Write Spirit

Ancient wisdom and modern inspiration

Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

 

 

Quotes by R.W. Emerson

"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."

" What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. "

"People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. "

"Is it so bad to be misunderstood?
Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton,

and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh."

 

 

By:Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo by Jogyata Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

 

Selected Verses of Emerson’s Poems

"Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the muse;
Nothing refuse. "

From: Give all to Love

Spring still makes spring in the mind,
When sixty years are told;
Love wakes anew this throbbing heart,
And we are never old.
Over the winter glaciers,
I see the summer glow,
And through the wild-piled snowdrift
The warm rose buds below.

From: "The World Soul"

If the red slayer think he slays,
Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep, and pass, and turn again.

From: "Brahma"

" Good-by, proud world, I’m going home,
Thou’rt not my friend, and I’m not thine;
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I’ve been tossed like the driven foam,
But now, proud world, I’m going home."

 

Related

"A thinker in the sublimest sense of the term is Emerson. His philosophy touches the core of all earthly problems. "Ends," said he, "pre-exist in the means." Hence what matters is to cherish our highest aspirations in all sincerity and determination and rest assured in the faith that these will realise themselves…  "

essay on R.Emerson by Sri Chinmoy

Running around the World

 

One Earth – 26000km – 2 years – 1 runner

 

Jesper Olsen is the first person to have successfully completed the unique feat of running around the world. Beginning on the 1st of January, 2004, from the Greenwich time meridian in London; Jesper successfully circumnavigated the world finishing nearly 2 years later in October 2005, in London. During his epic run of 26,000 Km Jesper kept a detailed log and even participated in local ultra distance runners. His extraordinary experiences have now been produced into a book. It is an epic tale of self transcendence and inspiration to others – World Run

Jesper Olsen is now preparing for World Run 2 which could be over 40,000 Km

“The route will in general lead from the Northern point of Scandinavia and in Europe to the Southern tip of Africa. After this first half of the total challenge is completed the run reverses direction and, hopefully, continues North from the Southern tip of South America to the Northern point of New Foundland in Canada, North America.”

Blog entry at Multidays – an informative resource on ultra distance running

Photo from Sri Chinmoy Races. This photo is from the last couple of days leading upto Jesper’s finish in London.

Poem The Children’s Hour

 

The Children’s Hour

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the- night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the days occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet

…

 

View: Video of Poem being Recited at You Tube

click more for rest of poem

The Children’s Hour

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the- night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the days occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet

From my study I see in the lamplight
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair,
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, 0 blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

 

 

By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Longfellow Poems

Poems about Children

Quotes from Paramahansa Yogananda

 

 

"Affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill if you want to live in peace and harmony. Never get angry, for anger poisons your system. Try to understand people who cross you, and whenever anybody tries to inflame you, mentally say: “I am too comfortable to be angry. I don’t want to be sick with anger.”

– Paramahansa Yogananda,

Quotes from Inner peace

 

 

 

"To be calmly active and actively calm – a Prince of Peace sitting on the throne of poise, directing the kingdom of activity – is to be spiritually healthy. Too much activity – is to be spiritually healthy. Too much activitiy makes one an automation and too much calmness makes one lazy and impractical. Peace is the enjoyment of life; activity is the expression of life. A balance between the activity of the West and the calmness of the East is needed."

 

"As you find your soul-reservoir of peace, less and less controversy will be able to afflict your life."

 

"If your husband or wife gets angry and rouses your ire, take a little walk and cool off before responding. If he or she speaks sharply, don’t retort in the same way. It is better to remain quite until the temper has cooled down…."

"Never let anyone rob you of your peace; and don not steal away the peace of others by your verbal misbehavior…
"

 

– Paramahansa Yogananda

– Yogananada Poetry

– Paramahansa Yogananda is the author of the best selling spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" is spiritual wisdom has offered inspiration and guidance to countless seekers in both the West and in the East.

Karma Capitalism

A very interesting article in business week. Modern business leaders are increasingly looking to the wisdom of India for practical solutions to creating a successful business. There is a growing realisation that a successful business does not have to compromise its principles. In fact an "ethical" business which seeks to promote the well being of its workers and consumers can actually be a very successful business model.

" THE ANCIENT SPIRITUAL wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita seems at first like an odd choice for guiding today’s numbers-driven managers. Also known as Song of the Divine One, the work relates a conversation between the supreme deity Krishna and Arjuna, a warrior prince struggling with a moral crisis before a crucial battle. One key message is that enlightened leaders should master any impulses or emotions that cloud sound judgment. Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain. "The key point," says Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs such as General Electric Co.’s (GE) Jeffrey R. Immelt, "is to put purpose before self. This is absolutely applicable to corporate leadership today."

Read more Karma Capitalism at Businessweek.com

thanks to Slava, Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group for pointing this out.

Silence of Meditation

Modern life with all its distractions and features seems particularly unsuited to silence. Even if we have actual outer silence our mind is rarely silent. If we analyse our thoughts there seem to be a never ending stream of worries, anxieties, and regrets.

In meditation we try to do a very difficult thing – silence our thoughts completely. It is difficult only because we are so unused to this idea. The mind is so used to thinking that it is easy to think our existence is defined by our thoughts and this must be our only existence. To quote the famous saying of Descartes “I think therefore I am”
However meditation teaches that what we are is unencumbered by thoughts. The real “I” is our self which is beyond thought.

There is an interesting exercise to prove this. Whenever a thought arises in the mind, ask yourself where is the origination of this thought? This leads you to part of yourself which is beyond thought. Also be aware of the fact that you can choose which thought to accept and which to reject. This again shows us that what we are, is not our thoughts. There is some inner self which can decide whether to pursue thoughts or not. It is when we are able to stop thoughts entering our mind that we will start to experience real silence. This technique of meditation on the question “Who am I?” was particularly recommended by Spiritual Master Ramana Maharshi.

 

Silence of Meditation

The silence of meditation is not just quietness. It embodies a dynamic and vast consciousness far beyond our usual experience of everyday life. It is in this mental silence that we can access our own hidden consciousness. By silence we really mean the silence of the mind.

“Silence is not silent. Silence speaks. It speaks most eloquently.
Silence is not still. Silence leads. It leads most perfectly.”

– Sri Chinmoy

 

Difficulties in achieving Silence

A difficulty we face in experiencing silence in the mind is that part of us is uncertain what will happen. It is like stepping into the unknown, this fear of the unknown keeps us from diving deep into our meditation. To experience the silence of meditation it is necessary to give up worries about the future, regrets about the past. It is also necessary to give up our own notions of what we are. We have to feel the need for giving up these negative qualities and suspending the judgement of the mind. If we can experience the silence of meditation it is liberating because unencumbered by our own thoughts we can make ourselves receptive to the inner peace of our own soul.

“Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.”

– Sri Chinmoy

 

Silence is experienced in the Heart.

When we meditate we can try focus our sense of awareness in the heart. When we talk about the heart in meditation we are actually referring to the spiritual heart. This is a Chakra or energy centre. We have seven of these charkas and they are explained in Hindu, Buddhist and other scriptures. If we concentrate on the spiritual heart, which is located in the centre of the chest near the physical heart, then over time we will feel a physical sensation like a rotating disc. This is a good sign. It is in the heart that it is easiest to silence the mind. The heart has a power of its own. The nature of the heart is not to judge, think or criticise. The qualities of the heart embody vastness, oneness and love. It is here that we can experience silence most effectively.

Article by Richard Pettinger

Sources:Silence at Sri Chinmoy Library

Poems Time

 

Time
Is everywhere
Precious.

 

Do not waste time
Thinking of a better future

 

The futures is here –
In the heart of
Here and Now.

 

Poems By: Sri Chinmoy

Photo by Kamalika Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

 

Poems about Time at Poetseers

"Unaspiring human beings do not enlist the help of time. They do not know the value of time They think that achievement is of paramount importance, and not the time required for the achievement. So they do not care for time; they neglect time. They do not realise that time is the bridge that will carry them to the other shore. If they do not use the bridge, they cannot go on to the other shore where there is Light, Peace and Bliss in boundless measure. But the aspiring person, the seeker, appreciates time and utilises it. When it is time to eat, he will eat; when it is time to think, he will think; when it is time to study spiritual books, he will study; and when it is time to rest, he will rest. For him, each day is a new challenge, a new opportunity. He enters into the battlefield of life to conquer darkness, limitation, bondage and death. He has to fight and rest at the appropriate times. He has to do all the things that are necessary to invoke Peace, Light and Bliss from above in infinite measure so that he can bring to the fore his inner divinity and offer it to the world at large."

From: Talk on Time by Sri Chinmoy

Video NY City Children

 

Danny Goldfield has set out to photograph a child from every country in the world (194 countries) However they must all live in New York city. Danny Goldfield says the project seeks to celebrate the universality of people from different countries.

Directed by Bristol Baughan, Reason Pictures. Editing by Lindsay Utz, Public Media Works. Director of Photography, Evan Savit…

See also NY Children The project is currently about 70% complete. See some of the pictures on this site.

I frequently travel to New York to visit friends and my meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy I have often thought how multi cultural New York is,it seems to be a microcosm of the world, with all religions and nations represented. It seems quite apt that the United Nations is in New York.

This is a very inspiring project; giving a visual documentation to the multi cultural nature of New York. By photographing children, the project also seems to embody hope for the future.