Wednesday, April 8, 2009
God is Within
LOOK WITHIN
Rama,Sri Ramakrishna -- Do you know what I see? I see Him as all. Men and other creatures appear to me only as hollow forms, moving their heads and hands and feet, but within is the Lord Himself.
Holy Mother -- When one realizes God, He grants knowledge and illumination from within; one knows it oneself. In the fullness of one’s spiritual realization one will find that He who resides in one’s heart, resides in the hearts of others as well - the oppressed, the persecuted, the untouchable, and the outcast.
Swami Vivekananda -- It is impossible to find God outside of ourselves. Our own souls contribute all of the divinity that is outside of us. We are the greatest temple. The objectification is only a faint imitation of what we see within ourselves.
Buddha -- The subject on which I meditate is truth. The practice to which I devote myself is the truth. The topic of my conversation is truth. My thoughts are always in truth. For lo! my self has become the truth.
Guru Nanak -- As fragrance abides in the flower,
As the reflection is within the mirror,
So doth thy Lord abide within thee,
Why search Him without?
Jesus Christ -- Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Judaism -- Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not the holy Spirit from me.
Krishna -- I am the Self, O Gudekesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings.
Mohammed -- He who knows his own self, knows God.
Native American -- The first peace, which is most important, is that which comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its Powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real Peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.
Rama -- Think that you are Parabrahman, you have no attachment, you are all-knowing and you are pure. Always feel like this and establish your oneness with the Paramatman and derive bliss within yourself without caring to know what is outside of you.
Sankara -- Cherish your Guru’s lotus feet and free yourself without delay from the enslavement to this world. Curb your senses and your mind and see the Lord within your heart.
Vedas -- There is one Supreme Ruler, the inmost Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold. Eternal happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves - not to others.
Zoroaster -- One need not scale the heights of the heavens nor travel along the highways of the world to find Ahura Mazda. With purity of mind and holiness of heart one can find Him in one’s own heart.
I really like seeing all these perspectives gathered in one place. It makes it so very obvious how each perspective is talking about the very same thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark. Yes, it is obvious --- so many perspectives, different words, but it's all the same.......God within.
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