Sat Nam Ji!
Yet another amazing Solstice is behind us, friends old and new, upon the mountain of Truth….
Be the Lighthouse was again very well received, thank you everyone! The Journey Home is finished and I hope to have copies at Winter Solstice.
I passed 1,000 Days of Bound Lotus last month as well, life is good!
Peace and blessings,
Dhanna was a simple hearted farmer.
One day, Dhanna was passing a pundit’s house who was “feeding” a stone idol. Dhanna was quite perplexed by this. So Dhanna asked the pundit about it. The pundit was kind of hungry and wanted to get this feeding over as soon as possible and really wasn’t in a mood for Dhanna’s simple inquiries.
He replied, “Oh, nothing, just feeding God. Now if you will excuse me…”
“Really?! What does God give you if you feed it?”
Pundit: “Everything. Now, I really must ask you to leave…”
Dhanna liked this idea of giving a little food and getting back everything! So Dhanna asked the pundit if he could also have a God to feed.
At this time, the pundit’s stomach was audibly complaining about lack of food. So he hastily picked up the nearest stone off the ground and said, “Here! First feed it, then you eat. Goodbye!”
Saying that the pundit dived into the food left over by God. Dhanna held the stone closely and hurried home.
As soon as Dhanna got home, Dhanna cooked the best meal he could for God. He placed it in front of the stone and said, “Here God, please eat. Afterwards, I want to discuss many things with you. I need a new cow for example, but for now, please eat.”
Saying that Dhanna sat in front of God and waited. And waited. And waited.
After a while, Dhanna said, “Look God, I really have no time for your silence. Come and eat at once! I have many chores to do.”
After several hours, Dhanna was thinking that perhaps God was annoyed at him. So Dhanna tried to persuade God to forgive him: “Look here God, I haven’t eaten in a while. Now it is entirely possible that I have done something to annoy you but believe you me, we can discuss this much better after we have some food is in our stomachs.”
Slowly the night deepened. Dhanna said, “Look God, I have one nerve left and you are dancing on it. Either eat your food or I will….”, Dhanna couldn’t really think of anything so he just stomped his foot in anger.
Pretty soon, it became daylight. Now Dhanna was quite disoriented. Sometimes Dhanna would curse God, sometimes Dhanna would hug God and sometimes Dhanna would cry.
Two long and hungry nights passed in this manner. Then at early morning on the third day, when Dhanna was too weak to curse any more, WaheGuru decided to do the thing WaheGuru does best - play.
WaheGuru appeared inside the stone. It was the most beautiful human body that Dhanna had ever seen - it seemed to glow with light and life. Dhanna forgot all his fatigue and anger and hunger; and just gaped at WaheGuru.
WaheGuru stepped out of the stone and said, “Dhanna, sorry, I am late - had to deal with a couple of universe creations - but would you be kind enough to warm up the food.”
Dhanna, keeping one eye on WaheGuru, warmed up the food and presented it to WaheGuru. WaheGuru joyfully ate and fed Dhanna too.
It was daylight by then. Dhanna said, “Look God, I am tired - I haven’t slept for 2 nights - and all I can think of is bed. You, on the other hand, haven’t done much. How exhausting is sitting in that stone anyways? So if you don’t mind, would you feed the cows while I take a short nap?”
When Dhanna woke up, WaheGuru had finished all the farm chores and prepared a delicious yogurt drink for Dhanna. Dhanna drank and said, “You know God, you are just too good. I don’t know why but I feel so close to you. You feel like my best friend. In fact, you feel like … me! Now lets go and work on the farm.”
Saying that, Dhanna put his arms around WaheGuru and went to the farm.
Dhanna fell head over heels in love with WaheGuru. He couldn’t resist being with WaheGuru. They spent the next few days literally arm in arm. Even at night, Dhanna would hold WaheGuru’s hand and listen to WaheGuru’s songs - WaheGuru sang a lot - and would drift off to sleep.
A week later, the pundit was passing Dhanna’s hut. Dhanna saw him and ran to him and said, “Oh, you wonderful man, thank you so much for that God…”
Pundit, “What??? Oh, yeah, sure, anytime. Look, I am in a hurry. I am going to the conference KPPARR (Keeping Poor Poor And Rich Rich).”
Dhanna: “But please come and drink some yogurt-drink. God makes the best yogurt-drink.”
Pundit: “What now? God makes something?”
Dhanna: “Oh, the best stuff. Just look at God - how beautiful!”
Pundit looked and indeed someone was pushing the cows on the farm. And yet there was nobody to be seen.
Pundit: “Who is that?”
Dhanna: “Why, that is God, of course. Oh, you should hear God sing…”
Pundit was quited intrigued by now. And repeatedly asked Dhanna about this strange phenomena. After a while Dhanna realized that Pundit could not see God. Dhanna promised that he would talk to God about this.
After the pundit left, Dhanna went to WaheGuru and said, “God, how come pundit can’t see you?”
WaheGuru: “Oh … mainly because he really doesn’t want to see me. He is more interested in my maid - Maya.”
Dhanna: “But I don’t understand. How can one see you?”
WaheGuru: “One has to become pure. And in this age, Dhanna, the easiest way to become pure is by reciting the True Word.”
Dhanna: “True Word?”
WaheGuru: “Yes, Sat Naam - Sat Naam is the magic of this age. Even a little bit of it will open your eye that is needed to see me.”
Dhanna: “But, I haven’t recited Sat Naam. How come I can see you?”
WaheGuru touched Dhanna’s forehead - Dhanna went inside. Inside he saw that he, Dhanna, had done heavy religious efforts for over 100 lifetimes. He had stood in water all night and in the hot sun all day for many lifetimes. He had hung upside down for several others. He had been a celibate in one lifetime and a moni (ones who don’t talk) in another. But he had progressed spiritually very little.
Then in his previous life, he had met an adept guru who had shown him how to recite Sat Naam. And by reciting Sat Naam for just one lifetime, Dhanna had become pure.
Dhanna fell at WaheGuru’s feet and cried, “Please forgive this fool, I treated you as an equal…”
WaheGuru picked him and held him close, singing songs of comfort, “Dhanna, now the time is right for me to leave. The way you see me now is the superficial way of meeting me. The real way is inside. Now you must start Sat Naam again and then I will meet you inside.”
Saying that WaheGuru vanished into thin air. Dhanna was enlightened now, else he would cursed WaheGuru. Immediately he started Sat Naam with each breath.
Within days, Dhanna met WaheGuru in WaheGuru’s real form - the formless one - inside.
As I near 1000 days of Bound Lotus, I was amazed to discover how yogic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 AD - 180 AD) was in his philosophy. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
“Nothing happens to any thing which that thing is not made by nature to bear.”
“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”
“Think not disdainfully of death, but look on it with favor; for even death is one of the things that Nature wills.”
“Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time. The twining strands of fate wove both of them together: your own existence and the things that happen to you.”
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”
I have an idea I’d everyone’s input on, specifically, landfill recycling, ie, to recycle a landfill. To take recycling to the next level and recycle the land fill itself.
I just need help with the details!
Peace and blessings,
Steve
www.bethelighthouse.com
Quoth Siddhartha, smiling from his old eyes: “Do you call yourself a searcher, oh venerable one, though you are already of an old in years and are wearing the robe of Gotama’s monks?”
“It’s true, I’m old,” spoke Govinda, “but I haven’t stopped searching. Never I’ll stop searching, this seems to be my destiny. You too, so it seems to me, have been searching. Would you like to tell me something, oh honourable one?”
Quoth Siddhartha: “What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you’re searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don’t find the time for finding?”
“How come?” asked Govinda.
“When someone is searching,” said Siddhartha, “then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches or, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal. You, oh venerable one, are perhaps indeed a searcher, because, striving for your goal, there are many things you don’t see, which are directly in front of your eyes.”
Bound Lotus, Day 924… 76 to go….
Thoughts drift, to Summer Solstice, of Japji and the power of its words and even my beard as it continues to grow….
Work on The Journey Home continues to go well, and I wonder, of the journey itself as Spring arrives….
Sat Nam,
Steve
Bound Lotus, Day 856….
Another out of this world Solstice :) a lot of things left behind… and I finally decided on a title for the sequel to Be the Lighthouse!
I was introduced to Gurunam Singh, we started talking, and I mentioned I had several ideas. When I mentioned The Journey Home, he was really surprised, as that just happens to be the title of his CD! Which, by the way, is out of this world!!!
I even got to hear the title track, which, ironically didn’t end up on the album.
I also had my first Sat Nam Rasayan treatment, which was amazing! I’ve had 2 more since then and I highly recommend it!
Peace and blessings,
Akal Sahai/Steve
I ponder, as I prepare for yet another Solstice….
Discovered, after all of my counting of my days of Bound Lotus, that, I was all of 13 days off! LOL Quite the surprise, to have passed Day 800 and not even to have known it! Not that it really matters, but it is cool to know!
Speaking of knowing, still no idea what to call the sequel to Be the Lighthouse….
The new job goes well, still contracting, switched locations though, really enjoying that!
And, I just built another website, www.kjunnerstall.com
I hope you’re all doing well!
Steve
A quote someone sent me today, from Yogi Bhahan:
“Touch every heart, bow your head, bless everybody and you shall be blessed. The Age of Aquarius is not a learning of a knowledge, it is learning to share.
It’s a time to grow, touch, feel, be, bent. As far as I am concerned, I think it is an age which uplifts like a forklift age. Uplift everybody or anybody.”
-Yogi Bhajan
I love it!!!!
Sat Nam
Sat Nam everyone!
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of www.drsiriatma.com the new website of a very dear friend of mine who just happens to be my favorite teacher!
For those of you who didn’t make it to his most out of this world class at Summer Solstice, his lectures are available on DVD *and* he’ll also be teaching at Winter Solstice. The class title is, “Mastering Your Destiny.” I know it’s going to be awesome!
Hope to see you all there!
Peace and blessings,
