Write Spirit

Ancient wisdom and modern inspiration

Archive for January, 2007

Martin Luther King “I have a Dream”

 

Speech by Martin Luther King Jr

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

From: “I have a dream”

The Words are inspiring to read, but to hear the live recording is something else. Martin Luther King speaks with such passion. One of the great speeches of all time.

Within 2 months of the speech Congress passed a new civil rights movements

Swami Vivekananda Speech at Chicago 1893

Speech from World Parliament of Religions

“It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects…”

Full Speech

Swami Vivekananda Biography

“Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.”

– From Speech of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Ramdas – Such is a Saint!

 

Such is a Saint

 

When the heart burns at the sufferings of others,
That is God’s own heart.

When eyes strain to see others happy,
Through them God Himself sees.

When hands toil for others’ relief,
These hands move only by God’s will.

When the tongue sings His Name,
That voice is the voice of God.

Such is a Saint – God’s own image!

 

By: Swami Ramdas

Photo by Ranjit Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

 

Swami Ramdas was born Vittal Rao in a devout Hindu home in Kerala, South India. His father initiated him into the use of a mantra Rama. This repitition of Rama transformed his life into a great God seeker and God lover

The Hour Came

flower

The Hour Came

The hour came.
I was not ready.
God descended,
Smiled
And
Departed.
The hour came again.
I was not ready.
God ascended,
Pushed
And
Barked.
The hour came not.
I was ready.
God slept.
I cried.
Ignorance sang.
Satan danced.

By: Sri Chinmoy

From: Here is the Place and

Christian Mystics

"I believe that everyone who wants to love unconditionally is a mystic. All children are born mystics, and if you were once a child, you were once a mystic. Christian mysticism is following the example of Christ as he followed the Father. And mysticism is not by any means restricted to Christianity: the Bible says, ?everyone who loves is begotten of God, and knows God.? (1 Jn. 4.7) God speaks in various ways, in every time and every place to "whosoever will."

From: Christian Mystics

Another Definition of a Christian Mystic

"As with any religion, there are two types found within Christianity. The first is the tribal member. He or she favors a literal, concrete reading of Christianity, asserting that God is a judge with a rule book. Those who don’t play for "our team" are damned to eternity, and it can be our job to help them along the way to that end."

"The second person is concerned not with knowing the rules and dogma, but with knowing the Mystery itself, which is to say living from within the experience of that Mystery. This is the search for and experience of that connection to and affirmation of God’s Presence on an ongoing basis. Here, the ideal is to live life from the very center of the Mystery, and to manifest into this world God’s compassion, love and mercy. It is to this group that Jesus of Nazareth belonged, and it is why, beneath the centuries of overlays in the name of scripture and tradition, we can still find at the heart Jesus to be of such central importance to our particular spiritual path."

Christian Mysticism

"In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love. ? 1 Jn 4.18.

I believe Christian mysticism is the essence of what Jesus Christ wanted. He didn’t come to have temples errected in his honour. It was his hope that people would find in their own hearts the living presence of God "The Peace that passeth understanding." Jesus came into the world not to condemn but illumine humanity.

"If anyone hears my wordsand does not keep them faithfully it is not I who shall condemn him, since I have come not to condemn the world, but to save the world. ?Jn. 12.47"

The Christian mystics are a source of great inspiration for us. Unfortunately they were often persecuted, but they showed that it was possible to experience the divine Christ Consciousness. One story that is quite striking is about St John of the Cross. St John of the Cross was tortured and kept imprisoned. But even in these pitiful conditions he experienced the Divine. This is a poem "I cobbled their shoes" which explains how he was guided to see the divine in all. It reminds me of Jesus Christ’s immortal utterance.

"Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

For more poetry of Christian Mystics. See Christian Mystics at Poetseers

The Garden of Love – William Blake

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.

By: William Blake

To Blake love is innocence, spirituality released from materialism. Churches and chapels belong to bad things, the state and coercive order (see E.P. THompson’s Witness against the beast)