathon at age 73
Documentary by Satyajit Roy
Rabindranath Tagore biography and poems at Poetseers
My Country Awake by Tagore
The Moon Shines
The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot hear it.
So long as man clamours for the "I" and the "Mine", his works are as naught:
When all love of the "I" and the "Mine" is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.
For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge:
When that comes, then work is put away.
The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.
The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest of grass.
By: Kabir
Translated: Rabindranath Tagore
Photo by Phoolanjaya Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries