“At such a time as this (the dark night) one who is not seriously
grounded in genuine theological faith may lose everything he ever had.
His prayer may become an obscure and hateful struggle to preserve the
images and trappings which covered his own interior emptiness. Either he
will have to face the truth of his emptiness or else he will beat a
retreat into the realm of images and analogies which no longer serve for
a mature spiritual life.”
–Thomas Merton
……..
My giver of rest to every man, my God, I will glorify thee.
Corner-stone unchanging, unfaltering.
Foundation unshakable,
Sheep bound to the tree,
Treasure hidden in the field,
Jesus that hangs to the tree,
Youth, son of the dew,
Milk of all trees,
Sweetness of the fruits,
Eye of the skies,
Guard of all treasure,
…that bears the universe,
joy of all created things,
rest of the worlds
Thou art a marvel to tell.
Thou art within, thou art without.
Thou art above, thou art below,
That art near and far,
That art hidden and revealed,
That art silent and speakest too.
–Manichaean writings
…….
“Life is none other than a form of combustion. It is impossible
for anything to manifest in the universe without the combustion
of matter to produce energy. And human beings cannot live, in
other words cannot act, feel or think, unless a fuel is burnt
within them to feed the process.
To sustain life, something must always be burnt. You will say,
‘But what must be burnt?’ Good question. Instead of burning your
most precious quintessences by giving way to instincts and
passions, learn to burn your instincts and passions by
renouncing them. You must put your jealousy, anger and
sensuality right there in the fire, the fire of the spirit, so
they produce an extraordinary light, flame and heat, like the
black, twisted branches that feed a furnace. The secret lies in
how we burn all our impurities to feed the heavenly fire.”
–Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
March 20, 2009 at 8.56.am.
“To sustain life, something must always be burnt. You will say,
‘But what must be burnt?’ Good question. Instead of burning your
most precious quintessences by giving way to instincts and
passions, learn to burn your instincts and passions by
renouncing them. You must put your jealousy, anger and
sensuality right there in the fire, the fire of the spirit, so
they produce an extraordinary light, flame and heat, like the
black, twisted branches that feed a furnace. The secret lies in
how we burn all our impurities to feed the heavenly fire.”
Nay! Our instincts and passions– the petty angers and jealousies– are nothing and less than nothing, our sensualitites mere harmless amusements designed to distract us from the All which is Nought.
We must begin by burning away our
most precious quintessences– those things which we cling to most — and in so doing empty ourselves completely to be filled by the Pure Flame of Godhood. By his very referring to them as “precious”, does not Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov show his attachment to them? We muct cast off that to which we are most attached, allow all such to be burned away, that we may become the pure flame, the heavenly flame. It is only having discarded all the dross, aye, including the quintessences, [which must by very definition be the quintesence of 'something', that is, of some 'thing'], that in our nothingness and purity, we may truly become the Sacred Flame which contains and can contain nought but Itself, and in its puity of Emptines, yet contain the All.
March 20, 2009 at 7.31.pm.
Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest and into still greater darkness those who take delight in the manifest.
Different indeed they declare what results from the manifest and distinct they say what comes out of the unmanifest. This is what we heard from the wise who explained these truths to us.
He who understands both the manifest and the unmanifest together, crosses death through the unmanifest and attains immortality through the manifest.
Covered with the golden disc is the face of truth. Uncover it, O Pusan, so that I who love truth may be able to see it.
O Pusan, the one seer, O controller, O sun, offspring of Prajapati, bring out your radiant rays and focus your radiance so that I may be able to see the auspicious form of yours. Who so ever person is there beyond, that also I am.
–The Isa Upanishad