| That is true religion Posted: The search for God, for truth, the feeling of being completely good—not the cultivation of goodness, of humility, but the seeking out of something beyond the inventions and tricks of the mind, which means having a feeling for that something, living in it, being it- is true religion. But you can do that only when you leave the pool you have dug for yourself and go out into the river of life. Then life has an astonishing way of taking care of you, because there is no taking care on your part. Life carries you where it will because you are part of itself. - This Matter of Culture, p.128 |
| The urge to find out what God is Posted: The urge to find out what truth is, what God is, is the only real urge, and all other urges are subsidiary. When you throw a stone into still water, it makes expanding circles. The expanding circles are the subsidiary movements, the social reactions, but the real movement is at the centre, which is the movement to find happiness, God, truth. - This Matter of Culture, p 84 |
| Self-knowledge and God Posted: Through self-knowledge you begin to find out what is God, what is truth, what is that state which is timeless. - This Matter of Culture, p 112 |
| Is there any other kind of prayer? Posted: Why do you pray? And what is prayer? Most prayer is merely a petitioning, an asking. You indulge in this kind of prayer when you suffer. When you feel all alone, when you are depressed and in sorrow, you ask God for help; so what you call prayer is a petition. The form of prayer may vary, but the intent behind it is generally the same. Prayer, with most people, is a petition, a begging, an asking. Are you doing that? Why do you pray? I am not saying that you should or should not pray. But why do you pray? Is it for more knowledge, for more peace? Do you pray that the world may be free from sorrow? Is there any other kind of prayer? There is prayer which is really not a prayer, but the sending out of goodwill, the sending out of love, the sending out of ideas. What is it you are doing? When you pray, generally you are asking God, or some saint, to fill your empty bowl, are you not? You are not satisfied with what happens, with what is given, but you want your bowl filled according to your wishes. So your prayer is merely a petition, it is a demand that you should be satisfied, therefore it is not prayer at all. You say to God, “I am suffering, please gratify me; please give me back my brother, my son. please make me rich.” You are perpetuating your own demands, and that is obviously not prayer. - Life Ahead, p 89 |
| We create that which we call God Posted: At the present time, when there is greater and greater insecurity outwardly, there is obviously a yearning for inward security. Since we cannot find security outside, we seek it in an idea, in thought, and so we create that which we call God, and that concept becomes our security. Now, a mind that seeks security surely cannot find the real, the true. To understand that which is beyond time, the fabrications of thought must come to an end. Thought cannot exist without words, symbols, images, and only when the mind is quiet, free of its own creations, is there a possibility of finding out what is real. So merely to ask if there is or is not God is an immature response to the problem, is it not? And to formulate opinions about God is really childish. - The Collected Works vol, VI, p 20 |
| Religion is the cessation of the 'me' Posted: Have we shared this together? Because it is your life, not my life. It is your life of sorrow, of tragedy, of confusion, guilt, reward, punishment. All that is your life. If you are serious you have tried to untangle all this. You have read some book, or followed a teacher, or listened to somebody, but the problem remains. These problems will exist as long as the human mind moves within the field of the activity of the self; that activity of the self must create more and more and more problems. When you observe, when you become extraordinarily aware of this activity of the self, then the mind becomes extraordinarily quiet, sane, healthy, holy. And from that silence our life in everyday activity is transformed. Religion is the cessation of the me, and action born of that silence. That life is a sacred life full of meaning. - This Light in Oneself, p 77 |
| Silence comes...when you know how to observe Posted: Silence of the mind comes naturally—please do listen to this—it comes naturally, easily, without any effort if you know how to observe, how to look. When you observe a cloud, look at it without the word and therefore without thought, look at it without the division as the observer. Then there is an awareness and attention in the very act of looking; not the determination to be attentive, but looking with attention, even though that look may last only a second, a minute—that is enough. Do not be greedy, do not say, “I must have it for the whole day.” To look without the observer means looking without the space between the observer and the thing observed, which does not mean identifying oneself with the thing that is looked at. So when one can look at a tree, at a cloud, at the light on the water, without the observer, and also—which is much more difficult, which needs a greater attention—if you can look at yourself without the image, without any conclusion, because the image, the conclusion, the opinion, the judgement, the goodness and the badness, is centred round the observer, then you will find that the mind, the brain, becomes extraordinarily quiet. And this quietness is not a thing to be cultivated; it can happen, it does happen, if you are attentive, if you are capable of watching all the time, watching your gestures, your words, your feelings, the movements of your face and all the rest of it. - Beyond Violence, p 131 |
